"Is there really such a brilliant plan?"
Amidst a chorus of meows, Fat Orange looked at Maiev in surprise. "If we can win the favor of potential believers without exposing Yunia, that would be perfect!"
"Of course there is. But before that..."
Maiev paused for effect. "I need to find some small glass bottles."
A cat could not carry much weight. Therefore, the amount of holy water each cat could carry was limited, and the bottles absolutely could not be large.
For nearly a thousand cats, he would need at least a thousand glass bottles. Who would have a thousand glass bottles sitting around at home?
Maiev certainly didn't. But...
He had a friend.
"You're going to find Grey Wolf Dino? That biggest general merchant in New Ross City?"
Fat Orange, who often roamed the streets and alleys, had obviously heard of Maiev's 'friend'. After all, New Ross City wasn't that big; there were only so many markets.
"That's him. Dino Bruto, nicknamed Grey Wolf."
Maiev nodded. "Except for flesh trade, he does basically everything. Relying on the geographical advantage of New Ross City, he runs between the Windsor Kingdom and the Romanov Kingdom to the east. He's been doing very well these years. He can get you any novelty you want. Even the nobles often buy things from him."
"If it's him, then there's no problem." Fat Orange said, "Three years ago, when his business failed and he was destitute and homeless, you helped him and lent him a sum of money. I couldn't understand why you did that at the time. Now it seems... I was short-sighted."
Maiev smiled. "Because back then, I saw ambition in his eyes. The same ambition you have now. Such people are not defeated by failure. They are either successful or on the road to success."
"I won't be happy even if you praise me."
"I wasn't praising you."
"Oh." Fat Orange kept a straight face. "What are you still sitting here for? Time is tight, move!"
"..."
Maiev stood up, preparing to go find Dino Bruto. Yunia immediately dropped Little Black, grabbed her bear by the arm, and rushed over. "Papa, Yunia wants to go with you!"
"Alright."
As a famous general merchant, Dino Bruto was no longer the man he used to be. He lived on Ross Avenue, where the streets were paved with bluestone bricks, clean and tidy, with patrolling police everywhere.
Following the address, Maiev led Yunia through the alley beside the church, avoiding the noisy crowd on the street, and arrived at the wealthy district in the rear.
A blockade line set up by the police blocked their way.
"No passage here."
A policeman wearing a black leather hat, a cyan tailcoat, leather shoes, and leather leggings stepped forward to stop Maiev. He glanced at Yunia beside him and said, "However, if you can produce a proof of residence or an invitation letter, you may pass."
The place Maiev arrived at was the very end of Ross Avenue. He thought the security here would be laxer, but he didn't expect police guards.
"I'm here to find Mr. Dino. He lives right across the street."
"I said, without an invitation letter, you cannot..."
"Father Maiev!"
Just as the black-hatted policeman was about to refuse Maiev's request, a hearty laugh suddenly rang out from behind. Everyone looked back and saw a middle-aged man wearing a wolf fur jacket, his hair combed high back, sporting a pencil mustache. He opened his arms and strode over. "You came just in time! I was just about to go find you!"
Arriving at the blockade line, he winked at the butler behind him. The butler, wearing white gloves, immediately understood and took out a few Ross gold coins, handing them to the leading policeman.
"No one has been here tonight," the butler said.
Feeling the heavy weight of the gold coins, the policeman pulled down the brim of his hat and turned his head away.
"Quick, come with me."
The mustachioed middle-aged man grabbed Maiev's arm and walked towards the mansion without another word. "Something terrible has happened in the city. I've prepared a carriage. Father, you leave the city immediately with my wife and the others!"
"You're not leaving?" Maiev asked.
"Of course I'm not leaving."
The middle-aged man smiled slightly, his exquisitely trimmed mustache rising with the corners of his mouth. "Opportunity and difficulty often coexist. Staying here allows for greater profits. Don't forget, I am a merchant."
"Actually, I came to find you to ask for a favor."
Maiev had no intention of exchanging pleasantries and went straight to the point. "I need 1,000 finger-sized glass bottles that have no markings and cannot be traced to their source."
Pausing in his steps, the middle-aged man cast a stunned look. "Father, you're not leaving either?"
"I cannot abandon my believers and flee alone in the face of disaster."
"We really aren't the same kind of people... 1,000 untraceable glass bottles, right? Simple!"
Without asking for a reason, the middle-aged man changed direction, leading Maiev and Yunia to a huge warehouse behind the mansion.
Clack...
The heavy doors swung outward, and dust mixed with the scent of rotting wood rushed out. The warehouse was piled with wooden crates, sealed with strips in different languages. The thin layer of sea salt crystals at the bottom explained their origin.
"I keep all my valuables here. I only feel at ease when good things are by my side..."
The middle-aged man patted a crate lid beside him, speaking proudly, "The value of this warehouse could buy half of New Ross Port! If not for your help back then, Father, I wouldn't have achieved what I have today! Li sield, go get the things the Father wants!"
"Master, we don't have 1,000 glass bottles in our warehouse..."
The butler, Li Sield, said somewhat awkwardly, "According to the inventory, we only have porcelain, spices, and tea here..."
"Who says we don't?" The middle-aged man raised an eyebrow. "Didn't a batch of good stuff arrive the day before yesterday?"
"Ah..." The butler opened his mouth wide. "But that is..."
"Cut the crap and move it here!"
"...Yes."
Under the middle-aged man's repeated urging, Butler Li Sield called two servants and moved a dozen heavy wooden crates to the lawn outside the warehouse.
The middle-aged man picked up a crowbar, pried open a crate, and took out a glass bottle containing a transparent liquid with a "50%" label on the outside. He said with a smile, "Father, do you know what this is?"
Before Maiev could answer, he opened his arms and said excitedly, "50% concentration cocaine solution! Its value is comparable to gold, even exceeding gold! Specially supplied to those wealthy lords!"
"What a pity..."
He pulled out the cork and tilted his hand slightly. The liquid, worth its weight in gold, traced a beautiful arc in the air, gurgling onto the lawn, absorbed by the earth in the blink of an eye.
"Hahaha..."
While pouring, the middle-aged man let out a wild laugh. "Listen, Father! What a beautiful sound!"
The butler beside him watched this scene, his lips trembling with heartache. Finally, he simply covered his eyes, unable to bear looking any longer.
Maiev, however, appeared very calm. "Why don't you find another container to save it?"
"Because I am Grey Wolf Dino! I never sell defective goods!"
After emptying one bottle, the middle-aged man fell silent for a while, then suddenly said, "Li Sield, find a container."
"You clearly just forgot. Your silence just now was you thinking about whether going back on your word would be embarrassing. But compared to a potion worth as much as gold, you decided you didn't need your dignity."
"I didn't!" Dino Bruto craned his neck and shouted, "I... I just saw that this patch of grass looked a bit wilted recently, so I gave them a supplement..."
"Your mouth is harder than stone, Dino."