Stanis stared silently at Lucian. For the first time, his face, which had shown no expression all this time, looked human. He continued staring for a while before speaking in a tone with an obvious threat behind it.
“You know well that I represent His Highness Young Master Chris.”
Lucian answered with a smile.
Stanis delayed his decision until the very end as the host counted down. However, he had already been overwhelmed in momentum. Lucian looked prepared to bid five hundred thousand, one million, or anything else, so Stanis ultimately gave up on bidding.
“Sold! The item has been sold to Table 3!”
Cheers and applause erupted from all around. Lucian raised his glass high as though to catch the people’s praise.
***
After the auction ended, we met again backstage.
“Sir Lucian Gray?”
The auction manager called Lucian. In his left hand was a metal cage.
“This is the Lava Elemental hatchling.”
Inside the cage was a small, squirming mass that gave off heat and light on its own. The only proof that it was a Lava Elemental hatchling was the magma pooled at the bottom of the cage. Even now, magma seeped from the creature little by little and dripped to the floor.
“Give it not to me, but to the Young Master here.”
“Ah, my apologies.”
The cage passed by Lucian and ended up in Viten’s hands.
“Then I will explain how to raise a Lava Elemental.”
The manager’s explanation could be summarized simply. We needed to create an environment as similar as possible to where the creature lived, which meant a magma region where lava erupted frequently.
We could bring in firewood and burn it, set fires, or do whatever it took to place the creature in an intensely hot environment. Then, if we melted stones and fed them to it, it would slowly grow.
It was the moment Thalia’s concern proved correct. All I needed was the core, yet it seemed I had acquired a cumbersome pet.
The creature was so small that its core could not even be seen. The place where the core should have been merely glowed a little brighter than the rest of its body.
“How long will we need to raise it?”
“Two or three years? At most, five years.”
The manager was not certain. It seemed the auction house had listed it because it would make money, but they did not know the details.
Then again, who would have carefully observed the ecology of a Lava Elemental in a volcanic region where magma boiled violently?
“Viten, take this back to the palace and explain everything properly to the servants.”
“Yes.”
Viten carefully lifted the cage and left the auction house.
Lucian took out a sheet of paper from his robes and handed it to me.
“It is the proof of the successful bid.”
The paper listed the product’s name and final bid. It stated not only that the enormous sum of five hundred thousand baht had been paid in full with cash, but that all taxes and auction fees had also been fully paid.
“And......”
He accepted a pen from a servant and immediately wrote a contract by hand. It stated that all rights related to the creature received were being transferred.
“This is the transfer certificate.”
He held out the contract.
“I have fulfilled my part. Now it is time for Young Master to keep his promise.”
I nodded.
“Then let us go somewhere suitable to talk.”
“Right now?”
“There is no reason to delay.”
“Understood... I happen to own a restaurant nearby. How about having dinner there together?”
“Fine.”
I rode in Lucian’s carriage to the restaurant he claimed to own. It was an upscale restaurant five blocks away that occupied an entire city block.
Word must have reached them somehow, because the large dining hall had been cleared solely for me. Not only that, dozens of employees had come out in front of the restaurant to welcome me alone.
“It is an honor to receive you. We will serve you with all sincerity.”
The manager led us to a central table in the dining hall. Lucian sat down and asked me,
“Is there a drink you like?”
“Anything made from fruit is fine.”
Lucian gave an order with a glance. When the manager brought my drink, Lucian placed an hourglass beside my glass.
“It is for one hour. I do not like ambiguity.”
That would be the case. He was far too successful to be called ambiguous.
“First, I apologize for my subordinate’s rudeness toward Young Master when he failed to recognize you. Whatever the reason, he should not have caused trouble for someone so noble.”
“I do not mind that he failed to recognize me. The issue is that he has deceived people in that way.”
“...I suppose one could see it that way.”
He smiled faintly.
“You must have wondered why I needed to arrange this meeting with Young Master, even at the cost of so much money. I will explain.”
I had considered several scenarios. Things a corrupt scammer might propose to a future candidate for Duke.
However, if he said something like, ‘I will increase your wealth, so lend me your Awakened Ability,’ as Adras had, the conversation would end there.
“Please show leniency to Adras.”
...Huh?
“Adras faces two major charges: fraud and insulting a noble. For fraud, he can reduce his sentence by returning the money he wrongfully took and paying a substantial fine. However, the sentence for insulting a noble cannot be reduced without forgiveness from the noble who was insulted.”
“You spent five hundred thousand baht for that reason?”
“Adras is a capable subordinate worth more than five hundred thousand baht.”
“You looked ready to spend even one million baht. You were going to beat Stanis with money until he surrendered.”
“To beat someone with money... That is an amusing expression.”
He smiled lightly.
“People often point at merchants like me and call us heartless monsters without blood or tears, claiming that we prioritize profit over emotion. In truth, the opposite is the case. Commerce is ultimately work that deals with people. You can never become a good merchant if you fail to win people’s hearts. The benefit brought by the reputation that I am someone willing to spend five hundred thousand baht without hesitation for a subordinate is greater than the five hundred thousand baht I spent on that subordinate.”
“It still sounds like you prioritize profit over emotion.”
When Lucian laughed loudly, the employees looked at him in surprise.
“So you want me to forgive that scammer?”
“Yes. I am merely asking for Young Master’s leniency.”
“Our contract did not include forgiving Adras.”
“Was five hundred thousand not enough?”
“No, no matter how much you give me.”
If I turned a blind eye to a crime in exchange for a Lava Elemental, how would I differ from the officials who had taken bribes from him?
“I expected you might say that, but hearing it directly makes this more troublesome.”
Scratching his cheek, he asked,
“Is there no way at all to change Young Master’s mind?”
“Well, perhaps if you withdrew from your filthy businesses. Stop selling fake Awakened potions and panaceas. That includes having your subordinates establish separate trading companies.”
“Would that truly be enough?”
Lucian considered it for a moment.
“Indeed, if I wish to move someone’s heart, I must be willing to accept that much.”
He nodded as though he understood.
“Olga.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
A woman in uniform approached and bowed.
“Tell Jeremy to be at the office. We need to discuss withdrawing from those businesses.”
“Yes.”
I thought I had heard wrong. Withdrawing from his businesses was a condition I had thrown out because I believed Lucian could never accept it. I had planned to reveal my real condition once he frowned and refused.
“The food has arrived. I do not know if it will suit Young Master’s taste.”
He spoke as though nothing had happened.
“Can you decide to withdraw from businesses so easily just because you are the chairman? How many people depend on you?”
“It is fine. I said I would withdraw from ‘filthy’ businesses, not that we would starve. Every one of my subordinates is capable, so they will adapt well to the changed environment.”
Perhaps my expression amused him, because he laughed to himself again.
“Still, Young Master surprised me a little. Doing business in the city is far removed from Young Master’s circumstances, is it not?”
“I needed money.”
“For the Lava Elemental, I presume? I heard that Young Master needs monster materials because of your Awakened Ability, but it was still too reckless. Young Master is someone who should command merchants, not someone who should become a merchant.”
“I do not have a merchant to command.”
“Finding a merchant to command is not difficult. As long as our interests align.”
Lucian leaned closer to me and spoke subtly.
“I could introduce Young Master to a merchant.”
“Is there a clean merchant worth commanding?”
“What about a merchant who is about to become clean?”
He asked in a brazen tone.
“I came to Esterji City ten years ago with nothing and built my current wealth in only five years. Every morning, three-tenths of the trading caravans leaving Esterji City bear my name. Even after I remove businesses that Young Master might find objectionable, two-tenths will remain easily.”
So this was the main point.
Right. He was not someone who would discard five hundred thousand baht for a subordinate. From the beginning, he had set up this entire situation to win my favor.
Of course, I needed a merchant. It had already been proven that I could do nothing with only an upkeep allowance.
However, his reputation was as remarkable as his ability. If I joined hands with him carelessly, I would likely suffer more losses than gains.
“I do not need a merchant who is about to become clean. I need a clean merchant.”
“You dislike ambiguity as well, Young Master.”
Lucian nodded with a smile.
“Understood. I will speak to you again after I have become clean.”
As he set down his glass, he asked,
“By the way, are you pleased with Young Master’s pet?”
“It was an expensive gift, so I should raise it well.”
“They said to feed it melted stones?”
“That is right. And to make its surroundings as hot as possible.”
“I see... Well, I will support you.”
Lucian’s expression was strange.
How should I put it? It seemed as though he were forcing himself not to laugh.
He seemed to know something about the Lava Elemental, but he did not say a word until the meal ended.
***
The Lava Elemental became the palace’s burden from its very first day of moving in.
First, because we had been told to make it hot, Viten put it into the stove. Naturally, the cook was not pleased.
The pots heating up quickly was good, but controlling the temperature while cooking became too difficult. As a result, one meal out of every two was either too overcooked or too undercooked.
The greatest problem was that we had no way to tell whether the creature was growing or whether it was truly eating the molten metal, no matter how closely we watched it.
It did seem alive. The palm-sized thing squirmed atop the molten iron and rolled around while giving off light, but that was all. Even after a month, its size had not changed at all, and there was no sign that a core was forming.
After one month passed, then two months, Viten finally said this.
“I should have been more careful.”
His tone was beyond pained. It was practically mournful.
“It seems they were scammers, not adventurers. I even grabbed that Guild Master bastard by the collar, but he only told me to be patient.”
“What did the people who captured it say? The people who gave it to the auction house.”
“We cannot contact them. I am considering issuing a wanted notice for them.”
Then Karoi appeared, strolling in while holding a glass bottle. Perhaps he intended to make another drink, because he rummaged through the kitchen. By chance, he discovered the creature squirming inside the stove.
“What is this?”
“It is a Lava Elemental. The one I told you I bought last time.”
“What? This is a Lava Elemental?”
Karoi let out a sharp breath.
“Why? Is this your first time seeing one?”
“What are you talking about? Lava Elementals are everywhere in the Demon Realm. This is not a Lava Elemental.”
“If it is not a Lava Elemental, what is it?”
Karoi stared into the mouth of the stove.
“A Lava Golem? No, its appearance is too... Could it be a Fire Drake? But the fact that it produces magma by itself means......”
The bastard muttered for a long while before tilting his head.
“...If it is not a dragon, that should be impossible.”