Badge in Azure Chapter 194

Chapter 194: Purchase Industry (Part 1)
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Sumano sipped his beer while trying to maintain a calm and composed look. He could tell that Saleen was not just an average mage. He had been in the business for several years now, and seeing people react the way Saleen did when he informed them about the high costs of living in Alchemy City was a rarity. These people were usually either rich, powerful, or both.
Most people would immediately ask him for ways to save money in Alchemy City. A handful of them would ask him about the techniques used to carry out missions successfully. These two pieces of information formed the bulk of his earnings and potentially earned him a pretty penny.
Not only did Saleen look unfazed, but the female mage wearing the colored robe looked fairly composed as well. Both the female warrior and servant looked unbothered. What Sumano did not understand was why the mage clad in the white robe had not reacted at all.
As a matter of fact, both Saleen and Lex did not mind forking over such a large sum of money because they had more than enough items to auction off and pay for their expenses. If worst came to worst, Saleen could always fire Sika. She was not a mage, so they probably would not miss her absence. Nailisi was a creature bound to Saleen via their soul bond. She had to follow him wherever she went. As for Daniel, he was so poor he literally had nothing to his name. Since he was already in abject poverty, he really had nothing to worry about.
However, since Lex was going to hire and provide for him, she needed to control his expenses.
Daniel was different from an average mage. After becoming a heretic, he had pledged his loyalty to Lex and Saleen, something that not many mages would dare to do.
The reason why Daniel had picked up magic in the first place was simple. He had longed to pursue magic as a career, and wanted to become a mage. All the achievements that came along with being a mage did not matter to him. He only worked hard because he loved magic and nothing else.
Most mages valued freedom. However, freedom meant nothing to Daniel. If Saleen would be able to help him hone his skills and provide him with the materials for him to practice his magic, he did not mind serving Saleen.
Not knowing the backgrounds of the five individuals sitting in front of him, Sumano asked tentatively, ” Mr. Saleen, so what are your intentions…”
“You don’t have to worry about the money. Just charge me the amount you’d charge anyone else,” Saleen said, his eyes darting towards the group of four sitting at the table next to him.
Because the tables were not spaced too far apart, Saleen was able to clearly see their expressions. However, he could not hear what they were saying as there was a glass wall that separated the two tables. It was then that Saleen realized that the glass wall had actually been magically soundproofed and was not there for decorative purposes.
Saleen could tell right away that all four of them were mages. Three of them were dressed in white robes while the fourth one was dressed in a grey robe. They looked to be about thirty years old. They would probably be considered prodigies by now if they had not been in Alchemy City, which was otherwise known as the “Empire of Magic”.
Saleen could tell from their expressions that they were quarrelling about something, although he could not hear what the argument was about.
“Mr. Saleen,” Sumano said.
“Mhm?” Saleen replied distractedly.
“They’re trying to decide on whether or not they should hire swordmasters,” Sumano said.
“How would you know?” Saleen asked, confused. His powers could not penetrate through the magically soundproofed windows. Seeing that Sumano was merely an advanced apprentice, he would not be able to do so either.
“These things are very common in Alchemy City. The tasks that they take on can be somewhat dangerous. If these mages hire a few swordsmen to protect them, they’ll be much safer. They’re probably dealing with magic beasts from the mainland,” Sumano explained.
“Then where do all these swordsmen come from?” Saleen inquired.
“There is a swordsmens camp located in the eastern side of Alchemy City. They specialize in these kinds of services,” Sumano replied.
“These types of camps exist in Alchemy City?” Saleen asked, his tone laced with surprise.
“There’s four of them, actually, and they’re all full,” replied Sumano.
“Then why haven’t I heard of any of them?” Lex interjected. She had not arranged for anyone to spy on the people of Alchemy City. However, news as major as the construction of four swordsmen battalion camps should have reached her ears a long time ago.
“Probably because they were only constructed recently. In the past, Alchemy City only had one swordsmens camp. The swordsmen there were trained to only serve the mages in Alchemy City. No one knew about their existence back then. However, as the number of errands the mages required help with increased, more and more people started to study swordsmanship so they could take on these tasks. Sadly, these occupations are the ones that are most looked down upon. Not being able to bear the ostracization, these swordsmen congregated in the eastern part of the city and chose to settle down there. All the mages did was deploy a representative to regroup these swordsmen. In reality, they did it so that they could better control the hiring prices of these swordsmen,” Sumano rambled on.
“But isn’t this a win-win situation?” Saleen asked.
“Yes, of course the swordsmen benefit too. After being integrated into Alchemy City, they’re able to purchase food and lodging at much cheaper prices. Plus, the chances of being dumped right after an errand is completed are much lower,” Sumano said.
Saleen did not ask any further. Alchemy City ran a detailed show. The four battalion camps had enough swordsmen to protect the entire city from any unexpected attacks. If it cost less to hire a swordsman compared to operating a fully constructed puppet, Saleen would consider hiring a few.
Just then, the mage with the grey robe unwittingly made eye contact with Saleen. He immediately ignored his partners’ words and started walking towards Saleen and the others.
“Lord mage!” the grey-robed mage shouted from afar. Upon being called, Saleen stood up to entertain him. The mage continued walking towards him and only stopped when he was right in front of Saleen. He continued, “Would you like to join our group? We can sign a contract right now if you’d like.”
“Join your group? Sign a contract?” Saleen echoed the mage’s words, furrowing his eyebrows in distaste as he did so. The mage standing right in front of him was very rude and had no basic sense of courtesy.
“Oh, you don’t know about the new mission that the alchemy tower just announced? It’s a grade-7 mission,” the grey mage uttered, completely oblivious to Saleen’s unhappy expression. “The natives of the Green Archipelago have recently discovered dragons. The alchemy towers just confirmed it.”
Not even thinking twice about the mage’s invitation, Saleen shook his head.
Kill a dragon? No thank you! Saleen thought, recalling the time where he was almost killed by a dragon which was about to take its last breath. He would be nuts to take up an offer to kill a dragon when he did not even have any information on it.
“But sir, there will be mages from the alchemy tower accompanying us on this mission,” the mage said, trying to assuage Saleen’s fears.
Saleen shook his head again, hoping that the mage would take the hint. The mage looked at Saleen in disappointment, his heart starting to develop feelings of contempt for Saleen.
As he watched the mage storm away, Saleen’s mind started to become occupied with suspicions about the mage’s claims. Even though he did not know anything about the Green Archipelago, he was certain that there would not be any dragons there. There had not been any sight of them in the Myers Mainland for years now.
Two years ago, green dragons had been spotted in the Kosan Prefecture. Just a few days ago, an injured tiago had emerged from the Red Copper Fort. Now, Saleen had caught wind of news that dragons had reappeared in the Green Archipelago. Was the dragon dimension reopening?
“Mr. Saleen, are you sure about this?” Sumano asked, perplexed as to why Saleen had immediately rejected the other party’s invitation. The organs of a dragon could be harvested to create powerful equipment. Killing one would be the equivalent of winning the lottery a hundred times over.
Dragon skin was especially valuable as it could be used to create armor. Dragon skin extracted from the abdomen was best used in the manufacture of scrolls.
This was because scrolls made up of dragon skin would be able to resist the power of forbidden spells.
“Buying a house and settling down is the most important thing to me right now. Anything else is secondary. Plus, dragons are not exactly easy to kill,” Saleen replied, shooting Sumano a weak smile. Even if he did want to find someone to partner up with, it would definitely not be that mage. A mage who was consumed by greed would provide little to no help. Saleen was better off enlisting the help of a junior swordsman.
Salem finally understood what the argument was about. The other mages, fearing for their lives, must have rejected the grey-robed mage as well. That was perfectly understandable. When Saleen had been just a grade-3 mage, he had bailed at the mention of any missions involving dragons. It was only after he had been promoted to grade-4 that Saleen managed to muster enough confidence to take on more daunting missions.
If he had not met the tiago and understood how strong these dragons were, Saleen might actually have been interested in taking on the mission.
“Alright then,” Sumano said calmly. He was not too disappointed. Saleen had mentioned his desire to own a house here in Alchemy City. If Saleen chose to work with Sumano, the latter would get a guaranteed commission from the officials in Alchemy City.
If even Saleen did not dare to take up the mission of slaying a dragon, Daniel definitely did not dare to even consider it. Lex, knowing that slaughtering dragons was an extremely difficult task, would not force Saleeen to accept the mission just to earn a quick buck. Faced with these seemingly impassive and indifferent people, Sumano could only awkwardly sip his beer, hoping that Saleeen would hire him for something.
“Sumano, do you have any money on you at the moment?” Saleeen asked, startling the advanced apprentice.
Oh dear! Are these guys actually broke? Am I going to be bankrupt? I can’t afford this meal!! Sumano thought frantically, already regretting his possible lapse in judgement.
“Please don’t be mistaken,” Lex assured Sumano as soon as she saw worry lines starting to appear prominently on his facial features. She took out a bundle of checks and asked Sumano, “These are twenty thousand gold coins worth of checks. How much will you receive after the loss in the exchange rate?”
Sumano used his near perfect vision to carefully take a glimpse at the stack of checks. The words written on them were in the Tanggulasi language, which meant that they were not in the Qin currency. Nevertheless, since he was used to transactions where he had to convert currencies, he immediately replied, “Eighteen thousand gold coins.”
“Excluding this meal, how long can we hire you for eighteen thousand gold coins?”
“Six months,” Sumano replied, trying not to sound too gleeful.
“Okay, consider these gold coins yours. You must be at our beck and call for half a year,” Lex instructed generously. It was not her money anyway. She had discovered these checks while rummaging through the black deacon’s spatial equipment.
Lex figured that she would not be able to go back to the Tanggulasi Empire to cash in the checks, at least not for another few years. In the Qin country, the Tanggulasi banks had implemented a check discount rate so high that no one would want to cash in such a high sum of money there. It was not worth losing so much money just to cash in a check. Furthermore, to Lex, spending a fortune employing a local in a foreign country to cater to her every whim was something that she had been accustomed to doing. Hence, she did not feel the pinch when she spent eighteen thousand gold coins on Sumano’s services.
Sumano was well-informed about Alchemy City’s affairs. He figured that half a year was all Lex and Saleen needed to understand everything about Alchemy City, and rejoiced when Lex did not bother trying to bring down his price quote.
As soon as Saleen saw Sika wiping the food stains off of her lips with her sleeve, he asked, “Sika, are you full?”
Sika nodded happily. Saleen, satisfied with Sika’s response, turned to Sumano and said, “Sumano, keep the money in a safe place and take us to the alchemy tower.”
It took a lot of effort for Sumano not to jump for joy. He had thought that Saleen and Lex were kidding when they said that they were going to employ him for six months. Sumano had even pictured the worst case scenario where they would immediately cast him aside after finishing their meal. He had not expected them to pay six months worth of his services upfront. As an advanced apprentice, his services were not worth much. Tourists typically needed just one week with him to understand everything about Alchemy City.
What Sumano did not know was that compared to the compensation received by the mages under Lex’s command over at Bitter Water Prefecture, he was actually being underpaid. The magic nuclei that Lex provided for each of her mages needed to be replenished often due to their frequent usage, and that required money. Even if he was just an advanced apprentice, if he had been in Bitter Water Prefecture, Lex would have given him a sum of money to compensate for the energy expenditure.
After verifying the sum of money he had received, Sumano pocketed the checks and called for the waiter to pay the bill. What he had not told Saleen was that he had alternative means to cash in the checks at a better exchange rate. After the fees he had to pay the middleman, he could save over one hundred gold coins.
“Mr. Saleen, if you have enough money, you could consider immediately buying an apartment over at the alchemy tower,” Sumano said.
“What do you mean?” Saleen asked, perplexed.
“The nine underground floors of the alchemy tower are designated for the negotiation of business deals and trade agreements. The first floor to the ninth floor of the building are all apartments. The penthouse overlooks the entire city, and let me tell you, it’s breathtaking,” Sumano said before pausing. He let the grandeur of the city send him into deep feelings of awe. Unfortunately, he could not afford to even hitch a ride to the top floor of the tower. That required a huge sum of money that he was unwilling to part with at the moment. He was definitely planning on seeing the view of the entire city that he had dedicated his entire life to though. Perhaps he would do that at a ripe old age, when he was unable to work and had nothing else to live for.