Aria understood Bastion's threat all too well. If he was telling the truth, the explosions would wipe out the heirs of every one of her political rivals while leaving those who held real power with, at best, serious injuries. The grief alone would have been devastating enough to ensure that revenge swiftly followed. Among the feral nobility, however, it would quickly escalate into an all-consuming thirst for vengeance that overwhelmed all reason.
They might never discover who planted the explosives, but they would all arrive at the same conclusion. Princess Aria had only recently begun making political moves, and the coincidence and convenience of the chosen targets would be impossible to ignore. Whether she was actually responsible would cease to matter. In their rage, she would appear to have both the motive and the capability.
Driven by rage, they would stop at nothing to destroy her and her faction, plunging the kingdom into a civil war years before she was ready. The current political climate overwhelmingly favored her rivals. At best, she would lose everything she had spent centuries building. At worst, she would lose her life. Even if she somehow survived, rebuilding her influence would take a millennium.
"What do you want?" Aria asked, her tone noticeably more guarded as she was forced to regard the dangerous merchant far more seriously.
"I'm pleased to see we're finally negotiating as equals, Your Highness," Bastion replied, a merchant's infuriating smile spreading across his face.
He placed a magic contract on the table. Aria snatched it up and read through the terms, her expression gradually hardening into a scowl.
In essence, the agreement guaranteed Bastion and his companions safety from her and her schemes until they left the kingdom, followed by a 10-year moratorium on hostilities during which she could neither pursue nor plot revenge against them. In return, every explosive would be removed the moment the contract was signed.
"These are my minimum terms," Bastion said after she finished reading the contract and looked up at him with narrowed eyes. "Without them, I'll have no choice but to drag you down with me. As I've already told you, Your Highness, I am a traveling merchant. Strip me of either my freedom to travel or my right to trade, and you condemn not only me, but my entire harem. We can endure many hardships, but not the loss of our autonomy and purpose."
"Impressive," Aria said, leaning back in her chair without signing the contract. "But you've overestimated the consequences of exposing my plans prematurely. I am willing to bear those repercussions if it means ensuring your deaths."
Resting her head against one hand, she tilted it slightly as her eyes studied Bastion's calm, unwavering expression.
"More importantly, you've conveniently omitted the matter of Ravok's death. Losing a Rank 3 combatant is a significant setback to my plans. It will take time and resources to replace him, but that is a price I am willing to pay if it means eliminating you. After all, I will not tolerate insults from anyone."
Her gaze hardened as killing intent poured from her like a crushing weight, suffocating the space around Bastion.
"So… compensate me for that loss, and I may consider signing your little contract."
Rather than wilt beneath the crushing weight of her killing intent or be intimidated by the threat, Bastion smiled even wider, every bit the consummate merchant.
"Then allow me to show you my wares," Bastion said as he rose to his feet with ease. "Perhaps we can come to an agreement. Please, follow me."
Bastion led the way to the spiral staircase leading to the boutique on the floor above, stopping at its base. Aria rose and followed, her curiosity mildly piqued. He and his companions had already demonstrated several unusual products with clear military applications for the war she intended to wage. It was worth seeing what else the traveling merchant had in stock.
Bastion escorted her up to the boutique, which sat empty now that it was well past closing time. He led her to a lounge area, where she took a seat before he placed a restricted catalog on the table in front of her. It contained their entire inventory of finished goods, from Seraphina's potions, personal care products, and skill books to Lilia's ingenious gadgets and Bastion's maximally enchanted Rank 2 weapons and armor.
Aria took her time, reading every page in silence. Every so often, she folded a corner to mark an item of interest. She marked the Rank 2 personal care products and quite a variety of potions, along with Lilia's more militaristic inventions capable of rapidly deploying watchtowers, defensive walls, trenches, barbed fencing, and battlefield traps.
She also picked out Bastion's selection of maximally enchanted Rank 2 weapons and armor just as carefully. Rather than balanced enchantments, each set had been specialized for a single purpose, maximizing offense, defense, stealth, regeneration, or another specific battlefield role. Finally, she skimmed through the skill books before reaching the end of the catalog with a slight frown.
"Where are the guns?" she asked, looking up at Bastion.
"There is currently a shortage of the materials needed to manufacture their ammunition," Bastion replied. "Our own supply is limited, and if we don't have enough to equip ourselves, we aren't willing to sell them. The only exception would be if you could provide a contract to supply the necessary materials."
"I see." Aria gave a slow, understanding nod before closing the catalog. "That can be arranged. Show me what you have."
Bastion handed her a detailed specification sheet instead. It outlined every firearm he could manufacture, from hand cannons, sniper rifles, and Gatling cannons to field cannons and heavy artillery designed to bombard monster waves too mindless to evade their shells. The document also listed the required materials up to Rank 2, along with the recommended enchantments for each weapon.
Aria read through the specifications in silence before setting the pages aside.
"I want everything I've marked," she said, seriously. "I also want every skill book you have, along with enough firearms and ammunition to annihilate an army of one million Rank 2 soldiers."
"That will be a rather expensive purchase, Your Highness," Bastion replied as he began calculating the total.
Just from his initial estimates, he was looking at a profit of roughly 1,500 magic crystals after taxes, with the largest shares coming from Seraphina's skill books and his arsenal.
"I don't think you understand," Aria said, a mischievous smile playing across her lips. "I want all of it for free in exchange for Ravok's head."
"At most, I can offer a 20% discount," Bastion replied without missing a beat. "That is roughly equivalent to the value of a Rank 3 combatant. Any more than that, and I would simply be allowing myself to be robbed."
"Maybe you shouldn't have taken what I'd already set my sights on," she teased.
"Maybe you should've branded your name on his forehead," Bastion replied.
For the next 5 minutes, neither spoke. They simply held each other's gaze. Aria watched him intently, listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat and probing for any sign of hesitation. At the same time, she tried to determine the true value of everything she had requested and where he might be willing to compromise. Bastion, meanwhile, remained as unyielding as black diamond, revealing nothing.
"Fine," Aria said at last. "I can be persuaded to accept a 50% discount on everything. In return, I want ownership of Shadow's Cuisine and its slaves."
"30%," Bastion countered, "and I get my head chef back. She is literally a part of my existence, and I will never give her up, regardless of the price."
"Wouldn't that diminish the restaurant's value?" Aria asked, openly insulted. "Don't think I failed to notice she was the one running everything, likely even designing the menu. Without her genius, Shadow's Cuisine is nothing."
Bastion furrowed his brow, a faint twitch flickering beneath one eye as an idea slowly took shape. The profits would be significantly lower in the long run, but they would receive their return on investment upfront while allowing him and the girls to leave much sooner. His expression grew increasingly conflicted, as though weighing a difficult decision.
"I... am willing to surrender the source of my ideas and have Elyra train your cooks for 1 year while I manufacture your guns and ammunition," Bastion conceded. "But in exchange, there will be no discount. Instead, the total price will increase by 30%."
"You're saying the source of your ideas is worth 1,000 magic crystals?" Aria asked skeptically.
"Far more, if I intended to remain in this kingdom for the next 1,000 years," Bastion replied as he handed over the contract for Kit and the cooks. "This is the source of my ideas, and from this point forward, you will honor it in my stead."
She accepted the contracts and read through them with an impassive expression, finding nothing worth objecting to. After all, she knew from the restaurant's prices just how profitable it could become if it continued producing remarkable new dishes. That didn't mean she wasn't going to squeeze every last bit of benefit she could out of the negotiation.
"So this... Kit is the source of your ideas? And, ignoring the meager profits from this Apprentice Rank business, I'd also have to pay the cooks 300 magic crystals after 1,000 years?" She regarded him with open skepticism. "I fail to see how that's worth 1,000 magic crystals."
"Tell me, Your Highness," Bastion asked, his merchant's smile returning, "what do you know about heroes?"
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