Chapter 110: The Immortal’s Collaborative Prescription
Merlin was quite surprised to see Kaelos, but unlike in the past, he didn’t feel any hostility toward the elf. Last night’s events and this morning’s incidents had shifted his attitude considerably toward this particular elf.
“Senior Kaelos, what brings you to me?”
Merlin instructed Scarlett to prepare a cup of bubble tea for Kaelos. “Make sure it’s extra pearls!”
“Junior Merlin,” Kaelos began, his tone slightly hesitant, “I’ve come today both to thank you and to let you know that I’ve given careful thought to the collaboration we discussed.”
The words felt slightly awkward on Kaelos’ tongue. After all, it was unusual for a noble elf to actively extend an olive branch of cooperation toward a human.
“Oh? Senior Kaelos, I’m glad that you’re considering working with me.” Merlin offered a small, polite smile as he accepted the bubble tea from Scarlett, giving it a gentle stir. Of course, he had no intention of drinking it himself—he would later award it to Scarlett as a ‘reward.’ After all, she was already a fourth-tier mage; the cassava toxins in the drink wouldn’t affect her.
In Merlin’s mind, he thought wryly: Who would want to collaborate with a male elf like him? The only ones truly worth my attention are the beautiful female elves—their value is far greater.
Kaelos sat down, a flicker of hesitation in his eyes, as though he were carefully considering how to broach the subject.
“Junior Merlin, I want to know more about what you mentioned before—the ‘Honey Snow Time’ project exclusive to elves.”
Merlin nodded. “Of course, there’s no problem at all. I also believe that elves are noble beings. To simply use plain water and ordinary ingredients for your drinks would be too disrespectful.”
Kaelos visibly relaxed, clearly pleased by Merlin’s words. For some reason, the more he looked at Merlin during this visit, the more he found himself admiring the human, and any traces of his previous disdain had vanished.
Merlin smirked inwardly. The male elf before him had no idea of his true intentions. Kaelos was focused solely on the surface of their cooperation, while Merlin was already calculating how to exploit the wealth of these elves.
“We will use materials unique to elves, such as Moondew Water and Dreamflower Petals, to craft distinctive drinks,” Merlin explained, his voice calm and confident. “These beverages won’t just taste exquisite—they will provide an enchanting experience that will undoubtedly attract many elves to try them.”
Curiosity flickered in Kaelos’ eyes, though he remained completely unaware of Merlin’s real motives. “Sounds interesting. Junior Merlin, how do you plan to promote this project?”
“I intend to publicize it both within and outside the academy, especially in areas where elves gather,” Merlin continued, his tone brimming with confidence. “We can host tasting events to draw more elves to experience our beverages. Elves’ pursuit of beauty and refinement knows no bounds. As long as we offer products enticing enough, there will be no shortage of elves willing to pay for them.”
Merlin’s lips curved into a slight smile as he added, “To preserve the purity of the elves, I plan to collaborate with you at every stage—from gathering materials to developing the drinks—so that your opinions are fully considered.”
Kaelos nodded in agreement. “Indeed. If humans were to make the drinks, most of my people would absolutely refuse.”
Naturally. Merlin had every intention of ensuring that every step of production involved beautiful, young elf girls—from harvesting tea leaves, milking cows, to preparing the milk tea and fruit teas. Only the delicate hands of elves would touch the ingredients. This way, the price of the final products could soar.
As for limiting the drinks solely to the elves? Merlin laughed inwardly. Of course not. His plan was to make them profitable. If elves kept the drinks just for themselves, no matter how wealthy they were, Merlin wouldn’t earn a cent.
He had already mapped it all out: he would create a high-end, elite brand of elf-exclusive Honey Snow Time drinks, where the prices would skyrocket. Meanwhile, the regular Honey Snow Time line would be made affordable for commoners. Later, to appeal to the elves’ vanity, he could introduce ‘elf-exclusive’ drinks—but here’s the trick: he would issue vouchers to the elves that allowed only them to purchase these drinks. Other races could redeem these vouchers, but only elves could initially hold them.
Merlin planned to exploit the elves’ vanity, making them willingly distribute the vouchers, ensuring that only elite members of other races could enjoy them alongside the elves.
“I’m going to rake in their gold,” Merlin thought with a wicked grin, an edge of malevolence flashing in his eyes. His sinister chuckle made Kaelos slightly uneasy, raising doubts about whether collaborating with Merlin truly benefited the elves.
“Kaelos, let’s discuss the collaboration in detail,” Merlin said.
He intended to purchase raw materials directly from the elves—but at the most favorable prices. The hired elves had to be young, pure maidens—preferably Moon Temple novices.
In Merlin’s eyes, the noble elf Kaelos was simply a gullible mark. A few words about elven heritage and superiority, and Kaelos would likely concede a large share of the profits.
By the time the contract draft was finished, Merlin felt a twinge of guilt. Was this too exploitative of Kaelos?
The elves wouldn’t earn any share from Honey Snow Time sales—they were merely providing raw materials, pocketing only the cost of the ingredients.
Furthermore, the elf-exclusive Honey Snow Time staff had to be pure young elves, and the ingredient gathering would also be done only by the purest elves. Merlin would, of course, provide an extra ‘purity’ fee.
Most importantly, the position akin to a corporate head was handed directly to Kaelos.
Kaelos, oblivious to how he was being taken advantage of, grasped Merlin’s hand gratefully. He couldn’t believe that a relatively obscure member of the Isabelle royal line could become the ‘General Manager’ of Honey Snow Time.
Of course, it was a title only in name. If anything went wrong, he would be blamed. For example, if the cassava used in the bubble tea turned out to be toxic, Merlin could claim Kaelos acted without his knowledge.
Merlin watched Kaelos’ flushed, excited expression and thought to himself with quiet amusement.
“Of course, to distinguish it from ordinary Honey Snow Time stores, the elf-exclusive branches need a unique design, and this…”
Before Merlin could finish, Kaelos patted his chest. “Leave the design to us. The artistic taste of elves is renowned across the continent. We will deliver results that will fully satisfy you.”
Merlin felt almost moved to tears. Look at this—what a godlike collaboration partner. Not only did he get the elves’ cooperation, but he wouldn’t even have to spend a cent on the store’s interior. This expense couldn’t be skimped on, after all—the elf-exclusive Honey Snow Time was aimed at the upper class, and it had to exude sophistication, elegance, and style.