"Mr. Isa, aren't you being a bit greedy?" Ms. Nefira gave him a sideways glance, clearly unimpressed. While the two knew each other well, she wasn't one to go easy when it came to business. "12,000 Galleon order, 2,000 Galleons for the agency rights. Everything else stays the same."
"13,000 Galleons, 2,000 agency fee…"
"13,500 Galleons…"
The offers kept flying in before Ms. Nefira could even finish her sentence. The room had turned into a full-on bidding war. One by one, the alchemists around the table began tossing out higher and higher numbers without hesitation.
Nefira, however, wasn't flustered. She knew better than anyone that the real value of the magic lamp, or products like the gramophone, didn't lie in the item itself.
The true profits came from the accessories: energy storage components, magical records, replacement parts. It was just like her own magic camera business. The cameras sold well, but the real money was made from the magical film and photo-developing supplies.
"20,000 Galleons," Nefira said calmly, her voice cutting through the noise like a spell. "And a 4,000 Galleon agency fee. I'm also willing to put down a 30% deposit immediately. Everything else remains as is."
The room fell quiet.
It wasn't just the size of the order, someone had already bid 18,000 before, it was the agency fee and the massive upfront deposit that stunned the crowd.
A 30% deposit meant she was immediately putting down 6,000 Galleons in cash. That kind of liquidity made the other alchemists nervous.
After all, in the wizarding world, most business deals operated on delayed payments. It wasn't uncommon to settle up after the goods were delivered, or even negotiate installment plans. But to throw that much gold on the table upfront, without blinking?
The others could only watch as Ms. Nefira effortlessly secured the deal. The magic lamp business now belonged to her.
Barnabas, who had been sitting quietly through the chaos, felt numb. He couldn't even look at the alchemists the same way anymore.
'How is there this much money in alchemy?' he screamed internally. 'If I'd known, I never would've studied Magical Creatures. My monthly salary is 200 Galleons, 2,400 a year. And she just threw down enough to cover ten years of my wages!'
While Alex was surprised too, he didn't let it show. He kept his expression calm and composed, handling the negotiations like a seasoned businessman. His steady demeanor kept the momentum going, even after such an overwhelming offer.
Though the agency rights to the magic lamp were now off the table, there were still plenty of other popular items that sparked fierce interest, especially the magic pendants and the magical gramophones. Meanwhile, smaller yet practical inventions like tracking glasses, protective gloves, medical diagnostics kits, and magic music boxes were quickly snatched up as well.
As for high-level gear such as signal jammers, tactical maps, enchanted leather boots, and reinforced tactical vests, those were deemed too dangerous for general sale. According to Ministry policy, they could only be distributed directly to other Ministries of Magic through the British Ministry, and were not approved for civilian use at this time.
Although the bidding war during the internal proxy auction was intense, the entire process went surprisingly smoothly. By the end of the dinner that evening, everything had already been settled.
Alex ended up securing a production order worth a whopping 73,000 Galleons just for alchemy tools. With a 20% deposit, that meant he immediately pocketed nearly 15,000 Galleons in cash. On top of that, he earned another 8,000 Galleons in agency fees, which, while not as large, was essentially free money.
More importantly, Alex also secured exclusive UK distribution rights for several popular magical items, including enchanted cameras, weather blankets, and magical tents.
The only exception was flying carpets, which weren't being fully opened for export. The British Ministry of Magic was still restricting them to protect the local broomstick industry. Still, with those few exceptions, Alex had essentially become the main British distributor for most mainstream alchemical products in the international wizarding market.
By now, Director Barnabas, who had been quietly observing from the sidelines, was completely stunned. Every time these alchemists opened their mouths, they were tossing around figures in the tens of thousands of Galleons. The sheer scale of money involved was far beyond what he usually dealt with. His brain could barely keep up.
But this also reaffirmed something for Barnabas, Alex and his Wilson's Arcane Alchemica weren't just a promising business partner. They were about to become an indispensable ally to the British Ministry of Magic. And when the official trade agreement was drawn up in a few days, they'd be able to negotiate with much more confidence, and ambition.
After the bidding ended, the group of alchemists signed preliminary agreements with Alex. Once the Ministry finalized the broader trade deal, they could move on to formal contracts and transfer the remaining payments.
As for Alex, receiving so many orders all at once left him feeling thrilled and a bit overwhelmed. The moment he got back to his room that night, he immediately wrote a letter to Wimzy back home, telling her to start up every single lathe in the magic workshop under the house. Within hours, his underground factory roared to life, running at full capacity to meet the incoming demand.
The very next day, the International Alchemy Conference officially began. The event would run for three days, and aside from handing out awards to exceptional alchemists from the past three years, it would also include high-level discussions on cutting-edge spells, runic theory, rare materials, and other new developments in alchemy. In essence, it was an elite academic exchange, more of a gathering for researchers than merchants.
On the first day of the conference, Alex was awarded the International Alchemy Conference Gold Medal for Pioneering Contributions.
To Alex, the whole process felt a bit dull. He simply walked on stage, received a rather ornate trophy, and gave a short acceptance speech. But to the packed auditorium of alchemists and witches and wizards from around the world, Alex shone like a rising star.
Many were dazzled by the fact that someone so young had already achieved such prestige. The last British wizard to earn this level of recognition at such a young age had been none other than Dumbledore himself.
For the onlookers and reporters attending the event, Alex had already become the face of the conference. Most of them weren't especially interested in the technical lectures or discussions that followed the award ceremony, those were filled with academic jargon and dense theories that the average wizard wouldn't understand.
For the journalists, it was easier to just write something like: "Master Alchemist XXX presented a paper on the magical conductivity of YYY," and call it a day.
Compared to that, Alex's story, young, successful, charismatic, was something people actually wanted to read.