The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)-Chapter 621: Look at me conducting business abroad

The flame lizard disappeared and we stared at each other. What stone could be better than a diamond in the Human Realm? We waited for Ignis curiously; Zarfa even forgot her relaxation and sunbathing plan. We decided to make tea for whatever tea Ignis would bring later, and the salamander finally came back while we were having our first sip.

"Here," the flame lizard literally spit the stone onto my hand. Thankfully, Salamanders did not have saliva, so the stone only burned a bit.

Interestingly, the stone absorbed the salamander’s fire inside itself and glowed slightly before dimming again.

"Huh? Isn’t this...mana stone?" Zarfa raised her head.

Ah, it was to be expected since the mana around here was so rich, but...it was funny that for Ignis, a mana stone was better than a diamond when diamonds were more expensive here. Even then, the Salamander still wasn’t satisfied.

"Nothing that I like though," Ignis scoffed. "Maybe Jade will like it, but your mana tastes better."

Aww~

"Thanks, Ignis," I stroked the flaming head, and Ignis crawled onto my shoulder, curling there as usual.

"Wait," Zarfa shifted closer and brought my hand to the front of her eyes. "Hey, this is not just mana stone. Look here."

She pointed at a side of the stone that was covered in some kind of iridescent metal, and as a person who wasn’t a metal connoisseur, all I did was tilt my head. "What is it?"

"It’s mithrill!" Zarfa replied with more interest. "It’s not uncommon for the mine for mana stones and mithril to be close to each other since they go hand in hand, but it’s quite rare to find them in the exact same place."

"It should be pretty useful, then."

Zarfa stroked her chin. "They weren’t as expensive as diamonds, but in my opinion...actually more profitable."

"Oh?"

"Because diamond is a luxury, you know?" Zarfa raised her finger. "If someone sells a diamond, there will be a question about its origin, and that wouldn’t be good for this place. Mana stones and mithril, however, aren’t very rare but valuable."

"Because they are part of people’s needs?"

Zarfa snapped her fingers. "Bingo! Their demand is constant, so it is more profitable for merchants. Not to mention, people wouldn’t bother to question where those things come from--there are plenty of mines, after all."

In other words, it wouldn’t be dangerous for this place. The question was...

"What will you do with it?" Zarfa asked me seriously.

Technically, as Ignis’s contracted master, I was the one who found the mine. Lawfully, the mine should be mine, unless I sold the right of the management to another party. Typically, the price would be calculated based on the prediction of how much the mine could yield, but for a new mine in a mana-rich environment like this, the price would be astronomical. Due to the high price, what usually happened was a profit share agreement between the owner and the management.

The choice, naturally, was on the owner. Moi.

For me, however, it was never about money. Even now, I had no idea how to spend my husband’s money, and he was still constantly pestering me to use his hard-earned coins that never stopped flowing. So, even if I pretend that the mine never existed, it would not damage me.

In that case, I could hand over the management rights to the Templars, just like what I did with the diamond mine. But...

"You don’t want to change this mountain, do you?" Ignis stroked my neck with its tail. "You don’t want the mana in this mountain range to be depleted by human greed."

"Mm..."

Was it because I considered myself more of a druid than a human now? I was afraid. I also worried that the graves would be affected because of that. It was a place that sustained the little princess’s life, so there was a greediness in my heart to keep it just like that.

Of course, the leyline would not get destroyed just from occasional mining. It would be, if they did it excessively, and to be honest, I couldn’t possibly trust a group I hadn’t even met for twenty-four hours yet...

Ah. So it was about trust. Would I hand over the mine if it was, say, one of the druid tribe? Yeah, I probably would. Then...

It wouldn’t be fair for me not to trust them because of the prejudice I had against humans.

I turned toward Zarfa, who had been observing me. "How’s the Templars’ financial situation?"

"Hmm...just enough, I guess," Zarfa crossed her arms and tilted her head. "It’s not easy earning money when only some of them can go out to work or trade."

"Yeah, I thought so."

She looked at me silently for a while before letting out an incredulous chuckle. "You’re handing it over just like that?"

I clicked my tongue and wiggled my finger playfully. "You’re very profit-oriented, Ceci."

"Well, I am a merchant," she sneered and pointed her finger at me. "So does your husband."

Well, that was true, and if there was something I could learn from that, it was that I should never put myself in a losing position.

"Let’s talk to the Bishop," I stood up and patted my tunic. freēnovelkiss.com

"Now? With me?"

"Now, with you."

"What about my sunbathing?!"

* * *

Coincidentally, the Bishop was in the library, so Fatia ended up joining our little meeting. We were seated in the middle of the archive room, and I placed the mithril-covered mana stone in the middle of the table.

"This is...?"

"A raw mana stone," Zarfa, the merchant, opened the negotiation. "With mithril attached to it."

The Bishop looked at us in confusion. "Yes, I can see that, Miss. But what--"

"Could it be!" Fatia looked at us with widened eyes. Ah, yes--as someone in that position last year, she figured it out quickly. "D-did you find a...a mine?" she swallowed. "A mana stone and mithril mine?"

The Bishop finally realized what was happening and stood up abruptly in shock. Only for a few seconds, though; he quickly controlled himself and cleared his throat before asking calmly. "Did you find it in this mountain range?"

I felt Ignis raised its head on my shoulder, so I stroked the flaming neck in praise. "My Salamander found it."

"Hmph."

The Bishop blinked repeatedly and stared at Ignis for a long time--even longer than the time he needed to regain his wits about the mine’s existence. "...Salamander?"

"The Great Salamander," Zarfa gestured to my shoulder with two hands as if Ignis was a Miss Universe or something.

Naturally, the lizard enjoyed it very much. What a diva.

"I...I see..."

Ah, I almost forgot that he hadn’t seen Ignis yet since the Salamander immediately scurried around the mountain range the moment we arrived.

Once more, the Bishop cleared his throat and bowed politely to the great salamander before returning to his seat. "And...what does the--ahem--great Salamander wants to do with the mine?"

"It is for my master to decide," Ignis answered nonchalantly, flicking its tail softly around my shoulder to show who its master was.

It had been a while since Ignis called me ’master’, how nostalgic.

"I see..." the Bishop’s gaze returned to me. "Then...what’s the master plan to do?"

I could see nervousness behind his calm countenance, and he couldn’t help but glance at the mana stone once in a while.

Instead of me, Zarfa cleared her throat. "Before we start, it would be best for me to explain how the law works regarding mines..."

She proceeded to explain it, and the Bishop nodded politely--although I was sure he already knew it. But in a negotiation, it was better to make the law known to all participants, even if they already knew it by heart.

Of course, things like this usually took a long time of preceding, oftentimes involving the courthouse. But what courthouse would they use here?

"...by that law, the owner of the mine is the founder, The Great Salamander Ignis, who had relinquished the ownership to the master, Valen Valmeier Sil Seahl," she read from the paper she brought--I didn’t even know when did she write all of that. "And so, Sir Valen--what would you like to propose?"

Damn, this girl--no need to make it sound that grand. I sighed inwardly, but made sure to keep my gaze steady on the Bishop. "Honestly, I don’t have any time to manage the mine," I started. "Ideally, I would like to hand over the management right to the people who live here."

The Bishop straightened his back, and Fatia smiled softly toward me. Ugh--did she think I would do some philanthropic stuff again? How burdensome.

"However--" I raised my finger, and the Bishop tensed up considerably. "I have my concern about environmental degradation."

"...yes?"

Zarfa cleared her throat and explained on my behalf. "Sir Valen worried about excessive mining that would damage the leyline of the mountain range and significantly decrease the mana in the environment."

The Bishop widened his eyes; it seemed like he hadn’t thought that far. Well, it was only a piece of knowledge known to those who knew well about mining, anyway.

"This place...is a precious place for my parents because of the environment," I said. "I do not wish to damage it."

"Ah, so..." Fatia raised her hand. "Do you mean to say that as long as the Templars vow to mine carefully and not cause the...environmental de...gradation--does it mean you’ll allow them to manage the mine?"

"That is so," I nodded.

Zarfa took out a piece of parchment and a bottle of ink along with a quill. Apparently, she was ready to become an impromptu notary.

"Then, what are your demands, Sir Valen?" Zarfa asked in a formal tone.

I raised my finger. "As I said earlier, no excessive mining; the level of mana should stay more or less in this level, or, at the very minimum, only reduced by ten percent--in which, should it reach that point, the mining needs to be halt until the original level of mana is regained."

Zarfa was diligently writing it on the paper, and I waited until she was done before continuing.

"I know this will not yield maximum profit for the management, and that is why all of the profit will be taken by the management," I continued, and the Bishop’s stern face started to crack. "However," again, I raised my second finger, "Part of the profit must be used as a restoration fund for the church and preservation of the graves."

The Bishop’s face could no longer stay calm, but before I could see anything more, he was already lowering his head.

"Bishop, I would like you to know that this is not a case of charity," I gave more firmness in my tone. "The product of the mine shall only be used to provide a living for the Templars and shall not be used as a means to partake in worldly indulgence. The moment you do so--"

I paused until the Bishop raised his face and continued.

"The moment greed takes over the Templar, the rights to manage the mine shall be taken from you," I continued. "And this mountain range might change into volcanoes."

"Will," the Salamander corrected from my shoulder. "I will turn this mountain range into volcanoes. I keep my shadowfire in places I like."

You can do that? I asked inwardly, but Ignis only scoffed inside my head. Okay, perhaps this great Salamander could.

"That’s it from me," I nodded at Zarfa, and she wrote a bit more before sliding the contract parchment across the table. "Please peruse this contract. I will await your decision until tonight--"

"No!" the Bishop stood up and abruptly took Zarfa’s quill before scratching his signature on the parchment. "I, as the head of the Templars, give my endorsement."

...that was the quickest business contract I ever witnessed.