Mechanical Alchemist

Chapter 189: Rena's predicament

Su'en was seeing the gambling-addicted lady dressed up for the first time.

Her long dress was made of dark aqua brocade with golden patterns, outlining her graceful figure with stunning curves. Layers of light gauze adorned her, like a gentle breeze swirling around, and with the faint heroic spirit between her brows, Su'en couldn't help but take a second glance.

Elegant and luxurious, exquisitely charming.

The mirror in front of the gang leader reflected a woman transformed by her attire, instantly becoming a lady of high society.

But Qian Tiao seemed uncomfortable in a dress, looking disdainfully at her reflection in the mirror, mumbling something indistinct.

At that moment, she seemed to notice Su'en's gaze, turned around, and asked, "Su'en, do you find anything odd about this?"

Su'en smiled and simply replied, "Pretty."

Hearing this, Qian Tiao pouted, "Don't just stand there, hurry up and change. The banquet starts at nine, but we need to get there early to wait for the little princess."

Upon hearing this, Su'en put away the puppet in his hand and stood up.

With the Octopus Spear retracted, he didn't bother changing clothes; with a shake of his body, his work attire suddenly transformed into a white suit, as if by magic.

Qian Tiao, witnessing his instant change of clothes, figured out his trick and raised an eyebrow, "Yo... using spatial abilities just to change clothes?"

Su'en chuckled, "Just a little trick I've been working on, a magical costume change."

With that, he shook his feet, and shiny leather boots appeared on them.

Clasping his hands together and pulling, a silver-handled cane appeared in his right hand.

Feeling like something was missing, he adorned his left hand with a boutonniere and magically produced a top hat to place on his head.

After all this, he looked at the gambling-addicted lady and said, "Let's go, we can leave now."

Qian Tiao sized up Su'en from head to toe, a hint of teasing in her eyes, "Tsk, not a bad look for you~"

Su'en shrugged with a smile and walked over, opening his arms. Qian Tiao naturally took his arm.

Suddenly, she noticed something, "Wait."

Su'en stopped and watched as Qian Tiao wrapped her arms around him, then straightened his collar and smoothed out the wrinkles.

"There, that's better~"

Qian Tiao seemed pleased, a smile appearing on her pretty face.

.......

Before Princess Theresa's arrival at the camp, the major families of the inner city had already received news of the banquet.

Unicorn Inn, a property of the Reiss family.

As the only daughter of the Reiss family's main branch, Rena naturally came to the underground.

In the penthouse suite, a maid was applying makeup to her.

The old butler, with a grave expression, was reporting the latest situation: "Miss, things aren't looking good. We've received word from the family that several branches are getting restless again. They've advised us to be careful, as they may act against you. And just this morning, the large hunting groups we had contracts with, 'Red Dragon', 'Iron Eagle', 'Holy Knight'... their leaders came to us in unison, refusing our employment."

Rena's brows furrowed with concern at the stream of bad news, "But haven't we already signed employment contracts?"

"Yes."

The butler spoke gravely, "But they've paid a hefty penalty fee and torn up the contracts. I'm negotiating with the Hunters' Guild, but to little effect... I've heard that the second and third branches have joined forces with the five major families of the camp to pay this penalty fee. Moreover, they've spread the word that they will suppress any hunting group that cooperates with us. So far, no other hunting group dares to contact us... Therefore, besides the personnel Miss brought from the family and the 'Cross Society' hunting group, we don't have many people we can rely on. It's confirmed that all the major families of the inner city must participate in the hunt, which puts us at a disadvantage... The risk of this hunt is great, and I'm worried that these people are trying to isolate and weaken the family's power, then pressure the master, or even have bigger schemes..."

Rena listened, her expression growing more solemn.

After a pause, the butler continued, "Also, the Clark family sent a message saying they could help us out of this predicament, probably to meet with you... But since you said not to meet, I refused. However, if possible, at this banquet, Miss could try to reach out to a few allies, some families that have been friendly with us in the past, who I think would be willing to help for the sake of the master..."

Rena: "Okay. I understand."

.......

Su'en and Qian Tiao walked leisurely.

Qian Tiao's ladylike dress, though truly pretty, was not to her liking.

Su'en, with his arm around her waist, the two appeared affectionate.

It wasn't for show; the gambling-addicted lady really was uncomfortable in a dress.

"This damn dress, I can't even walk properly! Su'en, hold me closer, these high heels are so awkward..."

As they walked, Su'en listened to Qian Tiao's complaints about the dress more than once.

Fortunately, the walk wasn't too far.

Along the way, they encountered many elegantly dressed young ladies and gentlemen, all seemingly heading to the banquet.

Seeing Su'en and Qian Tiao, a striking pair, they couldn't help but cast envious glances.

The two chatted as they walked.

Qian Tiao briefed Su'en, "Your identity now is 'Zolo'. This identity is registered with the Bounty Hunters' Guild, a bounty hunter with some fame, but no one has seen your face... Later, you might meet some people from my family, and they'll ask you a lot of questions... So, you understand?"

"Uh-huh. I get it."

Su'en listened, his lips curling into a bright smile.

The identity arranged by Qian Tiao was naturally flawless, as she put it, "The best disguise is a replacement."

This was better than any fake identity Su'en could have forged himself.

As for the rest of her words, though Qian Tiao was vague, Su'en understood.

Qian Tiao, a single woman of a certain age in the underworld, still couldn't escape convention. When meeting family members, she needed a shield.

"So, Qian Tiao, did you join the Cross Society to escape marriage?"

"What else? Of course, that's one reason. The rest, you should have guessed."

"Qian Tiao, the word on the street is you don't like men, is that true?"

"Tch~ False! Not only do I not like men, but I also don't like women; I only love knives!"

"..."

The two were already close, and these topics were discussed without reservation.

As they walked, they suddenly saw a familiar face.

A young lady in an evening gown, surrounded by guards, emerged from an inn painted white with a "Unicorn" sign.

With her beautiful straight black hair, who else could it be but Rena?

She seemed a bit distracted and noticed Su'en and Qian Tiao passing by.

Qian Tiao greeted her, "Rena~"

Rena, recognizing Qian Tiao after a moment's hesitation, brightened up and hurried over, "Ah... Aunt Qian Tiao~"

Qian Tiao walked over and ruffled her hair, "What's on your mind, girl, looking so worried?"

Hearing this, Rena tried to smile, but her face couldn't hide her concern.

She didn't have much to hide from her family elders and said directly, "The butler just told me that the hunting groups we had contracts with have all broken them..."

"Oh, that's a small matter."

Qian Tiao waved it off nonchalantly after hearing this.

She then introduced Su'en, "This is my friend 'Zolo', a very capable bounty hunter. He'll be helping out with the hunt this time."

Rena glanced at Su'en, who was arm-in-arm with her aunt, her curiosity evident.

She remembered that her aunt had never been so intimate with a man before?

But she didn't dwell on it, curtsied gracefully, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Zolo. Please take care of me."

Su'en nodded, "Sure."

The two became a group, heading up the slope.

......

The banquet was held at Storm Manor.

To welcome Princess Theresa, even the Hunters' Guild had relocated.

The major families of the camp pooled all their resources to renovate the thousand-year-old manor, turning it into a brand-new, luxurious estate.

After presenting their invitations, the guards stayed at the manor's entrance.

Su'en, Qian Tiao, and Rena entered the manor.

Unlike the previous dilapidated and noisy scene, Storm Manor was now completely transformed.

The garden was lush and vibrant, with brilliantly blooming flowers, and even the withered trees sprouted leafy branches. The greenery was meticulously groomed by gardeners, giving a refreshing feeling upon entering.

This garden was likely the work of wood mages, using a great deal of resources to cultivate.

Inside the building, it was even more splendid.

But Su'en felt something odd; in this mansion, he always had the feeling of being in that cursed space he had seen before.

Especially... the layout of the manor, anyone with knowledge of architecture would recognize it.

The place that should have been the banquet hall was still the banquet hall.

The location of this banquet was exactly where the "Bloody Banquet" had taken place.

The banquet hall was brightly lit, with soothing music echoing through the hall, and elegantly dressed ladies and gentlemen were chatting and laughing with wine glasses in hand.

When Su'en and his companions entered, they naturally attracted the attention of those present.

But what was slightly awkward was that they were immediately ignored, not even receiving the most basic nod of acknowledgment.

These were the young masters and mistresses of the major families of the inner city, who all knew each other and were even quite close.

Qian Tiao hadn't mingled in the upper social circles for a long time, and she didn't care about these people, so it was normal for them to ignore her.

But it was strange for someone like Rena, a top-tier heiress, to be treated this way.

When the Reiss family was united, she was the center of attention wherever she went.

But now, these people saw her and not only did no one come to greet her, but they also seemed to avoid her, their gazes evasive.

Rena didn't mind, but she was somewhat worried, whispering, "The butler said the situation in Old London isn't good either. Father even had me bring almost all of our high-ranking guards, I wonder if there will be any problems..."

Qian Tiao, unconcerned, replied, "Don't worry... those guys won't succeed so easily."

Rena: "Okay."

Su'en glanced around, identifying some people based on his memory.

Standing next to Rena, even Su'en, an outsider, felt some inexplicable "malice." He raised his eyelids slightly, his lips forming a smile that was not quite a smile, "Rena's got quite a few enemies..."

It seemed that the upcoming hunt would be filled with enemies at every turn.

However, Su'en didn't take this malice to heart.

With Qian Tiao around, the Reiss family's situation wouldn't collapse, at least Rena wouldn't die so easily.

At worst, with Su'en's current strength, unless a third-tier professional came along, there was really no threat to him.

Having many enemies... in some ways, wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

.......

"Tsk, Rena is in big trouble this time. I heard they can't even hire a decent hunting group now, and with just the people they brought from the inner city, they won't last long..."

"Now that the major families of the inner city have united to isolate them, no one dares to help them..."

"I heard that Miss Sophia from the Reiss second branch and young master Danze from the Oliver family have been getting close lately, and they're even planning to get engaged. Once they join forces, the inner city's landscape is going to change..."

"..."

Su'en listened for a while and quickly understood.

The Reiss family was indeed once a top-tier financial powerhouse, but after splitting into seven, their influence greatly diminished.

Moreover, former allies had become enemies.

The seven split families were naturally at odds with the main house, even enemies.

And having offended everyone to death, those families that had kicked them when they were down naturally wanted to finish them off to avoid future troubles and to share in the spoils.After all, Rena had brought many direct-line experts this time, and she was the sole heir. A total annihilation in the ruins would undoubtedly directly affect the situation in the inner city.

Internal strife and external threats, the situation was indeed worrisome.

The trio paid no attention to the whispers of others and found a corner to talk.

Without disturbances, there was also no need to deal with those so-called high society social interactions.

With Qiantiao as her elder backing her, Rena's worries were somewhat alleviated.

However, as they chatted, Qiantiao's "trouble" also arrived.

Several ladies of high society came over with their sons, who wore expressions of displeasure.

The middle-aged woman with a large emerald necklace around her neck called out to Qiantiao, "Oh, Odilia, long time no see, what are you doing here~"

This time, it wasn't just the young masters and misses who came; many mothers worried about their precious sons and daughters being wronged also followed.

Qiantiao looked at the newcomers, her brow clearly furrowing, but she still had to greet them, "Aunt Camilla, long time no see."

Su'en listened to the exchange between the two, glancing at Qiantiao out of the corner of his eye, his curiosity piqued.

So this gambling-addicted lady's full name was "Odilia Evelyn."

And that glamorous, still-charming blonde woman was Qiantiao's stepmother?

That little boy with a defiant face was her half-brother by name?

Then there were various relatives of the Evelyn family, aunts and uncles, and their children.

What followed was a series of greetings.

The high society was full of cumbersome formalities: greetings, returning salutations, introducing the younger generation, more greetings, more salutations, and various inquiries about each family's elders, reminiscing about the elders' relationships...

And then, the marriage urging began.

"Odilia, you're not getting any younger, stop mingling with the commoners in the outer city. I heard you're even involved with the gangs? Oh, heavens, if that gets out, people will say our Evelyn family has fallen..."

"You don't know, just yesterday I was chatting with Mrs. Albertini, and they mentioned you. They all say our Evelyn family has an old maid who can't get married..."

"Odilia, you're not young anymore. Dr. Enzo from the Smith family is a fine young man; their family owns eight hospitals in District Five..."

"..."

It wasn't just Qiantiao; Su'en felt overwhelmed just listening.

Since arriving in this world, all he had encountered was fighting and killing.

So there were still ordinary people...

Listening to this large-scale marriage urging scene, which was no different from his previous life, Su'en finally understood why Qiantiao had brought him along.

Qiantiao directly interrupted the increasingly unreliable introductions and pulled Su'en to stand up, "Oh, I almost forgot to introduce, this is Mr. 'Zolo.' My friend."

Su'en also took off his hat and performed a greeting, "Zolo Cerna, it's an honor to meet all you beautiful ladies."