章 101: Wealthy Elves!
Hearing Sophia's astonishing proposal, the elf mayor and the sisters Ayla and Amy were left speechless. This human president dared to suggest a business deal with them? Before the emergence of the Golden Oasis, the wood elves were the sole and largest suppliers of Life Water and Elven Spring Water across the Holy Continent. And now, Sophia wanted to sell Elven Spring Water to them? Her business acumen was truly eye-opening.
"What do I need your Elven Spring Water for?" the elf mayor snapped, frustration creasing her alabaster brow. If not for the potential conflict with the Golden Oasis, she would have used her authority to outright ban the Crystal Merchant Guild from selling Elven Spring Water. Concerns about Forest City's reputation were merely a pretext; compared to the threat of a lich and an undead plague, such losses were trivial. It was Ayla's analysis that the human lord of the Golden Oasis might be blessed by the Elf Goddess that made her choose a softer approach in dealing with the Crystal Merchant Guild.
Sophia's suggestion had made her furious. "I was merely offering a suggestion, Mayor. If you don't wish to buy, so be it. As for ceasing transactions with the mysterious man, that decision is beyond my authority," Sophia said calmly.
"I will visit the Golden Oasis!" the elf mayor declared, turning to leave.
At that moment, Ayla spoke up, asking Sophia, "How much Elven Spring Water do you have?"
Sophia smiled. "That depends on how many dragon corpses you have!" She had no idea how much Elven Spring Water the lord had, but he had told her to trade as many dragon corpses as she could get.
Ayla pressed further, "What exactly is your deal with that mysterious man?"
"He brings dragon corpses, dried and devoid of flesh. As long as the dragon was at least mid-saint level when alive, we trade 1,500 bottles of intermediate Elven Spring Water for each one. If the corpse is fresh, the price goes up by fifty percent," Sophia explained, quoting the instructions given by her lord. She didn't know why fresh dragon corpses were more valuable—perhaps they could be dissected and sold to high-end restaurants—but she wisely refrained from asking too many questions. Her job was to conduct the transactions and collect her commission.
"You merchants are truly ruthless," Ayla muttered. Even a fifty percent increase seemed cheap to her. After all, dragon corpses were incredibly valuable. No faction on the Holy Continent would trade a dragon corpse for a mere 1,500 bottles of intermediate Elven Spring Water. This only indicated how desperately the mysterious faction needed the Elven Spring Water, enough to sell dragon corpses at a bargain.
Sophia replied with a smile, "Business is about mutual agreement. The mysterious man has always been very satisfied with our deals and never complained."
Indeed, before he left, the masked man had even scheduled their next transaction, implying he had more dragon corpses to trade.
"How many bottles of intermediate Elven Spring Water do you have right now? I'll buy them with gold coins," Ayla said.
Sophia thought for a moment. "Around 3,000 bottles."
"I'll take them all at market price, 1.2 million gold coins," Ayla declared.
"Deal!" Sophia agreed without haggling. This private transaction would be tax-free, unlike the bottles sold in the guild's shops, which incurred a tax to Forest City. Thus, she promptly agreed.
"Card or cash?" Sophia asked.
"Card!" Ayla replied.
Moments later, the transaction was complete. Ayla handed over 1.2 million gold coins and took all the remaining Elven Spring Water from the Crystal Merchant Guild. As the lord of Kyat City, she had ample funds at her disposal, and this came from the public treasury, not her private purse.
Feeling relieved, Sophia was finally able to sell all the 20,000 bottles of intermediate Elven Spring Water brought by the old steward. Besides the ten dragon corpses, she had amassed nearly 38 million gold coins. She had not let her lord down.
Sophia planned to purchase a flying mount and head to the Golden Oasis soon. With such a large sum of gold and ten dragon corpses, she felt uneasy. She wouldn't sleep well until she handed everything over to her lord.
---
The elf mayor and the sisters quickly left the Crystal Merchant Guild, returning to the mayor's private garden.
"What were you thinking, spending such a large sum to buy Elven Spring Water from the Crystal Merchant Guild?" the elf mayor asked Ayla.
"I believe that human lord hasn't been in the Golden Oasis long. Even if he can produce Life Water, he likely doesn't have a large stock. By buying it ourselves, we ensure those mysterious people can't get it," Ayla explained.
"Good point!" The elf mayor's eyes brightened. Whether creating Life Water or diluting it into Elven Spring Water, both processes took time. The Golden Oasis couldn't supply tens of thousands of bottles continuously. From another perspective, they were hindering the lich's rebirth process.
"When we go to the Golden Oasis, we'll bring a substantial amount of gold and buy up all the human lord's stock of Elven Spring Water," the elf mayor decided. "No more trading dragon corpses—it's too costly."
Ayla agreed. Sophia had been right; with the resources of the wood elves, obtaining dragon corpses was not an issue. There were plenty of dragons living in the Forest of Life. If it hadn't been for the dark dragon Charles going rogue and slaughtering an elf village, they wouldn't have chased him into the Karar Desert. As long as the dragons obeyed the rules, the wood elves didn't mind sharing their territory. Over the years, some dragons had died for various reasons, and their corpses ended up in the wood elves' hands. Hence, they had plenty of dragon corpses for trading Elven Spring Water.
However, Sophia's prices were too steep, and unless they were desperate, they wouldn't agree to such unfair deals.
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