Black Reef Island had a shipping route to an island that specialized in producing spatial anchor stones, and the cost of buying them in bulk was nowhere near a million.
"...But intermediate mana stones are hard currency. That really is the lowest price."
Ling Chu immediately chimed in, "Thank you, City Lord's Wife!"
The City Lord's Wife waved a hand. "If anyone should be thanking anyone, I should be thanking you."
After that injection of antidote, her high fever had subsided, her skin no longer itched, and the agony of scales constantly forcing their way out through her flesh had vanished completely. She felt comfortable all over now.
"Refund that million from earlier."
The City Lord: "..."
The steward glanced at the City Lord, who glanced at his wife in turn and silently nodded.
And so, of the three million they had just paid out, one million came straight back.
With the terms settled, the next step was to formally sign the alliance agreement.
Before signing, Ling Chu carefully read through it again.
Besides basic provisions such as mutual trade and Black Reef Island's unconditional assistance to Hope Island in a disaster, it specifically stated that neither party could send armed personnel to the other's island through the teleportation array without authorization.
It matched what the City Lord had said earlier. There were no hidden traps.
Once Ling Chu confirmed everything was in order, she signed her name on the contract. The City Lord followed suit and stamped it with the City Lord's seal representing Black Reef Island.
The magical patterns on the contract lit up simultaneously.
[Black Reef Island and Hope Island have formally signed an alliance agreement.] [A dedicated spatial teleportation passage can now be established between the two islands.]
From that moment on, Hope Island