City of Sin (Yanyu Jiangnan)

A Difficult Trade

Richard nodded at Noelene, “Yes. All this ore right now can only be sold for 500,000 gold at most, but once they’re processed into ingots that will rise to 600,000 and enchanting it will add another 100,000 on top. Even with the added costs, I can earn another 100,000 in total.”

“You really are someone from the Deepblue,” Noelene said begrudgingly, “Fine, I’ll help you with the mages and artisans. However, I want those enchanted ingots. I’ll buy them all at 700,000 just like you said.”

“No problem,” Richard’s quick answer brought a smile to Noelene’s face, “I’ll even add the lafite on as a gift.”

The priestess was likely one with many secular connections. If she had the money to buy all the cloudiron, she had to have a fair number of organisations supporting her. At the very least, she was more wealthy than the Archerons. As for how she would use these ingots, what profits she stood to make, he couldn’t care less. Why would anyone work without any benefits? As long as she paid his price, that was enough.

Time was preciously short. Richard first sent a paladin from the church to deliver a message to Nyris and Agamemnon before completing the deal with the ores. He opened the chest he had carried over, revealing two compartments. Most of the bottom was cloudiron ore, while on the top were two small and intricate boxes. He carefully opened both and examined the contents, sighing in relief once he found both were fine.

Noelene suddenly asked him a question, “Richard, I can pay for the cloudiron in advance. Is gold fine, or do you want anything else?”

“Can I buy offerings?” Richard asked with a laugh.

The priestess smiled, “I’ll buy if you’re selling.”

Richard chuckled, giving up on the thought. Indeed, offerings could easily be turned to gold but the reverse was not true. As for how the revenue from the cloudiron would be used, he had already made preparations. He took out a scroll made of magic paper and passed it to the priestess, “Please help me with the materials listed here. As for any remaining money, I would like to get some spatial equipment.”

Noelene spread the scroll open and had a close look, “Hmm… Most of the materials here aren’t impossible to get, but they will take time. I don’t think I’ll be able to get them in time. Anyway, a few hundred thousand gold won’t be enough for good spatial equipment. A friend of mine coincidentally has a spatial box she’s planning on giving away. Its external measurements are about the same as those little boxes, and it can hold two cubic metres. It also has a sealing enchantment in it, so the weight is invariant. I should be able to get it for you at 300,000.”

Richard pondered over it for a while before giving his reply, “Alright, I want it!” The box itself was nothing special, but Noelene was offering it at half the market price.

Surprisingly enough, most of the goods Richard had brought were sold before he even left the shrine. The trade of a million gold had left both sides feeling satisfied, but he was obviously the one that was happier. He asked Noelene to help him ready the portal before he left; he was planning to return to Faelor at the same time the next day at the latest.

……

Nyris had already rushed over by the time Richard and Gangdor returned to the Archeron Island. The Fourth Prince’s response was so fast it was astonishing. For a moment, Richard even felt like the prince had nothing to do all day.

Nyris was obviously startled at the sight of Richard. The prince’s eyes twinkled, “Hey Richard, I haven’t seen you for a few days but you’ve already changed so much! That beard is so cool! That coarse shave is an art unto itself!”

The youth’s eyes were practically glowing, making it seem like he would reach over to have a touch in the next second. Richard stroked his hard beard speechlessly; he’d had no time to deal with it during the war, and now he felt like it wasn’t half bad. However, he didn’t have the luxury of someone taking care of his hair. He just looked into the mirror in the morning and trimmed himself a little.

Many nobles spent up to an hour every day on fashion, and the royal family was only worse. Richard’s stubble was completely unlike the normally tidy facial hair of the other nobles, but if the prince found the coarseness stylish then he had nothing to say.

“Take this!” Seeing Nyr’s eyes growing brighter and brighter, Richard shoved a magic box into his hands to stop him from doing anything.

“What’s this?” The prince’s attention was obviously transferred to the box. However, when he opened it up to take a look the contents immediately drew a low exclamation, “Savage Barrier!”

Indeed, within the sealed box were five distinct runes that made up the entire Savage Barrier set. From the perspective of war, Savage Barrier was more practical than Savage Strike. It had been less than ten days since Richard had left, but he had already brought back a second sat. Nyris was naturally ecstatic. His destiny was already tied with Richard’s to some extent; the better Richard performed, the higher his own status would be.

“Great, I’ll get you the materials right now. I can give you enough for fifteen sets in advance, so I’m placing an order for three!” Nyris prepared to run out the moment he was done, likely wanting to return to the royal warehouse to collect the materials.

“Wait!” Richard pulled the hasty youth back, “I still have a lot of materials on hand, I don’t need them right now. I wish to use the remuneration to get a batch of magic equipment. Could you help with that?”

“What? How high is your rate of success?” Nyris looked at Richard dubiously, but then he immediately went back to normal, “Whatever. Magic equipment? That’s nothing. What do you want, and how much?” The Prince then slapped his chest loudly. It was an action filled with vigour, but when he did it one’s mind would run wild.

Richard was delighted, “I’d like a batch of superior swords with two enchantments each. Let’s start with 500 first.”

“Alright, 500— wait, WHAT?” The last word was almost a cry of misery, almost as pitiful as that of a young girl who had run into a group of perverts.

The cry surprised Richard. He thought through what he had just said, confirming that he wanted superior swords and not epic or legendary equipment. “500. Is that a lot? This sort of sword is worth a little more than 2,000 on the market, right? Based on the price you gave me last time, 500 of them should cost 750,000. This is the same price as for the materials for five sets.”

Nyris’ forehead started to bead with sweat and he forced a smile, “The price isn’t the issue. It’s just… that quantity is a little too much.”

Richard frowned, “Too much? But I still need armour and shields as well.”

Nyris paled a little, hesitating, “How about this, just wait a bit. Ag will be here soon, and the Ironblood Family is known for its enchanters. Also, tell me how many shields and armour sets you want.”

Richard thought it over and said, “500,000 gold’s worth of shields, half of which should be tower shields that are 1.5 metres long and the rest a mix of regular shields and bucklers. The armour I’m buying for a million, primarily chain mail.”

Nyris’ face started to pale as he silently made some calculations.

Agamemnon didn’t take too long to arrive. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, he understood Richard’s needs and gave Nyris a look filled with pity. The Prince whined loudly, turning his head aside like an uncomfortable teenager.

Richard quickly caught their expressions, “What, is anything wrong?”

“No, nothing at all! I’ll have everything ready by the afternoon!” Although he said this, Nyris’ tone made it seem like he was acting rashly out of indignance.

Agamemnon shook his head, seemingly enjoying the Prince’s misfortune. He then turned to Richard, “Make me three Life’s Bane runes if you can. I’ll give you the materials at a ten to one ratio. And yes, I’ll be able to sell you equipment; this is what I can arrange for.”

Agamemnon passed a scroll to Richard, chatting with him for a while before leaving with Nyris in tow.

Richard then called the old steward and Fuschia into the study, asking them about the situation on the island in recent times. He hadn’t been away for a long time in Norland time, but already much of the income from Gaton’s lands had faded away. This was only to be expected; the disappearance of the Marquess and the bulk of his army left people with all sorts of intentions. While Richard had become a royal runemaster, causing a few people to give up on those ideas, there were still a fair number doing things in the shadows.

Richard just nodded in response, instructing the old butler to keep a list of the resources where income had dropped without taking any action. For now, they would take as much as the people were willing to give, but still the less than 500,000 coins this season would make maintenance of the island slightly difficult. Based on current trends, the earnings next season would likely be another 100,000 lower.

However, Richard remained calm and didn’t pay much heed to the issue, “What about our planar income.”

“The Resting Orchid plane that Lord Senma is defending will send us a batch of materials next month, worth about 200,000 on the market. Nothing else.”

Richard frowned, “Hmm? What about Asiris, is there no news from him?” Of the three knights that had pledged loyalty to him, Asiris was the strongest.