Wrong Anchor Harbor.
The main artery of the Haiti Duchy, a commercial metropolis built upon the ruins of a pirate stronghold with Gold Suns and an iron fist.
Three smells always hung in the air here: the briny stink of sea fish, the cloying sweetness of rum, and the reek of money from Copper Leaves, Silver Moons, and Gold Suns.
Korn jumped down from the carriage. Without even straightening his wrinkled coat, he clutched the report to his chest and plunged into the white behemoth occupying the center of the harbor district-the headquarters of the Golden Sail Merchant Guild.
The five-story building was constructed entirely from stone cut from sea cliffs. At its summit, a flag woven with gold thread snapped in the sea breeze, proclaiming its owner's authority.
Korn passed through the bustling entrance.
As soon as he entered the lobby, the chatter of two clerks resting by the door reached his ears.
His merchant's instincts made him prick up his ears.
"Did you hear? The liquidation report for Baron Redleaf's estate will be on the vice president's desk today," a young clerk whispered to his companion.
"Tsk. That noble was still boasting about his new wine at a banquet last month. Now he's fresh fuel for this enormous machine." His companion sighed, then changed tack, a trace of awe entering his voice. "The vice president really is... merciless. But you can't blame her. She has to be."
"What do you mean?"
"Think about it. She's the only daughter of Earl Silver Lion, the strongest man in the province, yet she's Bloodless."
"I heard the earl has been pressuring her again lately, wanting her to hurry up and marry a noble so she can produce an heir. But her? She's determined to use the Golden Sail Merchant Guild to prove she can surpass anyone without relying on her bloodline."
"Oh... no wonder she crushed Baron Redleaf so badly. Wasn't he just some useless noble?"
The two chuckled, as though mocking a noble a few times made their own lives seem better.
Korn listened no further. He hurried up the stairs, heading straight for the fifth floor.
Unlike the clamor downstairs, the fifth floor was so quiet he could hear his own heartbeat.
Korn crossed the long corridor and gently knocked on the door at the far end.
Once permission was granted, Korn entered the room, stopped before the enormous obsidian desk, and dropped to one knee to salute the woman.
Behind her, floor-to-ceiling windows occupied an entire wall, offering a view of all of Wrong Anchor Harbor and the azure sea beyond. Sunlight filtered through her long, silvery-white hair, making the sapphire studs on her earlobes sparkle with a deep, mysterious glow.
Caroline Channing, the "Silver-Haired Witch."
Earl Channing's cherished daughter, vice president of the Golden Sail Merchant Guild, and the true helmswoman of that vast commercial machine.
She wore a tea dress, its tailored cut tracing her slender waist. The A-line skirt had a daring slit up the front that reached the top of her thigh.
Beneath the desk, her legs were crossed, one before the other, leaving a long, snow-white thigh completely exposed. Its toned contours gleamed enticingly in the light.
At that moment, she was rapidly leafing through a financial statement.
"Korn," Caroline said without looking up, "I recall that your project reports are due every six months. Give me a reason you're here five months early."
Korn hurriedly rose. "Honored Vice President, there have been some changes beyond anything we imagined."
In the most concise terms possible, he described everything he had seen and heard in Newborn Town, from the black walls that had risen from the ground to the seamlessly grown vine buildings, and finally to the formidable strength Veylin had demonstrated by casually producing materials from three tier three magical beasts.
Caroline's fingers stopped idly twirling her quill.
At last, she raised her head. Her emerald-green eyes fixed on Korn, all languor gone.
"Stone-Skinned Soft Vine?" she repeated. "A plant capable of building the foundations of a town in little more than ten days. Interesting."
"Yes, President! Its value is immeasurable!" Korn's voice trembled with excitement. "I... I took the liberty of asking Sir Veylin about the possibility of transferring the technology. He named a price."
"Oh?" Caroline's interest stirred, and a smile curved her lips. "How much does he want?"
Korn swallowed with difficulty and held up three fingers.
"Three thousand Gold Suns for a one-meter sample of the vine."
A brief silence settled over the room.
The smile slowly faded from Caroline's face, replaced by a scrutinizing look.
"Three thousand Gold Suns?" she repeated softly. "Is he gilding himself with that Pioneer Knight title? Or does he think the Klein surname alone is worth that price?"
Cold sweat instantly soaked Korn's back. He had heard the displeasure in Caroline's tone.
He hastily explained, "President, there's something you don't know. Lord Veylin is no ordinary Pioneer Knight!"
"He's already awakened his Bloodline Gift, Springlaw Messenger, at such a young age. It allows him to make plants grow rapidly, and the forces behind him are even more unfathomable! Since he could produce three tier three magical beasts so easily, I suspect Earl Lane of Hundred Flowers Province is secretly supporting him! This could very well be a covert move by the Klein family!"
When Korn uttered the words "Bloodline Gift," the diamond-studded quill in Caroline's hand paused against the parchment, leaving an extremely faint scratch.
"Bloodline?"
She repeated the word without any discernible emotion, yet Korn felt his throat tighten.
"Korn, your judgment has deteriorated. Since when did you start believing in things that sound impressive but can't be broken down and spent like Gold Suns?"
Caroline rose, her delicate bare feet settling on the soft carpet. Her skirt fluttered back with the movement, revealing a broad expanse of snow-white skin.
She walked to the enormous windows, clasped her hands behind her back, and gazed down at the harbor bustling like an ant colony. Countless riches converged here, then flowed outward in every direction according to her will.
"You've made two fatal errors in your assessment of this matter." Her voice echoed off the glass, sounding colder still.
"First, you've been deceived by appearances. That is no 'miracle,' merely a bloodline ability or an Ancient Relic we have yet to analyze. Anything that can be analyzed can be replicated, and anything that can be replicated can be priced. We determine its value, not some Pioneer Knight in a remote swamp."
"Second, you treated him as an equal trading partner. That was the most foolish mistake of all. Would a noble with genuine family backing need to do this sort of 'small business' with our Golden Sail Merchant Guild?"
She returned to the desk and picked up the report on Veylin without so much as glancing at it.
"He's nothing but a piece of rootless duckweed, dreaming of stirring up waves on the ocean."
Korn scarcely dared to breathe.
"The ocean does not bargain with duckweed."
Caroline casually tossed the report into the fireplace. Orange-red flames immediately devoured the paper.
She picked up another file without raising her head.
"Go. Bring me a detailed report on all of Earl Lane's recent fund allocations and movements of personnel."
"I want to know whether this so-called Stone-Skinned Soft Vine is the Klein family's trump card, or... merely some lucky fellow's fluke."
She paused, and her lips curved once more.
"As for that Pioneer Knight, let him wait."
"He'll soon understand that the value of a rare commodity depends not on how miraculous it is, but on who sets its price."