Earlier, Beals found it funny that Brulee was worrying about not getting enough potions when a “future master alchemist” was standing right next to them. But now, he was sure that Angor and Eureka at least weren’t friends.
Should I take the chance to gain his trust?
He considered and decided not to be so hasty right now. He had not figured out the true relationship between Angor and Eureka yet. Acting too straightforwardly could make Angor suspicious.
Since Brulee agreed to take the materials, Angor quickly organized them up and stashed them into his bracelet without a word.
After waiting for Angor to finish, Beals glanced at the room’s door and whispered, “What’s your plan about that man, sir? We can deal with him for you. Consider it an extra service.”
“No.” Angor shook his head. “I’ll not trouble you for such a trifle, sir.”
Beals nodded and left the room.
Shark Hunter saw Angor coming out and kept up his “bodyguard performance” while trying not to look into anyone’s eyes.
When walking away from the settlement, Beals pointed to the cages nearby as he introduced his slaves. “We brought several excellent helpers with us. How about taking one home, my friend?”
Angor looked at a particularly shiny cage where he saw a human hand earlier.
“Good eye, sir.” Beals saw Angor’s look and grinned. “That one right there is the most precious slave we found. Care to take a look?”
Those words surprised all remaining shoppers nearby. They asked to check the golden cage earlier but Beals never agreed.
This was not fair!
Still, the customers carefully moved closer, hoping to see what kind of slave Beals was talking about. They might not be able to afford it, but they all would like to satisfy their curiosity.
“I’m delivering goods for Miss Eureka. I’m not buying.” Angor turned away.
“It’ll just take you a minute, mister. Who knows, maybe you’ll change your mind,” Beals insisted.
Even one of the onlookers could no longer stay silent, and the onlooker said to Angor in the open, “Come on, we all want to see what’s in there. A little help, alright?”
Beals saw Angor returning and gladly removed the black cloth from the cage.
The buyers, as well as several members from the trading team, all gasped in astonishment.
Angor was pretty surprised as well. By looking at the smooth skin of a hand, he thought the cage had a human lady or a humanoid female that looked similar to a lady.
He was wrong.
There was a feathered woman inside, who was plantified below her waist. Her upper part had clean, white skin full of snow-white feathers grown into different beautiful patterns and lengths. Her face did not have any feathers but looked exceptionally charming by human standards. There was just one problem—her eyeballs were completely white without irises, which made her look a bit creepy.
What should be below her waist had been replaced by an unrooted tree stump of some sort. At first glance, she seemed like someone who was trapped inside a tree trying to get out. Although the truth was quite the opposite—it was the woman who partially turned into a tree.
Her upper body could still function normally. But in the views of wizards, she was now a plant. An amazing species of plant.
People even had a specific name for this type of plantified feather-woman, “Goddess of Spring” Demeter.
The Goddess of Spring was a figure told in legends, who facilitated harvest and agriculture, presiding over grains and the fertility of the earth. In reality, winged folks who chose to become a Demeter could achieve similar feats by granting protection over a piece of land. The longer they lived, the larger the area they could protect.
Back at Twilight Auction, Angor saw a Parmigi Winged Folk who offered herself as a slave to be sold. Later, he found a relevant book that described a more ancient Demeter who fused herself with a magical tree, after which her power of nourishment covered an area as big as the entire Ferran Land.
The Demeter in this cage still looked young. Telling from the “rings” on her stump, she had been in this condition for about 10 years. Probably because her roots were removed, she couldn’t receive any energy from nature.
As Angor watched, a single drop of tear moved along the Demeter’s cheek until it landed inside a small bottle placed under her.
A Demeter’s tear was also a valuable component used by alchemists to hasten the growth of plants.
“A wild Demeter we captured at Moranbah Highland. What do you think?” Beals fixed his gaze at Angor without minding the other discussing guests.
As planned, their team should transport the Demeter to Sky Auction. But since Angor was here, Beals had no problem selling her earlier.
A rich shopper nearby tried to offer a price but was silenced by Beals’ cold stare.
Shark Hunter was also gazing at the Demeter while not hiding his greed. Apart from helping with agriculture, a Demeter also worked as a balancer that improved primal mana within its protected zone, which was a priceless gift for every wizard.
People could not openly trade Demeters in public because this meant taking Winged Folks as slaves. They could still find wild ones who weren’t administered by their tribe, although with great difficulty.
Shark Hunter simply couldn’t remove his new ambition from his mind now. Getting this Demeter meant he didn’t have to risk hijacking people in the Gully Sector for at least several centuries.
He then looked at Angor again. Until now, Beals was only interested in speaking to Angor, and this had terrified Shark Hunter for good because he feared that he would not get away alive today.
Meanwhile, Angor was inspecting the Demeter in great interest.
Sunders once mentioned getting a Demeter at Phantom Island. However, the plan never worked out because Brute Cavern and the Parmigi Winged Folks were supposed to be allies, so the Phantom Servants had been maintaining the environment on the island by normal means, such as using magic arrays and feces collected from the phantom beasts.
Obtaining a Demeter would free up lots of manpower.
Angor would admit that he was truly considering a purchase right now.
As commonly known, a Demeter was one of the best tools for assisting the training of supernatural beings, especially freshmen like Leon. The power of life provided by a Demeter might also improve Jon’s health in the long run.
“Did the beauty catch your mind?” Beals smiled.
“Mister Beals... I must say this is a difficult choice to make.”
“You ARE interested, I see. I can give you a fair price. Consider it a small token of friendship, shall we?”
Beals moved his lips and sent a private Voice Transmission to Angor, much to the dismay of everyone else. Although they didn’t have a choice since Beals never intended to sell them the Demeter.
Apart from coveting the valuable Demeter, they all began to suspect Angor’s true identity as well.
Beals’ price was 10,000 magic crystals, which was pretty cheap for a wild Demeter that was worth at least five to ten times more if sold at public auctions.
Angor looked at the weeping Demeter again and nodded to Beals.
“Deal.”
“Nice.” Beals pointed to the stone house they used earlier. “To be safe, I’m afraid we have to go there again.”
After Beals and Angor entered the house, the other customers started another round of loud discussion. Everyone would like to know who Angor was and how he paid enough money for what was probably the most expensive item offered by Ashen Traders.
Meanwhile, Rossum carefully looked around the settlement and saw several shady figures leaving the scene while using their transmitters to contact someone.
“Heh.” Rossum found his assistant and issued an order, “Find some men and do as I say...”