"You know it."
The old man merely smiled without answering, which only deepened Dean Jeremy's suspicions.
Was it Austin, the one who deciphered goblin script? Or the Godwin brothers who draw magic arrays? No, no… I've worked with them for over a hundred years. It couldn't be the Godwin brothers.
That leaves…
As the expression on Dean Jeremy's face shifted unpredictably, his mind raced through every possible candidate who might have betrayed him.
Meanwhile, the old man across from him continued to smile in silence, the very picture of a smug riddler.
In his heart, however, he had already placed Jeremy's intelligence in the same category as a curly-haired baboon.
He was simply making a deduction based on the fact that the Potion Academy had still failed to produce a finished goblin resurrection potion after so many days.
Gentle Breeze Slime Gel was hardly some rare substance. He did not believe that with Jeremy's connections, he couldn't even gather enough gel for a single batch.
Yet Jeremy had come to the Mechanical Academy.
That could only mean one thing: not only had they obtained the gel, they had likely already begun refining it—
Only to be stuck at one particular step.
This was perfectly normal in the academic world. Whether in potion-making, alchemy, or even within the Mechanical Academy itself, whenever someone acquired technology from ancient civilizations, difficulties were inevitable.
After all, earlier civilizations had developed along completely different paths from humanity. Their understanding of craftsmanship and technique was not the same.
So problems arising was only natural.
The old man had only vaguely suspected this at first, not daring to be sure.
But to his surprise, Jeremy had essentially confessed outright.
That gave the old man an even more righteous excuse to fleece him for all he was worth.
"Gel sufficient for refining ten batches of potion is nowhere near enough for you to squander.
If you want to accomplish something big, you can't afford to be stingy. If you leave today without buying enough gel from me, then in a few days, it won't be this price anymore."
"You ruthless bastard."
Jeremy gritted his teeth and raised three fingers. But after thinking for a moment, he painfully pressed one finger back down.
The old man's eyes sharpened instantly.
"Two thousand barrels of gel? Dean Jeremy truly is wealthy beyond measure."
"To hell with your two thousand! I said two hundred! Two hundred!"
Jeremy nearly exploded, but after a moment, he sighed heavily.
"…Fine. Make it three hundred. Safer that way."
In his view, the trade network between the Windmill Nation and Savant would recover sooner or later.
And the news that Savant needed Gentle Breeze Slime Gel would likely spread.
Once merchants from other lands caught wind of it, they would swarm in like mosquitoes smelling blood, bringing gel into Savant City.
When that happened, the city's supply would become plentiful again, and there would be no need to pay such outrageous prices.
After a long back-and-forth negotiation, the Potion Academy ultimately purchased three hundred barrels of gel from the Mechanical Academy at a price of four thousand gold coins per barrel.
A total of 1.2 million gold coins.
Even for Jeremy, it was a sum painful enough to make his heart bleed.
But for the immensely wealthy Potion Academy, it was another matter entirely. The monthly research funding distributed to professors alone exceeded this amount.
Still, for the miserly Jeremy, it felt like flesh being carved from his body.
Once the contract was finalized, Jeremy left without looking back.
Not long after he departed, the door to the dean's office of the Mechanical Academy was knocked upon once more.
As the door slowly opened, a well-dressed middle-aged gentleman stepped inside.
"Congratulations, Dean Andrew. You've just secured a major deal."
The newcomer wore the same black conical top hat as the old man. Beneath it was a sharp, calculating face—
Made even more severe by a hooked eagle-like nose.
"Chairman Sherlock, is it? What wind has blown you here?"
Dean Andrew greeted him warmly, his attitude completely different from the one he had shown Jeremy.
Sherlock returned the enthusiasm, shaking his hand firmly.
He was no powerhouse, and his noble title in Savant was only that of a minor baron.
But thanks to his keen business mind, and his silver tongue—able to speak sweetly to men and flatter ghosts alike—he had carved out a respectable position in the kingdom.
Over the years, through careful maneuvering, he had partnered with the Mechanical Academy and other merchant guilds to establish alchemical machinery factories surrounding all of Savant City, swelling the royal treasury ever larger.
Naturally, he had also profited greatly in the process.
And now, he had clearly spotted yet another opportunity.
"Tsk tsk… Just look at this. In only a few days, the price of Gentle Breeze Slime Gel has risen a thousandfold. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would never have believed it."
Sherlock sighed in amazement, his tone filled with admiration for Andrew.
But Andrew was an old veteran who had lived for centuries. How could he not see through Sherlock's little schemes?
So he replied modestly,
"It was merely a coincidence. Dean Jeremy happened to be desperate, which is why it sold for such a price.
Look at the open market—the gel out there is probably not even a tenth of this cost."
"But only if the market has stock at all."
Sherlock smiled.
"Please don't be so humble. To negotiate the price this high at such a time… only a wise man like Dean Andrew could accomplish it."
Hearing the flattery, Andrew knew perfectly well what sort of man Sherlock was—
Yet even so, he could not help but feel a touch of pride.
Then Sherlock's voice suddenly lowered as he leaned closer, whispering,
"This negotiation was mainly held back by the market price.
If the market price were to rise several times higher, then you, Dean, could demand an even greater sum."
But Andrew did not fall for the bait. He remained calm.
"This price is already the limit. If Jeremy hadn't been in such a hurry, constantly bidding higher and higher, it would never have reached this level.
In fact, the gel price will soon begin to drop. Once merchants from other nations hear the news, they will bring in more gel.
When supply becomes abundant, no one will be willing to pay such inflated prices anymore."