After Old Clayton sat down beside Benson, he looked at him with a beaming smile and said, "Mr. Benson Moretti, we meet once again."
"Good morning, Butler Clayton." After the greeting, Benson added, "Yes, Mr. Butler, I remember our last meeting was a year and a half ago. I am very grateful for your generosity back then, which allowed me to bury my Mother's remains in Raphael Cemetery."
Upon hearing this, Old Clayton shook his head silently and said, "You're welcome. Looking after the orphans of servicemen like you was a task left to me by the Sheffield Family."
"Benson, your Mother supported your family with her own hardworking hands. Even with the heavy burden of life on her shoulders, she never backed down. Such character is worthy of praise from the world."
"But it's a pity that she didn't live to see you all start your own families and fully grow up. Also, the burial plot next to your father has already been occupied by someone else, making it impossible for them to be buried together."
"However, based on my understanding of the two of them, I believe they will surely meet again in the Goddess's Divine Kingdom."
After speaking, Old Clayton looked at Benson and sensed his low spirits, so he explained, "It's rare for a descendant of an 'old friend' to visit this castle, so I can't help but feel sentimental."
"I am no longer young, and the end of my life could come at any time..."
Benson replied with a touch of humor, "Butler Clayton, are you saying this to make us young people feel ashamed? You are more energetic now than many others."
"Ha~ Ha~ Ha~ Cough~ Cough~"
Hearing Benson's words, Old Clayton burst into laughter. But after all, age had caught up with him, and his body wasn't what it used to be; he started coughing after just a few laughs. After patting his chest to catch his breath, he said to Benson:
"The main reason I called you here is that I gave a brief introduction of you to Count Altair. While I personally believe you are a person of potential who only needs a negligible investment to bring the Sheffield Family a rich return..."
"Please do not get ahead of yourself, because the final decision on whether to invest in you still rests with Count Altair. If the Count does not agree, then this meeting will be meaningless, perhaps even a disaster."
After explaining, Old Clayton began to impart his experience to Benson. "When you have your audience in a moment, try your best to keep your heart calm. Answer whatever the Count asks, keep your speech brief and concise... Also, during the conversation, you should demonstrate your uniqueness, such as your character, your sense of responsibility to your family, and so on. These excellent qualities are rare bonus points. And the most important point is to cater to Count Altair's words..."
After saying this, Old Clayton patted Benson on the shoulder and said with a serious expression, "I think you should be clear about what this meeting means."
"Because of your 'diploma,' your current career has stalled, and you are stuck in a rut. At most, your weekly salary is only 1 gold pound and 10 sol."
"If you were living alone, that would be acceptable. But you have to rely on this money to support your younger brother and sister. As a result, you can only live in a shared rental on Iron Tenth Street, where even the most basic bathroom must be shared with others. It's extremely inconvenient for men, let alone for your sister, Melissa."
"And I believe your family has no savings at all to prepare for emergencies. If anyone in your family falls seriously ill, there's no guarantee they could afford proper medical care."
Hearing Old Clayton's words, Benson nodded heavily, thinking to himself, 'This is an undeniable reality. Mother's passing was due to these reasons—long-term malnutrition and typhus. To put it bluntly, it's a "poor person's disease." If only we had enough gold pounds back then, Mother wouldn't have died.'
Seeing that he fully understood the significance of the meeting, Old Clayton smiled and said to Benson:
"Don't be nervous. Did you have breakfast before coming this morning? Some delicacies just came out of the kitchen when I arrived..."
After regaining his composure, Benson said to Old Clayton, "You're too kind. I already had breakfast when I set out this morning."
"Oh, right. This is a small gift our family prepared for Count Altair—mashed potatoes prepared by the three of us siblings."
"Actually, I think the best gift would have been home-grown flowers, but as you know, my home isn't suitable for gardening, so I could only bring the Count some hand-made mashed potatoes."
Old Clayton took the gift and said to Benson, "I will explain it to Count Altair."
He then added, "Though I don't think I'll need to; the Count will surely understand the sentiment behind your family's gift."
As they chatted, the teacups on the table were emptied and refilled repeatedly. After finishing the third pot of black tea, Benson looked at his pocket watch and asked curiously, "Butler Clayton, I wonder if the Count is busy with important matters? When will we be able to meet?"
Old Clayton took the fresh tea and pastries brought by a servant, refilled Benson's cup, and said, "Before you arrived, Count Altair suddenly remembered some urgent business that needed handling first, so I was asked to entertain you in the meantime."
"This cake is a new product just made by the kitchen. Have a taste."
Looking at the cake Old Clayton handed over, Benson was amazed. It was almost winter, yet they could still use so many summer fruits as decoration... Meanwhile, Altair, who was supposed to meet Benson, was currently tucked under her covers. But she wasn't sleeping... or rather, Altair's consciousness wasn't sleeping; she was conducting an arms deal within Adam's Corpse Cathedral.
Using Adam's secondary account, Altair said to the person in front of her, "A rifle is at least 8 gold pounds; it's impossible to go lower. At the same time, to prevent you from copying the firearms privately, I must also limit the number of bullets. Each rifle comes with 500 rounds. Of course, if you are willing to pay a 100,000 gold pound replication fee, I can lift the bullet restriction."
The person sitting opposite her said, "That's impossible; your asking price is still too high. According to our engineers' estimates, the combined labor and material costs for you to manufacture one firearm are at most 7 gold pounds. This way, you make 1 gold pound per gun... We can, however, pay the weapon replication fee."
Altair looked at him with disdain and explained, "I am currently doing a business that costs lives. Once you use these weapons on the battlefield, Loen will definitely try to find and deal with me immediately..."
"However, I can give you a suggestion. You certainly don't lack basic resources like steel and timber. You can sell these resources to me; I am more than happy to accept a portion of them."
"Also, I won't care where these resources come from. In other words, as long as you facilitate the arms deal, you can keep this hidden transaction entirely for yourself. How about it?"
Hearing Altair's suggestion, the person opposite thought for a moment and said, "I need to discuss this with others."
Altair nodded without choosing to reply, and then the figure in front of her gradually vanished. But soon, a new person appeared.
The newcomer immediately said to Altair, "They have agreed to your transaction terms. First, they are willing to spend 100,000 gold pounds to purchase the weapon replication technology, but they require that you prioritize selling bullets to them and are willing to buy the weapons produced by your factory at 8 gold pounds per rifle."
"Of course, regarding your primary goal of purchasing Beyonder characteristics, they are also willing to trade. All of this can be signed in a notarized agreement."
"I think we should now talk about the deal for the acquisition of steel resources."
Altair smiled at the person opposite and said, "Of course... Steel can be at market price..."
...When all the arms deals were concluded, Altair asked curiously, "Why did you suddenly have me sell the weapon blueprints to them? Aren't you afraid of a sudden technological explosion on their part?"
Adam's expression remained calm as he explained, "No need to worry. The fundamental principle of these weapons is still 'gunpowder gas pushing a projectile forward.' As long as we lock down certain key technologies, it's impossible for them to enter an era of technological explosion."
"Furthermore, I am keeping an eye on those researchers at all times."
Altair nodded and said to Adam, "Then I'll leave the hard work to you. Now you not only have to watch them constantly but also help me transport the weapons."
"If there's nothing else, I'll be going. There are matters in the real world I need to attend to."
Adam didn't reply, but instead bid farewell to Altair with a smile.