Chapter 75: The Young Heiress Of Sunrise Pharmaceuticals Makes Her Move

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After Riven finished reading Natalie’s business card, he was deeply shaken by the discovery of her true identity as Natalie Sunrise.

"You’re... from the Sunrise Family?!"

From everything Riven knew, the Sunrise Family had been a long-time rival of the Claymores in the Hunter Market. Their competition was especially fierce in the development and production of Hunter Gear, Medicine, Elixirs, Potions, Pills, and other high-demand products.

Natalie sighed heavily and slowly gasped for air as she tried to recover her breath. She was clearly not in the best condition after the recent battles. Her kind and proud smile slowly faded as she began to speak about her family’s ongoing "tragedy."

"Y-Yes... I am my father’s third daughter... I... um, since I came of age he has given me a large loan and asked me to build my own business.

Lately... um, Claymore Enterprises has been taking over more and more of the market. Now they’re even producing Healing Items and Medicine on a massive scale... the entire industry is becoming a monopoly for their family and... we would love to have a genius like you who can create medicines and even process any kind of poison...!

I can assure you, we’ll pay you handsomely for only minimal work! It’s a huge opportunity!"

"..."

Riven raised an eyebrow while still holding the card. He definitely did not want to work under another major family, but this was also an unexpected opportunity that had appeared purely because of his earlier kindness.

"Well, I am not going to work under you."

"Gah?!" Natalie and the rest of her party looked completely heartbroken. "P-Please at least reconsider it...! My father’s going to kill me if he learns I have accomplished nothing for the last entire year..."

"Well? Isn’t that your problem?" Riven sighed. "However..."

"H-However?!" Natalie’s eyes immediately sparkled with renewed expectation.

"I know someone who could really use that kind of backing," Riven said. "Or well, I’m about to meet them soon... Someone with incredible talent who was never able to shine properly in this world. Claymore is taking over medicine production, right?"

"Yes. Because of their massive monopoly over the Gates and the places where we obtain raw resources, it is becoming more and more costly for us to produce medicine, while they can sell theirs far cheaper... Now they are even increasing their prices while we struggle to keep ours low. Still, our products simply aren’t selling... it’s as if they’re sabotaging us at every turn," Natalie sighed in frustration. "Who is this person you were talking about? What makes them so incredible that even you would recognize their talent? A-Are they better than you?!"

"Oh, I would say they’re on a completely different level," Riven answered with a confident smile. "But it will take some time for me to find them, speak with them properly, and convince them... Things cannot be rushed with her. She has a complicated personality and is a little too sensitive."

"Eh?" Natalie and her party members tilted their heads in confusion. "T-Then...?"

"For now," Riven said firmly, "I’ll call you. Don’t call me. Come on, Daniela, let’s go."

"Eh? Ah! Okay..." Daniela nodded quickly and followed after Riven, making a small apologetic gesture toward the young hunters as she walked away.

"..."

Natalie stood there looking confused, yet she could not shake the feeling that Riven was hiding something important.

Something massive that could potentially change the entire Hunter world. He was clearly playing his cards very carefully.

"Sooo... I guess that didn’t work, huh?" Clair wondered while crossing her arms. "Um, Natalie, can’t we go eat pizza now?"

"Shut up, Clair," Natalie sighed and began walking away. "...And sure, let’s go eat pizza. This was a stressful day."

She glanced over her shoulder one last time. Riven was already gone, as if he had simply vanished into thin air.

"Let’s hope that he really does call me..." she muttered under her breath. "At the end of the day, though, I cannot force him to do anything."

"Who was he talking about, though?" Philip asked. "Is there really someone that amazing out there?"

"Who could that be? Some kind of Alchemist?" Emma wondered aloud.

"If even someone like Riven recognizes their talent, then... they must be an incredible person unlike anyone else," Natalie swallowed hard. "I just hope he doesn’t forget about my number..."

♢♢♢♢

Riven stepped into his car and quickly drove away from the Gate Area, making his way back home through the evening traffic.

In the end, because of various complications throughout the day, he had finished quite late. He was unable to meet the person he had mentioned.

However, after such a heavy and exhausting dungeon-delving day, he decided it would be wiser to take a few days off and meet that person tomorrow morning instead.

On the quiet drive back home, Daniela fell deeply asleep while still hugging Noir, who rested comfortably across her legs. The two of them looked extremely cute together in the soft interior light of the car.

Once they arrived home, Riven asked Noir to gently drag Daniela inside the house through his shadows. As he walked toward the front door...

"You’re finally back!"

His wife opened the door for him with a bright expression. Little Carlos stood right behind her with a surprised look that quickly turned slightly disappointed when Noir simply dropped the still-sleeping Daniela onto the floor.

"Big sis... you fell asleep again?" he sighed and shook his head.

"Uwagh?!" Daniela suddenly coughed and wiped drool from the corner of her mouth. "W-Wha... What happened? Ah, we’re back home!"

"Sorry," Riven said while apologizing to Elisa. "But we managed to complete the dungeon from Floor 1 all the way to Floor 3 and obtained our Gate Conquest Rewards."

"Really?!" Elisa looked genuinely surprised. "Well, I suppose it was a fruitful day after all..." she muttered, a faint trace of jealousy in her voice.

Riven stepped closer, pulled her into a warm hug, and then placed a gentle kiss on her cheek. "I missed you," he whispered softly.

"?!" Elisa gasped and immediately began blushing. "W-Wha...! What do you think you’re doing!" She acted shy and embarrassed, yet she did not slap his face or push him away.

"You spread your arms and I thought you wanted a hug," Riven said with a small smile. "Was I wrong? Sorry..."

Elisa panicked the moment she saw him look a little sad. "N-No! I didn’t mean... I mean... well, it’s fine... You can consider that your reward for a day of hard work— now go make dinner. We are starving here."

"Yes, my queen," Riven replied, kissing the back of her hand before nodding and walking straight into the kitchen. He left Elisa standing there with her arms crossed, pouting heavily while her face turned as red as a tomato.

"H-Hmph...! W-Who does he think he is...?" she muttered, trying to fake her anger while Daniela carefully helped move her wheelchair back inside the house.

Despite how grumpily she acted on the outside, her heart was racing uncontrollably.

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