Chapter 321: The Setter Family’s Negotiation

Chapter 321

The Setter Family’s Negotiation

“Would anyone like to try some Lis tea?”

Ellie, wanting to enjoy her tea in peace, felt slightly uncomfortable seeing everyone eyeing her tea as if they were dying to taste it. She was used to being scrutinized, but the looks of desire for what she was consuming made her feel guilty.

Upon hearing Ellie’s invitation, everyone became excited, especially Steven, who had tasted it before. He nearly stood up to express his intention.

“That’s a great idea. After all, Lis tea is sweeter, just as Ellie said.”

“I’d like to try it too. Is it really that delicious? I’ve seen you drinking tea and eating sweets all day, and it’s puzzled me,” Aman added after his father. Ellie turned to Owen for permission, and the young man sighed before handing the tea set to the maids attending them.

The maids brewed the tea with trembling hands. Having heard the Emperor’s threat that the tea set was worth as much as a kingdom, they were at a loss!

Fortunately, the awkwardness didn’t last long. Once the tea was poured, everyone began to sip it happily.

“Ha!!”

“What a wonderful taste.”

“I’ve tasted Lis tea before and thought it was good, but I never imagined it would taste even better brewed with this special tea set.”

“It’s delicious. No wonder...you have Selin brew it for you every day.” Aman felt slightly irritated that he had missed out on this excellent tea. However, he didn’t know that Lis tea wasn’t meant to be consumed daily. Eventually, he would learn that this tea was reserved exclusively for Ellie!

After quenching their thirst with the tea, the Emperor and everyone else felt enlightened. The way they looked at Ellie had changed. Upon closer inspection of her attire, it was clear she was adorned with many valuable items. Additionally, the way the eldest young lord acted around her, seeming like a completely different person, effectively silenced any critics.

Who had said that Ellie was the one who seduced the eldest young lord!? Who had said she wasn’t impressive enough to garner interest? They claimed the eldest young lord was so unaware of the world that he easily fell for her charms!

Was this someone who was unaware? The way he doted on her was so remarkable that if one were to compare a woman attending to her husband to the eldest young lord’s actions, those women would have to step aside!! How could they compete with the eldest young lord’s abilities?

"Let me handle the fish."

"Come, I’ll cook the meat a bit more as you like it."

"Your mouth is dirty. Turn here so I can wipe it for you."

"Drink the water slowly. I’ll pour you another glass."

It was as if Owen’s eyes were constantly on Ellie, attending to her better than any servant could!!

Fortunately, the meal ended quickly, allowing everyone to finally breathe easily. Witnessing such meticulous and caring behavior from someone typically so stoic was unsettling for them.

"In the 7th-floor challenge, we heard that the Setter family lost quite a few skilled members. However, everyone is curious about how our young princess answered those questions. The other questions weren’t too strange; with some thought, anyone could figure them out."

"But the first question...how did you quickly come up with the answer 48? We heard that no one anticipated such a challenge, so no one brought an abacus. How did you calculate it then?"

Finally, they began discussing the recent challenge. This was a question that had stumped everyone. They agreed that, given some time, one could figure it out. But what if the question had been more difficult, with larger numbers? How would they solve it? Yet, they felt confident that this young girl could find the answer right away.

Of course, Ellie could do that. She had learned how to "add, subtract, multiply, and divide" from her previous world, whereas this story was set in a historical context where calculations still required tools. It wasn’t surprising that they needed more time for such tasks.

If not for the appearance of "Grace," another heroine who was also depicted as coming from another world, Ellie wouldn’t have thought it appropriate to reveal such calculation methods to everyone. Even if it seemed selfish, she wasn’t about to expose herself to let the enemy know!!

"Can you explain how you performed such quick calculations without using an abacus?" The Emperor asked, as if he were familiar with her. However, the Setter family’s expressions immediately showed their displeasure.

How could someone abruptly ask about another’s method of passing a challenge like this? They had already disclosed about the nature of the challenge, wasn’t that enough? Even for them...the Emperor hadn’t asked how they fought or attacked the enemies. If he had asked...they would have simply told him to figure it out himself.

However, the Emperor seemed to think Ellie was an easy target, hoping for a good answer to help his people with future challenges. However, he was overly optimistic.

Ellie smiled simply, not revealing her true feelings. She placed her fragrant teacup down and looked at the Emperor without fear. Although her gaze didn’t have the cunning look Aman often showed, it conveyed a certain detachment.

"It might sound a bit embarrassing, but...I actually visualized the abacus in my mind and used it to calculate, Your Majesty. It took a long time to train myself to do this. But once I mastered it, calculations became much easier." Hearing this non-answer, the Emperor fell silent.

Ellie claimed she just visualized the abacus in her mind to calculate? It seemed like a straightforward answer, but how could it really be that simple? She said it took a long time to master, yet she had only been at the institute for just over a year. How long could that be!? Was she implying that she was a genius?

"Oh, it seems that the future lady of the Setter family is quite clever."

It was unclear whether this was a genuine compliment for Ellie’s mental calculation skills or a sarcastic jibe. However, Ellie didn’t care. Given the current situation, she cared even less. Even if the Emperor tried to intimidate her, Ellie was confident that the Setter family would protect her.

Soon, in just 10 years, these connections would no longer matter. In the future, who would hold more power and have the authority to punish others was uncertain. Therefore, everyone had to maintain their composure, especially with the Setter family now one step ahead of the rest.

"Father, I don’t think discussing the challenges is necessary at this time. Even if we understand the various thinking methods, the tests might not remain the same. Right now, the Setter family represents our Ares Kingdom. Hence, we must rely on them to secure more cities for our people to reside in."

"I believe the Setter family is honest enough not to commit any wrongdoings. After all, our goal is to ensure the people of the Ares Kingdom survive this crisis."

"The most crucial issue is the resources. I’d like to know how, during resource exchanges, you mentioned that potions, weapons, and everything else were very cheap. Then, how did you manage to trade for so much? But if you don’t want to share that, it’s fine. I just want to understand how much we need to trade to buy multiple starter cities."

"You said that starter cities on the 7th floor cost several hundred thousand coins, correct? Yet, those cities don’t even have sunlight. However, we could send our people to cities on floors 1-6. If that’s true, we could simply buy more starter cities and then move our people to other floors," Prince Jason voiced his thoughts, which mostly focusing on aiding the populace.

The Setter family understood Prince Jason’s intentions, but it was slightly disappointing that things wouldn’t be as easy as he hoped.

“Every journey to different floors requires magic power for the exchange. This means that citizens without magic power or with too little magic power won’t be able to travel.”

“Hmm?”

“In other words, ordinary people who are not magic users, once they go to the 7th floor, will have to stay there permanently. It’s unfortunate, but there’s no other choice for them.” Hearing this confirmation from the elder of the Setter family left the prince and the rest of the royal family stunned.

So, they could not play tricks like this. Their plan to buy cheap cities and send as many people as possible wouldn’t work. They had no other option but to spend more money or choose fewer people to send through!

“You need not worry too much about this, Your Majesty. The Setter family has agreed to exchange resources to convert them into money to buy cities for all families and kingdoms. However...”

“We intend to charge a small handling fee. For nobles in the Ares Kingdom, we will charge about 10% of the total. For nobles or other kingdoms, we will charge around 20-30%, or possibly more, depending on our discretion.”

“For the royal family, we will not charge any handling fee, as a way to help the people of the kingdom. After receiving this margin, we will purchase separate cities for the citizens of Ares. We do not wish to abandon them either.”

Hearing this, the Emperor nodded in satisfaction. Knowing that the Setter family wouldn’t assist others more than those in their own kingdom made him feel the arrangement was fair, especially since they waived the fee for the royal family.

“However, there may be one thing that displeases Your Majesty. If the Setter family handles the process, all city names initially will be under our name. We also have the rights to control the affairs within these cities, which means the rights given to everyone in these cities under our name will also be limited.” Upon hearing this, the Emperor frowned slightly.

"It’s somewhat unfair, but since we are the ones taking the risks, we will take ownership of all the cities initially purchased. After 10 years, that is, we will give you all 10 years after ascending the 7th floor to provide resources equivalent to half the value of those cities. Only then will we transfer ownership back to you."

"Isn’t that going a bit too far?!" The Emperor nearly slammed the dining table as Steven finished speaking. He never imagined the Setter family would propose such a distasteful agreement.

However, Aman laughed heartily. Wasn’t this mimicking what the Emperor himself had been doing?

Hah! As the owner, the leader, the emperor of this kingdom, he could relocate people wherever he wanted, impose burdens whenever he pleased, or reclaim resources for the crown once things improved. This had always been a source of frustration for the Setter family.

Before this, didn’t think they hadn’t extracted anything from the Setter family. Collecting protection fees without providing any real protection. When his elder brother was ill, instead of helping, they threw scraps of herbs and demanded vast resources from the Setter family repeatedly.

The reason they hadn’t wiped out the royal family was merely to avoid causing turmoil among the people of the kingdom. Loyalty or devotion to the crown? Those notions had disappeared long ago.

"If Your Majesty does not wish to exchange, that’s fine. We, the Setter family, have other tasks to attend to. Moreover, we decided to be straightforward about this rather than betray you later."

"In fact, we could just take all your resources without discussing this. Once we live on the 7th floor, we could handle everything there, couldn’t we?" The family head’s words made the Emperor’s eyebrow twitch violently. This was not an explanation; it was more of a threat!