Gilliam couldn't stop himself raising an eyebrow, both at Yan but also at the box. This felt shady but... You normally didn't honestly lay out your cards like this... right?
Learning back in his chair Gilliam responded, uncertain as he was.
"What do you mean? You giving me something amazing and only want something cheap in return? That does indeed feel shady."
Honesty was often the best way to go, in this context Gilliam would rather deny a contract than go in uncertain. Especially if the price is indeed suspssiciostly low.
Yan raised a finger to stop the conversation with a counterpoint. "Suspicious, yes, but not shady." The tone of voice hinted that though he didn't take this as an insult it was a poke at his image or ego. "It will only feel suspicious until we talk about it."
The little goblin nodded at his guard who took a rolled up parchment from a pocket inside his robe, placing it on the desk in front of Gilliam.
It was quite short and well explained, not using heavy or abstract words but rather to the point and specifically detailed.
The short of it was that Mazewares was allowed to use Gilliam's name and title for their advertisement of wares in the form of 'the Heptagon Mage is using our wares' but on purpose being vague about exactly what wares are being used, this is to broaden the advertisement. However the contract specifies that if anyone were to ask what wares in specific, they would list honestly. In return for this he would get a powerful artefact created by his company "free of charge", the non-free aspect to this is the advertisement of using his name. Naturally the artefact would be explained properly and only after accepted could the contract be signed.
All in all this was a really good deal for Gilliam. Indeed suspiciously so. Unless there was some invisible fine print or something then this was basically a free artefact of sorts for him, the only cost to him was basically normal advertisement. Another odd thing was that there was no exclusivity clause to stop him from doing similar things with others.
"This... Feels a bit too good to be true." Gilliam honestly commented in an uncertain tone. "I'm kind of getting things for free here, what's the catch?"
He looked at Yan with a suspicious look, no self respecting businessman would ever do this without an ulterior motive.
"I assure you, there is no catch. As the contract explains we will be up front and honest about everything. I think you are simply underestimating the value we get from helping the Heptagon Mage." There was something about Yan's voice that just made you want to believe him. He felt like someone you might want to read your autobiography's audiobook. However this up front honesty oddly enough had Gilliam more uncertain.
"I understand the concept of having a famous name in advertisement but this is like being given a free car for just turning on a lightswitch." Gilliam sort of commented to Yan, but it was somewhat clear that he was thinking to himself.
Though Gilliam was not used to reading certain races' facial expressions, he could see that the little goblin had a confused expression for a short second before recomposing himself. Considering this Gilliam assumed it was his comment to the car...
"With respect, I don't think you understand the value of your title. You are the only Heptagon Mage in recent history, the last one was long enough ago that we don't have proper records to even validate if it's true or not. If I were to just donate money to you it would easily be worth ten times its value in advertisement. Now, if we were to also help you with the demon invasion thanks to one of our crafted items, don't you think this would be a massive boost for certain item sales?"
He had a socially acceptable sleazy smile as he explained this. It was absolutely clear that this was done more for his own gain than for Gilliam's, if anything this seemed to be part of his transparency.
"So... in short-" Gilliam placed the contract back on the desk, focusing properly on Yan. "-I get some crafted thing from you as payment for using my name and title in advertisements. However, this advertisement will be true and honest in the sense that you, on purpose, is being a bit vague to spread the potential interest across other items but if asked you will be legitimately honest about things?"
Gilliam was a bit weirded out, this guy seemed to be purely honest and upfront about everything, to the point of it feeling shady due to the contrast of how he's used to thinking about high-ranking businessmen taking advantage of everyone.
Alleyan gave him an agreeing nod. "Exactly. Naturally this will only be a thing as long as you feel the item is worth it." He vaguely gestured to the fancy box on the desk. "Please, go ahead." He had the self certain smile again, like he already knew that this was a done deal.
Gilliam was curious as he moved the expertly crafted box closer to himself, pulling on the loose ends of the red string that undid the knot in a smooth simple motion. Lifting the lid up he saw that the inside was lined in a red silk-like fabric. The hinge stopped the lid from going further than a bit past 90degrees, he could see that in a small pocket on the roof of the box was a few sheets of paper tied together into a small booklet fastened with some string as its spine.
Inside the main compartment was a folded piece of clothing, it was dominantly dark grey with some metal buttons that had their shine dulled. Unfolding it revealed the clothing to be a hooded coat. It was pretty good in length for Gilliam, having five buttons on the front to keep it closed, though even closed it was a bit open around the front of the legs, having a long part from the back down to the end of his calf, the front part was more open to allow for movement. There were black linings along certain parts of it, like the edges that went around the whole outer rim. On closer inspection all the buttons had a little stamp on them, the stamp had the outline of a goblin's head with large ears, its eyes were replaced with the letters S and G.
The whole coat was surprisingly heavy, not uncomfortably so but it was absolutely heavier than it should have been if made of cotton or some normal material. All things considered it also looked quite mundane, just like any slightly fancier than normal coat.
As the coat was taken out of the case he saw that there was a very complex magical circle embroidered on the bottom of the compartment where the coat was.
"Well, it looks nice but... what does it do?" Gilliam asked, not yet knowing how this is considered an artefact.
"I don't understand the specifics, but I took some notes when she explained it to me."
He took out a small piece of paper from his inner breast pocket. "There are four dimentional storage compartments on the inside of the coat, they aren't big but each one can hold a mana crystal and can somehow 'hold' a magic circle.-" Putting the paper back in his pocket he focused back on Gilliam.
"According to Skirnik who made it, each pocket can basically hold a spell and the crystal to fuel it, letting you cast or activate a spell instantly without preparing your own magic circle. If the coat gets damaged or destroyed, as long as you place the remaining parts in the box and either channel mana into it, or give it a mana crystal, it will mend it."
Gesturing to the booklet fastened in the lid-pocket. "She wrote up how it works and everything there, that would be much better than me explaining." He added honestly.
This was quite amazing, though Gilliam was learning to fast-cast his most used spells, this could let him put complex or new ideas into a pocket for later activation.
Before Gilliam could consider it more, Yan continued. "There are also some basic enchantments in the coat itself, they are self-sufficient and automatic. Skirnik said that the coat will act as armour, both from protective platings in the coat itself but also from the enchantments. I believe she mentioned some body enhancements as well, but that should be described in there." Again he gestured to the booklet in the lid.
It suddenly dawned on Gilliam that this thing probably cost an insane fortune, if it could do all that, be this versatile and... just how much did he give him.
"Isn't this like stupidly expensive? Is my name really worth this much?" Really questioning the value of his advertisement at this point, this thing felt like it could buy a country. Not that he had any concept of monetary value yet but it was just...
"Kind of." Yan replied, though it almost sounded like a scoffing tone there was only professionalism in his voice. "This is the Magnum Opus of my best crafter. She makes things that she feels like making, mostly for testing but she's working towards some long-term goal. It might sound expensive to have her do things like this but she has really become incredibly important for Mazewares. If I were to sell it at a proper cost, it would cost about the same as a large castle with the surrounding land or thereabouts. It became a test of extremes when she made it. Since she made most of the materials and enchantments herself it didn't cost that much in production but she used quite the time on it. I cannot sell it at cost either, you see, as that would devalue everything I do."
He chuckles a bit as he readjusted his sitting position on the chair.
"The problem is, anyone who wants this can't afford it. And anyone who can afford it doesn't want it. However with the demon gates and you being you, this opens a door that didn't exist before. This means that it'll just gather dust somewhere, which is an incredible waste."
Pointing at Gilliam like he's making a point he sounded much more interested. "Now, if I give it to you, get some advertisement in return for it, it opens up a loophole where it becomes worthwhile!" For a short moment he broke composure but he very quickly took control of himself again.
Gilliam pondered this for a few seconds. He really had the businessman's sense of thought properly down. Though he technically could sell it for cheaper, this would indeed skew the value of a few things, mostly in the form of devaluing other created things. If you make the materials yourself this sort of makes everything handmade and shoots the sell price up a lot as your time then becomes the main factor. This is also one of a kind so...
It made sense that he wouldn't be able to sell it normally, a merc or adventurer that might love this kind of thing would most likely never afford it, and the noble pompous people that could afford it might not want it as it's sort of designed to be used in dangerous scenarios, and it doesn't look fancy or decadent.
"So... in short... You will give this to me in return for the advertisement listed in the contract..."
Though it was just restating what they had just talked about, it felt unreal enough that he had to confirm.
"That is correct." Yan simply confirmed. "Us having a good relationship can also open up future doors, like if you need to sell something exotic you might think of me before others." He smiled a bit slyly. "Though, this is not a requirement I felt like I should just let you know."
Gilliam was incredibly grateful, but at the same time this felt like something so expensive that he couldn't really use it. However if it broke it could easily be fixed. And it would never see light in most scenarios. In a weird way it was almost as this was made for him with the unique situation he was in.
"Well, I do have some weird thoughts about accepting something this expensive, but I think you got a deal!"
There really wasn't anything for Gilliam to lose here, everything was in his favour in his mind. Likewise the business goblin had the same mindset that this was most beneficial 'to him'. So a proper win/win.
The contract was signed in duplicate, one for each of them.
"Great doing business with you, and should you ever need any help in the future, don't hesitate to contact me. I live in this world as well and I cannot gain anything if demons take over." He smiles at the end, it seemed that he was a bit more relaxed and casual now that business had concluded and the signatures were on paper.
"I might." Gilliam smiled as he tapped his finger on the business card that was still on the desk.
"Well, I do believe I have taken enough of your time, there is a long line so I think you better get to it. I would love some thoughts and feedback on the coat after you've used it for a while, and I'm sure Skirnik would as well."
He climbed down off the chair as he talked.
Once he was properly on the ground he gave a casual wave. "Don't be a stranger."
Not even looking back, both him and his guard left towards the central hall.
Gilliam could barely overhear him speaking to his servant-guard to fetch the celebration robe because this needed celebration.
This whole discussion had only taken between ten and fifteen minutes, this had left Gilliam in a weird situation with a fancy box, contract, business card and coat on the desk before the next person was to arrive. Though, he had a very simple solution for this. Grabbing each item one by one he simply put them all in the storage ring, everything disappearing instantly.
There was still a large group remaining, so he decided to take a gander at the booklet later, he needed to chew through this.
"Next!" he shouted for the next person to come up.
The next few people weren't that interesting, though he did his best to not compare them to the insane deal he got from Alleyan and rather let the deals stand on their own. But the following were people wanting to become servants, various forms of slaves, bodyguards or similar. He didn't really want any slaves or servants, Petal was a special case but besides that he didn't really need anyone of the sort. At least not yet.
Bodyguards sounded nice and all but in those cases there was then suddenly another person to care for, and nobody seemed interested after he explained that there were very high odds that he might find himself the main target of the next demon invasion, if he just doesn't end up returning. Nobody was interested in that uncertainty and danger level.
Others were farmers or crafters wanting some sense of protection of name to work under, this required that he could travel about to make sure this is how it should be, or suddenly need to go somewhere. This was also not something he was after at the moment. Perhaps in the future if he even survives the demon invasion, but at the moment he didn't really want any of the sorts.
There were a few smaller business owners that just wanted his name on a review, they had brought a sampling of some bakery, or newly grilled food and things of the sort. These were the kinds that Angela mentioned that you got a tiny, tiny percentage of their profits for basically agreeing to a review. He took a few of those as that was nothing lost, but he made sure to only agree to the ones that he legitimately liked the taste of whatever was presented.
He also made sure to only take a very low sum from the smaller chains. Though he could probably take a high price for this he felt that it would be exploitation. A small sum was plenty for something he didn't have to work for or even consider. If nothing it was a tiny passive income that would just be banked, which was a nice thought.
Gilliam was not sure if it was a negative or positive thing, but there wasn't anyone else that really stood out as interesting. Or rather, there were plenty of interesting and interested people that wanted to sign up, but he didn't want any servants or slaves nor did he want any mercenairies that would only work for coin. Though he could probably end up with a lot of money if he wanted to, the main problem was that most of the ones that were still interested after being warned about the demon invasion didn't leave Gilliam with a good gut feeling.
Then there were the few that were interested in Petal, a specifically pushy slave merchant who wanted the 'most exotic slave', he recognized the slave brand on her and he tried to take advantage of this.
This man left with threats on his life after he didn't take a no for a no. If he tried to further the conversation after this point it would not end well for him.
The odd ones were other students that had skipped their own chance of expanding on their Circle and wanted instead to join his. This caught Gilliam off guard but it made a lot of sense when he looked at the pattern and explanations. It was mostly the minor nobles or the mages without a predefined noble status, or perhaps the ones with less amazing focuses; like how Angela can only heal herself and might not be considered an amazing mage.
He didn't sign any contracts there either.
The day was long, it started going a bit faster once he started generalising and pre-warning people that there was most likely certain death in his near future in the demon invasion, but also mentioning that he had no intention of hiring anyone as servants or getting any more slaves at this time.
Food was seemingly handled by some servants running about taking orders, Gilliam sent Petal to get them something to eat at some point. And eventually the day came to an end. He had sent many, many people away disappointed, but it seemed that some just went on to Nolis or through the gates to other students. Gilliam was apparently a first pick for many but it's not like he was the only one.
As he was about to end the day, the last person that had been standing in line; a small lizard-man came over. It was clearly a male, and he matched the concept of Kobolds that he had read about earlier. He was about 60cm (~2ft) tall, had some spiky shaped scales along the top of his head and a bit in his neck almost mimicking hair, his exposed body was covered in purple hued scales and his eyes were covered with some smoked lenses, not unlike sunglass-goggles. He wore earthy colored clothing and Gilliam could barely see a fine-chained silvery chainmail looking piece under a vest of sorts and a fancy ornate messenger bag over his shoulder.
He was even smaller than Alleyan and had to use some effort to climb up on the chair.
Once he was on the chair properly he sat down with a plomp, his bag landing on the chair next to him.
"The name's Harroc." He smiled a toothy grin, the lack of proper lips to a human standard made this more like a smiling dog. "I would like to buy some mana crystals from you."
He got straight to the point and seemed to know about something that Gilliam had not really explained or showed anyone.
"I have been told you make amazing crystals, so I wonder if you can make some specifically sized ones for me of different elements." He looked oddly happy, almost like he had found someone to help him with a problem.
"I mean... I guess I can. I haven't really made any crystals on order before, just for my own sake."
To sort of show off his vares, Gilliam took one of the fist sized Aether gems out of his storage ring and showed it to Harroc.
Gilliam could almost feel the stare behind his goggles.
"Oh... That is magnificent... Can... Can I hold it?" He extended both his hands like he was about to be given the newborn of a god.
"Sure." Gilliam nonchalantly replied as he handed the little Kobold the crystal with the same care as if it was a random fruit.
Harroc took it in both hands and investigated it closely, he even took off his goggles showing his green slitted eyes, and through a squint similar to staring at something bright he looked even closer. This took about half a minute before he pulled his goggles back down and handed Gilliam the gem back.
"This... this is perfect. If you can make this purity for me to a few specific sizes and elements, I would love to buy them off you." He smiled still, almost vibrating in his chair out of excitement.
Not waiting for a confirmation he took out a small notepad and ink pen from his bag, flipped a few pages until he found what he was after.
"If you are willing, I need a few of different sizes, the sizes aren't exact but need to be within some parameters. For example I need a few 5cm (~1.9inch) ones, they need to be within a tolerance of 2mm (~0.078inch) over and under."
Gilliam pondered for a moment, since most of his gems are somewhat spherical, though a bit uneven surface, it shouldn't be a problem stopping within the correct size.
"If we have something to measure with, I think I can slow down when I am near the correct size and do my best to keep them spherical."
Almost to test his theory, Gilliam held his hands almost like he was holding a nonexistent sphere and channelled Aether energy into a single point. Before he had just done so without any thought of shape so it grew naturally into the uneven 'rough sphere' that it wanted to. This time he took great focus to consider its shape, he wanted to make it as spherical as possible, but he didn't really care for the size at the moment.
He was surprised at the fact that this took much longer than just letting it grow, it was still manageable but felt slower due to the extra care to the sahe, but the end result was a perfect sphere. It was like a polished glass marble. He stopped after it got roughly 2cm (~0.78inch), he didn't take extreme care for size but stopped around that size.
"Would this be good enough?" He handed it to Harroc who took it with great interest, again taking off his goggles to inspect it further.
After inspecting the crystal, Harroc looked at Gilliam with a perplexed and questioning expression.
"How many are you willing to make?"