Viola closed the door behind her. Reyn, listening to her footsteps, realized she had entered the lift and gone downstairs.
He jumped up, pumped his fist victoriously, and whispered excitedly: "Yes!" His face broke into a smile he could no longer hold back. He began pacing the room excitedly, temporarily forgetting the keyboard organ.
If not for fear of being heard, he would have shouted at the top of his lungs, venting his joy.
Was there anything more thrilling in the world than a beauty's favor? Especially from such an incomparable beauty, to whom he himself was not indifferent!
Though Viola hadn't said anything directly, her behavior, emotions, and volunteering to teach him clearly indicated her sympathy.
The whole day their interaction was shrouded in a light, barely perceptible haze of flirtation, quite ambiguous.
This feeling reminded Reyn of his first love from his past life – full of hopes and simultaneous fear that it was all just a beautiful dream.
He returned to the keyboard organ, sat down, and began pressing keys randomly, not producing a melody but just isolated, monotonous notes.
To the sound of these notes, Reyn gradually calmed down; his thoughts cleared.
Perhaps his attributes really were good; he was definitely a "promising asset" and had the right to evoke sympathy from the opposite sex, even from a beauty like Viola. However, her behavior still seemed overly proactive to him. She seemed to completely disregard the existing difference in their power, social status, background, and even age. It felt a bit strange.
Viola's emotions were likely sincere – that was evident from her soul state.
Nevertheless, even if she had intentions, she shouldn't rush like this.
At least, she should get to know him better first, not dive into the whirlpool of love like an inexperienced girl blinded by feelings.
Capable of managing the "Violet House" and being a sixth-level mage, Viola definitely wasn't that frivolous.
Unless she had other reasons.
Reyn suddenly realized clearly how little he knew about Viola: her background, full name, family roots, even whether she was married – all remained a mystery to him, and he couldn't immediately unravel her true motives.
"I need to be careful; can't let hormones cloud my mind and allow myself to be used."
Reyn cautioned himself, and his ardor cooled a bit. He opened the music notebook, picked a random melody, and began playing attentively.
Soon Viola returned.
She seemed to have realized she overdid it a bit too, so she sat a little farther away. Her demeanor remained as casual and natural, but with some distance.
"Reyn, the fair is about to start," she said. "You'll come with me."
"Alright. Anything to watch out for?" Reyn nodded.
"You're here today just to look around and maybe make new acquaintances. If you're not buying anything, just observe like at a show."
Viola briefly explained the fair's rules to Reyn.
Essentially, it was a superhuman gathering organized by the "Violet House". Participants were usually "Violet House" clients, as well as Viola's acquaintances or acquaintances of her acquaintances who received invitations.
The "Violet House" provided the venue and service, while guests could move freely, interact with others – the format resembled a banquet.
Only at this banquet did people engage in trade simultaneously.
First, the "Violet House" displayed a portion of its goods, usually quite valuable ones, and sold them via auction—whoever bid the highest. This way, they disposed of items that were hard to sell under normal circumstances.
For example, that very Soul Fusion Seed which Reyn had acquired—Viola had put it up at the fair multiple times already. The initial price was three thousand gold shields, then it was lowered again and again until it dropped to one thousand five hundred, but no buyer for such a specific item had yet appeared.
However, if one thought about it, this was quite understandable: most fair guests were already superhumans and had no need whatsoever for a Soul Fusion Seed.
Moreover, very few aspired to become combat mages, so it was no surprise that it wasn't selling.
The main event of the fair, though, was the items brought by the guests themselves.
Most brought several valuable items with them, trying to sell them to interested buyers at a greater profit or to find long-desired treasures.
The items up for trade could be anything, with no restrictions on type or price: weapons and armor, demonic souls, alchemical items, magical seals, soul crystals, potions, mounts, All Souls cards, rare materials, gemstones, luxury goods, knowledge, real estate deeds, company shares—anything of value could be sold here.
Naturally, the "Violet House," as the organizer, also took responsibility for appraising the authenticity and value of the items.
From every completed deal, the "Violet House" charged a five percent commission on the transaction amount, which the parties split evenly.
Some guests, to save on the commission, arranged private deals.
However, this happened rarely, as without the organizer's guarantees, it was easy to fall victim to deception and suffer losses. Therefore, for reliability, most guests preferred to pay the commission.
Sometimes, one such fair could bring the organizer more than a thousand gold shields in commissions.
There were downsides, though. Such fairs carried considerable risk: if the appraisal was wrong and the organizer "missed" something, they had to compensate for the losses.
If unlucky, one such mistake could lead to massive losses and even damage the reputation.
Such fairs were commonplace throughout the Empire and required the organizer to have extensive connections and a sharp eye.
Without connections, you couldn't invite so many guests; without a sharp eye, you'd constantly incur losses and couldn't keep the business going.
The "Violet House" fairs had been held for nearly three years, every month. Thanks to the highly paid team of appraisers hired by Viola, mistakes were almost nonexistent, so among Longsand's superhumans, the "Violet House" had earned a good reputation, and it brought Viola significant income.
According to Viola herself, more than half of her shop's profits came from these fairs.
Reyn was slightly surprised that she had shared even such a commercial secret with him.
"Here, essentially, are all the fair rules. It's all very simple," Viola said with a smile. "As for etiquette, you have nothing to worry about either. These aren't the days of early aristocracy; most guests are superhumans with few formalities. If you get hungry, there will be exquisite dishes and drinks at the fair—everything is very tasty, but still, don't drink too much."
Reyn nodded, indicating he understood.
At that moment, a maid approached and reminded them that it was time.
"Let's go downstairs."
Reyn followed Viola. The fair was held in a large hall on the third floor. When they stepped out of the lift, all eyes immediately turned to them.
The spacious hall was brightly lit by numerous crystal chandeliers shining like daylight.
There were about a hundred guests in the hall, mostly men. Most were impeccably dressed, the ladies in evening gowns. Of course, some who disliked formal wear had come in various enchanter robes, armor, or even casual clothes.
Reyn scanned the attendees—even without the Soul Eye, it was clear that nearly all were superhumans.
Since legendary figures might be present, he refrained from recklessly activating the Soul Eye.
Not "might be"—they definitely were.
Viola had mentioned that she invited a legendary mage to every fair to maintain order and avoid trouble, though without revealing their identity.
At that moment, all eyes were fixed on Viola.
Reyn noticed those gazes, especially the men's: admiration, approval, reverence, and, to a greater extent, adoration. Even superhumans found it hard to resist Viola's charm.
She was like a beam of light—wherever she went, she became the center of attention.
Reyn felt like he was in the shadow of that radiance. Even standing next to Viola, just a step away and half a head taller, he remained almost unnoticed.
"Good evening, gentlemen," Viola, long accustomed to such attention, walked to the center of the hall, greeted the guests, and declared the fair open.
The "Violet House" maids marched out in neat rows. They approached the rows of tables covered in black cloth, pulled it off, and beneath were glass display cases showcasing today's goods.
The hall gradually filled with noise. Guests crowded around the glass cases, questioning the maids.
Each maid was trained and responsible for one item, patiently answering guests' questions. If they didn't know something, they sought help from the shop's appraisers.
Reyn spotted the "Violet House" appraisers—three of them: two men and one woman, all no longer young superhumans.
The chief among them was an old man with gray hair, wearing glasses, exuding a scholarly aura like a professor from an academy, but actually a seventh-level mage.
From the maids' explanations to the guests, Reyn learned that this old mage was named Lavenster, from the Silverstar Academy, a renowned erudite and expert appraiser in Longsand.
The other two appraisers were somewhat younger, each with their own specialization, but not as famous as Lavenster.
Viola led Reyn to meet the guests. After a few casual phrases, she introduced Reyn to them.
All these guests were quite prominent figures: hereditary aristocrats, respected Silverstar Academy instructors, influential Tower of Mages members, high-ranking city hall officials, wealthy merchants, powerful superhumans, renowned mages, and other Longsand elite representatives.
Viola introduced Reyn as her very good friend.
The people's eyes showed undisguised surprise, as Viola had never introduced any friends before, let alone such a young and handsome man.
When they heard that Reyn was a mage, their surprise only grew.
By his build and bearing—tall and muscular—Reyn resembled an Iron Guard more than a mage.
However, out of respect for Viola, most guests greeted Reyn quite amicably, secretly memorizing his name.
There were a few who made no secret of their hostility toward Reyn.
They constantly watched Viola and, even before she introduced them, noticed Reyn's close relationship with her, casting angry glances at him.
This somewhat annoyed Reyn: so unexpectedly, he had acquired several potential rivals, and each, by all appearances, was no pushover.
"Viola wanted to introduce me to her circle out of the best intentions, but the result was the opposite: I haven't made friends yet, but I've already gained plenty of enemies..."
"Truly, a fateful woman!"
Reyn, gritting his teeth, continued accompanying Viola. She was about to introduce him to a middle-aged man standing before them, but Reyn realized he already knew him and even had his business card.
"Mr. Kenji," Reyn greeted first.
The middle-aged man was indeed Kenji, whom he had met a few days ago. He was dressed in an impeccable suit, hair neatly combed back. His manners were refined, but his gaze extremely perceptive. He looked like a flawless, elegant gentleman.
Kenji examined Reyn carefully and said with admiration:
"It's only been a few days, and you've changed so much."
"Reyn, you know the deputy chairman Kenji?" Viola was a bit surprised. Reyn had been an ordinary student before—how could he know the Mechanics Guild deputy chairman?
"We met a few days ago," Reyn replied to her, then turned to Kenji and added seriously, "I've become a mage."
Kenji nodded slightly:
"I knew you'd succeed, but congratulations anyway."