First Trading

"Do you know each other?" Oli asks looking at both the man and Zion.

"Yes, young master. We did some deals a couple of times." Zion answered.

"Yes. A COUPLE of times." The man said while emphasizing the couple word.

Oli knew the two had an issue with each other but, that's not his problem, Oli came here to trade and to purchase a dwarf slave. So, if Zion knew this man, he can assist them a lot and, by looking at his shop and clothes, Oli was sure that he was a wealthy and influential man.

"Uncle Zion, can I talk to you for a minute?" Oli.

Zion glared at the man menacingly before looking and nodding at Oli. He then followed Oli a little far from the shop to talk in private.

"Can you please tell me, who is that man? And it seems the two of you had a grudge at each other?" Oli asked Zion.

"As you know, I was once a soldier, I and that man face each other a couple of times in battlefield and when our army met in battlefield there sure to be a huge amount of casualties on both side, so in the end, we both retreated." Zion answered.

"So, in short, the battle between you and that man has always been a draw? Right? So the deals you are talking about are about war and fighting. Anyway, can you please tell me who that man is? I'm sure you know it, right Uncle?" Oli.

"Even if it's hurt my pride as a soldier, yes. Our battle always ended draw due to the huge amount of casualties. And as for who that man is..." Zion paused a second before continuing.

"That man is the Grand Duke of Literra Empire, the older brother of the Emperor, Wyatt Stuart." Zion continuing.

"Grand Duke?" Oli asked and had a confused face. 'Grand Duke? What the hell was that? When I get back to Earth, I will be sure to read about the titles of royalties and nobles. It sucks that when I always heard a new title, I always asked someone about it. It is better to have a rough idea on anything to avoid any complications.' Oli thought.

"The Grand Duke title only gave to someone related to royal or imperial families. An example of that is Wyatt. Wyatt is the older brother of the Emperor of Literra Empire, that's why he had a Grand Duke title bestowed upon him." Zion paused a moment to look back at the shop, so Oli also looked back only to see Wyatt standing in a dignified posture while also looking at them while waiting for them to conclude their talking.

"Unlike the Count, who rules a City and doesn't have his army, the Grand Duke is different. A Grand Duke had his territory to self-govern. It's up to him if he will follow or change the rules and laws of the Empire within his territory. In short, they can be treated as an independent territory within the Kingdom or Empire.

And unlike Counts, Grand Dukes have a right to form and own an army that is not associated with the royal or imperial army. That's why to avoid revolt, Grand Duke's title only vested on royal or imperial family closed relative." Zion explained further.

Oli did not know what to say and how to react to what he found out. But he had a question in his mind. "Based on what you said, he's also a soldier like you, right? But he's also a merchant at the same time?"

"I don't know the exact details young master but, yes. He's a soldier at the same time a merchant. And actually, his territory in Literra Empire is the most extensive trading spot on the Continent, making him one of the wealthiest men on the Continent. And if he's here in the Lapin Kingdom, I'm sure some--. " Zion couldn't continue what he was going to say when Oli cut him off.

"Can we trust him, Uncle Zion? Between you and me, you're the one who encountered him a few times. So, can we trust him?" Oli.

Oli was talking about is the fact that they came to the Wasteland Country. If the Grand Duke looks down and insults them because they came to Wasteland Country, Oli will find another shop to accomplish the trade.

"Yes. We can, young master. There's nothing to worry about." Zion replied, realizing the meaning behind Oli's question.

"Okay then. Let's make a deal with him." Oli said and started to return to the shop same goes for Zion.

"Are you finished talking?" Wyatt asked.

"Yes, Your Serene Grace. I'm sor--." Oli didn't finish when Wyatt snorted at him.

"Please, cut that being so formal. I'm not a Grand Duke right now. I'm just a normal merchant hoping to trade." Wyatt.

"My apologies. First and foremost, I am Oli, an acting Chairman of Leefside village, in the Country of Vedrain. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I'm hoping to do the trade with you, sir. It is possible?"

"I'm Wyatt Stuart, owner of Stuart trading. The pleasure is mine Oli. And the answer in your question, it is possible but, as far as I know, Vedrain rig--." Wyatt didn't finish his saying when Oli interrupted.

"Why don't we make a bet?" Oli.

"Oh? A bet, you say?" Wyatt's smile became wide when he heard Oli. He liked Oli's attitude.

"If I win you'll pay me ten platinum coins, and if you win you can have all the goods we're carrying right now." Oli said while pointing at the two crates they were carrying.

"Wait, how can I be sure that the contents of the crates are worth ten platinum coins? Ten platinum is not a small amount. What about this, one of these days, I will need help from Zion, ten platinum coins if you win, and if I win, Zion will listen to whatever help I need from him. What about that? Rather a fair right? You have nothing to lose anyway." Wyatt says with a wide grin on his face as if he already won.

Oli looked at Zion when he heard this, realizing that Oli was looking, Zion just sigh and nodded his head.

"Deal." Oli said.

***

Oli's group and Wyatt are in the room right now. After agreeing to the rewards of the bet, Wyatt invited the group to the VIP room to do the trade. Wyatt was sure that he already won the bet. Not knowing that Oli was not from here, Oli was so many goods in his arsenals to trade.

"Sorry for the wait." Oli carefully puts down the box of the wine glass. Before the group entered the establishment, Oli told Wyatt to wait a bit saying, he would get the other goods he would like to trade, and then Oli looked at an alley where no passed then Oli opened the portal real quick and got, the two boxes of wine glass before going back.

"Nope. It's okay. Anyway, we have the rewards, what about the bet?" Wyatt asked.

Oli smiles before answering. "I know what your thinking. What can a village from Wasteland Country can trade-off? Do they matter? I honestly think that, if not for Uncle Zion being here, you would not agree to anything about this." Oli paused then, signaling Viron and others to put the crate above the center table. With the creaking sound, the crates opened, everyone sees a three-colored powder in the other crate while the other is the foods that are commonly eaten here in the Continent. "I present to you, the spice." Oli continuing.

"So, about the bet, it's simple, you just have to not any kinds of expressions when you taste the food that the people of Leefside eating. Simple right?" Oli.

"Yes. It's simple." Wyatt said while admiring Oli's ability to see through. Oli was right. If not for Zion being their companion, Wyatt wouldn't entertain Oli.

"I believed in saying that, by experiencing something, one would learn a lot so, before I explain the three spices, I will first let you experience it," Oli said while taking the mashed potato out of the crate.

When Oli takes out the mashed potato, Oli signals Wyatt to taste it, and when he finishes tasting it, Wyatt's expression remains neutral. Then Oli grabbed a little salt from the crate and sprinkled it on the mashed potato that Wyatt tasted and stirred. When he finished, he signaled Wyatt again to taste the mashed potato.

You can see the irritation and stupefaction on Wyatt's face when Oli signaled for him to taste the mashed potato again because it would taste the same but, when he tasted it again, his two eyes suddenly widened at what he tasted.

Unlike at first which was bland, now there is a flavor that he has never tasted in his whole life here on the Continent. He didn't realize that he was already smiling while tasting the mashed potato with salt.

Wyatt was about to take the bowl filled with mashed potatoes, but Oli immediately took it away made Wyatt look at him menacingly. Oli ignored it instead, Oli just held out his hand.

When Wyatt saw this, he only realized that he had lost the bet. Wyatt immediately placed a brown pouch filled with coins in Oli's hand.

"Now, give me that fucking bowl right now! Consider that as my payment." Wyatt said after he placed the pouch in Oli's palm. Oli immediately handed the bowl to him and, when he got it, he immediately ate the mashed potato and, in less than a few seconds, it was gone instantly.

When Wyatt finished, he immediately set the bowl down on the table and took a deep breath before speaking.

"Okay. You got me there. I didn't expec--." Wyatt didn't finish what he was going to say when Oli interrupted him.

"We're not finished yet." Oli said while having a big smile on his face. For Oli, this kind of food is normal on Earth but, from the perspective of people living here on the Continent, this is their first time tasting this kind of food.

With that, the spice made it through the Continent, where the food was tasteless.

***

"What do you think?" Oli asked Wyatt. They finished their tasting trial so, Oli asked Wyatt what he think about the spice.

"It's good. It's really good. This common food can transform into something out of this Continent with the help of these powders. I can never imagine if this powder was put in high-class food. I'm sure all the Royalties and Nobles will go crazy because of this." Wyatt said when he finished drinking water because he eat porridge with chili powder. "What do you call these three again?" Wyatt asked.

"This white powder salt, the black is pepper, and this red powder called chili." Oli answered.

Wyatt just nodded his head and, in a bit of a second, his face turned serious, and asked Oli about the trade. "I'll be honest with you. These what you called spice is sure will take over the market. Many merchants common or high class will fight among themselves just to get even a bit of this these. Anyone who will sell this will surely become wealthy in a short amount of time if they hold a monopoly of this." Wyatt paused a bit and leaned forward.

"So, I'll make you an offer. I'm sure you don't have experience in trading so, I'll do all the work in trading. All you need to do is to deliver the spice to my shop and, we're fifty-fifty share agreement. What do you say?" Wyatt.

Wyatt was right. Oli has no experience and doesn't know how the market works but, fifty-fifty is no small amount. Oli was pondering if this is worth the risk and thinking about it if he agreed with this, all he needed to do is deliver the spice. And he would get money to fix the village.

At the same time, people in Leefside can have jobs. He will buy raw materials on Earth, then here on the Continent, he will turn them into powder. There was nothing to lose, the spice on Earth is cheap if bought in bulk.

"I'll agree with you but I have a condition." Oli said and when Wyatt heard it, he just remain silent and waited for Oli to continue.

"This spice is not easy to produce and, right now, our village is not in the right condition to do the process. You need to wait a few more weeks before the new spice is produced and, lastly, I need seeds, livestock, horses for traveling and farming, and a carriage. If you can fulfill all of this, then we have a deal." Oli.

"That's all? Hahaha, I thought your condition is a bit more demanding but, oh well, we have a deal then?" Wyatt extended his hand for a handshake to seal the deal.

"We have a deal." Oli said and took Wyatt's hand.

With this deal, the Continent didn't know that a powerful alliance is born.