"Boy, boyfriend?" Grover was startled and had an extremely strange expression on his face as he looked at Phoebe. His look at Han Shuo was even stranger, as if he didn't believe what he had just heard. "Is he really your friend?"
"Of course." Phoebe nodded affirmatively, and with a red face, stretched out her arm and held Han Shuo's left hand as if to prove the relationship between the two of them.
Han Shuo's mouth was open as if someone had forced an egg into his mouth, an expression of bewilderment on his face. He didn't react until he felt Phoebe's small hand surreptitiously pressing on his arm, laughing dryly and nodding without explaining anything.
One of the Guild Elders, who was talking jovially with Grover, said doubtfully to Grover in a low voice, "What is this boy's background?"
Grover didn't say much, just looked at this person and turned his body to the side. He smiled, "Since he's your friend, Phoebe, there's no problem. Hurry and come in."
Pulling Han Shuo along, Phoebe's expression was the same as usual as she walked into the hall. She greeted a few founding members with a smile and continued to drag Han Shuo to a place with fewer people.
Throughout the hall, waiters held platters of fruit and fine wine and placed them on square tables in a spacious area. A large chandelier overhead sent bright light into every corner of the room. The decorations that littered the entire hall were incredibly luxurious, much to the shock of a rustic peasant like Han Shuo.
But what shocked Han Shuo the most was Phoebe's words just now. When he saw that no one was around, he immediately smiled at Phoebe wryly, "Miss Phoebe, what did you think you were doing?"
Conveniently grabbing a wine glass, Phoebe poured herself a glass of delicious red wine, gracefully raising it to her lips for a light sip before finally speaking, "Don't think too much, I'm just finding a cover for your presence and don't mean anything else by it. If I didn't say such things, you probably wouldn't even be able to get in."
Nodding, Han Shuo sighed in resignation and said, "I knew nothing good would come of my following you here."
"You need to act more naturally, I'll cover things for you. This is the annual meeting of the guild, and all the founding elders will be present. As bold as Grover is, he wouldn't dare make a move at this time, so we don't have to worry." Phoebe spoke softly to Han Shuo, her eyes constantly scanning his surroundings.
Han Shuo also picked up a wine glass and poured himself half a glass, taking a sip and finding it tartly delicious. He looked around once more with great interest and noticed that many of the guild members had brought their other halves as well. There were twenty or thirty people in the entire hall. There were some older members and some handsome youngsters. There were also some beautiful married women, with the graceful bearing and demureness of noble ladies.
Without exception, all these people were richly dressed and their movements were urban and polite. It seemed that this was the so-called style of the upper class. Grover held a wine glass in his hand and walked through the crowd, greeting everyone and looking very friendly.
"The Boozt Merchant's Guild has always been controlled by the Boozt family. My family used to be the guild masters, but since I was always travelling out of town, that old thing temporarily took over after my father died, but don't think he has a good relationship with many of the elders. No one really knows what goes on in the dark, otherwise there'd be no point in me coming back."
As Han Shuo silently watched the surroundings, Phoebe gave her explanations in a low voice. When Phoebe finished, a thought struck Han Shuo as he suddenly asked, "How did your father die? Did you not know before?
As he said this, a trace of killing intent immediately blossomed in Phoebe's eyes. She suppressed her voice and said with a cold expression, "I am still investigating how my father died. I haven't found any clues yet because I'm not usually in the Guild, so I'm not sure about a lot of things. The founding elders probably don't really trust my abilities, so their attitudes are all vague and indeterminate. My current task is to gain the support of the founding elders, otherwise I won't be able to shake that old thing from its position with my power alone.
Han Shuo understood that Phoebe also suspected the reasons for her father's death with these words. He didn't say much more and held his wine glass, watching the people in the hall and thinking a few things privately.
After a while, a few more people entered the room. An elderly man with grey sideburns was the last to enter, assisted by a butler.
When this person appeared, many people in the hall made their way over to greet him. Phoebe immediately pulled Han Shuo in that direction when she saw him and quickly explained in a low voice, "He's Andrew. He founded the Boozt Merchant Guild with my grandfather and is currently the founding elder with the longest service record in the guild. Even Grover doesn't dare act too wildly in front of him. We won't be so passive if he helps us.
Arriving in front of Andrew, Phoebe bowed modestly and said with a smile of joy on her face. "Grandpa Andrew, you've come too!"
"Ah, it's our beautiful little Phoebe. Grandpa hasn't seen you for a long time, heh heh, you've grown so big." Andrew's left hand gripped his cane, while his right hand was supported by a butler as he giggled at Phoebe.
"Good niece, don't just stand there talking, hurry up and let the older ones sit down. At that age it must be very tiring to take a carriage all the way here. You can't keep him standing there. Grover said to Phoebe as he walked over in Andrew's direction, seeming to lead Andrew into a seat by his side.
"Heh heh, no worries. I'm having a lovely chat with little Phoebe. I haven't seen our little Phoebe for a long time." Andrew dodged Grover's support and actually raised his stick to walk in Han Shuo and Phoebe's direction.
Grover's eyebrows involuntarily furrowed as he saw Phoebe lead Andrew to the other side with a look of surprise on her face. His eyes roamed over Andrew's body, seemingly pondering something.
When Phoebe, Andrew and Han Shuo had all sat down in a corner at the other end of the hall, Phoebe and Andrew hadn't even had a chance to speak before Grover raised a glass and said with a smile, "Founding elders of the Boozt Merchant Guild, today is the annual meeting of our guild. It's a pleasure to see everyone again this year. It's a pity that my dear brother has passed away due to illness. This is a rather tragic event.
"Don't worry Grover, everything is in order under your leadership. I think if the Guildmaster knew, he would be touched and pleased." At this point, one of the founding elders suddenly spoke up, with two others by his side chiming in.
Han Shuo watched their performance with a cold eye, with a clear understanding of things in his heart. He knew that these people were sure to have close ties with Grover, and that they were merely declaring their stance with these words.
At that moment, Han Shuo, who was sitting next to Phoebe, could clearly hear Andrew snorting in a very deep tone. Phoebe was even closer to Andrew and of course heard things clearly. She involuntarily looked at Andrew in surprise and exchanged a look with Han Shuo.
"The Guildmaster has already passed away, but our Boozt Merchant Guild cannot be without a Guildmaster forever. I think we should take this opportunity to thoroughly discuss the details of a new Guildmaster. What do you all think?" The same person called out in a carrying voice, and the two founding elders who had spoken earlier agreed again. Grover's face was calm as he just sat there, looking around the four corners of the room, his gaze lingering a little longer on Phoebe and Andrew.
"Of course, the position of Guildmaster cannot remain vacant for too long, but who will be the Guildmaster? That is an important question." A burly founding elder said in a low, muffled voice from a seat not too far away.
"What is there to discuss? Grover should be the new Guildmaster, of course. Since the Guildmaster's death, Grover has been the one to manage the Guild's affairs. Everyone has seen that the Guild has been stable and orderly in his hands. I don't think anyone but Grover is qualified to sit in that chair. The Grover supporter suddenly stood up and shouted, winning the agreement of the other two people.
Grover stood up smiling, his face full of hypocritical humility as he uttered words to the effect that his abilities were limited or that he was embarrassed by undeserved praise. The three of them were adamant that it had to be him, and the merry band showed a most excellent partnership.
"Uncle Andrew, who do you think is more qualified to be the new Guildmaster?" At that moment, the Founding Elder, who had been speaking in a low, muffled voice, looked at Andrew from afar and asked.
All the eyes of the surrounding Founding Elders focused on Andrew, as if waiting for him to announce his decision.
Andrew looked in Phoebe's direction, who pretended to be calm and composed. He stood up slightly and chuckled slightly, "It's not me anyway, I don't have that many days left to live, heh heh."
Everyone smiled at his words. Grover also smiled and laughed softly, as if he was breathing a sigh of relief, for he was truly afraid that Andrew would step forward and take the Guild Master position away from him.
"Anyway," Andrew's gaze swept over the gathering and he continued, "I think little Phoebe has grown up. Being the Guildmaster's daughter and a member of the Boozt family clan, she is logically the most qualified person to be the new Guildmaster. Why has no one mentioned this?"
"No, absolutely not. Miss Phoebe is too young and has always travelled outside. She doesn't even know everything that goes on inside the Guild. If she were to become the Guildmaster, she might ruin the Guild's business." The founding elder who'd been supporting Grover immediately protested vehemently.
"Kiro, that may not be the case. Although Miss Phoebe is young, I can see that she's quite knowledgeable and mature, and she also knows the proper limits of speech and action when doing something. Perhaps with her at the helm, she'll even be able to further develop the guild. A founding elder suddenly opened his mouth. All the other elders, who had been silent without a word, suddenly spoke up when they saw Andrew express his support for Phoebe. Three or four other Elders still remained silent, as if to express their neutrality.
"How, how will this work? We can't use the future of the Guild as an experiment for her competence." The loyal Grover supporter known as Kiro immediately complained.
"How can we not? If I remember correctly, when the old Guildmaster took over the Guild, he was only twenty-three years old himself, but under the guidance of Andrew and a few others, the old Guildmaster grew up quickly and helped the Guild become more prosperous with each passing day. I believe Miss Phoebe will be able to do the same. Not to mention that with our help, no major problems will arise. The human continued.
Grover's face had darkened and he hadn't spoken since Andrew had finished. Finally standing up, he said to Phoebe, "Good niece, your boyfriend used to be a runner for the Babylonian Academy of Magic and strength and had the status of a slave. Don't think I'm poking my nose into too many places, but if people found out that you two were together, it would affect the reputation of our guild".
Several of the founding elders shifted their focus to Han Shuo after hearing these words, unable to hide the contempt and disdain on their faces.
Han Shuo gave a startled look, finally understanding that Phoebe's concerns weren't unfounded. It seemed that he had underestimated the power of Grover and Shadow Ghost. Who would have thought that they'd be able to investigate his background with just his first name? It was a good thing that he had spent most of his time in the cemetery lately. If he'd stayed at the school, he might have been murdered by highly trained assassins by now.
"Uncle, what do you mean?" At that moment, Phoebe suddenly stood up, her charming face cold as she glared at Grover, wanting to throw all propriety aside.
"Don't be angry, dear niece. I just wanted to say that your judgement doesn't seem to be very good. To lead the Guild, a bold, wise and far-sighted judgement is of the utmost importance. If you even choose your future husband from among the slaves, I don't think I'll be happy to let you be Guildmaster. There was still a peaceful smile on Grover's face, but the words he spoke were quite vicious.
"I think a person who can murder his own brother for profit and constantly send out assassins to try and harm his own niece is even less worthy of the position of Guildmaster." Han Shuo also stood up and watched Grover with a cold smile, completely fearless and seemingly unaware of how shocking his words were. Pausing in the astonished gaze of the entire hall, Han Shuo said again, "Please remember that I am now a student of the Academy. I no longer have the status of a slave and never will again."