Dried leaves fell sporadically into the autumn yard.
When he walked through the door of the yard, Su Ye saw a middle-aged man reclining on a slanted chair. The man was resting comfortably, flipping through a book made of yellowed papyrus. Thin shreds of papyrus fell on him occasionally, but the maid by his side always bent over and carefully pick them up.
Su Ye's nose twitched slightly. He detected the faint fragrance of tea, and his gaze landed on the teapot on the table. That wasn't something that had existed in Ancient Greece in his world.
The middle-aged manager walked over with small strides, then bent to whisper in Kaerton's ear.
Kaerton lifted his head, then handed his papyrus book to the maid. He looked silently at Su Ye, his brown eyes filled with a quiet warmth.
Su Ye met Kaerton's gaze without fear.
The Greeks of this era were mostly scrawny, but Kaerton was as tall and muscular as a statue. He had sunken eyes, a deep gaze, and a sharp nose. Those features, coupled with his head of curly black hair, would have made him an excellent model for any sculptor.
Su Ye suddenly looked at Kaerton's left ring finger. The ring that he wore was decorated with rubies and a silver twin-headed snake, the sight of which was especially jarring. Su Ye even felt a dull pain in his eyes the instant he looked at the ring.
Su Ye realized that the pain wasn't coming from the large ruby, but one of the four emeralds that acted as eyes for the twin-headed snake.
Kaerton did not sit up. He said with a suspicious expression, "I heard about what happened to your parents, and I am very sorry. Your parents were true artisans, and I loved to eat the bread your father made. If you need any help, I will not refuse anything within my means."
Su Ye felt Kaerton's gaze quickly sweep over his entire body while he spoke.
"I don't need any help." Su Ye puffed up his chest and raised his head appropriately, putting on a determined expression.
Kaerton sat up slowly on the slanted chair. When his back was straight, he smiled kindly and said, "Then what do you want?"
Su Ye let out a gentle sigh. "Since I was little, I have had a dream of becoming a noble mage and making the world a better place with magic. My parents exhausted all of their wealth and sent me to Plato Academy to give me that chance. Now, someone has taken advantage of my parents' deaths and is trying to snatch my house away, which will keep me from continuing my studies at Plato Academy and becoming a mage. So, I want to make a deal with you so that I can continue my studies."
"What deal are you talking about?" Kaerton's gaze wavered.
Hark, who had been staring at the sky, turned his head to look at Su Ye. He seemed to have a newfound understanding of this child.
"A deal that can enhance the reputation of Dolphin River greatly. In fact, it will allow your name to spread throughout Greece, perhaps even the entire world," Su Ye said.
"Are you speaking off fame or notoriety?" Kaerton asked, standing up. His smile was still gentle, but he was a Silver Warrior, and his powerful aura had silently spread through the courtyard.
An illusion flickered briefly before Su Ye's eyes. The Kaerton in front of him had transformed into a ten-meter-tall giant with a ferocious smile.
"I have a recipe for a delicacy left behind by my parents!" Su Ye said quietly, with a tinge of sadness in his voice. His eyes drooped slightly as he placed his line of sight on the short table by Kaerton's side.
Su Ye had thought this through a few dozen times on his way here.
Kaerton froze. He withdrew his aura and nodded. "Continue."
Su Ye instead shook his head and said, "I don't wish to say too much. Anyway, I have a recipe for a delicacy that my parents were diligently researching before they died. It is worth tens of thousands of coins, but I am willing to sell it for a thousand Golden Kings today."
Kaerton looked at Su Ye. He smiled but didn't speak.
With the flip of his right hand, Kaerton produced a gold coin in his palm. One side of the coin held the blurry profile of an authoritative man. It was Zeus, the King of Gods.
Kaerton flicked his thumb and sent the gold coin flying into the air. The coin made a quiet ringing noise as it spun, flashing rhythmically with gold light. It finally landed back on his palm, the other side of the coin facing up.
"The Golden Eagle is always alluring," Kaerton said.
On the other side of the coin was a majestic eagle about to take flight. This was Zeus's favorite animal as well as his messenger.
Under normal circumstances, Greeks would call the gold coin a "Golden Eagle," while in official settings, it would be referred to as a "Golden King."
This involved a legend of the deities.
In the legend, the Greek pantheon of deities created three different types of coins, but they fought over whose bust to put on the coins.
After the fight went on for some time, Athena said that the gold coin was the most valuable and should naturally have the bust of the King of Gods. That made Zeus very happy.
Athena then said that the silver coin was only second to the gold coin, and only the Queen of Gods, Hera, was second to Zeus. Hera was also very happy with this flattery.
Athena then asked which god would be willing to be touched by slaves. The cheap bronze coin would never be used by the nobles and was destined to spread amongst the filth of the lower-class, used even by slaves.
The deities of the highest status immediately abandoned their arguments, for their original goal was the gold coin. Finally, Athena's bust appeared on the face of the bronze coin, while the back of the coin was adorned with the spirit animal that she adored the most, the owl.
The Goddess of Wisdom did not lie. The outcome was as she had said; the bronze coin was circulated amongst the lower-class, and some great nobles would never touch a bronze coin in their lives. However, that also made the name of Athena the most widespread amongst the lower-class citizens.
Many people didn't believe this legend.
One Golden Eagle was enough to buy a sheep, and fifty Golden Eagles could buy any residential building in the slums of Athens. Kaerton had only spent two thousand Golden Eagles when he first bought this land and built the Dolphin River Restaurant.
"I said just now that this recipe will definitely spread through the ages, and your name will be remembered for centuries to come." Su Ye looked at Kaerton with a determined gaze.
Kaerton stared into Su Ye's eyes. It was a deep stare.
Standing unobtrusively to the side, the middle-aged manager lifted the corner of his lips slightly. He had a faint look of mockery, but his expression changed as he had a sudden thought. He leaned hurriedly toward Kaerton and whispered in the man's ear, "Sir, could this be the reason his parents sold the old storefront and borrowed money in order to buy a larger storefront? Was it because they possessed the recipe of such a delicacy?"
Kaerton nodded gently. He had already considered this possibility.
Kaerton asked, "What recipe is this?"
Su Ye said with determination, "My recipe would introduce another dish onto the dinner tables of every household in Greece, or even throughout the world."
"Congratulations, you have accomplished your dream of changing the world with magic ahead of schedule," Kaerton said with a grin.
The middle-aged manager and the maid took the cue and let out a light laugh.
Hark did not laugh.
Nor did Su Ye.
"I've given a starting price, and you can counter." Su Ye raised his head to look at the tall, muscular Kaerton.
"Ten Golden Eagles." Kaerton's smile was still firmly in place.
Su Ye froze, then scanned his surroundings with a dazed expression. He looked confused. "Has some stingy man named Mr. Kaerton appeared in the workshop district? Could I have come to the wrong place?"
The middle-aged manager and the maid knitted their brows.
Kaerton looked at Su Ye, silent.
Su Ye's expression turned serious as he continued, "I came here not because I had heard about your generosity, Mister Kaerton, nor because you are wealthy or kind. Even more so, I didn't come here because I heard that you are gullible. Instead, I had heard that you are one of the most intelligent people in the workshop district, and that you have the most foresight."
"I'll work hard to remove 'one of' from that title," Kaerton said with a confident chuckle.
Su Ye continued, "What do you think of the dean of Plato Academy visiting Dolphin River?"