Chương 57: Interlude: Lorelark Insurance Inc.

Jacob Wanderbilt of Lorelark, not to be confused with his father Lord Jacob Wanderbilt the Second the Third, or his cousin in Ardark, Jacob Wanderbilt the Third the Second the First... Let's call him the insurance guy. Jacob was in his room applying pomade to his glorious aristocratic pompadour when the steward appeared with his mail. It had come express from Ardark, making its way through the Lorear Hills unscathed.

The first item was an insurance claim from Alder Song, the operator of the Seven Songs Trading Company in Ardark. It itemized all the products destroyed during the caravan guarded by the demon girl. The spiced rum. The cigars. The aristocratic-style wig powder. The polo sticks. And the precious pomade. He couldn't help but smile as he read through the list. The demon girl had such a twisted sense of humor. Somehow the bandits had managed to hit only the most expensive items? Puh-lease.

He was wise enough to know that she'd allowed this happen in order to send him a message. She was a free spirit that no one could control. While this meant that the insurance company took a big loss on this shipment, it was all within his expectations. The way he saw it, it was a cost in making the Lorear Hills safe for travel again. The bandits there had more or less disbanded, and it had all happened shortly after the demon girl made her journey through the area. The rumors of how she did it were fantastical.

Had he not seen her in action himself, he would have dismissed them as exaggerated and fanciful. In the span of less than three days of her arrival in Ardark, she'd infiltrated the merchant cartel by allowing herself to be abducted. And then she'd freed all the captives and exposed the wealthy merchant Tucker Dabaux's secret chimera lab. He took the insurance claim to his office—Father had allowed him use of one of the manor's many spare rooms—and retrieved the seal and inkpot and from his desk.

A couple of seconds later, the claim was approved. He would have to stop by the bank later to deposit the funds into Alder Song's trading account. But first he took a seat and took out his quill and a fresh sheet of letter paper. This one he addressed to his uncle in Ardark. The insurance company ultimately belonged to him after all, and Jacob was only its authorized agent in Lorelark. What was the best way to break the news? This text was taken from Royal Road.

Help the author by reading the original version there. He decided to start off by explaining to his uncle why the loss was a good thing. Yes, the insurance company took a hit, but it was only one of their many businesses. The profits they gained from the restoration of trade and commerce would cover the loss many times over.

"And now the next shipment of spiced rum is guaranteed to get through," he added on its own paragraph. After a moment's thought he underlined it a couple of times. Next he penned, "As for the bad news, I'll give it to you short and sharp. You will have already been informed that the shipment of spiced rum and other fancies you were so looking forward to..." He looked again at the list. His equestrian club was also quickly running out of their own supply of sticks, with the prolonged closure of Ygg Latten Bay.

The problem was the type of wood, which had to be imported.

"You will have received compensation from the merchant," he wrote.

"The merchant was insured by us, so I have authorized a payment to cover the monies he paid to you. As a result, the operating funds of our insurance business is low. Please at your earliest convenience deposit an equal amount into the business bank account to offset this loss." He ended by pointing back to the benefits they gained in return for this contract. After sealing and stamping the letter, Jacob sat back in his chair.

His eyes wandered up the wall to where the red dragon scale had been mounted, with its scratches and puncture holes and all. He'd consulted with every adventurer and zoologist he could find. They'd all denied that any known cat or monster in the cat family could damage dragon scale. Dragons were at the top of the food chain. They had no natural predators. He'd turned to folklorists and experts in demonology. In the end they'd only come back with one name. Devil Whiskers.

A mythological creature with more lives than the thousand-year phoenix. A creature so powerful that only the Demon Supreme could command it. A creature that none had ever laid eyes on its true form, which was said to be large enough to swallow the moon. It was too fanciful to be true. How would they know it could swallow the moon if no one had ever seen it? And the Demon Supreme was long gone. Why would his pet decide to show up now? Jacob turned his attention to the next piece of mail.

It was actually a bounty poster. A new villain had made an appearance in Ardark. He read the name.

"The Hooded Winker..." The drawing made them look like a pirate. How scary. And what was the deal with the hood? What was particularly surprising was the reward. Ten gold was a lot of money. One gold was more than most people made in a year. Ten gold was going to draw in a lot of bounty hunters. It was enough to get the attention of an archmage. When he got to the list of crimes, he understood why. This person had actually killed an archmage. Archmage Poshit had been exempt from the call-up to Ygg Latten Bay.

He wasn't sure why, but it would make sense if there was a health issue making her unfit for combat. Defeating her meant that this villain was capable of taking down an archmage who wasn't at their best. It was also well known that guild archmages were academics. Aside from the few who were retired adventurers, most didn't have very high levels. This made them more vulnerable than their adventurer counterparts. Nevertheless it was a scary thought, having such a villain on the loose. He hoped they caught her soon.

He set the bounty notice aside and took out a new piece of letter paper. He didn't know where the demon girl was headed next, but it wouldn't hurt to tell his other uncle in Cisteen about her. Who knows. Now that she'd taken down the kidnapping ring, maybe she'd start going after the Hooded Winker.