When the plot-skips players into the game world

Even Aiwass himself had not expected that the fish would bite so readily.

He had barely exchanged a few words and was just beginning to bait the spot, not even having officially cast the line, when the fish practically floundered its way onto the shore.

——It seemed that Mr. Yu was truly in a hurry.

So Aiwass didn't point it out and instead followed Mr. Yu directly to the Lohar Society.

The commercial district lay to the northwest of the Red-White Queen District, and to get to the Lohar District, one had to cross the entire Red-White Queen District…but as a port district, Lohar certainly couldn't allow goods to pile up without being shipped out. There was more than one railway from the most populous commercial district to the Lohar District on the southeast coast, bypassing the Red-White Queen District entirely in between.

Lawyer York took Aiwass on the train.

By just a little after nine, they had already arrived at the Lohar Society.

——Despite Lawyer York saying that they were not a commercial company, what came into view was a towering skyscraper.

A building of over thirty stories was by the standards of this era, quite an astounding achievement. It was the tallest structure in the entire Lohar District, which formed a stark contrast with the surrounding one or two-story buildings.

The main building of the Lohar Society was bustling with people, with those coming and going mostly dressed in a decent manner. At the entrance was a large revolving glass door, and the marble floor of the lobby shone like new.

In the lobby were many small round tables flanked by low stools. There sat some young men in suits, who, despite looking like businessmen, chatted softly with several properly dressed yet uneasy individuals.

On the side of the lobby was a huge display board, with names like Tyson Oil, Nimanzha Oceanic Group, Bixi Metal & Lumber Company written on the left, followed by a row of flippable numerical plaques accurate to one decimal place. On the right were the names of goods such as cotton, soybeans, sugar, wine, etc., with their prices displayed on the corresponding flippable plaques.

Many suit-and-tie individuals gathered around, some discussing in low voices, some looking tense, others spouting grandiose claims, and a few stood in corners taking notes. Occasionally, someone would come up to adjust the number plaques to their most recent figures.

As York, Aiwass, and Lily entered, someone immediately came to greet them.

A receptionist, barely in her early twenties, dressed immaculately with mature and beautiful makeup, approached with a polite greeting, "Counselor."

"Who of the higher-ups is in?" inquired Lawyer York.

"Mr. Boka, Mr. Forbes, Miss Grey Green," the female receptionist replied.

"Mr. Lohar isn't here?" muttered Lawyer York quietly, then gave instructions, "Please ask Vice Chairman Boka to come to my office and tell him I've brought a newcomer."

"Yes."

The receptionist replied.

Following that, York led Aiwass and Lily to the elevator, telling the elevator operator, "To the seventeenth floor."

The operator was a woman in her forties. She nodded, turned a wheel near her and raised the wire mesh gate. Then she pulled the gate in front of her, and the half-open elevator clattered upwards.

This was Aiwass's first encounter with an elevator in Avalon.

And what an ancient elevator it was—when it reached the mezzanine between the second floors, one could see red bricks through the wire mesh doors, and the elevator wobbled and made noises as if it were hitting something as it ascended. Aiwass's heart suddenly leapt for fear it would snap and fall abruptly from mid-air.

From the gaps in the wire mesh, powder and tiny stones would occasionally fall into the elevator, but the operator nonchalantly kicked them back through the gaps.

Eventually, it safely reached the seventeenth floor, shuddered violently, and gradually stopped swaying.

At least they had arrived safely. Lily discreetly let out a sigh of relief; her fingers had been clenched white on the wheelchair.

"Have you ever taken an elevator before?"

Lawyer York smiled and said, "I've brought quite a few people to the Lohar Society headquarters, but they all get pretty scared the first time they take the elevator."

So this was part of the intimidation tactic, huh?

Aiwass muttered to himself.

But he simply shook his head slightly and said very firmly, "I've never been in this kind of elevator."

"This elevator, along with the building, was designed by architects from Star Antimony."

Walking ahead, Lawyer York enthusiastically explained, "You might not know, our buildings in Avalon generally don't reach these heights. Structures like the Cathedral of Candle Master and the Hall of Silver and Tin are designed by the Holy Nation, but they don't go this high either.

"When building to such heights, special reinforcement materials are needed. Otherwise, a strong wind could blow over the upper floors, and, whoosh—, they could easily bend and topple over."

As he spoke, he jovially gestured with his hands.

It was as if he had already forgotten that he had just returned from a funeral, as though he had finally let go of some nagging concern.

It was a natural ease that flowed forth. Even his footsteps became lighter, almost to the point of humming a song.

"Not all buildings are maintained on a schedule by Preservers like the Hall of Silver and Tin. It's completely normal for most structures to age over time. In such circumstances, the advanced technology of Star Antimony truly stands out..."

Lawyer York spoke highly of the technology from the Kingdom of Star Antimony as he talked about the advanced technology used in this building, discussing everything from the architects to the physical structure, and then the daily flow of people through the building.

—But you've never been to Star Antimony, whereas I've truly been there, albeit in a past life.

Star Antimony's elevators are much more advanced than this, thought Aiwass.

Listening to Lawyer York prattle on for a while, Aiwass finally couldn't help but interrupt, "Has this building been part of the Lohar Society for two hundred years?"

"...Do you actually know about the two-hundred-year history of the Lohar Society?"

Lawyer York was somewhat surprised, but he soon realized, "Well, that makes sense, given that you're a 'Moriarty' after all.

"But unfortunately, no. Elevators haven't even been around for a hundred years, and this building was likely constructed about seven or eight years ago."

Lawyer York laughed, "When I was a boy, this building wasn't even here. I remember ten years ago the old Lohar Society building was attacked and bombed, so the President Lohar at the time funded the construction of this new building."

"President Lohar?"

Knowing where York wanted to steer the conversation, Aiwass played along appropriately, "Mr. Lohar... what relation does he have to the Crown Prince Lohar of that era?"

As expected, York intended to discuss just that.

He pushed open the door of his office, cheerfully smiling, "Since you're aware of Crown Prince Lohar, that makes things easier. Please have a seat, Aiwass—oh, sorry. Miss Lily, could you please stay here and keep Mr. Aiwass company for a moment? I'll go make some tea for the two of you."

Aiwass perceptively heard that York intentionally misspoke. His goal was to momentarily interrupt the flow of their conversation.

With that, Aiwass, feeling utterly bored, would start looking around. And this position allowed him to take in the entire room at a glance, clearly seeing the entire layout of the room.

The office was filled with well-cared-for green plants, and in a cage was a green parrot with colorful tail feathers. Next to it was a fish tank with goldfish, while the wall held warm group photos of Lawyer York with other friends—arms around shoulders, full of smiles, even including images from playful scuffles—ranging from when they were in their twenties to their present age, and nearly all those friends were celebrities or bigwigs.

And while boiling water, York didn't completely stop talking.

Gauging when Aiwass would start looking at his photos, he began once more to talk about the history of the Lohar Society: "How much do you know about Crown Prince Lohar?"

"A successful businessman, the shame of the royal family," Aiwass responded.

Crown Prince Lohar wasn't born with the surname "Du Lac." He was a businessman named "Lohar," from over two hundred years ago.

—Back then, over two hundred years ago, it was when Avalon's shipping industry reached its peak.

Crown Prince Lohar initially was just the owner of a coffee shop, well-regarded for his skill at brewing coffee, and his café attracted many businessmen, who brought in a lot of information while they conversed.

Crown Prince Lohar shrewdly sensed business opportunities and financed a newspaper named "Lohar News," which was published three times a week, with a limited edition of five hundred copies each, filled with various maritime news and intelligence. This information was extremely valuable for businessmen engaged in the high-cost business of ocean voyages.

At that time, the newspaper business was not well developed, and news was significantly delayed. With Lohar's wide network, he could provide the most accurate and reliable news within the industry. As a result, "Lohar News" fetched very high prices among the weaker businessmen. Those who couldn't get their hands on the newspaper had to visit his coffee shop to deal with him personally and seek intelligence.

But in reality, the news Lohar put in his newspaper was only "second-tier" information. He had even more secret "first-tier" intelligence, sold only to those willing to engage with him—exchanging their information and favor for his.

By running his information business, Lohar gained significant influence. Captains, businessmen, and moneylenders all needed to please him. Under these circumstances, he set his own rules and developed the insurance brokerage industry.

At first, Mr. Lohar didn't issue insurance himself, but he received a 5% commission from all the "maritime insurance" processed through him, which was a highly profitable venture without any initial costs.

Naturally, there were those who would want him dead. So, he started operating his own private armed forces. Eventually, with his own military power established, he began issuing loans himself—known as "Lohar Loans"—which quickly grew into a behemoth. He also gradually became part of high society.

Ultimately, as a commoner without a knightly bloodline who came from the merchant class, he fell in love with and became a Crown Prince to the queen of his time. However, he didn't give up his homemade Lohar Society, but instead used the royal authority for his own convenience, authorizing Lohar Society members to manage all insurance business, including maritime risks, and transformed "Lohar News" into "Lohar Union Weekly."

Through the queen who was devoted to him, Crown Prince Lohar continually siphoned from the royal treasury and passed various laws that benefited the Lohar Society on the side. He also operated a finely-woven network of favors, which included important members of knight families joining or indirectly joining the Lohar Society. By the time the queen passed away, the Lohar Society had become an undeniable powerhouse.

Today, even the Round Table Hall has a hard time dealing with the Lohar Society. It is even closely associated with the income of several departments.

Crown Prince Lohar had become known as "the shame of the royal family." Due to his influence, many powers of the royal household were stripped and limited. It was after his time that knight families forbade marriages with unlineaged commoner merchants.

But Lawyer York didn't seem to mind Aiwass's sharp words and just smiled.