Darius seated himself with these VIPs. Dion the manager, Lionel the vice, Pieter the head of security, Sarah the head of marketing and advertisement and finally Adeline the head of ledgers and finances.

Dion handled most of the talking as they got into serious talk.

"Lord Darius, we would like to offer you a position as an Honorary Elder of our auction house. The perks would include us not charging any auction fees on your products, you gaining a VIP pass for all our live auctions and we would discount all auction purchases for you by 20%."

Dion rubbed his bald head. "Of course, there are some obligations. Firstly, we reserve the right of priority for items you wish to sell in any auction house within the City of Divinity. Secondly, you are required to put one rare item on auction every 3 months. Thirdly, if the auction house is facing any issues, we have the right to call on you for help, though the option to refuse is - of course - open to you."

Dion sighed. "I'll be honest with you, Lord Stone. These terms are made for those who make items that barely pass our criteria in a certain regard, so usually, those who are offered accept without daring to say a peep given our reputation and the value that comes with it."

The manager held up one of the Scrolls of Awakening and gazed at it with a bitter smile. "But with items like these, it is us who want you, not the other way round. As such, I will be frank and say that all terms are negotiable. Just… please don't be too harsh."

Darius blinked in surprise. He didn't expect Manager Dion to be so forthright and decisive that he would completely give up all his advantages and rights in the negotiation with him.

If Darius was a greedy fool who knew little about business and had poor social EQ, he would be able to solidly fleece this auction house today. Fortunately, Manager Dion had made the right bet, unaware that Darius was a genuine merchant, and one of the best at that.

As such, Darius simply smiled. "How about this? I shall accept the position of Honorary Elder of your Auction House. I will also send over similar products to these every month to be hosted in a Grand Monthly Auction."

"All fees will be waived but my name as these item's supplier will be advertised properly, along with my location for private orders. No need to give me a discount as it might worry the Beloved Auction House down the line, instead I wish for you to provide me a list of all items you plan to auction before the date. There might be some things within I might find interesting."

"Just as Friend Kilobar offered for my products, I intend to purchase them at 50% above the appraised price in order to soothe the one who supplied the item. In case they are unwilling, I would like to negotiate with them personally."

"As for the VIP status in live auctions, I shall gladly accept it. I do not mind providing strength to the auction house in times of crisis as my benefits would also be threatened. However, the other two obligations are not necessary."

Darius stretched out his hand with an amiable smile. "This is the framework of our cooperation for now. More might be added later to suit the ever-changing flow of society."

Dion was so stunned that he delayed shaking Darius' hand by a few seconds. When he came to, he quickly grabbed Darius' hand like a drowning man grasping a lifeline with which to breathe.

"Y-Yes! Our humble establishment is happy to accept such terms!"

The other four beside Dion showed differing levels of excitement, even the stoic Adeline. They all gazed at Darius as if he were a demi-god come to lay blessings upon them, making Gunner smile and Xela giggle.

The most expressive was Sarah, who chuckled and folded her hands under her cleavage. She spoke in a sultry tone to Darius. "If my Lord ever wants a place to lay his head and relax in bliss, make sure to pay me a visit."

The others rolled their eyes as this wasn't the first time Sarah had done something like this. The older woman made no secrets in case she found someone attractive and considered notable and apparently Darius had struck a soft spot within her.

He was slightly interested. Not because of Sarah's good looks alone, but her age and her racial features. A woman of her age would certainly possess techniques no young woman could hope to match.

And she was one of the fabled half-serpent races. There was a rumor about them in Faust that stated that their sexual prowess was no less than predators like succubi and dryads, with vaginas that could move like living entities.

Darius knew this to likely be true as this was a well-known fact in fantasy about these races. Many men ended up dead under them, despite the fact that half-serpent races did not need the essence of men to survive like succubi or dryads.

But that was for later. He took a parchment from the clerk which showed the address of Sarah's abode. Darius kept it carefully, planning to pay her a visit to see how much better it could be doing it with a fantasy race known for such things.

It couldn't be that much better than with humans, could it? For Darius who had only done it with humans, he couldn't imagine how much better it could possibly get without doing some form of harm.

He spent some more time chatting with the group and learning more about their operation. The more he heard, the more Darius felt assured that his choice was a wise one.

Not only were their weekly profits high plus their customerbase large and wealthy, but they had links with many of the temples. Whenever a deity got bored with an item or wanted to sell it for his followers to get some cash, they sent such things over to this place for sale.

Especially Hephaestus who was forging new things all the time. He usually tossed what he considered defective products down to his pope to be sold for money and the rest was obvious.