Chapter 169: Meeting Old Fling

"Give me thirty thousand siki then," Levi said with great interest.

Evan’s expression froze for a moment.

"Thirty thousand siki?" he repeated, wondering if he had heard the amount wrong.

"Yes. Only thirty thousand siki. Do you have a problem with that?" Levi asked, adjusting his monocle as he looked at Evan with a faint smile.

Evan’s face darkened.

He had expected the merchant to ask for a few hundred or perhaps a thousand siki at most.

Thirty thousand was enough to buy several decent weapons and still have money left over.

"You must be joking. All we want is to pass through the gate a little earlier. Why would we pay thirty thousand siki for that?"

Levi shrugged. "Then get back in line. I never asked you to pay me."

Evan’s fingers tightened around the reins.

He had already spoken loudly enough for the surrounding people to hear him. If he backed down now, wouldn’t everyone think he was afraid of a merchant?

"Do you know who I am?" he asked coldly.

Levi looked at him for a moment before turning toward the man sitting beside the carriage door.

"Do you know him?"

The man shook his head.

Levi turned to the other side. "What about you?"

"No idea."

"That’s strange." Levi rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "He seems to think everyone should know him."

A few mercenaries nearby snickered.

Evan’s expression grew uglier.

The young men and women behind him exchanged glances, and Lyra, who had been sitting on a white horse, frowned as she watched the scene.

"He’s Evan Vesper of the Vesper Pack," one of the young men finally said. "You should show some respect."

"Vesper Pack?" Levi repeated.

He looked as though he had finally remembered something important. "Ah, the Vesper Pack. I’ve heard of it."

Evan lifted his chin.

"Of course you have."

"I heard your pack has been looking for people who disappeared inside the Black Sea Gorge." Levi paused, pretending to think.

"Weren’t they chased around by scavengers and beaten by some little kids? What about them? Did they finally find them?"

The surrounding mercenaries immediately became interested.

Everyone knew that several packs had been investigating the gorge recently.

The rumors about the hidden realm had spread so widely that even ordinary merchants were talking about them.

Evan’s expression changed.

"That has nothing to do with you."

"Of course it doesn’t." Levi nodded agreeably. "And your request to jump the queue has nothing to do with me either. So why are we still talking?"

"Pffft..."

Someone behind the caravan burst out laughing.

Evan’s face flushed with anger.

He glanced at the long line of carts and carriages, then at the clearing beyond the gate. If they waited their turn, they might lose more than half an hour.

It wasn’t a particularly serious problem, but he had already promised the others that they would reach the western road early.

Now, if he turned around without accomplishing anything, he would have to endure their teasing as well. What’s more, he couldn’t lose face in front of Lyra.

"Fine. Five thousand siki," he said through gritted teeth.

Levi stared at him as though he had just heard something ridiculous.

"Boy, go back. Even the time you wasted talking is more than five thousand siki’s worth. You can’t buy my time with this petty heart?"

"You—That’s too much!"

"Then you can wait."

Levi lowered the curtain halfway, clearly intending to end the conversation.

Evan’s face turned red with anger.

He had no siki for paying thirty thousand just to get through the gate a little earlier, but he also couldn’t stand being dismissed so casually in front of so many people.

"Wait!" he called out.

Levi stopped and looked at him again.

Evan opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, a muscular man stepped forward and shoved him aside.

Evan staggered, barely managing to keep his balance on the horse.

"What are you doing?" he snapped, glaring at the man.

The muscular man didn’t even bother looking at him. He stood beside the carriage with his arms crossed, his broad shoulders blocking Evan’s view of Levi.

"How rude!" he said, his voice loud enough for the surrounding people to hear.

"You don’t even recognize the Elysian Crown merchant caravan, yet you dare to stand here demanding that we let you pass first?"

His eyes swept over Evan and the young people behind him with clear disdain.

"Do you think our caravan is some roadside stall that anyone can order around? If you have no money to pay, then get back in line. Don’t waste our time."

The surrounding mercenaries laughed.

Evan’s face turned pale, then red.

Elysian Crown!

How the hell did they end up here?

Shouldn’t they already be in the western grand city square? Even if not there, they should be on some sea or in some big city. Not here in this gutter-holed-up, rogue-filled, cheap city.

He wanted to argue, but the muscular man was clearly not someone he could push around. And he finally saw the insignia of the Elysian on the man’s outfit. Before, he didn’t think any big pack could be here, so he didn’t check properly.

Now he saw it.

He was definitely in big trouble if this man held a grudge against him later.

The guards and mercenaries standing nearby had already turned their attention toward him, and none of them looked particularly friendly.

More importantly, the Elysian Crown merchant guild was not a name he could afford to offend lightly.

Evan clenched his teeth and pulled his horse back.

"Ah! Pardon me, this young prince is from Elysian. I never knew. If you had said so earlier, I would have let you pass first."

The muscular man rolled his eyes.

"What do you mean, let us pass? We were here early to begin with. Go get in line."

Evan frowned and suppressed his anger.

"Fine! As you say."

The muscular man stepped aside as if nothing had happened.

Levi, meanwhile, had already lowered the curtain.

The caravan began moving again, and the long line slowly advanced toward the city gate.

Just as the carriage moved forward, a gust of wind swept the curtain aside, and Lyra suddenly caught sight of a familiar face inside Levi’s carriage.

"Wait..." she shouted.