Marcus's hands trembled slightly as he repeated Eren's words under his breath.
"This… won't be the last time…" What he felt in that moment couldn't be described with a single emotion like happiness; it was a chaotic mix of shock, disbelief, greed, and, at the same time, an unfamiliar sense of fear and loyalty quietly taking root in his heart.
When he had used appraisal on Eren earlier, it had shown nothing more than a mere Level 10 Shapeshifter, but his instincts had screamed at him not to trust that surface-level reading.
There were countless individuals who concealed their true strength to catch enemies off guard, and now he was more than certain his intuition had been right.
Not only did Eren possess a storage item worth hundreds of millions, but he casually carried materials valued in the billions, such a person could never be ordinary.
On top of that, Eren had honored his side of the deal without hesitation and even paid more than double the agreed amount.
This was the first time Marcus had ever met a person such as Eren and earned such an astronomical sum as a middleman; on most days, he would have been satisfied with earning two hundred thousand per deal, yet now he had gained hundreds of millions in a single transaction.
And as if that wasn't enough, this incredibly generous client had already hinted at future dealings.
This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity… I can't let it slip away.
Meanwhile, Eren simply smiled faintly, unaware of the storm of thoughts raging inside Marcus, and turned to walk back toward the waiting taxi.
"M-Mr. Eren…"
Marcus called out hastily, his mind racing faster than ever as his sharp eyes regained their earlier composure.
His expression shifted once again, returning to the calm, calculating demeanor he wore during negotiations as Eren stopped and glanced back at him with a questioning look.
Marcus took a small breath before speaking, his voice steady but carrying a hidden urgency.
"Would you… be willing to invest in me?
"Mm?"
Eren turned fully this time, curiosity flickering faintly in his eyes as he studied Marcus in silence.
Marcus exhaled slowly, realizing he now had Eren's full attention.
He spoke in a steady, serious tone.
"I have a business plan that you might be interested in… would you like to hear me out, just once?"
"I'm listening…"
Marcus stepped forward slightly.
"Mr. Eren, I already told you about the trading centers and their monopoly over major supplies, and how they treat hunters without any backing as if they are nothing. Their items are forced to be sold at discounted prices with no real choice. If not for the valuable drops from the dungeons and wilderness around this city, most hunters would have already left for other cities by now."
"Right now, hunters wander without direction, selling their materials at whatever price they're given, while merchants struggle to secure a consistent supply. There's no proper bridge between them."
Eren said nothing, but his gaze didn't leave Marcus.
"We can become that bridge," Marcus continued, his voice gaining a hint of confidence.
"A distribution business. What do you think about this?"
"…"
An awkward silence settled between them after Marcus finished speaking.
He tried to read even the slightest hint of Eren's thoughts, yet the latter's expression remained calm and unreadable.
Meanwhile, a few passersby inside the hotel lobby began throwing curious, almost suspicious glances in their direction, clearly intrigued by the strange tension hanging in the air between the two men, which only made Marcus more self-conscious as he shifted slightly in place before letting out a small, forced cough.
CoughCough
However, Eren seemed completely unaffected by the atmosphere as he glanced briefly around before speaking in a casual tone,
"Explain the rest… inside the taxi."
"Ah... y-yes, of course,"
Marcus replied quickly, almost too quickly, as if grateful for the escape from the awkward surroundings.
Without wasting another moment, the two of them stepped out of the hotel and headed straight toward the waiting taxi.
Once they were seated inside, Eren leaned back slightly and spoke to the driver,
"Please go to the Association branch of this city."
The driver nodded without question and started the engine, the vehicle smoothly pulling away from the curb and merging into the city traffic.
Inside the taxi, a brief silence returned, though this time it felt more contained, more focused, as Eren turned his gaze toward Marcus once again.
"Continue."
Marcus took a slow breath, steadying himself as his earlier embarrassment faded, his eyes regaining their clarity as he leaned slightly forward in his seat.
"What I did for you today… I plan to scale it, but not as a middleman working case by case. I want to formalize it, with an official license from the City Lord and build a proper distribution business."
Eren listened closely.
"I've been thinking about this for a long time," Marcus continued.
"I plan to create a platform where buyers, merchants, workshops, and companies, can register their demand directly. They will specify what materials they need, the quantity, and the price they're willing to pay. This data will be updated in real time."
Eren's gaze sharpened slightly, but he didn't interrupt.
"At the same time," Marcus went on, "hunters can register as suppliers. They'll list what materials they currently have in reserve, as well as what they are capable of gathering within a day. That way, instead of wandering aimlessly, they'll know exactly what is in demand and where the profit lies."
The taxi moved smoothly through the city streets as Marcus continued, now fully immersed in his explanation.
"We act as the central hub," he said.
"We match supply with demand, handle the negotiations, logistics, and delivery. Hunters get fair prices without being exploited, and buyers get consistent supply without delays. In return, we take a commission from each transaction."
He clenched his fist slightly, his voice lowering just a bit.
"And because everything is backed by real-time data, we can control pricing trends, predict shortages, and move materials where they're needed most… faster than any trading center."
Just as he finished speaking, the taxi slowed down and came to a stop in front of the towering Association building.
Eren glanced out the window briefly before asking, "How much?"
"Thirty-two thousand and one hundred," the driver replied.
Eren took out his phone and transferred the payment without hesitation.
"Keep the change."
The driver's eyes widened slightly as he saw the total.
"Fifty thousand…? Thank you, young man."
Eren just smiled at the happy-looking driver as he drove his car away, while both of them stepped out.
The taxi driver drove all over the city from morning to evening.
Eren felt a little bad about only paying the taxi fare, so he gave a bonus.
Eren stepped into the Association building as the wide glass doors slid open before him, while Marcus followed half a step behind.
"Marcus I will say it bluntly, there are several problems I see in your model," Eren spoke in a calm tone.
Marcus's expression tightened slightly, but he didn't interrupt.
"First,"
Eren continued, his gaze moving toward one of the large display panels that showed today's price list of items,
"what you're planning to do… the Awakener Association is already doing something similar through their forum. Don't they?"
"Yes," Marcus admitted without hesitation, as if he had anticipated this question.
"But the Association doesn't operate the way you think it does."
Eren stopped at a particular section where people were storing their items inside their awakener accounts, listening as Marcus continued from beside him.
"The Association focuses on front-line support first. Their system is designed around stabilizing overall supply, not maximizing efficiency at a local level. The prices you see there are average market values, generalized across multiple cities."
"They don't truly capture the specific needs of each city. There's always a price gap between what's listed on the Association forum and the actual value in a local market. They don't have that level of control."
"And their delivery system… it takes days. By the time materials arrive, the demand might have already shifted. On top of that, traders on the forum aren't consistent. Supply fluctuates too much."
Eren nodded at that remark, as he agreed.
"That's why people prefer local suppliers, someone who can deliver fast and consistently."