I'm not a Witcher anymore.

Chapter 131 Industry

A moment later, the bodyguard ran back.

"Holy crap—I mean, Lord Cyprian Willy invites you in."

Hawthorne II's real name was Cyprian Willy, and he was the son of Alphonse Willy (who was Hawthorne I).

The term "Hawthorne" (son of a bitch) was a nickname given to Hawthorne II by outsiders who disliked him but were helpless to change his situation. Hawthorne II himself would never have allowed to be called that.

In his panic, the bodyguard almost screamed, and he was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat.

Zieg nodded and stepped through the door.

Sakia followed behind him, her long silver hair swaying gently in the morning breeze.

The interior of the mansion is even more luxurious than it appears from the outside.

Red carpets covered the corridors, and the walls were adorned with expensive oil paintings and tapestries. The air was filled with the scent of some kind of expensive spice.

But beneath the aroma, there was a faint, lingering smell of blood, a trace left by last night's massacre.

Although the body and bloodstains had been cleaned up, the smell did not dissipate easily.

Dudu personally came out to greet them.

At this moment, Dudu is no longer the round, half-human creature he once was.

He transformed into the likeness of Hawthorne II, shaving his head clean and his eyes becoming sinister.

"Come with me."

Dudu led Zig and Saqia up the stairs, through the corridor, and into the room where the real Hawthorne had died the night before.

"You've come at the right time; I was just looking for you—"

"Wait a moment."

Zieg interrupted him.

He first walked to the window, glanced outside, then climbed out of the window, looked around on the roof, and finally returned to the room. Before closing the door, he made sure the corridor and stairs outside were empty before nodding to Dudu.

"Okay, you can continue."

Dudu breathed a sigh of relief, a strange look of ease appearing on his face, which resembled that of Hawthorne II—an expression unique to Dudu, completely at odds with Hawthorne II's sinister demeanor.

"It's easy for a shapeshifter to mimic an appearance, but it takes some time to perfectly imitate its expression."

"But don't worry, I won't give myself away in front of outsiders."

Zieg nodded without saying anything more.

He turned to look at Saqia.

The girl was looking at Dudu with a complicated expression.

Her brow furrowed slightly, as if she was trying to connect the appearance of the Hawthorne II before her with the halfling she had seen yesterday.

"Are you Dudu Bieberwitt? When I saw you yesterday, weren't you a halfling?"

Dudu scratched his head.

"Shapeshifters, that's our talent."

"To be honest, I didn't expect things to develop so quickly. I was chatting with Zieg yesterday, and today I'm one of the four big bosses of the Novigrad mafia."

Sakia turned her gaze to Zig.

She remembered that in the ruins of Vergen, Sieg had told her he would find a place where he could escape the eyes of the Nilfgaardian Empire and the northern kingdoms—

At that time, although she was moved by his words and decided to follow him, she still had some uncertainty in her heart.

After all, ideals are ideals, and reality is reality.

But now, she has to re-evaluate the young man in front of her.

They had only been in Novigrad for two days.

In just two short days, Sieg had already used a shapeshifter to bring Hawthorne II's power under his control.

This efficiency is outrageously high.

"What's wrong? Is there something on my face?"

Zig noticed that the girl's gaze was fixed on his face and couldn't help but ask.

Sakia shook her head.

"No," she continued, "You brought me here hoping I would protect him?"

"The Ghost Face Gang isn't a nun's order. If anyone tries to harm them, you know what to do."

"I understand," Sakia said to Zig, then turned to look at Dudu. "Don't worry, as long as I'm here, no one can hurt you."

Dudu looked at the girl carrying the greatsword. Although he didn't know that Sakia was actually a dragon, the fact that Sieg trusted her was enough to put Dudu at ease.

"Thank you, thank you."

He thanked him repeatedly.

After exchanging pleasantries, Zieg got down to business.

"Tell me your plans."

He sat down in a chair, his gaze fixed on Dudu.

"What do you intend to do with Hawthorne II's assets?"

Dudu's expression turned serious.

He sat down at his desk and took out a stack of papers from the drawer, which were covered with dense writing.

"I didn't sleep a wink last night, and I went through a rough overview of Hawthorne II's businesses."

He pointed to the contents of the paper and began to explain.

"Hawthorne II's income mainly came from four sources: the card table business, underground fighting arenas, smuggling, and lending. The card table business and fighting arenas were the main sources, bringing in a large amount of crowns each month. The profits from smuggling and lending were relatively smaller, but still not negligible."

He paused, then continued.

"But all these businesses have one problem: they're all shady. The card table business can be done openly, but it involves cheating, setting up schemes, and debt collection; the fighting arena is completely illegal and often results in deaths; the smuggling business goes without saying, getting caught means hanging; and the lending rates are outrageously high because Hawthorne never expected them to be able to pay it back."

"So, how do you plan to clear your name?" Zieg asked.

Dudu explained.

"First of all, it's impossible and unnecessary to completely whitewash your image. Money is the devil; without it, you can't do anything."

"If we cut off all the gray income, how will we support our hundreds of employees? How will we maintain our influence in Novigrad?"

His tone became more pragmatic.

"So, my plan is this: I'll keep the card table business for now, but gradually transform it into a legitimate entertainment venue. I'll stop cheating and instead make money from table commissions, drinks, and private rooms. This way, the profits will be less, but the risks will be much lower."

"The fighting arena will continue to open, but it must be converted into a legal arena so that no one is killed. We can cooperate with the city council, pay a tax, and exchange it for a license to operate legally. This way, we can not only continue to make money, but also wash away Hawthorne II's infamy."

"The smuggling trade will be gradually scaled back. In the future, we will only deal in low-risk, high-profit goods, such as luxury goods and rare alchemical materials. We will not touch any high-risk, prohibited items."

"As for lending, we need to lower interest rates while expanding the scale. With lower interest rates, fewer people will default on their loans and run away, reducing the bad debt ratio and potentially increasing overall profits. Moreover, low-interest lending can build a good reputation, making it easier to do other businesses in the future."

"Finally, I won't touch Hawthorne II's dirtiest dealings. I'll give those who are imprisoned some travel expenses before letting them go, and I'll also get rid of the people associated with them."

He looked up at Zieg.

"This is my initial plan. If you have other ideas, I can adjust it further."

Zig nodded after listening.

"That's good, you've thought it through very thoroughly."

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