Chapter 1190: Chapter 8: Co, Hit !
The six of them left the library and approached the counter, where the chubby, practiced owner automatically rolled over with a broad grin.
Luo En stepped forward and asked with a smile:
“I’d like to ask you sothing.”
Upon hearing this gentle tone, the chubby owner was a bit flattered:
“Whatever you need, sir, just say the word!”
“I just t a friend in the library who I had a good conversation with, but he left in such a hurry that he forgot to tell his na. I was wondering if you might know him, as I’d like to invite him for a couple of drinks later.”
“What does he look like? If he’s a regular, I’ll surely rember!”
“High cheekbones, gray-green eyes, black hair, middle-aged, balding a bit…”
Once Luo En finished describing the person’s features, the chubby owner slapped his thigh imdiately and said:
“Are you talking about Lord Caesar?”
Luo En’s eyes flashed, and he asked with so uncertainty:
“Which Caesar?”
“Of course, the one from the Julius Clan of the Seven Clans—Gaius Julius Caesar.”
The chubby owner said the full na and smiled,
“He’s quite a famous figure.”
During the conversation, the chubby owner revealed an anecdote that made Caesar infamous.
A few years ago, due to internal strife among the Seven Clans, Caesar got caught up in the turmoil and slipped out of Ro, boarding a ship to Rhodes Island in the Age of Greek Gods to apprentice under the famous rhetoric master Apollonius.
But at that ti, the four Divine Eras had just rged, and the diterranean was still quite disorderly. Especially the Aegean Sea region of Greece, where the people were fierce and pirates rampant, so even with divine blood of demigods. They not only plundered rchant ships but also kidnapped the wealthy for ransom.
And once Caesar was unfortunately captured by a group of Cilician pirates while out.
After capturing their prize, the pirates looked at Caesar’s shabby appearance and thus demanded a ransom of 20 Golden Zeus to set him free.
This was an amount that could ruin an ordinary noble, let alone the poorly dressed Caesar at the ti.
Clearly, these pirates were toying with this prize, intending to drain his value and then dispose of him.
However, Caesar’s reaction was even more unexpected. He mocked the pirates for setting the price too low, tarnishing his identity. He told the pirates that they had no idea whom they had kidnapped; they should ask for 50 Golden Zeus to match his status.
The pirates were also surprised, never having seen a kidnapped person voluntarily raise the ransom. Since they could get more money, the pirates were, of course, delighted. They released one of Caesar’s attendants to prepare the ransom.
Of course, Caesar had another purpose in raising the ransom voluntarily: to make the pirates value him more, exchanging the excessive gold for his personal safety. After all, as a branch of Ro’s Seven Clans, that gold was far less important than his life.
And more than a month after being hijacked by the pirates, Caesar’s attendant indeed delivered the ransom in full. Overjoyed, the pirates kept their word and released Caesar.
But Caesar did not forget this humiliation. Upon regaining his freedom, he imdiately organized a punitive expedition and captured the pirates who had provoked him. Because the pirates had treated him decently before, Caesar, in a fit of magnanimity, ordered their throats to be cut before nailing them to the cross to lessen their suffering.
Upon hearing this, Luo En displayed a hint of skepticism:
“50 Golden Zeus is no small amount. Wasn’t he fleeing to Greece because of the political turmoil in Ro? Would the Julius Clan be willing to pay this ransom for him?”
“By Minerva (Athena), your insight is truly sharp!”
The chubby owner exclaid in admiration, then revealed the secret,
“Of course, the Julius Clan wouldn’t pay this money for him, but he borrowed it from a few banks in Ro under his family’s na and his personal estate, promising several tis the interest in return.”
“So, he raided the pirates and balanced the accounts?”
“Not at all. If those people were really that wealthy, would they bother being pirates?”
The chubby owner shook his head, then looked around to ensure no one was nearby and whispered,
“They say that although Caesar wiped out the nearby pirates, the money he plundered couldn’t fill the hole. Now, that Lord Caesar has debt collectors knocking at his door every day, and to this day he’s still paying off the interest.”
Hearing this, Luo En couldn’t help but chuckle, growing more intrigued by this famous figure of Ro.
If he wasn’t mistaken, the rascal who just swindled two Silver Heras from him was likely the legendary Emperor Caesar,
—a formidable figure in both military and political affairs.
It seed that due to the continuation of the Divine Era, the fate trajectories of many legendary figures diverged significantly from the original history.
Luo En’s eyes flickered with contemplation.
He rembered that in the original tiline, this Emperor Caesar should have already risen to fa by this age, becoming one of the Roman Empire’s emperors and achieving great feats.
But now, this legendary Roman Emperor showed no signs of rising to power; instead, he was trapped in a financial crisis due to high-interest loans, and even stooped to scamming a ‘simple’ outlander for two Silver Heras.
So you’re ripping off, huh?
Getting the better of won’t be that easy.
Luo En chuckled humorously, his divine will scattering toward the sky.
Above, a few invisible silver-white tal spheres buzzed briefly, unfurling blade-like tal wings, and flew toward the Pantheon atop the Seven Hills.
~~
As night fell and the stars were few in the bright moonlight,
The six of them finished enjoying a dinner rich in Roman characteristics at the bathhouse. They then settled the bill and, under the gentle moonlight, made their way back to the Claudius Clan’s private residence.
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