Chapter 515: The First Trader and His Monopoly.
As Victor walked back toward the members who had come with him, he felt someone approaching him, and he turned away.
With a height that rivaled Eleanor's and a curvaceous body that would make women look with envy, The Witch Queen walked toward Victor with neutral steps.
Victor's heart pounded for a few seconds, but it wasn't from excitement or admiration. After all, he had a literal Goddess of Beauty in his house, so he was quite immune to the Beauty and Charm of women, thanks to the Goddess of Beauty's intense exposure.
It was out of caution because confronting The Witch Queen without knowing anything about Magic was pure idiocy. He understood that, unlike her daughters, the woman was at a level where she could do silent and hidden Magic that even he, with his supernatural perception, would be unable to see the circle forming.
In fact, he thought she must have some way of hiding her spells.
Even if he couldn't see anything, Victor would still exercise extreme caution when talking to this woman.
BzzzBzzzZZ
In a flash, golden lightning appeared around Victor but then disappeared even before a millisecond had passed. With that impulse, all of his senses were heightened to the highest level.
Maintaining this state could be torturous for any being, considering that Victor now practically saw time differently, as everything was slower.
But Victor was different, and he was used to it. He had to keep an eye on The Witch Queen and the Daughter next to her.
He didn't know if she would harm him here, even if it was forbidden. Rules existed for a reason.
To be broken.
Victor, of all the people present here, understood that.
"Alucard..." Evie's melodious and authoritative voice was heard. She deserved the Title of Queen, as with just a few gestures, she demonstrated a level of 'charisma' that not even Hera, Zeus' wife, had.
After all, unlike The Queen of The Olympian Gods, Evie was a full-fledged Queen. The other was just a spiteful woman.
"Finally, we've met. I must say you're someone hard to get in touch with, even for me."
"What can I say? That's my Charm." Victor smiled slightly, which caught Alice off guard and embarrassed her slightly.
Proving that not even a Master-Level Witch was insensitive to Charm and Beauty.
Victor took advantage of that lapse, even though the woman had recovered very quickly. He understood how Beauty and Charm worked. All he had to do was act like a gentleman and learn about the woman's tastes so he could influence her.
Adonis manipulations at his best.
Victor learned from the best Playboy Master.
Indifferent to his Charm but silently appreciating his Beauty, even Evie wasn't entirely insensitive. After all, Victor was pleasing to the eye.
But unlike her Daughter, she didn't fall for this Charm, considering that she had dealt with Gods and knew that those most dangerous Gods were the ones who had control over Charm and Beauty, an essential part of every sentient being.
Aphrodite… Staring at the man as if dealing with the Goddess of Beauty, she remained unmoved.
"I wonder why you ignored my calls."
"What can I say? I thought it was a scammer." Victor shrugged.
"...." Some guests who were watching this scene with curiosity were speechless.
Thor and Zeus pursed their lips. This man was more brazen than they were! And that was a compliment coming from two Gods like the two.
Natashia was trying not to laugh.
'He really went and said that. This man really has big balls!'
"Natashia..." Agnes narrowed her eyes at the woman. Even though she found it amusing, she shouldn't laugh about it.
"I-I know, okay? D-Don't talk to me." Natashia replied with difficulty. She understood that, by God! She understood, but it was just too funny.
The Witch Queen, the woman who essentially had the most oversized ego of everyone present here, was simply ignored because someone thought she was a Scammer? Pfft!
Scathach remained indifferent, unlike the two women, as she looked warily at Evie. Any sudden move and The Witch would feel her spear.
"...." Vlad, Shiva, and Volk backed away a bit from Scathach and the dark aura she was giving off. Even though it wasn't threatening to the three mighty men, it was still very uncomfortable, especially when the woman had those lifeless eyes that looked like a black hole.
Their male instincts left a shiver down their spines, and to be honest, they were slightly pressured.
And for some reason, the three of them thought of their respective Wives and lovers as they looked at Scathach.
"...I know this is normal since all female Vampires have a few screws loose, but isn't this getting worse?" Volk asked Vlad while looking at Scathach.
"She reminds me of my wife..." Shiva commented while thinking aloud, and he couldn't help but get shivers down his spine. The woman was very kind and helpful, but when other women caused trouble, she really became dangerous... Very dangerous.
Parvati, the Goddess of Marriage and Love. Unlike Hera, who held the same Title, the woman achieved the feat of being Shiva's only wife.
...That is, of course, only when the man didn't take on his other eleven manifestations, which also had a wife for each of them, but that's a story for another time.
The point is Parvati took on the same look when Shiva got involved with some woman, and that look frankly intimidated Shiva a little bit.
But other than that, she was a great wife.
"I mean, even by the standard of female Vampires, these women are on their own level."
"They are Countesses for a reason." Vlad finished.
"...." The three men were silent.
Evie's face trembled slightly when she heard Victor's response.
'Me? The Witch Queen a Scammer?' It's worth mentioning that she had been called many horrible Titles in the past, but Scammer, this was something new... and not very pleasant.
As Evie was processing what she had just heard, Victor looked at Alice and smiled gently:
"How are you?"
"E-Eh?"
"I mean, you look even paler than I do, and I'm a Vampire," Victor asked in a neutral tone that showed his concern.
He was a good actor.
"Oh, that's normal. Due to my Magic, these side effects are normal." The goth woman replied.
"Hmm, I see. Doesn't that bother you?"
"Not really." She replied casually as she looked curiously at Victor.
'Why is he bringing up the subject with me? His business is with my Mother, not with me.' She gave some thought to Victor's motives for talking to her, and from the records she had of this man, this man was very much a womanizer and was always surrounded by women.
'...Is he interested in me?' Rather than feeling disgusted that a Vampire liked her, she felt a slight sense of accomplishment.
Charm and Beauty for the win, even she can't deny the pleasure of having someone so handsome as him taking an interest in her.
... It was worth saying that this woman had few social interactions, so she was falling into the basic trap of all sentient beings.
Just because a hot person talked to you didn't mean they liked you.
The same thinking applied here.
"Hmm, a Master of Black Magic, huh." Briefly recalling this branch of Magic, he added:
"It's a useful Field. I understand why The Queen wants you near her."
"It's a Field that attracts a lot of hostility..." She smiled coldly.
"It doesn't matter," Victor spoke in disdain.
"Huh?"
"They will display hostility because it is dangerous and difficult to counter." Victor understood this because he felt the same way when dealing with Aphrodite. Taking that encounter as a learning experience, he learned not to quickly judge someone just because they had dangerous Magic or Powers.
He misjudged Aphrodite, and while he didn't regret it, he took it as a learning experience.
He would see for himself and judge for himself. He always tried to apply that thought in the present.
"...." It was worth mentioning that Alice looked at Victor with her eyes wide in shock.
'No wonder he is surrounded by women. He is a very charming man.' Her heart tightened, and the feeling of embarrassment resonated through her entire body.
Seeing that her Daughter was heading straight for the predator's clutches, Evie intervened,
"Alucard, you still stand trial for your crimes. So next time I contact you, don't ignore my call." She stated as if it was obvious.
"..." Victor looked at Evie.
When Evie was about to return, she heard:
"Whoaa, as expected, ego and arrogance at its best, huh." Victor started joking and ended in a cold neutral tone, slightly hostile but simultaneously masked by his performance.
"...." Evie narrowed her eyes and turned her Magic circle eyes to Victor. Then, assessing the man with her Magic, she narrowed her eyes.
'What is it?' She felt strange when the Magic of hers that was imbued in her eyes caught something.
'How can he have that!? Is it because of my Mother!?' It is worth mentioning that she was very shocked.
Victor smiled kindly but didn't respond to Evie's earlier arrogant statement. Instead, he just told a story.
"Monopolies are an amazing thing, aren't they?"
"..." Evie woke up from her stupor and looked at Victor.
"Because there's no competition and no better option, you can dictate all the rules, and people have to follow them so they don't lose the privilege of your products."
"Where are you going with this?" She fully understood what he was implying by his wordplay.
"Hmm? It's nothing, just a story from the past. Do you want to hear it?"
"..." Evie nodded. She wanted to understand Victor's intentions.
"A man came to the village, and this village had nothing, but he was wealthy, so this man brought products bought from abroad and sold them for 100x the initial value, and the result? His products sold a lot."
"He became even richer and continued to practice this same method for 1 year, until... Another merchant came along."
"And that merchant sold the same product the first merchant sold, only at a more affordable price for everyone."
"Even if the first merchant tried to destroy the second merchant, he couldn't."
"The second merchant was a retired Master. He was not one of the strongest beings and had weakened, but he could easily destroy the first merchant. He had wisdom."
"Do you know what the outcome of this story was?"
"The second merchant grew in economic power, and a rivalry ensued, and who benefited from that rivalry were the consumers," Evie spoke in disdain as she fully understood what Victor implied with this idiotic story.
'It is a pity that we will never lose the monopoly.'
"Indeed, as expected of The Queen, you are very knowledgeable." Victor nodded in satisfaction.
"...But I have an alternate ending."
"Oh?" Evie looked at Victor curiously.
"The second merchant, with his superior strength, completely crushed his rival and took the monopoly for himself." The sharp-fanged smile Victor gave sent shivers down Alice's spine.
'Where did that kind man go?' Alice understood that she shouldn't create fantasies for the man in front of her. He was the man who caused genocide.
"...." Evie narrowed her eyes.
"And you are that second merchant?"
"Me? Hahaha~, you seem to be getting something wrong."
"I am the fourth merchant."
"Huh?"
"And you are the first."
"Merchant number 2... What do you think happened to merchant number 2? By acquiring a monopoly, did he live a happy life?"
"Of course not. Now that people knew the practicality of selling for low prices, people found this merchant and took his place, and ironically practiced the same method as the first and second merchants. Greed is something powerful."
Victor's smile only grew and grew, and the scent of blood spread through the room.
"Rivers of blood were made, and the once rich city fell to pieces."
"The second and third merchants were killed, as they couldn't stand the hardship of this city."
"A few years go by."
"And someone arrives, the fourth merchant."
"And everything changed when the fourth merchant arrived."
"...But the story of the fourth merchant must be told at a later date." Victor smiled gently, and all his bloody atmosphere disappeared as if nothing had happened.
And, in fact, nothing had happened. All this was simply the physical projection of his bloodlust. He was not threatening anyone, and because of that, the meeting organizer did not intervene.
He turned around, and just as he was about to head back to his group, he heard:
"I didn't understand the moral of the story." Alice was the one who spoke.
Victor stopped walking and looked at Alice with the same gentle smile:
"The moral of the story is that when you have a product that everyone wants a lot of, and you have the option to sell it cheaper with the same quality, people will buy the cheapest. Nobody likes to lose money."
"But unfortunately, the people don't have the option to buy cheap. So what should they do then?"
"Use force, claim everything for themselves, and create their own system."
"When you are in possession of something the people want very much of but don't provide it the way they want it, you'll make enemies, and not one, not two, or three enemies, but..."
"Everyone."
"...." A bead of sweat fell from Evie's face, and for a moment, Victor's image vanished, replaced by the Gods, Wolves, and Angels present.
And they all looked at her with disguised greed. Even though it only lasted for a moment, she clearly felt it.
Everyone present knew what was happening behind the scenes, and Victor planted a seed in everyone's heads. So why not take this chance in the near future?
Some may think this was silly, but some were bold enough to believe this was a good idea. Ultimately, everything would be decided by each individual's greed.
'...This man is getting worse with each passing day... He looks like a Demon who knew what words to press to control people.' Vlad thought inwardly while he found this method quite familiar.
'Oh, my ex-wife, huh… Did she teach you?'
"See you at my 'trial,' Evie Moriarty."
"..." Evie looked at Victor, who had a slight smile on his face. She saw the man look at her Daughter with such a charming smile that she had the displeasure of seeing her Daughter fall for his charms, and soon she saw the man turning around and walking towards his group.
'I see... I understand now why my Mother likes you... You are the embodiment of Chaos, Alucard.' With just a simple story and a metaphor, he diverted all attention of these powerful beings to Evie.
He basically said: 'I'm not the big fat sheep, Evie Moriarty is', as he presented her on a silver platter to all these beings.
A subtle diversion tactic, so it wasn't a move against Evie Moriarty. Instead, it was all wordplay, a little revenge driven by his own pride. If he didn't react to Evie's arrogant words, he wouldn't be Victor.
Therefore, he chose the most subtle and gray option possible, keeping their relationship still neutral and would not become the enemies of the Witches or harm the potential connections with the beings present.
Victor was stepping on shards of glass and must choose every word wisely.
After all, sometimes words are pretty powerful weapons.
And that situation also served as a lesson for Evie, a lesson she had before ignored entirely because of her ego and arrogance. But, now, she couldn't deny that lesson because that lesson was practically thrown in her face by this demonstration.
She turned her face away and walked towards the window with her Daughter.
'... I need to change my plans when I get back... and strengthen my Kingdom's defenses. Luckily, I know all the filth of my great clients. Filth that puts me at an advantage with some Pantheons.'
.....
