Chapter 42: Return to the Dolphin River

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The carriage slowed down steadily after some time.

“Young Master Hutton, we have arrived at the Dolphin River.” The voice of the carriage driver came from outside.

The two teens in the carriage stared at Su Ye.

Su Ye smiled and got out the carriage. Hutton followed behind him and said, “Follow me, don’t get lost inside!”

The other two teens stood silently behind Su Ye.

Su Ye stood by the door. He raised his head and saw the familiar wooden signboard and the silver dolphin above it.

Su Ye surveyed the surroundings. He had seen the two muscular guys on either side of the door the last time he was here.

The two muscular blokes immediately nodded slightly as a show of respect.

Su Ye casually nodded, then walked into the restaurant.

At night, the Dolphin River was exceptionally busy, with few servers milling about. Su Ye scanned the surroundings, but did not find the two servers he had met last time, nor did he manage to spot the manager.

Su Ye calmly followed Hutton into the restaurant, and he occasionally heard a familiar word.

Salad.

“Here, please enter.” Hutton stood by the door of a room, then arrogantly made an inviting pose.

“Thank you, Hutton.” Su Ye walked into the room graciously.

Hutton followed behind him, and the two teens stood outside the door.

Two people were already sitting in the room.

One of them was a middle-aged man, about 40 years old. He was dressed in a Persian-style long robe with fanciful colors. He had a gold band around his neck and gold bangles on his wrist. Eight of his ten fingers were adorned with gemstone rings. He had a gentle smile and looked much like Hutton.

The other middle-aged man was dressed in a simple brown short robe and had somewhat yellow skin. He was playing with a dagger lazily.

The dangerous dagger looked like a little jumping bird in his hands.

The instant Su Ye and Hutton entered the room, that person grabbed onto the dagger and examined Su Ye closely. He had a slight unkind look in his eyes.

Hutton immediately bowed toward the middle-aged man holding the dagger and said, “Uncle Senat.”

Senat nodded slightly. He smiled but did not speak.

Su Ye glanced at Senat. He suspected that this person was using a fake name. This person looked more like an Egyptian than a Greek, and Senat was a chess-like game played by Egyptians.

“Father, I brought Su Ye here.” Hutton smiled as he sat beside the shimmering man.

That person looked at Su Ye and moved his chin slightly downward as he said, “You are Su Ye? Please have a seat. My name is Hamon, son of Astiyanacus.”

Su Ye smiled. He knew that Hamon was spouting lies the moment he said his father’s name.

Astiyanacus was not a name that anybody could call themselves. This name referred to a person who protected a city-state, the child of a great noble, or a person who had earned incredible merit in battle. Or at the very least, it was a name somebody could call themselves if they had a notable figure in their ancestry.

“Good evening, Mister Hamon.” Su Ye sat down calmly.

Hamon knitted his brows and looked at Senat beside him.

Senat slowly straightened his posture and put away his dagger. He stared coldly at Su Ye.

Su Ye felt a different aura from Senat’s body. It was a pressure that reached even his Magic Tower.

This meant that even if the other party was not a Bronze Warrior, he was at least an extremely powerful Black Iron Warrior.

Su Ye reached for a piece of goat’s cheese on a porcelain plate and said, “I heard that the cheese in the Dolphin River is rather good. Thank you, Uncle Hamon, for bringing me here for a feast tonight.”

Su Ye started eating in front of the three people after he spoke.

Hutton had an angry expression, while Senat’s expression did not change. Hamon laughed and said, “Son, your classmate is different from what you described. I think that he is very smart. He does not seem like the ‘Third Fool.’”

The pathetic scene of him being beaten in class yesterday flashed through Hutton’s mind. He said in fury, “He is the Third Fool!”

Su Ye smiled. “Hutton, we have already agreed that you would not call me that again. It is too much for you to be still calling me that.”

Hutton was furious. “So what, are you going to beat me here?”

Hutton was about to stand up, but his father grabbed onto his hand and stopped him forcefully.

Hamon smiled. “Su Ye, see how angry you’ve made my son. In my opinion, he is not the one who is too much. It’s you.”

Hamon picked up a large wine glass and slowly took a sip of it as he spoke.

Su Ye extended his hand and said, “Uncle Hamon, you were not at the scene that day. You would have acted the same way I did if you were me. After all, Peyrusse, a student in our class, had quit school because he was bullied by Hutton. If I were to also quit school, what would become of the reputation of the Plato Academy’s teachers? Those who know the truth will know that Hutton had come to the Plato Academy to study, while those who don’t might think that Hutton was a spy sent by the Noble Academy to force Plato Academy students to quit school. What are your views, Uncle Hamon?”

Hamon froze for a moment. He glanced at his son, then looked at Su Ye and asked, “You are 16 this year, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” Su Ye replied.

“You are talkative” Hamon’s smile grew colder.

“I am merely speaking the truth,” Su Ye said.

“In Egypt, people who speak the wrong words would have their tongues cut out,” Senat said without expression.

“Egypt sure is forgiving. In Athens, we might not even keep our heads.” Su Ye smiled.

There was a cold glimmer in Senat’s eyes. Hamon slowly poured out the wine in his glass, then looked Su Ye in the eye as he pushed the large wine glass to the center of the table.

“Let’s get back to the matter at hand,” Hamon said.

The three of them stared at Su Ye.

If this had been Su Ye in the past, he might have felt nervous. However, he did not feel afraid now that he had trained with the three cheetahs in the morning.

“I thought the main topic for today was dinner.” Su Ye was still smiling.

Senat knitted his brows slightly and glanced at Hamon.

Hamon also glanced at his old friend. He nodded slightly. He had an extra streak of seriousness in his gaze.

Hamon coughed softly, then cleared his throat and said, “How are you going to handle your schoolwork now that your parents have passed on?”

“I can rely on myself,” Su Ye said.

“The pain of relying on yourself will be far greater than you can imagine,” Hamon said.

“I know,” Su Ye replied.

Hamon let out a satisfied smile.

Su Ye continued, “The benefits of relying on myself are also far greater than you can imagine. Uncle Hamon, you are a rich and successful businessman. I believe that you have also experienced benefits like this.”

Hamon could not help but glance at Hutton. He noticed that his son was still pouting. The feeling that his son was not meeting his expectations flashed through his heart.

Hamon reached out and pressed onto Hutton’s shoulder, then applied a little pressure.

Hutton hissed and was about to shout, but immediately shut his mouth obediently when he saw his father’s serious expression.

Hamon smiled and said, “I am a merchant. I like to earn money, and so I like to invest in anything and anyone. My son is a disappointment, but I suddenly developed an interest in you after he told me about what happened. I feel that you have a good future ahead of you and am prepared to invest in you.”

Hutton opened his mouth wide and looked at his father in disbelief. Was this still his father who had scolded Su Ye loudly yesterday and promised to chop off Su Ye’s hand and stuff him into a pile of feces? Was this his father who said that he would never allow anyone to humiliate his son?

Am I his real son? Hutton suspected his identity for the first time in his life.