Master Talbert’s holand lies in the middle of the Black Gate Mountain Range on the Black Gate Peninsula in the North.
Despite being called a peninsula, the Black Gate Peninsula is actually several tis larger than the entire kingdom where the Magic Council is located. Stretching deep into the sea from the northwest corner of the continent, the majestic Black Gate Mountain Range stands tall along the western coast of the peninsula, fragnted by bays and rapid currents.
West of the Black Gate Peninsula is an endless wilderness, covered in snow and ice for half of the year. Apart from ice dragons, magical beasts, and mages with unique tastes, only barbarians and giants can reside there. Traveling south from the northernmost part of the wilderness, it takes two thousand miles to reach the northernmost border under the control of the Church of the Radiant Lord.
—This distance is roughly equivalent to that from Igor Peak to the Radiant Holy City.
Traveling from the westernmost point of the Black Gate Peninsula to the east, it also takes about two thousand miles to reach the capital of the Barbarian Kingdom. Cough, if that settlent on the wilderness can also be called a "capital"...
Given such a vast wilderness, the control of the Church of the Radiant Lord is naturally imaginable. And for the Magic Council, as long as they can safely transport Master Talbert and his group across the sea, they need not worry about their safety anymore.
To ensure safety along the way, escorting the elder, accompanying personnel, and a batch of valuable goods, the Magic Council dispatched a precious alchemical airship: The Philosopher’s Stone.
"So this is an alchemical ship?"
Garrett followed the crew onto the deck, curiously looking around.
The deck, which seed to be made of wood, radiated a tallic luster;
At the top of the mast, a silk-like thin sail fluttered loudly, with light flowing on it, flickering on and off;
At the very front of the bow, a statue of a woman with the body of a snake was installed, her six arms spread out, each holding a scepter, a sword, a scimitar, a treasure vase...
Garrett casually cast a [Detect Magic] and was nearly blinded by the brilliance emanating from the weapons.
"Yes, this is an alchemical ship." Master Talbert ca over to him, beaming:
"Never seen one before? This ship, built from the skeleton of a deep-sea giant whale as its keel and the skin of magical beasts as its sails, is said to have a magic cannon onboard. Little Garrett, it’s said that half of the increased mithril production you helped with was used to make cannons. Recently, the council and the Church of the Radiant Lord’s fleets have been fighting fiercely!"
...So, are we going to encounter enemies at sea?
Garrett broke into a sweat, hoping the chosen route would be reliable and the journey swift, arriving sooner...
This ship is really not ant for living!
Primarily, the Philosopher’s Stone wasn’t large. Limited by the size of the magical beast used for its keel, its length was just over 30 ters, with a width of about ten ters.
Such a ship, loaded with crew, goods, and Master Talbert’s group, as well as the trade negotiation team sent by the council, left little to imagine about Garrett’s lodging conditions.
Garrett and Bernard, the two of them, actually only had one single room!
A single bed, a bedside table. The bed was only enough for Garrett alone; Bernard, regardless of height or shoulder width, had to sleep on the floor. That aside, the ceiling wasn’t even high enough for Bernard to stand upright!
"Boss, I’m heading out!"
"Where to?"
"To arm-wrestle with the dwarfs!"
"Oh, just be careful not to fracture your wrist!"
"Boss, I’m going out!"
"Where to?"
"To watch them furl the sails on the deck!"
"Alright, just be careful when climbing the mast, don’t get hurt!"
"Boss! I’m heading out!"
"Where to?"
"To fish on the deck!"
"You can fish while the ship is moving?"
Aurora ran around the ship chaotically, and Garrett, who wanted to quietly stay in his single room and read, had no chance. The group settled on the ship, and the next morning, Garrett was invited into the room by the head of the negotiation team.
The living conditions of the team leader were much more spacious than Garrett’s. Garrett’s single room was one level below the deck, with neither sunlight nor ventilation; the team leader’s room, however, was next to the captain’s cabin on the upper deck, furnished with a bed, a square table, four chairs, and a row of wooden cabinets against the wall. Through the glass doors of the cabinets, one could even see a shiny set of silver cutlery.
Garrett sat down in the room. Without saying a word, he greedily breathed in several mouthfuls of fresh air—the cabin below had nearly suffocated him!
The team leader smiled at him good-naturedly. Once Garrett caught his breath, the team leader flicked his finger, and steam imdiately began to rise from the kettle:
"Tea or coffee?"
"...Tea, thank you."
Garrett took a mont to observe him. The magician in front of him had curly brown hair interspersed with silver, clearly of advanced age. The badge on his chest twinkled with two golden stars:
A level twelve grand magician.
According to the information Garrett received before coming, this negotiation team leader, Sir Serano, belonged to the transmutation school, specializing in alchemy, and was one of the vice-presidents of the Alchemy Guild.
Master Serano slightly curled his finger. Two small legs imdiately grew from beneath the kettle, hopping over by themselves. Garrett watched apprehensively, hoping the legs would turn into four, or at least three, for a more stable hop.
Fortunately, the kettle hopped steadily. Making its way to them, one leg extended and the other retracted, pouring hot water from its spout and quickly filling the teacups. The kettle then steadied itself, bowed to them, and hopped back...
"I heard you saved Master Talbert?" Master Serano said with a smile. Garrett snapped back to reality and hurriedly replied:
"I just did what I had to do. As a healer, seeing him in danger, I couldn’t just stand by..."
"It’s good that you saved him." Master Serano nodded with a smile. He reviewed Garrett’s information in his mind and continued:
"I see your follower also has a good relationship with the dwarfs. When negotiating, we might need your help to speak up."
Helping with the negotiations was naturally Garrett’s duty as a magician. However, he was thrown into this situation without any background information, nor was he briefed on the terms, pace, or bottom line of the negotiations. Since Master Serano brought it up, Garrett took the opportunity to ask:
"Um... Master Serano, will we encounter any difficulties in this negotiation?"
"Previously, it was all routine renewals, just a formality. But this ti, there’s a bit of a change..."
Master Serano explained in detail. Garrett listened and realized the situation had sothing to do with him:
The Dwarf Kingdom, or rather, the individual dwarf tribes, exporting various precious tals to the Magic Council, has always been a crucial economic pillar for the dwarfs. However, Garrett developed a mithril slting technology, which changed the dwarfs’ exports from mithril to mithril ore...
The difference in price between finished tal ingots and raw products is quite significant.
"To make up for the price difference, the dwarfs need to mine more ore; to mine ore, they have to import that... explosives." Master Serano sighed:
"The dwarfs are doing a lot more work, exporting a lot more ore, but their inco hasn’t increased; moreover, although we have provided a lot of training for the dwarfs, those explosives still caused considerable casualties. The council received ssages that many dwarfs are dissatisfied with us."
Understood, the disparity between finished products and high-end products. The dwarfs, not being under the council’s rule, are not so lenient to let us clip away without complaint.
Moreover, this change is indeed his fault.
Garrett silently circled in his mind. Explosive casualties could be addressed through enhanced training, but the disparity and trade deficit...
Neither is easy to resolve. The dwarfs might not know these terms, but that doesn’t an they have no feelings about it. If this continues, the trouble will only grow.
"Dwarfs are our important allies; we must maintain friendship with them and not let them turn to the Church of the Radiant Lord. In a month, it will be the Dwarf King’s 400th birthday, and many guests will co to congratulate him. Bringing you here also shows our sincerity..."
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