Chapter 101: Money

"If Flame Grass is cultivated properly, it blooms into a Flame Flower," Leon said.

"The Flame Flower contains the power of fire, meow, it’s often used as a catalyst for magic, though its effects can’t compare to Mana Grass, meow." Pearl recited the facts from Ethan’s shoulder.

Flame Grass could only serve fire-attribute magic, Mana Grass worked for all types, the difference was clear.

Ethan nodded.

Leon pointed to the neighboring displays and continued. "This is Frost Grass, this is Water King Grass, and this..."

"If it isn’t Count Leon?"

An elven woman dripping in jewels strode toward them with the confidence of someone who owned the building.

"And you are?" Ethan asked.

"Hmm... a troublesome person," Leon murmured.

"Her name is Elara Voss..."

"Call me Countess Elara, or Guild Master Voss!" The woman cut Leon off and turned to study Ethan and Pearl.

Confusion flickered across her face, then her eyes went wide.

"Good heavens — a human?! There are still humans in this world?! This is truly unbelievable! To think I have the honor of seeing a living, breathing human, hello, my name is Elara Voss,"

"Hello, Ethan."

"An esteemed guest like yourself naturally deserves an esteemed host! What do you say — would you like to stay with the Voss family?"

Ethan looked at the overwhelmingly enthusiastic elven woman and shook his head. "No need, thank you."

"Oh, hahaha! Worried the Voss family isn’t powerful enough? No matter — I will soon show you the true strength of my house, oh hahaha."

She swept away, laughing the entire time.

Leon watched her go and sighed. "The Voss family is one of the few houses capable of producing elven silk, so they possess vast wealth and considerable honor... This is troublesome, perhaps it would have been better to accept her offer..."

"I don’t need the goodwill of a stranger." Ethan turned back to the seed stalls.

"When does the auction start?"

"Any moment now, let’s head inside."

"Meow, are we not buying those herb seeds, meow?"

"Their effects can’t compare to Mana Grass, no need to spend the money." Ethan picked up Pearl and followed Leon through the doors.

The interior was another world, outside: a roaring marketplace, inside, near silence, rows of cushioned seats facing a raised platform draped in fine cloth.

Leon grabbed a brochure and handed it over. "Besides your porcelain, today’s items include many other things — rare crops among them..."

"Thank you all for waiting! The auction will now begin!"

"It’s starting." The quiet hall sparked to life, Elves straightened in their seats, eyes bright with anticipation.

The auctioneer surveyed the crowd with satisfaction, raised his gavel high in the air, and brought it down.

"Today’s first item is what you’ve all been eagerly awaiting — porcelain! The starting bid is three thousand gold coins!"

Ethan’s porcelain gleamed on the display stand, pure white, catching the light as the auctioneer presented it.

"Five thousand five hundred!"

"Six thousand!"

"Six thousand one hundred!"

The price climbed fast, doubling the starting bid in seconds.

Then a voice split the hall.

"Oh, hahaha, twenty thousand!"

Every head turned, that laugh again.

Elara Voss.

"How much is twenty thousand gold coins?" Ethan whispered.

"Roughly equivalent to a full carriage of my spices, seasonings, and Elven Yogurt," Leon replied.

"How much does my porcelain usually sell for?"

"Well... the highest closing price I’ve seen has only been around six thousand."

More than triple the record, not just Leon — the entire hall stared at Lyra in open disbelief.

She didn’t care in the slightest, she looked around and declared, "Starting today, the sales rights for porcelain will be exclusively monopolized by the Voss family, oh hahaha, I will buy all the porcelain put up for auction, so the rest of you can simply give up, oh hahaha."

’Bold.’ Ethan couldn’t help but admire her audacity and her wallet, though a monopoly probably wouldn’t last — he could fire more porcelain any time he pleased.

Leon shook his head with a wry smile. "Porcelain has become very popular with the royal family and the nobility lately, she wants to use this to elevate the Voss family’s standing."

"Can a few pieces of porcelain really accomplish that?"

"Controlling scarce resources is equivalent to controlling the right to speak."

Ethan didn’t fully grasp the politics behind it, but if Leon said so, there was a reason.

In the rounds that followed, Lyra bought every single piece, some elves stomped their feet in frustration, but an auction was a game for the highest bidder, there was nothing to be done.

"We made a lot of money, meow."

Five porcelain pieces fetched a staggering total of one hundred thousand gold coins, after deducting fees, over ninety thousand remained, with this money, Ethan could buy almost anything the Elven Kingdom had to offer.

"Did you see that? Oh hahaha, this is the strength of my Voss family."

After the porcelain rounds ended, the auctioning of other goods began, Elara, however, marched right back to Ethan.

Covering her mouth with one hand, she laughed smugly. "Oh hahaha, I am the kind of person who buys whatever she likes, what do you say, human? Would you like to consider joining my Voss family?"

"I’ve already said it — thank you for your goodwill, but I refuse."

"What a pity, since you refuse so bluntly, I have nothing left to say." She turned to Leon.

"Count Leon — can you guarantee you’ll entertain this human friend better than my Voss family?"

"Well... it shouldn’t be any worse."

"Hmph, how confident, I’d like to see how long that lasts, oh hahaha."

She laughed and walked away, her entourage of servants scrambling to keep up, Leon watched her retreating figure and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"She’s overbearing, but not a bad person at heart, her pride just runs too strong."

"I don’t think she’s bad either." Thanks to Elara, Ethan’s porcelain had sold for an absurd sum, he owed her something for that.

"What are you thinking about, meow?"

"She kept showing goodwill, and I can’t just ignore it entirely... I’ll give her a small gift after the auction." Ethan paused.

"Alright — the crop auction is starting."

The segment he had been waiting for, he focused his attention and dove into the bidding.

The items on display were dazzling, rare crops, unusual seeds pulled from dungeons, herb cuttings preserved in enchanted glass — the elves pursued them with the same fervor they had shown for the porcelain, Ethan raised his hand again and again, bidding calmly while Pearl bounced on his shoulder with excitement.

Some items went for modest sums, others sparked fierce bidding wars, Ethan kept his head, buying only what he knew would thrive in the Great Forest’s soil and climate.

"Got everything I needed."

By the time the final gavel fell, Ethan had spent nearly half his auction earnings, but the cart was loaded to the brim with crops and seeds of every variety, he looked at the haul with a broad smile. Grain seeds, fruit saplings, vegetable starts, and a bundle of rare spice seeds he had been eyeing since the beginning, once spring arrived, his farming operation would expand in a big way.

"It’s so great we got spice seeds, meow~"