"The Kingdom of Palomia wants to exchange technology with us?"

Inside the Royal Institute, the Chief Royal Mage, Lady Beth, had her eyes lit up when she heard the news from the maid.

As an emerging kingdom, although the Mona Kingdom has inherited most of the heritage of the Norsboy Kingdom, it has certain advantages in emerging magic technology, coupled with the importance of the Demon King's magic technology and the preferential treatment of funds, so the magic technology of the Mona Kingdom can be said to have advanced by leaps and bounds, but in terms of some traditional technologies, the historic Kingdom of Palomia is obviously more powerful - dragon slaying arrows for legendary creatures, super-large siege weapons giant god soldiers, endless gold bags that can pour out gold every day, Sage gems that can provide infinite magic and much more. As an ancient kingdom, there are many good things in the hands of the Palomean royal family.

Ms. Beth is a magician, an alchemist, and a magus skilled in the art of magic. As a result, Ms. Bess is not interested in weapons of war in general, but she is interested in the Philosopher's Gem, which is known as the "Imitation of the Philosopher's Stone".

The "Philosopher's Stone" is a legendary treasure that can turn stones into gold, provide unlimited magic to the wielder, and allow the wielder to gain eternal life! No one knows if the Philosopher's Stone really exists, but the research on the Philosopher's Stone has never stopped. The "Infinite Energy Core" used in the Floating City is a by-product of this research, and the royal mages of the Kingdom of Palomia have also invented the "Philosopher's Gem" with similar functions.

The "Philosopher's Gem" functions similarly to the "Endless Energy Cores" used in the Floating City, both of which provide endless magical power. However, compared to the bulky "Endless Energy Core", the "Sage Gem" is only the size of a palm, which makes the Sage Gem a coveted treasure for mages - as long as they carry a Sage Gem, the mage will have endless magical power, which is equivalent to carrying a mage tower with them.

Of course, on such a ground, it is obviously not enough to convince the "boss" to exchange the Sage Gem back......

After some deliberation, Ms. Bess went to the study and told Green about the value of the Sage's Gem and its prospects.

“…… The technology of the Sage Gem can provide technical support for the technology of the 'Infinite Energy Core' and the 'Magic Crystal', and upgrade our own technology. In addition, demons are different from humans, demons do not need food and water, as long as they have abundant, they can survive forever. Therefore, if the Sage Gem is used instead of the magic crystal to recharge the ship's mother's armament, then it can theoretically give the ship's mother a near-infinite endurance. This is a great help in upgrading the ship's armament. ”

Green looked at the mage in front of him with a suspicious expression: "If the technology of the 'Sage Gem' is so good, why didn't you exchange the technology of the Sage Gem from the Kingdom of Palomia during the Norsbodian Dynasty?" ”

"The price was not negotiable. The Kingdom of Palomia asked Northbod to open up the technology of the Magic Crystal, and it was obviously impossible for King Northbod to agree. Miss Beth shrugged, "But now with the fall of the Kingdom of Northbod, the technology of the magic crystal has also leaked out as the royal family members scattered, so it doesn't matter." ”

Looking at Ms. Bess standing in front of him, Green thought for a moment: "From a researcher's point of view, which is more valuable than the technology of the ship's mother's armament and the technology of making sage gems?" ”

Ms. Beth thought for a moment, "In my opinion, the crafting technique of the Sage Gem is much more difficult than the armament technique of the Ship Maiden. Ms. Beth paused, "Although the ship's mother is very good, except for the relatively novel concept, there is actually no technical difficulty. As long as you can get a ship girl's armament, it is actually not difficult to imitate. The amount of equipment armed with the ship's mother may be concealed in the short term, but in the long run, it is unrealistic to completely conceal it. The technology of the Sage Gem has been around for a long time, but apart from the Kingdom of Palomya, only the artisan wizards of the Silvermoon City-State have made it. From a purely technical point of view, it is clear that the technology of the Sage Gem is more valuable. ”

"Oh?" Green raised an eyebrow, "In that case, then assuming you are Palomia's representative, you will agree to this deal?" ”

"After all, the production technology of the Sage Gem belongs to the ancient technology, except for the Kingdom of Palomya, the Dawn Kingdom and the Silver Moon City-State have relevant information, it is not an exclusive technology, as long as the price can satisfy both parties, it can be exchanged for it. And the ship girl is a new technology, and only we have mastered this technology at present, which belongs to our exclusive technology. The Palomians have only seen the combat effectiveness of the Ship's Niang's armed forces now, and they have not seen the Ship's Niang's armed weapons with their own eyes, so they don't know that the technology of the Ship's Niang's armed weapons is actually very simple. We can take advantage of this intelligence discrepancy and get the crafting techniques of the Sage Gem from the Palomeans. ”

Green blinked, "Hmm...... I understand. I'll ask the Ministry of Foreign Affairs if I can get the technology to make the Sage Gem from the Kingdom of Palomya. ”

Since the beginning of the establishment of the Mona Kingdom, it has been in a state of "isolation" in terms of diplomacy and has been hostile from all sides. Even though the demons continue to preach "peace" to the outside world, the official attitude of various countries has always been not very friendly. So much so that a lot of things can't be bought with money, so this active trade of the Palomia Kingdom is an important opportunity for the demons to take the opportunity to exchange some technology and materials that they don't have from the Palomia Kingdom.

Negotiation and negotiation is a long job.

One thing must be done before a formal negotiation can begin – and that is to host a banquet!

For diplomats, banquets are very important, and it can even be said that "attending various banquets" is the job of diplomats. Through the banquet, the two sides can conduct some preliminary exchanges and temptations, express some "private opinions" that are inconvenient to express through official channels, and exchange some information, so as to facilitate each other's preparations for subsequent negotiations.

This kind of thing does not require the supreme ruler to come forward, nor is it suitable for the supreme ruler to come forward, but the people below are in charge. And after the banquet, naturally someone came to report to Green.

In the evening, after the banquet.

Alice arrives in the Demon King's study and reports to Green about her work.

“…… In addition to the trade in the ship's technology, the nobles of the Kingdom of Palomia also hope that this battle can end as soon as possible. The battle between the demons and the elves blocked the sea, causing many noble caravans to suffer heavy losses, and at the same time, there was a shortage of spices in the kingdom of Palomea. So, contrary to what we had guessed before, they didn't just go through the motions about the 'truce', they were serious. Alice reported some inquiries from Palomian diplomats.

"It's a bit unexpected." Green rubbed his chin, "I thought they would want a long war between us and the elves." ”

"My lord, what are we going to do next?"

"Ignore it, just follow the original plan. Whether it is war or peace is not something that we can decide unilaterally. Green picked up a document on the table, "That's right. Alice, you used to be from the Kingdom of Palomia, how much do you know about the imitation technique of the 'Philosopher's Stone'? ”

"The imitation technique of the Philosopher's Stone?" Alice frowned slightly, "In legend, the Philosopher's Stone can turn stones into gold, providing the holder with infinite magic power, allowing the holder to gain eternal life. No one knows what the real 'Philosopher's Stone' looks like, but research on the Philosopher's Stone has always existed among alchemists, and they have indeed succeeded in crafting a lot of things that have similar functions to the Philosopher's Stone. For example, the 'Endless Gold Bag' that pours out gold every day, the 'Material Transformation Hammer' that can change matter, the 'Sage Gem' that provides unlimited magic to the holder, and the 'Vampire' are also said to be a by-product of researching the Philosopher's Stone technology. ”

"Hmm...... The institute hopes that I will be able to exchange the imitation technology of the 'Philosopher's Gem' from the Kingdom of Palomia, which is the 'Philosopher's Gem' that can provide infinite magic to the holder. Greene paused, "I'd like to hear your opinion as a former Palomean nobleman. ”

"As a luxury item, the Sage Gem is full of charm, but if it is the technique of making the 'Sage Stone', it is a bit flashy." Ellie commented without hesitation.

"Oh? Why do you say that? Green asked curiously.

"Although the 'Sage Gem' can provide endless mana to the bearer, it is actually only continuously providing mana to the holder, not really making the holder's mana unlimited, and its effect is not much stronger than the mana recovery potion. Even if there is a need to use the 'Philosopher's Gem', it can be replaced with a bottle of Mana Recovery Potion. From an economic point of view, the cost of making the Sage Gem does not match its value. Alice paused, "So although the Palomian royal family has mastered the art of making the Sage Gem, they have actually only made two. Today, one of the Philosopher's gems is used as proof of identity for the president of the Royal Mages Society of Palomia and is set on the coat of arms of the president of the Royal Mages Society; The other was used as a symbol of friendship between the kingdoms of Palomia and the kingdom of Dawn, and was brought to the kingdom of Dawn as a dowry during the marriage. ”

"That's right...... Green touched his chin, "so that means that if we were to trade for the crafting skills of the 'Sage Gem', the success rate should be high?" ”

Alice thought for a moment: "I'm not a magician, so I don't know the technical difference between the 'Sage Gem' and the 'Ship Girl Armament', but from a politician's point of view, it is definitely worth exchanging the technology of the Philosopher's Gem for the Ship Niang's armament!" The 'Sage Jewel' is just a precious 'luxury', but the ship's Niang Armament is a real new weapon! And in the future, it is highly likely to become the master of war at sea! ”

"From a politician's point of view?" Green blinked, "Is the diplomat who came this time a qualified politician?" ”

"I've been away from the center of the Kingdom of Palomia for too long, so I don't know what's going on in Palomya. But judging by the performance at tonight's banquet, the diplomat of Palomia is definitely a qualified politician! ”

Green: "In other words, we can exchange something else besides the technology of the Sage Gem?" ”

"Yes." Alice nodded.

Greene: "So, do you have any advice on that?" ”

"I think we should set up official embassies and send official emissaries to each other with the Kingdom of Palomia so that we can have more exchanges and cooperation. We have been isolated for too long because of religious issues. However, now that the religious issue has basically been resolved, it is almost time to strengthen cooperation with the countries of the South. ”

"Hmm...... I understand. Green casually noted a sentence on a document, "Any other ideas?" ”

"More business cooperation can be slowly negotiated after the embassy is established."