Rebirth of the 8th-Circle Mage

Chapter 145 - A Sharp Rise (4)

“Syred from the Etherwether family has come to see you, Count.”

“What? Syred’s here?”

Oscar was leisurely smoking the Pink Swamp in his office, but he slowly took his feet off his desk at the unexpected visit.

‘He’s never visited me before, why is he here?’

Although Oscar had often met Marquis Alfred for business purposes, it didn’t mean that he had a close relationship with everyone in Alfred’s family. However, it was only polite to greet his visitors, so Oscar opened the door of the living room and welcomed Syred with a smile.

“Nice to meet you. I never expected the second son of the Etherwether family to come visit me. If I had known you were coming, I would have come out and waited for you.”

“No worries. I’m just thankful that you’re willing to see me even though I came unannounced.”

They exchanged useless and formal greetings that members of the Patrician Families usually exchanged. For a while, the two wasted their time talking about current news.

After getting a bit more familiar with each other, Oscar asked, “May I ask what suddenly brought you here?”

Syred coughed at Oscar’s straightforward question and only then did he start to explain the reason for his visit.

“Actually, I came because of the Pink Swamp that you sent us the other day.”

“The Pink Swamp?”

“Yes.”

This was unexpected, but Oscar was sly and said, “Ah, you’re talking about the gift that I sent you. I was actually smoking Pink Swamp right before you came… Haha, by the look on your face, it seems like you’ve already run out of it.”

“That’s right. I’m actually not much of a smoker, so I gave my share of the cigarettes to my brother and father. However, I can’t stop thinking about the one cigarette that I tried…” said Syred in embarrassment.

“I completely understand. I’ve also finished countless bottles of whisky just because of the Pink Swamp. You must be tired from coming all the way here. Would you like to smoke one right now?”

Quick-witted Oscar presented the Pink Swamp to Syred right away.

“Of course! I’d love to!”

Thanks to Oscar, Syred’s expression, which had been dark from withdrawal, brightened.

“Ha…”

Syred blew out pink smoke. The taste of the Pink Swamp he had been desperate for was sweet and magnificent.

‘I missed this…!’

The Pink Swamp possessed a distinct flavor that engulfed the taste buds and overwhelmed one’s senses from head to toe.

As his headache disappeared and clarity returned to his mind, he was certain that the unique taste of the Pink Swamp could not be replaced with anything else.

“Haa…”

Syred’s eyes brimmed with happiness as he smoked, but he also grew desperate as he saw the cigarette growing smaller.

‘I must get more of these!’

It was a risky moment. Syred’s addiction to the Pink Swamp would have been less severe if he were a smoker. In that situation, he could simply continue smoking his regular cigarettes as a temporary alternative. Now, he could no longer be satisfied with anything other than the Pink Swamp’s flavor.

“Go to my room and bring me another box,” Oscar ordered a servant even before Syred asked. He handed it to Syred and said before Syred could speak, “This is all I can give you, Sir Syred. I also received the Pink Swamp as a gift, so I don’t have much to spare either.”

“What? Then who gave it to you?”

“It was from a man named Henry, the new vassal of the Shonan family.”

‘Henry?’

He had never heard that name before.

Syred smoked his remaining cigarette and quietly listened to Oscar.

“I’m not sure if you’ve heard, but after the subjugation, the Shonan family signed an official trade agreement with the Shahatra kingdom. They said that this Pink Swamp is going to be one of the main products.”

“The Shonan family?”

“Yes. It also seems like the Shonan family has taken this opportunity to establish a trading company, and Henry here, is in charge of it.”

“Then I guess I must meet with Henry to get more of the Pink Swamp.”

“That’s right. He told me to let him know if I needed more cigarettes. I can write down the address for you. Would you like to meet him in person?”

“You would really do that for me? I’d really appreciate it!”

Syred regained hope and he thanked Oscar multiple times.

“Haha, of course. Please send your father my regards.”

“Will do! My father and brother will be pleased by this news, as they are both in love with the Pink Swamp.”

After saying goodbye, Syred immediately got in his carriage and headed towards Vivaldi.

Oscar stroked his beard as he saw Syred’s carriage moving away and murmured, “Hmm, he must be really desperate. I think I’ll need a few more boxes of it too…”

The Pink Swamp was appealing, but Oscar’s withdrawal symptoms would surface later than Syred’s since he was already a smoker.

Oscar didn’t realize that Syred was merely a glimpse of the many addicts who would follow.

* * *

“Young Master, a guest from the Etherwether family has come.”

“Which one is it?”

“It’s Syred.”

“Syred?”

Henry looked skeptical at the servant’s news. He found it odd that Syred, Alfred’s second son, would know about this place without ever having met Henry.

‘Can it be because of the cigarettes?’

Oscar and Terion were the only possibilities that came to mind, since no one else could’ve told him this location.

Henry greeted Syred in the living room. As Henry had guessed, Syred had come to visit him because of the Pink Swamp.

‘I didn’t expect him to visit me so soon…!’

Henry had known that strangers would show up because of the Pink Swamp, but he hadn't expected that it would be someone from the Etherwether family.

He smiled.

‘Thanks to him, I’ll have less work to do.’

Since Marquis Alfred was his next target, Henry was grateful for the unexpected appearance of someone from the Etherwether family.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Syred Etherwether, the second son of the Etherwether family.”

Syred introduced himself politely.

Henry also introduced himself and asked the purpose of his visit, pretending not to know already.

“My name is Henry, the vassal of the Shonan family. Why would someone from the Etherwether family come to such a shabby place?”

Syred cut to the chase as he was in a hurry.

“I heard that you are in charge of the Shonan trading company and you are trading with Shahatra.”

“That’s right. And?”

“...I came here because I wanted to buy one of your products. It's the Pink Swamp cigarettes.”

“The Pink Swamp?”

“That’s right. I heard that you’re distributing the Pink Swamp. If you don’t mind, I’d like to buy all of your stock.”

Syred showed off his modest wealth to Henry. However, Henry knew that he was only trying to hide his desperation through this shallow tactic.

‘What a cheeky guy, he's saying such cute things!’

Henry thought about how he could use Syred to get rid of Alfred for good, and it didn’t take him long to come up with a plan. He said with an apologetic look, “I apologize, but I can’t sell you all of the Pink Swamp.”

“What?”

Syred was taken aback by the unexpected response, and his reply sounded aggressive. He hadn’t smoked the Pink Swamp in a while, and he had already smoked all the cigarettes he had received from Oscar while traveling from the Age Estate to Vivaldi. Thus, Syred was quite irritable at the moment.

However, Syred quickly realized that he had been rude and immediately lowered his voice. “May I ask why?”

“I apologize, but all the Pink Swamp that I currently have has been reserved. There are none left.”

Obviously, this was a lie. Syred was the first person who wanted to purchase the Pink Swamp since Henry distributed it to Oscar and Terion.

Syred’s expression was a combination of despondency, anger, sadness, and anxiety. He stared blankly at the teacup in front of him.

Seeing Syred’s reaction, Henry coughed and shared some good news in a soft voice.

“Hmm, Sir Syred, could you wait here for a moment? I’ll check if there is anything left in the back, just in case.”

“R-really?”

Syred’s blank eyes finally seemed to glimmer with hope.

Feeling pressured, Henry answered with an awkward smile, “I can only check for you. In fact, I’ve received a lot of orders suddenly, and I haven’t had time to record all of the information on a ledger yet.”

“P-please check! If you have any cigarettes left, even if it's just one, would you please sell it to me?” said Syred in desperation.

Henry bowed and left the living room. He made his way to his lab, which was full of the Pink Swamp.

‘I didn’t expect to use this so soon.’

Henry grabbed a box of a specially made Pink Swamp called the Pink Swamp 2. The Pink Swamp 2 was a special cigarette designed to get the targeted individual addicted more rapidly. As the withdrawal symptoms intensified, so did the taste, satisfaction, and side effects. Henry planned to give Syred the Pink Swamp 2, then cut off the whole supply of Pink Swamp for a while.

‘It’ll only last a week at best. Then, Syred will come raging and suffering from withdrawal.’

Henry’s plan was simple. He intended to cause conflict between Eisen and Alfred through Syred.

Henry returned to the living room with a smile and handed Syred a box of the Pink Swamp 2.

“Good news, there happens to be one box left. Please consider it a special gift to commemorate your first transaction with the Shonan merchant office.”

Henry’s smile was despicable.