Chapter 57: Chapter 57: Future Trade
A full nine hundred Gold Coins. The small amount of money Ron had helped him recover wasn’t nearly enough!
And what did that Half-Elf Alchemist just say? This was two days’ worth of production?
The alchemy merchant did a quick calculation in his head: His own two Alchemists, working nonstop for two days, could only produce twelve bottles of Healing Potions. At a net profit of twenty-five Gold Coins per bottle, that was only three hundred Gold Coins.
But with these Weak Healing Potions, at this production rate, even if he were just a middleman flipping them for a profit, he could still make two hundred and fifty Gold Coins!
’And Alchemists can’t work twenty-four hours without rest; they need at least eight hours of sleep... Wait. This quantity was produced by just that one Alchemist from before? How is that even possible?!’
The alchemy merchant would never figure it out. The conventional synthesis process for a Healing Potion required a ritual to be performed for the Casting. It was already difficult for an Alchemist to manage both the ritual and the alchemical reaction simultaneously; handling two syntheses at once was the stuff of fantasy.
But it wasn’t an issue for Ron. His process only required a simple trick for the final step, so Lavinia could easily manage two or even more reactions at the same time.
There was another aspect that was theoretically possible, but Ron hadn’t had the ability or time to implement it yet: since the special rituals for Alchemy usually had dosage limits, the volume of each Healing Potion was finite.
Ron’s process didn’t require a ritual. Therefore—in theory—he could simply increase the amount of raw materials proportionally to produce more Potions in a single synthesis!
He just didn’t have large enough Alchemy Instruments at the moment.
"What’s wrong, Shuke? If you’re not willing to part with the money, I’d be more than happy to get a piece of the action," the short, stout merchant sneered.
While the alchemy merchant was doing his calculations, the others certainly weren’t idle.
"Sharlowe, you deal in equipment! What are you meddling for?!" Shuke cursed, then turned to Ron with a fawning expression. "Um, Sir... I really don’t have that much money right now. I can’t buy all these Potions. Could I perhaps take a sample back with me..."
"You’re not planning to secretly reverse-engineer his formula, are you, Shuke?" Sulina laughed, and Sharlowe joined in the teasing.
That was probably their mindset right now: wanting their friend to do well, but not *too* well.
Even laymen like them could see the immense potential. In Shuke’s hands, the profits would only be greater, never less.
"I am a proper, reputable merchant! How can you slander me out of thin air—" Shuke’s face flushed red with anxiety as he started spouting words like ’contracts,’ ’clauses,’ and ’law.’
"Alright, alright," Ron interrupted with a smile, holding out the Potion in his hand. "Take it. This one’s on me."
"You still have a long way to go to get home. How could I take your money at a time like this?"
"I-I couldn’t possibly..." Shuke opened his mouth to protest, but simply accepted the inexpensive Weak Healing Potion, clutching it tightly in his hand.
"Mr. Ron, you should have him sign a contract. It’s to protect your own interests," Sulina interjected. "Although hiring a Great Alchemist to reverse-engineer an alchemy formula is expensive, it’s a pittance compared to the potential profits. He’d take that risk."
"I won’t fail him, and I trust he won’t fail me," Ron said, smiling and shaking his head. ’Besides, this is just something I whipped up for practice after first arriving in this world. It isn’t worth making a big fuss over.’
Compared to this paltry profit, he was more interested in using this as a grand gesture. He wanted these three merchants to go back and spread the word. Whether they said he was generous and kind or simply naive and easily deceived, what mattered was that it would draw all sorts of people here first. That would be much better for the development of Delusional Land.
’Besides, reverse-engineer the formula? What formula? I haven’t changed the ingredients at all, just the process. If Shuke really went and hired some Great Alchemist to reverse-engineer it, he’d just be wasting his money.’
"Rest assured, I, Shuke, am definitely not that kind of despicable person!" The alchemy merchant thumped his chest resoundingly.
"As for you..." Ron turned to Sharlowe. "Mr. Sharlowe, is it? As you can see, I’m quite short on all sorts of equipment here. Would you be willing to lend a hand?"
"Well," Sharlowe rubbed his hands together, looking troubled. "You went to the crash site. Did you happen to see any new equipment or raw materials?"
"...I don’t think so?" Ron thought for a moment. If there had been, he was sure he would have remembered.
"Sharlowe’s business is a one-stop operation: he imports materials from Cloud Port, then returns to his hometown to forge and sell them," Sulina explained. "If he can’t get to Cloud Port, he has no reason to be here."
"But I’m willing to send a blacksmith over!" Sharlowe gritted his teeth. "Once you’re more established here, I’m willing to send a blacksmith to be stationed here permanently and open a branch! But I hope that if you discover any mineral deposits in Delusional Land, I can get a piece of the pie!"
Everyone knew Delusional Land was rich in resources. But no one could say for sure what those resources were. Sharlowe’s offer was, in a way, an investment.
For a merchant like him, who wasn’t a big player and had built his business by taking risks, sending a blacksmith here was a huge gamble.
"I guess that just leaves me to offer a team of carpenters and construction workers," Sulina said with a smile. "I have to ship my lumber somewhere, and you’ll definitely have a great need for it during construction."
"But the price certainly won’t be lower than cost—the lumber from Bronze Axe still has a bit of a reputation."
The general agreements were settled; all that remained were the details. Although Ron had called it a gentleman’s agreement, the written documents and specific clauses were still necessary.
The three merchants stayed at the trading post for a full week, only leaving when they hitched a ride with a merchant caravan heading out from Fromm.
During those days, Ron used the time to learn as much Magic as he could, while Victoria returned to Fromm Town to upgrade her equipment.
Taking the opportunity of seeing the merchants off, the party set out once again to begin a more in-depth exploration of Delusional Land.
Because after the villagers had settled here, as they began to clear the land and hunt, some rather strange things had started to happen in their village.
When Ron and his group reached the village near the trading post, Andre—the young man who had raised his arm and called for the refugees to follow Ron to Delusional Land—came out to greet them.
"Lord Ron, you’re finally here! I’m afraid you’re the only one who can help us with this!"
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