After hearing Alan's conditions, Clement's face immediately darkened. He wasn't just thinking of cursing; he practically wanted to pull out his wand and hit that young man with a killing curse on the spot!
This was simply outrageous! Clement's head throbbed with anger. If he agreed to Alan's conditions, wouldn't that mean he had to give the other party 6,000 Galleons in cash before even starting the cooperation? Who could come up with that? The annual agency fee wasn't much, but the 5,000 Galleons in cash was the real headache. The other party even called it a preparation fund! Once this money was handed over, it would be held by Alan for five years, and by the time five years passed, the other party might have already earned another 5,000 Galleons with it. Moreover, if Alan came up with some excuse and framed Clement's shop, Clement might never see that money again in his life!
"Impossible!" Clement no longer bothered with pretenses, looking at Alan with a grim expression. "Your demands are too harsh. I am afraid I cannot agree."
"Oh? Then there's nothing to be done…" Alan shrugged helplessly. "In that case, you can wait until I hold the contract bidding. I am sure we can all negotiate a better price then. I thought with your strength, these conditions would be a piece of cake."
With that, Alan stood up and patted his pants, looking apologetically at Clement. "I apologize, please excuse me, Mr. Clement. Thank you for your hospitality. I have an appointment with the famous German wandmaker, Mr. Gregorovitch. He seems to have an interest in expanding into the alchemy business. Perhaps he can agree to my conditions."
Seeing Alan so decisive, not even bothering to negotiate and just getting up to leave, Clement immediately felt a bit flustered. And when he heard the other party mention Gregorovitch's name, his heart tightened even more. This Gregorovitch was the most powerful wandmaker in Germany, operating the family-inherited shop. Clement hadn't heard that the owner of this legendary wand shop had any intention of expanding his business, but seeing Alan's calm demeanor, he felt that this was most likely true. If the opponent was Gregorovitch, the other party might truly be able to bear such harsh conditions.
Clement's mind raced with many thoughts in an instant, and the more he thought, the more he felt it was possible, so he became increasingly anxious.
"Wait, Mr. Wilson!" Before Alan could even take two steps, Clement quickly called out to him. "Perhaps we can discuss this cooperation further. Don't be in such a hurry to leave."
With that, Clement even personally got up and stood in front of Alan, a move that was very inappropriate in business negotiations, as it was a revealing act that prematurely exposed the negotiator's urgency and bottom line.
"Oh? Mr. Clement, are you ready to agree?" Alan looked at the other party with interest. "I knew it, how could a mere few thousand Galleons stump you?"
"Uh, this…" Clement felt a bit awkward upon hearing this, but still bravely pulled Alan back to his seat. "Mr. Wilson, can you be a bit more flexible with this price, especially with the preparation fund… it's really too high. I don't think anyone can come up with that much money at once."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Clement, everything else is negotiable, but the agency fee and preparation fund are not." Alan shook his head coldly.
Alan didn't care about subsequent orders and fees; he just wanted to fleece Clement for some cash before dealing with him. Did the other party really think Alan would reach an agency agreement with him?
Upon hearing Alan's firm refusal, Clement furrowed his brows into a troubled frown. Could he come up with this sum of 6,000 Galleons? If he absolutely had to, he could, but it would mean pulling out all the liquid funds from his shop and the black market, and also dipping into a portion of the breeding base's expenses. But this was equivalent to embezzling public funds from the club, and Clement, no matter how bold, wouldn't dare to do that. However, he was also extremely eager for the equipment in Alan's hands, so he was immediately caught in a dilemma.
Perhaps I can talk to the adults in the club and ask them to advance a portion of the funds as trade expenses? But there must be conditions that would make the adults agree, such as those high-quality alchemy pieces.
After a quick calculation in his mind, Clement felt that if conditions allowed, the Silver Spears should be able to give him some support. However, some things still needed to be confirmed with this young man.
"Mr. Wilson." Clement deliberated his words for a moment. "If you want me to agree to such conditions, it's not impossible, but you also have to agree to one condition of mine."
"Please speak. As long as it's a reasonable request, I don't mind helping you." Alan spread his hands generously.
"It's like this: I know that in addition to operating and selling these current alchemy tools, you also have some more powerful equipment for sale. I hope that these pieces can also be included in this transaction." Clement revealed his true intentions.
His hoped-for condition was this: if he could get the agency rights for those XXX-level products, Clement could then use this equipment to negotiate with the adults of the club, as the club greatly needed them. It should be known that although the adults of the club also had ways to purchase this equipment, the prices from the British Ministry of Magic were simply too high, making large-scale procurement impossible, and suddenly buying too much could arouse suspicion. Once he could obtain this equipment at a relatively reasonable price, he could supply it to the club and exchange it for club funds. In this way, the annual minimum order fees would be negligible.
"You mean those XXX-level pieces?" Alan sneered inwardly—sure enough, the fox's tail was showing—but on the surface, he just shook his head faintly. "I'm sorry, these alchemy tools cannot be sold directly to the outside world due to their high danger. We have already handed over their operating rights to the British Ministry of Magic, and unauthorized sales are illegal."
"Can't we make an exception?" Clement lowered his voice slightly. "If you could make an exception, I could add a bit more to the preparation fund, and other conditions are negotiable too!"
Alan looked at Clement with a hint of amusement. Was he trying to bribe him? Did he look like someone who lacked money?
"I'm sorry, Mr. Clement, this equipment is not to be trifled with. I do not wish to anger the Ministry of Magic of my country because of this." Alan still shook his head firmly.
"Then can't you think of any other way? For example, disguising individual pieces as XX-level items that can be sold normally? Or we could do it off the books, private delivery is fine too!" Clement was now pulling out all the stops, subtly giving Alan suggestions.
Off the books? Was he trying to trick him into smuggling directly from the source? Alan looked at Clement with a hint of speechlessness. This guy truly lived up to his reputation of being mixed up with smugglers like the Silver Spears; he was actually giving him such a terrible idea. Was he so eager to drag him into the abyss of crime?
"Mr. Clement, please don't joke around!" Alan naturally couldn't agree to such a self-destructive request, so he looked at the other party with a serious expression.
Seeing Alan so unyielding, Clement suddenly felt a bit dejected. "In that case, I'm afraid I can't agree to your previous conditions."
Nonsense, if he couldn't get those high-end pieces and only imported other items, who knew how long it would take to earn back that 6,000 Galleons.
"It seems Mr. Clement has a soft spot for those powerful pieces." Alan smiled lightly, then changed the subject. "I truly cannot sell those XXX-level items at will, but perhaps I have other methods that can meet your needs."
"Oh? What do you mean?" Clement immediately perked up upon hearing this.
"I'm currently preparing to launch a batch of new products." Alan paused here. "The strength of these new alchemy tools is much higher than the old products, but they haven't reached the dangerous level of XXX-level."
"New products." Clement didn't expect Alan to be talking about new products instead of high-end equipment, but he still asked patiently, "Is there anything special about these new products?"
"Then I'll briefly introduce one of them to you." Alan said, then took out a beautifully decorated small box from his person.
When Alan opened it, Clement saw a metal badge engraved with a griffin lying inside. This item was larger than the usual amulet-type items he saw, and he could tell with his bare eyes that the materials used for this badge were expensive.
"Allow me to formally introduce you to my newly launched guardian badge. In terms of function, it's an enhanced version of the defense amulet, capable of directly casting a Humanoid Iron Armor Curse to protect the wearer when encountering danger."
"The materialized protective charm can cumulatively withstand 300 points of attack power. The power value I'm referring to is the value displayed on the Humanoid Target. If you have no concept of it, it's roughly equivalent to seven Stupefy spells cast by an adult wizard."
"Moreover, this badge has an energy storage function. After being activated, as long as a wizard injects magic into it, it can be used repeatedly, accepting approximately thirty-five to forty recharges." Alan pushed the box in his hand towards the other party, explaining in detail.
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