Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

The city of New Beginnings. Early morning.

Commoner district. Rankers market.

Every corner of every street in this city is always bustling with activities. There are calls from merchants trying to bring customers to their local shops or joints using various schemes and discounts. Adventurers can be seen haggling with merchants who seem unwilling to lower their prices below what they already stipulated.

Eren was looking at these activities from the fourth floor of an open-air restaurant. His table was by the gallery that offered a seamless view of the city's market.

Eren had company at his table. Levine was sitting in front of him. Eren had ordered a sumptuous breakfast for himself. The B-Ranked potioner on the other hand was fine with sipping her tea.

Eren had worn casual clothes. White shirt and blue blazer. Cream-colored pants that boded well with his easy-on-the-eyes visual scheme. He had left two of his shirt's buttons undone, adding a bit of nonchalance to his formal appearance.

His black hair had grown a bit, hiding his forehead completely. His emerald-green eyes seemed to shine brightly from time to time as he looked at the city's hustle and bustle from his position.

Levine was wearing a beautiful floral dress. Her hair was well-groomed and her face was full of life. The dress she wore accentuated her curves just enough to create intrigue while maintaining her elegance.

A few months ago, a teacher and disciple pair did something similar like this. Recon on the live market. They were excited to see the results of their efforts pay off.

"What do you think will happen?"

Levine asked with a bit of playfulness in her voice. She fixed her eyes on a particular shopkeeper who was soon going to attract all the attention to himself. He was currently prepping his array disk setup on a temporary platform that had been erected at the side of the street.

"Dominance. Complete dominance."

Eren had a subtle smile of his own when he said that. His voice was laced with unquestionable confidence. Something that he didn't really have last time when his product had first entered the market.

Eren and Levine had been to this place before. Before Levine knew what Eren was really up to with Minerva's Utopia, he had called her here to witness his first line of products getting sold in the market.

Levine knew that Eren had received a relatively large success for his potions a few days after they made their appearance. At that time, he referred to his success as a mere beginning. Only now did she truly understand that he meant what he said back then.

Eren ate a spoonful of the Cassoulet he had ordered and drank the White Raven ale he had concocted for himself. Looking back at the street from his seated position, he smiled and continued.

"White Raven will eat everyone's market share from today onwards. Not just in the Nightshade duchy. But all the duchies of Edinburgh. And soon, the entire Anfang.

All we need to do now is just sit back and watch the show as it unfolds."

Just as Eren finished speaking, a known shopkeeper from the commoner district took to the stage. He was a seller of potions and artifacts. Alto was his name and he looked to be in his 60s. He was an Ace ranker. But everyone knew him as one of the most successful businessmen in the city of New Beginnings.

Alto had multiple shops under his portfolio. He would generate a large revenue every day and pay the city a hefty amount of tax for his earnings annually.

Alto would sell common products for rankers with various needs and preferences. He catered to commoners and niche rankers alike, having something in store for every class and every job.

Alto was well-known in the district for the quality of his products. As such, he garnered loyal customers throughout the years.

Alto had a neutral alignment policy when it came to selling potions and other stuff from various houses and manufacturing hubs. He would not promote or speak ill of any particular potion he was selling, allowing the customers to make their own interpretations and judgments.

The non-alignment policy had paid off very well for Alto. He would earn profits from selling every kind of potion obtained from various manufacturing chains.

Eren had tried to hire the guy for his products when he had first entered the market. And the merchant quickly rejected it. The butcher then resorted to using rumors about himself and his guild as a weapon to hype his products and achieve exceptional results.

However, that was back then. Alto was about to kiss his non-alignment policy goodbye from this day forward. That's because he was utterly convinced by Eren's brand-new line of products.

***

"Dear adventurers and heroes of the kingdom, please listen to this old man before you buy any potion any further."

Alto's mana-imbued deep voice resounded in the market and it came to a standstill. All the buyers and even the shopkeepers started looking at Alto who had stood alone on the levitating platform. Of course, he had some of his staff help him with the setup. They were standing just below the platform.

Alto adjusted his shirt's collar and placed his right hand over his chest before speaking up.

"Most of you know me as your uncle Alto. And there's a high possibility that every one of you has bought something from me or any one of my shops at least once.

Today, I have come to present to you a new line of products by a certain guild that is going to blow you away. And if you use some of these products on your enemies, they'll be blown away as well. Hahaha!"

Alto laughed at his own joke. He looked visibly happy while trying to sell these products, which shocked everyone. The audience knew that Alto had a non-alignment policy. So the fact that he had resorted to promoting a particular guild's products made them curious about what they were about to see.

Three distinct-looking vials started levitating in front of Alto out of the blue. Alto smirked before addressing his audience once again.

"These are the products that will soon take all the markets in Edinburgh by storm. And you'd only be able to get your hands on them in my shops.

Brace your hearts as I say their names.

Pleasure Paradise, Ice Fairy's Kiss, and RDX.

Haha. I'm sure that soon these names will imprint their presence in your memories forever."

AN: Alto was first introduced in chapter 603. If you can, give it a quick read to draw comparison. ;)