Creak!
The sound of the door opening echoed inside the room as Marquis Benedict turned his head around to confirm the identity of the person. As soon as he saw a black-haired man entering the room, he hurriedly stood up and placed his hand on his chest. "Marquis Benedict from the Zaecuria Kingdom. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"I apologize for making you wait even though I know that you have a long journey to reach this place." Noel smiled while walking to Marquis Benedict. After shaking hands, both of them sat down.
"Please don't worry about it. Me and my soldiers have gotten some rest thanks to it." Marquis Benedict shook his head.
"So, may I know the reason for your visit this time, Marquis Benedict?" Noel asked.
"I am here to congratulate you for becoming a noble, O' Master of Runes, Earl Noel Ardagan." Benedict paused for a moment before listing the gifts. "It's not much, but I've brought a lot of jewels, gold, treasures, and Demon Crystals."
"I thank you and the Zaecuria Kingdom for showing such kindness to a mere earl like me." Noel just played along with the pleasantries.
However, that was enough to make Marquis Benedict twitch his eyebrows. Who would believe Noel was just a mere Earl? His technology would allow him to become a Marquis easily if he spread that technology. Once he established his strength, becoming a Duke was not impossible.
In fact, if there was no conflict between the Ardagan Family and the Royal Family, the latter would have sent their princess to marry Noel to make it easier for them to elevate Noel's position as a Duke.
Marquis Benedict said, "Seeing how busy you are, I believe that we can skip pleasantries and focus on the main topic."
Noel's expression turned serious. "Please…"
"First of all, we would like to know about the Rune Academy. Do you know the age limit for attending the rune school?"
"Rune Academy… As the name implies, it's an academy for the young generations to become better than the current generations. At the same time, I know that it's going to be unfair to those older generations because they know more and will probably learn it faster than the younger generations. That's why I'm planning to first separate it into three categories: Expert, Talented, and Common. I think you know what I'm implying here."
"So, the Expert Class is for the older generations whose experience and wisdom have been polished. The Talented Class is for the younger generations. As for the common, are you trying to recruit commoners, Mr. Noel?"
"No. Talented is for those who have Spirits while Common is the class for people who don't have spirits. After all, my runes only need Spiritual Energy, not spirits. And I'm not planning to separate the nobles and the commoners in my territory."
"Not separating nobles and commoners? Won't this cause friction between them?"
"Indeed. Theoretically speaking, the principal of this academy will be my direct disciple, Livia. Do you think anyone has a higher status than her?"
Benedict fell silent for a moment before shaking his head.
"And if you look at my city, do you think those nobles are treated better than the commoners in my territory?"
"That's…" He obviously could see that the convenience that this city provided far surpassed that of the noble families. The only thing that was different between a noble and a commoner was their financial resources and status. "Still, I do think there will be prejudice."
"So be it. My academy will have its own rules. Break the rules, and they shall be expelled from the academy. We'll see if their noble families will ask for my explanation or beat their own children." Noel's expression was serious.
Noel perfectly knew that the people who didn't awaken their spirits were still able to absorb the Demon Crystals. However, they didn't know their conversion rate because the spirits didn't tell them. So, it wouldn't be weird to see a high conversion rate among them. This was what Noel wanted.
Meanwhile, Benedict knew that if Noel properly developed the city and repelled the Supreme Devil Organization, they wouldn't dare to cause trouble.
In fact, if the noble children were to get expelled, their family would blame the child for not enduring it and losing the opportunity. That was why the noble families would definitely tell their kids to follow the rules no matter how much they had to endure.
If he added the connection between Noel and the Greenwood Kingdom's princess, the Sword Arbiter, and the Demon Banner Army, no one could actually oppose him.
Benedict sighed. "I can understand your plan. So, I believe there is no age limit."
"The Expert class won't have any age limit. However, they do have stricter requirements and background checks."
"Well, you can't afford to have a lot of people that can threaten the territory." Benedict nodded in agreement.
"As for the other two classes, the maximum age will be 15 years old. If they're too young, they will break the rules."
"I see. Suppose our Zaecuria Kingdom wants to buy a quota. In that case, how much do we have to pay?"
"Each class will have a maximum of 50 students. They will be directly taught by my direct disciples, Livia and Tristan. And I will personally hold a class every once in a while. And 30 slots are reserved for normal recruitment for commoners or regular sources. What do you think the price of those remaining 120 slots is?"
Marquis Benedict felt pressured. Instead of giving a price, Noel actually directed that question back to him. If he made it too low, Noel would reject it. If he made it too high, they would suffer a loss.
"The Zaecuria Kingdom would like to buy 5 slots for the Expert Class and 10 slots for the other two classes. As for the price…" Marquis Benedict paused. "We'll offer you 20,000 gold for each slot in the Expert Class and 10,000 gold for the other two. Of course, this is only the gold coin.
"We'll also add 20 Peak Level Demon Crystals, 200 Advanced Level Demon Crystals, 300 Mid Level Demon Crystals, and 1,000 Low Level Demon Crystals for each slot in the Expert Class. Double that number for every two slots in the other classes."
Even Noel didn't expect that Marquis Benedict would offer this much for 15 slots. Just getting 200 Peak Level Demon Crystals alone was already tremendous. And this was only fifteen slots. He still had 105 slots left, of which 45 of them had been reserved for other influences who had helped him like the Greenwood Kingdom and the Ezenholm Family, the Sword Arbiter and Marquis Stargaze, or even the Demon Banner Army.
In fact, Noel felt he had overpaid. While Noel could simply brush this matter off, he didn't like to feel like owing someone.
"Hoh. It's an interesting offer. It seems that you are also aiming for other things." Noel squinted his eyes.
"I can't hide anything from you, Mr. Noel." Marquis Benedict smiled. "I have seen a lot of wonderful things you could do with runes. If possible, we would like to order some of them."
"You should know that they are new technology. Even though they are still prototypes, they're still very expensive."
"Of course. We'll pay the full price." Marquis Benedict nodded, thinking they could buy some and learn the production method by analyzing those products.
However, Noel actually gave him another offer. He first asked, "Marquis Benedict… If I'm not wrong, your Zaecuria Kingdom is famous for its navy."
"Hmm?!" Benedict was surprised and confused at the same time. He didn't know why Noel would mention something like this, considering the Muivell Kingdom was the furthest from the ocean. "Yes?"
"I happen to have a river here. And do you think that the automatic carriage is the only thing that can move forward?"
"A river?" Benedict contemplated for a moment before standing up while gasping. "Are you intending to make a boat?"
"Since the Zaecuria Kingdom has shown their sincerity, I'm thinking of creating a boat that can go upstream by using runes. Don't you think it's beneficial for those five slots?"
"!!!" Benedict's eyes brightened. The five slots he mentioned must be about the Expert Class. Noel actually gave them the opportunity to work together to create a boat. If Noel could make the boat with runes, it would definitely help the Zaecuria Kingdom a lot. In fact, they might be able to cross the ocean far more easily and explore a new land somewhere.
The ocean was also filled with a lot of demons, so killing them and using their crystals to refuel the ship would make the trip far easier.
And the prototype would be built in Noel's territory. If those five experts learned Noel's method, they might be able to build a ship that could reach a new land.
There was no need to buy the carriages whatsoever. The same runes would definitely be used on the boat.
"It's just… This place will be attacked soon. I'm just afraid that I can't realize that project if I die here…" Noel sighed helplessly.
Marquis Benedict fully understood Noel's plan.
He must want the Zaecuria Kingdom to send multiple experts, including those who would be placed in the Expert Class to come first and build the boat. And among those experts would be powerful people who could stop the Supreme Devil Organization.
In exchange, Noel would work together personally and might even impart his rune skills.
This would also annoy the Muivell Kingdom a lot. They might have to pay a high price in order to send those experts.
But the boat was the most important. They could simply find a new land and extract every resource from it before any other kingdoms did.
Of course, he couldn't send five grandmasters to avoid tipping the power balance in the Ardagan Family.
Marquis Benedict replied, "One grandmaster and four masters. Since Mr. Noel is this sincere for our Zaecuria Kingdom, we will also repay your kindness by becoming the sponsor of the creation of this boat. All we want is for them to work together with Mr. Noel."
"It seems we have a deal." Noel smirked while extending his hand.
Marquis Benedict shook his hand. The man before him was not a new noble. He was scarier than the devil.
If he could get a grandmaster this way, there was no doubt that Noel could gather a few more grandmasters to protect his territory through some channels.
The Supreme Devil Organization might need to face more than ten Grandmasters if they wanted to harm this city. Just thinking about it made this city look safer than anything else.
"Because this matter is extremely important. Should we begin right away?" Noel added, indirectly implying that he wanted the Marquis Benedict to leave his town as soon as possible so that they couldn't see any more technology.
Considering he had gotten the best deal, he definitely had no problem. "Of course. We are very excited to bring this news to our kingdom. We will definitely return in three... no, less than two weeks."
"I'm looking forward to our cooperation." Noel smiled.
"Indeed. It's a shame that you were not born in the Zaecuria Kingdom. If not, you would have become a great figure. If you don't see any future in the Muivell Kingdom, please don't hesitate to knock on our door. We'll welcome you."
"Please don't jest, Marquis Benedict. This is the land that my ancestors protected, so I will remain here."
"But of course…" Marquis Benedict sighed. He almost offered him women from Zaecuria Kingdom, but remembered that the report stated that Noel only loved a single person and would be annoyed if this talk was mentioned. Even other nobles had given up because of it.
Even though it was only a few hours away from dusk, Marquis Benedict hurriedly ordered the soldiers to leave the city. Although confused, they had no choice but to follow his order.
On the other hand, Noel had finally finished with his initial preparation. The fund was secured, the demon crystals were abundant, and the rune technology had a good talent for development.
If he managed to defeat the Supreme Devil Organization this time, he might be able to use the Demon Crystals to reach the peak of Spirit Grandmaster together with Anna.
