"When do you plan to leave for the Kingdom of the Waves?" Elen asked, right after Minos answered Elena's question.
"In a week at most. I still have some issues to resolve before taking this trip."
Elena then stared at him and asked. "And how long do you think this trip will take?"
"Not too long. Probably I will be back in a little more than seven months.... If I'm lucky, I might be able to spend less time there." He replied after doing some math.
Minos would travel with Abby on this young woman's beast, an earth-type, at the 4th stage of cultivation. With that, the trip should take around 10 to 15 weeks, considering that they wouldn't make the trip all at once, without stopping to train.
Other than that, he and Abby would have many issues to resolve in the Kingdom of the Waves, buying all the resources that the Black Plain is currently in need of and those for the near future.
Some items might have to be manufactured, as had happened with the pills that Minos bought when he passed through Old Stone, the capital of Stone Island.
Therefore, the young sovereign of the Black Plain had concluded that his travel time would last approximately seven months.
"I understand. That's good. We still have plenty of time after you get back for more business. The decisions you made now, probably, will have already been accepted by the noble families of Stone Island when you return." Elen commented.
Using crows to send messages was a very safe and fast way to communicate regionally. However, negotiations such as Minos had to make could take weeks to resolve. After all, one side would always try to bargain and get some gains from the other.
Therefore, Elen did not think that any decision would be made quickly by those powers of her homeland. Also, she and Elena couldn't simply send any information at the moment. Otherwise, it might cause some suspicion from the organizations that are investigating their business.
At least, they would have to wait a month or two, and only then the two of them would send crows to Stone Island.
"Hmm." Minos made a sound of agreement.
After that, the three went back to talking about Stone Island matters.
At first, Elena had talked about her own family and Elen about the most significant problem she faced when trading Minos' items. However, there were positive parts related to other powers in that region.
Many of them just wanted a connection, not getting to the point of trying to compete with Elen's business. As in the case of the Olsen family, a noble power from Stone Island focused on the hotel business.
"So, the Olsen family wants to do business with me, huh?" Minos asked with a gleam in his eyes.
He didn't underestimate the potential of a luxury hotel chain in this part of the continent. After all, as much as the hotels did not offer products necessary for life in the Spiritual World, they offered convenience and quality of life!
A person with few crystals could find it absurd that someone would spend thousands of crystals just on the daily rate of some hotel. However, for the people who did this, such an amount was definitely worth paying!
Top-notch cuisine, the best rooms, services, the highest quality regional items, all that, and more was what fostered the desire of those wealthier individuals. And that's what the crystals were for, right? Quality of life.
These people had hundreds of thousands of crystals, sometimes millions, and would only use a small fraction to cultivate. In this case, what to do with the rest? Give to the poor?
No one would do such a thing...
Invest in something?
Whoever had millions would already be investing and earning even more.
What remained was to improve their living conditions, with better meals, clothing, artifacts, housing, transportation, and much more.
And when such a person needed to travel, as Minos and Ruth had done during the Spiritual Tournament, they would undoubtedly seek the best services within their budget!
A cultivator could definitely spend the night in the rain beside a tree. But if he had crystals to stay in the best hotel, then why go through such a situation?
Therefore, services related to entertainment and convenience also had the potential to empower a region.
A place with a good hotel, a resort, nightclubs, and even casinos could create a tourist attraction, making that region more popular regionally.
And for rich and high-level people, what matters in a place would not only be the business opportunities but the quality of the services offered. Only in an area that could balance both, prominent figures would live and spend their funds!
So, Minos was very interested in a deal with the Olsen family. While this would not work in the short term, something like this could work within 2 to 4 years.
At that time, the Black Plain would be closer and closer to opening up to the world, and Minos would definitely want his territory to have tourist attractions!
Elen then said. "Hmm, from what I've heard from my analysts, the Olsen family sees a deal with you as a chance to become the largest hotel chain in the north of the Central Continent."
"Oh?" He exclaimed in surprise. 'Having high-quality products in their hotels would be a big step forward...'
And after thinking about it for a while, Minos decided what he should do. "I am interested in making a deal with the Olsen family. You can let them know in the future that we can do business for 200% of what is being charged for items sold in Nash family stores."
"I will have other requirements in the future, but for now, that will be enough." He said as he closed his eyes for a moment.
Dealings with these Stone Island powers could yield many crystals for Minos, even more than those coming through Elen. However, he only intended to place a portion of his products in the agreements with these organizations.
But most of the production would still be traded through the Nash family stores. That would not only be done because Minos and Elen were partners but because it was necessary. First, due to the attraction of people from Stone Island to the Black Plain.
Despite being few, these immigrants still arrived in Minos' territory almost every day!
And second, because these families with whom he wanted to negotiate could not consume much of his products...
After all, they would consume these resources internally, among those direct descendants and some essential subordinates. With that, the demand wouldn't be high, even if Minos made deals with all the noble families in that state.
Finally, these items would also be traded through Elen without contact between the Black Plain and these powers. For this, Minos' young ally would receive a 1% share of the transactions due to the costs of transport, payment, and her own profit.
"Oh, I almost forgot. All payments of these noble families must be made with medium-grade crystals. So, if they want to pay in low-grade crystals, don't even bother negotiating with them." Minos said directly.
He accepted to pay exchange rates for the time being because of the lack of alternatives. However, he didn't like such a thing, and those families who would negotiate with him would have to bear such costs.
At this point, Minos' position was at an advantage over these powers, as they were the ones who needed the items of the Black Plain!
And hearing this, Elen nodded and said. "OK. After a few weeks here in the Black Plain, I will send this information to my subordinates, and they will notify these powers."
She wasn't surprised by Minos' demands. Elen had already expected to hear something of this nature, and she understood very well the importance when using one's position to gain advantages. What's more, the prices charged by this young man would still be cheaper than those noble powers would typically pay for foods of high spiritual concentration.
After that, Elena also said something similar when they finally ended their meeting.
Elen had left to take a walk around town and see the local changes, while Elena had decided to stay and talk a little more with Minos.
