Chapter 672 Deal
Seeing the less crowded street and fewer merchants selling their items, Angus knows the reason behind it. After yesterday's event, everyone in the Undermine Council knows there are monster-minded people among them.
Although the Dwarf always said they would guarantee everyone's safety and security, these people still would not take a chance since they also heard many rumors about the monster-minded craziness. Who knows what these people will do in the next second.
Some forces and people didn't want to take a gamble and pack up their things to leave these places, even if they needed to pay more to leave this place. No amount of money could repurchase their life if they suddenly become the victim of these mad people.
The dwarves also couldn't say anything and decided to comply since these people were also paying them to leave sooner. Currently, the only ones staying at this place are those confident in their power or people with no money to return early.
However, Angus also knows this is an opportunity for them. Although he is not interested in the economy and money, he still knows a few things about the economy, such as the law of supply and demand.
When there are too many supplies with little demand, the price will go lower than usual. Since there are fewer buyers in this place, some of the item prices will get lower and they also didn't have too much competition.
Few daring merchants also stay in this place for these reasons. Undermine Council is the greatest trading hub in the world. As long as you have enough money, you can get anything in this place.
Unfortunately, it also attracted too many people, making the rare material price go twice or more than usual. With the less buyer, these material prices may return to normal or just below the usual market price.
As for the fear of no one daring to sell it, Angus also wasn't afraid of it. People who could procure rare materials and sell in bulk should also not be ordinary people and have some background.
These people usually have enough force to protect themself even when facing monster-minded people.
Exploring the street, Angus finds almost no merchants selling their stuff on the road. Most of the remaining merchants sell inside a building or auction house, showing their deep background and financial power.
If the inn price is more than twenty times of normal price, Angus couldn't think how high and expensive the price of renting these buildings would be. It could be said that people who could rent buildings and open auction houses are the true sellers in this place.
As Angus and the others look for any good material, they suddenly find a familiar shop name with a woman's dress on its front window.
"Angus, isn't that…" said Jayna.
"Yup, let's not go in there." said Angus while trying to turn around.
Suddenly, the door of the shop opened, revealing a familiar red-skinned woman wearing a long white lab coat and glasses.
"Didn't you know it is rude to ignore a lady, dear customer." said Nabe, the Red Queen Altras.
"Ahh… that's milky milky lady." chimed Anna.
"Err… Morning, Red Queen Nabe." replied Angus.
"Morning, everyone. It's been a while. Why don't you go inside? I could probably help you procure whatever you need." said Nabe.
"Why do you think I need something?" asked Angus.
"You will not be here. If you don't need anything. Besides, a person like you staying in this dangerous place means you still not getting what you want." said Nabe with a smirk.
"Tch… Fine." said Angus.
"Angus, Anna wants milk. Milky Milky Lady's milk is delicious." said Anna.
"Alright.. Alright… Let's get inside first." said Angus.
As everyone goes inside, they find the building layout and decoration are similar to the one they visited on the Nirvas last time.
"So, what can I help you with? And here's the milk. It's on the house." said Nabe while serving a few glasses of milk to everyone.
"Free? That's unusual for a merchant like you?" asked Angus.
"Well, just milk is nothing to the previous problem I put all of you through. I am also glad that you like my masterpieces. Now, could you tell me what you were searching for?" said Nabe after glancing at Anna and Jayna's clothes.
"*Sigh* I want to procure the latest dwarf smithing tools." said Angus.
"Hmm… I can, but I am sure you could never pay for its price like some rare material you requested last time." said Nabe.
"Why do I sense a but here?" muttered Angus.
"Correct. Though I couldn't help you get the dwarf smithing tools, I could introduce you to someone willing to sell it at a more affordable price." said Nabe.
"So, you are selling information? I think such information is precious. You could even lose some money here." said Angus.
"Not necessary. First, there are almost no buyers for dwarf smithing tools besides the Dwarf. Second, every Dwarf could issue another one from their community if they want one. Unless they are too far from their community, no one will buy dwarf smithing tools from other sources."
"This is also why the price in my store is so high. Only people who truly need it will buy from me." explained Nabe.
"Are you sure it is good for me to know about this?" asked Angus.
"I see no harm in it since you are bad at negotiation and business stuff. Besides, like I said before. If they truly need it, they don't have any choice but to buy it from me, no matter the price." said Nabe.
"Urghh… I know I didn't negotiate too much last time. But that was because I didn't want to stay any longer. It's not that I am bad at business or something." retorted Angus.
"Say after you could convince your lover, boy." replied Nabe while pointing at Jayna, who scoffed when he said he is not bad at business.
To Jayna and Nabe, Angus is like a muscle head when doing business and negotiation. He buys everything without negotiating correctly as long as he has enough money.
"Urgh… So, what is the price of this information?" asked Angus.
"Normally, I will charge you up to 5 million or more. But I happen to need something from you." said Nabe.
"What is it?" asked Angus with a frown.
"Five of Absolute Red made by her." said Nabe.
"What for?" asked Angus coldly.
Angus wasn't surprised about Nabe knowing their new Absolute Red and its connection with Jayna. Angus knows Nabe has a very extensive information network on her own.
"For my own research." said Nabe.
Angus didn't reply but kept staring at the Altras woman.
"What research?" asked Angus.
"Breaking Fate. There is someone that I want to be free from Fate. Although this person never cares about it, I know deep down he wants to be free like his own kind." said Nabe in a melancholy tone.
Before Angus could say anything further, "Alright, I agree. But you need to help Angus make my weapon." said Jayna from the side.
"Jayna?!!" called Angus.
The couple looks at each other briefly before Angus sighs deeply and understands Jayna's intention. Through Jayna's power, she knows Nabe's story and reason are true as it comes from her heart. She also knows Angus needs someone to assist him in creating her sword.
Who is a better candidate than Nabe, who often creates ridiculous stuff about weapons of mass destruction.
"Weapon? Now, it makes sense why you procure those materials and dwarf smithing tools. Well, I am not sure we could create something to withstand phoenix fire at her caliber, but I will still do my best to help. So, how is it?" asked Nabe to Angus.
"I want two soul-bound contracts for this." said Angus.
"Deal." said Nabe while offering her hand.
Angus couldn't help but shake her hand while still feeling uncertain about this deal. After that, they start writing the soul-bound contract while Anna and Mira enjoy milk-based products such as Milk Ice, Milk Candy, and many others.
After finishing the soul-bound contract, they write another contract that dictates that anyone who breaks the previous contract will have their soul die. This is another measure to prevent someone from escaping the soul-bound backlash.
The first soul-bound contract's backlash could still be offset through special means or items. But, if the second contract is written, they could no longer use protection as the backlash will be doubled and too strong.
However, the soul-bound contract itself is made of expensive material. Moreover, it is very hard to produce and only sold legally by religious groups. A single empty soul-bound contract costs at least ten thousand gold coins. Therefore, people rarely use this method just to make a deal.
Angus dares to use this because he knows Nabe has a lot of empty soul-bound contracts and is wealthy enough to buy them. After finalizing the contract and signing it, Angus asked about this mysterious provider Nabe talked about.
"The person I am talking about is called Ingrel. He is a very hard person to approach, but luckily he is also coming into the Undermine Council. Though it is very rare for his race to come. He opened a shop in sector seven. Here's the address." said Nabe while giving a piece of paper.