Lich for Hire-Chapter 40: The World of the Rich
When Ambrose saw the message pop up, he froze. Hadn't the Dullahan's wife said he wouldn't be able to leave home for years? How was he still sending private messages?
He quickly replied: [Megaman Tiga: Weren't you grounded by your wife?] 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞
[Dullahan's Crown: Grounded? Don't spread nonsense. It was just a small domestic disagreement.]
[Megaman Tiga: Come on. You might fool others, but don't try to fool yourself as well.]
[Dullahan's Crown: Quit yapping. Anyway, I'm heading out for a bit. Mind if I crash at your place for a few days?]
That pitiful tone made Ambrose hesitate to bring up rent. He decided to be generous for once. After all, the undead didn't eat or drink.
[Megaman Tiga: Sure. Stay as long as you want.]
[Dullahan's Crown: Good man. I'm on my way.]
Ambrose suddenly had a bad feeling. Sure enough, a burst of light flared in the center of his laboratory.
Wait... that's the teleportation array I used to send him the living mercury sample! Don't tell me this lunatic is going to teleport himself here?
Panicking, Ambrose poured his power into the array to dismantle its restrictions.
Transferring a bottle was one thing, but teleporting a legendary powerhouse? That could blow the whole array sky-high.
He had barely managed to do so when a towering giant emerged from the gloom.
He was a few meters tall, clad in heavy black armor, and forced to stoop to avoid breaking the ceiling.
"Quick, Megaman, disable the array—no, destroy it!" the headless giant boomed, his voice deep as a gong. He slammed a gauntleted fist down. The impact shook the entire lab as if there had been an earthquake. The intricate teleportation circle shattered into dust.
Ambrose winced in pain. "Calm down! My place can't take this level of abuse!"
The Dullahan glanced around casually. "Megaman, your base is kind of shabby, you know. Doesn't really suit a legendary lich."
Ambrose's brief moment of sympathy evaporated. "Don't compare this place to your Dragon Graveyard! If you don't like it, go back! And that teleportation circle was expensive!"
He mentally added a two-hundred-gold-per-day lodging fee to cover the damage.
"Relax, I'll pay you double," the knight replied.
His huge frame began to shrink. He soon settled into normal human proportions.
Then he pulled out a custom-made helmet and fastened it to his neck stump, one which fit perfectly with his enchanted black chestplate. When he clicked it into place, the visor lit up, glowing faintly as if there were eyes within the helmet.
He now looked like a perfect death knight.
Ambrose couldn't help but gape at him. "Seriously? You're running away from home in disguise? Is your wife trying to kill you?"
The Dullahan ignored the jab and handed him a small pouch. "I didn't have time to bring much on the way here. Here's a little something as thanks."
Ambrose peeked inside—not coins, but instead a pile of high-grade magical reagents, most of them rare draconic specialties. Even a handful of these would sell for a fortune.
He did a quick estimate: the pouch's contents were worth at least two or three hundred thousand gold.
"Hardly, hardly! There's no need for such formality between us! Come, let me show you around. If there's anything you need, just say the word."
Ambrose's attitude flipped instantly. For that kind of gift, he was ready to swear brotherhood with the Dullahan on the spot.
Thankfully, the Dullahan wasn't hard to please. After a brief look around, he asked, "This place isn't far from Alkhemia, right? I heard any race is welcome there, even the undead."
"Right. As long as you don't start fights, you can enter safely. Do you want to visit the city?"
Ambrose hesitated. Considering he'd just received three hundred thousand gold's worth of materials, it was his duty to play host. But he was in the middle of negotiating with Black Rose, a client worth far more than that. Missing a message from her would be disastrous.
The Dullahan noticed his hesitation and laughed. "Don't worry about me. I'll just have a drink and look around. You handle your business."
"What a great guy," Ambrose thought. "Generous, considerate... though, how does a headless man drink? Does he pour it straight down his neck?"
He said aloud, "No problem, but I'd suggest changing your look. Alkhemia might tolerate undead, but if you stroll in like this, everyone's going to be on high alert."
Unlike Ambrose, who was a half-baked legend, the Dullahan radiated strength. His entire being was steeped in an aura of dominance, and the enchanted armor he wore practically glowed with magic. It was clearly artifact-tier.
If he went about dressed like that, people would immediately assume that the undead were about to invade Alkhemia.
"Fair point."
The knight twisted a ring on his hand. His form rippled as he transformed from a deathly juggernaut into a rugged human mercenary.
A shapeshifting ring was an absurdly expensive toy.
Shapeshifting wasn't a particularly powerful spell; rather, it was quite ordinary. But embedding a spell in an item cost a small fortune. Doing so for such a basic spell was like making an ashtray out of pure gold.
Even broke, the Dullahan radiated the unmistakable aura of old money.
The doubly transformed Dullahan now looked like an ordinary middle-aged adventurer, as long as no one stared at him too closely. Flashes of strength seeped out from his bearing subconsciously.
It was little wonder that this man had once killed his way out of an encirclement of thousands of paladins from the Lyon Empire and lived to tell the tale.
"All right then, I'll go have that drink. Don't wait up for me."
He was gone before Ambrose could blink, elated about his newfound freedom.
Ambrose sighed. "How long has he been cooped up if going out for a drink makes him that happy? A legendary hero, afraid of his wife... marriage really is like being shackled down."
He had no time to commiserate. Another message from Black Rose had just arrived.
[Black Rose: I have to admit, your spirit golem design is brilliant. If my teacher were still alive, he'd be thrilled. Thank you.]
Ambrose could sense the faint sorrow behind her words.
[Megaman Tiga: Glad you like it.]
[Black Rose: There are minor tweaks I might suggest, but overall, I'm very satisfied. It's exactly what I wanted. But you can't produce living mercury yourself, can you? To mass produce these golems, you'll need to buy living mercury in bulk from Alkhemia.]
[Megaman Tiga: True, but don't worry. They sell counterfeit living mercury for much cheaper.]
[Black Rose: No, that's not what I'm concerned about. You underestimate the scale at which I want you to work. I need at least a hundred thousand of these living mercury golems. If you purchase that much living mercury, Alkhemia will surely notice. They'll investigate, and the Lyon Empire will soon be on alert.]
A hundred thousand?!
Ambrose nearly dropped the Codex. He had planned to sell each golem for fifty thousand gold—five billion total! If the alchemists of Alkhemia heard about that, they'd lose their minds. They'd tear his castle apart for that kind of fortune.
With that many golems, was Black Rose really planning to go to war with the Lyon Empire? That would be suicide.
[Megaman Tiga: It'd be impossible to buy that much living mercury. I'll have to try breeding them myself. They do represent a true species and are able to reproduce on their own, though it's slow and metal-intensive.]
[Black Rose: Exactly what I thought. Time isn't an issue. I'll handle the metal supply.]
[Megaman Tiga: Teleporting raw metals is costly, and large shipments of ore might attract attention from Alkhemia.]
Magic could do nearly anything, but it didn't come cheap. Teleporting costly goods was fine, but doing the same for cheap materials in bulk was pure extravagance.
[Black Rose: No need. I'll crash the local ore market myself. Once prices plummet, a few mines will go bankrupt. I'll provide the funds for you to buy one outright.]
Ambrose: "..."
Just how rich was Black Rose?
Crashing an entire regional market just to buy a mine—was that what the world of the rich was like?
