Chapter 45: Trade Fair

Viola closed the door and left; Lei En heard her footsteps and took the lift down.

Lei En got up, clenched a fist in a triumphant pose, let out a "yeah", their face unable to hide excitement, paced the room, and had no mind for practicing the piano.

If not for fear of being overheard, Lei En would shout out to vent their joy.

Is there anything more thrilling in the world than being favored by a beauty? And a peerless beauty at that—Lei En had already been interested!

Although Viola hasn't stated it outright, her demeanor, emotions, and the fact that she proactively taught Lei En to play the piano all indicate strong favor toward Lei En.

The whole afternoon, the exchange between the two lingered in a hazy, ambiguous state, quite a bit ambiguous.

This feeling made Lei En recall his past life's first love, full of anticipation yet fearing it was only a beautiful dream.

Lei En returned to the keyboard, sat down, and let his fingers wander over the keys, producing no melody—just a few isolated notes, each a monotonous tone.

As the notes fluttered, Lei En gradually calmed down, and his thoughts cleared.

Perhaps Lei En's own qualifications are indeed excellent—a definite potential star, worthy of attracting the opposite sex, even someone like Viola, but Viola's behavior seemed overly forward, ignoring the gaps in their current abilities, status, family background, and age, which was somewhat abnormal.

Viola's emotions must be genuine; that can be seen from her soul state.

However, even if she has thoughts, she shouldn't be so eager.

At least she should make contact for a while before acting, rather than, like an inexperienced girl, be easily swept away by love.

Running Violet House and being a level‑6 Wizard, Viola would never be so reckless.

Unless she has another reason.

Lei En suddenly realized his knowledge of Viola was very limited—he didn't know her background, full name, family lineage, or even whether she was already married, and couldn't guess her true purpose at that moment.

"I must be a bit more cautious; I can't let my seed get into my head and be used."

Lei En warned himself, his mind instantly cooled a bit, so he opened the sheet music, randomly chose a piece, and began practicing the piano seriously.

Soon after, Viola returned.

She seemed to realize she had overstepped, so she deliberately sat farther away; her demeanor remained casual yet carried a sense of distance, and she said, "Lei En, the Trade Fair will start soon; later you'll enter with me."

"Alright, is there anything I should watch out for?" Lei En nodded and asked.

"You're just here tonight to broaden your horizons and make friends; if you don't buy anything, just treat it as watching the spectacle."

Viola roughly explained the Trade Fair's rules to Lei En.

In fact, it was a gathering of Transcendents organized by Violet House; participants were usually Violet House's clients, as well as friends Viola knew or friends of friends, invited to attend.

Violet House provided the venue and services; guests could wander freely, mingle with others, much like a banquet.

Only at this banquet do people conduct trades simultaneously.

Violet House first displays a selection of goods, often valuable, auction‑style—highest bidder wins—using the chance to offload items hard to sell otherwise.

For example, the Soul‑Melding Seed Lei En purchased—Viola had showcased it at the Trade Fair several times; it was initially priced at three thousand Gold Shields, then dropped repeatedly to fifteen hundred Gold Shields, yet still found no buyer.

Upon reflection, it's clear that most Trade Fair attendees are already Transcendents, who have no need for the Soul‑Melding Seed.

Moreover, few are willing to become battle Wizards, so it's normal that it doesn't sell.

The Trade Fair's main attraction,

is the items guests bring.

Most guests bring at least a few precious items, trying to sell them to interested buyers for greater profit or to find something they've long coveted.

The tradable items are unrestricted in type or price—weapons, armor, Demon Souls, alchemical goods, Law Seals, Soul Crystals, Demon Elixirs, mounts, Myriad Spirit Cards, rare materials, gems, luxuries, knowledge, real‑estate deeds, corporate shares—any valuable thing can be traded here.

Of course, as organizer, Violet House also bears the responsibility of authenticating items and setting prices.

For every completed transaction, Violet House charges a service fee of 5% of the final price, split evenly between the two parties.

Some guests, to save that fee, arrange private deals with the other side.

Such cases are rare; without the organizer's guarantee, one can be easily duped and lose out, so most guests prefer to pay the fee for safety.

Sometimes a single Trade Fair can earn the organizer thousands of Gold Shields in service fees.

However, there are downsides; such Trade Fairs carry significant risk—if an appraisal is wrong, the organizer must compensate for the loss.

If luck turns bad, a single loss can be a blood‑letting, even ruining the reputation.

Similar Trade Fairs are common throughout the Empire, testing the organizer's connections and discernment.

Without connections, one can't invite enough guests; without discernment, one constantly loses money and can't keep it going.

Violet House's Trade Fair has been running for almost three years, held monthly, and thanks to Longshande's Transcendents, it has built a solid reputation and brought Viola substantial profit.

Viola herself disclosed that more than half of the shop's profit comes from the Trade Fair.

Lei En was somewhat surprised; she even shared this business secret with him.

"The rules of the Trade Fair are just that—very simple."

Viola smiled, "As for social etiquette, you needn't worry; we're no longer in the early aristocratic era—most customers are Transcendents, so there's less fuss. If you get hungry, the Trade Fair provides carefully prepared food and wine, which taste good, but don't overindulge."

Lei En nodded in understanding.

At that moment, a female attendant came up to remind them that time had arrived.

"Let's go down."

Lei En followed Viola downstairs; the Trade Fair was held in the third‑floor hall, and when the two emerged from the lift, they instantly captured everyone's attention.

The spacious hall was illuminated by crystal lanterns, bright as daylight.

Inside, nearly a hundred guests gathered, mostly men in immaculate attire, women in elaborate dresses, though some preferred casual wear—various mage robes, armor, or even plain clothes.

Lei En glanced around; even without the Soul Eye, it was clear that almost everyone present were Transcendents.

Because there might be legendary strongmen, he refrained from activating the Soul Eye indiscriminately.

Not maybe, but definitely.

Viola had said that each time she hosts a Trade Fair, she invites a legendary Wizard to preside over the venue to prevent trouble, though she never disclosed the Wizard's identity.

At that moment, everyone's gaze was fixed on Viola.

Lei En noticed their looks—especially the men's—admiration, praise, awe, and above all, infatuation; even Transcendents find Viola's charm hard to resist.

She was like a beam of light; wherever she went, she became the center of attention.

Lei En felt as though he were caught in the shadow of that radiance. Even standing only a step away from Viola, beside her, half a head taller, few people noticed him at all.

"Good evening, everyone."

Long accustomed to such stares, Viola walked into the midst of the crowd, greeted the guests, and announced the start of the trade fair.

The waitresses of the House of Violet filed in neatly. They walked up to rows of shelves draped in black cloth, lifted the cloths, and revealed glass display cases, inside which the items for sale today were showcased.

The hall gradually grew lively. Guests gathered around the glass cases, questioning the waitresses.

Every waitress had been trained. Each was responsible for one item, patiently answering the guests' questions, and if there was something she did not know, she would consult the shop's appraisers.

Lei En spotted the appraisers of the House of Violet — three in total, two men and one woman, all extraordinary beings of no small age.

The one in the lead was an elderly man with a full head of white hair, wearing glasses, exuding a scholarly air. He looked like a professor from an academy, but was in fact a seventh-rank Wizard.

From the waitress's introductions to the guests, this old Wizard was named Lai Wen Si Te, came from Silver Star Academy, was a renowned polymath in Longshande, and was also an appraisal expert.

The other two appraisers were somewhat younger, each with their own specialties, though not as famous as Lai Wen Si Te.

Viola led Lei En to exchange pleasantries with the guests. After a few casual words of conversation, she introduced Lei En to them.

These guests were all people of considerable standing: nobles, teachers from Silver Star Academy, members of the Wu Shi Ta, officials from City Hall, tycoons, merchants, formidable extraordinary beings, famous Wizards, and so on.

In Viola's introduction, Lei En was her very good friend.

People could not hide their surprise, for Viola had never introduced any friend to anyone before, let alone a young and handsome man.

When they heard that Lei En was a Wizard, their gazes grew even more astonished.

With Lei En's build and bearing — tall and broad, solidly muscled — he looked like an Iron Guard no matter how you saw it, nothing like a Wizard.

Out of regard for Viola's face, however, most of the guests still greeted Lei En in a friendly manner and quietly noted down his name.

There were also a few who made no effort to conceal their hostility toward Lei En.

They had been watching Viola's movements all along. Even before she could introduce him in person, they had already noticed that Lei En's relationship with her was somewhat close, and so they cast angry glares at him.

This left Lei En somewhat helpless. He had inexplicably gained several rivals in love, and not one of them was easy to provoke.

"Viola letting me into her social circle was well-intentioned, but it backfired. I haven't made many friends yet, but I've already made quite a few enemies…"

"Truly a beauty is a scourge!"

Lei En braced himself and continued staying at Viola's side. She was about to introduce the middle-aged man before them, but he realized he already knew this person and even had his business card.

"Mr. Kainieji," Lei En greeted him a step ahead.

The middle-aged man was indeed Kainieji, whom he had met a few days earlier. He wore a crisp formal suit, his hair neatly combed back, his demeanor gentle, his eyes remarkably bright — an impeccable, elegant gentleman in every regard.

Kainieji looked Lei En over carefully and remarked with admiration, "It's only been a few days, but you've changed quite a bit."

"Lei En, you know Vice Chairman Kainieji?" Viola was slightly surprised. Lei En had been just an ordinary student before — how could he know the vice chairman of the Mechanical Guild?

"We met a few days ago," Lei En replied, then turned back to Kainieji and said earnestly, "I am already a Wizard."

Kainieji nodded slightly and said, "I knew you would succeed, but congratulations are still in order."