Chapter Twenty-Four

[Lion City – Merchants Guild]

Big Mona, the Merchant Guild Master, skimmed through the documents he held in his hands. He stopped and leaned on his chair, making it creak from his sheer weight. He took a handful of biscuits and threw them inside his mouth.

"I heard that you guys are having a hard time defending the Valley of Witches." Big Mona's spit flew out as he spoke. "And you expect me to provide more weapons and rations?" He chuckled and took a sip of wine from the goblet.

The representative of the Mercenary Guild frowned at the blatant crude display. He had heard of how gluttonous and barbaric the Head of the Merchants Guild was, but he had not expected this much. Even now, Big Mona continued grabbing snacks from the plate in front of him, throwing it inside his mouth. Every time he spoke, crumbs and spit flew out.

"But Master Alexander told us that you've prepared them already," said the representative. "It's supposed to be part of the agreement—"

"—The agreement's valid only if he doesn't lose the Vespa Fortress in the south." Big Mona glared at him. "Surely, before coming here, you've read that, no? Or are you simply too stupid that you couldn't even think of something so simple?"

Big Mona slammed his stubby fists unto the table. "Tell Alexander to meet me here himself! I wouldn't continue supplying his army otherwise!"

"But the Master's in the Valley of Witches right now! He's busy fending off the invaders from the United Grakas Alliance!" The representative refused to yield. "You know that it'll be impossible for him to leave his post and come here himself! That's why he's been sending representatives—"

"—Enough with the excuses!" snarled Big Mona. "I don't plan on wasting resources on such an incompetent leader! You've been incurring defeats left and right and you still expect support from the Merchants Guild? Hah!"

"Master Alexander's not incompetent! And those were not defeats! We purposely left those strongholds to prevent further casualties! You damn merchants have no idea on how we risk our lives just to defend the invasion from the United Grakas Alliance!"

Big Mona snapped his fingers and the two guards standing next to the wall grabbed the representative. "Throw him out."

"Wait! Please! Our army really needs the weapons right now!" He was grabbed by the guards. The representative struggled, but was soon thrown out of the Merchants Guild.

Big Mona burped and wiped his mouth using a napkin. A button on his gaudy dress popped off after he deeply breathed in.

"Is this really fine?" asked his assistant. "It's the Mercenary Guild."

Big Mona chuckled. "It's fine. He'll come back tomorrow." He grabbed the documents on the table and started flipping through it. "The spies I've planted in the United Grakas Alliance told me that the attack on the Valley of Witches wouldn't escalate until the reinforcement from their capital arrived. They're currently in a deadlock with Alexander's army. We'll be able to buy two more months with just that. It's better to make the Mercenary Guild beg for help, no? We'll be making them a bigger favor that way."

"But what if the information sent by the spies are wrong?"

"Then Alexander will lose his life." Big Mona was nonchalant. "It's not like there's no one to replace him as Guild Master of the Mercenaries. And even if the Valley of Witches gets seized by the United Grakas Alliance, they'll think twice before attacking this city. After all, the Lord governing this place's far too dangerous to be an enemy."

The last part was a bluff. Big Mona knew that once the Valley of Witches was razed to the ground, there would be no stopping the invasion of the United Grakas Alliance – even the Lord of this City wouldn't be able to stop it. But he knew that Alexander would not croak that easily. As long as that man was alive, the beastmen would have a hard time invading this Kingdom.

The assistant of Big Mona felt that the merchant was too laidback on this. Right now, a massive war was breaking out in the Eastern Region, specifically at a place called Valley of Witches. The United Grakas Alliance sent out a legion to claim the castles in that area. One after another, cities fell under their military might. If not for Alexander personally setting out to stop the invasion, the army of the Alliance would have reached this place by now. He could not understand why Big Mona, the number one supplier of weapons and arms in the city, refused to give aid to the army.

"I know what you're thinking." Big Mona pointed a quill at him. "You think I'm stupid, right? You're thinking why this fatso's withholding those weapons when war's about to break out."

The assistant felt chills crawl down his spine. Everything was spot on. "N-No! Of course not!"

"Stop lying." Big Mona grinned. "Listen, kid. You'll never survive as a merchant if you keep being a compassionate moron. An offer made on the brink of death carries more weight, even if it's from the devil. Remember that."

Three loud knocks were heard at the door. "Sir, the son of Duke Drakus wishes to see you."

Big Mona paused. "Son of Duke Drakus?"

The Silver War God was among the most prominent figures of the Kingdom. Even for a merchant like him, it would be very hard to meet the Supreme Commander of the Western Army. Big Mona doubted the report of the servant.

"Are you sure about this? Why would the Silver War God suddenly come here from the Gryphon City?"

"Ah, it's not Lui Marcus, sir," replied the servant. "It's the younger brother."

Even this was surprising. He had seen the Silver War God a few times before back in the Capital, but he never once caught glimpse of the supposedly incompetent little brother of his. He heard several months ago from his information merchant that he was exiled to a desolated town.

"The purpose of his visit?" said Big Mona.

"About that…" There was a pause. "He told us that he's here to make a business proposal."

"Business proposal?" Big Mona knitted his brows. His stare was piercing.

"H-He refused to tell us what kind!" The servant's voice trembled for a moment. "He said that you'll understand once you meet him!"

Normally, Big Mona would not bother meeting with the lord of a small town without prior appointment, but his mind was screaming at him to find out the purpose of the visit. His intuition never failed him before.

Big Mona stood there and contemplated. Eventually, he decided. "Bring him to the room on the second floor."

"As you wish!"

After the servant left, Big Mona looked at himself in front of the mirror. He satisfactorily nodded upon seeing his bloated body and fat, rosy cheeks. "I look dashing today."

It had been his routine to check himself before meeting a potential client, no matter how small the transaction may be. It was a habit engraved into him since he was a kid. Although his father died before becoming a successful merchant, the lessons he had instilled into Big Mona helped mold what he was today.

Accompanied by his personal guard, he went up the stairs and entered a spacious room. Inside, a young man, probably in his early teens, leisurely sat on the couch. Upon seeing Big Mona, he smiled, nodded once, then stood up.

"You're the head of the Merchants Guild?" said the young man. 

Big Mona did not like the haughtiness within the guest's voice. "That's right. You're the Lord of that small town near the Endless Forest, right?" He sat on the opposite couch. "I normally don't entertain such guests without prior appointments. Consider yourself lucky. Boy, get straight to the point. What did you come here for?"

Lark took out a wooden box and placed it on the table before them. "Take a look."

Big Mona leaned forward and opened the lid. He stared at what was inside for a moment before taking it out. A crystal shaped like a lotus flower.

"Kalrane stone?" muttered Big Mona. Although the shape was different from the usual, there was no doubt it was made of kalrane after seeing the translucent crystal and the specks of silver dusts inside it. 

"Yes. Now, touch the tip of the flower."

Big Mona did not like how he was being ordered around by some brat. Still, he did as he was told. He touched the tip of the flower. To his surprise, the specks of silver dusts inside began emitting bright light. It was bright enough to overshadow the large candelabra near the window. For a moment, Big Mona reflexively closed his eyes.

"Touch the tip again."

The blinding light vanished. It took Big Mona some time before he was able to adjust to the now dimly-lit room. He blinked thrice and stared at the crystal he held in his stubby hands.

Was this really a kalrane stone? Those things were rare within this region, but he could easily procure several barrels of them from the Emerald City in the far north. Still, the stones from that mining city were not this bright.

"Is this really a kalrane stone?" Big Mona finally asked. "Even the shape is different."

With the instinct he honed from several decades of being a merchant, Big Mona was immediately able to realize the potential of this product. He almost sniffed the air after smelling the potential crates of gold this would bring.

"It's kalrane. No doubt about it," said Lark. "Stones capable of absorbing and storing light from the sun." Lark took out a smaller version of the crystal, around half a palm in size, and placed it on the table. He touched the tip of the flower and it glowed brightly, illuminating the entire room. "Even this small stone's capable of lighting up the entire room." There was a small pause. He added slowly, "For several hours. Eight hours at most. The larger ones can go way more than that."

Big Mona was stunned for a moment. The kalranes from Emerald City would run out of light after half an hour! Although he was still stoic on the outside, his mind was actually in full throttle after seeing the product.

Lark stood up. "I'll leave these two here. Consider them as a gift. Verify yourself if what I'm telling is the truth."

Wait, he was leaving just like that? What about the deal? This young man did not even haggle for any money! Big Mona realized that this person in front of him was no simple brat. This technique was something he was very familiar with – if you wanted to take control, take the reigns, make the opposition want more.

Of course, Big Mona have no intent of letting him take charge of this deal just like that. "Then, we'll end the discussion here." There was no hint of tremor and hesitation within his voice. "Come back here tomorrow. At the same time."

"Tomorrow, huh? We'll see." Lark scratched his chin and fell silent for a few moments. "I'll be staying in this city for a week. There're some places I need to visit." He did not budge an inch against the reticent merchant. "If we're unable to meet again, just consider those as my gift."

Big Mona understood that this was him indirectly saying that he could sell these peculiar stones to other merchants if things did not go well on this side. He did not like how things were progressing – with this young man taking the helm – but he got to admit that this guest was no pushover.

The two stared at each other, gauging each other's intents.

"Then, I'll be taking my leave," said Lark. "It's been a pleasure meeting you, Sir."

As Lark was about to leave the room, Big Mona stood up and hastily said. "Just tell me one thing. How much kalranes are you able to supply this city?"

"This city? That'll be too short-sighted." Lark grinned. "I plan on supplying light stones to the entire Kingdom."