RISE OF EROS

Despite the seemingly tense situation, Andrew could tell that Elder Arkos was not actually hostile, but genuinely concerned. The mere fact that he appeared at this meeting and calmly asked for explanations was proof of this.

Noticing this, Andrew did not want to complicate the situation any further and, relaxing his tone a bit, began to explain, "Venerable Elder, my intention is not to create discord, nor to generate humiliation or anger, but you have to understand my position."

Andrew paused and looked at the Elder to see if his change in attitude had the desired reaction and seeing that the Elder seemed more assertive he continued, "We all have our hidden cards, but that does not mean that I am keeping them because I am planning to use them against you."

"I just want you to understand that I am not short of enemies and people who observe me, so I must be cautious. I reiterate again, as long as you treat me as a friend, as you have done until now, I will always be an ally," Andrew concluded.

Elder Arkos is not as good at reading people as Elder Johan, but he is still a powerful demigod, so he can discern that Andrew really had no hostility and was sincere.

At least that is how he saw it and therefore he decided to believe Andrew, but not before warning him, "I will believe you, boy. You have not really done anything to harm us, but you also understand our situation. Our duty is to safeguard the kingdom and the royal family, so we will keep an eye on you."

Andrew smiled upon hearing this, as he could not expect better treatment than this. First of all, they were not showing hostility, which in itself is already a gain, but, in addition, the fact that Elder Arkos informed him that he would keep an eye on him was a sign of respect and Andrew appreciated it.

"I understand perfectly and I have no problem with you keeping an eye on me, as long as you are not too intrusive," Andrew replied with a smile. Elder Arkos had nothing else to do there, so after nodding, he disappeared.

Andrew checked with Fluffy and thanks to that he knew that there was no one else in the room other than the 5 present. Andrew smiled upon learning this, as this was another proof of the trust they were placing in him.

How many are capable of leaving all the members of the royal family, unprotected with a person they suspect? Well, that just shows the trust they are placing in him and that makes him happy.

Obviously, Andrew knows that this is a smart move to gain his trust, as any of the 3 elderly demigod protectors could get here in less than a second if something happened, so they weren't really leaving Daphne and the others unprotected, but it was still a gesture of trust.

Not wanting to discuss this further, Daphne changed the subject, "I assume you didn't come just to ask for our trust, what brought you here?", to which Andrew replied with a smile, "Well, that was the main topic, but you're right, I have another topic to talk about."

Andrew paused for a moment and said, "I want to finalize the plans regarding the Popular Mall." Daphne and Diana had sensed that this would be the topic to discuss, as there was really nothing else they were collaborating on at the moment.

However, Ariza, who was still a bit naive, suddenly asked, "Why didn't Aunt Victoria come?" to which Andrew replied, "Well, she had to go with her family to clear up some matters."

Candice had been quiet the whole time, but now that they were going to discuss the second mall, she was the one who led the meeting. Andrew didn't plan on placing his premium items in this mall, but a supermarket would still be opened and managed by Candice, so it was only fitting that she do the negotiating.

Not to mention that the products would be brought in by her for the most part, so Andrew really wasn't needed in this discussion. Despite that, Andrew did plan on adding something and that was the vitality drinks and birth control pills.
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These two products were not expensive and there were many similar products on the market, so it was not worth putting them in the luxury shopping mall that was already in operation.

Andrew had decided to change his business model. He used to sell these in his Heavenly Palaces, but that was not the best way to make money. While these products were still used in the pleasure houses, by selling them in the mall, he would make more money.

Not everyone could afford the services of the Heavenly Palace, but buying these products was not difficult, and having to go all the way to the Dunnas Palace to do so was inefficient, so he decided to do it this way.

That is also the reason for selling shampoo, soap, Nuru gel, rejuvenating cream, and other products in the premium supermarket since it was not efficient to sell them in the pleasure house.

This created the problem that now Yuri's pleasure house would be left without the exclusivity of Nuru gel massages, but Andrew had already thought of a solution.

Yuri is his concubine and he had to give her some benefits, so if other pleasure houses could buy Nuru gel in the supermarket, she would lose her exclusivity and add value to her business, so he had to give her something else.

What Andrew decided to offer her was a machine room. In Dunnas, women are lovers of strong sex and are quite open, so Andrew decided to create some rooms with many sex toys in Yuri's pleasure house.

It would be an innovative and different experience, which he was sure many women in Dunnas would enjoy, especially those who are already older and are not very sought after by men.

While it is true that women would rather pay for a courtier, these services are not cheap and if they could pay less to release their stress, the machine was just as good as a man.

Although it is not the same, Yuri had said that she would have clients who would be delighted with this, so she accepted the proposal. Andrew also separated his massage house from the Dunnas Palace and replaced it with a dance room like the one in the Cannaris Palace.

Lia and the other dancers were already experts and knew many erotic and exotic dances, so they were training the others. Although men's and women's dances are different, it was not difficult for Lia to train some courtiers.

The talk did not last long and when it was over, Andrew along with Candice, returned to the Dunnas Palace. Meanwhile, at the Caltu family mansion, Victoria met with Clarissa, Lili, and the family's experts.

Everyone wanted to know what was going on, especially the most powerful expert of the Caltu family who had noticed the singularity of the previous night. Despite his insistence, Victoria was blunt.

"Don't overstep your boundaries. Not even the royal family dares, so be cautious, if you are respectful, I am sure Andrew will give you good benefits," was the only thing she said.

Although they were not willing to retreat just with that, seeing Victoria's attitude, they understood that they would lose more than they would gain if they were aggressive, so they decided to compromise.

Although they promised not to be invasive, they still asked Victoria to promise that they would receive something and since they had addressed that issue in the meeting they had during the morning, Victoria was not unreasonable.

She knew that her family would ask for something and so Andrew decided to give them a small benefit. Andrew allowed Victoria to offer 10% of the production of their special products to the Caltu family.

This same benefit had been given to the royal family and it was not something to be scorned. Before, the production of these products was poor, but now, they could produce them in large quantities, and although that 10% was not over the actual production, it was still a large amount.

With that, both the Caltu family and the royal family would have large profits and could calm them down. Although for the experts this was not something they coveted, they knew that they could earn a lot of money, and with money, they could buy resources to continue developing their strength, so it was well received.

With all the issues discussed, Victoria also returned to the Dunnas Palace, to notify Andrew of the arrangement and also that in a few days, they would hold a celebration of their engagement in front of several influential nobles in the city.

Because of this, they had to plan again. Andrew was already a little tired of so many meetings, but they were necessary, so he had no choice. Since it was a party to show his engagement with Victoria, the other girls would not attend.

Although Andrew was not very happy with this, all the girls agreed and there was no problem. Even so, Andrew searched the system for some gala designs for the dresses they would wear.

While the system designs emphasized eroticism, that doesn't mean there weren't some elegant outfits. Elegance was also erotic, so there was variety to choose from, so Andrew spent the last few points on that.

He purchased a stylish smoking design for himself that flattered his assets and a traditional Chinese Qipao dress made of printed, flat-woven satin that he was sure would flatter Victoria's curves and the slit on the side that reached the waist would make her look sensual and beautiful.