This Lich Requests More Remuneration
Chapter 258 - 239: Penniless Flint

Chapter 258: Chapter 239: Penniless Flint

Gustavo Flint lashed his servant furiously.

It was this person’s responsibility to send out the invitations, including Isabel’s, yet he had failed to inform his master of Isabel’s address.

Of course, this wasn’t his fault, since many invitations had been sent out, and Gustavo Flint had never bothered to ask where these people lived.

The beating was purely because his master had been holding in a fit of anger.

Even though the servant knew he was being unjustly punished, he could only loudly admit his faults, hoping his master would forgive him.

Gustavo Flint didn’t put away the whip until he himself was drenched in sweat from exhaustion.

"Prepare the carriage, then go treat your wounds," he commanded.

When dealing with that Lich, there was nothing to discuss.

He knew the old creature too well, even the Prince of Lies himself couldn’t persuade him with words.

The moment the carriage stopped, Gustavo Flint climbed aboard impatiently.

The coachman quickly asked, "Master, where are we headed?"

Gustavo Flint replied in a very gloomy tone, "To Goblin Bank."

As the Dwarf Kingdom practiced a policy of equality among all races, many races that were hunted as monsters elsewhere could live in this kingdom, Goblin included.

Goblin Bank was a financial institution unique to the Dwarf Kingdom.

Most Goblins were filthy, stupid, and bloodthirsty creatures, but a few elites within their ranks would awaken unmatched intelligence, especially in mathematics, making them particularly adept at finance. With the advantage of the Dwarf Kingdom’s gold, these elite Goblins had managed to reap many benefits from other countries during peaceful times.

These Goblins were also savvy enough to provide the Dwarf Kingdom with many benefits each year. With no shortage of gold in the kingdom, the Goblins found various ways to bring rare treasures from across the continent.

As such, Goblin Bank had a reputation akin to a semi-official institution in the Dwarf Kingdom with quite a favorable image.

If he had another choice, Gustavo Flint wouldn’t want to deal with Goblins, as the smartest amongst them were still evil and greedy, more bloodsucking than Vampires.

But he had no choice, for the only way to persuade Amberser to support him was to pay money, and not just a small sum. The appetite of the Lich could possibly be greater than all Goblins combined.

His finances had already been nearly depleted, and now the only way to raise funds was through a loan.

Gustavo Flint was quite confident about getting a loan, for he was a Legendary Alchemist; he thought he could surely get a substantial sum of money by mortgaging a few of his patented formulas.

Once he became the chairman, everything would get better.

However, when he met the Goblin with gold wire-rimmed half-moon glasses, the Goblin’s reply incensed him.

Gustavo Flint stared at him with a piercing gaze and said in a deep voice, "One million Gold Coins? Am I to take this as an insult from your bank?"

The wrinkled, green-skinned Goblin, seemingly accustomed to tantrums, calmly removed his glasses, nonchalantly wiped the saliva off them, and then addressed the irate Alchemist, "Master Flint, according to our understanding, you seem to owe quite a sum of money to several nobles as well, don’t you? These debts together amount to six or seven million Gold Coins."

Gustavo Flint replied disdainfully, "Do you think I won’t be able to repay this amount of Gold Coins?"

The green-skinned Goblin put his glasses back on and spoke seriously, "If this was in the past, such a small amount would obviously not pose a problem. But Master Flint, the past is the past, and now is now. You not only owe several million Gold Coins, but you also haven’t invested this money in rebuilding your Alchemy laboratory; instead, you’ve spent it on the Alchemist Council election."

"You’ve been quite thorough in your investigations," Gustavo Flint remarked with a snort.

"Of course, our line of business requires keeping up with the movements of all significant figures. Please pardon my bluntness, but Master Flint, you’ve put all your bets on this election. If you fail, can you withstand the fallout?"

Gustavo Flint confidently said, "I will not lose."

"Heh, Master Flint, you are among the most intelligent people in the world, but I am no fool either. The competition you face is our Court Alchemist, who, in terms of background and personal status, has the upper hand over you.

"That’s why, in our bank’s assessment, the likelihood of you losing the election is quite high. And once you fail to become the chairman, what will you do then? Let me hypothesize, you won’t be content being overshadowed by Master Beck, so you will most likely choose to start afresh elsewhere. Would you let these debts delay your journey?"

The meaning behind this green-skinned goblin’s words was clear; should Gustavo Flint lose the election, he would flee, leaving the Dwarf Kingdom’s sphere of influence. Those debts amounting to millions of Gold Coins would certainly be left unpaid, considering those minor nobles would have no means to pursue debts across borders.

Because of this risk, the Goblin Bank rated Gustavo Flint’s credit very low; the one million Gold Coin limit was granted solely on account of the words ’Legendary’, otherwise, they would not have lent him a single coin.

Gustavo Flint didn’t refute the matter of fleeing but countered, "Have you considered how much you could gain if I succeed?"

The green-skinned goblin crossed its arms over its knees, leaned back in the chair, and said with a smile, "Our bank has many profitable ventures with little risk; there’s no need to take such a gamble. As you know, our money is also our depositors’ money; we always have to consider our clients’ interests, right?"

Gustavo Flint stood up, looking down at the goblin with a very serious tone, "Does that mean, there’s nothing to discuss?"

The green-skinned goblin maintained a polite smile and said to the angry Alchemist, "Of course not, Master Flint. Your value is very high; we simply have no security, hence, no loan. But if you can provide collateral of sufficient value, we can talk about any amount you wish to borrow."

Gustavo Flint said, "I can offer some of my formulas as collateral."

The green-skinned goblin shook its head and said, "Legendary Rank formulas are of no use to us, and besides... the Dwarf Kingdom’s restrictions on alchemy patents are very lenient. You should be aware, this is no longer the kingdom of Alchemists."

Gustavo Flint clenched his teeth; this was exactly why he had to re-establish the Alchemist Council.

Far from being lenient in patent management, the Dwarf Kingdom lacked any law on the matter altogether.

However, across the entire continent, only Alchemy City and the Silvermoon Tribunal have something akin to patent laws, while places like Laine simply provide corresponding rewards rather than allow one to profit from a patent for life.

In the Dwarf Kingdom, alchemy doesn’t need to worry about copyright issues; as long as the effects of your potions are genuine, they are considered real and can be freely sold.

This reason is also related to Alchemy City of the past, which monopolized too many alchemy patents. If other kingdoms didn’t want to use counterfeits, they had to pay a terrifying amount of money annually to purchase legitimate drugs.

The expense was so massive that even the Dwarf Kingdom felt the pain, leading other kingdoms to use counterfeit remedies extensively and only occasionally spending money to buy the real deal for replication. It’s only because Alchemy City’s technological barriers are high enough that sometimes the counterfeits could even be more expensive than the originals, forcing others to buy them.

Now that Alchemy City is gone, when the Dwarf Kingdom took over the land, it was not so benevolent as many alchemy factories were forcibly acquired, giving them access to numerous alchemical formulas.

In such circumstances, Gustavo Flint wanting to use alchemy formulas as collateral is certainly not something the Goblin Bank could agree to. Without copyright protection, what use is a piece of paper? Once that paper is seen by others, it loses all its value.

Because every employee of the Goblin Bank who sees the formula would not hesitate to make a copy and sell it, it would not take three days for the knowledge to become common.

It’s not that they do a poor job of keeping secrets; the banking practices of the Goblin Bank are tailored according to the laws of the Dwarf Kingdom. Patent formulas are not protected, so copying and reproducing several copies is "legal" since the original remains in the bank, which doesn’t constitute theft.

If the Dwarf Kingdom didn’t protect its depositors’ privacy, they would also not hesitate to sell all their depositors’ information. Unfortunately, many kingdom nobles bank with them, so privacy for client information is enshrined in law.

Without value in formulas, Gustavo Flint truly had nothing of value to offer.

"Since that’s the case, I won’t waste any more of our time."

Having said that, Gustavo Flint was about to leave the bank, but the green-skinned goblin called out to him again, "Master Flint, don’t be so hasty. Ordinary alchemy formulas might be worthless, but some are still very valuable. We are aware that you hold a piece of knowledge that is highly valuable. If you are willing to share it with us, we can provide a loan of a hundred million Gold Coins, interest-free."

Gustavo Flint had a bad feeling and quickly asked, "What are you referring to?"

The green-skinned goblin smiled and said, "The true story of Alchemy City’s disappearance, that Magic Array buried under the sewers. I believe you are quite familiar with it, right, Master Flint?"

Gustavo Flint frowned and asked, "How did you come to know of this?"

"Heh, the Dwarf Kingdom has Diviner Mages too. Although they aren’t as precise as the legendary Diviner Mage who can foretell the future, divining past events is quite easy. Your Mortal Ascension Plan intrigues our bank a great deal."

Gustavo Flint stared at the green-skinned goblin and asked, "Such knowledge isn’t for the average person to know, what is your identity in this bank?"

The green-skinned goblin adjusted its glasses and said slowly, "I am the president of this bank, Donald Grant. Master Flinn, we are genuinely interested in collaborating with you; what do you think?"