The Wizard Path From The Simulator

“Young Master, the internal personnel involved have all been sorted out, and a letter has been sent to Father.”

Hearing William’s words, Milton Cheney gently rubbed his eyebrows.

“Have they paid all the due rent?”

“Some of it has been collected, but several Noble families who run the shops have asked for more time.”

“Hmm, I understand.”

Milton Cheney replies quietly, implying his comprehension.

There was no denying that the Golden Lion Market that his father, Earl Arthur, had entrusted to him was a mess.

While everything seemed well on the surface, the reality was far from it.

Corruption was rampant among the underlings, and slackers lazed about.

A number of shopkeepers in the market haven’t paid their rent for quite a while, too.

These large families could easily afford the rent, yet they still delayed the payment, which was starting to vex Milton Cheney.

Cheney wasn’t sure whether Earl Golden Lion was unaware of the situation or was intentionally testing him. Needless to say, he had been busy recently.

After thoroughly investigating the matters at hand, Cheney realized that he could not entirely blame Earl Arthur for the improper handling of money by his subordinates – Earl Arthur rarely checked financial accounts.

Now, Earl Arthur’s jurisdiction spanned the entire Far East Territory, with Far East City being just a part of it.

The Far East Territory comprised over a dozen separate cities.

As single-handed management was impossible, Earl Arthur had promoted some commoners to assist him.

Among them, Moss had always been in charge of the finances of the Golden Lion Market. Moss’s greed was a clear indication of the prevailing situation.

However, this was not because Earl Arthur lacked judgment. In his early years, Moss had indeed proved to be diligent and committed.

But once a person attains power, they start losing self-control. Moreover, some influential families in the market were involved in these matters as well.

“Can we take a more direct approach by using force?”

Milton Cheney turned to William with a suggestive question.

On hearing this, William let out a sneer, “Of course, we can. Otherwise, they’ll think they can walk all over us.”

Cheney found it necessary for these shops to continue trading, which prevented him from just shutting them down.

So after a moment’s thought, he said:

“We can’t use force alone. The shops run by the nobility have their purpose. Clearing out all of them would disrupt the Golden Lion Market.

And, of course, not using any force at all isn’t an option either – they’ll start seeing us as pushovers otherwise.”

Unilaterally leveraging family power wasn’t out of the question, but preserving the relationships with these families over outstanding rent didn’t seem worth it. This was something Milton Cheney was clearly aware of.

Therefore, he planned to strike a balance between forcefulness and compromise.

“We’ll begin with this one!”

Milton Cheney pointed to a name on the paper lying in front of him and stated his decision.

On hearing this, William glanced at the document and read out the name—Deep Blue Jewelry Store.

By the time Milton Cheney and William had arrived at the Deep Blue Jewelry Store, it had already gathered a crowd.

A majority of them were ladies of the nobility, donned in lavish gowns and headpieces, adorned with precious jewelry and accessories.

There were, however, no young noble gentlemen as handsome as Milton Cheney.

The Deep Blue Jewelry Store was a boutique run by the Blue Eagle Family in the Golden Lion Market.

The person in charge was a jeweler from the Blue Eagle Family.

Its reputation as the largest jewelry store in the Golden Lion Market was well-established.

It was known for fine jewelry, fashion accessories, fine metalwork, and luxury items.

The integral part of the jewelry store was a large window.

The counter faced the window and displayed goods for sale – mostly delicate pieces of jewelry and expensive raw materials.

It was hard to imagine that such a huge jewelry store would ever fail to pay the miniscule amount of rent due to them.

“Call your manager here and tell them Royal Family Gold Lion’s representative wishes to discuss some matters.”

Milton Cheney ordered an apprentice at random.

The apprentice didn’t object, scanning Milton and William briefly before heading off obediently to fetch the manager.

After a while, a middle-aged man dressed as a merchant was led to Milton Cheney by the apprentice.

“Shall we proceed inside the store?”

On hearing Milton’s suggestion, the merchant promptly nodded and guided Milton and William to the Jewelry Room.

Upon arriving in the Jewelry Room, Milton instinctively surveyed the surroundings.

The Jewelry Room was essentially a room designated for jewelry appraisal.

Various appraisal tools were scattered randomly across the table, and Milton was unfamiliar with some of them.

“Let’s not beat around the bush. I don’t care about previous regulations at the Golden Lion Market. Now, under my management, everyone will operate under my rules.”

Without any hesitation, Cheney cuts right to the chase. Simultaneously, he hands over a badge to the representative from the Blue Eagle Family.

The representative swiftly accepted the badge for inspection, dulie examined it, and handed it back.

The badge confirmed Milton’s authority and affiliation with the Golden Lion Family.

“Rest assured, young master, we will adapt to your rules.”

The man responsible for running the jewelry store said, his tone full of compliance.

Such cooperation? Milton was surprised.

“Good, let’s start by catching up with the outstanding rent.” Cheney’s gaze was fixed on the middle-aged man as he spoke.

“Absolutely, sir. We will definitely pay up. But could you wait a couple of months until our funds arrive?”

The middle-aged man responded decisively. Even so, his intent to delay was evident.

Hearing this, William, standing behind Milton, was about to step forward, but Milton gently held him back.

He was not inclined to resort to physical action if the problem could be settled through discussion.

“Pay now. We have already waited for a year and two months.”

Cheney said, his tone tranquil.

As he said, Deep Blue Jewelry Store had not paid their rent for a year and two months.

Normally, large shops in the Golden Lion Market had to pay rent every month.

At this, the man’s face grew grim, but he soon recovered his composure.

“Young master, could we…”

“No. Pay now, or shut down the business.”

Cheney interrupted the man and looked around.

He didn’t believe that a store as successful as this could not afford to pay their rent.

Of course, the man didn’t miss the threat in Milton’s words.

Consequently, his face stiffened, even his forced smile faded into a rictus.

Frankly, it wasn’t that the Blue Eagle Family couldn’t afford the rent. The man pocketed most of the unpaid rent.

“William, wreck it!”

Milton’s patience wore thin as he ordered, waving his hands dismissively.

Complete utter disrespect!

“Wait, wait! I’ll pay, I’ll pay!”

The sight of William pulling out his knight sword alarmed the middle- aged man to capitulate.

If his store was destroyed, his own family would skin him alive..