Chapter 41: Low Margins, High-End Manufacturing
Arthur wasn't sure if he should feel relieved or disappointed, but the patrol unit never reappeared over the next few days.
It took only two days for them to grow tired of all the stories they could tell, and the journey began to feel long and tedious. When the walls of Maribor finally appeared at the end of the road, everyone burst into heartfelt cheers.
Arthur: "Will Roberts issue a warrant for Mara's arrest?" He was thinking of his own encounter in Vizima.
Triss shook her head: "Probably not. Not everyone has access to that kind of magical communication device."
"Just keep quiet when entering the city. I have ways."
Young Everett excitedly asked: "Are you going to use magic to control the guards' minds? Like Papa used to talk about?"
Triss smiled and shook her head, pulling out a small vial of potion and applying it to her hairline and jugular vein:
"The gates of these large cities are equipped with magic detection devices. Using a spell would be counterproductive."
"But it doesn't matter. In a moment, those guards won't notice anyone but me."
Young Everett didn't pursue the question because his eyes were already tethered to Triss.
They caused a small traffic jam near the city gate. Every man who saw Triss, regardless of age, stopped and stared at the beautiful woman—even the coachman was no exception.
Just as Triss had said, no one noticed anyone but her.
They strolled brazenly through the long gate arch of Maribor.
After a small celebration for successfully entering the city, the inevitable sad farewell scene unfolded.
"Gentlemen, ladies, I truly don't know how to thank you for everything you've done for me." Mara said choked up. She produced another large bag of gold coins, but Arthur pushed it back:
"We already agreed, a hundred Crowns to escort you to Maribor. I have already received that reward. Besides, the portal fee is not a small expense either."
Mara insisted on giving it: "Then consider it thanks for saving my son and me from those thugs."
Arthur hesitated for a second, then pushed the purse back into Mara's arms even more resolutely:
"You are going to a strange place to start anew. You need this money more than I do."
Seeing the endless back-and-forth, Triss pointed to the roadside:
"See that bank? Vivaldi Bank's services cover the entire North, including Novigrad."
"Arthur, go inside and open an account that only accepts remittances from the Novigrad branch."
"That way, as soon as you receive a remittance, you'll know Mara has found her footing in Novigrad—and then you'll have no reason to refuse, right?"
The Royal Advisor's words were perfectly reasonable, and neither party could find a reason to object.
Mara's eyes were filled with tears as she said: "Thank you, thank you for everything you've done for me."
She waved goodbye to everyone one last time, then disappeared with young Everett through the door of the teleportation tower waiting room.
"Lad, do you know how much money you just refused?" Kolgrim lightly nudged Arthur with his shoulder:
"That purse was much larger than the last one. When times are bad, I can't earn that much in ten years."
Arthur reacted with indifference, shrugging:
"What's there to be afraid of? I'm not going to run out of money."
Adda clapped her hands and laughed:
"I knew it, Arthur! You are the best!"
Kolgrim and Triss, however, both turned to look at him, trying to figure out if Arthur was genuinely overconfident or simply bluffing.
Facing their questioning gaze, Arthur slowly pulled a large bottle of potion from his pouch:
"Look at this potion."
Triss opened the stopper and fanned some of the medicinal vapor toward her nose. After a moment, she frowned and gave her verdict:
"If you plan to make money selling such low-quality healing potions, you should have just taken Mara's payment—this stuff would take hours to heal even a five-centimeter cut!"
Kolgrim poured a bit onto the back of his hand. After tasting it, he said thoughtfully:
"Is this modified from the Swallow potion recipe?"
Arthur said proudly:
"It is! I found a way to modify the Swallow recipe to create a healing potion that even ordinary people can use."
"Although the efficacy is much lower, the cost has dropped to almost nothing—three orens worth of materials is enough to brew a huge pot!"
"I checked: a standard healing potion costs a whopping fifteen Crowns and is only for a single use."
"My potion here is enough for ten doses, and a large bottle only costs one Crown! It's completely within the budget of an average citizen!"
"Think about it: Maribor is the second largest city in all of Temeria, with a population of thirty thousand! This business is guaranteed to be profitable!"
After hearing Arthur's reasoning, Triss's expression softened slightly, but she continued to pour cold water on his idea:
"While the cost of materials has come down, what about the labor cost? Even if you stand guard over the cauldron all day long brewing medicine, the profit might not compare to a single standard healing potion."
Triss spoke earnestly:
"When I was still an apprentice, I once brewed a healing potion for a Baron for twenty Crowns, and my teacher said I sold it far too cheaply and wouldn't have money for materials for my own experiments later."
"Alchemy is indeed a gateway to wealth, but only if you diligently study and create more miraculous elixirs. Blindly chasing volume will only waste your talent."
Arthur was stunned:
"Why would I need to stand guard over the cauldron all day? Don't you just throw the materials into this low-grade potion in the correct sequence?"
"I didn't even interrupt my sword practice while brewing this batch!"
Triss sighed: "The next time you're short on money, come directly to me. Don't waste your time on these low-grade potions."
Arthur looked intently at Triss, his heart starting to thump erratically like a drum.
That doesn't seem right. While the Sorceress fully meets my aesthetic standards and her personality is agreeable, I am still a man. How can I accept being kept by someone else?
Seeing Arthur's clear yet baffled eyes, the Royal Sorceress let out a deep sigh:
"Do you know what I want to do right now? Build a tower that has every kind of material but no door, lock you inside, and not let you out until you've completed the highest-level alchemy curriculum!"
"Do you know how exhausting it is for a normal alchemist to brew even one bottle of this potion? Not only do they have to balance the medicinal properties, but they also have to use spells to monitor the reaction between the materials and the liquid during the brewing process…"
"One bottle of potion requires so much mental effort, yet in your mouth, you just toss the ingredients in like you're making porridge…"
"You are utterly squandering your talent!"
.........
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