5 (4)

Forest Wurm, the Generation School, arcane magic…… when these words merged into one, a simple inference emerged.

“How was your night?”

He asked as he took his seat.

“Good. By the way, I saw something interesting on the way here.”

“The Colosseum.”

“Yes. That’s the one. An intriguing idea.”

The prelude-like mood continued and the conversation drifted to other topics.

The flow was about to leak away—something Louis did not particularly welcome.

Then the talk broke off.

A brief silence.

Louis spoke first.

“Please understand if I go straight to the point. I value the Forest Wurm I have at about eight thousand gold coins.”

That was twenty billion above the usual price. The going rate ranged from four to six billion, and Louis knew that well. But he quoted a price twenty billion higher based on the inference he had drawn from the information window.

‘Eight thousand…’

Geurek’s vision went dark. He had kept thinking Louis would be no pushover, but when reality slammed into him, his judgment inevitably wavered.

Still, Geurek soon collected himself.

‘Refuse, and politely ask him to match the market price—that’s best.’

“You joke well. I may be bookish, but this isn’t my first time trading a Forest Wurm. Let’s settle at four thousand at market rate. You’re not trying to swindle a poor mage, are you?”

The method Geurek used was essentially the straightforward approach. He wasn’t a merchant, so some parts were sloppy, yet among mages he was one of the few who could negotiate, with a record of extracting research funds from several lords.

What Geurek subtly stressed was… honor. Nobles tended to treasure honor above all. If one behaved like a brigand, who would serve him as lord? Nobles were sensitive to rumor, and the sense of ignoring market price and squeezing by force was, understandably, distasteful.

Some lords, simply out of offense, even took losses to fund Geurek more favorably.

‘That won’t work on me.’

Louis had long since outgrown such sentiments. The greatest lesson from his recent failures was to secure practicality over honor.

“From my inquiries, the worst-quality specimens go for four thousand at market. Given the condition of what I have, that price is absurd.”

Geurek’s eyebrow twitched.

Louis refused in a heartbeat without the slightest hesitation. A noble might at least show a moment’s conflicted expression over such a matter; he did not.

‘Tsk… in that case…’

“A Forest Wurm is priced between four and six thousand. I’ve worked in the Mage Tower for twenty years. Every year I’ve handled at least one Forest Wurm deal. That price hasn’t changed once in twenty years. Even with the Empire, I’ve never paid eight thousand.”

Geurek’s next tactic was to underscore the established convention of price.

A price long fixed carried a powerful frame that was hard to reject in itself.

‘Hmm… should I lower it, or push a hard line?’

After a brief thought, Louis spoke.

“That applies to an ordinary specimen. The one I caught differs in quality from the rest. You saw its state, yes? It went into storage the moment we captured it. If you want mine, you’ll have to make an exception.”

If Geurek flatly refused here and tried to cancel the deal, that would simply mean he didn’t truly need to buy it; in that case Louis planned to descend slowly from eight billion. If, on the other hand, he showed a will to keep negotiating…

‘It would mean this item is extremely important to him.’

And just as Louis suspected, the item was very important to Geurek.

It might become the key material that turned his school’s fortunes.

Had Geurek’s bargaining skill been deeper, he might have found a way out here.

But he had no tactics left; he’d hit bottom.

Louis did not miss Geurek’s sigh.

‘He has no intention of canceling.’

If he had, Louis would have apologized at once and begun lowering the price—but this changed things.

‘It means the item is worth as much to him as I’m pressing it for.’

The attendants, knowing nothing, had no idea what was going on. Only the principals were running thoughts that slaves could never imagine.

‘The research funds from the lords total ten thousand gold. I must keep at least three thousand to finish this project…’

Geurek had budgeted about one hundred billion and needed to retain around thirty billion from the deal.

If he yielded to Louis’s demand, the research would likely be interrupted midway.

Mages he needed to cooperate with all had to be hired, and their fees were high; in that light, even thirty billion was barely enough.

Louis, by contrast, had no reason to make allowances.

‘When you seize the initiative, you should press the attack…’

Louis concluded his thought.

“I have no intention of going below eight billion, so tell me what you think now. Many soldiers died catching this thing. I intend to give their families as much compensation as possible. If you have no interest, I’ll inquire at the temple.”

In terms of financial power, temples were richer than mages. But the chief reason Louis avoided opening trade with clergy was that, once entangled, their demands were so strong he’d have to build religious structures in the city one after another.

From a budget-allocation standpoint, Louis’s city did not yet need a temple.

Silence.

The unspoken pressure mounted, and at last, cornered, Geurek yielded.

“Since you’re so firm, I have no choice. I’ll speak frankly. Seven thousand is my ceiling. The Forest Wurm is extremely important to me, so I ask you to sell it to me. I absolutely need one in top condition. Even if you call the temple, they won’t pay seven thousand. Selling to me will leave you the best margin.”

Louis put on a reluctant expression—though inside, the opposite was true.

He would take ten billion more than his original plan.

With all cards on the table, all that remained was to decide.

Then a thought occurred.

“If you’re in such a bind, I’ll open trade with you, Master Geurek—at sixty-five hundred.”

As Geurek was about to look relieved, Louis continued.

“On one condition: you must do something for me.”

“Gladly, as long as it isn’t about money.”

“It’s not difficult. Teach Second-Circle spells to my affiliated mage.”

Just when things seemed to go smoothly, another snag appeared.

First-Circle might be one thing, but for Second-Circle magic onward, one had to join the Mage Tower. Teaching someone outside a school could bring disciplinary action.

“That is difficult. I can only teach those who have formally completed the Tower’s procedures.”

Louis knew that. But he asked because just qualifying took up to a year—and, above all, because of the Great Mage buff on Jerome.

If Jerome went to the Tower now, he might learn Third-Circle in a flash, have his talent recognized, and—tempted by a school—plant himself there.

For Louis, who had to make full use of Jerome, that would be a huge loss of talent.

“Which is why I’m attaching a condition. Teach him for just one month. How about it? The fifteen hundred you’ll earn after a short bit of instruction isn’t negligible.”

“One month… In one month you can’t teach Second-Circle. You take magic too lightly.”

True. Under normal circumstances it was impossible. But Louis knew Jerome would pull it off—because it was a talent Louis himself had granted.

“If it works out, all the better for you. Try it for a month and then you can simply go back. Will you deal?”

It was against the rules. But for Geurek, who needed to leave as much research funding as possible, five hundred million was a large sum.

“………If you keep it secret…”

Louis smiled.

“Of course.”

The deal was done. Louis sold the Forest Wurm for six and a half billion, and he didn’t have to send Jerome to the Mage Tower to learn Second-Circle magic—an enormous gain.

Only Geurek burned inside, yet as he left the office he muttered that it wasn’t the worst.

He had to buy the specimen no matter what, and Louis might have stripped him of all research funds.

Had Louis chosen to drag things out with a hard heart, Geurek might have been forced to buy the Wurm at eight billion in tears.

‘In a way, it isn’t that bad. And there’s no way to teach all of Second-Circle within a month, so even if the higher-ups find out, there’ll be no grounds for punishment…’

After sending Geurek off, Louis ran the treasury numbers. The money would take a bit to reach him, but adding six and a half billion would bring the treasury to 10.5. Waiting three turns after that, the gold from the sugar tiles would complete the quest naturally.

“Master, how could you make a deal like that?!”

Geurek was getting his back scratched by the disciple who had arrived late in Proia.

“Ahem. It was the best we could do. Still, the specimen’s condition is excellent. With this one, we’ll surely get results.”

“Even so…!”

“That’s because you haven’t seen this city’s Consul.”

“What’s so scary about the ruler of such a small city?”

“Tsk… you whelp. That’s why you still don’t know the ways of the world. Deals change depending on the opponent. We’ll be meeting him again soon, so come along.”

Geurek planned to bring his disciple as well, since it was time to pass knowledge to Jerome—and to restore his wounded pride.

‘Consul… I’ll show you that magic isn’t as easy as you say.’

He planned to disgrace Jerome and, under Louis’s gaze, bruise the man’s pride.

“Stop whining and look around a bit while we’re here.”

“What’s there to see in this tiny city? I’d rather sleep!”

Just then, two tickets popped out from Jerome’s bosom.

A few days later, behind the residence. Geurek, his disciple, and Jerome were standing there. Louis arrived a little after.

He had just returned from reading the confirmation that the paperwork was accepted.

Now the payment from the deal was merely in their hands; the owner was Louis.

Louis opened the city information window and confirmed the treasury had risen to 10.5.

‘Heh heh… the Forest Wurm turned into my lifeline.’

Thanks to it, Louis had not only boosted the city’s impoverished finances, but also bought a great deal of time.

What he could do with this budget was now more than triple what it had been.

With this much money, he could form simple industries to further increase revenue, conscript citizens without worrying about upkeep, and expand the army not just in headcount but in branches.

‘Being able to buy horses is the biggest advantage.’

With horses, he could field cavalry. Whether he had cavalry or not might decide if he could put up a desperate fight against his brothers; adding cavalry to the order of battle was extremely important at this point.