Mason took 30 silver coins and a Gold Depository note worth 19 gold coins and 70 silver coins from Old White. Only after confirming the note was genuine did he hand Old White a Nether Orchid.
Although Mason hadn't said a single mocking word, and there was no trace of amusement in his eyes, Old White still felt uncomfortable all over.
Looking at the smile on Mason's face, he couldn't help feeling that the other man was laughing at him.
But he couldn't afford to care about that now.
After learning what the Nether Orchid could do, he'd immediately dug into his savings from many years, then added the small change he'd put aside over the past few months. Even then, he'd only just managed to scrape together enough to buy a single Nether Orchid.
Since he'd come all this way, he couldn't leave empty-handed.
He'd been stuck at the Second Order for more than thirty years and had long since given up hope of advancing.
Now, though, hope was right in front of him. How could he give it up?
He'd already steeled himself for Mason to sneer at him.
But Old White hadn't expected Mason to refrain from saying anything cutting. He'd simply completed the transaction calmly and seen him out of the shop.
Not once had Mason laughed at him.
That only made Old White feel even more uncomfortable.
In truth, Mason hadn't given it much thought.
He was looking after the shop for His Highness Ron. He couldn't very well speak rudely to a customer.
Besides, Old White was widely known for his sharp tongue. Arguing with him here would not only hurt the shop's business; if it disrupted the transaction upstairs, Mason would be in serious trouble.
Besides, there was no need to confront Old White in person. Getting him to buy a Nether Orchid was a lesson in itself.
As far as Mason knew, some of the Nether Orchids Professor Hicks had bought would be sent to the Magic Tower, where several private meditation rooms would be set up for the Academy's mages who couldn't afford Nether Orchids of their own.
With Old White's connections, he'd naturally find a way to sneak into one of those meditation rooms.
So, strictly speaking, Old White had actually lost out by buying a Nether Orchid.
But Mason had no obligation to point that out.
Thinking this, Mason's mood brightened considerably.
Just then, another customer came into the shop, and he immediately went over to greet them.
"Pleasure doing business with you."
"Pleasure doing business with you."
Ron and Professor Hicks shook hands, both of them smiling with satisfaction.
After a friendly discussion, they'd reached several preliminary agreements.
The most important was their arrangement concerning the Nether Orchids.
Ron and Professor Hicks had tentatively agreed that Ron would give the Magic Academy priority, supplying it with 200 Nether Orchids per month for three months.
After those three months, if both sides were satisfied with the arrangement, they could continue working together and adjust the number of Nether Orchids supplied.
Hicks was fairly satisfied. He'd accomplished the main purpose of his visit, and his mood was good.
Although Harper had already created a Meditation Potion, further testing and refinement would require even more resources.
That was what the 600 Nether Orchids over the next three months would be for.
Some would also have to be set aside for the Magic Tower, and others would be provided free of charge to the Academy's professors, so 600 Nether Orchids really wasn't all that many.
However, according to Ron, Nether Orchids were produced in limited quantities each month. Giving the Magic Academy priority for 200 a month was already a special concession.
Professor Hicks accepted this, understanding that he was already getting a great deal. He didn't try to bargain and even offered to have the Magic Academy pay the full amount in advance each month.
In his eyes, Ron had the Empire's backing and Andre III's approval. It was only reasonable for the Magic Academy to make these concessions.
Besides that, Ron made a few other requests.
For instance, he wanted the transactions to take place once a week, with 50 Nether Orchids delivered each time.
He also wanted the Magic Academy to issue him a Supplier Badge that he could hang outside the shop.
And he wanted to study at the Magic Academy, with a mage proficient in both water and earth magic personally teaching him.
None of these requests seemed unreasonable to Hicks, so he agreed to them all.
As for the third request, Hicks said he could handle it himself.
As a Cyan Mage, Hicks specialized in water and earth magic. He was perfectly qualified to teach Ron.
Moreover, Hicks had already learned about Ron's talent from Mason, so he was more than happy to agree.
This led Hicks to all sorts of other conjectures.
Before coming here, he'd been puzzled as to why the Empire had developed a plant like the Nether Orchid but wasn't researching a corresponding Meditation Potion itself.
But after Ron made a series of requests, Hicks arrived at an answer.
Perhaps Andre III was trying to show goodwill toward Disode Magic Academy?
Was he using His Highness Ron as a bridge to win over their group of neutral mages?
As the continent's central city, ruled jointly by four races, Chaos City had gathered a large number of magical prodigies who longed for freedom and comfort.
At Disode Magic Academy, they didn't have to worry about worldly affairs and could focus on researching their own fields of magic.
The Academy's dean and two vice deans were all Tier Seven legendary mages, more than powerful enough to protect the Magic Academy's safety and interests.
Andre III had sent a magical prodigy like His Highness Ron here. His intentions were already quite clear.
Otherwise, why hadn't Ron stayed at the Imperial City Magic Academy? Why had he come all the way to Chaos City instead?
And why study at Disode Magic Academy, of all places?
Weren't the powerful court mages good enough?
Hicks wasn't one to think less of himself or assume he was inferior to others, but he also knew Ron had no reason to go out of his way to seek instruction.
So Hicks's suspicions were entirely reasonable.
The Nether Orchid was far too tempting for the Magic Academy to resist.
Still, it wasn't realistic to think that this alone would win over the entire Magic Academy. At most, it would make people like Hicks lean a little more toward the human race.
As he chatted with Ron, all sorts of thoughts ran through Professor Hicks's mind.
Ron, meanwhile, had no idea.
He wanted a Supplier Badge from the Magic Academy simply because he wanted another solid backer.
After all, his Imperial connections were mostly for show. His cheap old man had only sent him to Chaos City to retire in peace, not to start a flower shop.
The Magic Academy was powerful in Chaos City. With a badge issued by them, Ron's shop would be safe from harassment.
As for studying at Disode Magic Academy... Hicks was really overthinking it.
Ron just didn't want to waste his Wealth Points in the System Shop, so he planned to learn magic in person at the Magic Academy...
There was no scheme to win anyone over...
Writer's Note: One of the big shots in the group is about to publish his novel today—Gou Di Heng Tui San Qian Jie. I managed to get a recommendation spot in his author's note, hehe.
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