Big Mona received his men’s report. After tailing Lark for two days, they hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary. The same went for his servants and guards. On the contrary, the noble’s routine was so mediocre and uneventful that they doubted it at first, suspecting the young man was faking it. After all, it was not normal to see a man so absorbed in reading books that he sat inside the library for more than a dozen hours, unmoving.

After checking the contents of the books the young man read, they found out that it was only history. The details inside were nothing special, probably something routinely taught to the nobility.

“Books, huh?” mumbled Big Mona. “Are you sure that’s all he did these past two days?”

Even the fat merchant couldn’t believe it. After all, the young noble gave the impression of a shrewd fox. The merchant could not understand why such a person, who came from a faraway town, would spend two of his precious days in the city in a library reading history books.

“We’re sure,” said the leader of the group. “We watched him even as he slept. We also watched over his men. Aside from the guards spending some money in brothels, they did nothing unusual.”

If possible, Big Mona wanted his men to find out how the young noble had made the kalranes absorb so much energy from the sun—how he made the light stones shine so brightly for such a long period of time.

“Ah, also a messenger from the lord of the city arrived.”

Big Mona raised his eyebrows. “And?”

“He asked me to give you this.”

The envelope was sealed with the crest of Lion City. Big Mona ripped it open and read the letter inside.

“It’s the same request,” said Big Mona. “I’ll be needing a dozen beastmen. Women, children, it doesn’t matter.”

“It’s that time of the year again, huh?” said the masked leader. “Understood. We’ll deliver it to the lord.”

Every year, a month after winter ends, the lord of Lion City would request several beastmen from the Merchants Guild. Big Mona knew of the fate of those slaves, but he couldn’t care less. Even though he knew the lord of Lion City would eat them to satiate his carnal desires, he gladly sold the beastmen in exchange for a small fortune.

Several of the bigwigs in the Merchants Guild knew of this, but they kept quiet. After all, although the lord had this peculiar taste for the meat of beastmen, he was a decent ruler. In just a few years since he became lord, Lion City had prospered and become one of the major cities of the kingdom.

Well, that was a thing of the past. The same couldn’t be said of the current lord. Two knocks sounded on the door. A servant spoke. “Sir, the son of Duke Drakus is here.”

Big Mona fixed his tie. “Same place. Bring him to the room on the second floor.”

“As you wish.”

After his men finished their reports, Big Mona climbed the flight of stairs and entered the room on the second floor. As before, the young noble awaited him sitting on the couch.

“How have you been?” Lark smiled the moment Big Mona entered. After the door shut tight, he added, “It’s been more than a day, right? I made sure those samples would light up for a long period of time.”

“A day and seven hours to be exact.” Big Mona sat on the couch, his body sinking several inches in. “I doubt any kalranes from Emerald City are capable of that.” He placed Lark’s samples on the table. “Those symbols engraved on the kalrane crystal—they are the reason for that phenomenon, right?”

“That much is obvious.” Lark took the smaller sample and played with it in his hand. “A normal kalrane wouldn’t function like that.”

Big Mona’s conjecture was spot on. He studied the young noble before him. The trick behind the kalranes was revealed, but he remained unperturbed, as though he knew all along.

“You do realize that I can simply copy those symbols, no?” Big Mona’s voice was grim, almost threatening. “Even if you protest, I can simply shut your lips. Even your father wouldn’t notice.”

Lark looked at the fat merchant, his eyes filled with amusement. He chuckled. “Is that supposed to be a threat?” Lightning crackled from Lark’s fingertips. It channeled through the kalrane stone, which lit up for a split second, then burst into minute pieces. Lark felt the men hiding in the shadows move immediately.

“What are you doing?” Big Mona glared. He raised a hand, signaling his men to stop and stay hidden for now.

Lark did not shrink, but simply looked the fat merchant in the eyes. “There’s no need to tell your men to keep hiding. I couldn’t care less if they’re here.”

That statement baffled Big Mona. His pupils dilated for a moment, but he regained his composure.

But how did this young noble know there were assassins hiding in the shadows? They were warriors capable of competing with low-ranking knights. There was no way a noble dubbed as ‘incompetent’ by everyone would be able to sense them.

But the lightning. It’s clear this brat knows a bit of magic. And silent magic at that.

Big Mona combed his mind for possible explanations. For now, though, he would feign ignorance. “Men? What are you talking about—”

Lightning shot from the noble’s fingertips and hit the wall next to the door. It was so sudden that Big Mona jumped reflexively from his couch. After several seconds, coughing sounds were heard in the room, and a figure clad in black emerged from where the lightning had hit.

He wobbled for a moment but managed to remain standing.

“That’s what I’m talking about,” said Lark. “There are nine of you. Come out, little pups.”

Big Mona did not like what was happening. He could feel his grip on the negotiation table slowly slipping away from him.

“Show yourselves,” said Big Mona.

One after another, figures clad in black appeared next to the fat merchant. They grabbed the hilts of their swords as bloodlust seeped from their bodies.

“Your orders, sir?” said the leader.

“Stand over there for now.” Big Mona pointed at the wall.

“Understood.” The leader lowered his head. The assassin group went to the wall and remained standing there, unmoving, eyes fixated on Lark.

Big Mona sat again. He stared at Lark. “How?”

“They’ve been tailing me for two days now,” said Lark. The black figures flinched at that statement. Big Mona looked in their direction. “Of course, I would notice.”

Lark sighed. “Hey, it would be quite troublesome to make an enemy of a bigwig like you, but listen—there’s no way for you to copy the symbols and inscriptions on the kalranes. I’m pretty sure of it. I’m here to make a fair deal with you. You’re a merchant, right? It should be obvious by now that you’ll make loads of money from this.”

If Lark had said this moments ago, when he had not yet shown his abilities, Mona would have brushed it off as a joke. But now, he had the impression that the young noble was telling the truth. If there was a special method known only to him, that would be impossible for others to copy, it would explain why he willingly gifted the stones to the Merchants Guild.

Should he torture the noble and make him spit out information? Big Mona pondered for a while but eventually decided against it. The risk far outweighed the benefits. Furthermore, he was now unsure if his assassin group would be capable of stopping him if he directly attacked the merchant. After all, this was the first time someone had seen his men hiding in the shadows.

Although he would be unable to gain full monopoly in this deal, it would still be a good business proposition.

Big Mona made his decision.

“Alright.” Big Mona sighed. His predatory eyes turned cordial. “I’m sorry for the behavior of my men before.” He brushed off the incident as though he never gave them the order. “Rest assured, they’ll stop following you after this.”

“And my men too,” added Lark. “Stop following them.”

Big Mona almost swallowed. “Of course.” He looked at the larger sample of the kalrane stone. “I’ll get straight to the point. Two golds and fifty silvers for large ones, a gold for the smaller stones. How’s that sound?”

“Three gold.” Lark raised three fingers. “A gold and fifteen silvers for the smaller ones.”

The price was within Big Mona’s set haggling limits. He pretended to ponder for a while before eventually bobbing his head. “Alright.”

Lark smiled and offered his hand. “Then, it’ll be a pleasure doing business with you from now on.”

Big Mona shook his hand for a few seconds. “You said before that you plan on supplying kalranes to the entire kingdom. I want to hear more of that plan.”

“Of course,” said Lark.