Levine chuckled when she heard Eren's way of looking at his business. She was aware that the guy had dipped his fingers in many pies. She was also lowkey aware of his weapon-selling business. Something he hadn't made public yet.
'I am tutoring a dangerous man. And for some reason, I am enjoying it. Something must be wrong with me too.'
Levine watched the chemistry Eren and Kirin shared in their eye contact with each other and thought to herself. She decided to pull Eren's leg a bit.
"How's Marie handling the manufacturing units, Eren?"
Eren raised his eyebrows when Levine suddenly brought up Marie's topic. He had thought that his teacher didn't like to talk much about her. But he answered her anyway.
"Oh, she's doing well. She is in charge of the guild's signature concoctions. She has done a miracle in increasing the qualities produced each day by optimizing the potioning process."
Levine displayed an amazed expression on her face before speaking up.
"You have found quite a working bee for yourself. I wonder where she gets this much energy from.
I also heard that you changed her… let's say… orientation?"
Eren started coughing and clearing his throat for no reason. He drank some more White Raven ale from his glass because he had suddenly started feeling parched.
"Alright. Who is leaking all my secrets to you guys?"
Eren looked at his surroundings as if trying to find someone to blame. This was one too many times that his profane lifestyle was discovered by outsiders.
Levine chuckled as she watched Eren's expression. She pointed a finger at Kirin before speaking up.
"Hehe. Ladies talk, Eren. That lass you have who stays with you like your shadow isn't like you. She is honest and pure-hearted. She doesn't like to speak much. But when she does, she sometimes spills the beans about you. And that is enough for us to connect the dots."
Eren looked at Kirin and read on her face that she didn't know what she had done wrong. She looked at things from her monster culture's perspective. As with most rankers, she was simple-minded.
"Kirin darling, from now on, whenever someone asks you where I was or where I was, just say that you don't know. Whether they ask you personally or through voice communication, your answer should be "I don't know."
Especially when Agatha or Master Levine ask you."
Kirin nodded at Eren seriously. She also asked him if she had done something wrong. He scratched under his ears before shaking his head in denial. Levine kept laughing intermittently as she watched the couple's reaction.
***
Alto could read what was going on in people's minds. They thought White Raven ale was just another counterfeit of elven ale. So he cleared his throat before speaking up.
"Haha. I know you have doubts. I can see clearly in your faces.
My friends, we are planning to distribute a few sample bottles of the White Raven ale. Hehe. We are convinced of its flavor, quality, and ability to stimulate your elemental attainments.
You as the consumer will soon discover where my confidence comes from. I hope you can give these products a try and share your experiences regarding them with your colleagues."
Alto started distributing a few samples of White Raven ale and Pleasure Paradise to his select audience. While his staff was handling the distribution, he spoke further.
"I have one more announcement to make. In light of having been allowed to launch and sell such promising products, my shop chain has decided to enter an exclusive selling contract with the White Raven guild. It means we will only sell White Raven potions from now on."
Alto dropped another metaphorical bomb on the audience that made the audience throw a long line of questions at him. He laughed before speaking up to clear the viewers' doubts in one go.
"Haha. This is good news for you, my friends. In exchange for entering into an exclusive selling contract with the White Raven guild, shops can sell their top concoctions at a discount of up to ten percent compared to their competitors.
The guild has perfected its concoctions ever since it entered the market. Even their most basic potions are in high demand these days. And you know they have something for everybody. So you lose nothing and gain lots of discounts. I would call this a win-win situation for both our sides."
The audience was quiet for a while before bursting into collective joy. They didn't care about the White Raven guild's motive behind this move. They were just happy that they'd get to have their go-to potions at cheaper rates from select shops.
The B-Rank potioner looked at Eren with a stunned expression. Only now did Levine realize what Eren was talking about when he said that he had decided to be "exclusive" with his products.
"Eren, you understand what you are doing, right? You are influencing the shopkeepers to sell only your products using the customers' demand as your leverage. You are basically declaring war against all the famous potion manufacturing houses by this move."
Eren had his eyes on the excited crowd and Alto who was addressing the rankers. He started laughing when he heard Levine's question.
"Hehe. You and I both know that only a certain House is most likely to be the most affected by my decision. All my products can be seen as a lineup that I created that stands toe-to-toe with that house's top-selling concoctions.
Now it doesn't matter what effect my products have on other houses' equations in the market. I won't be able to do business if I keep thinking about my opponents' well-being after today."
Eren said and ran his fingers through his hair. Kirin had started catching up on what her husband was trying to do after reading about various things and Eren's descriptions. But she failed to pinpoint which House he was talking about.
"Eren, which House are you targeting?"
Eren and Levine looked at each other when they heard Kirin's question. The latter was about to speak. But turns out he didn't have to.
"House Slughorn. He is talking about my House, young one."
Eren heard an aged voice behind him.
