Upon entering the Miracle Merchant Guild, the surrounding merchants all paused when they saw Fenya and the guards behind her, but they quickly turned their heads back to their business, not giving Fenya a second thought.
Fenya stood at the entrance, surveyed the room, and then walked directly to a guild attendant, saying, "I want to see your manager."
The attendant recognized Fenya and glanced at the guards behind her before apologizing, "Sorry, Miss Fenya, the manager…"
"I want to see your manager," Fenya repeated, not waiting for the attendant to refuse, and took out the high-level membership plaque Lord Linde had given her.
Seeing the plaque, the attendant was stunned, immediately straightened up, and then respectfully took the plaque, examining it carefully under his eyes.
Some merchants nearby also looked over curiously; some of the newer merchants didn't recognize what the plaque was, while the older members of the guild instantly recognized it as a high-level membership plaque, and they all looked at Fenya, their eyes filled with shock and confusion.
In their memory, Fenya was just an ordinary Miracle Merchant Guild member, not a high-level member at all.
If Fenya were a high-level member, she wouldn't have needed to risk taking on delivery missions, nor would her ship have been impounded for smuggling contraband, and she certainly wouldn't have become a casualty of Myr's political struggles; she would only have been a honored guest of all the Archons of Myr.
It should be known that only three merchants in all of Myr held the status of a high-level member of the Miracle Merchant Guild; even Archon Patch, the guild master, did not have this high-level member status, which shows its preciousness.
Because of this, many people suspected that the plaque in Fenya's hand was fake, waiting to see her exposed by the attendant and then kicked out.
However, to everyone's disappointment, the attendant asked Fenya to wait a moment, then, looking at the plaque, went to the back warehouse. After a while, the manager of the Miracle Merchant Guild's branch office came rushing over with the plaque in his hand.
"Miss Fenya, please follow me," the manager said, walking up to Fenya, bowing respectfully, and then returning the plaque to Fenya.
Upon hearing this, Fenya prepared to follow the manager towards the back warehouse, and the guards responsible for supervising her also prepared to follow, but they were stopped by the manager.
The manager said with a serious expression, "Please go back and tell the Archon that Miss Fenya is a distinguished guest of the Miracle Merchant Guild. The Miracle Merchant Guild is willing to vouch for Miss Fenya, and she will absolutely not leave Myr until that matter is thoroughly investigated."
After speaking, he led Fenya into the warehouse office in the back.
The supervising guards were stunned, exchanged glances, and then quickly turned to return and report the situation to their superiors.
The merchants in the room witnessed all of this, and they all realized that the plaque Fenya presented was real. From the manager's attitude, they could also tell that Fenya's luck was about to change, and this internal power struggle between merchants and nobles in Myr should no longer affect her.
In the warehouse office, the manager invited Fenya to sit down and then had his attendants prepare some excellent iced honey milk.
"May I ask, Miss Fenya, does the person who gave you this plaque have any instructions?" the manager asked kindly, personally bringing the honey milk to Fenya.
The manager's humble demeanor completely bewildered Fenya. She didn't know if every high-level member received such treatment, or if she was the special one.
So, she took a sip of iced honey milk to calm herself down, then said, "The person who gave me the plaque is outside the city. He is Lord Lion Knight Onstein, and he asked me to contact you, intending to sell a batch of Dothraki warhorses and slaves to Summerhall."
"Lord Onstein?" The manager was stunned when he heard the name, not immediately recalling who it was. Given his status, he clearly didn't know about Lord Linde's masquerade as Onstein while traveling the continent of Essos.
However, for the manager, who the plaque owner was wasn't important; what was important was the meaning behind the plaque.
So, he inquired about Lord Linde's location outside the city, immediately instructed an internal merchant responsible for procurement and trade to go and acquire that batch of warhorses and slaves, and at the same time called back Fenya, who thought her task was complete and was preparing to leave.
"Miss Fenya, are you preparing to register now, or wait a while longer?" the manager asked, signaling Fenya to calm down.
Fenya looked at the manager in confusion and asked, "Register? Register what?"
"High-level membership, of course?" The manager replied, seeing that Fenya knew nothing, and explained, "This plaque is a special authorization plaque that grants the holder the recommendation privilege for a high-level member. When you bring this plaque to any branch or liaison office of the Miracle Merchant Guild, the liaison office will be responsible for registering the plaque holder. Of course, this registration does not mean you have already become a high-level member, but rather that you have the qualification to become a high-level member, but you still need to complete three procurement or trade missions. However, these missions will only be given to you after you register."
Fenya's expression was one of dumbfounded shock, her eyes wide with surprise. She had originally only thought of bringing the plaque to the manager to propose a trade request on behalf of the Lion Knight, but she never expected that it would lead to her registering to become a high-level member of the Miracle Merchant Guild.
It took her a long while to come back to her senses, and she then asked, "Are there many of these plaques? Why have I never heard of them?"
"These plaques circulate only within the guild's internal circles and among high-level members; ordinary members are not aware of them," the manager patiently explained. "Additionally, the number of these plaques is not large. Only a select few high-level members approved by Lord Linde are granted this recommendation qualification. Once you register, the plaque will be recalled and destroyed; it will not be used again."
Fenya then asked, "What if someone snatches the plaque from my hand and then comes to you…?"
"Then the high-level membership qualification will be his," the manager said gravely. "You possessing this plaque now is luck, but snatching the plaque from your hand is power. Both power and luck are conditions for becoming a high-level member."
Fenya held the plaque in her hand, hesitating for a moment, then, as if having made up her mind, handed the plaque to the manager and said, "I'll register now."
Registration was simple: filling out a form made of special gold leaf paper, then pressing the front, back, and edge patterns of the plaque onto the blank spaces on the form, signing the name of the Myr branch manager, stamping the branch seal, then sealing the form and giving it to the branch's guild guards. The guards were to take thirty Unsullied directly, board the guild's fast ship, and transport the items back to Miracle Port.
Afterward, the manager directly melted the plaque in front of Fenya and then told Fenya her first test mission: a very simple task, which was for Fenya to extricate herself from her current predicament in Myr's political struggle.
"During this test, the Miracle Merchant Guild will not provide you with any assistance; everything must rely on your own wisdom and strength," the manager emphasized with a serious expression. "Before the mission is completed, the guild will publicly announce the cancellation of your guild membership and completely sever ties with you. If you feel unable to complete the mission and wish to end it early, you can come and tell us. We will restore your identity, but your high-level membership qualification will be canceled as a result. I hope you can understand."
Fenya frowned and said, "Why is it for me to escape this predicament? Shouldn't the test mission be a procurement mission?"
The manager smiled slightly and asked a series of rhetorical questions: "Given your current situation, if I gave you a procurement mission, are you sure you could complete it? Where would you get the money to procure goods? Even if you had money, who would risk offending the Archon of Myr to do business with you? And if you bought the goods, how would you leave Myr? Don't forget, you don't even have a ship, and no ship would be willing to take you away. Also, would you abandon your subordinates and leave alone? You should know that with you here, their responsibilities would be much lighter; even if they were punished, it would only be a period of hard labor. But if you leave, then all the responsibility will fall on them, and they might eventually be hanged as bandits along the Valyrian Road outside the city."
As Fenya listened to this series of questions, her face became very grim. She hadn't expected that this mission would not only provide no assistance from the Miracle Merchant Guild but would also temporarily strip her of her guild membership.
It should be known that the reason she could still move freely within Myr City now, besides the connections she and her father's generation had established, her identity as a Miracle Merchant Guild member also played a significant role.
Once she lost this identity, she might be imprisoned along with her subordinates. In that case, she probably wouldn't have any possibility of self-salvation, and the mission would be impossible to complete.
Fenya asked in a deep voice, "Does the Miracle Merchant Guild not offer any help at all?"
The manager shook his head, but then added a reminder, "While the Miracle Merchant Guild cannot help you, you can seek help from others, such as the Lord who gave you the plaque. Since he gave you this plaque, he certainly wants you to become a high-level member; otherwise, he would have wasted this precious plaque. So I think that Lord should be very willing to help you."
Hearing the manager's words, Fenya's face showed a thoughtful expression. She then nodded, stood up, and left the office, hurrying out of the guild's club.
Fenya did not return to her residence but hurried towards outside the city. Perhaps due to her mood or the lack of guards watching her, she reached the temporary encampment outside the city in less time.
At this time, the Miracle Merchant Guild's internal merchant had already bought the warhorses and slaves and was negotiating with the guards at the entrance, preparing to take all these people to the city's docks to be loaded onto ships and transported to Miracle Port.
Lord Linde, at this moment, also saw Fenya rushing over. He knew very well what Fenya had encountered at the Miracle Merchant Guild's branch, so when Fenya approached, before she could speak, he directly asked, "What is your high-level membership test mission?"
Fenya hesitated for a moment, then told him her mission.
Hearing that the mission was to escape her current predicament, Lord Linde nodded. Although most test missions were procurement tasks for rare goods, the managers of the various branches and liaison offices would also modify the first mission based on the actual situation of the test subject at the time.
Lord Linde analyzed, "Don't worry, the branch manager would never give you a test mission that is absolutely impossible to complete. Since he gave you this test mission, it means there must be a turning point in your situation, and it's a turning point that you can achieve given your current circumstances. The question is whether you can find the key to trigger this turning point."
"I have no clue at all right now; I don't know where to find a turning point. The Council of Governors' judgment will come down in a few days, and I have no time to figure things out, unless the Council of Governors can postpone the judgment." Fenya thought for a moment, looked at Lord Linde, hesitated, and then said, "I want to borrow some money from you. I need some money to smooth things over."
Lord Linde took out the gold certificates for the purchase of warhorses and slaves, placed them on the table, and said, "I can lend you money, but how do you intend to repay it?"
"I can…" Fenya showed hesitation. She wanted to say she could give herself to him, but she knew her place. Although she had some looks, she wasn't exceptionally beautiful, and a powerful knight like the Lion Knight wouldn't possibly be interested in her.
At this moment, Lord Linde suddenly said, "Are you interested in becoming the Trade Archon of Myr? That is, Archon Patch's current position."
"Ah?" Fenya was both puzzled and seemed to guess something, a hint of anticipation appearing in her eyes.
"I can invest to help you overcome your current difficulties, and in the future, I will also help you achieve a higher position in Myr, but what can you repay me with?" Lord Linde gazed at Fenya and said, "Don't say things like your entire self is mine; I'm not interested in those matters. I only have one requirement: when I need your help, you can help me without hesitation. Are you willing, Miss Fenya, future Trade Archon of Myr?"
"I am willing." Although Fenya felt that she would fall into great trouble in the future because of this promise, she had no other path to take at this moment.
"Very good." Lord Linde nodded and didn't ask Fenya to swear an oath or sign a contract. He felt these were unnecessary, because if Fenya truly wanted to go back on her word, even a signed contract would be useless.
Furthermore, even if Fenya went back on her word, it wouldn't matter much to him; it would just mean one less pawn he could use, as he had several other pawns he could utilize in Myr.
Subsequently, Lord Linde handed the gold certificates from the sale of the warhorses and slaves to Fenya, then wrote a message and a merchant's name on a letter, handing it to Fenya and instructing her to give the letter to that merchant, who would assist her.
Fenya looked at the merchant's name, an expression of surprise on her face.
Because this merchant from Pentos held a position in Myr second only to the Trade Archon, and due to his generous and helpful nature, many Myr merchants, nobles, and military warriors had received his help. Even among the commoners, many influential people had close ties with him.
This meant that even though he wasn't an Archon of Myr, his influence was hardly inferior to that of an Archon of Myr, so much so that he had earned the title of Shadow Archon.
Now, with such a person helping her, it would become much easier for her to escape her current predicament.
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