Chapter 160: Do You Want to Sell Me Your Sword?

Faced with Ryan’s direct question, Edwin remained completely silent for a few seconds.

The noble evaluated the impassive expression of his guest. He searched for some crack in the foreigner’s calm demeanor, but Ryan’s eyes were like two bottomless pits that betrayed absolutely no emotion.

"It is natural for me to know, Krai." Edwin finally responded, uncrossing his legs with a slow, deliberate movement.

"What do you mean by it being natural?" Ryan interjected immediately, not allowing the noble to establish the rhythm of the conversation.

"No one would recognize a chimera weapon with just a fleeting glance in a hallway."

Edwin maintained his refined posture.

"It is natural because I am the leader of one of the most influential merchant guilds in the entire city."

The man paused briefly to let the weight of his status settle over the private box, but Ryan did not even blink at the revelation.

"I have already seen chimera weapons on other occasions." Edwin continued, slightly disconcerted by the young man’s total lack of reaction.

"And I know beforehand that it is nearly impossible to obtain one of those marvels simply by exploring dungeons or defeating floor bosses."

"Continue." Ryan said.

"In order to possess a functional chimera weapon, someone must forge it." Edwin explained, leaning slightly forward.

"And not just any blacksmith is capable of doing so. Fusing cores without the materials collapsing requires a ridiculous level of mastery. Which leads me to deduce that you must have an exceptional blacksmith traveling with you, or you are at least very well acquainted with one."

Ryan listened to the merchant’s deduction in silence.

Far from feeling cornered by having been analyzed in such a manner, a faint smile formed upon his face.

’It is a fairly logical analysis.’ Ryan thought, evaluating the merchant’s intelligence.

’Runa is definitely exceptional at forging equipment. And now that I think about it, if we add Mika’s alchemy ability to purify the materials... between the two of them, they will be able to create even better things than what we already have.’

Ryan nodded with total naturalness, resting his arm on the armrest of the chair.

"You are entirely correct." Ryan affirmed. "I earned the favor of a highly talented dwarf and he was the one who forged this weapon for me."

The bodyguard standing to Edwin’s right imperceptibly clenched his jaw upon hearing that Ryan dealt with dwarven artisans of that caliber, but he remained completely silent.

"Then, as the leader of a merchant guild with so many resources, you surely must have some chimera accessory or weapon in your possession, isn’t that right?" Ryan asked.

Edwin let out a small sigh, losing a bit of his initial haughtiness.

"Unfortunately, I do not have a single one in my personal collection."

"And yet you say you have seen them on other occasions?"

"I originally came to know of them because I have seen Heroes from the nations who possess them." Edwin replied, fixing his gaze on the auction stage below, where the crowd continued to shout their bids.

"One of them is Rafael. He wields a pair of chimera battle gauntlets."

"Only him?" Ryan inquired.

"Luciela." Edwin added. "A heroine who wields a chimera magic staff. Aside from those two, I do not know any other heroes personally. But it is an open secret that many more heroes possess chimeras."

"I see."

"Although not exactly weapons." The merchant leader clarified. "There are armor pieces and accessories that are forged as chimeras. After all, they are extremely difficult materials to come by and have their own specific uses for boosting stats."

’Luciela and Rafael.’ Ryan repeated in his mind, analyzing the information with absolute coldness.

Rafael had already been mentioned during various conversations back in the elven village, but Luciela’s name did not sound absolutely familiar to him at all.

’As soon as we return and I have some time, I will have to ask Alicia for an exhaustive list of all the heroes in the world who are S-rank or higher.’

He decided that he would not ask any more questions about those specific heroes. Asking too much would give away his lack of knowledge regarding public figures, and he preferred to maintain that facade of superiority and mystery.

He refocused his dark gaze upon Edwin.

"Tell me one more thing." Ryan said, shifting his tone to one much more calculating and sharp. "As a merchant of this level, do you have chimera weapon forging materials in your possession?"

Edwin nodded immediately, his eyes shining with that spark of ambition typical of businessmen.

"Yes. I have been gathering them for a long time. But they are very scarce, and the black market demands absurd prices for them."

Ryan put all the pieces of the conversation together in a fraction of a second.

An immensely wealthy merchant and, at the same time, a man deeply fascinated by chimera weapons.

Ryan let out a low chuckle, dry and entirely devoid of any humor. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"Now I understand." Ryan pronounced, fixing his eyes directly on the merchant leader.

"What do you understand?" Edwin asked, blinking in sudden confusion at the shift in his guest’s attitude.

"You didn’t just spot my chimera out in the hallway as a simple object of interest." Ryan said. His voice dropped a pitch, becoming threatening and heavy without the need to raise it.

"You want to have it, don’t you?"

Right as Ryan finished uttering those words. He placed his palm directly upon the hilt of the weapon hidden beneath his coat.

A subtle, cold smile, laden with crushing superiority, formed upon his lips.

Even though Ryan kept his immense SS-Rank power suppressed, the sheer impression of confidence he projected with that simple gesture made the air inside the private box become dense and suffocating.

The A-rank bodyguard reacted out of pure survival instinct. He moved his hand to the hilt of his own sword, preparing to unsheathe it against the imminent threat that the foreigner represented.

But Edwin raised his hands immediately, stopping his assistant before he could commit a mistake that would end up costing both of their lives. The merchant had a light, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

"I do not intend to force you or anything of the sort." Edwin said quickly, attempting to pacify the lethal atmosphere that Ryan had just generated.

"I only want to buy it." Edwin confessed, swallowing hard.

"Are you not interested in selling that weapon? I will pay absolutely whatever figure you ask of me."