One thousand sets of clothes, including shoes, total 1,200 Crowns, discounted to 1,000 Crowns.
Toothbrushes, towels, soap, and other daily necessities were a bit more expensive: 1,000 sets cost 3,100 Crowns, discounted to 3,000 Crowns.
And 50 books, no discount, 500 Crowns.
“Knowledge is still expensive.”
In the afternoon, the guard who had purchased the supplies returned to the prison with the caravan and the goods.
Total: 4,500 Crowns, cash on delivery.
“Sir, this has been a pleasant cooperation!”
“It’s been a long time since I’ve met such a straightforward customer like you!”
The potbellied old merchant rubbed his hands together, his face full of smiles.
“Mr. Donald, I hope we can cooperate more in the future.”
“Additionally,”
Raphael pointed to the area already marked with wooden signs.
“my guard should have told you that we urgently need a team of professional construction workers to renovate this area.”
“Sir,”
Donald cleared his throat.
“Of course, I have already learned of your requirements from a few beautiful ladies.”
“I think,”
He paused, his brows furrowed in some distress.
“this will cost quite a bit.”
“How much?”
“Hmm…”
“Rough estimate: this area is at least 3 hectares. If built according to your plan, a team of 7 engineers plus 20 hybrids will take about a month. During this month, you must cover material costs and meals. I can give you the lowest price for hiring workers: 1,000 Crowns. Including materials and meals, I think you need at least 5,000 Crowns.”
“Of course, if you want a better result, you can add one or two thousand Crowns to the budget. Trust me, sir, the result will satisfy you!”
Donald’s boasting would have fooled most ordinary people with his vivid acting.
But Raphael was no ordinary person.
Who would spend 5,000 Crowns on a mud wall?
Raphael hadn’t even mentioned building warehouses and training grounds, yet Donald dared to quote such a price.
If he had mentioned them, the price wouldn’t be less than 20,000 Crowns, right?
“However…”
“Only 5,000 Crowns? Add money, must add money!”
“Is 10,000 Crowns enough?”
“O-one… ten thousand?”
Even Donald, a seasoned businessman, was shocked by this offer.
Ten thousand Crowns? That could buy a slightly remote apartment in the Imperial Capital!
The Starfall Bay Merchant Guild’s net profit for a month is only a few tens of thousands of Crowns, and now he’s just giving away ten thousand?
Before Donald could react, Raphael continued:
“Not enough? Then twenty thousand, I’ll add twenty thousand!”
“Sir, th-this this this…”
“Still not enough? Thirty thousand!”
“Oh sir, oh oh, you’re too—”
Before he could finish, Raphael interrupted again:
“Forty thousand. Since you’re so honest, I’ll add forty thousand Crowns!”
“Forty thousand?!”
Then Raphael leaned close to Donald and said in a low voice:
“How about it? This full price of forty thousand—you’d better catch it.”
“!”
Donald couldn’t believe his ears.
“Full price forty thousand… full price forty thousand…”
“Oh—! What beautiful words!”
He was so excited he almost fainted, dancing and shouting:
“I’ll take it, I’ll take it!”
“This full price forty thousand, I’ve caught it!”
“I’m at full price forty thousand, I’m at full price forty thousand!”
“…”
Soon, the two negotiated the specifics.
Raphael didn’t care at all about Donald’s boasting; he only made one request:
“I want twenty skilled building craftsmen—note, not workers, but craftsmen.”
“My prison should naturally be handled by the top masters. Don’t bring any random riffraff to me.”
“If you can’t do this…”
Raphael tilted his head ominously.
“I have plenty of connections in the Imperial Capital.”
Pressure suddenly enveloped Donald’s heart.
This was the first time Raphael used Pressure on someone outside the prison. Just a tiny bit of force made Donald’s humorous red face instantly turn pale with terror.
Fear and oppression left Donald unable to think for a moment.
However, in that fleeting moment, he accurately pinpointed the source of this boundless Pressure: the seemingly harmless handsome young man before him.
In this era, almost no one would associate this strange feeling with something mysterious like magic.
As if! If magic really existed in the world, it would have been caught and sliced for research by the Inquisition Tribunal long ago.
How would it dare to be so blatant?
Therefore, he was sure: this young man… was definitely not ordinary!
That Pressure belonged to the absolute dominator of this land.
Donald had once been fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of the Old Emperor Alcis II’s true face at a grand ceremony in the Imperial Plaza:
A high nose bridge, sharp brows and eyes, cold lines etched on his aged face.
Scar after scar writhed like dancing snakes, wantonly spewing out soul-corrupting venom.
At that time, the Emperor was already in his sixties, while Donald was in his prime.
But just a single glance had brought a great panic crashing down on his heart.
Now, the feeling Raphael gave him was exactly the same as the shadow the Old Emperor had left on him for twenty years.
“Y-yes! Noble sir, I will make it happen!”
“Twenty masters, twenty masters proficient in architectural design, twenty skilled craftsmen… I swear, sir, even if I have to turn Starfall Bay upside down, I will deliver the masters to you on time tomorrow morning, I swear!”
“Very good. I trust you won’t disappoint me.”
“By the way,”
Raphael suddenly turned to the guard behind him.
“the 200,000 Crown time deposit I have in the Imperial Bank—considering the time, it should be about to mature.”
“I remember it seems…”
Raphael scratched his head, lost in thought.
The guard was puzzled about what Raphael was saying, but his mouth moved involuntarily:
“The 15th of next month, Lord.”
“Mr. Dalton Fowler from the Imperial Bank sent a letter just two days ago, asking if you still need the financial planner Mr. Anson Casey to do professional financial planning for you this year.”
Raphael frowned:
“Why are you telling me this now?”
Hearing this, the guard’s heart skipped a beat.
What the hell?
What was I supposed to tell you?
And what did I tell you?
This genuine panic reaction made Donald even more convinced that Raphael’s identity was absolutely beyond his ability to guess.
The aura alone went without saying.
Dalton and Anson… these two were not the type to rant in the Imperial Daily for attention. Ordinary people would have no way to know their names.
Such big shots—he had to flatter them properly!
Raphael stroked his chin.
“The 15th…”
Now, Donald could be completely certain.
Forty thousand Crowns—no one but a son of a top noble family could pull that out at a moment’s notice.
The fact that Raphael didn’t have the forty thousand Crowns in cash right now actually proved the authenticity of his identity.
Donald took a deep breath:
“Sir, this guild has always operated on cash on delivery.”
“But I think, for someone as noble as you, delaying the payment a bit is not out of the question.”