"I will look for alternatives if I find that the deal is lacking for me."
Eren looked at Roth when he said that. He knew that only Roth had the real power bestowed upon him by the clan to take such decisions.
Roth nodded at Eren's statement even though it was laced with the threat of reneging on the deal. He had dealt with so many rankers in business that he was used to subtle threats like these. In business, one must put pride aside and think rationally. At least until a certain line is not crossed.
Roth thought that things were still in his control even though Eren had a Master ranker by his side. He had a whole House Derringer behind him. Even though the opposite party had a B-Rank, he did not need to worry about them.
Therefore, Roth turned to Levine and asked her courteously.
"Master Levine, I take it? Please allow us to know a bit about yourself."
Eren looked at Levine who had a light smile on her face at that time. She maintained her carefree attitude and spoke up without haste.
"Hello. I am Levine. Levine de Montmorency."
Roth's eyes opened wide when he heard Levine mention her full name. He then looked at Eren one more time, as if to confirm she was speaking the truth. Eren didn't have to respond to his look. Levine took out a runic emblem from her storage and placed it on the table before spinning the surface.
Roth quickly held the emblem in his hand and imbued his mana into it. He sighed and gave Levine her emblem back before speaking up.
"Forgive me and my juniors, Master Levine. We couldn't hide our negligence of not knowing about you beforehand. Please state your terms. We will try to accommodate you in every way we can as long as my House does not suffer a loss."
Roth looked at Levine seriously as he spoke. He had stopped paying attention to Eren when he realized that a major decision-maker from House Montmorency was sitting in front of him.
Eren didn't mind this effect. He was rooting for this effect from the very beginning. Otherwise, Roth would have wrung him dry in the deal. He did not underestimate the man's business skills or rank.
Levine knew what Eren wanted from House Derringer. So she started talking on his behalf and listing out his requirements. In Roth's opinion, his House would have to walk the extra mile in a few areas. Yet, in the end, he found that the deal was fair for both parties.
"Hahaha. I'm glad that we are on the same page about this deal. Please allow us to send a few rankers from our side to enter Minerva's Utopia to finalize the deal."
Eren didn't mind that and agreed quickly. He also knew that if Levine wasn't here with him, he would have first checked on the Utopia before making any deals. The name Montmorency had acted as a kind of assurance for him.
Just when Eren was about to get up, Levine placed her hand on his shoulder and made him maintain his position. The latter didn't have to ask for a reason. Roth spoke further.
"We have only talked about Andrium at this point, young man Eren. About the other raw products from…"
To deter Roth, Levine narrowed her eyes and spread her mana sense in his direction. She let him get stressed under her aura before speaking up.
"Eren only talked about Andrium with you because he would only sell that to you. House Montmorency has all the rights to buy all the other raw products. Especially those that are associated with potioneering.
Eren does not call me Master because of my ranking title. I'm also his teacher and his guide. So consider that it is him who is speaking when I make certain decisions for him and his assets."
Eren nodded at Levine's statement without a second thought. Roth wanted to try his luck, but it seemed that it would be in vain. But then Levine's next words reached him and he breathed a sigh of satisfaction.
"Of course, processing of Andrium will be entirely handled by you. And if there are other raw products that House Montmorency had no use for, we will let you know. After all, this pie is too big for any single organization.
Both of our houses need to work together to ensure that neither our interests nor Eren's, are harmed. You know what would happen once the news about Sage Minerva's Utopia gets out, right?"
Levine stared at Roth knowingly, and the latter nodded at her and started making calls. The Master potioner tapped her fingers in front of Eren's portion of the table. The butcher didn't know what she was asking. But then he looked at where her master was looking and realized what she was demanding from him.
Eren quickly took out another Sativa stick from his storage and handed it to her. Meanwhile, Roth appeared to be talking with someone over ID stone communication. He took his time before speaking up.
"House Derringer is ready to dispatch two Master rankers, 7 Adept rankers, a group of 30 Ace rankers, and a sizable bunch of Novice rankers to the scene.
They will stay there for about a year. We can talk about increasing or decreasing House Derringer's presence on the ground later on."
Levine shook her head in denial as she took her puff from the Sativa stick. Eren had come to realize that his thought of not wanting to smoke in front of his master was foolish. She looked pro at this. Of course, he knew that the reason for her using the Sativa sticks was him. He had involved her in his mess after all.
"Not enough, Roth. House Montmorency is thinking of hiring a Grandmaster ranker. But that will come at a later stage if the need arises.
I and other Master rankers will be staying in Eren's guild land for a long time. But we will be sending 10 Adept rankers and 40 Ace rankers.
Then there's the need for arranging security and surveillance arrays at strategic locations. We also need to start building the basic infrastructure of a town. A town that would have the potential of growing into a city eventually. Our plans need to take such a larger picture into account."
Levine paused and took a long breath after saying that. She caressed her head as she thought of many things at once. Now that she had accepted Eren's proposal, she needed to make Minerva's Utopia a success story for all of them. Her position in the clan was now linked to its success.
Roth listened to Levine's statements with keen interest but didn't reply. Because he knew she wasn't finished.
"Of course, we'll need to run the plan by the kingdom's bureaucrats and get it sanctioned. Our sides need to lobby the royal court for that. We'll also have to think about how we are intending to keep the vultures away from the meat on a diplomatic level.
Obviously, Eren doesn't have anything on him that can help us create a city out of thin air. And resources from Minerva's Utopia would take time to provide us with net profit.
That means we need an initial investment from both our clans. Eren can be charged separately for our investment over time so that this construction project is profitable for everyone. But initially, we'll have to pour much more money into this project than we could earn."
Levine suddenly thought of Ottoman, and the wrinkles on her forehead intensified. She shook her head and sighed before marching on.
"I know how clan meetings work. Not every clan member will be up for the task. So we both will have to make quick decisions and get most members of our respective houses onboard.
The news about Minerva's Utopia is only known to Eren's team, me, and you guys for now. But it's only a matter of days before it spreads like a wildfire. We have more things to do than I've listed out in less time than we can estimate.
The scope of this thing is much larger than my student understands. I'll be honest and say that I hadn't thought that I'd be raising a city from the ground up one day. But I also doubt you have played this game when the stakes are this high, even if we consider this as your domain.
In short, what you have proposed to us is not enough. Call the higher-ups of Derringer House who would be in favor of this proposal according to you and let them know. We need more boots on the ground from your side."
Eren kept his mouth shut when the two got talking about the finer details of their deal. He let Levine handle the bargaining part while he spoke to her on her ID to make his intentions known to her.
Minerva's Utopia was going to make or break the White Raven guild. Therefore, the talk dragged on for hours on end. And each side made their concerns and their positions known to the other.
When Eren was out of the facility, the deal was still getting finalized between House Derringer and House Montmorency. His master and Roth were still in talks. They had let their juniors go free when the skeleton of the deal had been finalized.
Eren looked at the darkening sky and smiled.
'Hehe! White Raven's name will spread throughout this kingdom in a few days.'
He chuckled and started walking in a seemingly unknown direction. He soon disappeared into thin air, leaving behind flashes of lightning and fire.
