The moment this thought arose, Isha startled herself.
It sounded like a sensationalized tale spun by some drunken bard, so she quickly shook the thought from her head.
Then, taking advantage of the lull in conversation between Shane and Elon, she began to scan the surrounding camp.
Ultimately, she still hadn't let her guard down completely.
Her merchant instincts told her that no matter how harmless the other party appeared, she had to establish her bearings first.
If the situation took a turn for the worse, she at least needed to know which way to run.
And so, Isha's gaze swept past the tents by the pool and extended toward the outskirts of the camp.
She saw rows of plants, rolling sand dunes, and skeletons watering the vegetation. Further out...
Wait!
Isha immediately focused her eyes on the skeletons, her eyes widening.
In her line of sight, two skeletons were watering a plant with bone buckets. They scooped water from the buckets with bone ladles, walked to the next plant, watered it, and repeated the cycle.
This bizarre sight made Isha's eyes grow wider and wider. She tugged at Lena's sleeve and stammered, “L-Lena, look over there...”
Her voice sounded anxious as she pointed toward the skeletons, her grip on Lena's sleeve tightening. “Are those... undead watering the plants?”
Lena, who had been keeping a close eye on Shane's movements, frowned at her words and looked in the direction Isha was pointing.
She froze too.
Her sharp eyes went still, paralyzed by the unimaginable sight.
Unable to believe her own eyes, Lena took a deep breath and blinked hard. Yet, the scene remained unchanged—skeletons were indeed watering plants.
She had no choice but to believe that what she was seeing was not an illusion.
“Isha.”
Lena's mouth twitched slightly as she slowly withdrew her gaze and looked at her employer.
As their eyes met, both could see the sheer bewilderment in the other's gaze.
At the same time, a thought occurred to both of them: Is this necromancer really the one planting trees?
Of course, the thought only lingered for a split second before Isha quickly shook it from her head.
But when she looked back at Shane, she realized that if she stripped away the terrifying filter of "necromancer," he was just an ordinary young human man.
He simply looked a bit pale, his demeanor no different from a scholar buried in research.
This realization put Isha significantly at ease. Even when Shane approached her again, she no longer felt the crushing pressure from before.
“Miss Val.”
Shane stopped two paces away from Isha, looking at her as she stood beside Lena. “I am very satisfied with these two plants.”
“Do you have anything else?”
“Of course.”
Isha nodded, her tone completely different from before. She turned and walked with steady steps toward the camel's cargo packs, speaking as she went. “Considering the difficulties of transporting live plants, we didn't prepare too many for this first batch. However, we have prepared this instead.”
Isha pulled an object from a cargo pack. It was tube-shaped, made of an indistinguishable material, about two fingers thick and half a meter long. Its smooth surface gleamed with a soft, matte finish under the sunlight.
The front end had a distinct threaded protrusion, while the back end featured a standard threaded joint, making it immediately obvious that they could be easily connected and assembled.
“This is the custom-made drip irrigation alchemical tool from the Val Merchant Guild that I mentioned earlier.”
Isha brought the tube over to Shane and began to demonstrate, showing him the water outlets and the internal design. “It works by using an alchemical circuit to guide water from the source to a designated area, where it drips out of the outlets. The water flow rate can be adjusted by the user.”
“As for installation, there are two methods. One is surface-laying, which is suitable for already established planting areas. The other is underground burial, which is perfect for arid environments.”
As Isha spoke, her words took on the distinct warmth and shrewdness of a merchant. “If you are interested in purchasing, we can provide installation layout design and assembly services free of charge.”
“Of course, the construction would require an additional calculation for labor costs...”
Seeing that Shane had no intention of interrupting her, Isha grew bolder. Her speech quickened, and her eyes lit up. “As for the price, normally, a bottle of Suosuo seeds is two gold coins, a bundle of Red Willow is five gold coins, and a set of drip irrigation tools is eight gold coins.”
“If you buy a complete package, we can offer a three-gold discount, bringing the total to twelve gold coins.”
“Of course, for bulk purchases of ten sets or more, I can offer a thirty percent discount. In addition...”
“For any goods your side produces in the future, whether the plants themselves or their derivatives, the Val Merchant Guild will purchase them at market price plus a five percent premium.”
Isha looked up at Shane, her merchant's confidence on full display, a sly smile playing at the corners of her lips. “Mr. Leynas, what do you think of this proposal?”
The air fell silent. Isha watched Shane expectantly, waiting for his reply.
But Shane only knitted his brows and remained silent.
He couldn't help it. Whether in his past life or his current one, he was completely unfamiliar with negotiations. His memories regarding commercial goods were also incredibly vague; it seemed he had never obtained the things he wanted through proper channels.
Thus, they hit a stalemate.
Could he be dissatisfied with the price?
Isha's heart began to race. Just as she was wondering whether she should explain the pricing again and discuss potential adjustments, a female voice intervened from the side.
“Miss Val.”
Alicia strolled over to Shane's side. Her fiery red hair gleamed brilliantly in the sunlight, and her violet eyes bore down on Isha with an inexplicable, imposing pressure.
“Those quotes just now didn't sound like they were made on the spur of the moment.”
Alicia stepped slightly ahead of Shane, looking down at Isha with a highly casual tone. “As far as I know, a standard set of drip irrigation tools on the market costs ten gold coins, yet you quoted eight. Then you offered a package deal and a thirty percent discount for bulk purchases...”
“Such generous discounts and purchase terms don't sound like business. Instead, it sounds like you are deliberately trying to curry favor with someone.”
Isha's face paled instantly, and she cursed herself inwardly.
Because her perception of Shane had shifted, she had let her guard down too much and spoken too smoothly. As a result, she had blurted out the discount proposal that was meant for the princess.
This was the very bargaining chip she had carefully designed to negotiate with the princess, the key meant to open doors for her.
Yet now, she had spilled it all at once.
In an instant, fine beads of sweat broke out on Isha's forehead. Her mind raced as she tried to find a way to smooth things over, but under the princess's intensely oppressive gaze, her tongue felt tied. “Your Highness... I...”
Isha's voice grew weak once more. “I only thought... I thought Mr. Leynas would purchase my products in bulk, so... so I wanted to establish a long-term partnership...”
“Oh?”
Alicia arched an eyebrow, a playful smirk touching her lips. “Then you certainly have a long-term vision.”
After saying this, Alicia didn't add anything else. She simply kept her eyes locked on Isha, not shifting her gaze in the slightest.
Isha, standing before her, felt an inexplicable pressure that made even breathing difficult.
Shane, on the other hand, felt nothing. He merely wore a puzzled expression, staring at the two women beside him with only one thought in his mind:
So, are we buying or not?
Rate on N.U.
