Chapter 100: Chapter 100: Out of Money

Ronin had visited the Silva Magic Energy Chamber of Commerce on his last procurement trip to Pasture City. At that time, he had arranged with their representative, Hook, to have him come to Mountain Forest Town in early October for pickups and deliveries.

Ronin hadn’t expected Hook to be so punctual. He’d said early October and had actually arrived in Mountain Forest Town on the very first day of the month.

However, because Ronin had been away leading an expedition, outsiders were not permitted inside Mountain Forest Castle without the Lord’s permission. As a result, Hook and his companions had been staying in a house temporarily arranged by Chahar for the past two days.

“Hahaha, my dear Baron Ronin, long time no see!”

Hook, who had been led into the castle by Chahar, walked up enthusiastically, his arms spread wide for a hug. The recent travel and poor sleep had left him utterly exhausted, so he was overjoyed that his client had finally returned home.

Ronin gave him a brief hug. “My apologies, Hook. Much of Mountain Forest Town is still under construction. You and your companions must have had a rough time these past two days.”

As he spoke, he glanced at the two Knights behind Hook. If he wasn’t mistaken, they were likely Professional Knights affiliated with the Silva Magic Energy Chamber of Commerce, and their strength was probably considerable.

“To be honest, Earl Wiggin must be a bit muddled to have you living in such a dilapidated town.”

Hook wasn’t just being polite. The living conditions he’d endured for the past two days were truly nothing to write home about.

“I heard you destroyed three Wilderness Tribes on your recent expedition. Someone of your strength deserves a better town, or even a large city, not to be stuck in a place like this.”

Ronin smiled faintly. “Mountain Forest Town is a good place. It may be a bit run-down now, but it’s part of the Wushan Clan’s territory. This is also how I must atone for my past mistakes.”

“I admire your magnanimity!”

Hook bowed slightly and returned to the matter at hand.

“My Lord, as per our last agreement, I’ve brought plenty of Magic Ink and Magical Beast Hide. How much will you be needing this time?”

Ronin had only bought a month’s worth of materials last time, and now he and Elron had used them all up. If they wanted to make more Magic Scrolls, they would have to buy more.

“Let’s put that aside for a moment.”

Ronin glanced at Elron, who understood immediately. He quickly brought out the completed Magic Scrolls and placed them on the long table beside Hook.

“These are the Magic Scrolls we made this month. Eighteen Healing Spell Scrolls and four Wind Blade Spell Scrolls. Please check them over.”

Through all their attempts, Elron had failed a total of seven times. Although Ronin had only failed once, he had only made five scrolls in total. ’If I had made more, I’m certain I would have failed more as well.’

Hook walked over in pleasant surprise and had his men inspect the scrolls. After confirming there were no issues, he broke into a satisfied smile.

“Mister Elron’s abilities are astonishing!”

Hook praised, “To produce 22 Magic Scrolls in a single month… your success rate is incredibly high!”

He didn’t know that the Wind Blade Spell Scrolls were made by Ronin; he assumed Elron was a Dual-Element Mage.

Elron felt a bit guilty in the face of such praise.

He had made 25 attempts in total and failed seven times, giving him a failure rate of 28%, which was still quite high.

However, he had now been promoted to a Senior Mage. If he were to make Healing Spell Scrolls now, his failure rate should be significantly lower.

“My Lord, we’ve finished counting the Magic Scrolls. According to the previously agreed-upon price, we will take these and pay you 367 Gold Coins and 2 Silver Coins in a single payment.”

This 367 Gold Coins was just the gross profit. But even after subtracting the 270 Gold Coins in costs, Ronin still had a net profit of 97 Gold Coins.

The amount didn’t sound like much, but it was enough for Ronin to pay nearly three months of wages.

“Now we can discuss what to buy from you.”

Although he was tempted to pocket all three hundred-plus Gold Coins, he still needed to purchase more supplies from Hook if he wanted to continue making Magic Scrolls.

Hook had come to Mountain Forest Town in person, likely with the intention of selling more goods.

Hook beamed. “This time, I’ve brought you over a hundred bottles of Second-level Magic Ink and dozens of sheets of the same Second-level Magical Beast Hide you purchased last time. If that’s not enough, I can have Sir Colt ride back to Pasture City to fetch more for you.”

Ronin looked at the Knight Hook had indicated. Colt gave Ronin a Knight’s salute. “I am always at your service!”

It was clear that Hook had come very well-prepared, but Ronin couldn’t possibly afford so much.

Just the hundred bottles of Second-level Magic Ink alone would cost 600 Gold Coins, but his savings, even with the 367 Gold Coins he just earned, only amounted to 530 Gold Coins.

“You’ve brought quite a large stock this time, far more than I need.”

Ronin did a quick calculation before stating his needs.

“You can leave 55 bottles of Second-level Magic Ink and 11 sheets of Second-level Magical Beast Hide. After deducting the payment for the Magic Scrolls I sold you today, I’ll still owe you 127 gold and 8 silver.”

This was the amount he was preparing for the next three months.

He spread his hands and couldn’t help but laugh. “You see? Not only did I not make any money this time, I actually ended up shelling out over a hundred Gold Coins. Hook, the Silva Magic Energy Chamber of Commerce’s ability to make money is truly enviable.”

“Hahaha, Baron, this is an investment for greater returns! The rewards you’ll reap in the future will be far more than this!”

Hook put on a look of weary hardship. “We at the Silva Magic Energy Chamber of Commerce are just running errands for you and Mages like Elron, earning a little something for our troubles. My Lord, you mustn’t joke like that.”

After the negotiations, Ronin was left with only 35 gold coins in his pocket. After paying this month’s salaries, he would have less than 20 gold coins left.

He was running out of money.

’A faint sense of worry rose in my heart. Unless I sell the newly made Magic Scrolls next month, I won’t be able to pay the next month’s salaries.’

After all, after conquering the three tribes, he had nine more Transcendents under his command, as well as an Intermediate Mage, all of whom commanded high monthly salaries.

Once the business was concluded, the atmosphere in the drawing room became much more congenial.

Hook began to lavishly praise Ronin’s feat of conquering the Wilderness Tribes, while Ronin humbly asked for his guests’ impressions of Mountain Forest Town over the past two days.

Through their conversation, it became clear that the three guests’ main impressions boiled down to two points: the mountain roads were difficult to travel, and Mountain Forest Town lacked decent accommodations for caravans.

The latter point was especially true. Other towns they visited had inns, and regardless of the quality, they were at least more comfortable than the low-ceilinged, damp wooden houses in Mountain Forest Town.

This gave Ronin an idea. ’I need to work on the town’s public image. At the very least, I need to provide passable lodging for visiting merchants.’ Perhaps he needed to build an inn for visitors.

Night fell, and a long-absent liveliness filled the castle of Mountain Forest Town.

Tonight’s banquet was to celebrate the victory of the expedition, and also served as a welcome for Hook and his two companions. It was a good start.

However, precisely because of these outside visitors, news of Ronin conquering the Wilderness Tribes was likely to spread.

He had to make plans quickly. A trip to Wushan Castle needed to be put on his agenda as soon as possible.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep