At the edge of Graysea Marsh, beneath the walls of Newborn Town, Veylin waited quietly.
Korn's messenger had delivered a message the day before: Caroline Channing, vice president of the Golden Sail Merchant Guild, would visit in person.
A convoy rolled to a stop in a cloud of dust.
An attendant opened the leading black carriage. An ankle clad in a short black boot emerged, followed by a long, slender calf beneath a pleated traveling skirt.
Caroline stepped down with an attendant's help. Her long, silver-white hair stirred in the wind as she looked around, her gaze sweeping over Veylin and the wall of vines behind him.
Veylin approached her.
"Vice President Channing, welcome to Newborn Town."
She did not respond to his welcome, merely studying him calmly.
He was a man who looked even younger than the reports had described, with refined features and a composed bearing. He showed none of the unease of someone meeting an important figure, only a scholar's calm.
"Lead the way, Knight Klein." Her voice was cool and devoid of emotion.
Beyond the gates, Caroline and her party found none of the filth and disorder they had expected of a frontier domain.
The streets were paved with compacted earth and stone, with clearly defined drainage ditches on either side. Every building along them had been painted white, and the uniform architecture created a striking sense of order.
What caught her attention even more was how the working townspeople stopped what they were doing as the party passed, looked at Veylin with heartfelt respect, then silently bowed.
That was not fear of their lord, but a far purer devotion.
Something she had never anticipated seemed to have truly taken root in this barren marsh.
The reception room on the second floor of the lord's residence was sparsely furnished, but not shabby.
Caroline took the seat of honor without hesitation, casually draping her traveling cloak over the chair back. Her crossed legs revealed firm contours outlined by her pleated skirt.
She did not even give Veylin a chance to sit.
"Knight Klein, my time is valuable."
Caroline tapped the tabletop lightly and got straight to the point.
"The stone-skinned soft vine."
"Based on the details of our previous transactions and today's brief assessment..."
"We have concluded that it is an interesting alchemical creation, but not a viable business."
Her gaze shifted to the seemingly magnificent wall outside the window, pity coloring her tone.
"Its impact resistance is less than seventy percent that of second-tier sea cliff rock. It has flexibility to spare, but insufficient hardness. More fatal still..."
She paused, a trace of mockery flashing in her green eyes.
"It is actually vulnerable to fire. Knight Klein, one ordinary torch would turn your 'Newborn Town' into the largest pile of charcoal in the world. A building material that cannot meet even basic fireproofing requirements is worthless by my standards."
There was no threat in her words, yet they were steeped in condescending judgment, like an elder critiquing an innocent child's immature handiwork.
"Still, I appreciate your 'creativity.'"
Caroline turned her gaze back to Veylin's face, her manner that of a queen offering charity to a beggar.
"The Golden Sail Merchant Guild can purchase its cultivation technology. I offer three hundred Gold Suns."
"To buy out your 'creativity,' not your 'wall.'"
Silence settled over the room.
Veylin did not answer immediately. Instead, under Caroline's scrutinizing gaze, he unhurriedly pulled out the chair opposite her and calmly sat down.
The gesture itself was a silent refusal, a declaration that placed them back on equal footing.
"Madam Vice President."
Veylin smiled, with no trace of offended anger in his eyes.
"All you see is a 'wall.'"
"You are judging the technology of a new world through the eyes of the old. That is rather tragic."
The languid smile on Caroline's face froze.
Ignoring her chilling gaze, Veylin continued.
"The stone-skinned soft vine is merely the first potted plant in my garden."
"Today, I am not selling a product."
His voice was quiet, but he enunciated every word.
"I am offering you an opportunity-an opportunity to invest in the future. I provide the core technology; the Golden Sail Merchant Guild provides funding and distribution channels."
"We establish a laboratory with me as its undisputed core."
Caroline leaned back slightly, as though she had just heard the funniest joke of the year.
Meeting her gaze, Veylin stated his terms.
"As for the profits... I take seventy percent."
Silence settled over the room once more.
Korn's face turned white as paper.
"Ha."
Caroline gave a laugh of disbelief and contempt.
"A Pioneer Knight in some remote marsh wants seventy percent of the Golden Sail Merchant Guild's profits?"
She rose and walked over to Veylin, looking down at him from above, her shadow engulfing him.
"Knight Klein, your confidence is truly... eye-opening."
Her voice dropped very low, carrying a dangerous undertone.
"Very well. I will offer you a partnership proposal, too."
"I provide everything you mentioned, including your personal safety."
"Ninety percent for me, ten for you."
"This is my final act of generosity, and your only opportunity."
Veylin leaned back in his chair without committing himself, lifting his head to meet her gaze.
"It seems we have vastly different understandings of 'value.'"
"Let us do this, Madam Vice President. Tomorrow."
"I will show you something new."
"Then perhaps we can revisit... who is entitled to define generosity."
Night shrouded Newborn Town.
The clamor of the day had subsided, leaving only the low moan of wind passing through the vine walls.
A knock sounded at the reception room on the second floor of the lord's residence.
"Come in."
The door opened, and Xiao Lan brought Korn inside.
Seeing that Veylin had not risen to greet him, Korn hesitated, but still approached, carrying a rather large box in his arms.
"Sir Klein," Korn said apologetically, "I am sorry to disturb you so late."
He carefully set the box on the table, undid its wrapping, and opened it.
Inside lay a precision instrument made of brass and crystal.
"This is the alchemical apparatus you previously ordered through the guild. We commissioned a master craftsman in the Royal Capital to grind the crystal according to your drawings."
Veylin did acknowledge the favor. Without Korn's efforts, the microscope would likely have taken another week to complete.
Korn rubbed his hands together, seemingly trying to find the right words.
"About today... I hope you will not take the vice president's attitude to heart."
"She was not deliberately targeting you."
Korn smiled bitterly. "The guild has run into serious trouble recently. Every expenditure has to be considered with the utmost care."
Veylin gave him a questioning look.
Korn understood and answered, "Something happened at the fish farms in Stonebridge City..."
He described the disaster dubbed "blackscale dissolution disease" as objectively as he could.
From the blackening of the fishes' scales to their dissolution, and then to the current situation, where no medicine could help.
"Master Valerius concluded that it is not a plague, but a kind of... complete collapse of the life-form."
Korn's voice was filled with helplessness.
As Veylin listened, the symptoms sounded increasingly familiar.
He rose from his chair and walked up to Korn.
"I have a theory. Take out a sample."