Chapter 187: The Mysterious Mr. Colin

In the Demon King Academy of the Demon Capital, there is a specialized course that teaches the Demon King's reserve army how to corrupt the surface human society.

Luo Yan's impression of that professor wasn't deep, he couldn't even remember his name, just vaguely remembering it seemed to be a Lich. 【187-

As for why he couldn't remember clearly, it was mainly because that guy's lectures were truly terrible; he could get people lost in the clouds over a simple question, and he didn't look as impressive as Professor Lilisi or Professor Enuosi, so naturally, few students remembered him.

However, although Luo Yan hadn't listened to a single class, it didn't stop him from getting a perfect score on the final exam for this course.

In fact, those complex methods could be summarized in one sentence.

That is to cater to people's preferences.

For fanatics who worshiped Saint Saint Xisi, he would approach them in the name of Saint Saint Xisi, and after gaining their trust, he would subtly blur their concepts of the divine.

And for the money-loving citizens of Lei Ming City, the best method was naturally to lead with money and use gold coins to directly buy their souls.

By the way, Mia, who always sat in the row behind him, completely failed this course, and others like Lu Mi and Ma Jinli also failed.

There was a reason why Headmaster Headmaster Aiwen often lamented that each generation of students at the Demon King Academy was worse than the last; these high-tier demons lived too comfortably in the Demon Capital and had absolutely no desire to go to the surface to take risks.

Luo Yan sat in the carriage and waited for a while; not long after, he saw the waiter who had previously taken the gold coin from his hand trot over from the main entrance of the hotel.

It wasn't just that waiter.

Following not far behind him was a pot-bellied middle-aged man.

The man was bloated, and his red, round face looked like a loaf of bread just taken out of the oven; his brown hair was combed until it shone, and his nose tip was glistening with oil.

What impressed Luo Yan most was his stomach; the protruding belly looked just like one of the hell dwarves from Disaster Fortress who claimed to be his brother. That signature wool coat was stretched so tight that the two tightest buttons looked like fully drawn bowstrings.

The moment he saw the carriage, the manager's expression clearly froze, but he still came up with a face full of smiles.

Rubbing his hands, which had only just moved away from the fireplace, he walked to the front of the carriage, bowed obsequiously, and spoke in an enthusiastic voice.

"Respected sir! I am Andoer Bake, the manager of Dawn's Embrace, and also the owner of this hotel! May I ask how to address you?"

From the manager's reaction, Luo Yan could tell that the citizens of Lei Ming City were quite satisfied with the way he greeted them.

"Luoxie Prince Kelin."

Looking down at the obsequious Andoer, he continued in a proper and elegant tone.

"I presume your employee has already told you the purpose of my visit; name your price."

A look of difficulty appeared on Andoer's face, and he said in a troubled tone.

"I am very grateful for your love and recognition of our hotel, but this is the inheritance left to me by my late father, and it is also his life's work. When he entrusted this hotel to me, he repeatedly urged me to manage it well—"

"Fifty thousand gold coins." Luo Yan didn't let him continue, interrupting his speech with a casual sentence.

And the moment he heard this number, the manager named Andoer unsurprisingly held his breath, his mouth immediately forming a capital 'O', and his entire face flushed red.

Fifty thousand gold coins!

That was five million Ao silver!

Luo Yan was not surprised by his reaction at all.

To use an inappropriate analogy, one copper coin was equivalent to one yuan, so fifty thousand gold coins was five hundred million!

One had to know that the vast majority of citizens in Lei Ming County had a monthly income of less than two thousand copper coins, so one could imagine how significant this five hundred million was.

And it was indeed as Luo Yan had expected; the manager named Andoer simply could not refuse this generous price.

When his father built this hotel, he had only borrowed one million Ao silver from the bank in total!

Even though this luxury hotel's profitability wasn't bad, its monthly revenue was only fifty or sixty thousand Ao silver; after deducting expenses for staff and materials, as well as bank interest, the monthly profit was about twenty thousand Ao silver, which was over two hundred thousand Ao silver a year, equivalent to over two thousand gold coins!

To earn fifty thousand gold coins, he would have to work diligently for twenty years, and he couldn't encounter any accidents along the way.

If trade between the Campbell Principality and the Empire hit a snag—for example, if the wealthy people who planned to come to Lei Ming City went elsewhere—he might even have to borrow money from the bank to maintain operations so the brand his father passed down wouldn't collapse.

Such things had happened often over the past dozen years, and this was the reason why, although he was always making money, his loans kept increasing.

And now, an opportunity was placed before him.

As long as he sold the hotel in his hands, he could get money he couldn't earn in twenty years all at once!

This money was not only enough for him to pay off all the loans owed to the Andis family, but there would also be a large sum left over, enough for him to build a hotel even more luxurious than this one on Queen Street!

Looking at the stunned Andoer, Luo Yan raised his index finger and tapped on the carriage windowsill to wake him up.

"Your answer?"

Andoer looked at him with awe, his fanatical gaze as if he had seen the miracle of Saint Saint Xisi descend before him.

"Respected Mr. Prince Kelin! I suddenly feel... the Dawn's Embrace brand can shine even brighter in your hands! I believe that if my father were still alive, he would certainly feel gratified and proud of the wise choice I made today... letting a truly noble person inherit his business, this is not a failure to fulfill his last wish!"

Andoer said in an exaggerated tone, then bowed deeply, bending his bloated body and making a gesture of invitation, just like a waiter.

"I will have my secretary draft the contract right away. But before that, please follow me to see my—no, your hotel!"

The naive action looked incredibly comical, and even the expressionless Sarah couldn't help but twitch the corners of her mouth slightly.

However, the corner of her mouth only twitched for a second; the next second, the eyes hidden in the shadow of her hood turned back to disdain and disgust.

As a demon, she equally hated all humans except for the Demon King and the Demon King's servants, and she looked down on this sycophantic behavior even more.

Luo Yan was not as extreme as her; watching Andoer, who was trying his best to please him, he nodded approvingly and then looked at Sarah.

The latter immediately understood the meaning in his eyes, jumped off the carriage with agility, and then respectfully helped him down from the carriage.

Looking at Watching Pangke, who was sitting uneasily in the carriage, Luo Yan casually took out a gold coin and tossed it to another waiter waiting on the side.

Looking at the young man with the burning gaze, he continued.

"My servant needs a decent set of clothes; take him to a nearby clothing store to order a set, and just send the bill to the hotel. As for this gold coin, it is your reward."

"As you command, sir, it is an honor to serve you!" the waiter said with a glowing face, then turned to Watching Pangke, who was sitting in the carriage, "Sir, please follow me."

Watching Pangke looked jealously at the shining gold coin in his hand, wishing he could snatch it away and earn the money himself.

Just buying clothes at a clothing store, what difficulty could there be in that?

However, this was the will of that Mr. Prince Kelin after all, and as a carriage driver, he naturally dared not disobey, so he hurriedly jumped off the carriage and followed behind the waiter.

His cotton coat happened to be old, so it wouldn't be bad to change into a new set; anyway, he didn't need to spend his own money, so he wouldn't lose out either way.

After giving the instructions, Luo Yan continued to look at Andoer, who was waiting obsequiously on the side, and said with his chin slightly raised.

"Lead the way."

Andoer, who had been left on the side for a long time, felt no displeasure at being neglected; his face was filled with an eager smile as he said.

"Please follow me!"

Luo Yan followed behind him, and surrounded by a crowd of eager and obsequious gazes, he took Sarah toward the hotel's main entrance.

On the decadent Queen Street, this hotel named Dawn's Embrace was not the most eye-catching one, but it was pleasant enough to look at.

The light beige marble walls were decorated with exquisite reliefs and columns, and a stone fountain with religious flair stood in the center of the lawn in front of the hotel.

Facing the misty water column were the double doors inlaid with brass; the bronze-colored decorations in the lobby refracted the soft light emitted by the crystal ceiling, highlighting luxury in a low-key way, magnificent without a hint of tackiness.

In terms of enjoyment, the citizens of Lei Ming City were indeed far more advanced than the lords of the Kingdom of Lain; it was no wonder the baron of Yinsong Town racked his brains to squeeze into the vanity fair here, even going so far as to wear white silk. Luo Yan admitted.

Compared to this "palace" he had successfully acquired for only fifty thousand gold coins, the palace that the Shadow-Weaving clan had exhausted the entire clan's strength to build for him was like a bandit's lair, with no comparability at all.

In his chat with Mr. Andoer, Luo Yan learned that the entire hotel had six floors and a total of over two hundred guest rooms, with prices per night ranging from 10 Ao silver to 200 Ao silver.

Due to the high prices and the scarcity of target customers, the occupancy rate here was actually not high; even in peak season, it rarely exceeded sixty percent, and the bulk of the revenue mainly relied on those nobles or wealthy people who occasionally visited Lei Ming City.

As for needing a reservation to stay, that was pure bullshit.

However, having said that, Andoer still exerted all his strength to blow this hotel up into a money-printing machine that made money every day, and tried his best to praise this "Mr. Prince Kelin" beside him for his vision.

After all, the contract hadn't been signed yet, and the fifty thousand gold coins hadn't fallen into his pocket, so he naturally couldn't pick out the flaws of his own hotel.

After listening to Andoer's sales pitch, Luo Yan nodded and said in an appreciative tone.

"I very much agree with your point of view; the environment here reminds me of my hometown, the Shengcheng. The only drawback is that the room rates here are still too cheap, which really doesn't match the environment here."

Seeing that this Mr. Prince Kelin was indeed a noble from the Shengcheng, Mr. Andoer's eyes became even more burning, and he hurriedly climbed up the pole and said.

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"Thank you for such high praise! To tell you the truth, it was my father who hired the architectural master of the Shengcheng to design this hotel for us!"

"I'm just speaking the truth."

Luo Yan smiled slightly, paused for a moment, and then continued.

"From today on, I want to cancel all room types here that are under 10 Ao silver, and even the cheapest room type should be set at 1 gold coin per night. In addition, from now on, the hotel restaurant will not be open to the public and will only serve guests staying at the hotel."

Andoer looked at him in surprise, thinking this idea was simply crazy.

Queen Street wasn't the only hotel, and there were plenty of hotels more luxurious than theirs; what kind of sucker would spend such a large price to stay here?!

However, although he thought so in his heart, he still tried hard to contain the look of seeing a madman and offered flattery in an exaggerated way.

"You are really... too wise! To tell you the truth, I actually wanted to raise prices a long time ago, but I didn't do it because of my father's ancestral teachings... Of course, from now on, this hotel is your property, and you can decide how to set the prices!"

Luo Yan knew this guy was flattering him, but he just smiled and didn't take it to heart.

Secular money was just a number to him; besides, as a dignified Demon King, did he need to rely on a hotel to make money?

1 gold coin was just a ticket to encounter the "mysterious Mr. Prince Kelin."

If one couldn't even afford one-fifth of a pair of glasses, it meant this person shouldn't have come to join in the fun at all.

Since he was harvesting leeks, he naturally had to pick the fattest ones.

Accompanied by Andoer, Luo Yan visited the hotel's restaurant and lounge one after another, then went to the kitchen and cellar for a tour, and finally arrived at the most luxurious suite on the top floor.

There was a living room with a fireplace, two bedrooms, and even a separate lounge and study; the luxurious decor was like a palace, and it was outrageously spacious.

Due to the expensive room rate of two hundred Ao silver per night, it was rarely booked by anyone, so this guest room was usually used as the facade of the hotel to highlight its luxury.

Luo Yan was very satisfied with the decor here and nodded approvingly.

"Not bad, I like the atmosphere here, but I am a person who loves cleanliness and doesn't like to use things others have used; I hope to replace all the daily necessities here with new ones."

Mysophobia was part of the persona he had created for Mr. Prince Kelin.

At that time, he would not only throw the things here out, but he would also instruct his subordinates to throw them out with great fanfare; it would be best if everyone on the whole street knew he had arrived.

Andoer smiled enthusiastically and said.

"No problem! From now on, this hotel is your property, and you can renovate it according to your preferences!"

At this moment, he had completely thrown the initial set of rhetoric to the back of his mind, and even forgotten about the so-called father's life's work.

At this time, a woman wearing a hotel uniform trotted over, pushed the door open lightly, and handed the duplicate contract to Andoer.

That person seemed to be his secretary, and it seemed it wasn't as simple as just a secretary.

Andoer took the contract, scanned it twice, confirmed there were no omissions, and immediately handed it to Mr. Prince Kelin in front of him, saying with an incomparably eager smile.

"Respected Mr. Prince Kelin... the contract has been drafted; shall we go to the bank, or contact someone from the bank to come over?"

"No need for such trouble, I will pay directly here."

While speaking, Luo Yan extended his right hand, his index finger sliding lightly in the air, and a dark red trail tore open a crack out of thin air along the direction his fingertip slid.

Orange-yellow gold coins fell like rain, clattering onto the wool-woven carpet until they piled into a small hill.

Watching this astonishing scene, Andoer and the secretary beside him widened their eyes, their faces filled with expressions of disbelief.

Was that spatial magic?

No—

Andoer suddenly noticed the ring on Luo Yan's fingertip, and his incredulous face showed a look of shock; he couldn't even help but scream out in surprise.

"This is... a storage ring?!"

It was rumored to be a magic device created by the followers of the God of Space during the First Epoch, and there was also a saying that the related technology came from the "Otherworld" outside the Os Continent.

Regardless of which saying was true, the technology for making storage rings had been lost.

Although for some powerful mages who had studied sub-space in depth, it was not difficult to store items in sub-space, even the most famous archmage of the Academy did not have the ability to condense the technology to stably open sub-space into a small ring.

The value was self-evident!

In Andoer's impression, the Andis family seemed to have one, and it was worn on the hand of the current head of the Andis family!

If he remembered correctly, that ring was auctioned at an auction house not far from here, and it was finally sold for the sky-high price of five hundred thousand gold coins!

Thinking that the identity of the gentleman in front of him might be even more noble than the head of the Andis family, Andoer's gaze was no longer just fanatical; it was as if he had gone crazy.

Saint Saint Xisi above—

Who on earth is this guy!

In his eyes, this Luoxie Prince Kelin seemed to be radiating golden light, so much so that even the small hill of gold coins was eclipsed.

Looking at the stunned Mr. Andoer, Luo Yan opened his mouth to wake him up.

"Is this money enough?"

"I..." Andoer was flushed with excitement, his palms sweating nervously, and he stammered for a long time before squeezing out the next sentence, "Respected Mr. Prince Kelin, please forgive my gaffe; I have never seen so much money. Please allow me to contact someone from the bank to come and witness our transaction; I think this will also be more reassuring for you."

"Then hurry up."

Luo Yan scribbled his father's name on the two contracts, then yawned and gave Sarah a look.

"It's getting late, I want to rest; I'll leave this to you."

"As you command." Sarah nodded respectfully; the gold coins all over the floor were as worthless as dirt in her eyes.

Not everyone could be indifferent when so much money was placed in front of them.

The guard's loyalty, like that of a dead soldier, further confirmed Andoer's guess, so much so that a thought couldn't help but arise in his heart: could this gentleman be the child of some king?

The Prince Kelin family...

He must investigate this properly!

(End of chapter)