Chapter 56
Chapter 56: If You Don’t Like It, Then Don’t. (3)
The Mage Tower Lord and five Elders hurried down to meet Ghislaine. Usually, they would have held on to their pride and not rushed, but the situation called for urgency.
However, once Hubert reached the lobby, he didn’t show any signs of urgency and instead approached Ghislaine in a leisurely manner.
After all, he wanted to maintain the last shred of his pride.
The Mage Tower Lord raised his head high and spoke to Ghislaine.
“Are you the one here to sell the Runestones? I am Hubert, the Lord of the Tower of the Bloody Flame. A 6th Circle Mage.”
In any country, being a 6th Circle Mage was equivalent to a Count or higher. And being the Lord of the Tower of the Bloody Flame added to his imposing presence.
Ghislaine naturally accepted his condescension.
“It’s an honor to meet you. I am Ghislaine Perdium, here to sell some Runestones.”
“Ahem, yes. Then…”
As Hubert continued speaking, he glanced over Ghislaine’s entourage and inadvertently closed his mouth.
‘…What’s this? Bandits? Are they here to swindle me?’
He knew there was a poor territory called Perdium in the North.
But no matter how poor a territory might be, Ghislaine’s group did not look like a noble retinue at all.
It was filled with rough and menacing figures that could put bandits to shame.
‘Are they nobles? Who on earth are these guys?’
Particularly, the tall red-haired guy was standing with a tilted head, looking at him with a cocky expression.
‘…Are they challenging me?’
Hubert, bewildered as he experienced such a trivial provocation for the first time, turned his head away.
The man with graying hair who looked somewhat dignified was at least tolerable, but the rest were all completely uncouth.
It was the first time in the history of the Tower of the Bloody Flame that such undignified beings were brought into the tower.
Hubert scrutinized Ghislaine again. At least Ghislaine had a decent face and looked capable, making him the best among the group.
Yet, his attire was too shabby for a Grand Duke from a territory, and he didn’t understand why he’d associate with such lowly individuals.
Hubert discreetly whispered to the Elder beside him.
“Is there a newly formed bandit group nearby?”
“Well… there shouldn’t be one around here.”
“Right? We wiped them all out.”
“Yes, we cleaned them all up.”
The Mage Tower Lord narrowed his brows slightly.
‘Then where did those guys come from… Are they really from Perdium?’
With a reluctant expression, Hubert continued speaking.
“Ahem, you’re the Grand Duke of Perdium, huh? But your entourage looks… Is this how soldiers dress in Perdium? Is that the fashion over there?”
“No, these are mercenaries accompanying me.”
“Ah… so they’re mercenaries, not bandits?”
At that, Hubert nodded.
In a poor territory with few soldiers, it was common for the Lord or their direct line to hire mercenaries only when they went out.
“Anyway, it’s quite a good idea to come here instead of the Scarlet Tower.”
While outwardly politely greeting them, Hubert was inwardly suppressing his annoyance.
In the past, he wouldn’t even have bothered to show his face for a deal like this.
It was unbecoming for the lord of the top Mage Tower in the North to haggle with a mere trader.
‘I intend to make him pay dearly for this privilege of speaking with me.’
The Mage Tower Lord smirked arrogantly as he said, “First of all… let’s check how much you have.”
He casually scanned the Runestones piled in the wagon and muttered as if they were nothing special.
“Not as much as I thought. I came thinking it’d be a huge amount. Ugh, what a waste of time.”
In fact, it was an amount that made his heart race.
The Elders were about to cheer but hastily maintained serious expressions when they saw Hubert.
“Ahem, indeed it’s not as much as I thought. The quality doesn’t seem that great either…”
“But since you’ve come this far, shouldn’t we buy all of it?”
“Let’s do that. Young man, where else can you sell these if not here? Hmph.”
“Of course. If not us, you’d just get swindled somewhere else. The world is truly scary. Hahaha.”
As the Elders exchanged these remarks, the mercenaries were grinning from ear to ear.
Kaor turned his head and quietly mumbled, “These guys really suck at acting.”
Hubert and the other mages were all blushing, nostrils flaring.
Some Elders were even breathing heavily as they put their hands on their chests as if they were having a heart attack.
It was odd that they still didn’t realize it was an act.
The mercenaries began to gather and whisper amongst themselves.
“Hey, the Mage Tower isn’t all that great. It’s clear they’re putting on a show to lowball us.”
“Right? Normally, in places like this, they usually negotiate without all this fuss, right?”
“People are all the same. Pretending to be dignified, but they’re just faking it.”
Having seen all kinds of people, the mercenaries found the mages’ poor acting blatantly transparent.
However, Hubert couldn’t hear the murmurs of the mercenaries.
He took a deep breath as if trying to cool down his flushed face.
“Should we have a more detailed discussion? Follow me.”
Ghislaine, Belinda, and Gillian stepped onto the Magic Circle, following the mages.
At the back, Kaor turned before stepping onto the circle and said, “Hey, keep your eyes wide open. If even one of those goes missing, I’ll smash the heads of whoever stole it and whoever didn’t take notice.”
The mages frowned at the crude expression, but the mercenaries nodded as if it were natural.
Once Kaor stepped onboard, the Magic Circle blinked a few times, and Ghislaine’s group was transported to the top floor of the tower.
This Magic Circle also utilized Runestones. It showed just how versatile Runestones could be.
Ghislaine followed the mages with a silent smile.
‘With that amount, it’s understandable to lose your head over it, particularly you fellows.’
Among the materials Ghislaine obtained in his past life were documents about the Tower of the Bloody Flame.
The Tower of the Bloody Flame had never risen beyond being the second-best in the North, forever overshadowed by the Scarlet Tower.
Its influence had dwindled so much that the Tower Lord would later perish from a stroke.
A mage, considered the most rational in the world, dying from a stroke.
Although the situation wasn’t as dire as in his previous life, things weren’t exactly good either. It would only get worse from here on out.
‘It would have been better if I arrived later.’
If he had come later, the Tower Lord would have had no choice but to kneel before Ghislaine, even bowing his head low.
However, Ghislaine was also in a pressing situation and couldn’t afford to delay his arrival.
‘But I should be prepared to strip down to my underwear as well. Hehe.’
The place they arrived at was as lavish as the reception room, with splendid chairs and tables set up. Refreshments were already prepared.
Ghislaine sat down with a relaxed expression. The other three stood behind him, ready.
Hubert and the five Elders sat in a row before Ghislaine.
“Let me introduce you. These are the Elders of our tower. All 5th Circle Mages, the key figures leading the Tower of the Bloody Flame.”
As Hubert finished his introduction, the Elders, wearing arrogant expressions, stated their names one by one.
It was as if they were saying, ‘You know who we are, right?’ Unfortunately, Ghislaine couldn’t care less.
“Is that so? Nice to meet you.”
His confident demeanor made the Elders stiffen slightly, appearing uncomfortable.
Usually, young ones like him would bow their waists in flattery upon meeting them, but Ghislaine showed no sign of doing that at all.
One of the Elders sneered and asked, “Isn’t Perdium a poor territory in the North? How did you manage to bring Runestones from such a place? Aren’t they struggling to eat there?”
Belinda frowned at the condescending remark, but Ghislaine merely smiled and responded.
“I was lucky. By the way, all of you are 5th Circle Mages. That’s impressive.”
Typically, the mages that lords form contracts with are 4th Circle.
If all five Elders were 5th Circle, it meant the tower was quite powerful.
Hubert and the Elders smiled proudly, but their faces turned sour when Ghislaine added on.
“Indeed, it’s a place worthy of being called the second-best in the North. Hahaha.”
‘Ugh, this punk.’
Hubert gritted his teeth at the remark that scratched at his pride.
However, Ghislaine merely smiled innocently, acting as if he knew nothing.
It was clear that arguing further would only tarnish the tower’s prestige. Hubert took a deep breath to cool his burning insides.
“Ahem, you seem to be from a different territory and not very knowledgeable. That’s just a rumor. We are still the foremost Mage Tower in the North.”
“Oh, is that so? Well, I’ll take your word for it.”
Kaor chuckled from behind. Belinda covered her mouth silently, but her eyes were clearly smiling.
Only Gillian remained motionless with a nonchalant expression.
Hubert and the Elders glared at the two rude ones.
But the two just shrugged, as if to say, ‘What’s it to us?’
‘These rude idiots.’
The mages grimaced, thinking they were poor and uneducated lowlifes lacking dignity.
Their insides were boiling, but it was pointless to converse with those below their level.
“Alright, let’s drop the unnecessary talk and get to the point. How much are you planning to sell them for? By the way, I really dislike being overcharged. You think I’m easy to ignore, don’t you? You must have heard of how fearsome I am, right?”
Hubert intentionally spoke in a threatening manner to try to break their spirit.
He was determined to buy all the Runestones Ghislaine brought, no matter what.
If he continued unable to acquire Runestones, he would never surpass the Scarlet Tower.
‘I must secure them all. I can’t let even a single Runestone fall into the Scarlet Tower’s hands.’
With that amount of Runestones, they could create magical tools for profit.
Before that, he could elevate the levels of himself and the mages of the tower.
‘Those Runestones are all ours.’
His mind was filled solely with thoughts of securing the Runestones.
Seeing the lustful gaze of the mages, Ghislaine couldn’t help but smile.
“I’ll need to charge double the market price.”
“What?”
The Mage Tower Lord frowned. He just said he disliked being overcharged, yet this young man dared to openly attempt to exploit him.
“Young Noble, you’re clueless about the world. Didn’t I just say I really dislike being overcharged? Do you think I’m joking?”
As Hubert growled, the other Elders grew angry as well.
“How dare you think this is an ordinary place!”
“Is Perdium looking down on the Tower of the Bloody Flame?”
While the mages scowled, Ghislaine spoke indifferently.
“Two and a half times.”
The mages were briefly stunned, staring at Ghislaine before they quickly erupted in outrage.
“You! Do you think such a petty trick will work on us?!”
“How dare you speak such nonsense…!”
“Do you really want to see the end of this?!”
The mages clenched their teeth and raised their hands. But Ghislaine merely brushed his eyes over them and spoke again.
“Three times.”
“……”
At that point, the mages all closed their mouths. Somehow, they felt that opening their mouths would only lead to Ghislaine raising the price again.
The Tower Lord and the Elders stared at Ghislaine, unable to speak for a while, their eyes filled with terror.
The three accompanying Ghislaine were equally dumbfounded.
Even if Runestones were precious, who would sell them for three times the market price?
If they were paying that much, they could just go directly to the merchant group.
Ghislaine had come all this way to sell his goods, yet he was acting strangely as if he had no intention of selling.
Belinda looked at Ghislaine with concern.
‘Is the Young Master’s bad habit acting up again? Maybe the mages are being arrogant and he got upset.’
She glanced at Gillian and Kaor standing beside her. Both didn’t seem inclined to stop Ghislaine.
One was a stone-hearted man who would simply follow his master’s will, while the other was a mischievous troublemaker who thought it would be fun.
‘Honestly, I’m the only one who cares about the Young Master!’
Whether Ghislaine was aware of Belinda’s worries or not, he silently stood up after waiting a moment.
Hubert’s eyes widened at his sudden movement.
“Why are you getting up….”
“It seems you have no intention of making a deal. I should quickly head over to the Scarlet Tower. I’ve heard they are quite profitable and offer good prices for Runestones.”
With that statement, Ghislaine strode confidently toward the door.
A pale-faced Hubert hurriedly grabbed Ghislaine.
“Hey! Why is this young man so impatient? I just said I disliked being overcharged, but I never said I wouldn’t buy at all!”
The Mage Tower Lord spoke hurriedly, blocking the door.
Ghislaine narrowed his eyes, sizing him up, then nodded leisurely.
“Well, if that’s the case, shall we talk a bit more?”
Ghislaine elegantly returned to his seat.
Hubert’s expression turned dire in an instant. The Elders beside him fidgeted, clearly unsure of what to do.
Belinda, who was totally unaware of the dire situation of the Tower of the Bloody Flame, couldn’t understand why they were so flustered.
‘Why on earth is the Young Master acting like this? Have the old men all gone senile?’
Ghislaine’s nonchalant voice echoed throughout the room.
“Now, shall we agree on a purchase at three times the market price?”
