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[Genshin Impact] Chapter 505: Investment
🕑 Added 2025-07-01 06:35:01 +0000 UTCNolan scooped up a palmful of warm water and gently poured it over Lisa’s chestnut hair, softly smoothing her damp, silky strands.
Hearing Lisa’s question, he thought for a moment and replied:
“...Hmm, I have no objections. It’s up to you all to decide.”
Handing over the blueprints to the Sweet Flower Merchant Association for agency rights meant the guild would handle production and then sell the finished products to Liyue.
With that setup, Liyue wouldn’t need to bear the enormous cost of purchasing the elemental reservoir blueprints.
And since the Sweet Flower Merchant Association was jointly founded by him, Lumine, and Ningguang, they were all like family. No matter who earned more, it stayed within the group—so they could afford to be a bit more relaxed in their negotiations.
“In that case, let’s settle it like this,” Lisa said, her eyes hazy as she gazed at Nolan, clearly not minding the arrangement.
“Come to think of it, a single nation’s power is limited. Only by sharing strengths and building mutual connections can Teyvat’s technological progress be accelerated.
“So I think the Sweet Flower Merchant Association could serve as a bridge between nations, like we’re doing now—representing high-tech products from each country.
“We help them quickly establish industries, then distribute the products wherever there’s demand. What do you think of that business model?”
Under the water, Nolan’s hands gently caressed Lisa’s soft waist as he turned to look at Ningguang and posed the question.
“Mm.” Ningguang brushed some hair back with her fingers, thought briefly, then answered, “In theory, it sounds feasible, but the actual chances are low. After all, no nation would easily hand over their hard-earned scientific achievements to outsiders.”
“I can help with that,” Nolan said as his palm slid lower along Lisa’s waist, thinking it over.
The Archon of Mondstadt didn’t concern himself with politics, and the acting Grand Master Jean—well, she was his lover.
The Archon of Liyue was also hands-off, and the Tianquan of the Qixing who oversaw commerce was likewise his lover.
As for Inazuma, while its Archon did take an active role in governance, she and her sister now lived in the Wonderland, and he got along quite well with both.
Any requests he made—so long as they didn’t harm the people of Inazuma—would likely be granted.
The same went for Nahida in Sumeru. He had a good relationship with her too—and had even saved her once. As long as it benefitted Sumeru, she’d likely cooperate as well.
—Tch. After thinking it through like this, He realized he could already influence major decisions in four nations with ease.
Could it be... that the mysterious mastermind is me?!
“That said,” Ningguang continued, “the Sweet Flower Merchant Association is still in its early development phase. The costs of R&D, manufacturing, marketing, and so on are all extremely high.
“Right now, our business is booming—but after deducting all those expenses, we haven’t actually turned a real profit yet.
“Do you really think, before we’re profitable, that just my personal funds can support the operation of a world-class commerce guild?”
Ningguang leaned in closer, resting her shoulder against Nolan’s. Her crimson eyes shimmered with a faint smile.
“Ugh... okay, I got ahead of myself,” Nolan admitted. After all, he wasn’t a seasoned businessman—his knowledge of economics was rather shallow.
So his thinking hadn’t been thorough. It seemed the development of technology needed to progress step by step. Trying to force it might work—but only with massive investment.
While Ningguang was indeed wealthy, expecting her to singlehandedly keep an unprofitable, world-class guild running smoothly was clearly unreasonable.
The current scale was manageable for her. And once the guild began turning a profit, it could slowly grow into the kind of global organization Nolan envisioned.
Meanwhile, for simpler technologies—like bicycles, which didn’t require cutting-edge R&D—they were already collaborating with other Liyue guilds via licensing, earning pure royalty income.
It seemed that in just a few years, the Sweet Flower Merchant Association would be able to grow into a world-class commerce guild.
By then, it would also serve to circulate and develop Teyvat’s best science and technology across all nations.
“There actually is another way,” Ningguang said with a smile on her fair-skinned face.
“Oh? And what way is that?”
Nolan’s left hand kneaded Lisa’s soft backside, while his right reached over to wrap around Ningguang and gently caress her smooth, white abdomen.
“I personally don’t have enough funds, but Mondstadt, Liyue, Inazuma, and Sumeru certainly do.
“We could invite them to invest both technology and capital into the Sweet Flower Merchant Association, turning it into a jointly owned enterprise among the nations. That way, everything becomes possible.”
Ningguang bent her legs slightly, her gracefully shaped knees just breaking the water’s surface.
Getting all the nations to co-manage a guild—this idea was undeniably brilliant.
It would be equivalent to pooling together the strengths of every country and advancing together through mutual support and cooperation!
Normally, getting multiple nations to jointly run a business would be near impossible due to conflicting interests.
But given how closely the current national leaders were tied to Nolan, this plan—which would benefit everyone—wasn’t just wishful thinking.
Rather, if he wanted it to happen, it was a plan that could be carried out swiftly and effectively, with almost guaranteed success!
Nolan was secretly pleased. He fully agreed with Ningguang’s idea and nodded:
“Yeah, that plan sounds great. It should be around 8 o’clock now—not too late. It’s actually a perfect time since everyone’s probably free.
“How about we hold a quick meeting now to discuss the specifics of this cooperation?”
“No objections here.”
Ningguang stood up. Water droplets streamed down her pale, flawless skin. Her damp, platinum-blonde hair draped over her snowy back, covering her supple hips.
The ends of her hair spread out over the water just above her knees.
Ever since she had come to understand that there were indeed worlds and civilizations beyond Teyvat—not just the stuff of fantasy novels—Ningguang’s gaze had shifted skyward.
Her ambitions no longer ended with the Jade Chamber casting its shadow over the Seven Nations. Now, she aspired to grow the Sweet Flower Merchant Association into a superpower among the stars—an interstellar commerce guild with real weight in the universe.
Such a grand goal couldn’t be achieved alone. It was essential to bring in others to work together.
And especially when those “others” were family—there was no reason to pass up such valuable resources.
She glanced at Nolan and Lisa, still wrapped in each other’s arms, and smiled faintly:
“I’ll go change first. I’ll be waiting downstairs with the others for you two.”
“Ahem—no problem.”
Nolan stroked Lisa’s shoulder blades and upper back as he gave a light cough to cover his awkwardness.
Lisa clung tightly to his neck, resting her slightly flushed cheek against her pale arm.
Her slightly parted lips released warm breaths that tickled softly against his neck.
(End of Chapter)
