Chapter 1326: A Private Meeting

"Sir Ning, I wish to speak with you alone for some time," Truven said once it started getting late. "Would you be free right now? Or should I prepare for some other time?"

"Is it going to be a long talk?" Ning asked. "I can spare 10 minutes, no 15."

"Oh, then we'll have plenty of time, but I wish to hold the meeting privately if you won't mind," the man said.

Ning looked around the party hall and saw a significantly low number of people there. "We can talk," he said.

Truven nodded and took him to a private room.

When Ning arrived inside the room, he stopped and looked at the people that were there. He saw 3 people other than Truven.

One was a short woman wearing a high-collar blue dress. Another was a taller woman wearing a red dress that hugged around her curves, making her look quite alluring.

Finally, the last one was a slightly overweight man wearing a black suit with a top hat on his face. His round head held a thick bushy mustache, making him look quite easily recognizable.

Ning did recognize him at just a glance, despite only having seen him in the party hall a few times.

"Mayor Brassel. It's a pleasure to meet you here," Ning said, walking in. "Ladies." He gave a small bow in greeting, which the women returned.

"Sir Ning," the Mayor stood up. "I've heard a lot about you. Please sit." The man gestured to a seat in front of him.

Ning sat and Truven went to sit by the blue-dressed woman. She was the lady of the Briggs family, mother to Betty.

Seeing as how the other woman sat beside the Mayor, Ning could guess that she was his wife too. But he wouldn't presume as such unless he was forced to.

"I've heard a lot about you," the Mayor said, starting the conversation.

"Hopefully only the good bits," Ning said with a laugh.

The mayor chuckled a little. "Honestly, not all I've heard is good, but I can tell most of what I heard is rumor."

"Oh," Ning was a little surprised. "May I ask what sort of rumors they are?"

"They say you are holding the woman's daughter hostage to let you sell your weapons," the mayor said. "Not a very good rumor."

Ning frowned. That was obviously spread with ill intent.

"Don't worry," the mayor said. "I've sifted through all the rumors and thrown out everything that isn't true. I only wish to figure out if these 3 are true or not?"

"Go ahead," Ning said.

"I heard you are not someone from this empire and that you are a spy from a foreign nation," the Mayor asked.

"It is true I'm not from here, but calling me a spy would be idiotic," Ning said. "If I was a spy, why would I sell such incredible weapons?"

"To destabilize the economy?" the Mayor questioned before shaking his head. "Never mind. So you claim no connection of any sort to the royalties of other nations."

"None," Ning said. "Although, one Emperor did try to steal from me and ended up dead in the end, not by me but by someone I was with. Does that count?"

The Mayor frowned. "An Emperor? Who?" he asked. He couldn't remember hearing about any dead emperors.

"The Emperor of the Blackhawk Dominion," Ning said. "From the Glacien Continent."

"What?" the Mayor stood up in surprise. "You are from the Glacien continent?"

"Yes," Ning said. "But I left it over a decade ago. I went to the Springwind Continent to enjoy my time with my daughter before coming here."

"Dear god!" the Mayor said in surprise. "The second rumor was that you weren't even from this continent. I guess that is true then."

Ning nodded. "What's the last one?"

"That you're not paying any tariffs for the weapons you buy or even just the ingredients required for it," the Mayor said. "They say you smuggle it in, but we saw no way that was possible. We would've caught you by now."

"I buy nothing from the outside, that's why you don't see any tariffs or taxes. Everything I make, I make here," Ning said.

"What about the things you need for the—"

Before the words could completely come out of the Mayor's mouth, Ning poured the contents of his storage, immediately creating an avalanche of glowing light and intense Essence.

All four of the men and women backed off in surprise, the men even pulling out weapons to be ready to fight.

"Peace," Ning said. "I am sorry for the suddenness. I'm not trying to attack you."

The people were still on edge but slightly calmer. And now that their sudden fear had vanished, they could see what Ning had brought out.

Essence Crystals.

Many upon Many of them. The woman in the blue dress gasped. "So many Magma crystals," she said.

"There's lightning," Truven pointed at one, and then another one, and then another one.

"I can't even recognize what that one is," the Mayor pointed to a dark crystal on the side.

"That's a Crystal Essence crystal," the lady in red said. "So many of them too."

Each and every crystal they saw was a rare one, one that could make a person instantly rich were they to sell it.

"Why... why do you have so many?" the Mayor asked.

"Let's just say I came across them during my journey," Ning said, saying nothing. He then took back all the Essence Crystals and made the room lack the pressure that had appeared suddenly.

"So, does that answer your last question?" Ning asked. "I don't buy any, because I don't need any. I own everything I could need for a long time."

The mayor nodded without giving much thought.

"So, what were we going to talk about here?" Ning asked the Mayor.

"Ahem," the Mayor coughed, trying to let go of the shock and fear to bring confidence into his voice again.

"So, this is what we wanted to talk about," he said. "We wish to commission some very specific weapons from you. Would that be possible?"