#492 - Guardian Badge (asking for monthly ticket recommendation ticket)

After hearing Anduin's conditions, Claremont's face immediately darkened. He didn't just want to curse; he wanted to pull out his wand and hit this little bastard with an 'Avada Kedavra' right then and there!

It was simply outrageous. Claremont's head throbbed with anger. If he agreed to Anduin's conditions, wouldn't that mean he'd have to give the other party 6,000 Galleons in cash before any cooperation even began? Who the hell could come up with that?

The annual agency fee wasn't the problem; the 5,000 Galleon cash payment was the real headache.

The other party even euphemistically called it a reserve fund!

Once the money was handed over, it would be held by Anduin for five years, and by the time those five years were up, he'd probably have earned another 5,000 Galleons with it.

And what if Anduin came up with some other excuse, slapped a charge on Claremont's shop, and he might never see that money again in his life!

"Impossible!" Claremont couldn't bother with pretense anymore. He looked at Anduin with a grimace. "Your demands are too harsh. I'm afraid I can't agree."

"Oh? Then there's nothing I can do…" Anduin shrugged helplessly. "In that case, you'll have to wait until I hold a contract bid. I believe everyone can negotiate a better price then. I thought with your strength, meeting these conditions would be a piece of cake."

With that, Anduin stood up, patted his pants, and looked at Claremont apologetically. "I'm sorry, please excuse me, Lord Claremont. Thank you for your hospitality. I also have an appointment with the famous German wandmaker, Mr. Gregorovich. He seems to be interested in expanding into the alchemy business. Maybe he'll agree to my conditions."

Seeing Anduin so decisive, not even bothering to negotiate, and ready to leave, Claremont felt a sense of panic.

And when he heard the name Gregorovich mentioned, his heart tightened even more.

This Gregorovich was not the one whose 'Elder Wand' was stolen by Grindelwald, but his son, who had inherited his father's wandmaking skills and was the most powerful wandmaker in Germany, running the family's 'Gregorovich Wand Shop'.

Claremont hadn't heard that the owner of this legendary wand shop had any plans to expand his business, but seeing Anduin's calm demeanor, he felt that it was probably true.

And if the opponent was Gregorovich, he might really be able to afford such harsh conditions. Moreover, he had a good relationship with the famous British wandmaker Ollivander, and Anduin might have used that connection.

Claremont's mind raced in an instant, and the more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed, so he became increasingly anxious.

"Wait, Mr. Wilson!" Before Anduin could take two steps, Claremont quickly stopped him. "Perhaps we can discuss this cooperation further. Don't be in such a hurry to leave."

With that, Claremont even personally stepped forward to put his arm around Anduin, a very inappropriate move in commercial negotiations, as it was a sign of weakness, exposing the negotiator's urgency and bottom line.

"Oh? Is Lord Claremont ready to agree?" Anduin looked at the other party with interest. "I knew it, how could a mere few thousand Galleons trouble you?"

"Uh, this…" Claremont was a little embarrassed, but he still forced himself to pull Anduin back to his seat. "Mr. Wilson, can you give us a little more flexibility on the price, especially the reserve fund… It's just too high. Basically, no one can come up with that much money at once."

"I'm sorry, Lord Claremont, everything else is negotiable, but the agency fee and the reserve fund are not." Anduin shook his head indifferently.

Anduin didn't care about subsequent orders and fees. He just wanted to squeeze some cash out of Claremont before dealing with him. Did the other party really think Anduin was going to reach an agency agreement with him?

Hearing Anduin's firm reply, Claremont frowned in worry.

Could he come up with the 6,000 Galleons? If he had to pay, he really could, but that would mean drawing out all the liquid funds from his shop and the black market, and even using some of the funds from the breeding base.

But that would be equivalent to embezzling the club's public funds, and Claremont wouldn't dare to do that, no matter how bold he was. However, he was very eager for the equipment in Anduin's hands, so he was in a dilemma.

Perhaps I can talk to the club's superiors and ask them to pre-approve some funds as trade expenses?

But there must be conditions that the club's superiors would agree to, such as those high-quality alchemy equipment?

After quickly calculating in his mind, Claremont felt that if conditions permitted, Silver Spear should be able to give him some support.

However, there were some things that had to be confirmed with this little fox.

"Mr. Wilson," Claremont paused slightly. "It's not impossible for me to agree to such conditions, but you must also agree to one of my conditions."

"Please speak, as long as it's a reasonable request, I don't mind sharing your worries." Anduin spread his hands generously.

"It's like this. I know that in addition to selling these current alchemy items, you also have some more powerful equipment for sale. I hope that these equipment can also be included in this transaction." Claremont revealed his true intentions.

This was the condition he was hoping for. If he could get the agency rights for those XXX-level products, then Claremont would be able to talk to the club's superiors with these equipment. The club needed these equipment very much.

You should know that although the club's superiors also had ways to purchase these equipment, the price offered by the British Ministry of Magic was too high, and they couldn't purchase them in large quantities. Moreover, buying too much suddenly would easily arouse suspicion from the British Ministry of Magic.

And once he could get these equipment at a relatively reasonable price, he could continuously supply them to the club and exchange them for the club's funds.

In this way, those annual minimum order fees were simply not worth mentioning to him.

"You mean those XXX-level equipment?" Anduin sneered inwardly. As expected, he showed his true colors. But on the surface, he just shook his head lightly. "I'm sorry, these alchemy items are too dangerous and cannot be sold directly to the outside world. We have already handed over their operating rights to the British Ministry of Magic. Unauthorized sales are illegal."

"Can't you make an exception?" Claremont lowered his voice slightly. "If you can give me a little leeway, I can add a little more 'reserve fund', and the other conditions are negotiable!"

Anduin looked at Claremont with a hint of sarcasm. Was he trying to bribe me? Did he think I was the kind of person who lacked money?

"I'm sorry, Lord Claremont, these equipment are not a joke. I don't want to offend the Ministry of Magic of my country because of this." Anduin still shook his head firmly.

"Then can't you think of other ways? For example, disguise individual equipment as XX-level items that can be sold normally? Or we don't go through public accounts, private delivery is also fine!" Claremont was now doing everything he could, indirectly offering Anduin advice.

Don't go through public accounts? Was he trying to trick me into smuggling directly from the source?

Anduin looked at Claremont speechlessly. This guy really deserved to be someone who had been mixing with smugglers like Silver Spear for a long time. He was actually giving him such a bad idea. Was he trying to drag him into the abyss of crime?

"Lord Claremont, please don't joke around!" Naturally, Anduin couldn't agree to such a suicidal request, so he looked at the other party with a serious face.

Seeing that Anduin was so unyielding, Claremont was a little discouraged. "In that case, I'm afraid I can't agree to your previous conditions."

Nonsense, if he couldn't get those high-end equipment and only import other items, who knew how long it would take to earn back the 6,000 Galleons.

"It seems that Lord Claremont has a special liking for those powerful equipment." Anduin smiled lightly, then changed the subject. "I can't sell those XXX-level items at will, but perhaps I have other ways to meet your needs."

"Oh? What do you mean?" Claremont was immediately energized again.

"I'm preparing to launch a new batch of products recently." Anduin paused. "The strength of these new alchemy items is much better than the old products, but they have not reached the dangerous level of XXX-level."

"New products." Claremont didn't expect Anduin to be talking about those high-end equipment, but he still asked patiently, "What's so special about these new products?"

"Then let me briefly introduce one of them to you." With that, Anduin took out a beautifully decorated small box from his body.

When Anduin opened it, Claremont saw a metal badge engraved with a 'Gryphon' lying inside. This item was a circle larger than the amulet-like items he usually saw, and he could tell with the naked eye that the materials used in this item were expensive.

"Please allow me to solemnly introduce to you, this is my newly launched 'Guardian Badge', which is a strengthened version of the 'Defense Amulet' in terms of function. It can directly cast [Human-shaped Iron Armor Curse] to protect the wearer when encountering danger."

"It can cumulatively withstand attacks with a power value of 300 points. The power value I'm talking about is the value displayed on the human-shaped target. If you have no concept, it's roughly equivalent to 7 Stunning Spells cast by adult wizards."

"Moreover, this badge has an energy storage function. After being activated, as long as the wizard injects magic power into it, it can be used repeatedly, roughly accepting 35-40 recharges." Anduin pushed the box in his hand to the other party and explained in detail.

[If you like this novel, I hope you will share it to Facebook, the author is very grateful.]