Chapter 275 Barbara Clinton (Part 1)

?After a long period of training, Adam finally made a breakthrough. His magical energy had been strengthened, and his fighting spirit had been solidified.

“How amazing. My power gets better and better with each level,” he thought excitedly, looking at his hands and then clenching them, feeling the enormous power contained in his fist. “Each level is separated by an incredible barrier of strength!”

Just as he was marveling at his new power, his status appeared.

[Name: Adam

Race: Devil

Power Rating: B+

Talent: Absent 𝓯𝘦𝘸𝘯𝘰𝓿.𝒸ℴ𝑚

Current Level: Condensing Magical Energy (3)]

“It seems I am an anomaly, with my power rating being above average,” the man thought, tilting his head to the side and examining the text. “But that’s no reason to slack off on my training.”

***

The next morning, Elrion was absent from work, so Adam had to put up with annoying customers.

But overall, the day went well. He enjoyed his job… standing around and doing nothing, as his mere presence and aura made people with bad intentions forget about them and leave the store before it was too late.

The girls from the store had begun to get used to their new surroundings and no longer panicked as they had on their first day of work.

Elrion’s work was highly valued, and it was especially good that the store had items for people with low incomes, so it attracted two categories of customers.

Although, of course, this did not bring in much revenue, the young businessman said that he was more interested in the process of earning and creating designs, rather than the income.

“I can’t understand him. But whatever,” Adam thought, curling his lips. “Today is a good day and it’s going smoothly, without any problems. I think we can handle it…”

Ding!

While the man was lost in thought, the bell warning of customers entering rang, and by that time, Adam had returned his attention to the door, and then froze.

“Did I… raise a red flag?” the man thought, feeling gloomy.

“You don’t seem happy to see me!” a disinterested female voice sounded.

Adam rolled his eyes and looked at the person in front of him. It was Barbara in her usual beautiful and slender body, dressed in a long black dress with gold accents.

“Of course not, Mrs. Clinton. I was just surprised by your visit,” said Adam, politely bowing and looking at the woman in front of him, curling his lips and thinking: “What did she forget in the store?”

“There it is…”

Barbara casually nodded and turned her gaze to the nervous customers and employees of the store, who, as if victims under the furious gaze of Medusa Gorgon, froze, turning to stone.

Only after the woman moved her gaze to Adam did the people feel relief, but the previous liveliness was not visible.

“It seems I’ve disrupted the store’s work. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to,” the woman said, brushing her hair back behind her ear and looking at the man with a strange expression. “But you, it seems, have become even stronger than I remember. Were you really that talented, and I was blind not to notice it?”

“…”

Adam didn’t know how to answer this question, so he just looked at her with a neutral expression.

Barbara seemed to like this reaction, and a carefree smile appeared on her face, after which she asked him:

“You still don’t want to try your hand at business? I’ve heard, and seen, how easily you handle some ideas from your head, so I’d like you to think about it!” the woman said, narrowing her eyes. “But it seems you’re not too keen on it. Which is very unfortunate. I hate to see talents go to waste.”

“You’ll have to excuse me, I’m not very knowledgeable about business,” Adam replied, brazenly lying.

Perhaps his understanding of business was indeed limited, but when it came to robbing people and making easy money, his brain came up with hundreds of ideas on how to make money.

Barbara Clinton also sensed something similar in him, but since the man insisted on refusing, she did not continue.

Then, with ease in her gaze, she surveyed the assortment of goods, the employees, and the customers, making the last two tremble, and then smiled.

“It seems the store is running smoothly, I’m very pleased. Having invested so much money in you both, I’ve gotten a decent result,” the woman said, and then leaned forward, her nose almost touching the man’s nose. Her brown eyes narrowed, and she whispered: “Maybe you’ll accompany me on a little walk around the city? I just finished my business…”

“I don’t mind,” Adam replied, without hesitation under her insistent gaze, and then added: “But if I leave my post, some brazen people may appear.”

“They won’t appear,” Barbara replied, her tone sounding very confident. She added: “No one is stupid enough to try to steal even a scrap of clothing from this store. Or else their family will be doomed to death.”

“Well…”

Adam rolled his eyes in secret but agreed.

“Wonderful!” Barbara commented with a cynical smile.

***

“Clinton City was in a state of stagnation for a long time, until I came to power. I think you must have heard that although this place was historically a center for the gathering of the rich, it was mired in endless corruption, and it was impossible to do business here,” Barbara explained in a light and calm voice, her gaze flitting from one shop to another. “But I was much tougher. I wasn’t interested in short-term profits but in long-

term ones. That’s why I allowed ordinary people to do business as well, and the only thing they had to pay for the first two years was the land fee.”

Adam listened to this while holding bags containing a set of clothes in his hand. Barbara wanted to buy some clothes for herself from the store, and she insisted on being allowed to pay for them herself.

The man did not refuse – and he didn’t care. For now, he was holding onto the bags, as it seemed that this woman did have a day off, and she was interested in having some fun and going shopping.

And hearing her speech about the history of the city, Adam thought about how much it must have cost in the early years of development, making his heart bleed.

“Although the problem of land payment was a matter of money, it seems that you did not tax their business, right?” Adam asked, and the woman confirmed his guess with a nod. He continued: “Two years without taxes and the only income was the land payment, which comparatively couldn’t even cover the city’s surface expenses. This meant that the first two years you were going deep into the red.”

“Correct, you’re right,” Barbara replied, weakly smiling and walking casually. “Initially, Clinton City was in complete corruption, you already know that. So I wanted to first clear the reputation, and I made concessions that ultimately led to a temporary decline in the treasury” the woman explained, and added: “Of course, it’s risky. Competition appeared and attempts at monopoly, were suppressed as soon as possible, but there were still several problems. In those years, I wasn’t very well trained in management, so this brought the city a lot of financial losses, but now I’m convinced that short-term gains sometimes need to be ignored in favor of long-term ones.”

“I agree…”

Adam nodded. After all, he had a city under his management too, and although he didn’t have such grandiose ideas as Barbara, he sometimes made concessions that harmed his short-term profit.

However, it should be noted that the strategy of long-term profit could sometimes be risky and even become the last nail in the coffin of the city’s economy.

It was necessary to consider all the risks and possibilities, and then proceed to the task.

“There’s a saying that risks are accompanied by opportunities, but if my opinion is relevant, I wouldn’t want to rely on such things,” Adam suddenly said, and his eyes became cloudy as he remembered the city of Sedyon. “Building a stable city is a difficult task, so although I consider your strategy interesting and respectable, to some extent, luck was present in your plan.”

“Luck?” Barbara slyly smiled, but Adam didn’t notice this, as he was too engrossed.

“Well, there have been cases where, in the absence of very strict control, trade has gone beyond what is allowed. It’s impossible to count how many traders and ordinary businessmen do whatever they can to avoid paying taxes. Moreover, in your city, there is even a system to help new businessmen…”

Adam continued to reflect on how Clinton City was able to achieve such development. In general, he was saying sensible things, but because he was too excited, he did not notice Barbara’s intent gaze, which looked as if she had found a treasure.

Barbara was able to analyze his words and understood that Adam mainly used a strategy aimed at efficiency, and he had critical thinking.

In his opinion, it was possible to allow situations where it was necessary to work at a loss for future benefits, but for him, a strict strategy was more characteristic.

“Interesting… it seems that he’s not interested in business, but he certainly knows a thing or two about city management and development strategies,” Barbara thought, tilting her head to the side and curiously looking at the young man’s face, who was still explaining his position and thoughts. “He sounds like he has experience. However, I’ve searched all the archives and databases, but there’s no information about him. He was first seen in that village… how can such a talented person just appear out of nowhere?”