[Lion City—Merchants Guild]

Big Mona, the Merchant Guild Master, skimmed through the documents he held. He stopped and leaned in his chair; it creaked from his enormous weight. He threw a handful of biscuits into his mouth.

“I heard 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 blatantly crude display. He had heard how gluttonous and barbaric the Merchant Guild Master was, but he had not expected this. Even now, Big Mona continued grabbing snacks from the plate in front of him, tossing them into his mouth. Every time he spoke, crumbs and spit flew.

“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 only valid if he doesn’t lose the Vespa Fortress in the south.” Big Mona glared at him. “Surely, you read that before coming here, no? Or are you so stupid that you couldn’t even think of something so simple?”

Big Mona slammed his stubby fists on the table. “Tell Alexander to meet me here himself! I won’t continue supplying his army otherwise!”

“But the master’s in the Valley of Witches! He’s busy fending off the invaders from the United Grakas Alliance!” The representative refused to yield. “You know 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 how we risk our lives just to defend 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.”

The guards grabbed him. 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 as he breathed in deeply.

“Is this really okay?” 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 them. “The spies I planted in the United Grakas Alliance told me the attack on the Valley of Witches won’t escalate until the reinforcement from their capital arrives. 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?”

“But what if the information sent by the spies is wrong?”

“Then Alexander will lose his life.” Big Mona was nonchalant. “It’s not like there’s no one to replace him as Master of the Mercenary Guild. And even if the Valley of Witches is seized by the United Grakas Alliance, they’ll think twice before attacking this city. After all, the lord governing this place is 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 an invasion by the United Grakas Alliance—even the lord of this city wouldn’t be able to stop it. But he knew Alexander would not croak that easily. As long as that man was alive, the beastmen would have a difficult time invading this kingdom.

Big Mona’s assistant felt that the merchant was too laidback about this. Right now, a massive war was breaking out in the Eastern Region, specifically in the Valley of Witches. The United Grakas Alliance had 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 here 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’s this fatso withholding weapons when war’s about to break out.”

The assistant felt chills crawl down his spine. He was spot on. “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.”

Someone knocked three times. “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.

“Are you sure? Why would the Silver War God suddenly come here from 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 in the capital, but he’d never caught glimpse of the supposedly incompetent little brother of his. He’d heard several months ago from his informers that the second son was exiled to a remote town.

“The purpose of his visit?” said Big Mona.

“About that…” There was a pause. “He told us he’s here to make a business proposal.”

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

“He refused to tell us what kind.” The servant’s voice trembled. “He said that you would understand once you met 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 had never failed him before.

Big Mona stood 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 the mirror. He nodded, satisfied with his bloated body and fat rosy cheeks. “I look dashing today.”

It was his routine to check himself before meeting a potential client, no matter how small the transaction may be. It was a habit trained 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 in his early teens sat leisurely on the couch. Upon seeing Big Mona, he smiled, nodded once, then stood.

“You’re the head of the Merchants Guild?” said the young man.

Big Mona did not like the haughtiness in 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 appointment. 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 its contents for a moment before taking it out. He held a crystal shaped like a lotus flower.

“Kalrane stone?” muttered Big Mona. Although the shape was different than usual, there was no doubt it was kalrane, the translucent crystal and specks of silver dust inside were characteristic of such stones.

“Yes. Now, touch the tip of the flower.”

Big Mona did not like how some brat was ordering him around. Still, he did as he was told. He touched the tip of the flower. To his surprise, the specks of silver dust began emitting bright light. It was bright enough to overshadow the large candelabra near the window. For a moment, Big Mona 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 and stared at the crystal in his stubby hands.

Kalrane stones were rare in this region, though he could procure several barrels of them from 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’d honed from several decades of experience, Big Mona immediately realized the potential of this product. He almost sniffed the air imagining the crates of gold this could 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. “Even this small stone is 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 much longer 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 remained stoic on the outside, his mind was in full throttle after seeing the product.

Lark stood up. “I’ll leave these two here. Consider them a gift. You can verify I’m telling the truth.”

Wait, he was leaving just like that? What about the deal? The young man didn’t even haggle for any money! Big Mona realized the person in front of him was no child. This technique was something he was very familiar with—if you wanted to take control, take the reins, make the opposition want more.

Of course, Big Mona had no intention of letting him take charge of the deal. “Then, we’ll end the discussion here.” There was no hint of tremor or hesitation in his voice. “Come back tomorrow. At the same time.”

“Tomorrow? We’ll see.” Lark scratched his chin and fell silent for a few moments. “I’ll be staying in the 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 my gift.”

Big Mona understood. This was the duke’s son indirectly saying that he could sell these peculiar stones to other merchants if things did not go well. He did not like how things were progressing—with this young man taking the helm—but he had to admit, his guest was no pushover.

The two stared at each other, gauging each other’s intentions.

“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 and said, “Just tell me one thing. How many kalranes are you able to supply this city?”

“This city? That would be short-sighted.” Lark grinned. “I plan on supplying light stones to the entire kingdom.”