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Chapter 56 The Deal Made [Pt 1]

'H-how…?!'

How possible was this? He had to be dreaming!

Aldred went to open even more sacs, and he was greeted with the same result every time.

His eyes had been trained from a very young age to detect the quality and quantity of items just from a glance.

As a result, he could accurately guess the Grade of Monster Cores without even using an appraising tool.

'They're authentic too!'

Aldred could spot fake products a mile away, but this… this was genuine!

He could even feel the Mana that pulsated within each Core.

'How does he have so many? This is just too—!'

"There's more where that came from." As soon as the words of the man echoed in Aldred's ears, his eyes bulged.

'WHAT?!"

"Here are fifty sacs of Grade 6 Monster Cores. You can confirm their authenticity for yourselves. Each sac contains a little over 300 pieces…"

The more the seller spoke, the more unreal it all sounded.

"That's over 16,000 pieces you have there. Feel free to count."

'Ridiculous!' Aldred would have had such thoughts if he wasn't currently staring at the proof.

'Who is this man?! He defies everything I've been taught… everything I've learned!'

Aldred felt as though all of his experience as an expert were nothing in the presence of the man before him.

'Did he do all of this intentionally? Is he messing with me? Did he…?!'

Aldred did not know for sure.

All he knew was that he had been wrong.

'He has value! More value than all of our present customers!'

On an individual level, this seller was far superior to their best client.

'He says he has even more? What kind of…? No, I should stop now!'

Aldred tried to recover from his shock and focus on the matter at hand.

He had to think about what was best for the business.

'It would be a major loss for us if he goes elsewhere with this much. Even if he sells to us, there's no guarantee he'll bring the next batch here…'

That had to be fixed!

'We need to have this man on our side. If we can have a monopoly on his goods, then…!'

Scarcity determines value.

If the market was flooded with these Grade 6 Monster Cores, it would be catastrophic!

'That's what makes this guy so dangerous. He's also a Spatial Magic User, which means he's a big deal.'

Aldred felt like a fool! He had fallen for the trap of judging a book by its cover.

If he had made a blunder early on, the company would have lost so much money.

And it wouldn't just stop there.

'For him to have so many Grade 6 Monster Cores, he must be a man of many means. He could be a powerful Adventurer for all I know.'

If that was the case, it would mean this guy had enough power to hunt down over 16,000 C-Tier Monsters.

The fact that he had access to more meant his limits were currently unknown.

'He's a Spatial Magic user, so transporting so many Monster Cores isn't a problem for him. In essence, if we can forge deep connections with this man…'

They could finally take their products to the next level!

'This is a bigger deal than the batch of Grade 6 Cores we got a few days earlier.'

That one felt like a miracle—so much so that they even gave the customer an Invisibility Necklace for free.

But this… this was just superb!

"H-how much…" Aldred found it hard to properly mouth the words, but he did so anyway.

"How much do you want?"

He gave a serious look at the masked customer and was prepared to hear an absurd price.

However…

"How much can you offer?"

… He was surprised by the reasonableness of the counteroffer.

'This is a good chance to forge good connections with him! If we grant him a good price, and he sells to us, we can draw him in and become his sole buyer.'

The KariBlanc Group dealt with the production and distribution of Enchanted Items and Luxury Products.

They had been running out of stock with the former—especially when it came to the high-end products—thanks to the scarcity of such high-quality Monster Cores.

With 16,000 of Grade 6 Monster Cores, not only would they be able to get back on track, but they could finally expand their business to the other places where their competitors had a monopoly.

This was a goldmine.

Aldred knew he couldn't let it go.

"H-how about… Six Gold Coins per piece?"

"What?"

"S-seven! I meant seven!"

He could instantly tell the dissatisfaction from the seller, so he quickly adjusted the price.

It was clear that he had all the bargaining power.

'With the authority I have, seven is the highest I can offer him. I doubt there's any other place that will cough up such an amount up front, but I can't take that chance…'

Even the last purchase of Grade 6 Monster Cores was priced at 4 Gold Coins.

This was honestly the best he could do.

"I see…" As the seller spoke, Aldred hoped his nervousness wasn't being displayed on his face.

He gulped down another round of saliva and awaited his answer.

"You want to be my sole buyer, don't you?"

"That's right! The KariBlanc Group would like to establish a long-standing connection with you, sir." Aldred spoke excitedly.

He was so glad that the masked seller understood.

"We have a lot of benefits for those we are in this kind of relationship with. Not only do you have massive discounts on any product you want to get—as high as 60 percent—but you also have first priority on the products we use your Monster Core to make."

Aldred went on and on about the benefits that he felt like a shady salesman.

But he didn't care!

He had to get this person on their side at all costs!

"I understand. Fair enough. I don't mind establishing such a relationship with you."

Aldred couldn't properly express how relieved he was to hear that.

He did his utmost best to hide his excitement.

'Yes! YES YES YES YES!!!'

"I just have one small favor to ask. Aside from the benefits, of course…"

The moment he heard that, Aldred felt a tight feeling clutching his chest.

'What favor? Will we be able to deliver…?!'

He gulped before proceeding to ask.

"O-of course! What favor would that be?"

"Hmm. A subordinate of mine came to sell a few Monster Cores a few days ago. Grade 6, naturally. It was just a sac…"

Aldred's eyes bulged the moment he realized what was going on.

'He was the one responsible for that too? Why? Could it be…?!'

Had he sent that one sac their way in order to test the waters? Just how many other establishments did he do this for?

"Apparently, it was sold to your establishment for 2 Gold Coins per piece."

'WHAT?!' Aldred could not believe it.

He was certain they bought those Monster Cores for 4 Gold Coins per piece.

"S-sir, I think—!"

The seller raised his hand to indicate he was not done talking.

"Let me finish."

Aldred gulped and nodded at his words.

'What is he about to say?!' Beads of sweat appeared on his face.

He could only brace himself for what was coming.

*

*

*

Chapter 57 The Deal Made [Pt 2]

"My subordinate was approached by an 'Affiliate' of yours who ran the transaction while he waited outside."

The moment Aldred heard this, he was stunned.

'An Affiliate? Did his subordinate fall prey to one of those com-artists?'

There was no way this esteemed man did not know who this 'Affiliate' he spoke of was, yet he still referred to him as that.

Why?

'It's not our establishment's fault that his subordinate didn't exercise due caution in his trade. Nothing in the Unspoken Rules covers such a thing as that.'

In essence, it was his loss.

However, Aldred could not even dare to think—talkless of speak—such a thing.

"I-I see…" Was all he could say.

"It came as a surprise to me. I thought your establishment perhaps was unaware of the transaction, so I decided to forgive you and personally came to give you a second chance."

In essence, he was pushing the responsibility and blame for the scammer on them, while also seeming like a benevolent person.

'This man is too shrewd!' Aldred respected and feared him even more for that.

"Thank you for your patience with us. The matter was not known to us, so we'll investigate it."

"Hmm. That is good to hear."

Aldred already knew he was going out of his way. That was why the man called this a 'Favor.'

Normally, the KariBlanc Group would ignore such a thing, as it was just a part of business. But now… now things were different.

"I will personally see to it that all parties involved in this transaction are properly investigated… including this 'Affiliate' of ours."

There was no need for too many details. The two parties already had an understanding.

'And since I'm already going out of my way, I might as well throw in a bonus.'

"Of course, we'll also compensate you for the loss you encountered due to the disservice done to you. It'll be at the previous cost price of 4 Gold Coins, so I hope that is fine by you."

Aldred hoped this was enough to satisfy the masked man.

Fortunately, he was right.

"It is. Thank you very much."

"Haha! What are you saying? This much is only natural for someone who's getting into such a relationship with us."

"Hmm. Indeed.

"Hahaha!"

"Hahahaha!"

Both men laughed together, their voices echoing to the furthest recesses of the room.

It was already clear at that point that they had a deal.

********

'Whew! Looks like the deal is sealed!'

Rey exhaled heavily as he and Noah stepped out of the KariBlanc Group's building.

He had no idea things would go so well, and he was overjoyed by just how good the bargain was. However, he was also very exhausted.

'The tension… it was a lot!'

Breaking character even once would have cost him something, so Rey had constantly remained in his very draining persona.

'Still… to think we got such a sweet deal.'

Rey could not pinpoint how exactly he had been able to score so many good points with the man known as Aldred Winsley.

'Could it be because I initially addressed him with respect?' Rey remembered how he chose to call him Mr. Winsley rather than the casual 'Aldred.'

'He might have taken offense if I addressed him too casually…'

As the conversation went on, and Rey got more of a footing, he had become more confident.

In the end, he even got more benefits than he could have imagined.

'I signed an exclusive contract with them, which means I already have a reliable place to sell my Monster Cores.'

That certainty put Rey's heart at ease.

'The total number of Monster Cores ended up being 16,590. With the total price of 7 Gold Coins per piece, that's 116,130 Gold Coins.'

In essence… 1,161.3 Platinum Coins.

'I'm fucking rich!' Rey could not believe just how stinkingly rich he had become in such a short period.

It was too absurd.

'I initially had a goal of 4 Gold Coins and approximated the amount of Monster Cores to 16,000.'

That was a total of 640 Platinum Coins.

'Not only did I get nearly twice that amount, but I got sweet deals as well.'

Discounts on Enchanted and Luxury Products, as well as First Priority.

He could also make Custom Orders, which was an exclusive privilege given only to clients who belonged in the upper echelon of the Group's priority list.

Rey felt like a god!

'This trip was totally worth it! Hehehe!'

He was so glad he didn't leave everything to Noah. The boy would have fumbled everything!

'At this point, I don't even care about those few Platinum Coins I lost to that scammer.'

Not only did he get them back, but he got so much more.

It was too unbelievable!

'Hehehe! Hehehehehehe!! Hahahahahaahaha!!!'

"U-um… what now?"

Noah's voice woke Rey from his deep thoughts. Of course, the only deep thing about those thoughts was how deep his pockets had become.

He was filthy rich!

"What now? Well, first of all we go back to my place and discuss how we'll be arranging things going forward."

Rey already had a good idea of what he wanted to do, but he just didn't feel comfortable discussing it out in the opening.

'I would have thought you'd get that, Noah. Tsk tsk…'

His current plan was simple.

'I'll have Noah deliver the sacs of Monster Cores using a Spatial Ring. We'll only deliver one sac a day, considering how the value will reduce if we oversaturate the market.'

It wasn't like Rey was desperate for money, and he wasn't in a hurry to make any more than he already had.

Besides, if he wanted to, he could always increase the rate.

'Right now, I hold all the cards. I should dispense it slowly…'

Rey doubted the KariBlanc Group would keep buying Grade 6 Monster Cores from him forever.

It wasn't that he doubted their wealth.

No, not at all.

In fact, he was sure they would be able to make immense profits from every sac they bought from him.

The problem was greed.

'Eventually, they'll try to bypass me and get the Cores from their source.'

That was always the way business went.

'That's why I should be as loosely involved with this as possible.'

At least, until he found a more sustainable alternative, Rey had to maintain this relationship he already had.

'This is the Black Market. I can't forget that.'

The reason these people existed was because they weren't satisfied with trade under the governance of the laws of the land.

They didn't like being regulated, or taxed, or restricted.

This was all driven by greed.

'Soon that greed will make them turn on me. That's why I have to be prepared…'

To make sure Noah remained compliant to him, he would need to constantly give him his share of the money.

That was not a problem.

'But even that should also have its expiration date.'

Rey knew the one person he could rely on was himself.

'That's why no one can know my secret.'

No one could know the source of his wealth, and the depth of his strength.

He would leave them to speculate.

'That should delay whatever plans they have…'

For now, there were more important things to focus on.

'I have to get stronger.'