CHAPTER 16: SUCCESSFUL TRADE.

After his unexpected meeting with his father, Dorian made his way to the blacksmith shop, along with Maria, of course.

Standing in front of the counter, he placed the sack of 13 dragon ores on the table, his fingers continually tapping on the surface.

"Where the hell is he?" he sighed.

"Do relax; my father is setting his work down to speak to you. He will be here any second now."

Dorian shot her a glance, though he didn’t say anything.

A day before, when Dorian sent her to speak to her father regarding the deal, he offered to clear the rest of the money in exchange for information for potential sales. He also asked her to tell him to bring anyone capable of buying a large amount of dragon iron ores at the moment.

Not only was he going to pay the workers with this, but he also had a plan to carry out that needed the large sum.

As such, he was very uncomfortable, particularly because there was a possibility that the blacksmith would not be able to locate anyone.

Minutes after, the blacksmith walked into the room; behind him, a brown dog person wearing a pair of sophisticated glasses.

"Ah, good morning, Lord Dorian; it’s a pleasure to see you again," said the blacksmith as he walked away from the counter and towards Dorian’s position.

"Old man, you look livelier than normal."

"How can I not be? You have brought great business to my front door. I’d be lying if I said I am not filled with joy right now."

The blacksmith smiled with all his teeth out in the open.

Staring at him, Dorian felt a sense of pride. To see another man money-hungry was a good hint that he would be a perfect, hardworking tool to use in the future.

In fact, Dorian was already thinking of a couple of things he could put Maria’s father through next.

"Father, shouldn’t you introduce your friend as well?" Maria hinted from behind Dorian.

"Oh, right, sorry, I forgot," the blacksmith cleared his voice. "Please forgive me, Lord Dorian. Let me introduce you to Gilbert; he is a merchant with shops scattered all around different locations in the Lumberg kingdom."

Gilbert quickly took the opportunity to introduce himself further.

"Yes, my name is Gilbert, a merchant. Today I have come on the recommendation of my dear friend. I was in the middle of an important sale when he called. However, the offer was too good. I just couldn’t pass the chance to see for myself."

’A merchant, uhn...’ Dorian placed one hand on the jaw as he thought to himself. ’I expected it to be another blacksmith, but merchants can be rather tricky to deal with. The reason he is here isn’t only because he values his friendship with the old man, but it’s majorly because he doesn’t want any other merchant getting the jump on him. I may have underestimated the value of dragon ores.’

Suddenly, Maria moved closer to him, cupping her hand over her lips as she whispered in his ear.

"Lord Dorian, merchants are quite tricky to deal with; if you want, I can help you handle the talking since I have spoken with a few of them in the past."

"Nah, I can handle this," he replied.

Thinking back, he remembered even back in his former world, he was usually the one helping Yahoshi handle most of her meetings.

If anything, he was quite skilled at making a business deal.

"Mr. Gilbert, the name is Aurelian, Dorian Aurelian, heir to the Aurelian household," he stretched his hand out for a shake. "I imagine he has told you about the reason for our meeting, yes?"

Gilbert shook him back, his other hand shifting the glasses on his face.

"Yes, Albor told me a bit of the situation, and it was made clear you would like to trade dragon iron ores with me."

Dorian halted for a while, his eyes quickly moving towards the old man.

’He didn’t mention the mine? Way to go, old man.’

"Yes, that would be true, 13 in total."

Their hands separated from the firm shake.

"Thirteen dragon iron ores..." Gilbert was quiet for a while, the shade on his glasses visible. "How could you have gotten your hands on such rare items? I am quite curious."

"A merchant never reveals the secret to his business; you know this too well," replied Dorian with the same level of confidence.

Gilbert burst out laughing.

"You saw right through me, I must say. You are a rather intriguing fellow, if anything; after this trade, I would love for us to keep working together in the near future."

"Sure, I don’t mind," Dorian grinned in response.

"Now then, shall we talk about the pricing?"

As soon as those words left Gilbert’s mouth, their entire mood changed.

Maria, who had chosen to pay no mind to them, could not deny the sudden shift in tension. It was as though these two were in an entirely different world of their own.

"How much are you willing to buy it for?" Dorian took the first initiative, a good way for him to first know the initial price since he had no knowledge about it. Unless the old man had spilled the price he bought it for earlier, there was nothing for him to worry about.

"Well, seeing that a single one costs about 15,000 gold coins, it would be quite difficult for me to purchase them all by myself. The most I can do is four right now, and even then, that would be all of my net worth in one place."

"See, that wouldn’t be a problem since you already intend to sell it to the royal capital at a much higher profit. Isn’t that right?"

Gilbert smiled, knowing Dorian had seen right through him.

"Pardon my selfishness, but a merchant must always know when to use opportunities wisely."

Dorian smiled back.

"I can forgive that. 16,000 gold coins, and we have a deal, for the first fifteen, anything after will be sold for even less, 13,000 gold coins."

Maria was surprised at the amount she was hearing. With 16,000 gold coins, anyone can easily lift themselves out of poverty. Not to mention, she doubted if the barony had ever generated this much money before on its own.

Even her father had the same expression on his face.

After thinking for a while, he realized not only was the deal too good to pass, but it was also a trap, but he couldn’t quite figure out why.

Eventually—

"Sigh, you are a tough nut to crack. Fine, I accept 16,000 gold coins. I’ll purchase four now and come back for the others when I have made some profit."

"Good, I’ll see you soon."