Chapter 104: Trade

Leon continued. "Not only that — Karloitz wants to overthrow the royal family and become king himself."

’So even the elves can’t escape power struggles.’ Ethan couldn’t help but chuckle.

Leon caught the meaning behind the smile, and his face flushed slightly. But facts were facts, and he had no way to refute them.

"In short, you must be careful of Marquis Karloitz in the future. He definitely won’t let you off."

"Is that so..."

Although Leon said this, Ethan felt things wouldn’t be that simple. He needed the World Fragment from the royal family, and he planned to trade Mana Grass for it.

What was Mana Grass? A legendary magical catalyst that had been extinct for who knew how many years. If Karloitz found out Ethan possessed it, he would do whatever it took to seize it.

"As long as I’m here, he won’t dare touch Ethan, meow~" Pearl seemed to realize this too, and declared it to Leon with complete confidence.

Leon remained silent, it was clear he had considered this as well. Whether the Marquis attempted to win Ethan over or eliminate him outright, he would not sit idle.

"Wait! What did you just say? Mana Grass?! Ethan, you actually possess Mana Grass?!" Elara’s eyes went wide, her voice rising sharply with excitement.

"Ah, yes."

Her intense stare was a bit much to handle, Ethan took an instinctive step back, only for Elara to grab hold of his arm.

"You’re incredible, not only can you fire porcelain, but you can also cultivate Mana Grass! I truly admire you so much."

Ethan was speechless.

"But of course, by the way, if you’re worried about Marquis Karloitz causing trouble, you can partner with my Voss family!"

Leon stroked his chin, thinking it over. "Hmm... that’s not a bad proposal. The Voss family is the designated merchant of the royal family. If we secretly present the Mana Grass to the royals through Elara, we might be able to evade Karloitz’s sights..."

...

"Are you suspecting that my family would leak the information? Oh hahaha! That would absolutely never happen." Elara declared with absolute certainty, without a shred of hesitation.

Seeing this, Leon left the final decision to Ethan.

’What should I choose...’

If he accepted Elara’s help, he could indeed temporarily avoid the brunt of Karloitz’s ambition. It would spare him a great deal of trouble. But conversely, he would also lose the opportunity to obtain Fragments of Chaos.

To seize the Mana Grass, Karloitz would certainly try every means to prevent Ethan from contacting the royal family. He might even target Ethan directly. However, he probably wouldn’t dare act brazenly in the open. Ethan was the only human in this world, if Karloitz openly attacked him, it would inevitably cause a massive uproar — so he could only work in the shadows.

But Dark Elves were masters of assassination, if Karloitz hired them, Ethan would be in real danger. Should he choose to avoid trouble, or take the initiative and draw the enemy out?

Ethan weighed the pros and cons and made his decision.

"I will trade with the royal family personally." Under everyone’s watchful eyes, he spoke calmly.

"There is no need to run and hide."

Since someone was volunteering to deliver Fragments of Chaos to his doorstep, he naturally had no reason to refuse.

"Have you truly decided?" Leon was still worried, he knew full well the extent of Karloitz’s power.

Ethan smiled. "I won’t drag you down with me."

"Even if you do, I don’t care, I never liked Marquis Karloitz to begin with."

"Oh? Leon, are you actually part of the royal faction?" Elara looked genuinely surprised.

In the current Elven Kingdom, the royal family and Marquis Karloitz formed two opposing forces, Leon controlled massive wool resources. He could also procure all manner of crops, luxury goods, and even porcelain from the Great Forest — naturally making him a prime target for both sides to recruit.

Elara had always assumed he was neutral; she was quite surprised to find he stood on the side of the royals.

"It’s not that I support the royal family, per se. It’s just... the enemy of my friend is my enemy."

"Thank you for supporting me so much."

"You’re welcome."

"Hmm..." Elara fell into deep thought. As a merchant, she had to weigh every angle carefully and choose the side most beneficial to herself. But surprisingly, her deliberation didn’t last long.

"Since that’s the case, I want to join you. No — to be precise, I am joining Mr. Ethan’s faction."

"You don’t need to make a decision this quickly, you know?"

"No! I’ve already thought it through clearly. Mr. Ethan is the only human in the world. Not only can he cultivate Mana Grass, but he can also grow various crops and even fire porcelain. Partnering with him is the wisest choice." She winked and smiled brightly.

Ethan shrugged, since she’d already decided, he would just let her do as she pleased.

"Right — if Karloitz learns about the Mana Grass, he’ll definitely try everything to control you or steal it," Leon said.

"Do you think the Dark Elves attacked this place for the Mana Grass?"

Ethan looked at Elara, she thought for a moment and shook her head.

"If the Mana Grass had appeared at the auction, it would make sense. But given the current circumstances, they shouldn’t have known about it beforehand. Perhaps it was just a coincidence."

"Meow, that means if those guys find out Ethan has Mana Grass, they’ll definitely come looking for trouble again, meow~"

"Highly likely."

"They will definitely come!"

"Ethan, what do you plan to do, meow?"

The existence of the Mana Grass would be exposed sooner or later, the question now was whether to reveal it proactively or wait for it to be discovered.

Ethan pondered for a moment, smiled, and nodded. "Then let’s make it public."

"In that case, let’s submit the Mana Grass to the auction house."

Despite the attack, the auction had not been canceled, after all, the losses weren’t significant enough to warrant it.

The next day.

The auction proceeded as usual, Ethan brought the Mana Grass to the auction house for registration.

"Welcome, Count Leon, are you here to register new porcelain?"

"No, this time we’re registering items for my friend here."

"Haha, what is it? As long as it’s from the Great Forest, it is more than welcome."

The items Leon brought mostly originated from the Great Forest, and what kind of place was the Great Forest?

A perilous land one could only reach by crossing valleys ravaged by razor-sharp winds and wastelands overrun by monsters and the undead. Entering was no simple feat. Items from there were always highly sought after at the auction.

The auction house manager enthusiastically received Leon, Leon handed him a wooden box.

"What is this?"

"Mana Grass."

"...What?" The manager thought he had misheard and asked again in confusion.

But Leon’s reply remained the same. "Mana Grass."

"M-m-m-mana... Mana Grass?!"

The auction house manager let out a gasp.

The surrounding elves burst into a flurry of murmurs.

What was Mana Grass? A top-tier catalyst capable of enhancing all magic and magical items, but it had long since gone extinct. Even if reserves still existed somewhere, they were hoarded by the powerful and elite, only brought out on the most critical of occasions.

And yet the wooden box before his eyes was actually filled with it.