Axel was traveling through the beast-driven carriage of the Nomrad family, with a blue runic insignia of the Nomrad family painted on it.
Subtle vibrations reached him, indicating the heavy speed the beast was running with despite dragging the carriage, and flickers of sunlight and fresh air hit his face through the open window.
The roadsides were quite beautiful, lined with various kinds of trees, each far different in nature from those on earth, and filled with vibrant colors that soothed his eyes.
In the background was the deep blue sky with a dancing ss of pristine white clouds, a world that was so beautiful despite the imnse pain and suffering it held.
Countless more carriages were coming and going through the roadway made by so lted rare black crystals.
He sighed and began to think. He had read through all the information Vargas had given him, but it was so much that even for him it took a few days to grasp all of it, and he was busy with the temporary rune engraving.
Unfortunately, his progress had been sowhat slower than before, so he could only continue to put more effort into it, in the hopes of making up for the increased difficulty. But that wasn’t a huge issue, for that part of the work would only need a bit more ti and effort.
Axel had identified every single person causing problems for the obsidian trade and how they were doing so. Any rchant organization had to rely on a multitude of other factors to function correctly because, at its core, business was a change of hands.
It could be an exchange of services, goods, or even experienced workers.
The Nomrad family’s primary business had changed after Damien’s disappearance. The trade now exported alchemical items, centered on his father, Daniel, who was quite an exceptional Alchemist. But he had been suppressed in many ways; if not for that, Daniel could have been a 5th-phase Seeker by now.
There were additional side businesses in his family. But the production of high-quality alchemical products remained the primary source of inco,
Unfortunately, every raw material required to make the highly sought-after alchemical products was closely monitored by regional authorities.
This presented an excellent opportunity for the Duchess to hamper the main business of the Nomrad family with relatively low difficulty, as being the king’s sister ca with a silent set of authorities which she used to the fullest.
There were three core areas where the Nomrad family was facing the most significant problems for quite a while. If these three problems could be solved, the rest could be unraveled from then on through more subtle thods.
The first was the specialized taxes on specific goods imposed by the regional tax monitor, Count Bram, who had inflicted the extra tax on all exporting Alchemical creations.
The second was the Trade Permit Monitor—Count Magnus, who had barred the import of raw alchemical materials from other regions. But the raw products from the local area were not only of poor quality but also sold at inflated prices, which caused his family significant losses again and again.
Last but not least was the route monitor—Count Halden, who imposed extra tolls on important roads through which completed alchemical products were exported. Expensive products were always a significant target of the bandits. So, the toll was essentially a protection fee paid to the governnt in exchange for the safety of the goods.
There were only three or four forces within the Dusker region that produced any alchemical products.
On the surface, all of them pay these extra fees, but behind the scenes, other forces recoup the costs through secret trades arranged by the Duchess. For all the counts are her henchn.
So, not only did his family have to pay extra for low-quality raw materials, but they also had to pay a portion of the finished product’s price again, and further incur high toll costs to export the finished products.
This is how the Nomrad family always suffered, barely making any significant profit in a business that was among the most profitable.
The speeding carriage slowly ca to a halt. Axel looked out from the window and saw the sign of Greaves’ comrce branch just a few steps away. With a sigh, he exited the carriage, looking at the comrcial house. Despite being just a branch of it, so many people were coming in and out.
The large warehouse attached to the comrce was enormous, with considerable amounts of goods being loaded and unloaded by various carriers nonstop.
As expected of one of the three most prominent trade organizations. Even the branches were flourishing with constant trades. The Greaves comrce was bustling, as most of its transactions were with people coming from humble origins.
The area was filled with noise and shouts from one person to another. It looked like a noisy fish market.
Axel walked forward, his arrival catching the attention of the masses, for neither his carriage nor his presence was normal. Just from his appearance and deanor alone, anyone could tell from a mile away that he was an heir of a prominent household.
He wasn’t wearing anything special, nor was he exuding pressure, for it was forbidden in a public setting. Axel was even wearing an artifact that significantly suppressed his charm. Even so, the weight of his existence and natural charm that he carried, as well as his appearance, were just too unique.
The horde of the crowd parted—giving way for him, despite their own hurrying, they felt compelled by so unknown force.
The mont Axel entered the vast tavern-like building, he saw that it was even more crowded. Many eyes turned towards him again, ignoring the curious gazes, Axel made his way to the busy reception. The reception was quite wide, filled with many pretty and capable won all wearing smiles for apparent reasons.
The woman in front of Axel spoke without looking at him, busy writing sothing on paper, "Please state your inquiry."
Axel spoke in a deep, lodious voice, "I wish to sell."
But the pretty woman at the reception was stunned by the voice and looked at the one in front of her. She was astounded, such deep blue eyes, light that reflected from his eyes felt like the waves of the ocean, and even his slightly long hair was blue, 5 feet 9 inches in stature, well-proportioned physique, and his face was like a magnet.
Axel smiled, tilting his head, and the woman’s cheeks burned bright red. Axel tapped his finger on the desk, and only then did the won realize the mistake she had made, but she couldn’t be blad for this, for all the won at the reception were stunned for a mont by Axel’s visage.
She bowed, "Please forgive my insolence, Sir."
"It’s fine. Don’t worry." Axel stated nonchalantly.
"Thank you, sir, may I ask what you wish to sell?" the woman asked with utmost respect. Though Axel forgave her, she was sweating inside because influential figures did not usually attend the reception; instead, they held etings directly with the managers or the Branch head himself.
Axel nodded and spoke, "Archon 1st-tier rune tools, rare grade."
The mont he said that, a deafening silence reverberated throughout the entire ssy place. The pretty woman strained, and she asked in a tremor, "How many... if you don’t mind asking."
"At least a couple hundred for now, I suppose." The woman swallowed, and fear was on her face. She bowed again and spoke, her voice stamring, "Sir, such a deal is beyond my authority; allow to relay this to our manager."
"anwhile, could you please take a seat in the corner?" she requested.
Axel nodded as another worker ca and seated him at a reserved table. He did not have to wait for long as the won ca again and took him to a special room—the chamber of the branch head. Axel entered and t his gaze, who was in fact the third son of the Greaves family leader.
His appearance was that of a man in his late twenties, but he was in fact more than 30 years old. There was an easygoing smile on his lips, but a sharp, inquisitive gaze in his eyes. A gleam of surprise flashed through the eyes of the branch manager.
Most importantly, the figure was a 4th-phase powerhouse, sothing Axel could easily detect through his runic eyes’ passive abilities, which saw through the artifact that was hiding the man’s strength.
Axel showed him a formal smile, not too fawning or reserved. He spoke gracefully, "It is an honor to et you, Sir Jordan Greaves."
Jordan nodded and asked, "The honor is mine. Please sit down, Axel Nomrad."
He responded in surprise, "I did not expect Sir Jordan to know !"
"Normally, I would not. But it would be weird not to know of the only nine students who survived among the 1200." Jordan Greaves replied with a chuckle and pointed his finger, "Besides, I have yet to see anyone but a Nomrad possess those striking blue eyes."
Axel smiled in understanding as he got to the main point, "So, I presu you are willing to purchase my rune tools?"
"First, allow to ask you a few things, and I hope you can be truthful." The branch head’s face turned serious. Without waiting for his response, he asked, "Are you using any artifact to amplify your innate charm? Or alter your appearance?"
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