Chapter 890
Chapter 890
Anton explained everything he could think of that Second Officer Liemdal and Supreme Baturin might need during the negotiations with the elves of Meronoma regarding the purchase of his movies. Once they had gone over the details, he led them to the lobby of the hotel where he was staying.
Mironor was already waiting there and escorted them to the location where the negotiations would take place.
Their destination was an elegant manor within the city.
When they entered, Anton immediately recognized Noreshanae. She was accompanied by three other elves.
As expected, all four possessed extraordinary beauty.
More importantly, Anton could sense the overwhelming magical aura radiating from them. Each elf possessed power comparable to—or even greater than—that of Invincible Olemena.
He immediately suspected they were all Invincible-rank wizards or stronger.
Anton smiled ruefully to himself.
He had never imagined that negotiating the sale of movies would involve such powerful individuals.
For crying out loud, he was only selling films.
He had expected people of far lower status to handle the negotiations.
Mironor introduced Anton, Second Officer Liemdal, and Supreme Baturin before introducing the four elves in return.
Anton soon learned that, besides Noreshanae, the other elven woman was also an Invincible-rank wizard, while the two elven men were Supreme-rank wizards.
He felt slightly relieved.
At least they weren't dealing with Semi-Divine wizards.
Although Anton felt nervous and somewhat intimidated, he wasn't particularly concerned.
Negotiating the agreement wasn't his responsibility.
That was precisely why Liemdal and Baturin were there.
Anton intended to offer a substantial collection of movies.
The package included The Hobbit trilogy, both Avatar films, the Harry Potter series, the Star Wars saga, The Dark Knight trilogy, and a selection of Disney and Pixar animated films.
The elves appeared genuinely surprised that Anton was willing to sell so many movies at once.
Before discussing prices, Anton asked whether they would like to watch the trailers first.
When they asked what a trailer was, he explained that it was a short promotional video designed to introduce a film.
Their curiosity was immediately piqued.
Over the next several hours, everyone watched trailer after trailer.
After every three trailers, Anton paused the presentation to answer questions.
The elves had plenty.
He explained the opening production logos, the roles of film studios and producers, and, as briefly as possible, how movies were created.
To help them understand, he even showed a short documentary demonstrating the filmmaking process.
Only then did they continue watching the remaining trailers.
When the presentation finally concluded, Anton wasn't surprised when the elves expressed interest in purchasing every movie he had offered, including all of the Disney and Pixar films.
At that point, it was time for Second Officer Liemdal and Supreme Baturin to earn their commissions.
Anton had already promised each of them five percent of the final sale price, assuming that most of it would ultimately find its way to Captain Melinda and Invincible Olemena.
He almost laughed when he watched the two men quietly compose themselves before the negotiations.
They looked like warriors preparing to enter battle.
Since Anton had already informed the elves that he would accept whatever agreement Liemdal and Baturin negotiated on his behalf—claiming he was still too young to handle such matters himself—he excused himself from the room.
Mironor accompanied him.
The elf looked slightly disappointed that he wasn't permitted to observe the negotiations.
"How long do you think they'll be?" Anton asked.
"I'm not sure," Mironor admitted. "But I imagine it will take several hours."
Anton sighed.
He couldn't leave entirely.
If either side needed clarification about the movies, they would almost certainly call for him.
To pass the time, Anton suggested watching another movie.
Mironor eagerly led him to a different room where they could watch without disturbing the negotiations.
Before they settled in, Mironor instructed several servants to notify them immediately if the trade delegation requested Anton's presence.
The servants readily agreed.
Anton found himself in the mood for a musical.
He hadn't watched many of them before, so he decided on The Greatest Showman.
About an hour into the film, Anton and Mironor were surprised when Liemdal, Baturin, and all four elves entered the room.
Anton immediately paused the movie.
Unfortunately for him, the elves had already seen enough to become intrigued.
They asked if they could watch the entire film.
With a helpless smile, Anton restarted the movie from the beginning and watched it all over again with everyone.
He thoroughly enjoyed the soundtrack and made a mental note to learn several of the songs on his guitar later.
Once the movie ended, Liemdal and Baturin finally reported the results of the negotiations.
Speaking quietly, Baturin admitted that they had been thoroughly outmatched.
"In my opinion," he said, "we probably secured only about a quarter of what the movies were actually worth."
Anton raised an eyebrow.
"So... how many mana stones did we receive?"
When Baturin told him the exact figure, Anton was completely stunned.
The amount was equivalent to what Anton estimated he could earn after spending several years farming the fiftieth floor of a high-level dungeon.
And that estimate was based on his unusually efficient method of gathering mana stones—not the pace of ordinary adventurers.
If this represented only a quarter of the movies' true value, Anton couldn't help wondering just how highly the elves valued entertainment.
Liemdal then handed him a spatial ring containing his share of the mana stones after deducting the agreed commissions.
Before transferring the Mini Browser Sharing Globes, Anton reminded the elves that each globe contained an entire movie series and would remain functional for only seven days.
They would need to copy every film onto magic item recorders before the globes disappeared.
With that, the transaction was complete.
By the time they left the manor, it was already well into the night.
It was also Anton's final evening on Meronoma Island.
Although both Liemdal and Baturin remained somewhat dissatisfied with the negotiated price, Anton was more than pleased.
He had just earned an enormous fortune in mana stones.
Numerous people had already told him that mana stones held roughly the same value throughout Izmorta as they did on the Gale Continent.
Mironor accompanied them back to the Melinda.
Along the way, Anton thanked the elf sincerely for serving as such an excellent guide.
Mironor smiled warmly.
"It was my pleasure," he replied. "I'm especially happy that you've left so many movies behind. That means I'll have plenty to watch over the coming months."
When they reached the ship, Mironor bid them farewell one last time before returning to the island.
Anton also thanked Liemdal and Baturin before retiring to his cabin.
He felt pleasantly exhausted and intended to turn in early.
As he settled into bed, another thought crossed his mind.
Since Liemdal and Baturin had watched all of the trailers, they would almost certainly report them to the captain.
That meant Captain Melinda would probably ask Anton for copies of the movies to show the passengers during the voyage.
Anton couldn't help wondering whether he ought to charge them.
After all, everyone now knew just how valuable those movies truly were.
The next day, Anton went to the deck to watch the ship leave the Island of Meronoma. All of his friends on the ship joined him, and they watched the Island until it was a small dark speck in the distance.
All in all, Anton liked his stay on the Island of Meronoma much more than his stay in the Island of Rokutua.