"I am the Deputy Speaker of the Upper House. Do you really think I can be bought with filthy money?"
"You are my friend, and your friend is naturally my friend as well."
Cullen spoke with the air of someone imparting worldly wisdom.
"How can friendship possibly be measured with something as vulgar as money?"
After saying that, he gave the attendant beside him a meaningful glance.
The attendant immediately raised his chin and extended a hand toward Kade.
Kade smiled.
"Yes, yes. Everything you said is absolutely correct."
At the same time, he handed the gold coins over to the attendant.
He bowed slightly.
"It was my mistake earlier."
"Friends really should not talk about money."
"May I ask whether you are ready to leave now?"
Cullen nodded in satisfaction.
"Of course. Lead the way."
Naturally, he had no intention of refusing.
After all, that was one thousand gold coins.
If all he had to do was meet someone, why would he turn down the money?
Who in their right mind would refuse gold?
Meanwhile, inside the tavern’s private room, John finally waited for Cullen to arrive.
He ordered Izer to keep watch over the two jailers, then moved into another luxurious private room.
Cullen was already seated at the long table inside.
John did not waste any time.
He immediately took out nine hundred gold coins and placed them on the table.
"Deputy Speaker Cullen, how about doing some business with me?"
Cullen glanced at the pile of gold coins, but forcefully tore his gaze away from them.
He calmly asked,
"Oh?"
"What kind of business do you wish to discuss?"
John spoke softly.
"I would like to know something."
"If a guilty man were wrongly convicted, how much would it cost for him to clear his name?"
A faint gleam flashed through John’s eyes as he waited for the answer.
Cullen stared at him.
"That depends on what crime this ’wrongly convicted’ man supposedly committed."
John did not bother concealing it.
"What if it were a capital crime?"
"What would the price be then?"
Cullen answered immediately.
"One thousand gold coins."
John continued,
"And what if that criminal happened to be a pirate?"
"Then the price becomes two thousand gold coins."
John nodded.
"And what if he wants his record cleared immediately?"
"He also wants to walk openly through the city without anyone causing him trouble."
Cullen frowned slightly.
"So urgent?"
"You mean you want it done tonight?"
"You do realize that every government department in Cloudspire Harbor has already closed for the day."
"No one is still working this late to process official matters."
"This will be rather troublesome."
He paused.
"But if you are willing to pay more, it can be done."
John raised three fingers.
"Then three thousand gold coins."
A smile immediately appeared on Cullen’s face.
"No problem."
Then, after a moment, he added,
"To be truthful, I am somewhat curious."
"Where exactly did you obtain so much wealth?"
John did not answer.
"Have you forgotten an old saying?"
"The more you know, the more dangerous things become."
Cullen failed to obtain an answer from John and immediately became somewhat displeased.
He sneered softly and whispered a few words to the attendant beside him.
The attendant listened, glanced secretly at John, then quickly left the room.
Cullen’s expression turned cold.
"Not a single coin of those three thousand gold coins can be missing."
John smiled indifferently.
"That is fine."
"It is only three thousand gold coins."
"Actually, I would like to discuss an even larger deal with you, Mr. Cullen."
Cullen’s expression immediately relaxed.
Intense interest appeared in his eyes.
He smiled warmly.
"What kind of deal?"
"If there is not at least several thousand gold coins in profit, I am not interested."
"My time is extremely valuable."
John replied calmly,
"It is nothing particularly large."
"Only a small project worth several tens of thousands of gold coins."
Boom!
For a moment, Cullen wondered whether he had heard incorrectly.
Tens of thousands?
A deal worth tens of thousands of gold coins, and this brat called it a small project?
Even an ocean-going merchant vessel traveling from one end of the Lothar Kingdom to the other, conducting trade on both sides before returning, would normally earn only tens of thousands of gold coins.
And this guy was casually calling that amount a "small project."
Cullen could only smile bitterly inwardly.
"This kid really is rich."
"What business?"
"And how much can I earn?"
Cullen asked directly.
John replied,
"I want to purchase the best warship in the entire Lothar Kingdom."
"I also need the finest ammunition."
"I need to recruit the best sailors."
"And I need to stock up on supplies."
"You know..."
"Maritime trade is extremely profitable."
"Profitable? Like hell I believe you."
Cullen sneered inwardly.
"If you were really an honest merchant, would you have been sentenced to death?"
"Would you need to come to me to arrange a new identity?"
"You are obviously a pirate."
But Cullen did not care.
"So what if he is a pirate?"
"Even if he becomes a disaster later, as long as he gives me money, he is still my honored guest."
Cullen spoke directly.
"You want to establish a fleet?"
John nodded.
"Exactly."
"And I want the best of everything."
"I will not accept anything even slightly inferior."
Cullen considered this for a moment.
"The best warships..."
"The Lothar Kingdom currently possesses three ships that qualify."
"They are Lothar-class battleships."
"Each is equipped with several hundred cannons and can reach a speed of thirteen knots."
"The Lothar-class battleship is currently considered a first-tier warship among the various maritime kingdoms."
"A true T0-class vessel."
"Its expected service life can reach ten years."
"At present, all three Lothar-class battleships are serving within the Lothar Kingdom’s naval forces."
He looked at John.
"According to your requirements..."
"Do you absolutely have to have this class of warship?"
John’s heart stirred.
A Lothar-class battleship.
Several hundred cannons.
A speed of thirteen knots.
A T0-class warship among all the maritime kingdoms.
Wasn’t that exactly what he wanted?
The best warship currently available.
However, there was a problem.
These vessels belonged to the Lothar Kingdom.
They had only recently entered service and were the kingdom’s main warships and trump cards.
Could something like that truly end up in his hands?
Moreover, a battleship of this level required an entire supporting system.
Maintenance.
Repairs.
Sailor staffing.
Logistics.
Command personnel.
Every aspect required a complete and mature infrastructure.
Without such a system, what use would there be in obtaining the warship itself?
John hesitated.
Perhaps instead of buying such a battleship, it would be more practical to purchase a slightly more ordinary vessel.
At that moment, Cullen suddenly spoke.
"How about this?"
"Give me one day."
"I will arrange for one Lothar-class battleship to be transferred here."
Cullen frowned as he considered the matter.
"Once I get the ship here, I can make a few arrangements behind the scenes."
"However..."
"It will require quite a lot of money."
As he said this, he looked toward John.
From Cullen’s tone, John could tell that the man genuinely had a way to obtain the battleship.
He could not help secretly admiring Cullen’s methods.
"Money is not a problem."
John shook his head.
"The real issue is this."
"Am I supposed to buy an empty ship?"
"What would I do with that?"
"Put it on display?"
Cullen smiled faintly.
"If you really wanted it merely for display, that would actually make things more troublesome for me."
"I would have a harder time arranging it."
"I understand what you mean."
He leaned back slightly.
"How about this?"
"I will sell you the several hundred sailors and the entire management crew currently serving aboard that Lothar-class battleship as well."
"Wouldn’t that solve both problems at once?"