Chapter 68: Money Makes the Mare Go
After that, Lynn left Oxenfurt Academy and returned to Novigrad.
During this time, he also completed a few small contracts.
However, the profits were far less substantial.
They could only be considered as a small treat.
Soon, half a month had passed.
One day, an old man came to the inn where Lynn was staying.
It turned out he was Lauxer's butler, and his purpose was to invite Lynn back to the Lauxer residence at his master's request, in order to express his gratitude.
Lynn didn't think much of it, so he went with the butler.
In the house in the Upper City.
He met the smiling Lauxer.
Lauxer's wife had also recovered from the tragic experience of more than ten days ago and apologized for her previous rudeness.
To entertain Lynn, Lauxer prepared a large table of delicacies.
The few of them ate and chatted, and the atmosphere was lively.
After the meal, Lauxer asked Milva and his wife to go downstairs.
Once the servants had cleared the table, Lauxer revealed the other purpose for inviting Lynn over.
And Lynn had already guessed that Lauxer's purpose in inviting him wasn't just to express gratitude.
So he didn't show any surprise.
And the reason he was still willing to come was because he suspected that Lauxer's purpose might be that he had encountered trouble and needed this witcher to solve it.
As it turned out, his guess was correct.
Lauxer did need a witcher.
However, it wasn't him who had encountered trouble.
It was a friend of his.
Any merchant doing business in Novigrad couldn't possibly avoid dealing with Vimme Vivaldi.
Vimme was a dwarf, or more precisely, a dwarven banker.
The Vivaldi Bank had a long history in Novigrad, and when Vimme took over the family business, he built it into the largest bank in Novigrad.
When Lauxer became a Novigrad merchant, Vimme helped him a lot.
It was through Vimme's introduction that Lauxer was able to gain a foothold in Novigrad without being ostracized by local competitors.
And it was also Vimme who was willing to lend money to Lauxer when he had cash flow problems, helping him to overcome the difficulties.
Lauxer was naturally not an ungrateful person.
In return, and also to further deepen their cooperation in the future, Lauxer deposited all his money in the Vivaldi Bank.
And he tried his best to persuade his friends to make the Vivaldi Bank their first choice for savings and loans.
And this time, Vimme had encountered a problem.
Some time ago, Vimme, for a certain purpose, bought a house in the Upper City from someone at a low price.
Vimme originally thought he had gotten a great deal, but he didn't expect that the homeowner was in a hurry to sell for a reason.
And it wasn't a financial reason—the house was haunted.
"So our esteemed banker didn't try to return the goods to the seller? He just swallowed this bitter pill so honestly?"
Lynn was shocked.
Marx once said that once there is a sufficient profit, capital becomes bold.
With a 300% profit, it dares to commit any crime, even at the risk of being hanged.
To talk about the epitome of capitalists, bankers are undoubtedly the most suitable example.
Although he knew that Vimme Vivaldi wasn't the kind of bloodsucker who would trample on conscience and morality for profit, Lynn still found it hard to believe that he would swallow his anger.
Lynn's doubts were within Lauxer's expectations.
Because when he learned about this from Vimme, his reaction was the same as Lynn's now.
"It's not that he didn't want to look for him, but that he had no way to look for him. After all, no one can trouble a dead man, right?"
Lauxer said with a helpless tone.
"When Lord Vimme intended to have a good talk with the original homeowner, the original homeowner was drowned in the bay by Whoreon Sr I's men because he slept with Whoreon Sr I's mistress."
"Oh, right, you might not know who Whoreon Sr I is, my memory is terrible."
"His real name is Alphonse Willie, and he is one of the black forces in Novigrad's underworld."
"Actually, he should be called Willie I. The nickname Whoreon Sr (son of a bitch) was given to him by those who didn't like him."
"But if you ever face him one day, don't call him that, and it's best not to make eye contact with him."
"Anyway... where was I? Oh right, because the original homeowner was killed by Whoreon Sr I, Lord Vimme had no way to return the house, so he needs a witcher to help him deal with the haunting problem."
"I understand my friend. As long as the commission is completed, payment will not be an issue."
Lynn knew the name Vimme Vivaldi.
Even among dwarven bankers, he was a very famous one.
He was very greedy.
Everything in his eyes would be automatically converted into crowns.
If he bought a painting, it would never be out of appreciation for art, but because he felt the painting could be resold for a good price.
However, although he looked like a miserly tightwad like Harpagon, he was actually not bad to his friends.
If a friend encountered trouble, as long as it was within his power, he would try his best to help.
"A banker's commission?"
Lynn agreed almost without hesitation.
Not to mention the reward he could get for completing the commission.
Even being able to get acquainted with a banker because of this was worthwhile.
Lynn's grand plan also required him to contact and get to know people from all walks of life, so as to broaden his network and accumulate such intangible assets.
...
When Lynn and Lauxer arrived at the Vivaldi Bank and stated their purpose.
The two were invited by the bank staff to wait in the VIP room.
After a while, a bald dwarf wearing a brocade robe walked in.
He greeted Lauxer and then Lauxer introduced Lynn to him.
"Lord Vimme, this is the Witcher Master who rescued me from the pit of fire."
Vimme crossed his arms and carefully sized up Lynn from top to bottom.
"Lord Lauxer, and this Witcher Master, it's not that I don't believe you, it's just that..."
Vimme scratched his face. "You look too young. I really don't know much about those witcher things, but kid, dealing with a few bandits is not the same as dealing with ghosts."
"A foot knight in plate armor can easily defeat a gang of thugs because thugs have no organization or discipline. As long as you kill a few in front, the rest will naturally scatter."
"But ghosts are different. Only witchers have the means to deal with ghosts. Otherwise, no matter how many plate-armored knights go, they'll just be sending themselves to their deaths."
"If you're not sure, kid, give up. I don't want you to lose your life because of bravado."
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