Chapter 50 - 49: The Market of the Seven Powers

Chapter 50: Chapter 49: The Market of the Seven Powers

Chapter 49: The Market of the Seven Powers

The speech continued for a while longer. Noah asked about the prices of some materials and about the difference between the potions the Academy made and those coming from the noble houses, and noted everything down quietly. Then he put his hand in his pocket, drew out five magic crystals, and gave them to the shop owner. A smile showed on the owner’s face before he gave a quiet nod. Five stones were half of what he had left, but he didn’t look at them as an actual tip. The information he’d gotten had spared him experiments that might have cost him dozens of stones, and kept him from wasting his time on a useless road. Noah didn’t care about returning a favor or anything like that, but leaving a good impression on the old man was something he might need to get his hands on some sensitive information.

Noah said:

"Can I open a shop in the Academy market?"

The old man closed his eyes before drawing on his pipe.

"Unfortunately, no."

"Doesn’t the Academy back private businesses in its surroundings?"

"On the surface, yes. But most of the ones who get the Academy’s backing and protection are middle- or low-grade mages who belong to it completely."

The man paused a moment, then said:

"But if these are the ideas in your head, there’s a far better place."

"Go on."

"It’s the market of the great powers. On the surface it’s run by the imperial family, but in reality it’s managed and divided up almost equally among the seven powers."

Then he started counting them off quietly.

"The four Platinum families. The imperial family. The Academy. And the Church."

Seven powers led by the country’s elite of high-grade mages.

The manager went on:

"Each of them has a trade branch and influence inside the market. That’s why you find things there that never reach the Academy market at all. Blood, beast materials, potions, tools, caravan contracts, even slaves. Some rogue mages even banded together under a high-rank mage to set up the black market. With all these pieces in place and that kind of oversight, you could call it the biggest market on the continent. Even the imperial city’s market doesn’t compare to it."

The manager smiled.

"Even the hypocrites from the Church have shops there."

Then he pointed his finger as if remembering something funny.

"They’ve got the holy potions. You pay, you drink, and the priest tells you your sins have gotten lighter."

Noah looked at him, puzzled.

"Does it work?"

The man laughed.

"On the sins? Ask the Church. On the body? Some of them are excellent for improving the constitution, of course."

Noah kept the information without comment.

"Do you know how I’d open a shop in the market of the seven powers?"

The mage answered with a trace of frustration, as if holding down some buried wish.

"Without a backer, that’s impossible."

He raised three fingers, then took out a sheet and pointed Noah to a few points.

"If you want in through one of the noble houses or the imperial family, you go to the noble office. If you want the Academy’s backing, there’s the knowledge office, and you’ll find its branch in the market, of course. As for the Church, it has the holy office, but its terms are a bit complicated."

"And the difference?"

"Each power gives you a certain amount of protection in exchange for a certain amount of taxes. Naturally, the minimum for opening a small shop in the market is to be a low-grade mage. Since you’re a talented noble, this old man will give you a piece of advice. Better to train quietly in the Academy until you reach the middle-grade level before you head there."

Noah’s look settled on him.

"Does that make any difference?"

"A great deal, of course."

The manager leaned a little over the counter.

"The truth is, most of the powers, apart from the Church, House Charlemagne, and the imperial family, exempt any middle-grade mage from all fees for the first year, and give him a shop and free space to start with."

Noah understood it well. It was close to the biased immigration programs in his past life, the ones that focused on backing foreign talent while crushing the dregs of the migrants and using them for cheap labor.

He gathered the last of the information about the market’s location and how to register, then thanked the man and left. He had only five mana stones left with him, and he was already at the very peak of bankruptcy. Noah had always mocked the people who won millions in the lottery and then went broke a few years later. It seemed he was tasting that feeling now.

But now his plans had started to change.

A potion selling for fifty to a hundred stones might in the end hold the equivalent of only three or four, while most of the cost was lost purifying the mana the traditional way. He had something inside his body that did the same part with far higher efficiency, and a market outside the Academy that would let him open a real shop if he found the right way in while keeping his identity hidden and the element of surprise for when he needed it. For now Noah lacked the manpower, the precise recipes, and some supply channels and stable outlets for the secret deals.

Noah headed back toward the residential area, rearranging his plan, and he’d finally come out with a decision from the information and maps he’d gathered. The market of the seven powers wasn’t too far from the Academy. From what Noah understood, the Academy had always been a neutral power that stayed out of the disputes between the Platinum families and the ruling family, which was why the great powers had chosen it as the ground for the market when it was set up.