Negotiation
"Tch."
The moment Ian saw straight through her true intentions, Roella clicked her tongue. A flicker of fluster crossed her face, but she quickly recovered her usual haughty composure.
Why does it feel like Ian keeps getting smarter?
Especially lately. It's gotten worse.
Only a few months ago he had been a boy with the occasional flash of brilliance who was, on the whole, rather pathetic — at least as far as her rival was concerned. These days he carried himself with the shrewdness of some imperial sage.
I don't like it.
She had always believed she alone could recognize his true worth. If he kept displaying this kind of obvious wisdom out in the open, other people were bound to notice.
And indeed, the Academy's opinion of Ian had already begun to shift, little by little.
Anyway. That's a separate matter...
First she had to deal with this mana stone problem.
The real reason she had raced all the way to Seorigol was simple: the mana stones that would soon pour out of this fief were going to compete directly with those of Loreal City.
It was absolutely, positively not because she was worried about Ian!
Hmph!
Roella snorted inwardly, then pouted and grudgingly admitted the truth to herself.
Fine. She had come because she was worried.
A territory that suddenly discovered a mana stone mine was easy prey for wolves.
But the negotiation still matters!
Handled poorly, Loreal City's primary source of revenue could be cut in half overnight. She was worried — and at the same time, Ian was her top-priority negotiating partner.
And right now, it was time to negotiate.
The earlier hesitation vanished without a trace. Roella's eyes turned cold. There stood the young lady and lord of her domain, exactly as she was.
"Seorigol is going to compete with Loreal City in the mana stone trade. And we'll be fighting over the same market — the empire's northwest."
"True."
Ian answered evenly.
"As you know, magic isn't exactly thriving in the northwest. There aren't many mages, and demand for mana stones is limited. In other words, there's a high chance of oversupply."
"True."
Ian still offered only the briefest of replies.
Roella felt a twinge of irritation at his indifference, but she pressed on with her argument.
"So hand the mining rights over to me. Rather than undercutting each other into oblivion, it would be far wiser to regulate the market together and secure stable profits. This isn't just for my sake — it's a proposal that benefits you as well."
That was her conclusion. It was the only solution she and her advisors had reached after days of deliberation. She genuinely believed it was the best answer not only for Loreal City, but for Seorigol too. That conviction was what let her make the offer with such confidence.
But—
"No. I can't do that."
Ian's flat refusal left Roella's eyes wide with shock.
"W-what did you say? What on earth are you thinking? You want to compete with me to the death? Is that what you want?"
Genuine bewilderment colored her voice. To her, his reaction made no sense at all. Her proposal should have been more than attractive enough for him — so why refuse?
Ian simply shook his head and grinned. Then he beckoned to her.
"Come with me for a second. There's something I want to show you."
Ian led Roella toward the place where the mana stones lay buried. They left the office, crossed the wooded hill behind the fief, and came upon a small pit of an entrance.
Beyond that narrow mouth, a dense blue light spilled out.
"Ian — no, my lord! You're finally back!"
Aurora rushed out to greet him in a flurry. The dark circles under her eyes told the whole story of how hard she had been working. Relief washed over her face, tangled with unmistakable guilt. The bright welcome faded almost at once; her head drooped.
"I'm so sorry... I failed to carry out my mission properly. Turning the mana stones into cash was so much harder than I expected. Because of my incompetence..."
"It's all right, Aurora. You've worked hard enough."
Ian comforted her in a warm voice.
"If word has spread this far, it only means you ran yourself ragged trying. You're a researcher, not a merchant. I'm the one who should apologize for asking the impossible."
Aurora seemed a little soothed by his words, but worry still clouded her expression.
"But because of me, rumors about the mana stones have gotten out. If that ends up causing you any harm, my lord..."
"Don't worry about it. It was going to come out eventually anyway."
Ian shrugged as if it were nothing.
In truth, he had been aware of the risk to some degree. What he hadn't expected was that someone would assemble a band of thieves and move this fast. The ambush at Seorigol's entrance had simply come at a tempo he hadn't been ready for.
Bringing it up now just to blame Aurora would have been meaningless.
Expecting heroes to handle everything perfectly is a fool's game to begin with.
Even a five-star administrative hero made countless mistakes. The reason they were five-star was that they knew how to clean up afterward.
If he had to rate Aurora as an administrator right now, she wouldn't even clear three stars — two would be generous. Which meant that, all things considered, she had done rather well.
A lord's job was to understand his subordinates' failures and take responsibility for them.
Aurora pressed on, still looking anxious.
"As things stand, the space is so cramped we can barely even extract the stones properly, and selling them is close to impossible. No distribution network, no trustworthy buyers... I honestly can't see a way forward."
Watching her flounder, Ian broke into a bright smile.
"That's why I brought an expert."
Roella stared at the finger pointed at her, startled.
"Me?"
"Yep."
"But you said you wouldn't work with me. You just rejected my proposal a minute ago."
"When did I ever say I wouldn't work with you?"
Ian answered with a playful grin.
"I just said I wouldn't work under you."
"Y-you...!"
Roella trembled with indignation, then let out a long sigh. She seemed to have caught a glimpse of what he was after.
"Fine. All right. Our dear Lord Ian clearly has a plan. What is it? Spit it out."
Ian answered with complete confidence.
"We're not aiming at just the empire's northwest. We're going after the entire empire."
"What?" Roella's eyes went wide. "The entire empire? Have you lost your mind?"
"Exactly what I said. We're going to sell mana stones across the whole empire."
"Do you have any idea how massive the imperial mana stone market is? And there are already dozens of established powers dug in there!"
"I know. But we have something they don't."
Ian pointed at the mana stones glowing blue in the pit.
"Quality. The purity and mana concentration of these stones surpass anything currently on the market. And the deposits are substantial — more than enough to take on the entire empire."
"Even so—"
"Besides, I trust Aurora's research."
One of his memories of Aurora had surfaced — a recollection from one of the countless regression loops. He had read a newspaper special feature titled A Revolutionary Breakthrough in Mana Stone Refinement. And the genius behind that revolutionary invention had been Aurora.
"If we can push the purity even higher..."
Roella fell silent for a moment, staring at the stones. It was true — top-grade raw ore combined with an exceptional extraction method could shake the entire board. But still.
"Quality alone isn't enough. Distribution networks, capital, political influence... Seorigol has none of that."
"That's why I need you, Roella."
Ian's expression turned serious.
"Through Loreal City, you already have the know-how for the mana stone business. The distribution networks, the capital, the political connections. And I have the highest-quality raw materials — plus a refinement method under development. If we join forces..."
Roella sank into thought. Ian's proposal was undeniably attractive. But it also carried enormous risk.
"Going up against the entire empire... that's genuinely dangerous. We'll face pushback from the existing powers, and the political pressure will be intense."
"What business isn't dangerous? And we have a card they can't afford to ignore."
Ian pointed at the mana stones once more.
"Stones of this quality will have the empire's mages lining up. And once we gain a foothold in the market, the rest will follow naturally."
Aurora interjected carefully.
"But... is it really possible? Taking on the entire empire..."
"It is."
Ian answered without hesitation.
"Just not alone. That's why I need Roella."
Seorigol was vanishingly small. Research might be manageable somehow, but developing the mine, handling transport, and building a sales network were close to impossible.
Roella, on the other hand, had exactly that kind of expertise.
Honestly, it's a shameless proposal.
Equal partnership between Seorigol and Loreal City? Please.
But Ian was confident.
Roella was not someone content with the present. She looked to the future.
And Ian intended to sell her one — a future several times larger than what she had now: the empire's entire mana stone market.
Loreal City and the tiny backwater of Seorigol. To place the two on equal footing.
Roella's brow furrowed. Silence stretched between them for a long moment.
"...All right."
She nodded.