Mechanical Alchemist

Su Lun was seeing the gambling-addicted lady dressed up for the first time.

Her long dress, tailored from dark turquoise brocade with golden threads, outlined her graceful figure with stunningly beautiful lines. Adorned with swathes of light gauze, it seemed as though a gentle breeze was swirling around her, and the heroic spirit flickering between her brows made Su Lun take another glance without realizing it.

Majestic, elegant, and exquisitely charming.

Before the dressing mirror, the gang leader transformed her outfit, instantly resembling a lady of high society.

But she seemed quite uncomfortable in a dress, looking disdainfully at her reflection in the mirror while muttering under her breath unintelligibly.

At that moment, she seemed to notice Su Lun's gaze, turned around, and gestured at her dress, asking, "Su Lun lad, do you notice anything odd?"

Su Lun smiled and said only one word, "Pretty."

At that, she pursed her lips, "Don't just stand there, hurry up and change. The reception starts at nine, but we should enter early and wait for that little princess."

"Oh."

Hearing this, Su Lun put away the puppet in his hand and stood up.

At a twitch of his body, without taking off his clothes, he transformed his outfit as if performing a quick-change act, miraculously changing into a white suit.

Seeing his instantaneous change of clothes, she realized his underlying ability and raised an eyebrow, "Oh... using spatial abilities to change clothes now?"

Su Lun chuckled, "Just a little trinket I figured out, magical outfit change."

With that, he shook his legs, and shiny leather boots wrapped around his feet.

Then bringing his hands together and pulling, he held a cane with a silver handle in his right hand.

Feeling like something was missing, he looped a boutonniere with his left hand and magically placed a round top hat on his head.

After he was done, he glanced at the gambling-addicted lady, "Come on, we can leave now."

From head to toe, she sized up Su Lun with a teasing light in her eyes, jesting, "Tsk, this shell of yours is really not bad~"

Su Lun just shrugged with a smile, walked over, and extended his arm, which she naturally took.

At that moment, she suddenly noticed something, "Wait."

Su Lun stopped and watched as she wrapped her arms up, then carefully straightened his collar, smoothing out the creases.

"There, much better~"

She seemed pleased, a smile appearing on her pretty face.

....

Before Princess Teresa arrived at the camp, the major families within the city had already received news of the reception.

The Unicorn Inn, this was the Reyis family's property.

As the only daughter of the Reyis family's head household, Lena naturally came underground too.

In the penthouse suite, a maid was applying her makeup.

The elderly butler's face was grave as he reported the recent situation, "Miss, the situation isn't good. The Lord has sent word that several sub-families are becoming restless. We need to be cautious; they might act against you. And this morning, the large hunting groups who had signed employment contracts with us, 'Red Dragon Hunting Group,' 'Iron Eagle Hunting Group,' 'Holy Knight Hunting Group'... several of their leaders jointly sought us out and rejected our employment."

Lena frowned, one piece of bad news after another, "But didn't we already sign the employment contract?"

"Yes, miss."

The butler continued solemnly, "But they've compensated us with a hefty penalty and unilaterally terminated the contracts. I've been negotiating with the Hunting Guild, but it's not going well... I've heard that the second and third houses have teamed up with five major families from the camp to pay the penalty. Moreover, they've threatened to suppress any hunting group that works with us. So far, despite high offers, no other hunting groups dare to contact us. Therefore, aside from the staff you brought from the family and the 'Cross Society' hunting group, we don't have many people to rely on. The information I received claimed that this time all major families in the inner city must participate in hunting, which puts us at a disadvantage, and the hunting will be extremely risky. I'm worried that they aim to harm you, thereby pressuring your father and perhaps have even larger schemes..."

Lena listened, her expression growing more intense.

After a pause, the butler added, "Also, the Clark family sent someone to convey a message; they said they could help us out of our predicament, but likely with ill intentions. Since you said not to meet, I refused them. But perhaps at this reception, Miss, you might try to connect with some allies, families who have previously been on good terms, who might help us out of respect for your father..."

Lena replied, "Hmm. Understood."

....

Su Lun and she were not hurrying.

Though her lady-like dress looked truly pretty, she didn't really like it.

Su Lun held her waist as they walked with intimate gestures.

It's not that she was putting on airs, but this gambling-addicted lady really felt uncomfortable in her skirt.

"This damn skirt, I can't even stride! Move closer to me, these high heels are so awkward to walk in..."

As they walked, Su Lun listened to her complain about the skirt more than once.

Fortunately, the walking distance wasn't too far.

Along the way, they also encountered many well-dressed young ladies and gentlemen, all seemingly headed to a social gathering.

Seeing Su Lun and his companion's attractive pairing, there were plenty of envious glances.

The two of them walked and chatted.

She briefed Su Lun, "Your identity is now 'Zoro'. This identity is registered with the Bounty Hunters' guild. Although somewhat famous, no one has seen your face... You might encounter some members of my family, and they'll likely pester you with questions... So you understand, right?"

"Mhm. Understood."

After listening for a while, a brilliant smile spread across Su Lun's face.

The identity arranged by her was naturally perfect, in her words, "The best disguise is substitution."

This was better than any fake identity Su Lun could have created himself.

As for the rest, although she was vague, Su Lun had gotten the hint.

Being an older unmarried woman, she couldn't escape certain conventions.

Meeting family, she needed a shield.

"So, you fled to the association to escape marriage?"

"What else? Of course, that's one of the reasons. You already know the rest."

"Sister, people on the streets say you don't like men, is that true?"

"Pfft—false! Not only do I not like men, I don't like women either, I only like swords!"

"..."

The two were very familiar with each other, and these topics were discussed without any taboos.

Walking along, they suddenly spotted an acquaintance.

A young girl in an evening gown, surrounded by a group of guards, emerged from a building painted white with a sign "Unicorn Hotel" hanging on it.

Looking at her striking straight black hair, who could it be if not Lena?

She seemed a bit distracted and didn't notice Su Lun and his friend passing by.

She greeted, "Lena~"
Stay tuned to empire

Lena looked at her, seemed stunned for a moment, then recognized her. Excitement lit up her eyes, and she hurried over, "Ah...Auntie Qiantiao~"

Qiantiao walked over and ruffled her hair, "Little girl, what's on your mind? You look so sorrowful."

Despite her attempt to smile at these words, Lena's face still showed signs of worry.

With nothing to hide from her family elders, she said directly, "The butler just informed me that the wilderness hunter groups we had contracts with have all backed out..."

"Oh, small matter."

Qiantiao listened, then dismissively waved her hand.

To her, it really was a trivial issue.

She then introduced Su Lun, "This is my friend 'Zoro', a very skilled Bounty Hunter. He will also help with the wilderness hunt."

Lena glanced at Su Lun, who was arm-in-arm with her aunt, her curiosity hard to conceal.

She remembered, it seemed her aunt had never been so intimate with any man.

But she didn't dwell on it, instead she took hold of her skirt, curtseyed, and said, "How do you do, Mr. Zoro. It's a pleasure to meet you. Please take good care of me."

Su Lun nodded, "Mhm."

The duo, now a group, continued up the hill.

...

The address of the banquet was at the Storm Estate.

To welcome the arrival of Princess Teresa, the original Hunters Guild had also relocated.

The major families in the camp had pooled all their resources and renovated the thousand-year-old estate, transforming it into a brand-new, luxurious mansion.

After handing out the invitations, the guards stayed at the entrance of the mansion.

Su Lun, Olli, and Camilla entered the estate.

In contrast to the previously dilapidated and noisy scene, the Storm Estate was now completely rejuvenated.

The garden was lush, with brilliantly blooming colorful flowers, and even the withered trees had sprouted leafy branches. The greenery was meticulously groomed by gardeners and stepping into it felt refreshing and clear.

This garden was likely the result of the Magicians, who had used a vast amount of resources to cultivate it.

Upon entering the building, it was even more splendid.

However, Su Lun felt slightly strange inside the mansion because he always had the sensation of looking at the cursed spatial scene from the past. The estate from a thousand years ago had been just as prosperous.

Especially... the layout of such a mansion, anyone who knew architecture could tell at a glance.

The place that should have been the banquet hall, remained the banquet hall.

The location for holding this time's party was exactly where the "Bloody Banquet" had taken place.

The banquet hall was brightly lit with dazzling lights, with soft music echoing through the hall, and elegantly dressed ladies and gentlemen gathered smoothly, holding wine glasses and chatting merrily.

When Su Lun and his companions entered, they naturally attracted the eyes of those people.

But what was slightly awkward was that the three of them were immediately ignored.

Not even the most basic nod of acknowledgment was exchanged.

These were all young ladies and gentlemen from the major families of the inner city, who all knew each other and even had deep relations.

Olli had not frequented the high society circles for a long time, she didn't care to interact with these people, and it was normal for them not to care about her.

But it was particularly strange for someone like Camilla, a top-tier tycoon's daughter.

Back when the Reis family had not split, she was the center of attention wherever she went.

But now, not only did no one come up to greet her, they seemed to be avoiding something, their gazes evading incessantly.

Camilla didn't mind, but she was somewhat worried and said in a soft voice, "The butler told me that the situation in Old Lington City is also not very good. This time my father even had me bring almost all the high-level guards from home, I don't know if there will be any problems..."

Olli listened and dismissively said, "Don't worry... those guys' schemes are not so easy to succeed."

Camilla, "Hmm."

Su Lun scanned the banquet hall and based on his memory, identified some people's identities.

Standing next to Camilla, even he, as a third party, was subject to some inexplicable "malice."

He raised his eyelids slightly, and his lips curved into a smirk, thinking to himself, "Camilla's enemies are quite numerous..."

Feeling the continuous malicious gazes, Su Lun figured that if he was to go hunting in the wilderness, it would likely be that any random encounter would be with an enemy.

However, he didn't take this malice to heart.

With the major figure Olli around, the Reis family's situation wouldn't collapse, at least Camilla wasn't going to die easily.

If worse came to worst, with his, Su's, current strength, without a third-tier professional, hardly anyone would pose a threat to him.

Having many enemies...

In certain aspects, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

....

"Tsk tsk, Camilla is probably in big trouble this time. I heard that they haven't even hired a decent hunting group, and with just the people they brought from the inner city, they probably won't last long..."

"Now the major families of the inner city have united to isolate them, no one dares to help them..."

"I heard that Miss Sofia of the Reis second family and Young Master Danze of the Olivier family have been in close contact recently, and seem to be planning an engagement. When they join forces, the dynamics of the inner city are bound to change..."

"Yes, the Reyes family needs to reshuffle as well..."

"..."

Su Lun perked up her ears and quickly grasped the situation.

The Reyes family had indeed been a top financial conglomerate, but after dividing into seven, their influence had diminished greatly.

The seven branches that split off naturally opposed the main family, even becoming enemies.

Even former allied families had turned into enemies.

The instigators of the split had offended many, and those families that had kicked them when they were down naturally wanted to eliminate any future threats.

They too wanted a share of the spoils.

This time, Lena brought many direct family experts, and she was the only heir. A total annihilation in the ruins would directly affect the internal city's situation.

With internal and external troubles, the situation for the main branch of the Reyes family was indeed worrisome.

....

The three paid no attention to the whispered conversations around them and found a corner to talk.

No one bothered them, which was also good as they did not have to deal with so-called high-society socializing.

With Senior Qiān supporting her, Lena's worried expression eased somewhat.

However, as they talked, Qiān's "trouble" arrived.

A few ladies with their clearly displeased sons approached.

The middle-aged woman wearing a large emerald necklace greeted Qiān, "Oh, Ottilia, long time no see~"

This time, it wasn't just the young masters and young ladies, many families brought their wives who worried about their precious sons and daughters being mistreated.

Qiān looked at the newcomers and frowned slightly, but she still had to greet them, "Aunt Camilla, long time no see."

Su Lun listened to their exchange and glanced at Qiān, feeling somewhat curious.

So this gambling-addict lady's full name was "Ottilia Evelyn".

And upon hearing the address, that other glamorous, golden-haired woman, she was Qiān's stepmother?

And the defiant little boy, he was her half-brother in name?

Then there were various relatives from the Evelyn family, aunts, and their children.

A large group.

Next came various greetings.

The complexities of high society included greeting, returning greetings, introducing younger generations, greeting again, returning greetings, and asking after all family elders, recalling past relations between elders...

Then, it was time for marriage urging.

"Ottilia, you're not getting any younger. Stop mixing with the commoners in the outer city. I heard you also have connections with the mob? Oh my, if that gets out, people will say our Evelyn family has fallen on hard times..."

"You don't know, just yesterday I was talking to Madam Albertini about you. They say our Evelyn family has an old maid who can't get married..."

"Ottilia, you're not getting any younger. Doctor Enzo from the Smith family is a fine young man, their family owns eight hospitals in District Number Five..."

"..."

It wasn't just Qiān, Su Lun felt overwhelmed just listening.

Since arriving in this world, all he had encountered was fighting and killing...

Apparently, there were ordinary people too...

Listening to this large-scale marriage urging scene, which was no different from his previous life, Su Lun also finally understood why Qiān had brought him here.

After listening for a while, Qiān finally lost her patience, cut off the increasingly unreliable introductions, and pulled Su Lun up, introducing him to everyone, "Oh, almost forgot to introduce, this is 'Zoro' sir. My friend."

Su Lun could only force a smile.

He took off his hat and performed a greeting, "Zoro Cerna, honored to meet all you lovely ladies."