It seemed to be the norm in this city, but it looked austere and sinister from the outside, its black stones and gothic architecture more reminiscent of an ugly old cathedral than a workshop or warehouse. Regardless, the place looked spacious, roomy enough to fit a hypermarket from his former planet.
In this respect, his three new recruits had not deceived him. It was indeed a place where one could get absolutely everything, as long as one traded in volume. It was extremely common to run into Lords or their underlings here shopping or negotiating a deal that could affect their entire nation.
An archway led into the compound and was high and wide enough for two carts to pass through side by side, no doubt to facilitate the transport of goods. Two sullen guards blocked the entrance, but after a cursory identity check they let them pass. With their laxity, there should not be many incidents.
Once inside, a brand new sight presented itself to them. Gone were the black walls promising despair and depression, inside was a vast market with a closed roof.
Dozens of booths and stalls filled the space, trying to sell their wares. Hundreds of merchants and other passersby wandered from one stall to another, halting when a product caught their interest. The hubbub of chatter, laughter, and hard bargaining between vendors and customers made the place very lively and noisy.
"This is different from what I imagined." Nardor grunted as he stopped in front of a fruit and vegetable stand. "I don't see how you can supply an entire kingdom by buying the staples from such a small stall."
"You should think of the goods at these stalls as samples." Mira explained casually. "Once you've chosen what you're interested in and determined the quantities you need, an employee will then go to the warehouse to pick up the negotiated goods. You can also have it delivered straight to your kingdom, as long as you pay the Transportation Portal's teleportation fee. Their couriers and deliverers are all powerful Master Sorcerers and are equipped with Spatial Rings. They usually get a commission on the volume of goods traded, not exceeding 1% of the amount spent. Since the deals involve entire kingdoms, that's usually a fair amount of money."
Danchun was not at all impressed that such powerful Sorcerers would take on such menial tasks, as it was also done in her former world, but for Ikaris it was an eye-opener.
On Earth, distribution jobs like delivery boy or truck driver were at the bottom of the social hierarchy, but here because of the great strength variability between individuals only a truly powerful being could guarantee the safe arrival of goods. This meant that people in the most unglamorous jobs could be dragons in disguise.
Ikaris clicked his tongue in wonder. Appearances were not to be trusted.
He hadn't come here to buy fruits and vegetables, but with the recent surge in Last Saint's population and its expected growth, that would indeed become a problem in the short term. After all, they couldn't just eat Demonic Meat and Rank 1 Chestnuts, as nutritious as they were.
"Hello sir, I'll buy 400kg of rice, 300kg of flour from..." Ikaris wasted no time and began to point to everything he needed.
The vendor, a middle-aged woman in a formal attire professionally wrote down everything he listed on a notepad and then tore off the page before passing it to another employee who happened to be standing behind her.
"That will be two gold coins and 75 silver coins, sir. Would you like to pick up your goods now or have them delivered to an address later?" She asked politely.
Ikaris paused to sound out Magnus' opinion, but Magnus refused to help. Either way, flaunting an overly spacious Spatial Ring was not wise when one did not have the strength to protect it.
"I want to be delivered to this address..." He finally replied, imparting his information.
The merchant's attitude took a sharp turn as she realized that the young man in front of her was no ordinary customer. Examining his clothes and his inhumanly handsome face, she asked cautiously,
"By any chance, are you a new Lord of House Morgunis?"
Ikaris took no offense to her question and answered positively. The merchant smiled as she got his confirmation and proceeded to explain,
"All our Lords customers are eligible for a 5% discount on all our products if they allow us to open a branch in their territory. Based on transaction volumes, all of our major customers also receive a badge that gives them certain privileges such as additional discounts and exclusive access to certain items not normally available in this market.
The teen nodded to signal that he agreed. It already sounded more like the marketing methods of Earth. Whatever the world, there were some things that never changed.
A minute later, after filling out a form, he received a bronze badge that looked like a police officer's license plate with "Lords Paradise" written on it. This was the name of this merchant organization.
"Show it to any vendor working here to claim the 5% discount." She summed up while wishing him goodbye.
Ikaris thanked her for her help, and then went back to browsing the stalls. He spent a dozen more gold coins strolling around buying all sorts of necessities that were lacking in his territory, such as soap, toothbrushes, sheets and so on.
In front of a stall selling all kinds of cloth, he spent another 16 gold coins for wool, velvet, leather and some other noble fabrics so that Ling and the other seamstresses would have something to work with. He hadn't yet introduced fiat currency, but he had to prepare his economy for the big time.
And to do this, he had to export, not just import. Only by producing wealth from more affordable raw materials would Last Saint truly prosper.
As they came to a certain stall selling all sorts of medicinal herbs, Danchun stopped and began to grope and sniff them as if she were trying to pick out a melon. Ikaris stopped next to her and smelling the strong scent of these plants, he probed,
"Did you find anything good?"
Danchun's thoughtful face crinkled as she examined a certain herb, but she eventually put it down a moment later.
"Not sure." She finally admitted. "Can you use your Appraisal Spell on it?"
"Sure."
To be completely truthful, Ikaris had never stopped spamming the said spell since he had entered here. To develop his magic as quickly as possible he had no choice but to use it at every opportunity.
There were indeed many Rank 1 and 2 Herbs among these plants. But their price was not cheap...
While he could buy close to a ton of regular flour with one gold coin, a single Rank 2 Herb weighing a few tens or hundreds of grams cost between 10 and 70 silver coins. Buying large volumes of these medicinal plants could severely strain his finances.
But their unique qualities justified their price.
[Witch's Licorice: One gram can stop a man's heart. Dried and powdered, a few grains mixed into a drink have a tranquilizing effect that drastically enhances the meditative abilities of Sorcerers. Very popular with Novices who have trouble connecting to their Divine Sparks.]
[Moon Fenugreek: Consuming a few grams of its seeds will turn an ordinary man into a tireless sex fiend before causing his death by heart attack the next day. Used sparingly, it is a powerful hormonal balancer that improves all vital parameters of the consumer, including stamina, constitution, vitality, and to a lesser extent, strength and mental sharpness. Very popular with Novice and Apprentice Sorcerers in need of a boost to their training.]
[Wild Sumac: A few grams of its fruit will cause an ordinary man to die of dehydration due to violent diarrhea, ulcers and internal bleeding. When used diluted by an informed Sorcerer, it drastically speeds up digestion and metabolism and consequently improves the progress and recovery of the person who consumes it. Very popular among Body Sorcerers who want to develop their physical condition and musculature in a short period of time, but also by all Sorcerers who want to increase their training frequency.]
There were a wide variety of herbs of this type, but the three that Ikaris had just appraised were among the best-sellers. Many customers regularly stopped by to buy them. Often young, they were presumably young Sorcerers looking for the perfect product to boost their training.
When he thought this, two redheaded teenagers, a girl of 14 or 15, and a boy a few years older, walked by to order several of these medicinal herbs in large quantities. An older, svelte, and richly dressed redheaded man stood behind them, possibly their father.
At a glance, Jake identified the gold badge with "Lord's Paradise" emblazoned on it that he held in his hand. He was a Lord like himself, but their status was completely different.
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