Chapter 18: The Return of the Complete Currency

Chapter 18: The Return of the Complete Currency

After spending some time scanning the foreign trade product list, Airael wearily rubbed her forehead.

It wasn’t just her eyes looking; her brain was also churning out ideas.

Currently, trade between the Elven Race and the mainland was quite normal, merely an exchange of goods.

The Elven Race bought products from the mainland that they couldn’t produce themselves, while the mainland purchased unique items from the Elven Race.

Most of the products the Elven Race bought were raw materials, and although Avalon was sizable and quite rich in resources, it still lagged behind the mainland in many respects.

Thus, the Elven Race needed to import certain materials from the mainland.

On the flip side, the mainland primarily purchased finished products manufactured by the Elven Race.

The most popular items were various magical tools and exquisite jewelry, especially those with magical effects. Even the simplest enchantments made them hot-ticket items in the world of humans.

It was a signature thing.

To them, if it was made by the Elven Race, it had to be a high-quality item, especially in terms of aesthetics.

That’s why noblewomen and young ladies were so envious of such luxuries.

Because of this, trade between the Elven Race and the Human Race had never ceased.

Even during wartime, smugglers risked it all to come and trade.

These goods could bring back substantial profits.

The Elven Race also needed to acquire some resources from the mainland.

While this was all well and good, Airael’s ideas were not so simple.

The Elven Race needed to shift their mindset—not only buying what they lacked but also acquiring resources that wasted manpower from the mainland.

But saying it was easier than actually doing it.

The Elven Race needed to buy, which meant finding sellers among humans.

You see, resources were firmly under the control of the nobles.

The merchants were merely “movers” of resources; they could only access trading opportunities if the nobles decided to sell.

So, this was where complications could arise.

While there were certainly some fools among the nobles, many were quite wise.

A sudden change in product demands from the Elven Race could raise their suspicions.

Moreover, as the Queen of the Elven Race, she had to ensure that the external trade balance didn’t fluctuate too much.

Otherwise, increasing demand for mainland products would lead to a flood of gold coins to the human world.

Then, the Elven Race would need to increase their export quantity to maintain balance.

Of course, the most important aspect remained figuring out how to acquire various resources from the mainland.

Coins were secondary; even if they flowed out, there would be chances to get them back later on.

This is the meaning behind “returning the complete currency to the essence.”

After weighing her thoughts carefully, Airael had a plan in mind.

Since resources were more important than coins, she would spend lavishly to acquire resources from the mainland.

She believed the nobles on the mainland would certainly enjoy being drenched in gold.

At least, by the time the wise ones among them caught on, the Elven Race would have gotten plenty of resources to strengthen themselves.

When the Elven military power grew, she would have the strength to contend with various races on the mainland.

If they did try to limit trade, she’d just lead her troops to break through their borders and sign a series of humiliating unequal treaties.

Thinking about it, Airael couldn’t help but smile happily.

She had always held grievances against the humans on the mainland, especially since she was previously forced to agree to a breach of contract.

And this was in the context of winning a battle.

But the overall strength of the Elven Race was inferior; continuing the fight could leave them worse off than the Merfolk.

Despite having the advantage of the ocean, the Merfolk had been obliterated in their war with humans, now hiding in some corner of the sea.

According to those involved, the battlefield had turned the waters into a bloody red seas.

Over a million troops clashed together.

A million troops! Airael couldn’t even dare to imagine that term for the Elven Race.

It was a fact that when humans went all out, their combat power was truly terrifying.

Although that battle had severely weakened humans, it didn’t take long for them to bounce back.

Just look at the recent example of Nick Kingdom and Machia Republic; despite being driven back by Orcs and Dark Elves, they lost face but quickly mobilized another army to reclaim it.

Based on Airael’s estimation, even with the current strength of the human kingdoms, uniting them could easily muster a million strong army.

What they lacked now was a ruler capable of commanding such a force.

A million troops standing idle could still take a long while to wipe out!

Who knows, it could even tire you out in the process.

After all, killing is hard work!

Back to the topic of trade.

Since she had decided to take action, Airael needed to discuss things with Domiya.

As a decision-maker, it was up to Domiya to specify what resources to procure from the mainland.

That afternoon, Domiya, informed by Airael, arrived at the Avalon Royal Palace.

In the courtyard, Airael and Domiya sat facing each other.

At this moment, there were only the two of them nearby; Anna had been handed over to Hela after finishing her meal and falling asleep.

“Teacher Domiya, I’ve called you to the royal palace to discuss something very important.”

Seeing Airael’s serious expression, Domiya straightened up, asking, “What is it?”

“While I’m eager to arm our Elven soldiers with the new technologies you’ve developed, you also know that our production capacity is limited, and we can’t do it in the short term.”

Domiya nodded.

She understood this and knew Airael was quite troubled by it.

After a pause, Airael looked at Domiya and continued, “I’ve been thinking of solutions to this problem; now, I believe I have a way forward.”

With those words, a confident smile appeared on her face.

She believed she could lead the Elven Race out of their current predicament.

“What’s the solution?”

Domiya was instantly intrigued.

Though she hadn’t initially paid much attention, multiple mentions from Airael had piqued her interest, and she had attempted to brainstorm some ideas on her own.

However, she hadn’t managed to come up with anything good either.