Sirin was truly impressed by Zatiel wits and capabilities. The problem with selling records with knowledge, it's the fact that they are easily duplicated making his value plummet since a great number of copies could be done and flood the market.
But with the alteration that Zatiel did to the book, that problem was handled.
"We will perform the examination and if everything goes well, we will put the book in the auction and endorse them with our name. But I was wondering whether you will be willing to directly sell the 'Book of resurrection' to the auction house, we will pay you greatly of course."
The Magus was very interested in the rituals of the book. The knowledge about resurrection magic in the kingdom is not small, but the one related to bringing back people who had died of old age was uncommon, and more so if it only needed the power of a Rank 4 life form to be able to use it.
As for the 'Book of rune crafting', it also draws her attention but the information in it was not something she could not obtain in the kingdom.
"These two books must be sold in the auction." Zatiel posture was firm and it seems that no amount of wealth could change his mind..." but I have a proposition for you."
Sirin was disappointed but she immediately focuses on Zatiel when she heard the last part and saw how he took four more books.
Two of them were blue and two black. These were exact copies that Zatiel had made and had the same information and type of runic writing made in them.
"After the two books are sold in the auction, you will wait ten years. During that time, the ones who bought the books will start to display some of the impressive features of it that will allow you to send these other four for a higher price, but you must be careful and make everyone believe that there is only one 'Book of resurrection' and one 'Book of rune crafting'." There was a crafty light in Zatiel eyes as he spoke and he smiled.
The rest were not very clear about the purpose of Zatiel strategies and wonder why he did not just sell the six books at the auction, however, Sirin was different.
The Magus did not obtain her position just for her wealth, and much less for her looks since that was meaningless in the kingdom. She understood that Zatiel wanted to make everyone thought that there is only one each book in order not just to inflate the price but to give it collective value.
There is no small number of powerful individuals that will be willing to overpay for something, even if it is not useful for them, just to gloat that they have the only one in existence.
The illusion could be easily broken if too many books were released, but with just three of each, it will not be hard for Sirin to maintain it.
As for the ones sold in the auction. They just need to hint that the real ones are the ones they are selling and the other are just useless replicas put by the previous owner to avoid shame.
The books are real and they are not really tricking anyone, so the Magus found no problem with the job
"What do we get as payment?. The books cannot be copied and we will lose access to their knowledge after ten years." No matter how ingenious a business deal was, Sirin was not willing to work for free.
"It's true that you will not be able to remember the words in the book once you lose physical contact with it. But if you can fully understand all the knowledge in the book, you will retain it."
Zatiel word made it seem as if he had intentionally left that method, but the truth was different. He did not have the power to put conditions in the retention of the knowledge people obtain from the books and once they make it their own and fully understand it, the runes and Mind Force could not erase it.
For someone like Sirin, ten years to learn the information in both books was enough, but she did not accept Zatiel proposition yet and looks at him carefully.
"Are you not trusting too much on me?. What is stopping me from learning the information in the books, sell them and then keep the money, after all, due to the nature of it you could not tell anyone that I broke our business deal." Sirin's expression was cold as she looked at Zatiel.
Heinz, Zitra, and Totto were surprised by the woman's change in attitude and were worry about Zatiel, as for Gabriel, his eyes narrowed but he remained silent. The only one who did not show any change was Sophia.
When Zatiel hears the Magus words, he only smiled at this obvious test. There were several ways he could handle this situation, the most direct one will be using the might of his title and the fact he was an honorary member of the kingdom to put pressure on her.
In the end, he chose to go with a more natural approach and closed his eyes before speaking.
"If the money doesn't reach my clan in ten years, I will just have to ask you personally for it at a later time. Of course, I will also be collecting interest."
Sirin was surprised by the fact he chose to only rely on himself but she shook her head. She was a member of the Scientia Kingdom and a Rank 4 life form, even a Rank 6 life form could not make her felt threaten.
But everything changed when Zatiel opens his eyes. For an instant, she saw a figure covered in darkness who was looking at her with his monstrous red eyes.
The figure disappeared in a flash but Sirin feels a chill down her spine. The next thing she saw was Zatiel hand on her face as he looks at her with emotionless eyes and a smile.
"Your skin is so beautiful, I wonder how much do you think it could worth."
Her eyes widened and absolute terror started to creep into her heart. She may be strong and have great negotiation skills but the truth was that she has always lived in complete safety and due to the peaceful nature of the kingdom, she has never faced true fear.
Zatiel knew when to stop and he moves back before making the coldness around him disappeared.
"You are too young to be playing games with me. The true world is not like your kingdom, and even the greatest backer could not protect you from people who are crazy enough to not care about consequences and just obey their most cruel instincts."
Sirin did not feel happy when she heard those words but she had to admit they were the truth. Her aura changed and some of his naivety disappeared.
When Gabriel saw this, he nods and remained silent. He was a mighty guardian of the kingdom and know very well that even the deterrence of their fierce retaliation could not frighten some people, especially those who had nothing to lose.
"I accept your business offer. In ten years we will start the process of selling the copies and the money will be sent to you as soon as possible." Sirin was serious and there was no longer a smile in her face.
Zatiel did not think too much of the change in her attitude and he just passes the books to her before signaling the rest to do the same with the items they were going to put for auction.
Heinz, Totto, and Zitra deliver their items to the Magus. Despite the event that just happened, Sirin maintained her professionalism and inspected the items before storing them.
"I have recorded your items and you can retrive the money at the end of the auction or use it to buy during this one. Your badges will teleport you directly to a Rank 5 suite, but if you chose to remain together it will become Rank 6."
The group showed their understanding and they immediately configure their badges. One of the reasons why Heinz, Totto, and Zitra asked Zatiel to come was so he could help them find good items, so they will want to be together.
"Since you are done I will take you to your residence. Except for Zatiel, all of you must remain in there until the auctions begin. Please obey these instructions or else we will be forced to detain you and expulse you from the kingdom." Seeing that they understood his words, Gabriel took everyone to a massive building that was close to the auction house.
Everyone was given an individual room, but Zatiel chose to share his with Sophia.
During their war in the Beta Heavenly World, they have been either fighting or in deep training so they were going to use this time to enjoy themselves.
.....
Six days passed and the day of the auction finally arrive. This was happening in an immense auditorium capable of holding thousands of people.
Almost all of the seats were already taken. Most of them for Rank 3 and 2 Magi but there were some Rank 4 as well in the crowd.
In one of the biggest suites, three flashes of light appeared and the figures of Totto, Heinz, and Zitra appeared.
There were five seats in the suite and each one had an orb floating beside them.
Every seat had on orb not just the ones in the suites. Everyone could use their consciousness to privately send their bids through them.
This was done to stop any sort of intimidation or feud over an item.
It was only fifteen minutes after the trio arrived that Zatiel and Sophia appeared in the room. The two of them were breathing rapidly as if they have just stop exercising.
Hein and Totto laughed when they saw this and they raised their thumbs to Zatiel. Zitra acted as if she did not notice anything, but there was a peculiar light in her eyes.
"Enough laughing. Let see what riches destiny will present to us."
