"That's right. According to you, those Soul Returner will become emboldened, and the death rate will rise again, won't it?"
Goodness, after not seeing Haji Dragon for a few days, he speaks in a more refined manner, no longer the illiterate man he once was.
I don't know what turned her into this. Could it be myself?
"That makes sense, so there are two things you need to pay attention to. First, you must ensure that more Soul Returner purchase insurance. Only a minority of Soul Returner will choose to sacrifice their bodies at critical moments. As the base number increases, the margin for error will also increase. The other thing is that you can set the fee level based on their recent death record. If a Soul Returner dies once in every battle, it's okay to charge a higher insurance premium for such a person, right?"
Seraphina nodded, noting down some details about the tiered pricing system in her mind. She thought for a moment and then asked:
So the profit of an insurance company is actually the premiums collected minus the payouts?
"Hmm, we also need to deduct the portion that's supposed to be my share of the profits."
Ed earnestly pointed out the parts that Seraphina had selectively ignored.
The dragon girl's expression fell a little:
How much do you want?
"Half? I still owe you interest, so I have to earn at least some."
Ed stated his needs frankly, but the latter part of his explanation was a complete lie.
Even though he didn't actually intend to repay the money, he at least needed to subjectively express his willingness to do so; otherwise, if Seraphina saw through his intentions, things could get very bad.
"You're using my dividends to pay off the money you owe me?"
Seraphina's expression was already somewhat downcast, but after hearing Ed's explanation, it became even more incredulous.
Ed nodded calmly:
"I should have taught you that these two things are independent of each other. Unless you promise not to ask me for interest, I will definitely take a share of the profits, after all, I provided the Soul Returner."
The dragon girl fell into thought. Giving away dividends to others was painful, but if she could forgo interest, then why had she lent him the money in the first place?
Having prepared herself mentally, Seraphina said seriously:
"Okay, half it is."
Ed smiled with satisfaction.
"Now I'll tell you about the second business deal, and I won't charge you for this one."
When Seraphina heard that the deal was free, a hint of joy instinctively appeared on her face, but thinking about Ed's previous behavior, she felt that there must be some potential pitfalls that she might have overlooked.
With a quick glance, Seraphina gave a cryptic smile:
"Don't rush to talk about profit sharing. If it's a good business, I might consider giving you a share."
Ed, who was about to explain in detail, suddenly opened his mouth wide and looked out the castle window.
What are you looking at?
"Let's see which way the sun rises today."
"At least in this area, it's no different from before the Demonic Tide."
Seraphina didn't quite understand the references to Ed's past life memories, and instead explained them rather earnestly, which made Ed feel a little bored. He waved his hand and began to explain the new business:
"This business is still related to the deaths of the Soul Returner. Although I completed the virtualization of currency before, items still can't achieve the same results. Therefore, the deaths of Soul Returner are often accompanied by the loss of weapons and items. If it's on the battlefield, it's fine, as someone will help collect the bodies. But if it's in a place far away outside the territory, we need to go out and collect them."
"So the business you're talking about is..."
"That's right, it's ' Dragonborn Corpse Recycling'! But of course, we can't use such a straightforward name... The physical strength of ordinary Tree Worship Church members is simply not up to the task of this kind of exercise, so this matter can only be left to your Dragonborn."
"As for pricing, it should be flexible based on the distance between the corpse and the territory, the value of the items on the corpse, and the degree of danger. Fixed prices are not so convenient in this case. You can set the price freely. Anyway, if the price is too high, no one will buy it."
"I've finished speaking, so are you going to share some with me?"
Seraphina went through the logic of the deal in her mind and realized that Ed wasn't just blindly asking for a share of the profits.
Insurance business is conducted before the Soul Returner head to the battlefield, so it is a very common business, while the corpse-collecting service is only available to certain Soul Returner, and the profit margin is inherently smaller.
And since the other party didn't seem to intend to scam me, then...
"We're not breaking up."
"Ah?"
"No, we'll split the money. The insurance company will give you a share, but let's forget about picking up corpses. After all, my Dragonborn also face the risk of injury or death."
"Okay, that's settled then."
Ed had no intention of taking advantage of this small gain; he was content as long as he received the insurance dividends promised by Seraphina.
In this way, the gaming experience of every player is taken into account, and there shouldn't be any major problems in the short term. We can make adjustments when the next problem arises.
After seeing Seraphina off, Ed unfolded the entire known map in his field of vision, marking the locations of the three small Corpse Tide that had already occurred and a group of moving Corpse Tide.
Unfortunately, due to the movement of the horde of Blood Corpse, Ed had difficulty determining from which location they had successfully escaped; the idea of directly raiding their base was clearly too naive.
If Ed could pinpoint the location of the sealed vampire, Antos, he wouldn't mind going to great lengths to have Seraphina deliver the final blow.
Unfortunately, due to insufficient intelligence, the raid plan had to be put on hold. If they could capture a Blood Corpse with the ability to think, the plan could probably be pushed forward a bit more.
A hotel near the castle.
"Fifty copper coins a night for lodging, only upper floors available... Oh, my benefactor, you've arrived."
Upon recognizing an acquaintance, the innkeeper immediately stood up and walked towards the [ Dark Archmage ] who had just entered.
My benefactor's attire today seems a bit strange; he doesn't seem to be any different from a local like myself.
If she didn't look so healthy, one would almost mistake her for a resident of White Wax Town or the area near the castle.
I remember when she left, she was wearing an outfit that could hold a lot of props and weapons at her waist, legs, and ribs, plus a Tree Worship Church robe on top, and she was carrying a short spear. How come she's suddenly dressed so... simply now?
The [ Dark Archmage ], whose equipment had been looted, wasn't in a good mood. After a brief greeting to the innkeeper, he asked:
"Does my rented room have... a spare key?"
The hotel owner rummaged in his drawer and pulled out a metal key, saying:
"Use this; it's a master key that can open all the doors."
"Oh?"
The Dark Archmage was somewhat surprised upon hearing this, finding it hard to believe that such a thing as a universal key already existed in this world.
Where did these locks come from?
"It was ordered from a blacksmith shop in Dragonborn Village. That half-dragon doesn't really like making weapons; he's more interested in gadgets."
"I see."
The Dark Archmage nodded, took the master key, and headed to his rented storage room.