The Accidental Vampire

“We are from the Noble Merchant Company.” Yovana took the lead, giving up a name.

She had traveled far and wide in the last hundreds of years and knew a lot of things. The merchant company she named was one of the biggest merchant companies in the Northern Lands. However, they didn’t have much of a footprint in this part of the world.

That was also one of the reasons she gave that name. The company was big enough to be heard, but there was no way the Town Head could’ve met any representative from there before.

It was better to give him a name that he knew but not too closely than to make a fake name or talk about a company whose people he could’ve met in the past.

Just as she expected, the man seemed to know about the company. His lips slightly parted in amazement while his eyes widened.

“I’ve heard about them before. They are one of the three biggest merchant companies, but don’t they only operate on the northern side? What are you doing so far?”

“As you already know, we already have our feet firmly planted in the northern parts. We believe it’s time we expand to other parts of the world as well. The range of the land we want to cover comes up to your town. I guess you can say that your town is more strategically placed yet not covered by any other Merchants, so that gives us an opportunity.”

Yovana surprised even Lilith with her words. It was as if she was really a merchant. She covered everything, leaving no room for doubts. In essence, she made the work of Lilith easier.

“Ah, I guess I understand. Instead of covering the main cities, where others already have a foothold, you want to expand in the outer cities. Then you can have an excuse of traveling so far, along the way establishing relationships with other cities.”

The old man appeared to understand what Yovana was trying to say. His eyes lit up as a smile graced his lips. “That’s very clever honestly. Instead of going from main outer cities, you’re going from outer cities to main.”

“Exactly. This trade will benefit you all as much as it will benefit us. So, what do you think about it?” Yovana asked casually. “You can take your time to think. We won’t force you. There are also other cities that might be happy to take up this offer if you refuse.”

“I don’t think there’s anything to think about. As you said, this deal is good for you, but it’s also good for us and our people, so who am I to say no? I will accept the deal.” The old man was excited at getting such a nice deal, yet he tried to keep a straight expression. If not, he would’ve burst out laughing.

Throughout the years, he had gone to the main cities, trying to get any Merchant Company to establish trade relations with his town. Unfortunately, they all refused him, saying it wasn’t worth it. His town was considered a backwater town.

For every essential thing, they needed to travel far and wide and buy items at expensive prices from distant cities. Even bringing those items back was their own responsibility which opened them to many attacks by the bandits.

Because of this new deal, all their problems were going to be solved. The responsibility of transport was also going to be on the shoulders of these people.

“That’s perfect. This went more smoothly than we expected. I’ll convey this outcome to others back home. Within two weeks, we should be back with the papers of the deal.”

They had managed to convince the old man about their identity. Now all they needed was to leave while making a vague promise of returning later with papers.

“The Higher ups would be really happy with this good news, won’t they?” Yovana asked Lilith, flashing a bright grin.

“They certainly would. Now we just need to convey this message back.” Lilith stood up.

She asked the old man to be excused as she started leaving with Yovana and Lancaster.

“Wait.”

Lilith had almost reached the door when she heard a call to stop.

She clenched her fist but immediately relaxed them before turning around. “Yes?”

The call came from the man who was leading the group of the Franc Clan.

“I’m afraid I can’t allow you to leave that easily,” the young man stated.

“What do you mean?” The words sounded threatening, but the expressions of the man didn’t match those words.

“I mean, how can I let you leave that easily? You all must stay for a few days. You’re from such a big merchant company, and you brought such good news to us. Just letting you leave like that would be a waste.”

“It’s alright. We don’t have anything to do here. We got what we came here for. It’s only fair we leave so we can come back again. Thank you for the offer of letting us stay here though. I really appreciate it.”

Lilith rejected the offer swiftly. However, the young man didn’t appear to be offended.

“That wasn’t my offer.”

“Then what was your offer?”

“Actually, we came here for a special reason. We haven’t even told him yet. Why don’t you stay and listen as well? I won’t waste too much of your time.” The man gestured for the three to take a seat again.

Lilith glanced at Yovana and Lancaster before agreeing. She walked back and took her seat.

The old man also sat down.

“As I was saying, I came here for a special purpose. Tomorrow, our clan is throwing a celebration. I came here to invite the Town Head to attend the function. Now that you’re here, I guess I can take the liberty of inviting you as well. You are the representatives of one of the three biggest merchant companies, after all.”

“It would be good if you could come as well.”

“A celebration tomorrow?” Lilith was really curious as to what could be their reason for celebrating, but even more than that, she was surprised that she was invited.

There were many advantages to this offer she could see. But there were also a few disadvantages there.

Zhang had seen her before. She couldn’t go there. If she went, she was going to be recognized right away. Moreover, unlike these people, Zhang was more perceptive. There was no way he was going to forget their faces. Not only had Zhang seen her, but he also saw Yovana and Lancaster.