The moment I logged in the next day, I received good news from Syl —
The fire-resistance potions being dumped on the market had completely flooded supply overnight, and prices had dropped sharply.
There was no need to think too hard about it, since this was clearly the result of major guilds rushing to offload their stock, creating a buyer’s market.
It was obvious that the trap I had set had worked perfectly, and they had all walked straight into it.
That’s right, that so-called Barenna Underground Fortress Entrance was nothing more than a dungeon Syl and Kashalia had jointly created at my request, and it had never had any real connection to the actual Barenna Underground Fortress.
Whether it was the scenery or the storyline inside, everything had been designed by Syl and Kashalia based on the intelligence I provided about Barenna.
On top of that, I had deliberately chosen the name and deliberately placed it right next to the Barenna Underground Fortress, giving players a strong preconceived notion.
Then, by designing dungeon mechanics that were completely different from Barenna’s actual traits, those players would naturally choose to trust their firsthand experience in the instance rather than the data dug up by forum researchers.
I could practically imagine the looks on those guilds’ and studios’ faces when the real Barenna Underground Fortress opened a few days later.
And yet, I felt not the slightest bit of guilt.
After all, the so-called connection was entirely their own assumption, and neither Alice nor anyone else had ever stipulated that dungeon names couldn’t resemble each other.
I had merely nudged them along a little.
Although everything had been carried out according to my intentions, I hadn’t expected Syl to be even more cautious, preemptively buying up a large quantity of Rotgrass Potions and making a tidy profit from this dungeon.
And judging by how much attention those people were paying to the dungeon I had created, this batch of potions could very well bring in even more profit later on.
“As expected of Syl, you’re really reliable,” I said, unable to help but sigh in admiration at her meticulousness.
That comment immediately drew the dissatisfaction of a certain novelist.
Kashalia set down her teacup.
“Hey, I deserve some credit too, you know.”
“Of course. Thank you, Miss Kashalia, for showing great mercy and not using your abundant imagination to produce some masterpiece that would corrupt our pure hearts.”
I rolled my eyes.
Perhaps I should be grateful that this dungeon was too small to give her room to unleash the depraved tastes of an erotic novelist.
“Are you looking for a fight, brat?”
Kashalia shot me an appraising look.
“You’re just mad I didn’t write you as the heroine. Who told you that flat-chested girls have no market value?”
“That’s blatant prejudice!” I shot back, dragging over a certain strategic ally beside me.
“Satahia, hurry up and refute this capitalist lackey.”
Yes, whether in ideology or in certain physical aspects, she was the proletariat’s greatest enemy.
However, I hadn’t expected that the warrior who had always defended class honor would, out of sheer boredom lately, stand on the enemy’s side instead.
“Wait, let me finish this chapter first.”
“Kids shouldn’t be reading this kind of trash,” I said, snatching the Arano’s Legends of Desire volume from her hands.
“That aside, how can you read this with such relish…”
I had secretly checked before.
Every single heroine in Kashalia’s novels had at least C-cup combat power.
Could it be that, compared to her obsession with breasts, this woman was actually just a lewd idiot?
“No, don’t! It’s just getting to the part where that stinky cow is about to suffer!”
“Huh… What do you mean?” I froze.
“She just got tied to the bed, and they’ve already taken out the whip. Next they’re definitely going to teach that stinky cow a good lesson!” Satahia said excitedly.
I sighed and patted Satahia on the shoulder.
“I’m sorry for doubting you, Satahia. You will forever be the greatest and purest warrior of our proletariat.”
“Huh?”
Faced with her novel being interpreted like this, Kashalia silently took a sip of her tea, momentarily unsure of what to say.
As for Syl, who had remained quiet all this time, she finally spoke up, apparently unable to tolerate this utterly shameless conversation any longer.
“Your Highness.”
“Huh, is there a result, Syl?”
I immediately abandoned the other two and looked at her expectantly.
“The patterns are somewhat blurred, but I can still make out part of them. I suspect they may be the crest of the Constanterna Empire.”
The slightly worn parchment roll in Syl’s hands was the item I had brought back from Lobranch’s mage tower — the Radiant Chapter.
After asking around the monastery with no results, I had handed it to Syl as well, without much expectation.
I hadn’t thought she’d actually recognize the origin of the faint pattern in the corner.
As expected, the academic ace was reliable.
“So that means we need to make a trip to Constanterna?” I thought for a moment, planning to shelve this matter until after Barenna opened, when something suddenly occurred to me.
Although the price of fire-resistance potion formulas had dropped rapidly after the major guilds dumped their stock, the ones I wanted to buy were special formulas and wouldn’t fall to normal levels.
Moreover, while the Barenna entrance did feature high poison damage, fire damage was still present, and there would inevitably be people stubborn enough to keep hoarding.
Constanterna was different.
Based on what I knew, there were no dungeons there with fire damage anywhere near Barenna’s level.
That made it another market worth developing.
“Decision made. We’re going to Constanterna Empire to expand a bit.”
The moment I said that, the other three immediately cast strange looks at me.
“If it’s the Demon King, shouldn’t it be called ‘wreaking havoc’?” Syl said after thinking seriously for a moment.
Kashalia and Satahia nodded in agreement beside her.
They’d seen that pink-haired menace’s methods far too many times.
“I suddenly feel a bit sorry for the adventurers of the Constanterna Empire.”
“Demon King, remember to go easy on them. Of course, if you run into someone stronger than us, don’t hold back.”
“Hey, hey, what do you mean by that?” I protested.
“Are you not worried about my safety at all? I’m clearly so delicate and petite!”
“And Satahia, isn’t your aggro range a bit too big?”
“Decision made. Satahia, you’re coming with me.”
“Why…” Satahia immediately put on an unwilling expression when she was singled out.
“You need to get moving. Don’t laze around the Demon King’s Castle all day,” I said righteously.
Ever since Satahia had cleared out all the monsters around the Demon King’s Castle a few days ago, she’d been stuck doing nothing because the monsters farther away were too high-level for her to handle.
While the Fogveil Forest was within her capability, its mechanics meant it couldn’t be passed without paying a certain cost, so I’d left it on hold.
Thinking about it now, I really should consider how to deal with the Fogveil Forest problem.
Still, I needed to take care of the matter at hand first.
“We’ve worked so hard for so long. At least give me a vacation,” she complained.
“Come on a business trip with me and I’ll pay you overtime. Didn’t you want materials infused with fire elements?”
“Those aren’t exactly necessary…”
“I heard Triss is planning to brew a breast-enhancement potion soon.”
“When do we leave?”
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