Azul and Money

Azul says, “In our modern society, that wealth represents a power magnitudes greater than any magic. Why, it borders on omnipotence,” “You only live once, you know. You miss out by NOT being greedy,” and that no one else at NRC “can turn maximum profit for minimal effort like (he) can.”

Azul offers to teach the prefect about his makeup techniques “for a modest fee” and to help them on a test “for due compensation,” rents out guest rooms in Octavinelle for 10,000 madol (100 thaumarks) a night, possibly charges the other students for a museum tour in Book 3, and seems to charge a 20% finders fee for returning lost items to their owners.

Azul says that his best subject at school is possibly alchemy (Jack: “You’re big on moneymaking, so creating gold and gems seems right up your alley”), that “Turning one thaumark into a hundred is basically a form of alchemy,” and as a voice line of, “Leave the alchemy to me. I’m an expert at proliferating gold…I mean through alchemy, of course.”

While mining magestones during Vargas Camp Azul says that he intends to keep digging “as long as time allows.” When Vil says, “I assume you’re going to keep these precious magestones and sell them once we’re back at school?,” Azul responds, “Perhaps, if that’s the most profitable course of action,” but they are all ultimately used in the battles against Vargas and Crewel.

In a vignette Azul quotes the price for a special detergent as six times the cost of detergent in the school store, successfully selling it for three times the cost of regular detergent after Sebek balks at the original price.

After Floyd turns the lounge of Scarabia to “shambles” during a musical performance with Kalim, Azul tells Jamil, “Don’t worry. I’ll aid you in that regard. That IS why I came, after all.” Jamil responds, “And yet I doubt you offer your services for free.”

Azul assures Grim that he can arrange for a lifetime supply of tuna “for a price,” and in response to the meteor shower of the Starsending event he says, “It’s a crime to hold such an astonishing show without charging any money!”

In a vignette Azul receives an old part from Ortho’s gear that Ortho guesses is worth enough to fill a gymnasium with tuna cans but Azul says, Who would be foolish enough to sell off a piece of technomantic equipment handcrafted by the renowned genius Idia himself? I’ll be holding onto this until the value appreciates even further. Given time, it will.”

Azul’s response to seeing the house built by Stitch’s team on the deserted island of the Stitch event is “You could run this place as a hotel and make a mint!” (Jack: “Even now, you’ve got money on the brain…”) and he is unfazed by Octavinelle ending the interdorm spelldrive competition of Book 2 low in tournament rankings, commenting, Sales at this year’s Spelldrive tournament were up 12% compared to last year. Not a bad haul.”

When Floyd abandons his task of selling drinks during the VDC, setting up a sign that says “free drinks,” Azul says that he will be taking the cost of the drinks out of Floyd’s pay.

After hearing from Vil about celebrities playing handhold consoles Azul responds, “I hear some Magicammers make a living off posting gameplay videos and other such content. This could open a new, lucrative door for me.”

Azul expresses an interest in how much their Tapis Rouge outfits would cost if they’d ordered them for themselves rather than receiving them through Vil. Ace says, “If I knew how much this outfit cost that’d just be more ammo to brag about it with!,” and Azul responds, “Nothing wrong with a little superiority complex. And knowing something’s precise value is extremely important.”

When Vil asks the Tapis Rouge group “What do you imagine the business heads (at a movie production studio) did when faced with budget issues?,” Azul responds with the correct answer (“They invited representatives from banks…and showed them a partially finished version of the film”), and Jamil observes, “It figures you’d know about raising capital.” Azul responds, “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Azul is immediately impressed by Kalim’s unique magic, saying that it would make him a hero to people without proper infrastructure for running water, and it is “ABSURDLY marketable!” Azul tells Jamil that he does not appreciate Kalim’s power for what it is, and it is “hard to imagine a more appealing person to serve than Kalim. He’s eventually going to inherit an entire trove of treasure,” which, in modern society, means Kalim borders on omnipotence.

In Book 2 Azul is the head of the interdorm spelldrive tournament planning committee and, as a part of his tasks, he follows up on kiosks to ensure that “merchants underreporting their sales.”

He Azul also charges a handling fee for registration documents for spelldrive athletes past the submission deadline, of which Riddle does not approve.

In Book 4 Azul has Jade and Floyd remove Scarabia students that were harassing Grim and the prefect but, afterwards, informs them that they will be billed “repair fees for the tables and chairs damaged” in the fight, and for their labor.

In Book 6 Azul’s reasoning for standing up against Idia and Ortho is “Phantoms flooding the world would be TERRIBLE for the economy. I’m not about to let the fortune l’ve so painstakingly built go up in smoke.”

In Book 7, Azul in Jade’s dream is on the hunt for “precious metals that settle in hydrothermal deposits,” as they are said to be “richer in gold than land-based gold mines.” The rest of the group describes it as an accurate portrayal of their understanding of Azul, but after dream-Azul burns himself in his desperation to acquire gold Floyd says, “Azul loves his valuables and all, but the real one wouldn’t go that far. ‘Least… I’m PRETTY sure he wouldn’t…”

After Jade awakens, he and Floyd assume that Azul’s dream will involves flourishing business, “his name is on lists of the world’s most affluent young men…And he drinks victory mocktails while lounging in a bathtub filled with madol.”

Azul and Jade are both members of the Halloween management committee, with Jade as treasurer, and Kalim questions how they managed to stay within their budget (Jade: “Are you suggesting that I helped them circumvent the rules?”).

Jade says, “Our Halloween focus at Octavinelle was exhaustive cost optimization,” and Azul explains the various lengths they went to in order to cut costs, including working with a vendor who gave them a discount in exchange for a long-term Mostro Lounge maintenance contract.

Azul says, “Any unspent budget for our dorms gets added to the expense pool for the party on the last day. If we’re losing it anyway, why NOT spend it all?”

Later during the event Azul stronger protests Ortho and Idia’s decision to pull back from the festivities, claiming that he wants “every member of the Night Raven College student body to enjoy Halloween together.”

While Idia is suspicious (“You guys are clearly working an angle here…”) Azul is able to convince him to not give up on the event by calling his status as a Creepy Hollow fan (the focus of Ignihyde’s display) into question. After Idia has been properly motivated, Jade provides Ortho with a sample product to set out for visitors: a pamphlet designed and created by Octavinelle, being sold to visitors.

Azul explains, “Two of those sixteen pages are a spread showcasing the projection mapping Idia set up,” which meant that Idia’s bowing out of the event “would mean letting the money (they( spent on a large print run go completely to waste.” (Ortho: “Now I see why you were so hung up on Halloween as a group experience.”)

During Glorious Masquerade it is Azul who suggests that the students of NRC prepare a song as a gift for Noble Bell College: “They cost nothing, yet they’re touching, and people like them. It’s the perfect gift for a group of students to give, and their cost-performance ratio can’t be beat!”

When Idia is against the plan Azul responds, “if you wish to veto my proposal, I assume you have another suggestion? Something we don’t have to carry, that’s more moving than a song, and most of all, FREE?”

When it seems that the group may be overwhelmed by firelotuses later in the event Malleus decides to unleash his magic and obliterate the flowers en masse but Azul refuses to allow it, saying, “If you unleash a magical burst that powerful, the whole tower will collapse! And then our whole plan would go up in smoke. Not to mention, the last thing I need is to be forced to pay reparations for damaging a historic building.”

For all that Azul seems very interested in money, he is also willing to spend it when he deems the situation appropriate, explaining, “I have to be sure the price I’m paying matches the value I’m receiving, no matter how small or large the purchase. But I’m happy to pay a high price, without hesitation, provided the value is there.

Jack is surprised to learn that Azul is willing to spend money on public transportation, and Azul says, “I do like to avoid needless expenses. But transportation is absolutely worth the money.”

Azul’s sleepwear was possibly another example of an item he deemed important enough to purchase for a high price. He says, “Improving sleep quality can improve your performance throughout the day. I’m glad I invested in good sleepwear.”

Azul says that Mostro Lounge’s menu changes with the seasons (“Ingredients are much cheaper when you buy them in-season, you see”), but despite his frugality he refuses to accept mushrooms from Jade for the lounge even “for the low, low price of free” after he grows tired of them.

We also see Azul spend 200,000 madol (2,000 thaumarks) on shoes during Tapis Rouge, surprising Jamil and Ace. Azul says, “I realize it’s quite an expenditure, but considering their quality, it’s a bargain…This is an investment. Wearing these shoes will only open the doors to even greater profits.”

Vil responds, “So you bought them just to raise your standing in the world? I can appreciate that sort of greed.”

Azul also has a voiceline of, “I appreciate the idea that one doesn’t need to spend money to celebrate, but Ruggie takes that too far,” and calls Sam a profiteer for charging 600 madol (6 thaumarks) for a single drink at the school store.

After acquiring the rights to sell it at Mostro Lounge, however, he charges 1,500 madol (15 thaumarks) for the same drink.