The Boss King actually disguised himself as a novice village chief?!
Chapter 487 - 408 Griffin Territory

Chapter 487: Chapter 408 Griffin Territory

The colt struggled to pull its hooves out of the mud.

Midday was nearing, and the onset of summer meant there was not a hint of coolness on the shaded path, only suffocating humidity that made it hard to breathe.

The Ashen King in the distance spewed its crown, boiling clouds drifting in the sky, occasionally blowing over a gust of white ash.

The face veil covering mouth and nose fluttered lightly.

A youth named Hatton, dressed in plain clothes, was gritting his teeth while tugging at the packhorse’s reins. This creature was hardly a normal horse anymore; it had horns on its head and sharp fangs, and although its disposition was docile if not in heat, it was unfortunately the breeding season in April and May.

Fortunately, they hadn’t been entangled here for too long.

"What’s that?"

He noticed something glittering in the mud ahead, surrounded by pieces of flesh and signs of beasts having dug holes.

It must have been an unlucky traveler who suffered an attack there. Such incidents were not uncommon to hear about.

"A black gemstone?" Hatton bent over, picked up the stone with a look of surprise.

After wiping it on his clothes, he held the gemstone above his head.

The sun beams filtering through the forest leaves just so happened to shine on his fingers, and the black gemstone dazzled with a magnificent brilliance under the sunlight.

How beautiful!

Pocketing the gemstone, Hatton continued on his way, aiming to reach his uncle’s house before nightfall. Just five years ago, his family had been a wealthy merchant family, and even a year ago, they were still doing quite well.

That was until his father died, and following his will, he set out to find his uncle to learn the skill of doing business.

Walking in the long shadows of dusk, Hatton finally arrived at his destination, a residential area in the distance, with Griffin Castle circling high above the town like a griffin surveying its territory.

After asking a few people along the road with a letter in hand, Hatton found the certain location and reached the edge of the village, near the forest.

It was a small, three-story manor with a round courtyard, neatly trimmed grass, and a kitchen built up with stones. The kitchen door was wide open, and Hatton saw an oven.

A woman wrapped in a long dress and headscarf stuffed dough into the oven; she was likely a maid responsible for miscellaneous chores. In the distance, he saw a man chopping wood to make buckets.

Usually, families with a bit of money would hire such a household; the woman would cook, do laundry and other chores, while the man did repair work and physical labor, and occasionally served as a patrol guard and bodyguard.

"Are you Hatton?" A cheerful voice called out.

Hatton turned and saw a young girl with chestnut short hair, with small freckles from cheek to nose, somewhat thin with a delicate neck, tilting her head slightly when speaking, like a little deer.

"I am, and you?" Hatton asked, puzzled.

"Nanali!" the girl said, "My father said you would be arriving these days."

Hatton’s arrival was welcomed with a spread of various dishes, meat, bread, and some unidentified milk at his uncle’s home, a family of four.

The milk had a strong taste but also a lingering earthy scent that was said to be hard to remove even after boiling. Although the flavor was strange, being able to drink milk with every meal was a luxury unimaginable for common folk in these times.

The prosperity of the Griffin Region allowed some people to "live without worry about food and clothing," much of which was related to Miss Tao Lexi.

At the dinner table, they silently gave thanks for Miss Tao Lexi’s assistance.

Then the uncle brought up the topic of business, bragging more than anything.

"...Instead of merchants, we should now be called Bloodless Nobles, maintainers of the Griffin Territory’s stable finance, or perhaps..."

"Or maybe just the milk-carriers and milkmaids," his aunt interjected disdainfully; she found her husband’s boasting distasteful.

"Hatton has just arrived, you need to properly teach him what to do next, instead of making baseless boasts here."

Nanali and her brother Adams, who was just a year older than Hatton, laughed together.

The uncle put down his wine glass, his cheeks turning a bit red, either from anger or the wine.

"There’s nothing difficult about the work; it’s just taking money from one hand to the other," the uncle said as he dipped a piece of bread in the meat soup, spilling some on his beard as he took a bite, "That’s how merchants work, buying low and selling high. Now our business is a lot easier. We can travel directly to Goliath, the Royal City; the people there really like our stuff, like custom furniture, clothing, food."

He paused and then said to Hatton, "Tomorrow, Miss Tao Lexi is hosting a banquet, and I will take you with me."

Hatton was surprised: "I can attend too?"

He noticed Adams looking at him with envy.

This had always been Adams’ opportunity.

But Hatton felt that Adams wasn’t just interested in the noble feast’s delicacies, though he wasn’t certain what it was exactly.

"We are Bloodless Nobles," the uncle said with a smile, pointing to himself, "We lack noble bloodlines, we lack noble titles, but we still receive the treatment of nobility. Merchants are now the lifeline that keeps the territory stable; people want a steady life, and they can’t do without us."

That night, Hatton and Adams shared a room.

Hatton took out the black gemstone and examined it quietly in the fragmented moonlight until Adams’s drowsy voice asked, "Hatton, aren’t you sleeping yet?"