Mage realized that his hopes might come to nothing.
Originally, he had been worried that they would simply seize it by force. Now that concern was gone, he found himself even more conflicted. Damn it, I won't be able to sell it for a good price.
It was certainly a good thing for goods to find someone who appreciated them, but if it came at the cost of his own interests, that would be far too regrettable.
As he was calculating things over, he heard First One speak.
"The artifact should be complete. Our previous valuation was a bit low as well. Let's put it this way: one hundred and fifty billion after depreciation."
"Our protection is worth at least one hundred billion. Add in the value of the industries, and we'll make up another forty billion for you. Do you accept?"
Mage was stunned when he heard that. He had never expected them to give such a high valuation.
He had been at the frontline atoning for his crimes, but he had also heard about that auction from years ago.
His own estimate for the artifact had been somewhere between five billion and thirty billion... a rather broad range, but it really depended on who he encountered.
Fifteen billion had not reached the upper limit in his heart, but one had to understand that an auction and a private transaction were completely different! Not to mention anything else, just his status as a wanted criminal meant that anyone who knew would surely try to drive down the price! If they did not turn hostile on the spot, kill him, and seize the treasure, they could already be considered absolute gentlemen! And now they were actually going to compensate him further?
At that moment, he truly understood a little why