Chapter 530
“What is the Mortal Censer—no, that is not what is important right now,” Siegfried said before shaking his head. Then, he looked around and added, “It could be dangerous here, so let us continue this discussion elsewhere.”
“Yes, I believe that will be wise.” Iris nodded in agreement.
Siegfried stole a glance at her and cautiously said, “Also... I believe you will have to close down your merchant company.”
“Close down my merchant company?”
“The Church of Osric has already discovered your true identity, and they are not going to let your merchant company go. They are running their own merchant company in secret, and I am certain that they will target your merchant company. I know because I chanced upon one of their merchant companies based on an uninhabited island and destroyed it myself.”
“I see...”
“Will that be alright with you?”
Siegfried decided to ask because he knew just how difficult it would be to close down a merchant company the size of the Aphrodite Merchant Company. Closing this merchant company down was akin to cutting open the stomach of a goose laying golden eggs.
“Sure, I will close it down,” Iris coolly replied.
Siegfried was slightly flustered at how calm she was that he ended up flinching.
“P-Pardon? I believe it is not something that could be decided so easily–”
Iris cut him off and said, “I can live forever. The merchant company is nothing but a hobby I created to kill time.”
“I-Is that so?”
“Growing a merchant company is the fun part, but it starts getting mundane once it grows to a certain extent.”
“Hmm...”
“Also, I...” Iris said. Then, she smiled and added, “I have a lot of money.”
“H-How much is a lot?”
“Let me ask you something. What do you think will happen if I put a bit of gold in each bank on the continent and let it sit there for one hundred—no, two hundred years?”
“It will... compound?”
“Precisely. Thus, money is not important to me, so I can close down my merchant company without any regrets. Ah, if Your Majesty would like to, I could sell it to you at a cheap price—”
“Thank you,” Siegfried hurriedly accepted the offer even before Iris could finish speaking.
‘Woot! Woot! What a haul! What a haul!’ Siegfried cheered inwardly at the unexpected fortune that had fallen on his lap.
The Aphrodite Merchant Company had almost monopolized the entire arts market and acquiring it for cheap was indeed a huge fortune—no, it could still be considered a fortune even if he acquired it for an expensive price. The Aphrodite Merchant Company was just that valuable.
Siegfried was indeed fortunate.
‘Thank you, Church of Osric! Thank you!’
Funnily enough, he thanked the Church of Osric again and again for making Iris close down her merchant company.
“Then, I will pass the merchant company to Your Majesty.”
“I will ask someone to prepare the documents required then.”
“I will do the same.”
“Then, shall we move elsewhere?”
“Where should we go?”
“The best would be the headquarters of the Guardians, but even I have no idea where that is. So, I guess we will go to my kingdom.”
“The Proatine Kingdom, you mean?”
“Yes.”
“That sounds good.”
“Allow me to escort you.”
“Please wait outside for a while. I have to make preparations for the journey.”
“Sure, I will wait.”
Siegfried gave time for Iris to prepare for the long journey ahead.
However, Iris suddenly called out to him. “Your Majesty.”
“Yes?”
“Does this master of yours really exist? Was he truly able to interpret the emotions in my painting?”
“Of course.”
“That is quite surprising.”
“Even I get surprised from time to time.”
“I hope to meet your master in the future.”
“You will get to meet him soon. He does visit my kingdom from time to time.”
“I see. Alright, please wait while I get ready.”
“Sure, take your time.”
Siegfried left the half-destroyed mansion.
***
Right after Siegfried left the mansion, Iris caressed the remaining walls of it...
Pat... Pat...
Then, something shocking happened.
Seuruk...!
The stones used to build the mansion turned into wood the moment her hand touched the wall. She used her alchemy ability to turn the entire mansion into a wooden structure.
Splash!
Iris took a jar of water and splashed it on the ground.
In another series of surprises, the water turned into oil the moment it touched the ground, and it spread all over the mansion floor, seemingly multiplying rapidly. The jar definitely did not contain enough to cover the entire mansion, but this feat was made possible by her alchemy.
“Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust...” Iris muttered under her breath.
Snap!
Fwaaaah!
Iris snapped her fingers, and a fiery blaze swept across the entire mansion, devouring it completely.
The entire mansion was set ablaze. She was about to walk toward where Siegfried was waiting for her, but she turned around and took one last look at her paintings still hanging on the walls.
Her paintings that contained the emotions and thoughts of the Immortal Alchemist, Acheron, were slowly being devoured by the flames.
“I should keep my pathetic thoughts to myself from now on,” Iris muttered with a faint smile before walking away from the burning mansion.
Fwaaaaaah!
The mansion crumbled from the fiery blaze burning brightly behind Iris as she walked away.
“Iris-nim!”
Siegfried was waiting for Iris but rushed to the mansion after seeing it on fire.
“I am alright. I was the one that set it on fire,” Iris replied coolly.
“Why did you set it on fire? I think that mansion would have fetched quite a lot if you sold it...” Siegfried asked, sounding slightly shocked.
“...”
“Such a waste...”
“...”
Iris was rendered speechless after seeing that Siegfried was worried about the mansion—no, about how much it could have been sold for.
***
After boarding the Huracan, Siegfried continued where they had left off in their conversation.
“So what is the Fated Censer?” Siegfried asked.
“The Fated Censer is an artifact that allows the user to destroy an indestructible object,” Iris replied.
“Oh?”
“If Your Majesty wishes to destroy the object you have previously shown me, then you must craft the Fated Censer first.”
“Craft it?”
“The Fated Censer is a single-use artifact. It will get destroyed after use, and you cannot obtain it from anywhere.”
“Oh? Then we should make one now. I will ask the Bavarian Workshop to–”
Iris shook her head and cut him off, “That is impossible.”
“Why so?”
“Only the Porsche Workshop knows how to craft the Fated Censer.”
“H-Hiiik!” Siegfried shrieked unintentionally after hearing the words “Porsche Workshop."
The title of the Top-Three Workshops on the Nurburg Continent undisputedly belonged to the Mercedes Workshop, Bavarian Workshop, and Autonika Workshop. However, just because they were in the top three did not mean they were the best of the best.
There were other workshops capable of crafting more powerful artifacts than the three, but they hadn't been able to gain the same fame as the top three, as they did not have the capacity to mass produce their artifacts like the top three workshops.
Moreover, their artifacts were simply too expensive for the masses to afford, so most people would be lucky to see one crafted by such workshops.
One such example was the Porsche Workshop, which possessed far superior technology compared to the top three workshops. Their motto was to provide customized bespoke artifacts catered to their client’s needs rather than have a catalog of artifacts ready to be sold at any given time.
Their dedication to customer satisfaction was simply superb that they would even customize the design and color of the artifact according to their client’s requirement all while maintaining the effect of it, if possible.
However, all of this came at a price, as every single request made to them would come with a hefty price tag, and this was the precise reason Siegfried had shrieked out of horror just now.
The Porsche Workshop rarely gave discounts, and the base price of their artifacts was at least one and a half to two times the price of the artifacts crafted by the Mercedes Workshop, which was known for being expensive.
“Your Majesty will need the Porsche Workshop to craft the Fated Censer to destroy that object. My expertise in alchemy will be required in the crafting process, too.”
“Then after that will be...”
“To collect the remaining fragments and place them in the Fated Censer for the Flames of Annihilation to burn them.”
“Will that destroy all of the fragments?”
Iris nodded and replied, “Yes. All of the fragments, the Fated Censer, and the Flames of Annihilation will be destroyed altogether.”
“That sounds difficult...”
“Your Majesty is currently trying to destroy something from another world. Not to mention, that object contains the soul of an immensely powerful being. It is only right for such an undertaking to be difficult.”
“Alright, thank you for your advice,” Siegfried replied courteously. Then, he activated the communication device and called Cheon Woo-Jin.
***
Cheon Woo-Jin answered the call, as he was at the headquarters of the Guardians.
– Hmm? What’s up? Did you already clear the quest?
“Clear the quest? Haa...” Siegfried let out a sigh. Then, he glared at Cheon Woo-Jin with sheer disbelief and scowled, “Hey, listen here, you little bastard...”
– Why are you picking a fight all of a sudden?
“Picking a fight? You want me to tell you what I went through?”
Siegfried proceeded to explain the hardships he had gone through just to destroy the Ignite Soul.
He recounted his experience on Mount Kunlun, his experience with the Phantom Thief as well as his experience with the Immortal Alchemist, Acheron.
“I worked like a dog for this almost impossible quest, but what? You’re giving me three levels? Are you seriously asking me to collect the other four fragments, craft the Fated Censer, and who knows what will happen next just for three levels?!”
– T-That is...
“I’m going to level up ten times before I can clear this stupid quest, you asshole.”
Siegfried was spot on this time. He had four fragments to collect, and he probably would level up ten times by the time he managed to collect all of them.
– Haha... Hahaha...
“Hmm? Are you laughing right now?”
– N-No.
“I can see your teeth, asshole.”
– P-Pfft!
“What are you gonna do now? I don’t think three levels is enough for me to do this quest.”
– What?
“And I need to request the Porsche Workshop to craft the Fated Censer. I hope you’re not asking me to pay them from my own pocket, are you?”
– T-That is...
“Are you?”
– N-No! We will carry that burden.
Cheon Woo-Jin had no choice but to frantically wave his hand and offer to pay for the crafting fee of the Fated Censer after seeing Siegfried’s murderous glare.
“I also have to get the Flames of Annihilation. But that thing’s also another headache. I hope you’re not asking me to go look for it, too, are you?”
– Ahem!
Cheon Woo-Jin cleared his throat like an old man at Siegfried’s unrelenting offensive. He initially planned to squeeze Siegfried dry, but he didn't imagine that the quest would turn out to be so difficult. Yes, even he admitted that the quest was much more difficult than he anticipated it to be.
On top of that, this was a very important quest that would decide whether BNW would reset or not, so giving three meager levels as a reward was definitely not fair.
“So, whatcha gonna do?” Siegfried asked. Then, he threatened icily, “Do you want to renegotiate, or should I just stop it here?”
– Fine.
“What? What’s fine?”
– Let’s go for the Big Deal, Han Tae-Sung.
Siegfried narrowed his eyes and asked, “Big Deal? What Big Deal?”
– It’s like you said. The quest is too difficult for you to clear alone.
“So?”
– We will actively support you, so don’t think of dropping the quest. In exchange for your troubles...
“...?”
– I’ll increase your level to Level 299, regardless of your current level. Of course, that is if you manage to clear this quest.
Cheon Woo-Jin’s “Big Deal” was to bring Siegfried right to the "doorstep" of becoming a Master, which was also known as Level 299.
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