Episode 113
Two Demon Lords and one human.
Only the three of them sat in the room. Schwarz had suggested it.
Before the full banquet and official events began, he wanted the Demon Lords to exchange a “light greeting” first.
But Ariella instantly knew this meeting would be anything but light.
“I’ll admit, I was surprised.”
Schwarz began.
“The new trade route may have been our suggestion, but I didn’t think you would act on it so quickly, let alone succeed. I respect your effort and determination.”
At first, it sounded like praise. But Ariella quickly caught the real meaning hidden in his words.
‘So, you never planned to trade with us in the first place, and you set impossible conditions… but we actually pulled it off, and now you’re shocked?’
Even the words he chose rubbed her the wrong way.
‘Effort and determination? He’s treating us like subordinates.’
Still, what came from his mouth sounded refined.
“It seems the strength of the South is greater than we imagined.”
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
It looked like nothing more than a polite diplomatic smile, but Ariella felt a coldness behind it.
She couldn’t afford to lose ground.
“Rather than the South’s strength, wouldn’t it be more accurate to call it the strength of Lord Ludwig’s domain?”
Keeping her irritation hidden, Ariella smiled proudly.
Schwarz tilted his head slightly, as if it was strange that Ludwig’s contractor, not Ludwig himself, had spoken first.
“Are you saying the other southern Demon Lords couldn’t achieve this?”
“That’s correct. They don’t have the ability to build ships that can cross the sea, nor the strength to find or follow the routes we’ve opened.”
The North’s contempt for the South was already painfully clear.
But she had to emphasize that Ludwig’s domain was different.
Even if there really was a huge gap in power, right now, a little bluffing was necessary.
“Hm.”
Schwarz stared at Ariella. His cold, dry gaze briefly swept across her.
“In any case, a promise is a promise. I’ll keep it.”
The northern Demon Lord quickly moved to the point.
“How much black iron do you want?”
“We’ll need forty tons for the first shipment.”
That was the amount Ariella had estimated for forging weapons, shields, helmets, and armor for Ludwig’s soldiers.
The reply came sharp and immediate.
“Twenty tons. Price: one million sel per ton.”
Ariella’s breath caught.
One million sel was double the usual southern market price for black iron.
“……!”
Even Ludwig scowled deeply.
Thanks to Ariella’s force-fed lessons during the voyage, he knew the target numbers for this deal.
Ludwig opened his mouth to protest, but Ariella’s eyes met his first.
‘Didn’t I tell you to leave the negotiation to me?’
‘…Fine.’
No words were exchanged, no magic message was cast.
But somehow, both of them understood each other perfectly.
Ariella turned back to Schwarz and spoke calmly.
“We’re well aware of the superior quality of the black iron from your domain. It’s only natural to price such a fine resource accordingly. However…”
She paused for a breath.
“This deal marks the first page of a new relationship between our lands. More than that, it is the beginning of large-scale North-South trade that has never existed before—an event that will rewrite history itself.”
Her clear voice filled the chamber.
“If this book begins with softer, smoother words, won’t we be able to write a long and beautiful story together?”
Her meaning was clear: since this was the very first deal, Schwarz should be flexible with the price and quantity to build long-term trust.
But Schwarz answered without hesitation.
“And yet, who’s to say whether this book will become an epic of thousands of pages, or end up as a single scribble on a scrap of paper?”
As expected, he wasn’t easy to sway.
He implied that instead of establishing lasting trade, he might simply honor this one promise and stop there.
If there was no future together, why lower his price?
‘So that’s his stance. He’s basically saying: Black iron has plenty of buyers here in the North, we don’t need you.’
But Ariella also noticed that Schwarz had ended his words with “who’s to say”.
It meant there was still room to negotiate.
Her hand clenched tightly under the table.
‘If Schwarz sticks to that price, we’ll need two million sel!’
Ludwig’s domain didn’t have that kind of money. Not even with all their savings.
‘Then the only way is to sell something to Schwarz in return, to balance out the cost.’
She decided to make her move.
“You received the herbs I sent ahead, didn’t you?”
Before departure, she had sent a small sample of herbs with a letter, so the North could test their effects.
“I heard they worked well. I’d be willing to purchase them for a fair price.”
The reply was positive—but lacked the desperation she’d seen from the southern demons.
The North didn’t have elven forest herbs, but their advanced medicine produced similar effects.
‘So herbs alone won’t cut it.’
In essentials, the North had the upper hand.
That’s why Ariella’s strategy was to focus on luxuries—items the North had never seen before.
She placed a box on the table.
Thud!
Schwarz didn’t ask what was inside.
He simply waited with a calm, confident expression, letting Ariella explain first.
That way, he held the upper hand.
Ludwig clicked his tongue inwardly.
‘If it were me, I’d already be asking out of curiosity.’
Neither Schwarz nor Ariella were easy opponents.
Ludwig thought this sort of game didn’t suit him at all—when suddenly, Ariella opened the box.
Inside were two elegant crystal bottles.
One held a dark brown liquid, the other a light amber one.
Ariella uncorked the larger bottle.
At once, a rich fragrance spread through the room.
“Wine?”
“It’s a new kind of alcohol, made by distilling wine.”
A flicker of interest appeared in Schwarz’s eyes. Ariella caught it instantly.
‘So, he likes the scent, does he?’
Exactly.
Even though Schwarz had tasted countless rare and expensive drinks before, this was different.
The aroma that drifted out was subtle, warm, and deeper than anything he’d ever encountered.
“I’ve heard northern demons are refined, with a sharp eye for quality. Surely you can judge whether something is truly fine or not.”
“You sound very confident.”
“That’s because the product is worth the confidence. Just one sip, and you’ll know.”
She swirled the bottle lightly, watching the liquid glimmer.
Her voice grew dreamy, like she’d just woken from a pleasant dream.
“I call it Drunken Dragon.”
“Drunken… Dragon?”
“It means a drink so powerful and enchanting, even a dragon would lose itself in its flavor.”
She described it with practiced grace.
“Behind the familiar grape scent, you’ll catch hints of honey and oak. It touches the tongue softly at first, but soon, a fiery heat spreads.”
Schwarz listened in silence.
“But the true charm comes after. Even after you swallow, the warmth lingers in your mouth and deep in your chest. That lasting aftertaste—that is its magic.”
Ludwig barely held back a laugh.
Ariella sounded like an expert sommelier, yet he knew perfectly well she hated alcohol and never touched the stuff.
“I’ll leave it here for you to judge for yourself.”
After her polished explanation of something she never drank, Ariella picked up the smaller bottle.
This was her real trump card.
“That’s also alcohol?”
Schwarz, who had pretended disinterest until now, finally asked first.
Ariella didn’t miss the shift.
‘Good. He’s hooked.’
She smiled inside and answered.
“It’s the same in that it carries a scent no one in this world has experienced before. But this one, unfortunately, is not for drinking. It’s perfume—refined from sea serpent ambergris.”
“Perfume? You mean fragrance oil?”
“Not oil—alcohol-based. That way the scent spreads faster and more evenly.”
Perfume wasn’t widely traded in the South—it wasn’t essential to survival.
But in the wealthier, more refined North, perfumes of many kinds already circulated.
“Still, this product isn’t just about fragrance.”
At her next words, Schwarz couldn’t help but pay closer attention.
“It’s infused with magical effects.”
