At this point, Modi shifted his gaze to the small silver plate in front of Miaoyue.
The Goddess was seriously working on her second piece.
“Additionally, the Goddess's provisions.”
Miaoyue looked up.
Sophie also looked up.
Modi’s tone remained respectful.
“Seven to fifteen Gold Suns.”
Miaoyue blinked.
“Is that a lot?”
“That's highway robbery!” Sophie couldn't help but exclaim.
Based on the few pastries Miaoyue was eating, how could it possibly be calculated in Gold Suns?
That certainly wasn't the price at the market yesterday.
Modi didn't answer immediately.
He pulled a small slip from the ledger and placed it on the table.
“The desserts Her Divinity consumed yesterday contained real cow's milk, real cream, real egg yolks, imported sugar, spices, Moon Salt, and a Cleanliness Ritual.”
“And?” Sophie asked.
Weren't those all normal things? Why did he have to specify 'real' milk?
Modi was silent for a moment, looking at Miaoyue's plate.
“Just as the Lady Saintess mentioned purchasing carriages, livestock of this nature is extremely expensive.”
“Why is it expensive?”
“There are no horses.”
“Then where are they? Are they camping a bridge somewhere?”
“Ahem.” Modi coughed twice, gesturing toward the Goddess with his eyes.
Sophie followed his gaze to Miaoyue and then realized.
Oh, right.
The curse.
The moonlight didn't care if you were human or animal; if you were caught out alone, it would consume you all the same.
“Solitude has no animal husbandry. All dairy products and meats are magical synthetics. Things like black bread are essentially created using the Food Creation Art. These things can fill a stomach, but they are not suitable for serving a Goddess.”
So they were essentially mana-based pre-made meal kits.
“The provisions Her Divinity is eating today are made from materials I personally teleported to Discord to buy early this morning.”
Sophie was speechless.
You've worked hard.
But honestly, if she fed Little Yue some of those pre-made meal kits, the girl probably wouldn't even notice. She had been perfectly happy eating those mana-pre-made snacks at the market yesterday.
Unfortunately, the people in front of her were true believers of Miaoyue, so Sophie couldn't voice such blasphemous thoughts.
No wonder she couldn't even get a glass of milk herself.
“Yes, yes! It has to be real meat and real cake!” Miaoyue nodded immediately upon hearing the keywords.
“This expenditure will cost a lot of money,” Modi said. “Real meat, eggs, and milk are incredibly expensive in Solitude. Breeding protection, import transportation, night escorts, preservation magic, cleanliness levels, and waste... these all cost money. Even if we specifically assign a high-tier believer to teleport back and forth every day to buy materials for the Moon Goddess, the mana used for teleportation means that believer can't be used for production. The actual savings would only be twenty to thirty percent, or it might even result in less net income, and it wouldn't solve the immediate crisis.”
Modi continued: “Therefore, a single cream pastry for Her Divinity, if converted to commoner rations, could feed an ordinary family for several days.”
Miaoyue looked down at the remaining half-pastry on her plate.
Her expression became a bit complicated.
Sophie thought she would be ashamed.
Instead, Miaoyue fell silent for a moment and carefully pulled the half-pastry closer to her chest.
“Then I definitely can't waste it.”
Sophie was speechless.
Well done.
Truly my disciple, focused on being frugal.
“In any case,” Modi closed that page, “based on our conservative management calculations, if we maintain the status quo, the sect will have a net monthly outflow of about twenty-eight to forty-three Gold Suns. If we calculate using the extreme values of all items, it could fluctuate between twenty-six Gold Suns and ten Silver Moons to forty-eight Gold Suns. Based on our currently available funds, without touching the ritual reserves and the undercover emergency funds, we can support ourselves for at most two to three months.”
Sophie's expression grew more and more serious as she listened.
“If we cut the provisions, seal off two grey warehouses, suspend ineffective rituals, and dismantle undercover lines that cannot be exposed, we can reduce the loss to twelve to eighteen Gold Suns. The price would be the shrinking of our undercover network and the weakening of our relations with the patrol.”
“If we only restore our existing business, our income will never turn positive. Therefore, the Lady Saintess's proposal for a trading chamber is feasible, provided we can secure our own goods and open up trade routes.”
“Oh, right, the sect is currently short on manpower. If we just maintain our current scale, we're fine, but the trading chamber would require recruiting many new cultists.”
The New Moon Sect was an organization originally sustained by faith, noble sponsorship, grey income, and fear.
After the noble blood-supply line of Elizabeth's family was severed, it appeared to still be standing, but in reality, it was already leaking money from every old wound.
“Furthermore, as the Lady Saintess said, we need carriages for the trade caravan to transport goods, but we have no horses in Solitude.”
“Can't we pull carriages without horses?” Sophie asked. “What about Alchemy Carriages?”
“A simple handcart is one to three Silver Moons. A two-person enclosed small carriage is one to three Gold Suns. A lead-tiled Night-Redemption Carriage is eight to fifteen Gold Suns. An Alchemy Horse is twenty-five to sixty Gold Suns. A magical creature horse is forty to a hundred Gold Suns. A caravan-grade Alchemy Carriage is eighty to one hundred and fifty Gold Suns.”
Sophie fell silent.
“It's that expensive?”
“Indeed,” Modi said. “Because that cost includes the traction magic circle, the moonlight isolation rune array, lead-tiled plating, the coachman companion group, alchemy horse maintenance, patrol registration, mineral tax slips, accident preparation, full moon risks, and so on. Thus, forming a trade caravan is very expensive.”
He paused.
“If we calculate based on a caravan-grade Alchemy Carriage already including an alchemy horse traction core, plus the additional cost for lead-tiled shielding modifications, the minimum assets for a Night-Redemption caravan would be eighty-eight to one hundred and sixty-five Gold Suns. If the Alchemy Horse is calculated separately, it will only be higher.”
Sophie was speechless.
This is so troublesome. Can't there be a one-click auto-trading feature to generate money?
Buying a vehicle in this godforsaken place was like buying a house that could move.
Wait.
It actually was a house that could move.
A house equipped with moonlight protection, alchemy traction, legal registration, and accident insurance.
Modi continued: “Moreover, buying the carriage doesn't mean we can get the goods.”
“Without a Royal Trade License from the Solitude royalty, we are not allowed to sell silver ore products externally. The pillar industry of Solitude is mining in pits unrelated to the sun and moon. Although we are rich in silver ore, the mines belong to the royal family. Selling silver products to other countries also requires a trade license.”
“Additionally, the currency of other countries isn't on a silver standard like ours. It's very likely that conventional trade would only result in more losses.”
Sophie became increasingly silent.
“So does Solitude have no other specialties?” she asked.
Modi thought for a moment: “Perhaps the commoner population is quite large? After all, our birth rate here is exceptionally high.”
That's not helpful. Was she supposed to go back to Bennis's old trade of human trafficking?
What a headache.
The Red Moon continent.
Great.
Perfect for tourism.
I suggest all players' spawn points be set directly inside a coffin.
“So, what is your suggestion?” Sophie asked.
Modi closed the ledger.
At this moment, he no longer looked like a merchant presenting accounts, but like an Archbishop who could hold the remnants of the New Moon Sect together in the midst of a storm.
“First, we will open three cash-flow streams: Night-Redemption storage, holy water supply, and alchemy horse maintenance. We will not purchase caravan-grade Alchemy Carriages for now; we will only buy one lead-tiled Night-Redemption Carriage and one second-hand Alchemy Horse to serve as the face and trial asset of the chamber. As for the Discord route, we will find a way to secure our trade goods. Within these three months, we will launder a batch of notes with the most complete documentation and lowest recourse risk to be integrated under the chamber's name. We won't sell off the grey inventory all at once. Additionally, I will take the lead in guiding the believers to crowdfund and see if we can gather another wave of startup capital.”
What a loyal subordinate.
“Do they still have money?” Sophie asked.
“Lady Saintess, although faith should not be measured in Gold Suns...”
“If the Goddess needs it, we can indeed squeeze out a bit more.”
Modi said seriously.
Words cannot describe such loyalty!
Sophie rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on.
But if it was only voluntary donations from the believers, that wouldn't be enough for startup capital.
Including the 200 Gold Suns she had stashed away, it would be enough for now, but not nearly enough to expand and grow strong.
“So,” Miaoyue finished her breakfast and turned around to ask, “all we need is some kind of license thingy?”
“A Royal Trade License,” Sophie said. “I'll try to find a way to get one from the members of the royal family.”
Building connections was definitely out of the question. At most, she could do some quests, use player tactics, pull some strings, and maybe force a deal.
“Ah, so it's just the royals.” Miaoyue waved her hand and stood up. “I'll go ask Little Kong and Little Qing.”
Who are Little Kong and Little Qing?
Sophie was bewildered.
“Is Her Divinity referring to the Azure Sky King and the Green Mist King?” Modi's eyes widened. “You know them?”
“What a thing to say. Didn't I watch all of you grow up?” Miaoyue blinked. “I'll go ask them about that royal whatever license right now.”
With that, her figure dissolved into moonlight and vanished.
Rate on N.U.
