You call this the mastermind?

Although the wizard world is beyond the secular world, some entertainment measures basically follow the secular situation.

Among them, there is naturally such a thing as a casino.

And Mellen came back so late, and when he came back, he was in a mess, even with a bruised face.

It really looks like a gambler who borrowed too much money and couldn't pay it back and was beaten up.

However, there is another possibility, that is, his statement is actually an excuse to fool Kevin who has been waiting for a long time.

Being chased and beaten for an afternoon, it is understandable that he came back so late, and such a bad appearance is indeed not suitable to attend the banquet tomorrow night.

The trouble is solved satisfactorily.

But...

If this is the case, he is too cruel to himself, right?

The bald Vice President Victor was secretly shocked.

He felt that the young man in front of him must not want to offend Kevin, but did not want to attend the banquet tomorrow night, so he came up with such a "bitter plan".

Therefore, he looked at Mellen with a very strange look, with admiration and recognition, and his previous annoyance was reduced a lot.

Inspector von der Leyen didn't think so.

Because he knew more, he certainly didn't think that Mellen was just using a self-torture trick.

Of course, he didn't believe that the other party went to gamble today-

Apart from anything else, the letter of introduction for this kid to meet Arthur was written by him.

Moreover, he also vaguely knew a little about Arthur's thoughts, hoping that Mellen would mess up his fiancée and teach that vicious woman a lesson.

So he thought that Mellen's "self-torture trick" behavior was not to avoid trouble.

Instead, it was to save his chance to be invited to the banquet tomorrow, and then wait for an opportunity to get close to Arthur's fiancée at the banquet.

But why did he want to hide before, but now he suddenly changed his attitude?

The old man was very puzzled.

Could it be that during the time he was hiding, Mellen was preparing means to fight against trouble?

But what means could he have to be confident that he could survive the difficulties that were very likely to appear at the banquet?

However, because he didn't know Mellen's specific thoughts, he also had a certain degree of trust in Mellen's ability, so although he was confused in his heart, he didn't speak.

Only Kevin with golden hair really believed Mellen's words.

Otherwise, what else could it be?

If Mellen hadn't appeared, he could have thought that this guy had noticed that something was wrong, so he hid out in advance.

But since he appeared, this assumption basically did not exist.

Kevin didn't believe that Mellen would use the "bitter flesh trick" just to please him.

After all, this illegitimate child had provoked him once before, so how could he suddenly be humble to his own brother?

So, it was reasonable to go to gamble, delay time, lose money, and be beaten up.

Kevin was a little gloating, and unconsciously looked down on Mellen.

A illegitimate child who was a little clever could be said to be a certain threat to him.

But a gambler...

"Deep gambling addiction is not something that can be contracted in an instant. It must be a long-term bad habit."

"Obviously, someone looks good on the surface, but is actually rotten to the core."

"Mom should be very disappointed in you..."

Kevin thought to himself, and the annoyance that had been suppressed in his heart for a long time dissipated instantly.

On the surface, he showed a kind smile, and was very considerate and did not expose Mellen's scars again, but appropriately proposed a banquet invitation.

However, the other party's next words made the smile on his face suddenly freeze.

"Because I owe too much money, I have decided to leave this city, leaving tonight."

The black-haired boy, who was in a very embarrassed state, said bitterly: "I came back now to say goodbye to you and pack up my gifts."

This statement obviously exceeded their cognition.

Vice President Victor, who thought Mellen was playing a self-torture trick, was stunned, and von der Leyen, who thought Mellen was trying to regain his qualification to enter the banquet, was also stunned.

Only Kevin, with blond hair, really believed it.

However, this was beyond his plan.

If the illegitimate child ran away, he would naturally not be able to attend the banquet, but his behavior could avoid the banquet, but could not escape his father's pursuit.

Or it can be said that if a top wizard with high power wants, he can dig someone out from any corner of the known world without any effort.

In this way, it is useless for him to run away, and the situation is still very bad...

"How much money do you owe others," Kevin frowned and asked, "You actually want to run away?"

Merlen shook his head and kept silent, as if he was ashamed to speak.

"The association still has some connections in Graham City."

The bald Vice President Victor on the side is now a little confused about what is going on, but he feels that if he is just being "hunted down" by the casino, he has the confidence and responsibility to help the other party settle it.

"Which casino did you go to? Mermaid Hunting Ground? Or Chaos Poker Group?"

"It is only natural to pay back debts."

Merlen said righteously: "Although I am going to run away, I still have to be reasonable. I will pay back the money sooner or later."

"So, we can mediate for you and let them give us some grace."

Vice President Victor continued: "Or how much money you owe, I can make the decision to pay it for you first."

"Then I have to owe the association a big favor?"

Mellen's answer surprised him, "I just joined the association yesterday, and I have to owe it a big favor today. Will I be tied here and unable to move?"

So you want to change jobs?

Victor's face darkened when he heard this, and the annoyance that had disappeared before came back.

But on the other hand, he couldn't guess what Mellen was thinking about now, so he simply snorted coldly and ignored this inexplicable boy.

Von der Leyen on the side vaguely understood what Mellen was going to do, and then his expression became very strange.

"Is this... using my own participation in the banquet tomorrow as a threat to blackmail people for money?"

For a moment, he thought that he must have guessed wrong, after all, this kind of thing is too absurd.

However, looking closely at Mellen's appearance, he felt that, yes, he must have this purpose.

So the old man was anxious, or it was very hard to believe.

When a half-blood offends a child of a big family, he is considered very lucky and resourceful to get rid of the trouble.

You want to benefit from it? Want to use others' revenge psychology to blackmail money?

Where do you get your confidence?

Do you really think that people from big families are fools? Can they be fooled by you like a fool?

For some reason, they want to teach you a lesson, but the premise of this lesson is to vent emotions, not to be fooled by you...

His inner thoughts made him inexplicably disappointed. He even couldn't help but doubt whether this very capable little guy had a great arrogance in his character, or even arrogance made him dizzy?

However, what happened next obviously overturned his cognition of this, and he was stunned unconsciously.

"If you don't mind, I can help you pay back the money." After wiping the corner of his mouth with a handkerchief, Kevin at the dining table stepped in front of Mellen.

After patting his cheap "brother" on the shoulder, the blond boy said sincerely: "If you don't want to owe favors, you can also regard this money as my investment in you."

"Investment, there are successes and failures. This is a business behavior, very normal, and does not involve personal feelings."

"Really?" Melen seemed to be moved by the words.

"Of course it's true. Now tell me, how much money do you owe others?"

After hesitating for a while, Melen stretched out a hand and gestured.

"Fifty thousand grams of ghost dust? No problem, I can give it to you now."

"Not fifty thousand, but five hundred thousand..."

Kevin was stunned when he heard the words, and then looked at Melen deeply, "Then this is a big investment."

"If it doesn't work, forget it."

Melen seemed embarrassed and said: "I don't think I will be worth so much money in the future, and there may be nothing to give you in return."

"...Of course I can't just let it go."

Kevin suddenly laughed, then took out a bunch of dark blue metal keys from his magic pocket, took out five of them and handed them to Melen.

"Take it. These are the withdrawal receipts from the Flash Bank. A total of 500,000 is enough for you to pay off your gambling debts."

He deliberately emphasized the word "gambling debts" with a hint of sarcasm.

"Also, since I have helped you pay off the money, don't forget to attend the party tomorrow night."

"Can I bring a friend with me?"

Merlen looked at the keys in his hand and asked casually, "I mean, since it is a party that invites young wizards to participate..."

"Of course no problem."

Kevin was too lazy to think about whether this friend would be a helper for Mellen, and he agreed readily after hearing it.

"You can bring as many people as you want."

...

It seemed that the matter was settled.

After leaving the invitation letter with the specific time and address of the party, the blond Kevin kept smiling and left without looking back.

That look was like a fat sheep who knew he was being cheated but was willing to be cheated...

The bald Vice President Victor next to him was stunned.

Is this the demeanor of a big family?

Is this the demeanor of a child from a big family?

Money turns out to be... so easy to make?

500,000 grams, half a ton, that's not a small amount!

An ordinary small pure-blood family may not have so much financial income in a year...

And their association...

And their association has even been operating in debt, relying entirely on member donations and bank loans...

Von der Leyen, who was standing by, was also surprised.

Obviously, he had lived for most of his life, and this was the first time he had seen such a strange thing happen.

But then, he suddenly grabbed Mellen's arm and pulled him to a corner, his expression very serious, even solemn.

"How did you offend him, so that he was willing to pay a high price and let you participate in the banquet tomorrow?"

"I don't know either."

Mellen answered innocently, "That guy is always inexplicable, and I have never figured out how I offended him."

When he performed magic, the other party's attitude was very bad, and it was not that Mellen changed his attitude after performing magic.

So Mellen really couldn't understand what the little yellow-haired boy was thinking.

However, what he was sure of was that there must be a wide range of implications behind this matter.

The reason was that when he was communicating with the spirit world, he encountered many fragments.

Not just a few, but many!

Only wizards with higher levels than Melen can make his spiritual communication "blackout", so the complexity of this matter is self-evident.

This is also the reason why Melen is confident that he can extort money from this matter--

For a guy like Kevin who comes from a big family and doesn't know how hard it is to make money, can money be called money?

They are eager to solve problems with money.

Why can they extort so much money?

Melen actually has no idea about the purchasing power of ghost dust.

But he thinks that since he, a newcomer who has just joined an unpopular association, can get a subsidy of 500 grams per month.

Then facing a child of a top big family, wouldn't it be a waste of this opportunity if he doesn't ask for more?

Fifty thousand or a hundred thousand, that's simply looking down on him!

As for further offending the little yellow-haired boy, Melen doesn't care.

He has already been offended inexplicably, and he even came to cause trouble. What's the point of shrinking back?

However, in this regard, Melen has not considered the consequences.

It can even be said that this bad thing has actually turned into a good thing.

First, the stepfather plan has taken shape.

Second, he has found out how deep the little yellow-haired man's "resentment" towards him is - at least worth half a ton of ghost dust.

Third, he has obtained a large sum of money.

And again...

"It's time to hug the thigh of the rich woman."

After comforting the old man who was worried about this, Mellen collected the money he earned today, and then rushed to the Chelsea family's manor with the black wooden box.

He wants to report this matter to his "employer".

The apprentice who just chose is in trouble, she will not "watch him die without helping", right?

Although the little yellow-haired man may have a close relationship with the Chelsea family, this is actually just right.

Mellen can use this incident to test what the lady's attitude towards him is.

At the same time, it seems that he is now asking for help from others, but in fact, in modern society, there is a very interesting social skill.

That is, people who help you will have a better impression of you.

This may be because people generally believe that since they have helped others, the other party will definitely be grateful to them, and then the image of the person being helped will gradually become special in the mind of the helper.

And there is also the effect of sunk costs.

So, if you want to quickly improve your relationship with others, you have to find a way to create one or more appropriate troubles for yourself, and then give others the opportunity to help you.

Mellen now wants to use this method to "brush up" the lady's favorability.

In this way, the matter of killing two birds with one stone was formed.