Records of the Weakest Emperor

"What is this unfinished business that you're talking about, Calvin?" The Cavaliers finally left the scene. On their faces were pensive looks that sought for answers.

James Branzuela couldn't help but ask this question with a frown on his face considering that Calvin even replied to them in code. In short, this unfinished business of his was probably something that shouldn't be revealed to others.

But just what exactly was that unfinished business that he would be so secretive?

"You'll understand what I'm talking about later, Vice-Captain. Just follow me for now, and I'll lead the way." Calvin mysteriously smiled. Ashlynn and Bruce glanced at their Captain and seeing that he didn't seem to be perturbed. The two of them didn't try to say anything anymore as they obediently followed behind Calvin.

The path was narrow at first.

Then, they arrived at a valley.

Afterwards, they reached a village similar to the Village of Tulog, but when the Cavaliers thought that Calvin's so-called unfinished business was in this village.

Calvin didn't even spare the village a glance. Instead, he climbed up to the top to another village with signage that said, 'Village of Tulog'.

"What?" Bruce muttered in confusion, "Why did that village transfer to the top of the hill? Did it teleport or something?"

"No..." James Branzuela stared at Bruce in amusement, "That village is an illusion. I reckon if someone goes inside that fake village, they will forever be unable to escape. Damn, this place is even more sinister than I thought."

Bruce felt a shiver down his spine. How could he not be shocked when the village in front of them looked incredibly normal and similar to a proper hamlet as the world knew? To think that it would be a death trap... Bruce was now starting to get spooked by the eeriness of the place as he stuck closer to the Vice-Captain.

Ashlynn noticed this and she couldn't help but mock, "Bruce... Stop acting like a sissy. Are you scared about something that isn't even able to hurt you?"

"Shut up..." Bruce rolled his eyes at her, eliciting Ashlynn's bell-like laughter.

The mood of the group seemed to have lightened somewhat as Calvin took advantage of this opportunity to ask.

"Captain, mind if you tell me? How's Charlotte and Cecilia doing?"

In the entire time that Calvin had been in the Village of Tulog. He had never been worried about Charlotte and Cecilia. It was because he knew that they were in good hands. No place was safer in Ashmelion than the Captivating Fragrance Coffee Shop.

"..." Ron Samuel stopped in his tracks.

Weird expressions appeared on the faces of everyone else aside from Calvin who looked utterly confused.

'Did I say something wrong?' He thought to himself.

But at the very next moment, he was enlightened.

"You see, Calvin... You sure do have a capable wife."

Ron Samuel's tone of voice turned weird, "The Captivating Fragrance Coffee Shop is supposed to be a front for our operations. You can't expect us to do our modus operandi in some random basement in Ashmelion, right? And that is where the coffee shop comes in."

"We built that coffee shop to serve as the front for our operations. I'm sure that you've already caught the hints, but we don't really care if the coffee shop earns money. Besides Ashlynn, no one really cares if we get any customers or not. That's why our coffees are expensive..."

"Of course, there are some stupid young masters who want to prove to themselves that they've found a hidden gem of a shop."

"Still, they'd be disappointed in the end, since we aren't really using expensive materials to make our expensive coffees. In short, we basically don't care about the business."

"However..." Ron Samuel averted his gaze away from Calvin, "Your wife..."

"What?"

Calvin stared at Ron Samuel in confusion.

"Did she do something wrong? What happened to her?"

"No, no, no..."

Ashlynn was the one who answered Calvin's question, "Sister Charlotte is doing good and she's been a massive asset to us, the changes that she brought for the improvement of the coffee shop when she started to work with us had given us nothing but endless benefits, however..."

Ashlynn felt awkward to continue but under the urging eyes of the others. She had no other choice but to gulp a mouthful of saliva and continue her words from earlier, "You see..."

"She made us popular."

"Hmm?" Calvin was still confused, "Is it bad if we're popular?"

Ashlynn gnashed her teeth, "Damn it, Calvin! Can't you see these dark circles under our eyes?"

"Being popular isn't really a problem, but she gave us too much popularity!"

"She revamped the prices of the coffees and even added some ingredients such as honey to improve the tastes of our products to the extent that our coffees didn't taste like they were made out of inferior materials anymore!"

"What's more, since our products are made cheaply, she also proposed for us to lower our prices. Obviously, since we're trying to hide from her the fact that the coffee shop is just a front for our operations..."

"We had no other choice but to follow her proposal since her words actually make sense and it would be strange if a business such as our coffee shop isn't actively trying to make money."

"Wouldn't that make us garner her suspicion?" Ashlynn ended her spiel as she took several deep breaths into her lungs, "Since you disappeared, she has become considerably active in the coffee shop. It feels like she's trying to prove a point to you."

"Trying to prove a point?" Calvin muttered to himself.

Soon, after pondering about it for a few minutes.

A smile crept on his lips.

"Charlotte... What a silly woman." He shook his head and the smile on his face deepened under the gaze of Ashlynn and the others.

"Damn, he's too deep in the rabbit hole!" Bruce exclaimed.

"So, that's how a man would look like when he's in love."

Ashlynn surreptitiously glanced at Ron Samuel.

"What do you want me to do, Captain?" Calvin turned to look at Ron Samuel and asked.

Ron Samuel was about to answer when he was held back by James Branzuela.

"Can you tell your wife to hold back her proposal for changes?"

"Don't misunderstand my words, all right?"

"It's not like what she's doing is detrimental for us..."

"It's just that if she keeps on proposing those changes and we keep on doing the changes that she wants to happen, we will soon find ourselves unable to keep the coffee shop running with the number of customers pouring in." James patiently explained.

Ashlynn let out a sigh, "Yeah, that's right... It's such a shame since Sis Charlotte's proposals are actually quite good."

Calvin revealed an awkward smile. He really didn't expect that the addition of Charlotte would cause such a headache to these Cavaliers.

"I'll keep that in mind, Vice-Captain. How about Cecilia? Is she doing good?" Calvin asked.

James Branzuela nodded his head, but Bruce was the one who answered.

"Actually."

"What? Did she also do something wrong?" Now, Calvin was starting to get concerned.

"No..." Bruce shook his head, "It's not that she's doing something wrong." He furtively glanced at Ron Samuel and continued, "The Captain seemed to have taken a liking to her..."

"What?!" Calvin stared at Ron Samuel in horror. Could it be that this cold middle-aged man who looks like the perfect gentleman is actually a lolicon in the closet?!

"Pffft!" Ashlynn almost keeled over onto the floor when he noticed the weird look on Calvin's face, "You're misunderstanding something here, Calvin."

"The Captain is not a lolicon... Although, I don't know if he's actually interested in girls."

Ashlynn said these words ambiguously as she stuck both of her elbows together, emphasizing the valley between her chests as she boldly stared at Ron Samuel.

"Hmmph!" Ron Samuel scoffed, "I'm just not interested in those pimples."

"What...?" Ashlynn's figure froze, "Captain..."

"Did. You. Just. Call. My. Breasts. Pimples?" Ashlynn asked, carefully intonating each word in her sentence.

James Branzuela facepalmed.

Bruce also looked as if he was in pain as his shoulders kept on shaking, desperately trying to contain the laughter that threatened to come out of his throat at any moment.

Calvin was also speechless.

'Is the Captain just as dense as a natural satellite, or is he really not interested in Ashlynn?'

No one knew the answer to Calvin's question other than the Captain himself.

In the end, Calvin had to interrupt the banter of the two as he pleaded, "Please tell me about what Cecilia had done."

"Ahem." Ashlynn recovered from her trance and stared strangely at Calvin, "You have a really smart daughter."

"Huh? Isn't that a good thing?"

"Yeah. Normally, it is. But your daughter is taking advantage of the Captain's fondness in children!"

"What?" Calvin stared at Ashlynn in confusion, "Just what the hell are you talking about?"

Ashlynn didn't know whether to laugh or to cry as she continued to explain, "You see, your daughter is treating the Captain as if he was her Uncle. With that in mind and considering the Captain's soft heart towards children..."

"Your daughter would always have the Captain buy her treats and sweets from a nearby bakery shop."

"Pffft!" Calvin almost busted a gut as he tried to contain his laughter, "Really? What's wrong with that, then? It's just some treats, right?"

"Well, yeah... But the thing is..."

"The Captain is broke."

Ashlynn momentarily closed her eyes as if she was paying respects to the Captain.

"Ah." Calvin let out an exclaim of understanding, "I see..."

"All right, I'll go and reimburse the Captain with my salary once we get back."

"Are you sure? I've calculated and your daughter has already taken about five hundred Joselian Pesos from Captain in treats alone."

"Oh, fifty Joselian Pesos? That's not a—what?! Five hundred Joselian Pesos?!" Calvin's scalp turned numb in horror.

"Yeah." Ashlynn nodded.

Calvin glanced at Ron Samuel and he closed his eyes for a moment as if he was paying his respects to the Captain's wallet.

Ron Samuel stared at Calvin and asked, "Now that you've heard the values, are you going to reimburse me or what?"

"Ah! We're already here? Damn the journey took longer than I thought. Sorry for dragging you all the way over here." Calvin looked apologetically at the others.

Ron Samuel knitted his eyebrows and asked once more, "You still haven't answered me yet, Calvin." His tone of voice had gone cold.

"The unfinished business that I was talking about is here, and it involves..." Calvin mysteriously smiled at the others as he purposely ignored Ron Samuel's words. Taking off the Bloodstone hanging around his neck, Calvin whispered Stephanie's name in his heart.

'Stephanie!'

He called out and the temperature around the area immediately dipped.

"What?!" Bruce was so startled by this sudden change that he couldn't help but exclaim.

Ron Samuel and James Branzuela immediately bent their knees.

The mana in their bodies churned as they stared at Calvin in shock.

"What are you doing?" Ron Samuel asked.

"I'm going to take care of an unfinished business, Captain."

Ron Samuel furrowed his eyebrows.

At the very next moment, a half-bodied Specter manifested behind Calvin.

The Specter was the image of a beautiful woman.

Though her eyes were closed, one could still feel the coldness within them.

Evidently, she was a powerful Specter that could only be defeated by the Vice-Captain or the Captain.

Ashlynn and Bruce looked nervous.

"What's the meaning of this, Calvin?" James Branzuela asked with a frown.

"This is the unfinished business that I was talking about, Captain." Calvin mysteriously smiled.