I loaded the Mysticism panel.

Mercury switched the money bag to his right hand and weighed it in his hand.

"You're probably wondering who I am."

"That's not hard to find out."

"Take off the hat. My face is listed in the entire Western Continent's merchant guild directory."

He took off his wide-brimmed hat, revealing a face he couldn't remember.

This face is designed to be easily forgotten; the person is of medium height, with a small patch of gray at the temples and heavy eye sockets.

"Genoa, 11 Via San Lorenzo, second floor, the doorplate says 'Transfer & Insurance'."

"If you ever want to see me, just give me this address, and anyone can take you to your door."

"...You just blurted it out like that?" Richard looked at him, somewhat unsure of what he meant.

"Why didn't you report it?"

Mercury was quite unfazed.

"If you gentlemen come tomorrow, I'll still treat you to coffee. If we can reach an agreement, great; if not, there's no need to turn hostile."

He twirled the hat halfway around on his fingertip.

"Besides, if anyone really wants to mess with me on San Lorenzo Street, they'll have to ask the other seven businesses on that street if they agree first."

Richard gripped his cane and spread a layer of still water in that direction.

That person had nothing hidden on him; his ether was thick and even, revealing no flaws. He was also a seasoned expert.

"I've also heard some of what happened to you this past year."

Mercury put his hat back on.

"I've heard that your prices are very reasonable; you do appraisals, act as a middleman, and collect ether condensates."

"Well done... just a little small."

He raised his hand and began to count.

"The saltpeter came from the New World this February."

As a scholar, you probably know that without saltpeter there is no gunpowder.

All the saltpeter from the western continent had to be transported around Cape Horn, a journey that took three months per ship.

"I booked cabins on six of this year's batch of ships."

"And Rotterdam."

"I remember it was a neutral country."

"It is precisely because it is a neutral country that its ports are the busiest."

Mercury smiled.

"Sir, there's an old saying among business people: when a war breaks out, the one who makes the most money is the one standing in the middle."

"Coffee, rubber, copper, machine tools, developing chemicals...we've got it all."

"Last month, I handled a batch of steel cylinders for a customer at a neutral port. They were seamless, with brass valves and lead liners."

Richard tightened his grip on the cane.

That sentence was probably just something he said offhand, and he wasn't the only one in the entire city of Seven Hills who understood it.

Those in the know now understand that it was a promotion ceremony for newly minted Germanic talents.

The other party's true identity is one of the largest middlemen and arms dealers in the Apennine Peninsula, and he was probably invited to join them.

As it turns out, both the other side of the table and Rome have maintained a distant and ambiguous attitude.

But neutrality should be the stance of merchants and envoys, and Richard was far from adequate in this regard.

"Let's get back to the main topic."

Mercury raised the caduceus in his hand.

"I am proficient in all three areas: communications, cross-border communication, and extradition."

But in the end, the messenger is in charge of exchange; without exchange, there are no trade routes, and without trade routes, there are no messengers.

God sent people to deliver messages because God also wanted to exchange things with them.

"So the complete one is me."

Richard himself also does the identification, transit, and collection of condensate; if he wanted to display it, he could.

But the person who set up the stall was a young man who had just started out, and he was comparing his financial resources and distribution channels with the old merchants who were used to sitting at the counter.

Mercury probably realized it too.

"How old are you this year?"

"You'll be eighteen this summer."

"……Why."

Mercury shook his head.

"At my age, comparing myself to you in this respect would be embarrassing even if word got out."

The city of Seven Hills was quiet for a while.

"Sir, you are right," Richard said.

Mercury's eyebrows twitched.

"I can't beat them in this one."

Richard steadyed his double-snake staff.

"So I'm not going to argue with you about this; I want to do a business deal with you."

The eyes beneath the wide-brimmed hat lit up.

Having been a successful businessman for half his life, the sound of this word makes his ears perk up, just like a hunter turning around at the sound of hooves.

Richard pointed to his own men:

"I'm standing here tonight to vouch for four names."

"If you accept, from the moment you step onto this stage, all the debts owed by Rome will be transferred to your shoulders."

He raised his chin and nodded toward the furrow.

"Mars must have paid a hefty price for that forging expert; you should know that better than I do."

In the ruins of the second hill, Mars suddenly raised his head.

Mercury sighed. "You are right."

And to make matters worse, Matthew was still standing outside the city walls.

Whoever stands in the messenger's position tonight will be responsible for bringing Matthew in, because the messenger and the road are one.

Richard didn't say it, but Mercury could clearly feel the prying eyes outside looking at him.

Mercury switched the caduceus to his right hand.

"I have a rule: if I get paid, I have to finish the job."

"If you can't finish the part, you have to refund the money. Refunding the money would be embarrassing."

The two serpent staffs were raised simultaneously.

The messenger was not to be violated. Both sides were using the rules and could not distinguish which side to protect, so it protected neither side.

The silver coin flicked out from between Mercury's fingers.

That wasn't a technique for hitting people; Richard recognized it the moment it was used.

The coin stopped in mid-air, hovering about a person's height above the ground, becoming a landing point.

The second, the third... the seven coins were arranged in a diagonal line between him and Richard.

Mercury walked across the line.

"I'll offer thirty silver coins for these shoes, sir."

Richard's two little wings on his ankles suddenly sank.

"I'm not selling."

He gritted his teeth and pushed those words out.

The moment it was pushed out, a large mouthful of ether followed.

"You refused quite decisively."

Mercury had already circled around to his right rear.

"And what about the lamp you were wearing?"

"I'll put up forty."

"Not for sale."

"The pen in your hand."

"It's not mine!"

"……oh."

Mercury paused for a moment.

"Your answer to that question is excellent."

He tossed the money pouch in his palm.

"Unfortunately, the better the answer, the more ether is wasted."

Hercules was so anxious at the foot of the seven hills that he stamped his feet.

"What kind of fighting style is that! Asking Hermes would burn the ether."

"The businessman's way." Dionysus put the cup upside down on his waist.

"How do you think we businessmen would kill someone?"

Richard retreated to the bottom of a section of ditch that had collapsed halfway.

With his back pressed against the damp, cold brick, he took a couple of breaths and pressed the Mirror Condensation Technique downwards.

The phrase "[Reflection and Inner Awakening]" has been activated.

For a bid to be valid, someone has to hear it.

He swallowed his breath and spat it out silently.

A vacuum, without any medium, fell between him and Mercury.

Mercury's next quote was cut short as soon as it was uttered.

That half-syllable fell into the vacuum, without even a trace of echo, and he himself was stunned for a moment.

"……pretty."

"I've seen this same trick of yours in Vienna."

Richard didn't reply; he used those few seconds to send the moon nail through.

The needle grazed Mercury's left rib and embedded itself in the broken pillar behind him.

A small section of the old characters engraved on the pillar had been burned away.

"You don't seem like a scholar at all now."

Mercury sidestepped the second needle and took out a very old silver coin from his pocket.

Richard's glazing technique revealed a layer of deathly white.

He recognized this – the ferry fee, the money collected by the ferrymen on the River Styx.

In the Mediterranean, it is customary to place a silver coin under the tongue of the deceased.

"Your Mightiness."

Mercury held the coin between his index and middle fingers and raised it up.

"His Excellency Minerva has already said what was on my mind tonight: you are not on the list."

He took a step forward.

"Nameless, cityless, homeless."

He pushed the fare towards Richard.

"This person should be ferryed across."

The etheric field of the City of Seven Hills was completely flipped.

The Tiber River stopped flowing, and the darkness at the bottom of the river rose to the surface.

A door opened behind him. Richard had opened such doors for others several times this year; he was too familiar with them. Tonight, he stood on the side being escorted.

Richard stood in the black water that didn't even reach his ankles.

The double serpent staff is in his hands; the messenger is inviolable, but he cannot protect him tonight.

This coin was named; someone wrote a line of text for it, and then it needed to be stamped.

The solution is simple: just use the "Reverse Face" method.

Using this talisman will cause it to bounce back as before, but the original Hermes mask will become ineffective on the spot.

The coin was already right in front of his nose.

Richard raised his hand and pressed it against his face.

"...the face of a rebellious envoy."

The two golden snake patterns flipped over under his palm.

Du Zi stopped less than half a meter from his lips, paused for half a second, and then turned around.

"……what?"

Mercury looked puzzled.

"Nameless, cityless, homeless, this man can be saved"—all these phrases fall upon him alone.

Mercury lost his footing and fell hard onto the stone slab.

He raised his left hand to grab the money bag, and the money scattered all over the ground with a clatter.

Richard looked over.

The coin rolled a circle on the stone slab where the black water had receded before stopping at his feet.

One Austro-Hungarian crown, one of the wings of the double-headed eagle was worn away.

A German mark.

One French franc.

A Soverein gold coin from Albion, dated two years ago.

One Russian ruble, one Ottoman lira, and finally a few Italian silver coins at the very bottom.

Richard stood still and took his hands off his face.

The original mask is gone, and he has nothing now.

However, the influence of "Romanization" has completely disappeared.

The [Face of Reversal] was activated, and any force that attempted to define, name, or rewrite his identity from the outside was pushed back, including rejected.

Richard lifted his foot and took a step forward with ease.

Mercury picked up the coins from the ground one by one and put them back into his bag, wiping the dirt off the precious gold coin.

He stood up, took off his wide-brimmed hat, and bowed respectfully to Richard.

"Your Mightiness."

"I've spent half my life as a middleman."

"All I ever did was sell what I had."

"I couldn't sleep a wink all night while the item was in my hands. Only after it was handed over did I dare to eat breakfast."

He weighed the money pouch he was clutching in his hand.

"Tonight, this position is the most challenging one I've ever taken on in my life."

"Four tolls. Mars owes that senior, and there are also losses owed to several young ladies."

He looked up and glanced towards the city wall.

"The most important thing is the last stroke."

"Whoever stands in that position on that road outside the city has to take over."

On the first hill, Minerva stood up.

"Mercury, what are you doing?"

Mercury switched the hat to his left hand.

"I want to transfer the position of envoy."