Chapter 34: The Makeshift Night Banquet at the Dock Inn

It was seven o'clock at night.

Southeast of Shialin City, at the Shattered Gold Dock, stood the Golden Sturgeon Inn.

It was an ordinary inn, but Luosen had rented out the entire third floor for a small private banquet.

At the head of the long table, he and Selena sat side by side; to his left sat two trusted aides, and to his right were the three newly recruited followers.

Before the banquet began, Luosen raised his cup, smiling: "May Mother Nature bless White Sturgeon Island—cheers."

He then downed the cup of maple-dew liquor in one gulp.

Everyone followed suit and drank theirs dry.

Luosen continued: "These past days we've been rushing; I can see everyone is tired and hungry. So forget proper table manners—open up your bellies and enjoy the feast."

Saying this, he picked up his knife, cut a large piece of roasted lamb, stuffed it into his mouth, and began chewing vigorously.

Everyone was indeed famished, and the table was laden with fresh northern Weilan specialties, their rich aroma filling the air.

Since their lord Luosen led the way in letting loose, everyone naturally followed suit and ate heartily.

For a while nobody spoke; the hall was filled only with the sounds of chewing and swallowing.

After a while, once everyone was about sixty to seventy percent full, they gradually regained their composure and began discussing their thoughts on the northern cuisine.

Selena speared a piece of maple-honey sturgeon slice, tender as crystal, took a light bite, and gave a serious evaluation.

"The maple honey's fragrance perfectly masks the sturgeon's fishiness while greatly enhancing the meat's freshness—far tastier than the same dish I had in Dawn City."

Luosen laughed: "Sturgeon is a specialty of the northern Weilan Sea; naturally, dishes born from it are most authentically made by the chefs of northern Weilan."

"That said, while this sturgeon slice is tasty, it's not top‑grade, because we didn't use the finest sturgeon."

Selena wondered: "Are there different kinds of sturgeon?"

Luosen explained: "There are many sturgeon varieties—freshwater and saltwater types; we usually eat the saltwater kind."

"But the truly delicious kind is the freshwater variety, specifically a rare breed called the Moonlight White Sturgeon."

Saying this, a hint of pride appeared on Luosen's face.

"The Moonlight White Sturgeon inhabits the rivers of Shire County and Frost Winter County, though its numbers are scarce."

"The greatest concentration is found on our White Sturgeon Island—indeed, the island is named after the sturgeon."

Selena's mouth watered: "Oh, I can't wait to go to White Sturgeon Island."

Luosen naturally nodded in agreement, but his expression immediately turned serious.

"White Sturgeon Island is definitely our destination, and it's quick to get there. Rent a boat at the dock, and with a favorable wind you'll arrive in at most three hours."

"But we can't go empty‑handed; we need to make thorough preparations."

Saying this, he looked around at everyone: "Because of the duke's ban, we can only engage in smuggling trade with Weilan."

Seeing everyone's attention on him, Luosen continued with his plan.

"But without the support of the local lord, even smuggling carries extremely high risk."

"So my idea is that from now on we'll split up, act discreetly, and try to conceal our identities as much as possible."

"My wife and I will go visit the count to seek covert support."

"Shitou and Klub, you two are a team; you have two main tasks."

"First, gather information at the dock about White Sturgeon Island—this will mainly be your responsibility, Shitou."

"Second, pose as ordinary merchants and purchase a batch of daily supplies—such as clothing, bedding, furniture, and food."

"Especially the food—quality doesn't matter, as long as it's edible; the more, the better."

"This task will mainly be handled by Klub."

"Don't bother taking notes—just listen. I'll give you the purchase list and funds tomorrow morning."

Shitou and Klub nodded in agreement.

Luosen then turned to Alonso: "Mage, when you were recruited you stated your conditions for following me; though they are rather stringent, I will still satisfy them."

"But as you can see, White Sturgeon Island is a barbaric land—there is no magic laboratory on the island."

"So my plan is to procure some magic equipment and materials in Shire County, bring them back to White Sturgeon Island for your use and research."

"What do you think?"

Alonso readily agreed: "This little difficulty is no problem at all."

Luosen nodded and smiled, then said: "Thank you very much for your understanding. As a return, I will provide you with a brand‑new body of alchemical knowledge for your research."

Alonso blinked: "Brand‑new alchemical knowledge? Is it high‑energy alchemy, life alchemy, or the newly emerging lightning alchemy?"

Luosen shook his head: "No, it's a rather obscure branch—transformation alchemy."

"Klade's 'Transformation and Alchemy'—oh, that really is niche, but if it's useful I don't mind studying it."

Selena beside him laughed: "It's very useful, I guarantee."

Alonso immediately replied: "Since Your Highness guarantees it, I'll certainly study it thoroughly."

Luosen then turned to Weige: "Lady, I only know the basics of potion‑making."

Weige had already shed the disguise of transformation technique, revealing her true appearance.

She is about twenty‑eight or twenty‑nine years old, with a very stern demeanor, somewhat tall, her figure quite mature, yet she has a lovely doll‑like face, a pair of long‑lashed dark‑blue eyes.

In response to Luosen's words, she replied in the usual dismissive tone of an expert to a novice: "Knowing the basics is already not bad; many mages as young as a baron can't even tell the difference between potion‑making and witchcraft."

Selena was not pleased, thinking Weige too arrogant: "Lady, my husband is no half‑trained wandering mage; he is a proper mage taught rigorously by an academy‑trained instructor."

Weige shrugged: "Then I must add a comment that may displease Your Highness: the potion‑making standard of the Weilan magic community is at least thirty years behind that of the mainland."

Upon hearing this, all the Weilan mages present except Luosen felt resentful; they wanted to retort but lacked the confidence, so they could only stare silently.

Over the course of the journey, Luosen and Weige have had several conversations; he has come to understand her personality well—she is a hedgehog‑type scholar, hard to get along with, but she truly possesses genuine talent.

For ordinary folk, dealing with such a person is nothing but torment; but for a lord, such a person is a great treasure.

Because a lord dislikes seeing his subordinates form cliques, someone with outstanding professional ability but disastrous social skills is practically the best—uh, the best servant.

He immediately smoothed things over: "Since Ms. Weige can become the Levinde Royal Family's dedicated pharmacist, her ability is naturally beyond doubt."

"Weilan's magical pharmacology is indeed far behind the continent, which is an objective fact."

"But from merely scratching the surface of understanding, I deeply feel the importance of magical pharmacology, so I plan to strongly support Miss Weige's potion research."

These words softened Weige's tense facial features considerably.

"If the lord can say this, his understanding of magical pharmacology already surpasses at least half of the pharmacists."

Luosen continued: "Everyone should know roughly how much money I have on hand."

"But I will try to purchase various alchemy equipment for magical pharmacology in Shire County, of the best possible quality, with an initial budget of 8000 ogres."

Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked, and even the artificer Alonso felt a twinge of jealousy.

Weige was also surprised, her dark blue big eyes blinking several times, faintly seeming somewhat moved.

Meanwhile, Selena was doubtful, because she knew her husband would never heavily invest in an uncertain goal.

Luosen took in everyone's gazes, then said: "I've heard that on the White Continent a completely new potion has appeared, called steel potion."

Weige nodded upon hearing: "I know this potion's formula and also its preparation method, but to be frank, it is not a mature potion."

Admittedly, its effect is quite remarkable, able to temporarily turn soft, loose limestone into a hardness similar to steel, but the potion is costly, its effect lasts only 20 minutes, and it works only on limestone.

Luosen smiled faintly: "So, I hope Ms. Weige can research an enhanced steel potion."

Weige pondered carefully: "My lord, improvement is not difficult, but I need to know your expectations for the improvement."

"The varieties of effective raw materials, the more the better—that's the first expectation. Second, the strength should be as high as possible. No other demands; just do your best."

Weige startled: "No requirement for effective time?"

"No requirement."

"What a strange request, but you are the lord, you're providing the money, so you decide."

She then carefully considered the technical details and gave a definite answer: "This is not difficult at all."

By this point, the main business was basically finished.

"It's still early, everyone, feel free to eat and drink."

There was still plenty of food, so everyone continued to enjoy it.

With the main business done, the atmosphere relaxed considerably; among the seven people at the table, five were mages, and they naturally began discussing magical matters as they ate.

Where there is discussion, there naturally arises disagreement.

"I think the magical rings have only six layers," said Stonard.

"Only six layers have been discovered so far, child," Alonso chuckled.

"I believe the prophecy of Sage Lamo, that above the six layers there should be higher magical rings," Selena also gave her opinion.

Weige took a sip of wine and said: "According to news transmitted from the Radiant Empire, the magical rings definitely have a seventh layer, and it has already been named the Miracle Ring."

Upon saying this, everyone looked at her: "Radiant Empire, who said it?"

"The continent's only legendary mage who openly revealed his status as a magic saint, the Imperial National Teacher, Duke Sisiting."

Upon hearing this, the Weilan mages were all stunned, each unable to speak.

After a long pause, Selena turned to Luosen and asked: "Dear, have you heard of this?"

Luosen nodded, then began to explain in a leisurely tone.

Duke Sisiting's original words were: "Based on his improved Lamo Solar Formula, he deduced that above the six rings there should still exist at least one stable magical ring."

For this achievement, Empress Zhuo Ya praised the duke for possessing miraculous wisdom, and this is also the source of the title 'Miracle Ring.'

However, the duke himself never said only the seventh layer exists, nor did he directly name it.

Weige looked at Luosen with some surprise: "My lord, your insight far exceeds your age."

Luosen gave a slight nod in acknowledgment: "Thanks for the praise~"

Weige immediately followed up: "Then personally, how many layers do you think the magical rings have?"

Luosen habitually swayed his wine cup, smiling narrowly: "I don't really know this, but if I must say a number, I think it should be 11."

Weige startled: "Why?"

Luosen narrowed his eyes and smiled: "Because 11 is a beautiful prime number."

The mages all startled, then immediately thought Luosen was just talking nonsense, so everyone burst into laughter, and the room instantly filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

Luosen also smiled along, laughing and laughing, he raised his hand and took a sip of maple dew wine.

As the clear, mellow wine liquid went down his throat, words from the ancient ancestors of Earth surfaced in his mind: "Upon hearing the Way, a lesser man laughs."

(End of chapter)