I made up magic and taught a world-destroying witch?

Joseph suddenly realized that there was a reason why the Dwarf Merchant Guild was able to do business in the capital.

These people may not all know magic, but they certainly know how to take someone's rejection and reassemble it into the shape they want.

"Miss Penny."

Joseph tried to remain calm.

"I think you may have misunderstood me."

Joseph looked at the dwarf-mixed-race girl in front of him who was looking up at him.

She was a little shorter than an average human girl, but a little taller than Holm yesterday. Standing there, she didn't look childish. When she saw Joseph looking at her with a hint of regret on his face, she lowered her eyes slightly, as if she was really in a dilemma.

As Joseph watched her move, a thought suddenly popped into his head.

This guy really knows when to make himself look less threatening.

Are the dwarfs of this world a little too knowledgeable about human nature?

Oh, I forgot, she's mixed race.

Half dwarf, half human, perhaps he inherited the most troublesome aspects of both sides.

She understands technology, she understands human nature, and she knows how to play the victim.

This setup, placed within a chamber of commerce, is practically designed to extract money and resources from other people's pockets and projects.

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"Professor, I have no misunderstanding," Penny said.

"You don't want the New Magic Revival Project and the Dwarf Merchant Guild to be linked together in public, because that would attract gossips."

Joseph paused for a moment. This summary was quite clever, though not entirely accurate.

He mainly didn't want to cause trouble.

Of course, people who love to give orders are usually a troublesome type of person.

"You wouldn't want the Chamber of Commerce to use your name to spread the word that low-magic machinery has been approved by the Royal Academy's Grand Mage."

Penny continued:

"Because this will not only affect the independence of your project, but also make you bear additional explanation costs."

Joseph glanced at her.

The wording isn't entirely wrong; after all, troubles that can't be converted into coins or sleep should be avoided as much as possible—it's purely a thankless task.

Penny's smile softened when she saw his expression.

"Therefore, I suggest that we keep the collaboration private. We will not force the promotion of the low-magic wheel display together with your new magical project."

Joseph: "..."

She had even changed his reason for refusing into terms for cooperation.

Is this what a businessman is like?

But Joseph still didn't budge, mainly because he had already suffered too many losses in just two days, and now everything seemed like a side quest entry point to him.

Not to mention that Penny is now handing over an entire ship belonging to the Dwarf Merchant Guild.

He just wanted to look around from the shore and maybe grab some of the benefits that floated to the surface; he didn't actually want to get on the boat.

The fact that he can still stand here and talk to Penny is the greatest respect he can show to his payment and free breakfast.

"What does the Chamber of Commerce want?" Joseph asked.

"The professor is indeed very direct."

Joseph thought to himself, "I can't be indirect. If I keep going around in circles, I'm afraid I'll end up getting myself tangled up in the cooperation."

Penny, however, seemed to really enjoy this way of talking, and took out a small notebook from her waist and opened it.

"Professor, I'm a businessman, but I'm not just good at calculating money. The most troublesome thing about low-magic machinery is getting it running stably, cheaply, and safely in environments with declining magic. What Miss Taylor did yesterday was very valuable to us."

This suggests that your new magical project might actually allow different people to adapt to a world where magic has declined, based on their own experiences.

That's why we hope to cooperate with you.

Joseph felt a chill run down his spine.

No, it's really not that bad.

The reason he mentioned personal experience was mainly because he didn't know how to teach students and had actually practiced incorrectly. He couldn't just tell them they were practicing wrong, but he didn't know how to correct it either.

As a result, the agents of the Dwarf Merchant Guild have now begun to summarize this thing as an adaptation to a world where magic has declined.

Isn't this a bit too high?

Penny thought for a moment and continued:

"Of course, we would also like to provide some device samples for your project free of charge."

Penny said.

Free? Joseph remained expressionless.

In any world, free things are usually the most expensive.

"Of course, these samples will not be written as a public gift."

Penny, as if she had known he would think this, immediately continued:

"To avoid any misunderstanding that your project is receiving benefits from the Chamber of Commerce, we will provide you with the purchase list and discounted prices together."

Joseph: "..."

"In this way, it means that your project is carefully purchasing and borrowing low-magic machinery for the purpose of assisting in observation, and has nothing to do with the Dwarf Merchant Guild."

Joseph almost believed he was a terrifyingly meticulous project manager.

Wait, let's get back to the point.

If that's the case, he'll have the equipment when the association reviews it, and with Mia's magic which she can barely use now, he'll be able to successfully secure the next round of additional funding. If things go smoothly, he can even get this free equipment into the budget.

This is much better than him scavenging for junk in Gray Iron Alley himself, and the Dwarf Merchant Guild can be used temporarily.

Joseph immediately became alert upon realizing this.

No, don't be tempted. He's the kind of person who's going to run away. The worst thing a runaway does is to dig a pit along their escape route. Don't jump into the pit just because there are some coins scattered around the edge!

Penny seemed completely oblivious to the struggle beneath Joseph's calm exterior, and gently turned another page of her notebook.

"In addition to equipment samples and technical support, the Chamber of Commerce is willing to provide 500,000 gold coins for observation expenses, 100,000 gold coins per quarter, for a total of five periods."

Joseph's heart skipped a beat.

"Funding?"

Penny blinked, looking completely innocent.

"Of course, this money will be allocated separately by the Chamber of Commerce under the name of 'Low Magic Mechanical Adaptation Observation Funding.' You, Professor, can arrange its use as you see fit; the Chamber of Commerce will not interfere."

Joseph looked at her but didn't speak immediately.

Five hundred thousand gold coins.

This number wasn't the largest he had ever seen.

After all, the initial funding approved for the New Magic Revival Project was two million gold coins, but those two million gold coins weren't meant to be spent casually, at least not in theory.

The Dwarf Merchant Guild's offer of 500,000 for flexible arrangements sounds wonderful.

Of course, Joseph couldn't show that he was swayed by those four words.

He is still in charge of the New Magic Revival Project, so he can't just agree to the offer as soon as he hears that the Chamber of Commerce is willing to give money, even though he really needs the money.

Joseph pondered for a moment; at times like these, one had to ponder, for not doing so would seem cheap.

He spoke after a while:

"Ms. Penny, what you've proposed isn't without value. But things like chamber of commerce funding are the easiest for projects to lose their boundaries."

Penny's smile faded slightly.

She looked intently at Joseph and suddenly realized that she might have underestimated him.

She had assumed Joseph would be worried about the Chamber of Commerce's publicity, which would give the professors at the Royal Academy of Magic an excuse to make a fuss, or that the legendary Magic Association would scrutinize the source of the funds.

All of this is normal, and she has prepared many responses for this.

But now it seems that Professor Grantham doesn't care about these things.

Penny had met many people from the college.

Some people's eyes light up faster than a magic lamp the moment they hear about money. They talk about academic independence, but their hands are already flipping to the signature page of the chamber of commerce contract.

Some people are even more troublesome. They want the Chamber of Commerce's money but are afraid of being accused of taking it, which can turn a simple collaboration into a complete mess.

She had only wanted to pay a decent price for a chance to get closer to the new magic project.

It now seems that Professor Grantham is unwilling to allow the new magical revival project to be tainted by the Chamber of Commerce's capital, lest outsiders mistakenly believe that a study that could change the magical education system was the result of money bought by the Dwarf Chamber of Commerce.

Did she really meet someone who was neither naive nor completely driven by self-interest?

Penny's heart skipped a beat.

This is not surprising, after all, only products made by people like this will not easily become advertising slogans on the shelves of the Chamber of Commerce.

Yesterday he was able to get Miss Taylor to make her own decision, and today he's able to discuss project boundaries in front of 500,000 gold coins.

No wonder he was able to teach two students who had given up on the old system.

Penny suddenly realized that she might have actually encountered something more valuable than the low-magic wheel axle during her trip to Grey Pigeon Town.

"Professor, I understand what you mean."

Joseph looked at her.

What do you understand now?