Hubert and the elders had a particular memory associated with those three fingers—one that instantly made them feel exasperated.

*“Damn it, here he goes again…”*

*“Three times the current price? How much is that even?”*

*“Does he have some kind of obsession with the number three or what?”*

The mages refrained from speaking out. They’d learned the hard way that objecting too much could end with an even higher price. However, paying three times the market price would seriously drain their coffers.

*‘What should we do? We could blow through everything we’ve saved up for the past few years.’*

Even …