With some difficulty, Calter entered the manor and went to the underground snow and ice land. He knocked first in the City Lord's room and only entered when the City Lord gave him the permission
Calter looked around and his eyes landed on Kence who didn't noticed him and was just burying himself again in that manual. The City Lord looked at Calter in both worry and confusion. Calter was back too early from the Thousand Beasts Forest and now he was clearly injured
"What happened to you?" The City Lord asked while narrowing his eyes. Calter was currently supported by his crutches and even one of his shoulder was injured. Even with his clothes on, the injured part of his body was visible due to the destroyed part of his robe
Hearing the City Lord talking, Kence thought it was time to eat. He made sure that he won't make his master angry by not eating on time but he thought that it was too early to eat. He turned to look at where the City Lord was looking and saw his master with injuries
Kence's face paled and he abandoned the magic manual he was so engrossed about and run to his master. Magic maybe fascinating and important to him but nothing can beat his master's importance on his heart
"Master, what happened to you?" Kence asked in a very worried voice while checking on Calter's injuries. "Is it painful?"
Calter smiled and shook his head "Don't worry about me, I'm fine" Kence's worry for him warmed his heart. This is the person who cared for him whether he is a trash or a genius!
"Master, how can I not worry? Why did you get this injured?" Kence said while frowning. Aside from the time that Calter lose to Kalli, this is the only time that Kence saw his master injured. He can't forget the dread he felt that time, he was worried that his master would leave him and die. If that happened, Kence won't have any idea how to continue his life
Calter chuckled and patted Kence's head "We'll talk later" Calter then turned to look at the City Lord with a smile akin to devil's
"City Lord, do you want to have another contract with me and earn a fortune?" The City Lord's heart trembled. He doesn't have much interactions with Calter but he knew that the youth won't say something like that without any basis
He is the City Lord, his wealth can even make the Nobility Clans to blush in shame. Besides, he has the special place of snow and ice. There were all sorts of exotic treasures in there whether it be in the form of medicinal herbs or something that can only be found in a snowy environment. If he wants to, he can breed Ice Type Beasts but he didn't do that as to not attract any unwanted attention
If he bought Ice Type Beasts cubs today then sell the adult and its offspring after some time then how do he explain himself for that? That's why, although he was tempted to, the City Lord didn't dare breed magic beasts
That's why, he knew that Calter won't say he'll earn a fortune if the amount was not something that even his eyes will turn green from greed. This piqued the City Lord's interest and he looked at the confident Calter with a smile on his face
"Explain the details to me" The City Lord said which made Calter to smirk and the next words that come out from his heart made the City Lord's body to shudder. "Tree Spirits"
It was just two words and Calter didn't elaborate but the City Lord didn't need much explanation. Just the name was enough to make his body to tremble in excitement. Actually, this is one of the reasons why he treated Calter well. He knew that the kid was not simple and he has a feeling that if he maintained a good relationship with the youth, he'll benefit a lot from it
"W-where?" The City Lord cannot contain the excitement on his voice. No one can blame him though, with enough money he can buy magic knowledge from the organizations or clans that is more powerful than him. Magic knowledge would enable him to have a progress on his cultivation after all these years. Comprehending magic without any resources was too hard!
Even if he wants to buy magic knowledge at his level, without enough money, no one will sell it to him. As he is the City Lord although he has a lot of wealth but most of it were used for the City's management. Just the salary of the guards already took a huge chunk of the City's money
With an astronomical amount of wealth, he can gain from selling the Tree Hearts, he can finally have the cash to buy magic knowledge
"Contract first" Calter said. The City Lord was straightforward and from his hand and a simple sheet of paper and a pen appeared. He's not an idiot, if he angered Calter by not giving him benefits the youth might use the favor against him.
"What do you want to include in the contract?" The City Lord asked hurriedly. He's already excited about the fortune he can make and can't wait to know the location of the Tree Spirits
"I need to know first if you have the rights issued by the Enchanted Alliance to claim the part of the Thousand Beasts Forest closest to the City"
The City Lord once again saw Calter in a new light. There were only a few that knew the existence of Enchanted Alliance within the City. Those who do not have enough strength were unqualified to know its existence
All the City Lords are under that Alliance and with the Alliance's power, they can decide who will be the City Lord of a certain city. City Lords were the ones that governed the people in light but the Enchanted Alliance was the one really controlling the whole Enchanted Star Realm. Even Otto doesn't know much about them but if there's one thing he knew is that they are extremely powerful!
Rank 3 Mages are the most powerful and overlords inside the Enchanted Star Realm but even within the same rank there was a huge difference in strength! Even Otto feels that he can be defeated by the Mage that gave him the position of the City Lord in just one attack
Grand Knight Mages are rare for normal people but in the Enchanted Star Alliance, there were tons of them! Too many that their numbers were almost uncountable
With their power, who would have thought that Calter knew of their existence? This got Otto thinking that someone in the Alliance was backing Calter
"I don't have" Otto shook his head. Gaining the rights will cost a lot money. The rights would give him the power to do anything that he wants in that part of the forest. If he wants to, no people from other cities are allowed to go in there. If someone was caught sneaking then the City Lord can punish them or kill them directly
But the Thousand Beasts Forest close to the Soaring Magic City was almost a place that only Otto's citizens accessed, that's why he didn't bother buying the rights
Calter nodded his head, this was something he already anticipated. "I want you to buy the rights first before harvesting the Tree Hearts" Calter said and with Otto's mind, he naturally knew what Calter meant by it. He can't help himself but think that Calter is not just a genius but also has a clever mind
If Otto was the one that discovered the Tree Spirits then with his greed, he would naturally take the treasures immediately. But now when he thinks things carefully, Otto realized that moving hastily was not a good decision
If others knew he discovered a nest of Tree Spirits then the surrounding Cities would surely want to have a piece of the cake. When that happens, it would be troublesome
"Second, I want you to personally harvest the Tree Hearts without any help and you can't disclose it to other people. You can't harvest all and should leave some survivors and only then can you sell it" Otto wrote it down on the paper as it was reasonable and something that Otto should really do
The first one is to not let other City Lords to have a share, the second is for peaceful harvest. If the others knew the treasures, he was harvesting it would make the surrounding cities to be dissatisfied and might sabotage him.
"Third, sell the Tree Hearts in the Enchanted Alliance. It's much safer to transact with them" Otto wrote it down too. Selling it to the Alliance would net lesser profit but it was the safest!
The amount of money they will earn will make anyone's eyes green in envy. It was unwise to sell it to other City Lords, trouble might knock on their doors. But the Enchanted Alliance controlled the whole realm. A single nest of Tree Spirits was not enough for them to dirty their dignity
"Lastly, Kence and I will get 40% of the profit. All the work and the money from buying the rights fall onto you. Harvesting the Tree Hearts on your own wasn't too hard. No one else discovered the nest, there's almost a 100% chance that it was a new born one and still weak. Even I managed to get away from them"
Kence looked at his master, whenever the City Lord and Calter were talking he didn't dare to butt in. He wondered why his master said that he and Calter will get 40% of the profit when he didn't do anything. He wants to ask it but the two were still talking, not giving him any chance to talk
Kence also realized where his master got injured. He was filled with anger to whatever the Tree Spirits are as they were the ones responsible for his master's injuries
Otto wrote down the last thing before handing it to Calter. 60% is already enough for the City Lord, he is greedy for the treasure but won't harm the one who help him
Calter read the agreement, just like their first contract it all favored Calter. It's like he was the one manipulating things. But to both contracts it was the City Lord that desperately need the benefits. The first contract is for the City Lord's life and the second one was to his cultivation to advance
If not for Otto's reputation, Calter wont dare enter the first agreement. But with him having a favor from the City Lord, it made all things easier and he doesn't have to be on guard on Otto too much
Calter handed back the contract to Otto and the City Lord immediately swore to the God of Order. Just like before, a golden light shone on his body. The light was filled with mysterious and immense power. It was like a light that came from the God itself that can make any mortal to feel powerless. The overwhelming aura of that light was the most powerful aura that the three inside the room felt
Even other Rank 3 Mages cannot compare to even just a fraction of power from that light. The golden balance scaled appeared and entered Otto's body, binding him to the agreement forever. If he violated the contract, death was only his outcome. There was no one in this world that will and can help him
Calter nodded his head in satisfaction. The City Lord was really straightforward and a man of principle. He didn't even negotiate with the distribution of profit. This made Calter to admire Otto from the bottom of his earth
"I'll go for now" Calter said as he still needs to treat his injuries. Even if he can't hunt beasts for the time being but the profit that he will get from the Tree Spirits are enough to support him for a long time
"Teacher, can I go back in the Clan with my master?" Kence asked to Otto who immediately agreed. "That's fine, in fact I'll be busy for quite some time and cannot spend too much time with you" Otto said in regret