Mason took the 30 silver coins and a deposit receipt worth 19 gold and 70 silver from Old White. Only after confirming the receipt's authenticity did he hand over a Nether Orchid to him.
Although Mason didn't say a single mocking word or even glance at him with a hint of ridicule, Old White still felt utterly uncomfortable.
Looking at the smile on Mason's face, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being laughed at.
But he couldn't be bothered to care anymore.
After learning about the effects of the Nether Orchid, he had immediately emptied his years of savings, along with the small change he had been accumulating in recent months, just barely scraping together enough to buy a single stalk.
Now that he was already here, he couldn't just go home empty-handed.
He had been stuck at the rank of Tier-2 Mage for over thirty years and had long given up hope of advancing.
And now, hope was right in front of him—how could he give it up?
Even if Mason were to mock him to his face, Old White had already prepared himself mentally for it.
What he hadn't expected was that Mason didn't say a single sharp word. He just completed the transaction calmly and then sent him out of the store.
From beginning to end, there wasn't even a trace of ridicule.
That, somehow, made Old White feel even worse.
In truth, Mason wasn't thinking too much about it.
He was currently tending the shop on behalf of His Highness Ron—how could he afford to offend the customers?
Besides, Old White's sharp tongue was well known. If he were to start arguing with him here, not only would it affect business, but if he disturbed the negotiations happening upstairs, he'd be in big trouble.
Moreover, there really wasn't a need to argue with Old White on the spot—just getting him to buy the Nether Orchid was punishment enough.
As far as Mason knew, among the batch of Nether Orchids Professor Hicks had purchased, some would be sent to the Mage Tower to set up private meditation rooms, intended for academy mages who couldn't afford their own Nether Orchids.
With Old White's connections, he'd certainly find a way to use those meditation rooms later on.
So in a sense, Old White had really gotten the short end of the stick.
But Mason wasn't obligated to tell him that.
Thinking this, Mason felt much more cheerful.
Just then, another customer entered the store, and he quickly went over to greet them.
…
"Pleasure doing business with you."
"Pleasure indeed."
Ron and Professor Hicks shook hands, both of them smiling with satisfaction.
After a round of cordial negotiations, they had reached a preliminary agreement.
The core of this deal revolved around the Nether Orchid.
Ron and Professor Hicks agreed that Ron would supply the Magic Academy with a priority batch of 200 Nether Orchids each month, over the course of three months.
If things went well, the cooperation could be extended, with adjustments to the quantity provided.
Hicks was fairly satisfied with the deal. With the main goal of his visit achieved, he was in a great mood.
Although Harper had already developed a prototype meditation potion, further testing and refinement would still require significant resources.
So the 600 Nether Orchids over the next three months were to be prepared for this effort.
A portion would be reserved for the Mage Tower, some given to professors for free, and the rest used in research—so in reality, 600 plants weren't that many.
Still, according to Ron, the monthly output of Nether Orchids was already limited, and supplying 200 per month to the Academy was an exclusive privilege.
Professor Hicks accepted this, knowing full well he was getting the better end of the deal, and made no effort to haggle. He even offered for the Academy to prepay in full each month.
In his view, with Ron backed by the Empire and operating under Emperor Andre III's directive, it was perfectly reasonable for the Academy to make such concessions.
Ron also made a few other requests.
For example, transactions are conducted weekly, with 50 Nether Orchids delivered each time.
The Magic Academy issued a supplier badge, which he could hang at his shop's entrance.
And that he be allowed to study at the Academy, ideally under a mage proficient in both water and earth elemental magic.
To Hicks, none of these were unreasonable, so he agreed to them all.
In fact, he even offered to teach Ron himself.
As a Blue Mage, Hicks specialized in water and earth magic, making him a suitable mentor for Ron.
And since Hicks had already heard from Mason about Ron's immense talent, he gladly accepted the task.
This led Hicks to start piecing together several theories.
Before coming here, he had wondered why the Empire, after developing something as powerful as the Nether Orchid, hadn't simply used it to make their own meditation potions.
But Ron's string of requests suddenly made things clear to him.
Perhaps… this was Emperor Andre III extending goodwill toward the Chaos City Magic Academy?
Using His Highness Ron as a bridge to win over the neutral mages?
The City of Chaos, as a continent-wide capital jointly governed by four races, had gathered a great number of mages who valued freedom and comfort.
At Chaos City Magic Academy, these magic prodigies didn't have to concern themselves with worldly distractions and could focus entirely on their magical pursuits.
The Academy's Headmaster and two Vice Headmasters were all 7th-tier Legendary Mages, more than enough to safeguard the Academy's interests.
Sending someone like Ron, a magical prodigy with imperial blood, to this city—the intent was obvious.
Otherwise, why wouldn't Ron just stay at the Imperial Capital's Magic Academy? Why bother coming all the way to the City of Chaos?
And not just to the city—he actually enrolled in Chaos City Magic Academy!
Weren't the Imperial Court mages good enough?
While Hicks wouldn't underestimate himself by assuming he was inferior to them, he still knew Ron had no practical reason to come all this way—unless there was a hidden motive.
So Hicks's speculation felt entirely reasonable.
The allure of the Nether Orchid was simply too great—there was no way the Academy could resist it.
But using that alone to win over the entire Academy? Unrealistic. At most, it might make Hicks and a few others lean a bit more toward humanity's side.
After chatting casually for a while, many thoughts flitted through Hicks's mind.
Meanwhile, Ron remained completely unaware.
The only reason he wanted the supplier badge was to have some solid backing.
After all, his ties to the Empire were more symbolic than real. His "dear old dad" had only sent him to the City of Chaos to retire peacefully—he never permitted him to start up a flower shop.
The Magic Academy held real power in this city. With their badge, he could ensure that no one dared mess with his shop.
As for studying at the Academy… well, Hicks was clearly overthinking it.
Ron just didn't want to waste his Wealth Points in the System Store and figured he'd learn magic the old-fashioned way.
Political maneuvering? Yeah… not happening.