From the moment Thor shouted that it was too expensive, William knew that even without Loki's little reminder, there was a high chance Odin wouldn't pay the price he had quoted. But if Odin bargained, he would probably only reduce it by a few tiers—or maybe cut it in half.
As long as the king of the divine realm opened his mouth to negotiate, William had planned to put on a bit of a show—bargaining back and forth before agreeing.
After all, even if the price was cut in half, it was still five times higher than what he'd sold it for to the Predators.
And since the price would come from Odin's own mouth, William wasn't worried about him backing out or playing games.
But now, thanks to Loki's little stunt, there was no way he'd be able to sell the basic healing talismans at a high price. And he'd already said the advanced talismans were ten times more expensive—trying to raise that now would only make him look dishonest.
Seeing William's expression change, Loki smiled and said, "Ever since I saw you on the Predator ship, I've been interested in their affairs. I've heard that in the past two years, the Predator clans have been tearing each other apart in a civil war—and there's still no sign of it ending.
Perhaps someone is secretly fueling the conflict behind the scenes."
Clap clap clap—William applauded and turned to Odin. "Congratulations, Your Majesty Odin. One heir is righteous and brave—the ideal successor to the throne.
And the other is clever and strategic—an excellent advisor. Perhaps it won't be long before you can retire in peace."
"Wait," Thor looked at William in disbelief. "You really think so?"
Though he didn't say it aloud, Thor did admire William a little for being able to defeat him. And now, hearing that this powerful mage was choosing to support him—a warrior—instead of fellow mage Loki, Thor was surprised but genuinely pleased.
But after a moment, the not-so-dumb Thor put away his grin, stared at William, and asked, "Why? Because I'm not as smart as Loki, easier to trick?"
"No, it's not that you're easier to trick—it's that you don't trick people."
William said seriously, "At the very least, I like dealing with people like you. I don't have to worry about being stabbed in the back. As for others… that's a different story."
"William…" Odin cut in with a stern tone, "Mind your words."
Outwardly, Odin looked a bit angry, but inside, he actually agreed with what William said. Otherwise, he wouldn't have waited until William was done before speaking.
Still, at this moment, he had to take Loki's side—after all, Loki had just helped protect Asgard's interests.
"Okay, let's pretend I never said that," William said with a shrug, turning to Loki with a meaningful smile before laughing and looking at Odin again. "Now, where were we?"
Sif quickly reminded him, "The price, Lord Devonshire."
"Right, the price. What did I just say again?" William rubbed his forehead as if trying to recall. "Oh, yeah—100 energy crystals for an advanced healing talisman, 10 for a basic one."
Smiling at Sif, William looked at Odin and asked, "How does that sound?"
Everyone glanced from Loki to William and suddenly understood why William didn't like Loki.
The two were way too alike—no wonder they didn't get along.
"We'll go with your price," Odin nodded, then turned to the gloomy-looking Loki and said, "Loki, my child, how about you handle this?"
Loki was stunned for a moment, but once he realized what was going on, he immediately smiled. "No problem, Father. I'll make sure to secure the best deal for Asgard."
"No, Loki," Odin said, explaining to the confused Loki, "What I need is quantity. Your task won't be considered complete until William has delivered 10,000 advanced talismans to us.
As for the price," Odin turned to William and spoke seriously, "If you can deliver 10,000 advanced talismans within a month, I'll pay you double the rate—and authorize you to open a shop in the divine realm to sell basic talismans."
Ten thousand in one month—that was 333 a day. Even during the early days of his dealings with the Predators, that quantity was no problem, especially now that William's magical level had advanced again.
And this single deal would be four times the volume of his two-year business with the Predators.
As for opening a shop in Asgard, William wasn't that interested. The difference between basic and advanced talismans was just how much magic he infused—and the price difference was tenfold. The choice was obvious.
The idea of passing on his healing spell to others and having them work for him flashed in his mind for a second—but he immediately tossed it away.
Exclusivity was the real path to profit.
"Come on, let's celebrate our agreement," Odin declared cheerfully. "Everyone in Asgard should drink heartily today."
"That's right, haha! Time to drink!" the high-ranking Asgardians cheered loudly, surrounding Odin and William as they headed toward the banquet hall.
Various dishes and huge barrels of wine were quickly brought out and laid on long wooden tables that could seat twenty people. Led by Thor, the crowd first toasted Odin and Frigga,
Then turned all their attention to William.
After a few glasses and getting a feel for the drinks, William didn't hold back. Not only did he not reject anyone, he even challenged Thor—who was the most enthusiastic—to a drinking match.
After all, once the wine entered his mouth, he could send it into his storage space just like how he absorbed objects with a touch. With a single thought, the wine disappeared—no need to even invoke space magic.
This made the Asgardians suspicious, but they couldn't detect even the slightest trace of magic.
Even Odin, sitting at the head of the table, glanced doubtfully at his wife. But Frigga, just as suspicious, didn't detect any magical signs either. She turned and looked at a maid behind her.
The maid nodded slightly, then slipped away to find other mages. About ten minutes later, she quietly returned to Frigga's side and shook her head.
This made both Odin and Frigga frown. Odin was sure William was using some kind of trick, but if no one could detect it, then there was no way to accuse him of cheating.
All he could do was watch as Thor—who had hoped to get William drunk and then trick him into handing over the Sentinel Armor—ended up swaying and calling William "brother," admitting that while he might not be impressed in other areas, he definitely respected William's drinking ability.
Once Thor was almost too drunk to sit up straight, William turned his attention to Loki. He had assumed the god of mischief would make an excuse to avoid drinking.
But surprisingly, Loki didn't object. He had a long table set up with twenty large mugs—each holding over a liter. Ten for each of them. Drink too slowly or fail to finish—automatic loss.
Once the ten mugs were downed, Loki wobbled and collapsed toward the table. Fortunately, someone caught him just in time, sparing him the embarrassment of face-planting into a platter of food.
Watching Loki being helped away, William thoughtfully chewed on a piece of roasted meat, wondering what exactly that guy was planning.
After the meat, a wave of steam rose from William's body—but not a trace of alcohol could be smelled. Seeing this, everyone who had wanted to challenge him backed off immediately.
After dinner, Odin led William out of the Golden Palace to a three-story Gothic-style building by the inner-city plaza.
"This building is yours," he said. "Use it as your store and base in the divine realm. What do you think?"
______
(≧◡≦) ♡ Support me and read 20 chapters ahead – patreon.com/Mutter
For every 50 Power Stones, one extra chapter will be released on Saturday.