Chapter 328 – These Bastards Are No Good
When I asked if he needed money, the Everfell guild master stopped pondering and looked at .
Then, he gave a bitter smile.
“How did you know?”
“It’s written on your face. 'I need money.'”
“On my face?”
“It’s a hunch.”
“A hunch, huh… Quite the intuition.”
Henry didn’t bother hiding his true feelings. In fact, he seed relieved I had asked so bluntly.
He was in dire need of funds—recent business struggles and a certain "item" from the Dark Sales had put heavy pressure on him.
After a mont, he cautiously spoke.
“I do need money. But regarding the slave trade—”
“Let’s deal with the elf issue first.”
There was no need to hear the rest. He was just going to say he wouldn’t give up the slave trade, even for money.
If he didn’t relinquish his stake, the other three wouldn’t either.
But that’s fine. I could take it all back slowly, over ti.
‘They’re the only ones left anyway.’
I decided to focus on the captured elves first. I’d retrieve those already in their clutches.
“Elves? Are you saying you’ll pay to take the elves away?”
“I’ll pay in gold. In return, I want not only the elves held by the Everfell guild but also those held by the other three guilds under your influence.”
“The other guilds?”
“The three major ones under your sway.”
After so ntal calculation, Henry spoke.
“Combining all three, the number of elves will be quite significant. Are you sure you can handle it?”
I gave a faint smile in response.
If anyone in Aintrier wanted to outbid in gold, they'd need Azonne himself.
“I have more than enough. But if even one elf is hidden or excluded, the deal’s off. No—there will be a penalty. Do you agree?”
“Mn…”
As I confidently nodded, Henry tapped his armrest and fell into deep thought. He was doing ntal math.
It would be the biggest deal he’d seen in a long ti, so he couldn’t answer lightly.
But I already knew what his answer would be.
After a while, he looked at and asked,
“How much are you offering?”
“One hundred million gold.”
I nad the amount without hesitation.
One hundred million gold.
An amount that would make most people’s jaws drop—but Henry frowned. He wasn’t satisfied.
“It’s not enough.”
“One hundred million gold isn’t enough?”
“Everfell and the other three guilds collectively hold around four hundred elves. Depending on gender, age, and ability, their value varies greatly. Most elves are premium assets. That amount is not enough to take them all. The other guilds will object as well.”
“That would be the case if you could sell them at full market price. Do you really think that’s possible now? With the World Tree Union applying pressure?”
“The price will drop rapidly over ti.”
Over 400 elves.
A hundred million gold wouldn't even be half their market value.
And yet Henry didn’t reject it outright. That told sothing.
“You went to Azonne a few days ago to ask for help, didn’t you?”
Everfell and Lord Azonne had maintained a friendly relationship for a long ti.
He must’ve gone to plead for help with his crumbling slave business—but judging from how he was hesitating over my offer, it seed Azonne had refused.
“So, for now, I can assu he’s not willing to antagonize the World Tree Union?”
Thinking of Azonne, I was now certain—Everfell would take the offer.
There’s no other buyer for these elves right now but .
“150 million gold. At that price, I can persuade the other guilds too.”
“150 million…”
I rubbed my chin and fell silent.
Henry kept sipping his tea. His mouth must’ve gone dry.
I had the funds. Fenry would understand if I spent 150 million gold to free the elves.
But no—I shook my head.
“Let’s make it 110 million.”
“I can do 130.”
“120.”
“…Fine.”
The fact that he accepted 120 million so quickly proved how desperate he was.
Once the deal was sealed, Henry brought out a contract.
But I pushed it away.
Surprised, Henry looked at .
“Is there… sothing else?”
I smiled.
“There are two paynt options—gold, or items. Which do you prefer?”
“Of course, I’ll take—”
His words trailed off as he stared at my hand.
The golden shimr spilling from my pouch.
He peeked inside, and his expression subtly changed.
“Leaves…? No way, are these…?”
“They’re World Tree Leaves.”
I placed the pouch on the table and crossed my legs.
“There aren’t many left anymore.”
“You’ve been selling the leaves?”
“I haven’t sold the exclusive rights yet. I had so extras from what I brought, so I sold a few off.”
I poured out the remaining leaves on the table. Henry stared at them in silence, lips pressed tight.
After a mont, he asked ,
“Have you sold any leaves to the Lord?”
“Does it matter?”
“It matters greatly.”
“I haven’t sold any to the Lord.”
“Then…”
“The Lenon Guild. That’s the only one I’ve sold to.”
“When did you sell them?”
“Three days ago.”
“Three days…”
As Henry fell deep into thought, I began sweeping the leaves back into the pouch.
“If you don’t like the leaves, I can pay entirely in gold—”
“N-no, wait!”
Henry quickly grabbed my hand. Judging by his reaction, he was very interested in the leaves—but clearly debating sothing.
I studied him for a mont, then let out a small murmur.
“Ah, that’s what’s bothering you.”
It seed Henry was planning to use the leaves as a bargaining chip with the Lord.
So it was crucial to know whether the Lord already had them.
“...Give one day to think.”
“One day? If you drop the price to 10 million, I’ll give you a day.”
Henry’s face twisted for a mont—but his hesitation didn’t last long.
He nodded, and we agreed to finalize the deal by tomorrow evening.
One day in exchange for a 10-million-gold discount? Easy win.
After shaking hands, I returned to my lodgings.
The mont Henry heard I’d returned to my quarters, he moved imdiately.
“Hurry!”
He began preparing to head to the palace to et the Lord. But before leaving the mansion, he gathered his closest aides and gave orders.
“Find out everything—what kind of relationship the Lenon Guild has with the World Tree Union, how they handled the leaves, how much they paid per leaf—anything recent, I want it all!”
Riding in his carriage, Henry stared at a softly glowing leaf he had borrowed from .
He studied it closely and muttered quietly.
“The heavens haven’t abandoned Henry yet.”
He knew the Lord better than anyone.
And he knew the Lord had developed a recent obsession with World Tree Leaves.
‘He’s even shown off his power in secret just to gain the leaf monopoly, huh?’
This was the first ti the Lord had broken the unspoken rules of the Dark Sales and indirectly participated. That showed just how obsessed he was.
Now, part of those coveted leaves were in Henry’s hands.
‘If the Lord doesn’t have any leaves yet…’
Then surely, he’ll want them.
Henry’s mind raced.
If things went well, he might even obtain that item in exchange for a single leaf.
“The Soul-Binding Doll of Kunta…”
A mystical artifact that could forcibly awaken a 3-star to 4-star rank.
Originally, he had sought it as a gift for his only son—but after hearing more about it, his thoughts had changed.
‘I must obtain it… no matter what.’
It wasn’t a one-ti-use item.
As long as he had sacrificial offerings, he could attempt awakenings multiple tis.
The doll belonged to the Lord, and the information ca directly from him—so its power was likely real.
And with a steady supply of slaves for sacrifices, he had no shortage of material.
If he could mass-produce 4-stars, he wouldn’t need to pay protection fees to thieves like Pri Root ever again.
“If I’m lucky, I might even bypass the bidding war and buy it outright.”
Currently, the doll’s negotiation price had reached 21 million gold.
It was becoming unmanageable.
Driven by the new idea, Henry urged his coachman to hurry.
He had to confirm things with the Lord imdiately.
The carriage sped away from the mansion.
***
“Looks like he’s got a fire lit under his tail.”
Watching Henry’s carriage disappear through the window, I closed the curtain.
In the spacious room were , the Ghost, and the unconscious elf.
She seed to be recovering well—the color was returning to her face.
The healer had said she’d wake soon. Judging by her condition, she had clearly suffered a lot as a slave.
I checked on her briefly, then called the Ghost over.
“We need to bring Karl here.”
“To this place, Master?”
“We’ll need the extra hands. Tell Karl to bring the Leaf Carriers to the mansion by tomorrow at noon. We’ll be relocating hundreds of elves.”
“Understood.”
As I watched the Ghost disappear into the curtain’s shadow, I slumped onto the sofa.
I gently shook the pouch of leaves in my hand, smacking my lips.
“It’d be nice to clean them all out here.”
I had already made an enormous profit by inflating the leaves’ value.
Everfell was just the cleanup—wringing out every last bit I could.
“I wonder what kind of face that guild master will make when he cos to see tomorrow.”
Depending on his reaction, I’d decide how to price the leaves.
“Mn…”
Just then, a soft groan ca from the bed.
When I approached, the elf had woken and was lying there, conscious.
“...Thank you.”
“You know who I am?”
The elf nodded.
He must’ve seen before passing out.
He looked around, then asked hopefully,
“Is this the Everfell mansion?”
“For now.”
I briefly explained the situation.
But after listening, the elf’s hopeful expression turned grim. A mont later, he stared at in anger.
“Why did you spare Everfell?! Soone like you could have destroyed them easily!”
Overwhelming strength that tore apart the demons who enslaved his people.
The elf had seen my power firsthand.
“Then should I have killed them all?”
“Yes! Every last one of them!”
The elf’s words were harsh. As soon as he regained consciousness, he scread that I should have killed everyone. His grudge against Everfell ran deep.
“I’m a representative of the World Tree Union. If I kill just because I can, who will want to talk to ?”
“But…!”
“Slaughter isn’t the answer. If I must kill, it has to benefit the Union. If it causes loss, it’s unacceptable. Wiping out Everfell now would only put the Union at risk.”
The elf bit his lip and lowered his head.
“...So many of my brothers are trapped here. Did you know?”
“Oh, that?”
I threw him the stack of papers on the sofa.
As he flipped through the docunts, his eyes grew wider and wider.
Then he looked at , eyes round with shock.
I shrugged.
“I’m retrieving all the elves on that list tomorrow. Want to co?”
“Ah…”
His lifeless expression ca to life.
I sat beside the bed and began asking the elf about Everfell.
What he went through here, where the elves were being held, how many there were.
I gathered information from his perspective—details Henry didn’t give —and added them to tomorrow’s plan.
And I made one more decision.
“These bastards are no good.”
The elves held as slaves were treated like animals.
Once soone sees non-humans as beasts, they’ll always treat them that way.
Leave them alive, and they’ll threaten the World Tree Union again soday.
“Hm…”
I had told the elf earlier:
Even if you kill soone, it has to benefit the Union.
So all I had to do was ruin them in a way that profited us.
What’s the best thod?
I started thinking.
And when Karl arrived the next day at noon, I had a rough plan in mind.
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