"What is that?" one of them exclaimed.
"It looks so cool!" another added, eyes wide with wonder.
They reacted almost simultaneously, staring intently at the strange device before them.
"This is a sewing machine," Rowan announced with a proud smile.
"A sewing machine? Is this what you claim can make sewing more than a hundred times faster?" one asked skeptically.
"Yes," Rowan affirmed confidently.
"How is that even possible?" another questioned, disbelief evident in his tone.
Rowan had anticipated their skepticism, even after unveiling the sewing machine. Fortunately, he had prepared a brief explanation detailing its mechanism. His explanation sounded both simple and sophisticated at the same time.
"Who wants to try it out first?" Rowan asked, glancing around the room.
Everyone immediately raised their hands. Rowan selected Obi.
Obi beamed happily as he approached the sewing machine. Rowan walked him through its operation once more before handing him a piece of fabric he had kept in his inventory. His actions puzzled the men again, but their reactions were minimal this time, unlike before.
Obi placed the fabric as instructed and spun the handwheel. Instantly, the needles in the sewing machine began stitching the fabric seamlessly.
"This..." Obi whispered, his eyes widening in amazement.
Everyone in the room shared the same reaction—dumbfounded, amazed!
Obi stopped turning the handwheel and stared at the stitches he had created effortlessly, in a matter of seconds—something that would take his wife at least two minutes.
"How much!" Obi stood up and asked loudly, his voice filled with eager interest.
Rowan smiled, pleased by their reactions. "You have seen for yourself the power this machine holds. You haven't even mastered it, and you were able to do something so incredible. Now imagine if your tailor masters it—how fast do you think she would become?"
Rowan continued to hype the sewing machine, each word making the men more eager to purchase it from him.
While Rowan marketed the sewing machine to Obi and his companions, they were already devising marketing schemes in their minds to make insane profits off the machine.
'Duke Milano of Lupin Dukedom is very interested in fashion, and his wife is a skilled tailor. He would definitely pay a huge sum of money to buy this machine for her,' Obi thought.
He looked at Rowan with a smile and asked once again, "Please name your price and how many of these machines you have."
Rowan did not evade the question this time and gave them his answer. "I will sell five of these machines to you since it's the first time. You will go back to your village, and when you return, I might have others for sale. As for the price, seven thousand gold coins is okay," he replied with a smile.
Selling the machine for seven thousand gold coins would amass him more than five hundred times the amount he spent to create it. Even if they ended up getting it for one thousand gold coins, Rowan would still make a heck of a profit from the trade.
"Seven thousand gold coins? That is too much!" Obi exclaimed.
"You think so?" Rowan replied immediately.
Although he mentioned seven thousand, it wasn't the actual price he planned to sell it for—it was natural to bargain.
"That amount is too much. Please, can you reduce it for us? It is our first time, after all. You should show some compassion so we wouldn't be scared to return next time for more," they argued back.
"That is natural, but selling it for seven thousand gold coins is just me being considerate. Do you know how much hard work and intellect it took to build something that works so perfectly? The materials too," Rowan countered with a slight exaggeration.
He had only spent less than a minute creating them, and the cost of the materials he used was less than five hundred gold. Fortunately, his words sank into the minds of the men.
'It is really not easy to build something so marvelous, but still, the price is too much,' they thought.
"We understand and appreciate the amount of work you put in, but the price is still too high. We are but merchants from a small village; such an amount is just so-so," they pleaded.
Rowan listened to their bargains. Though they were persistent, he did not back down and followed up with more arguments. He told them how they would be able to make immense profit from selling them to top-class nobles. He also gave them other ways to maximize their profit, some of which they already knew.
They discussed the price for about thirty minutes before settling at six thousand gold coins each. Obi and his companions happily agreed. Rowan wasn't bothered about the one thousand coin cut.
After they had agreed on the price, Rowan brought out the other sewing machines. The men could not stop admiring them, especially Obi. He imagined all the clothes his wife would be able to sew.
'She usually sews robes with little designs for me because she has to attend to noble customers, but now she would be able to sew mine. I'll be able to dress richly from now on!' he rejoiced inwardly.
As the merchants admired the sewing machines, Rowan couldn't help but contemplate, 'If they bought the sewing machine for such an amount, then how much would they pay for the windmill?' He imagined the price to be around two hundred thousand gold coins.
'Their territory would not be able to afford the windmill,' he thought. 'I will wait for merchants from richer territories to arrive before introducing the windmill. However, I would have to visit their villages in order to install it since it's too big and can't be moved,' he considered. 'I will inform D'Andre about this,' he concluded.
After Rowan was done gathering his thoughts, he offered the merchants the meeting hall to rest for the night. They thanked him, and he left to resume his patrol.
Blaze was already patrolling in his stead, and so far, Blaze hadn't noticed anything extraordinary, so Rowan felt at ease. He met with Blaze, who was just returning from the eastern border, and together they resumed their patrol.
They moved swiftly and vigilantly, exerting more energy than they could have imagined. But they weren't bothered by the stress, as long as the people were safe.
Hours passed, and the next morning arrived. Fortunately, there wasn't a single death.
Also, after the first light of morning, Dragun and Vishirk finally returned to the village.