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‘But now that Rhegium had completely merged with Theonia…’ Miciales began to get a headache whenever he thought about it. However, he quickly recovered because, from what he had observed over the years, King Davos was fairly impartial in his dealings and didn\'t become too biased just because Alkibiades was his brother-in-law. Moreover, he had worked well with the Ministry of Ministry over the years and believed King Davos would treat him fairly in the Latium region.

‘It is a fair competition!’ And Miciales wasn\'t afraid because apart from the advantage of being a Theonian citizen and a native of Thurii, he had also worked a lot with the Theonian Akademia, often providing inspiring scholars with necessities and a place to experiment. And some of the things they invented also helped him to improve the technology and efficiency of his shipbuilding, and they also produced some special new ships, like the fast trireme warship and the ironclad warship currently being tested…

Suddenly, a servant entered and reported to Sostratus, “Master, Agemus has arrived.”

“Hurry and invite him in!” said Sostratus hurriedly.

The crowd also looked outside the hall.

“Everyone, I apologise for being late!” With this rough and slightly blunt Greek accent, a tall, muscular middle-aged man strode into the hall.

Agemus, formerly known as Agum, was a native of Bruttii. He began trading in medicinal herbs after Bruttii was absorbed into the Theonia Union, and his tribe, in order to survive, had entrusted him with the task of selling the herbs they gathered on the Consentia Plateau to the Thurii market in exchange for food and other necessities the tribe desperately needed. But through his honesty and ingenuity, as well as his cooperation with Theonia\'s medical school and his tireless efforts to expand his channels, he became the most prominent herb merchant in the kingdom of Theonia and settled in Thurii. He even changed his name to Agemus to show that he has fully integrated into the main culture of the kingdom.

“There\'s no need to apologise, Agemus. We just thought that you were dealing with something important.”

“That\'s right.” The others also took the initiative to spare him. After all, Agemus had always arrived early in the previous gatherings.

“Regardless, I am still late. I would like to host a banquet tonight to apologise to everyone!” Agemus said straightforwardly.

“Agemus, no one would argue with you paying for tonight\'s banquet!” Sepernus exclaimed, making everyone laugh.

Agemus\' openness and willingness to help others made it possible for Agemus, a foreigner, to join the Thurii Chamber of Commerce. Because as long as Agemus knew that the merchants here or their relatives were ill, he would send good, fresh herbs according to the physicians\' prescriptions as soon as he heard of it.

“I\'ve long wanted to host another banquet for everyone,” Agemus smiled. Then he said, “I was late because Lord Arpenst of the Ministry of Military has approached me and asked me to ensure an adequate supply of herbs for the army\'s expedition to the north. And I think today\'s meeting should be about His Majesty Davos allowing us Thurian merchants to accompany the army.”

“Looks like you already know, which saves me the trouble of repeating it,” laughed Sostratus.

“Agemus, with your excellent medicinal herbs, no other herb merchants can compete with you once your herbs arrive in Rhegium!” Sepernus exclaimed with envy.

“Although no one competes with me, there is also no one to buy.” Agemus shrugged his shoulders and said with seriousness, “After all, it would take time for the Theonian physicians to treat them and prescribe the medicine…”

While everyone was discussing, the servant returned and whispered a few words into Sostratus\' ear, causing him to frown. Then he said, “Everyone, Aenepias has arrived!”

“Aenepias always arrived late that I don\'t even know how he became a famous stone merchant in Thurii!” Sepernus snarled.

“Wasn\'t that because his family had long been involved in stone quarrying and carving, so they had many experienced stonemasons and skilled sculptors? Then, they accumulated much wealth easily by taking advantage of the kingdom\'s rapid expansion and the vigorous construction of public works in various cities. Otherwise, if it\'s just him…” someone scorned.

As head of the Chamber of Commerce, it wouldn\'t be good for Sostratus to judge the other members, so he just digressed and said, “Accompanying Aenepias is Leocrates!”

“Why did he come?!” Dicaeapolis was surprised.

“My guess is it was about us following His Majesty on the expedition,” Tios replied uncertainly.

“This is the reward His Majesty Davos has given us, the merchants of Thurii! They are simply delusional if they want to gain benefits when the Crotonian merchants haven\'t contributed anything to the kingdom!” Phrasias retorted.

His words aroused the anger of the other merchants.

Miciales then asked suspiciously, “This is supposed to be confidential, so how did he find out?”

“Aenepias must have told him!” Sepernus accused.

“Aenepias shouldn\'t know about what we are discussing today,” Kalmandes defended the stone merchant since they were original citizens of Thurii.

“Confidential?! So how did Agemus know about it?!” Sepernus retorted.

“Anyway, today\'s important meeting is for our Chamber of Commerce, which is inappropriate for outsiders to attend,” Dicaeapolis looked at Sostratus and suggested.

Sostratus nodded.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

“My apologies! My master says he is currently discussing important matters with his guests and has no spare time to meet with you today.” Outside Sostratus\' residence, Sostratus\' servant spoke politely with a look of refusal.

On hearing this, Aenepias immediately shrugged and said helplessly, “There\'s nothing I can do about it since they don\'t want to see you at the moment.”

Without a trace of resentment, Leocrates calmly said, “My promise remains valid regarding your wish to supply stone and statues for the great arena in Crotone, which is to be built with donations from our Chamber of Commerce.”

Aenepias\' face lit up with joy upon hearing that.

Leocrates suppressed his reluctance and left.

As head of Crotone\'s Chamber of Commerce, Leocrates knew that King Davos had allowed merchants to follow his army into Latium, thus providing them with considerable business opportunities. ‘Obviously, the Thurian merchants were unwilling to share this opportunity with others, but… since the Thurian merchants could get such an opportunity by donating grain, Crotone\'s Chamber of Commerce could do the same…’

With that in mind, Leocrates paused, glanced back at Sostratus\' residence, and thought of another critical issue. Unlike Thurii\'s Chamber of Commerce in the centre of the kingdom, the Crotonian merchants couldn\'t compare with them in terms of overall financial resources since they had experienced the destruction of their city, resulting in their inability to donate such a large amount of grain to the kingdom… ‘Perhaps we should contact Scylletium and Terina\'s Chamber of Commerce…raise funds to donate a much larger amount of grain than Thurii\'s Chamber of Commerce, which would allow us to get permission to travel to Latium! But we must do this immediately since the army\'s departure shouldn\'t be that far off!…’

When Leocrates thought of this, he became so anxious that he began to run.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

As Davos\' court herald and chief intelligence officer, Aristias was a member of Davos\' inner circle, a man many influential statesmen wouldn\'t dare underestimate. However, he usually kept a low profile, living in a small residence no different from the commoners. Aristias\' courtyard is a square with a pool and garden in the middle; the main building faces south, with the slaves\' quarters on one side, Aristias\' study and living room on the other, and the courtyard entrance to the south… it is pretty simple.

The only redeeming feature was that the courtyard was situated at the southern foot of the King\'s Hill, allowing him to reach the palace or the King\'s residence quickly to pass on important information to Davos on time. At the same time, it also provided him with a great deal of security as the palace guards patrolled continuously throughout the day.

But Aristias\' brother, Antrapolis, thought differently, “Brother, your residence is too ordinary! If others saw it, they wouldn\'t believe that one of the most important officials in the kingdom lived here. There is absolutely no need for you to suffer like this!”

“I\'m just a court herald, not an official, so what\'s the point of all this luxury? And I could just live in the villa for a while when I get tired of living here.” Aristias said dismissively.