Successful deal || Asher’s Explanations

"Sigh. We really underestimated that kid."

Lan sighed right after he exited the Blue Bamboo restaurant.

"The old generation would have to soon step down for the new ones."

"Isn't that how it's meant to be?" Sir Su replied.

"Tch. Even if that is true, it won't be him we will be stepping down for. No matter how much of a genius he prides himself, he's still a null." Old Bronze walked ahead with a scowl on his face.

Lan wanted to retort but he ended up sighing. The Great Dawn kingdom's society valued strength above all. Even the delegates who were sent by their families to attend this meeting all had the strength of at least fourth stage Guardian mage with those from duke families being at least sixth stage with some like Tate at the seventh stage of the Guardian rank. From this, one could see how much strength was valued in the various families and clans. The stronger one was, the more responsibilities they would get and the greater the authority they wield. Therefore, Old Bronze's comment, although offensive, was still accurate.

'Sighs. Does the legacy of duke Darius have to come to an end like this?'

Lan glanced at the sky as he felt immense pity for the great duke who was known as the White Fox of the western border.

. . .

"It seems like it was a success, young master." Isabella congratulated Asher with a smile.

"Of course, it would be. The young master had planned it all out in detail." Raven smiled.

The meeting was already over and all the participants had ended up signing an agreement with Asher. Of the 30 different families that turned up to the meeting, 23 families had opted for the Blue tier membership while 7 had gone for the Purple tier membership. Everyone saw the advantage of the White Maple chamber of commerce, and although having a basic membership would still let one enjoy the benefits, these families aspired for more and decided to apply for higher membership. In summary, 23 blue tier members meant that the chamber would be reaping 23,000 gold coins every month and with the seven purple tier members, that would be a total of 44,000 gold coins every month. An extremely astonishing amount that could rival the monthly or even annual taxes of the lower-ranked provinces in the kingdom. In a year, this would be 528,000 gold coins and in two years it would turn to a million gold coins(1,056,000).

"You might find this offensive, young master, but why would you offer such terms to them? Isn't this disadvantageous to the family?"

An older and more mature voice sounded as a new figure entered the room. It was Luther, Ol' Fang's disciple as well as the guard who watched over Asher ever since he was young.

Right after Ol' Fang had returned to the province, Darius had sent for Luther to meet up with Asher after the banquet. However, due to the academy's rules, Luther could only stay in the Arnhaunt's mansion in the city.

"Losing? I don't really think so. In exchange for offering between 10-15% discounts on our goods and services while also offering between 15-40% of the profits from the sales of the True Calming potion, we have access to a variety of trade channels all at a discounted price. It might seem like we're losing out, but we are not."

Asher explained.

"Regarding the increase in their percentage of profits in the True Calming potion, this percentage is only applicable to the profits generated and not revenue. The cost of production is covered by the revenue while the cost of delivery to the various provinces is covered by the members themselves, who in turn get that covered by the revenue once more. It might sound like that would now be dwindling the profit for the potion, but remember that the True Calming potion is one-of-a-kind. Only we can produce it and as the production method is a secret, we can claim that it's very taxing on the body and use that motive to inflate the final selling price of the potion. In other words, for what we could spend 10 silvers to produce, we can sell for 30 or even 45 silver coins, after all, potions are well-known for being costly and this is a potion that can help mages progress in rank. In summary, even if we offer the various partnering families 70% of the profits, we would still be profiting. What you might see as a loss is nothing to me." Asher smiled.

"This is because of my second reason behind doing so. Our family's situation is dire. Although it isn't that bad yet, it might soon be. The recent crisis by the borders has increased the burden on us, so we need more money. War is a contest of wealth, and in this premature one, it is our family against an entire kingdom. We're doomed to lose if we don't make proper arrangements. Using the excuse of the increased skirmishes by the border, we can increase the price of goods leaving the province and increase tariffs. By doing so, we can minimize our losses. Although this might make living a bit tough for the people, I already have a few plans for that. The increased tariffs would only apply to outsiders and efforts to make sure that the people's lives wouldn't be affected so much would be implemented. Also part of my second reason is that having a connection with these families could lessen the pressure from them."

Luther frowned as he heard that, but he didn't ask any questions. They both knew who 'them' was, and it was better to not say such out loud as they were in the capital and that could count as treason.

"The various families were previously unwilling to have anything to do with us, but now, they have no choice. Such a fat piece of meat before their eyes would be hard to let go of. With them having joined the chamber, whether they like it or not, they have been dragged into this standstill with us. Until they can produce the True Calming potions by themselves, they would want to remain in this partnership for as long as possible, trust me."

Asher sipped from the cup of tea before him.

"But you've already given them the formula. The production method is missing, true, but with the resources of those families, it shouldn't be hard to uncover it." Luther said.

"That's something you got wrong." Asher shook his head.

"With the resources under these families, uncovering the ingredients of the potion wouldn't be much of a hassle, so I might as well use it to win their favour. As for uncovering the production method, heh. If it was that easy I wouldn't have let them in on this business and would have tried to make the family profit as much before they create their own versions. Trust me, even if I give them 10 years with the resources under them, they won't be able to reverse-engineer the potion and crack the production method. At the least, one would need a grandmaster alchemist working alongside a grandmaster appraiser, or maybe a team of 15 master alchemists and five master appraisers researching for at least a year or two to do so."

"!!!"

Luther, Raven and even Isabella widened their eyes in shock at Asher's explanation. It should be known that the recognized highest rank of an alchemist, appraiser or any other occupation found in the Great Dawn kingdom was Advanced. Masters were pretty much exceedingly rare. Even if one existed in the Great Dawn kingdom, they wouldn't exceed three and would be in the hands of the top three powers or so. To say that the True Calming potion would require twenty of them and at least a year to expose its secret was absurd, but the trio knew Asher was not one to waggle his lips anyhow.

"Considering all these points, I would say we aren't losing out anywhere. Even if we are, it would just be some very minor losses. In exchange for having an organization that strongly unites us with the other families, I would say that it is worth it. We control the production of the potion, so the initiative would always be in our hands. Alright, sit down. Let's have a meal before we leave. I've always wondered why this restaurant is so appealing to the capital's nobles."

A maid was soon called into the room alongside two other waiters, all carrying a tray of food that was arranged neatly on the head table. The two waiters then exited the room while the maid remained behind to attend to them.

A special seafood that looked like a mix between a crab and a lobster, a couple of meat dishes with some soup together with two bottles of wine were left on the table. Just the visual sight of the meal was stunning to the trio and even Asher couldn't help but sigh remarkably at the meal. Although he had lived a much fancier life before, the food in this world was different from his past life. Not just the cooking methods but also the ingredients; and this was considering that Yi Feng had visited dozens of different worlds and had a taste of their cuisine.

'It might not compare to some of the best there, but it's still amazing.'

Luther, Raven and Isabella took their seats under Asher's command and prepared to have their meal.

'Hmm?' Asher stopped as he glanced at the food for a short while.

"Seeing this meat dish reminds me of the Red Duck meat back at home. I think I'm in the mood for some."

Asher suddenly said following which Luther widened his eyes but recovered almost immediately.