The merchant ships arrived at the station less than an hour later.
Both elves disembarked soon after, and while the two of them were happy to see their friends, Tanera was a bit grumpy, which Andrew attributed to Terelen shutting her up over the comms.
-Welcome back.
Andrew greeted his guests.
-It's always good to be back here.
Terelen answered.
A few minutes later, they were all sitting in the conference room, sipping chilled juice, which, by the way, both elves loved, and catching up on the recent events.
-So, what is the guild planning to do about this whole thing?
Andrew asked once everyone was up to speed.
-The guild authorized me to inform you about a few things you would usually only learn after formally establishing a star nation.
The merchant said, surprising everyone, since they never suspected that there would be some special information accessible only when you established a nation.
-Alright, let's hear it.
Andrew said a moment later, nodding at the elf to continue.
-When a new star nation is created, the guild usually approaches the new ruler, council, or whatever governing body rules the new nation, and offers them the services of a permanent merchant.
Usually, it is someone from the territory who goes to the guild to be trained before assuming the position.
This person is a liaison between the guild and the nation, allowing for smooth trade and granting full access to the trade market for the nation.
The elf explained.
-However, since you haven't established a nation yet, the guild can't send a resident merchant yet.
That's why they sent us here, to inform you about it.
-You mean that if I establish a star nation, I'll have unlimited access to the whole guild's market?
-Exactly.
Terelen nodded.
-Alright, and what are the conditions for establishing a star nation in the guild's eyes?
I doubt that they would just accept it if I simply renamed the territory into an empire.
-You're right, that would not work.
To be recognized as a star nation, you need to have a population of over a hundred and fifty thousand; the species and status don't really matter, but the number does.
You need to rule over at least a hundred and fifty systems, with an established presence in the form of a planetary colony or a space station in all said systems, and you need to have a governing entity
The last requirement is having a fleet powerful enough to protect your territory from pirates and rival nations.
If all the requirements are met, the guild can officially recognize your territory as a star nation.
The merchant explained.
-Now, as to the resident merchant's arrival.
This requires the established star nation, as I already stated, and an application to the guild to establish a merchant residency in your territory.
If the application is accepted, then one of the residents of your nation is sent for training, or a merchant can be assigned immediately if you agree to it.
There are also some requirements that you will need to fulfill to keep the resident merchant, but it mostly boils down to the amount of trade you are involved in.
Terelen explained everything.
-Alright, I understand.
But there is a bit of a problem.
Andrew said, before continuing.
-As far as the requirements for establishing a star nation, we can't fulfill them all.
We don't have enough population, as for the rest, it's already within the requirements or can be easily adjusted.
Vulcan, how many beings live in the territory at the moment?
- 83.839, to be exact.
The AI responded.
-You see, we are over sixty thousand short.
The human shrugged.
-You don't need to worry about that, the guild is ready to bend the rules for you a bit, thanks to the Ilinians' intervention on your behalf.
Meaning that as long as it's only one requirement that is not met, it will be alright.
-But we didn't even establish a nation yet.
Nairin chimmed in.
-That's not a problem, all you need is to establish a governmental body or choose a ruler and proclaim the creation of your star nation.
Tanera finally spoke, much less grumpy now, as Andrew noticed along with everyone else.
-If you do it right the first time, the whole thing should not take longer than an hour, as for the rest of the requirements, you have already met them, except for the population size, which, as my brother said, can be omitted.
-You sound like this is a trivial matter.
Aelita said.
-Because it is.
The elf said while sighing.
-The important part is the establishment of a nation; the rest can be discussed and adjusted later.
With that, I can stay here as the resident merchant, while you get full access to the guild's market.
And to make things as clear as possible, you are not the first ones in this universe to get such access, so it's in you're best interest to get it as soon as possible.
Tanera's words surprised them once more.
-How many others have access to the market?
Jalina asked.
-In this universe, it's about a thousand star nations…
-948, to be exact, and billions more in the battleverse.
Terelen cut in while consulting his tablet.
-And there are more and more territories that are fulfilling the requirements as we speak.
-What is traded in the market?
Jalina asked again.
As the person responsible for resources, this information was crucial to her.
-Everything.
Starting from standard resources, through water, food, clothing, technology, slaves, weapons, ships, jewelry, medicine, information…
In short, if something can be traded, it is traded on the market.
Tanera explained.
-So we can get access to all of this?
Tarina asked.
-Yes
-Then what's the catch?
This sounds way too good to be true.
-There is no catch; usually, the trade in the market costs a fee of approximately one percent of the value of the merchandise, depending on the quantity, and that's it.
No hidden clauses, no hidden agendas, no hidden bills.
Additionally, you can always leave the market whenever you want, or simply trade directly with others, and the guild won't interfere.
Terelen quickly explained, removing her suspicion.
-Alright, so we now know what the guild wants, then how about the empire?
Andrew asked, remembering that the elven empire was also involved.
-The emperor wants the Moon Elf Star Empire to be added as a trading partner as soon as you enter the market, and establish diplomatic relations between our nations.
That's why it would be great for my sister to stay here as the resident merchant.
She could then have an additional role as the temporary diplomat, before the empire could send a full-time one, which might take a while.
The male elf said.
-That's a lot to take in, and it's not a decision that can be taken lightly.
Andrew said after a moment of silence.
-Give me some time to think this through.
He asked both elves, and both nodded, knowing that this was a life-changing decision that once made could never be taken back.
The meeting ended, and everyone left the conference room, leaving only Andrew inside.
The human was in deep thought.
On one hand, he only thought about being an emperor loosely as a fun pastime, never taking it seriously.
However, now things were getting real, and he was unsure if he had what it took to become a ruler of a nation, especially a star nation.