Chapter 179 The Fate of his Investmen (1/2)

Ishta Alamone had been in quite a good mood as of late. He'd been officially crowned the King of Merchants with the Golden Trade Token at the end of the Trader's Festival, and had had no problems with his trading partners ever since. Word of such a prestigious award travelled remarkably quickly, and no one wanted to give trouble to the company that had proved itself better than all the rest.

Still, despite his recent success, he couldn't help but turn his eyes to the one thing that everyone else seemed to have also been eager to watch.

This Moonshadow Trading Company...what would it do next?

Following the mass of charms that had been auctioned off on the second last night of the Trader's Festival, there had been no word of the mysterious owner nor of any of their products being sold anywhere. It was as if the company had appeared and disappeared with the Trader's Festival. Such a prospect truly perplexed everyone. Were they a business that only opened during the biannual Trader's Festival? It was possible with the amount of money they earned, but surely such a successful business prospect would be greatly received all year round.

Perhaps they'd run out of materials? But there had been no indication of the stock dwindling, and they'd had plenty of opportunity to make appropriate trade deals. In fact they had made one with Apple Star Trading Company. Why they had made a deal with a Company that specialised in fabrics was the conundrum. Why would they do that unless they were interested in going into the fabrics industry? But Fabrics had nothing to do with the charms as far as the general business world could tell.

Even Ishta was confused as to why this Rassa Moonshadow had made a Trade Deal with Falla Startree. Though his confusion mostly stemmed from the fact that he'd been positive that his offer was far more attractive, besides the fact that he held ownership over a large portion of the Southern continent's Evanine Crystal Veins.

In the end, all Ishta could do was wait for good news from Illai. She'd never failed him before. She'd bring back the insubordinate young man and then Ishta could have a nice long talk about his future prospects. Which, of course, included the secret to manufacturing the powerful charms.

Who would have thought that for the first time in her two decades of service, Illai had made an irreversible mistake?

Ishta grinned as he shook hands with one of the lesser merchants on Rouke Island, and walked him out of his office. As he closed the door to bring silence to the room, Ishta turned to find Illai standing to the side of the broad window.

”Illai, what a pleasant surprise,” Ishta grinned as he walked around to the side table where he kept his best liqour, ”I hope your trip was fruitful”.

Illai said nothing, she seemed reluctant to speak.

”Come, tell me what happened,” Ishta prompted.

Illai seemed to gather her courage before she spoke, ”Rassa Moonshadow proved to be a more difficult opponent than I had ascertained”.

Ishta scoffed, ”Illai, you've taken down a Miracle Level Shadow Magician before with little effort, how could he possibly pose a threat?”

”With respect sir, my initial report was incorrect. Rassa Moonshadow is not simply a Shadow Magician. To be honest, Sir, I'm not entirely sure what he is, but it became clear when I approached to capture him that he would pose more of a threat to you alive than anything else”.

”Pose more of a threat to me alive?” Ishta pondered the words, ”Sorry, I could swear that you are implying that you killed him? The only reliable source we know of that knows how to produce the charms”.

Illai sunk to her knees quickly, bowing her head, ”This servant asks that you punish her for her transgressions”.

There was silence for a moment, then the glass in Ishta's hand shattered. He sighed lazily grabbing a towel from the side and wiping his hand, ”That was good liqour too”.

He walked towards the window, ”What made you make this call without permission?”

Illai hesitated only a second before she spoke, ”The way he controlled shadows was unlike anything I've ever seen before even during the height of the day he seemed powerful. In addition, he possessed incredible speed and strength, the likes of which I have never witnessed before, even from the elvish. Seeing this, I decided that despite his unique knowledge, it would be better if he were to die than to threaten my master”.

”So you killed him?” asked Ishta.

”I...I tried to, Master,” Illai replied.

”Tried to?” asked Ishta, his tone darkening.