45 Partnership (1/2)

The old butler sighed after answering. For the Gilded Rose, which had just recovered, this was truly a devastating hit. It would still be manageable if it was only the Frost Wolf Mercenaries, but there were about ten businesses often cooperating with the Gilded Rose in the past which were now all saying that they had sold out of materials. This was quite serious, cutting off the supplies required for the Gilded Rose to operate.

As an alchemy shop, if they lost their supply of materials, they would definitely be heading straight for a dead end. No matter how brilliant an Alchemist was, it was impossible to make products out of nothing. If they couldn't find a new source to supply their resources, even if the Gilded Rose struggled as hard as possible, they would ultimately end up bankrupt.

”Don't worry, I'll go out tomorrow and see if I can find another supplier for these materials,” the old butler said after thinking about it. He couldn't come up with any good solution. Ultimately, he decided that he would get in touch with the lowest mercenary group and contact a few more businesses to see whether they could gather some materials to survive the crisis facing them.

”No need…” Lin Yun shook his head. He clearly understood the old butler's train of thought, but the lowest mercenary groups all consisted of weaklings, and the missions they could accomplish were worth a few hundred gold at best. It was simply impossible for them to gather many important materials. Even if the old butler was lucky and managed to get in touch with a few businesses, it probably still wouldn't amount to what the Frost Wolf Mercenaries usually supplied.

And let alone those minor mercenaries, Lin Yun wasn't even very satisfied with the Frost Wolf Mercenaries either. After developing the Gilded Rose, there was a need for a new supplier.

As for who this new supplier was...

Lin Yun had already thought of this matter in the Black Horn Auction House, but he had yet to come to a conclusion, so he hadn't let the old butler know of his thoughts on the matter.

The incident with the Frost Wolf Mercenaries today gave Lin Yun the perfect opportunity.

”You don't need to worry about this matter, I'll go out and find a new supplier for the Gilded Rose tomorrow.”

”How about I accompany you?” The old butler wasn't too reassured. Even a fool would notice that someone was targeting the Gilded Rose based on the day's events. The Frost Wolf Mercenaries, who had always been on good terms with them, were acting like this. Finding a new supplier wasn't something that could be solved with just a few sentences.

”No need, no need, you look after the shop…” After seeing the old butler off, Lin Yun returned to the alchemy laboratory.

...

The next morning, at dawn.

Lin Yun went to the Lion Monarch street in the southern part of the city.

If the Victorious Return street was classified as part of the Mage Guild, then the Lion Monarch street was within the influence of the mercenaries. Of the ten top mercenary groups of Thousand Sails City, seven of them were stationed in the Lion Monarch street, which included the one ranked at the forefront, the Silver Moon Mercenaries.

The ones Lin Yun came to look for today were precisely the Silver Moon Mercenaries.

The person who received Lin Yun was a Deputy Leader called Marco.

With Lin Yun's current status, sending a Deputy Leader to receive him was already too much. If it had been some ordinary Mage, let alone a Deputy Leader, even a Deputy Captain would be considered pretty good.

But the problem was that Lin Yun didn't come here to meet a Deputy Leader this time. Nothing could be done about it, as the business he had with the mercenary group wasn't something that a Deputy Leader could make a decision on. Thus, after exchanging greetings, Lin Yun directly requested to have a chat with Leader Sasu.

Once he said that, Deputy Leader Marco's face suddenly no longer looked friendly.

To be honest, this couldn't be blamed on him.

Here was a 20-year-old Mage with no support that only owned an alchemy shop, and they had already sent a Deputy Leader for him, out of respect for his dead father, but that wasn't enough. That young Mage wanted to meet the Leader himself for a chat.

'Is Leader Sasu someone you can meet? Let alone you, even people at the peak of Thousand Sails City like Monchi of the Twin Moons chamber of commerce or Sossu of the Viper Nest would have to notify us ahead of time before being able to meet Leader Sasu.'

”Leader Sasu isn't here.” Marco's words weren't as polite as before.

But Lin Yun didn't take offense and only smiled before whispering, ”It's about the Ghost Potion.”

”I said Leader Sasu isn't here, what about the Ghost Potion?” Marco gave Lin Yun an impatient look, intending to say a few unpleasant words to drive back this young Mage who thought too highly of himself when he suddenly realized what the young Mage had just said.

'Fuck, it's about the Ghost Potion!?'

Marco panicked and almost bit his tongue.

”Ghost… Ghost Potion, you just said… Ghost Potion?”

”Yes, Ghost Potion.”

”Sorry for my words. Excuse me, I must leave.” After the Deputy Leader confirmed that he hadn't misheard, he immediately stood up and left the reception room.

Afterwards, Sasu came in...