Mystic Overlord: Reading Gives Strength Chapter 10 How to Negotiate with People

Soon, the caravan's Nightwatchn noticed Ronald's arrival.

The two awake Nightwatchn among the three watching the firelight woke up their dozing companion, and then all three stood up together.

However, soon after,

Instead of focusing on Ronald, they stopped in their tracks.

The three n stood where they were and, after a brief exchange, started to argue about sothing.

Excellent, this was becoming more and more to his liking!

Although the rainy night made it impossible to hear the conversation clearly, Rodena could still see through these people's actions.

Simple body language, their back-and-forth was a debate that was not heated.

Obviously, as the caravan's Nightwatchn, they were discussing his identity and how to manage the situation.

Was such a simple issue really so hard for them to decide upon that he couldn't easily deal with them with his gift of the gab?

Using his ability to understand languages, he quietly tried saying a few sentences in "local dialect."

Then, with a confident curve of his lips, he approached the three n.

"Excuse , gentlen, may I have a mont of your ti?"

"..."

Seeing that the person they were wary of had already co this close, the three n finally gave up their pointless argunt.

Promptly, the most robust of them took the initiative to stand out:

"What is your business here!"

"I must apologize for the disturbance I have caused to your rest."

To prevent any unnecessary misunderstandings, Ronald deliberately lifted the edge of his cloak with his hand to ensure they could see his face's good intentions. He then bowed slightly in apology:

"I've co from the town behind us and wish to go to the neighboring town for so private matters."

"I rembered a caravan passing by during the day, so I thought that with the rain, I might be able to catch up with you and hitch a ride."

"The matter is as simple as that; I beg for your understanding, my sirs."

After listening to Ronald's words, the three n imdiately started discussing among themselves in a low voice.

"Do you see how fair this fellow's skin is? He looks like a noble."

"What noble would venture out alone in this weather? I think it's just the result of the cold rain. Besides, can you even see clearly in this light?"

"But the way he speaks is refined and polished; he's unmistakably a lord."

"So what do you suggest we do? Surely we can't just send him back?"

"Why should we, a few Nightwatchn, bother with this? Best not to stir up trouble and just let him go ho."

"That makes sense."

"That settles it."

After so whispering, the man who had previously addressed Ronald spoke again, and this ti with the support of his companions, his words carried more confidence:

"Sir... Our group is just a makeshift team, and we cannot agree to the requests of a stranger under these circumstances."

"For the sake of avoiding unpleasantness for both parties, please go back."

"Considering the town is not far, there shouldn't be an issue for you to rent a carriage once it's daylight, right?"

"..."

It was probably due to Ronald's choice of words that the man adjusted his form of address, but all these were still responses that Ronald had anticipated.

The way ordinary people think.

This classic tactic for refusal was all too easy to deal with.

Ronald lowered his eyebrows slightly, his sincere tone now carrying a hint of pleading:

"Gentlen, I..."

"What's going on here!"

Suddenly, a makeshift tent erected on a carriage parted slightly, and the shouts from a man interrupted Ronald's speech.

Ronald saw clearly that this was the carriage that had left the wheel tracks.

A breath later, the person in the carriage, noticing through the gap that the number of Nightwatchn had increased from three to four, imdiately realized what was happening:

"What's going on, I thought there were only three of you on the night watch?"

One of the Nightwatchn promptly ran over.

"Master Nasesos, this fellow claims he's from the town we passed, wishing to catch a ride with us."

"Oh?"

Hearing this response, the man from within the carriage let out a sound, then fell silent.

And it didn't take long for him to respond.

A few seconds passed, and the person inside settled his clothes and hopped out of the tent, striding towards Ronald.

He was a healthy-looking man, no more than thirty-five, with a moderate build. What stood out most was his slightly curly golden hair and a well-grood beard. Although he wore simple cloth garnts, he did not appear unkempt.

Surely an experienced rchant.

Ronald imdiately made his judgnt.

Aside from tidying up his appearance to an extent, the man's ability to exit the carriage so quickly showed that he slept fully clothed, indicating a high level of vigilance.

While Ronald sized up the rchant, the man, though just awakened from sleep, used his green eyes to likewise scrutinize Ronald's face beneath his raincoat.

Upon seeing Ronald, the man asked in surprise:

"You... are you the noble from the town we've passed?"

"Sir Ronald!"

That's right, he recognized Ronald!

"Ronald Adler."

"It's a pleasure to et you."

He nodded slightly, a respectful and unassuming smile erging at the corners of his mouth.

Acknowledging his identity casually, Ronald was already pondering his next move in his mind.

Unlike the dull and simple-minded Nightwatchn.

This fellow who stepped out of the carriage was intuitively not so easy to handle.

His neatly trimd beard was ant to leave a good impression when speaking to others, his plain clothes indicated financial restraints, coupled with the use of a private carriage, as well as his attitude while conversing with the Nightwatchn, the thoughts that rapidly passed through Ronald's mind led to an imdiate conclusion.

This was a traveling rchant of average economic status, one who practiced thrift in his attire yet didn't compromise on his appearance, revealing that he understood the influence of external image while also being careful with his household budget. Taking initiative to check on things ant he liked to have control of the situation.

A cautious and shrewd businessman who likes to take the initiative.

As one of the rchants responsible for organizing the caravan and holding the power of speech, I must treat this fellow with care.

After analyzing the background of the traveling rchant, the corresponding conversational strategy naturally unfolded during the first attempt at probing.

If I rember correctly, earlier the Night Watch referred to him as Nasus...

His eyes, brimming with sincerity, did not diminish as Ronald spoke earnestly with an undertone of friendliness,

"Mr. Nasus, as a well-traveled rchant, you must have heard so information about my town during your stay there."

"I left ho in a hurry and did not carry much money with ."

"But if you are willing to help, these coins can be paid as a deposit."

While speaking, Ronald had already taken out all of his coins, except for three silver coins, an act that conveyed the full sincerity of his words.

According to the actual situation, the country he was in still heavily used a tiered tal currency, and based on the general value of precious tals and the actual social conditions, it sufficed as a deposit.

"A deposit, huh..."

Although he muttered Ronald's words to himself, Nasus, the traveling rchant, didn't pay much attention to the few coins. Instead, under the guise of examining the coins, he scrutinized the palm holding the money.

This look brought about a one hundred and eighty degree change in the rchant's deanor.

Through his experience of traveling abroad, he knew this man was a genuine noble.

The money might have been low-value copper coins, but that palm was quite interesting. The base of the thumb and palm showed no calluses, ten slender and pale fingers bore only a little gri from the rainy night.

Especially the nails!

All ten fingers were neatly trimd, sothing neither the common folk nor bandits would concern themselves with. By the light of the fire, it looked like the man before him had most likely not lied.

So the man standing before him was the noble who had lived in the town they just passed through—Ronald Adler.

Then the 'information' he ntioned...

I see!

With a quick thought, Nasus rembered the news he had heard in the town:

The residing noble's family was once wealthy, but now they had fallen on hard tis. Rushing to the neighboring town on such a rainy night, the coins in his hand also hinted at a poverty-stricken air, suggesting that the reason he appeared here was likely a financial issue.

The goal was to salvage the family's straitened circumstances, and the noble before him, for the sake of face, planned to do so tasks in the neighboring town that were inconvenient on regular days.

Having made his own assessnt of the situation, the rchant hurriedly waved his hand.

"So it's Mr. Ronald then."

"When I passed through the town before, I had heard good things about you, and had hoped to have the opportunity to et, but I was too busy with trivial matters to make it so."

"Now that we have t here by chance, it must be the Queen's blessing!"

"And to assist a gentleman, how could I possibly charge a fee?"

While exchanging pleasantries, Nasus also took the initiative to greet and stepped aside to open the path to his wagon circle:

"If you don't mind, you can co and rest in my tent with , this weather is far from comfortable."

Without any hint of refusal on his face, Ronald nodded and followed.

"Then I thank you."

Following the enthusiastically welcoming Nasus onto the wagon, he beca certain of his good fortune.

In dealing with people, the focus was often not on the talk, but on the approach.

Sotis, even the smart ones could be dealt with.

In that brief exchange, Ronald had subtly hinted at his predicant with only a small amount of money to corroborate, never directly stating any clear reason.

Thus, the imaginary space left in the conversation was smartly filled in by the rchant.

An impoverished noble—

Traveling alone on a rainy night—

Heading to the neighboring town—

Shrewd people often liked to analyze situations themselves, and those with a strong desire for control liked to offer their suggestions proactively.

In this way, Nasus was unknowingly guided by Ronald's thoughts.

What he believed he had figured out on his own was exactly what Ronald had intended for him to deduce.

Once the guidance was successful, the rest was easy.

Generally, people are not inclined to doubt themselves.

This had been 'the truth deduced on their own'!

Using the reasons that the person before him had co up with to persuade him was more convincing than anything else, whether in conversation or debate.

Afterward, the smart rchant naturally didn't mind forming a good relationship with a local noble.

His desire for control would also make him suggest accompanying him.

It perfectly made sense for Ronald to accept the kindness.

—Interacting with humans was truly delightful.

Compared to the trouble he had faced with 'Vilarnika', who was not swayed by hard or soft tactics, this was the advantage of choosing the right approach when conversing with people.

Moreover, while exchanging coins, Ronald also took the opportunity to observe the other's gaze when seeing his possessions—utterly indifferent.

This small detail provided him with three pieces of information.

First, the value of the coins in his hands couldn't be too high, otherwise, the rchant would have shown so reaction, and if he planned to sustain himself later on, he needed to think of ways to make money.

Second, this Mr. Nasus didn't lack a small amount of money and wouldn't act irrationally in the short term.

Third, Nasus's attitude towards a moneyless noble affird the standing of the nobility in this world for Ronald.

Even without money, even when fallen from grace.

The status of nobility was still sothing commoners needed to envy, or at least admire.

This world, or specifically the ruling class of this region and their ans of controlling the populace, was fully reflected by this.

The supremacy of bloodlines!

All in all, Ronald was quite satisfied with his experiences of late.

He had left his estate and Weird Town safely, found shelter in a limited ti fra, and even gained more useful information through a brief exchange.

During the next leg of his journey, his food issues would be resolved within the rchant caravan.

Perfect!

Fantastic!