"Anyway, back to business. That's all from my side. What about ye? Are ye taking over the country?"
I smiled at his remark. He wasn't being sarcastic. He knew this was my goal, or at least my next goal. I'd already saved enough money for Louie's quest item and funding his war was just an excuse I had made the most of to keep getting bigger in the Apocosmos Marketplace. He knew.
"Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois are in the same situation as New York was before we took over. I don't think we'll have a problem expanding." I explained what I'd found from my research. "Florida, though, is quite special. The arrow market there is a lot cheaper. I suspect they bring in large shipments from somewhere else."
"Why haven't the sellers expanded then?" Rory asked.
"Perhaps they earn enough and don't need more," Louie suggested.
"Such an innocent soul," the dragon remarked. "You can never have enough. Mortals call it greed, but it is something stronger than that, something natural. When you only have ten, you wish you were able to afford something that costs twenty. Yet when you get it, the thrill only lasts as long as it takes for you to find something better that costs fifty. It is the nature of all living things to want something better. Surviving over dying, thriving over getting by."
"I'm perfectly fine with what I've got," Louie disagreed.
"So you're fine with ten slices of bacon?" I asked and saw him wag his tail for a bit although he quickly stopped, understanding what I had in mind. "What if you could get twenty slices?"
"I get it, I get it," he said. "Doesn't mean Ommanth is right, but I get it."
"Anyway, I suspect they're only able to bring in a certain amount of arrows or materials, and that's why they only operate in the one state. That and the fact that there is major competition just north of Florida."
"Ye mean someone like us?" Rory asked.
"I'm not sure if they have the same system and deals set up, but Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana all have big arrow dealers."
"So it's not the same person?" Louie asked.
"Not the same person," I said, "but the same last name. From what I can see, the family's business exploded from Alabama a few years ago, but they stopped growing about a year ago."
"Maybe they hit their production limits?" Rory pondered.
"It matters not," Ommanth said. "What matters is that they stopped growing. If you expand to surround them, eventually you might even be able to buy them out."
"Buy out their whole operation?" I asked and paused to think about it. "It never occurred to me that we could go that route with competition."
"You're still thinking like small fish," the dragon continued, "but if you control all the states surrounding them, you will have grown quite a lot. At some point, you have to start thinking like whales."
"You're right," I agreed. "I think I'll need to look into central and northern states next. Try to continue expanding there."
"Sounds good to me," Rory said. "Ye got anything else?"
"I've been looking at more products we might be able to mass-produce if we're able to clear materials from the Cosmos," I replied. "But the options are limited and I haven't had any luck with the Cosmos customs officers."
"Is our steel customs guy still solid?" the dwarf asked.
"Yes. He regularly plays at Leo's table, so he's more than happy with our deal. He got something that money couldn't buy. But I'd suggest we start doing bigger steel imports from the Cosmos and start storing part of it. You know. Just in case."
"How much do ye reckon per import?"
"Well, steel costs close to nothing for us now, so I'd suggest as much as tons."
"Oi, half-Celt, where are we gonna store all that metal?" Rory asked, inhaling a thick cloud of smoke from his long pipe again.
"The DEM offers scalable long-term warehousing solutions. Or we could just buy a big warehouse somewhere."
"Big plans," Ommanth remarked. "I like the way you're going. Both of you."
"Bah. Ye know I trust ye, half-Celt. But at the moment I trust me whiskey more. We can sort this out another time, yes?"
I wanted to object to him calling my whiskey his, but I knew better now than to insult a dwarf. Especially a drunk, headstrong one, like Rory.
"Sure we can," I said. "I bet you want to go back to your place and get your crafting going."
"I think I'm way beyond the possibility of driving back now," he said, holding up the almost-empty whiskey bottle. "Besides, I heard ye're buying us breakfast before we head out for your pupper's quest."
"You're coming with us?" Louie asked excitedly and launched himself onto the dwarf's lap.
"Of course I am, ye little munchkin," he said and span Louie around playfully. "I wouldn't miss it for anything."
"Thank you," I mouthed when he glanced at me.
He simply nodded in return.
"You can use the master bedroom for tonight."
"I ain't sleeping in no bedroom, lad. This couch is just fine."
"But this is where we--" I said, but stopped to rethink what I wanted to tell him. "You'll be more comfortable in the bed."
"So will ye," he said, raising his eyebrows. "But ye don't sleep there."
"Let's all sleep in this room then," Louie suggested. "There's plenty of space for all of us. Just like old times."
"It was two months ago and nobody enjoyed it, Louie," I said.
"It was fine for me," Rory retorted.
"I liked it a lot," Louie agreed.
"Okay, okay. Let me get some covers and pillows," I said and picked up the orb. "Ommanth, I guess we might not talk to each other for a few days while we're on that quest. I'd rather not have anyone see the orb."
"Completely understandable and wise, Alexander," the dragon said. "In that case, I bid you good luck."
"Thank you," I said, and I put the orb back in my inventory as I moved away from the living room.
When I returned from the bedroom, both Rory
