The moment the young [Warrior] acknowledged the other party's presence, he insulted them.

“You!” Xander was furious. More so than if only he himself had been insulted.

Even though he was still the guild’s newest recruit, the sense of camaraderie, belonging, and gratefulness he felt towards them was very real. As a [Duelist], he felt confident in his ability to take on the arrogant pick in front of him, all by himself; Even if the latter was, evidently, better equipped and, presumably, at a higher level than him.

Xander was about to pounce.

He would get behind his target with a movement skill, while simultaneously equipping his weapons and then strike right at the spine. That was usually the way he would deal with humanoid enemies he thought he could one-shot.

Andreas was able to remain more levelheaded and stopped him from making a move simply by laying a hand on his shoulder.

With their own reinforcements camping outside it was no question whether or not they were able to beat Simon. No matter if he had his personal healer or not. But a resulting guild war was not something the Lion’s Head guild would survive.

Maybe if Simon wasn’t basically guaranteed to also have used some church’s soul-binding services, and therefore able to exact vengeance on them, things would be different. By the way things stood, however, the group could just grind their teeth and throw some fierce looks.

“Growling at their betters. Like some untrained mutts. But too afraid to actually bite.” Simon was not oblivious to the effects his words had. In fact, he seemed to downright revel in the other group’s impotent rage. And if his words hadn’t already been enough, the way he, quite literally, looked down on everyone else surely was.

‘They had access to such items, and they still ranked below them? Did they even try? Wasn’t that casting pearls before swine?’ Just when Simon was about to say these, and similar thoughts out loud, Edward intervened.

“Sir. Is there anything else?”

That simple interruption seemed to ruin his fun.

With lost interest, he didn’t dignify either the raging Xander or the rest of his similarly upset group, with any further glance.

He waved off the healer and turned towards Severin, acting once again as if the others didn’t exist.

Simon scanned the [Shopkeeper] from head to toe, before making a suggestion.

“You crafted this stuff?” It was more of a statement than an actual question. He didn’t wait for an answer. ”Then let’s talk some business. There is no need for you to be stuck on this shabby mountain in the middle of nowhere, peddling to this kind of people.” Simon didn’t have to further specify who he was talking about. ”And for a pittance at that. But I guess that’s all these people can afford. So, why don’t you become the White Squall’s exclusive merchant instead? We’ll pay dou…triple the amount you currently demand. Most importantly, no one will dare cause any trouble to you under our protection. What do you say?” Simon’s smug grin made it obvious that there wasn’t any doubt in his mind. There was no way Severin would decline the offer.

Having heard Simon’s offer from the side of the room, the other’s anger immediately dissipated. Instead, they became nervous. Being in the White Squall’s good graces and enjoying their protection was really no small deal.

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They feared losing their access to Severin’s shop and his wares.

Naturally, Edward was also observing everything. Unlike the others, he was able to judge things more clearly. To him Severin’s unhappiness was apparent. But still, just like the other group of adventurers, he was fairly certain that Severin would accept Simon’s offer. Even if the [Shopkeeper] initially declined, then it would be up to Eddy to convince him otherwise. Not with threats, but simply by pointing out all the legitimate advantages of such a deal. The plumb man had often been in similar situations while accompanying the guild leader's spoiled son. No matter how unhappy they initially were, in the end, people never declined.

Maybe if they were bigger. Established. Under someone else’s protection.

But besides Simon’s overbearing conduct, the pros were too good to resist.

A common worry would be that even with a price increase, to three times the original amount, their actual profit would still end up less than before because of the exclusivity clause. But that wasn’t necessarily true. Most people didn’t realize how big the White Squall guild actually was. The number of raid groups they had under their banner was enough to establish ten new guilds. And not just small ones which only had one raid group at a maximum.

Just their base in the Golden Mountains could rival a small village both in size and in population. A prosperous life would be all but guaranteed. So what if they had to endure Simon’s antics every once in a blue moon?

Edward knew he had to step up soon. He saw how Severin was looking more and more discontent.

And indeed, Severin was fuming. At first, Severin had been more amused than annoyed by Simon’s outrageous behavior. It was too ridiculous for him to take it seriously.

Things got worse when he started to actively insult his customers instead of just ignoring them and putting on airs.

Still. In the beginning, Xander had been pretty obnoxious as well; And he could still be. Then there was the talk about ‘protection’, which could easily have been understood as some kind of veiled threat. But again, Xander had also threatened him back then.

No, what really had done it for Severin was the [Warrior’s] talk about the mountain.

His mountain. The mountain he could not leave even if he wanted.

“Not interested! Now buy something or get out.”

Edward put on his smile as he was secretly annoyed that he once again had to mediate on Simon’s behalf. ”If you would hear me out first.”

“We don’t want to work for someone this rude! We do very well on our own.” Emily's sudden intervention came as a surprise even for Severin. It certainly was out of Edward’s expectations. He was racking his brain for a way to mend the situation. But Simon didn’t give him any time.

“You! Who do you call rude? What do you know about manners, you stinky brat?! Careful that I don’t…”

At this point, even Andreas was about to let himself go. Much less holding back Xander.

But just when things were about to escalate…

plop

Silence.

One moment Simon was threatening a little girl. The other moment he was gone.

At this point, even Severin was caught off guard. Whatever he had expected to happen when blacklisting someone, that wasn’t it.

Everyone else, besides Em, who had access to the System’s notifications, was obviously even more perplexed. The corpulent healer had already lost all color and was deathly pale as he frantically scanned his immediate surroundings for the troublemaker.

Until the angry screams from the outside reached their ears.