"Meaning," Furina said slowly, "unless we expand Sumeru's northern Bayda Port to the size of Port Ormos… or even Liyue Harbor… you won't consider establishing formal maritime routes?"
At this point, even Furina finally understood what Idris was angling for.
This man was trying to use the Fontaine–Sumeru negotiations to get Fontaine to help him upgrade Sumeru's port.
Idris simply smiled.
"Of course. I'm only stating facts."
"Bayda Port is tiny. There's no way it can handle high-traffic trade routes every single day."
Furina stared at the annoyingly calm smile on Idris' face—
A smile that felt just a bit punch-worthy.
She looked helplessly toward her strategist team behind her.
Navia leaned close and whispered:
"Idris is just trying to profit a little.
If you think it's manageable, Lady Furina, you might as well agree.
Besides… he's not wrong."
The rest of the team nodded as well.
If Idris wanted to take advantage of this deal a bit, then so be it. Better to agree quickly than drag it out.
Seeing her team's unified stance, Furina finally exhaled.
"Very well, Lord Idris.
Fontaine agrees."
"We will send manpower and resources to expand Bayda Port into a proper large-scale harbor as quickly as possible."
Idris nodded with satisfaction.
This was a huge win for Sumeru.
Fontaine excelled at port engineering. With their help, Sumeru would soon gain a powerful new maritime hub.
Sitting beside him, Nahida watched Idris negotiate and couldn't help shrugging inwardly.
So cunning.
Negotiations hadn't even properly begun, and he had already extracted a port as "opening compensation."
As expected of Idris…
Negotiations Continue
After settling the port issue, Furina straightened up and continued:
"Next… regarding the Bloodline Elixir's refinement."
"You should already understand the situation, Lord Idris. Fontaine requires massive amounts of this pill."
"And while we know the recipe cannot be sold, we still hope—
that you might allow us access to the formula."
"And please don't treat this as a threat.
Yes, Fontaine needs the pill desperately, but it does not mean we can't survive without it."
"We do have other methods to handle the Prophecy of the End."
Furina finally showed a bit of backbone.
She couldn't let Idris swallow all the benefits. Especially after she had already handed him a free port expansion.
But Idris merely chuckled.
"Lady Furina, we are trading as equals.
There is no threat between us."
"However… you and I both know our nations do not have a trusting relationship."
"Not like Sumeru and Liyue."
"So even if you ask for the recipe, I can't give you an answer now."
Nahida immediately rolled her eyes.
This man is unbelievably sly!
She knew perfectly well Idris had already planned what he wanted from Fontaine, but he simply refused to reveal it—keeping everyone dancing on his strings like a merchant haggling for maximum profit.
Furina paused.
"So tell me then—"
"What would you consider good diplomatic relations?"
"Should we… form a political marriage?"
Her face flushed red the moment the words left her mouth.
Because realistically—
If a political marriage were needed…
The only possible candidate in Fontaine…
would be Furina herself.
But Idris simply shook his head.
"Political marriage? No thank you.
I prefer technological exchange."
"There are two technologies I'm very interested in—
your rail-based aquatrains,
and your firearm engineering."
Idris had tried to recreate firearms from his past life, but in Teyvat, they were essentially useless "sticks."
Fontaine's guns, on the other hand, used Meka and Indemnitium energy, making them far more powerful and adapted to this world.
As for the aquatrains—
Idris still dreamed of building elevated sky-bridges across Sumeru.
Why not learn from Fontaine?
He didn't ask for Meka automaton blueprints—
Sumeru already had the legacy of the God of Machines.
Besides, Fontaine's machines had caused enough incidents; Idris didn't want nobles using them as private armies.
He also refrained from bringing up the floating Ark—
the top-secret ship hidden in the Fortress of Meropide. Idris wanted it badly, but mentioning it now would be politically dangerous.
Neuvillette's voice came calmly:
"Lord Idris…
Are you suggesting exchanging the Bloodline Elixir formula for both our firearm blueprints and aquatrain technology?"
"Forgive me, but even if your pill is important—
it is still just a formula."
"To exchange it for weapon schematics and our signature engineering designs…
That seems unbalanced."
Sigewinne nodded in agreement.
She had studied the pill's components.
It was indeed powerful—but ultimately still a type of medicinal pellet, not a divine creation.
Idris smiled faintly.
"There is no such thing as a forever 'fair' trade."
Fontaine's side visibly stiffened.
They all knew this was true—
and hated how effortlessly he said it.
But since they couldn't beat him, and since they didn't truly know whether Furina really had an alternative to avoid the Prophecy…
No one dared push back too hard.
Idris then leaned back slightly.
"If it troubles you so much, then we can call it…
technology sharing."
"I give you the Bloodline Elixir formula."
"You give us your firearms research and aquatrain engineering."
"And if, in the future, we make breakthroughs using your technology,
we will share them with you."
"For example—if I accidentally create a superior firearm."
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