Chapter 210: Trusted Aides

The Lord of Radiance possesses Divine Offices such as law and contracts, so many of the Lord of Radiance's attendants gain the ability to witness contracts as a result.

The so-called Sacred Contract is actually the manifestation of this ability, similar to how Mages craft spells into Magic Scrolls.

However, unlike Magic Scrolls, a Sacred Contract can be written jointly by the parties entering the agreement; once they finish by reciting "The Lord of Radiance witnesses," the contract is established.

As for breach of contract, the Lord of Radiance does not deliberately punish the violator, but will leave a mark; the next time they come into contact with a Sacred Contract, it will be displayed, letting others know at a glance that this person has breached a contract before.

The cost of this breach is not low; generally speaking, being able to sign a Sacred Contract indicates considerable sincerity.

The form of signing is also quite interesting; both parties only need to copy out the agreed-upon content, without needing to leave names or emblems.

If the content of the agreement is too long, the contract will automatically expand, so there will never be a situation where a contract cannot fit the text.

……

After the butler delivered the contract, servants brought over a writing desk and placed it between Xia Duo and Lady Patti. Lady Patti wrote first, and after she finished, the butler passed it to Xia Duo.

Xia Duo took the contract and glanced over it; there were no discrepancies with the agreement the two had reached earlier, so he began to copy it out, following Lady Patti's handwriting.

By the time Xia Duo finished copying, the butler had already left, and Lady Patti had come to his side. Xia Duo knew the procedure, so he stood up, picked up the copied contract, and placed half into Lady Patti's hands.

At the same time, Lady Patti could not wait to shout: "The Lord of Radiance witnesses!"

Xia Duo had not yet had time to shout, but this did not affect the final result; he saw a flash of Holy Light on the contract, and then the contract split into two.

He and Lady Patti each received the content copied by the other, but the size of the contract did not change, as if one had appeared out of thin air.

Seeing this magical scene, Xia Duo could not help but marvel at the great power of the Lord of Radiance; with just one sentence, He could witness the establishment of a contract and supervise its fulfillment.

After signing the contract, Lady Patti seemed very happy, her cheeks flushed, which gave her a unique charm. Xia Duo could not help but tease her:

"You are truly beautiful!"

Unexpectedly, this one sentence caused Lady Patti's expression to turn cold instantly. Xia Duo realized he had spoken out of turn, so he changed the subject and said sternly:

"Since the contract is established, you can start preparing the manpower and supplies. Supplies can be swapped out first, but manpower must be prioritized; the Savile Territory also needs to be developed, and we cannot have no one to use when the time comes."

When the topic turned to business, Lady Patti's expression warmed slightly, and she asked: "Does the Lord have a specific development plan? When will it start? Where will it start? How will it start? I can only prepare to recruit manpower if I know these."

Territory development involves every detail. Xia Duo had only obtained the new Territory a few days ago, and with the influence of the Elf Mage, the time for development was not yet certain, so how could he have a specific plan?

When Lady Patti asked, Xia Duo had no choice but to take out the 【Great Xia Territory Map】 that Wier Lingzhu had transcribed using a Spell yesterday and hand it to Lady Patti:

"This is the map near the Territory. The Territory is about 20 li south of Savile Town. Please help me think about the plans and such, Madam."

Two heads are better than one, and besides, Lady Patti must have a group of subordinates. Xia Duo prepared to see how the plan here turned out first; if he felt it was feasible, he would use it, and if not, he would revise it.

Having signed the contract, Xia Duo suddenly felt he had become the "Party A" boss. It was essentially consuming in advance, so he didn't feel panicked in his heart, and if Lady Patti had already invested a lot, he would be even less panicked.

After making up his mind to squeeze Lady Patti, Xia Duo's state of mind became much more peaceful, and the worries about development that had originally pressed on his heart were almost swept away.

He was even considering whether to become a hands-off manager.

As long as he held the title in one hand and Magic in the other, he wouldn't fear the other party harboring any crooked thoughts. Thinking this way, Xia Duo immediately made up his mind:

"Lady Patti, I still have matters to attend to at the Mage Tower. Leave the map with you for now. I will come again in two days, and we can discuss the specific development plan then."

After saying this, he didn't give Lady Patti a chance to refuse and left directly, leaving only Lady Patti standing there, lost in thought.

……

On the way back, Xia Duo walked very slowly. He carefully considered the cooperation with Lady Patti, or rather, with the Liyadun Chamber of Commerce.

First of all, there were mutual interests, and he could be a hands-off manager, but he had to maintain the initiative—

It must be that he demands how the other party does things, and they do it; not the other party making decisions for him.

They could offer suggestions, but he could also choose not to listen.

Xia Duo racked his brains, pondering the traps and loopholes that might appear. Although he had the guarantee of the contract and his status as a Mage and Pioneer, human hearts are unpredictable; no one could guarantee that the other party wouldn't trick him.

"I still need my own trusted aides!"

Thinking to the end, Xia Duo realized that what he lacked was not collaborators, but people he could trust who would be in direct contact with the development.

In Xia Duo's view, Lady Patti was relatively trustworthy, but being trustworthy did not mean he had to trust her, or trust only her.

Checks and balances were a precious experience left behind by Xia Duo's ancestors over countless years, but Xia Duo lacked trusted aides the most. Without a few trusted aides in hand, how could he dare to play the role of a hands-off manager?

Aideliqi and the others might count as trusted aides, but this was limited to within the organization, and the organization actually had no real binding power.

Once he asked them to leave the Mage Tower and follow him to develop the Territory, such a realistic problem—Xia Duo could not guarantee they would agree.

He didn't have trusted aides for the moment, but Xia Duo could still find quite a few relatively trustworthy acquaintances. Perhaps he could invite them to join the Territory development plan, and then transform them into trusted aides during the development!

Trusted aides, trusted aides—in Xia Duo's view, besides being close and trusted, more importantly, it meant—distinguishing between superior and inferior, primary and secondary, monarch and subject!

Suddenly, Xia Duo had a realization as a Lord.

……

Unknowingly, Xia Duo had already walked to the Mage Tower. It was just the beginning of the month, and the nearly full moon appeared exceptionally bright.

Under the night, the Mage Tower seemed to be draped in a thin veil, cold and mysterious. The dark blue Timing Rune at the top of the tower was still spinning incessantly; it was already approaching 8 o'clock.

After calling the Tower Spirit to open the door and returning to the Mage Tower, Xia Duo felt a sense of relief.

Compared to being busy with Territory development outside, staying in the Mage Tower to study Magic was the most comfortable life. Of course, if there were an internet to play with, then he wouldn't trade this life even for an immortal's.

The evening was, as usual, for making Scrolls. Compared to yesterday, he only made four today, but all four were successful, which was worth encouraging!