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Chapter 635, We've Met Before
Shanaila's mansion.
"Lady Shanaila, this exhibition was a huge success."
"Your instincts and judgment in business are truly admirable."
"Yes, it's the first time someone has thought of holding an exhibition like this."
"..."
In the living room, the representatives of various merchant guilds praised her one after another.
Fountain pens had already gone on sale, and with lines for purchase, there was no need for their involvement.
What they cared about more was the plan behind Gold-Silver Island.
Since morning, people had been arriving one after another, and the crowd grew larger.
Hearing the flattery, Shanaila smiled and responded lightly, "You flatter me. It's thanks to everyone's support that the exhibition succeeded."
Her tone was calm, but there was pride in her heart.
The Wood Elves had given her an honorary presidency, effectively stripping her of any real voice in the Flower of the Stars Merchant Guild.
On Wu Heng's side, she was still repaying debts.
The condition for returning orders each year from the Wood Elves was to hand them over to Shanaila.
The success of this exhibition, the praise from all the large and small merchant guilds—
All proved her capability.
News of the Gold-Silver Island exhibition would surely reach the Wood Elves.
Then the Elder Council would realize—
Expelling her was a loss to the Flower of the Stars, and to the Wood Elves.
More polite compliments followed.
One of the dwarves stroked his beard and asked, "Lady Shanaila, now that the fountain pens are on sale, do you have any insider info on the other two items?"
The others immediately quieted down.
Shanaila elegantly lifted her teacup, took a sip, and smiled as she shook her head, "Hard to say. The Island Lord doesn't allow us to talk about it."
Hearing that there was indeed inside information, everyone's eyes lit up.
"Lady Shanaila, give us a little hint."
"Exactly—we're all close. We won't spread it around."
"Yes..."
Shanaila set down her cup, as if making a decision, and whispered, "Then I'll share a bit—don't spread it."
Everyone nodded solemnly.
Shanaila continued, "In the next few days, watches will be sold. But they're complicated to make, so only a small quantity will be available."
The next few days—
Probably just three to five days.
Looks like they needed to prepare money and buy early.
"What about the enhancement potion?" someone asked.
Shanaila replied, "You all know how important the potion is. Forget us—even nobles and royals across the land will send people to buy it. And since the supply is even smaller, there's a high chance it will be sold via auction."
"If it's an auction, more people will come."
"Special potions are always valuable. This one could go for sky-high prices."
"In that case, vampires and elves—those long-living types who can't break through—might bring out their entire fortunes to bid."
"Now that you say that, I don't think we'll be able to get any."
After Shanaila spoke, the others began to chat among themselves.
Shanaila kept drinking tea, listening as they discussed. The info about the watches and potions would now spread through them.
If prices were higher later, they'd be mentally prepared—after all, the items were rare.
After some discussion—
Shanaila set down her teacup. "Since everyone is here, I'd like to bring up something."
Everyone looked at her.
Shanaila continued, "I have some orders from Gold-Silver Island. Take a look. Gold-Silver Island has a very reliable reputation. We have long-term, large-scale procurement needs, and Flower of the Stars can't handle it all alone."
Her maid brought over a stack of documents.
Shanaila glanced at them. "These are orders for refined steel, woven fabrics, copper plates, white gunpowder, common steel, fine iron..."
She laid the orders out one by one on the table. The others stood up to grab the ones related to their own guilds.
Their expressions were full of surprise and curiosity.
Gold-Silver Island needed this much?
...
City Hall, meeting room.
"Island Lord." Five women in colorful gowns bowed slightly. Their loose collars revealed ample, pale cleavage.
That morning, Wu Heng had received notice from Andviel that someone wanted to adapt a novel.
He thought it was the bard from last time—but instead, it was this group of women.
Wu Heng scanned them, paying particular attention to the last one.
Unlike the flamboyant others, the last one was more tightly wrapped, her aura different.
He looked away and asked, "Sit. You want to adapt Beni's story?"
The women sat. The lead woman smiled. "Island Lord, we're tavern maids from the island. We don't want to be doing that forever. We heard the bard got your permission to adapt the Detective story, and we'd like to try too."
As she spoke, she kept sneaking cautious glances at Wu Heng.
She seemed a bit timid.
"You want to adapt the detective story too?" Wu Heng raised a brow.
"We want to adapt Miss Beni's story," the woman said quickly.
Beni's story—no wonder.
He thought they wanted to crossdress as male characters.
Seeing Wu Heng silent, the woman hurried to add, "Island Lord, we… we want to be like Beni. To have goals and direction."
The Detective's story was about a genius from the bottom, solving case after case with unique talent.
But Beni's story had directly inspired many less privileged women on the island.
Especially tavern maids—Beni became their role model.
"What class are you?" Wu Heng asked.
"We don't have a class, but we've contacted some bards. They're teaching us. We're practicing hard and hope to perform the story well," the woman said anxiously, then stood and bowed. "Please believe in us."
Class scrolls weren't expensive, especially for tavern maids.
The issue wasn't the scroll, but the lack of direction.
After getting a class, you still had to follow its path and train. Combat classes required lots of gear too.
Wu Heng looked them over one by one. "Alright, I agree. Study hard. If this path suits you, I'll prepare class scrolls for you."
The women looked up, as if they couldn't believe how simple that was.
He had agreed just like that—and even sounded encouraging.
"Really? Lord Island Master!" the lead woman was emotional.
"Really. Go rehearse. If you can truly perform, come to City Hall and get your scrolls," Wu Heng said with a smile.
"Thank you, Lord Island Master!" the group thanked him again.
"It's fine. Go practice well," Wu Heng said.
They nodded, bowed, and backed out of the room.
...
The others left, but the figure in the back wearing a hood did not.
Wu Heng looked at her in confusion. "You're not with them?"
The figure removed her hood, revealing golden hair and a delicate face.
A young and beautiful human woman.
And standing there, she exuded an air of authority.
She gave a lady's curtsey and said, "Brittany, greetings, Island Lord."
"Have we met?"
She looked up seriously. "Island Lord, we met in Netare City. I traded a strange item to you for potions."