Chapter 46

Three days later, in the morning.

Luosen and Selena left Maple Leaf Castle in a travel carriage.

According to the plan, they would head to Shattered Gold Dock to make final preparations before departure.

Inside the carriage, Selena asked: "How much money do we have now?"

Luosen was looking at the report Klub had sent; hearing that, he replied: "I urgently purchased supplies worth ten thousand Og, so I currently have about forty thousand Og left in cash."

Selena blinked: "Since you bought it, why not buy more?"

"Because Shire County really has nothing good to buy, and as for basic supplies, we've already bought enough."

"Furthermore, keeping some cash on hand can also be used to deal with unexpected situations."

"Er... okay, dear, you've convinced me."

Selena counted on her fingers: "So, our cargo ship currently has supplies worth about thirty thousand Og."

"Yes, plus there are fifteen Kao mages."

Selena blinked: "Aren't those fifteen swindlers expelled from Shire County by the count?"

Luosen smiled: "Those expelled were just a group of magical illusions; the real Kao mages are hiding on our ship."

"Because I quietly told them that Master Nord hates them to the bone and will surely silence them, and they agreed with my saying, so they boarded our ship."

"They plan to lay low on our island for a while and, incidentally, serve us for a period."

"."

Selena showed worry: "Are these swindlers trustworthy?"

"Not trustworthy for now."

Luosen shook his head: "They are even dissatisfied with us and wary, because they think all lords in the world are no good."

"They also think we messed up their plans and secretly helped them, possibly to undermine them."

Seeing Selena grow more worried, to the point her brows were about to furrow, he smiled to soothe her.

"Dear lady, there's no need to worry overly about them. Kao strictly controls combat magic; besides nobles and military battle mages, civilians are strictly forbidden from learning it."

"So they are not battle mages, but research-type mages."

"All they want is a decent, stable life; unless driven to desperation, they will only protest verbally, not resist with magic."

"Mm... if that's the case, then that's fine."

Selena felt relieved, but soon a new worry arose.

"Dear, we've seriously offended the Mage Guild of Shire County this time; will there be trouble?"

Luosen grinned: "Trouble will certainly exist, but could it possibly be more troublesome than the Aaron Night Guard?"

"Furthermore, Shire County belongs to the count, not the Mage Guild. And the guild has just been suppressed by the count; even if they wanted revenge on us, they lack the strength."

"And by the time they recover, we will also have mastered White Sturgeon Island, becoming its island lord, right?"

After a few words, Selena put her worries aside: "Exactly."

The carriage rode all the way and soon arrived at the Golden Sturgeon Inn at Shattered Gold Dock.

Klub was already waiting at the door.

After Luosen and Selena got off the carriage, they all the way returned to the third-floor guest room.

Once they were in the parlor, he immediately asked: "What's the current situation?"

Klub respectfully reported: "There are three matters."

"First, Master Stonard has already gone ahead to White Sturgeon Island to investigate; when we return to the island tomorrow, we should meet him."

"Second, the black market at Shattered Gold Dock is indeed plentiful, but because the count cracks down hard on smuggling, its scale is generally small."

"Even according to the most conservative estimate, the total annual transaction volume of the entire dock's black market probably won't exceed thirty thousand Og."

This was within Luosen's expectations, because Count Robert still has some governing ability.

But upon truly learning it, he still felt some disappointment, after all such a tiny trade volume really can't support his development plan.

Although he could go to the count and ask him to loosen up, the Shialin City administration is the duke's lackey; their eyes aren't blind.

This time exploiting military supplies to find loopholes is fine, but if we keep doing loopholes, that would be provoking the duke's dignity.

By then, the count will also have trouble.

Therefore, the black market smuggling in Shialin City cannot be counted on too much for now.

He continued asking: "And the third matter?"

"A merchant from Levinde came specially to find you, saying he's an acquaintance and hopes to achieve some business cooperation with you."

"An acquaintance. What's his name?"

"He didn't give a name, but he said you surely know him, and he's currently staying on the second floor of the inn; if you want to see him, I'll call him up right away."

"Then let's see him."

Not long after, Klub brought in a shrewd-looking middle-aged man; Luosen recognized his identity at a glance.

He laughed heartily: "Muradi of Levinde, I didn't expect we'd meet again here."

Back then at the Blue Whale Mansion, he had played a winning game of chess with this merchant, and the other party recognized him as the fake Sir Haelik, but wisely chose not to meddle further.

Muradi also smiled, tipped his hat, and gave separate salutations to Luosen and Selena: "Baron, you surely can't guess why I've come here."

Luosen thought a moment and formed a guess.

"My White Sturgeon Island has nothing worth your attention, so what attracts you must be about me. And when we met, the only thing you saw of me was my Transformation Technique."

"So I guess you came for my Transformation Technique." Muradi looked astonished: "No wonder the baron could play the Aaron Night Guard like a fiddle; he truly has extraordinary wit."

Luosen knew this was the merchant's flattery, but who doesn't like being praised? So he was in a good mood.

"I guess you want to partner with me to open a brothel?"

Muradi blinked, showing surprise: "Baron, you really see into people's hearts; no wonder you could completely see through Bloodflame Salras."

Luosen also stared for a moment; he had just made a random guess, never expecting to actually guess correctly.

Muradi no longer concealed: "Not long ago, I happened to hear people say that Dawn Port had experienced a strange event, saying that a Transformation Technique master had opened a brothel using sheep."

"At that time I thought this idea was truly brilliant, so I sought out many Transformation Technique practitioners, hoping to find a collaborator, but not a single person could achieve this."

"Until I met the Baron, witnessed his flawless Transformation Technique, and after a brief understanding of your background, I suddenly realized this sheep brothel must be yours, Baron, for you must be the greatest Transformation Technique master in Dawn City."

"I don't know if my guess is correct."

"Given Luosen's current status, he no longer worries about this minor moral flaw, so he candidly admits: 'That's right, I opened it to raise money.'"

"Muradi's face lit up with joy: 'Baron, I am actually the brothel owner; in my hometown Levinde I run several brothels.'"

"So, I greatly admire your Transformation Technique skill."

"Luosen heard and wanted to laugh: 'Admire me?'"

"Yes, although I've opened many brothels and business is decent, I've hit a development bottleneck. The main reason is that pretty girls are too scarce."

"But you know, these days young girls are easy to find, but young and beautiful girls are genuinely few, and even fewer circulate in the market."

"After all, men aren't blind; whenever they encounter a truly pretty girl, they can't wait to marry her and guard her around the clock."

"So I thought, since there really aren't any, why not use fakes? After all, it's just a skin; as long as it looks good, the patrons won't care whether it's real or fake."

"Klub beside him nodded in agreement: 'Not only do they not care about real or fake; truly lustful patrons could even choose to seek pleasure with swamp lizardfolk.'"

"Selena found it hard to listen, feeling these men's topics were too crude."

"'You guys chat; I'll go rest in my room.'"

"Muradi hurriedly apologized: 'I was rude, Your Highness.'"

"After Selena left, he lowered his voice: 'Baron, I know you certainly wouldn't be stuck on a barren island; you'd surely want to develop your island, and all this needs money, and even more supplies.'"

"But the Duke has issued such a near‑heartless decree, so I believe we have a solid foundation for cooperation."

"Luosen thought the same, speaking softly: 'Tell me your terms.'"

"I will hire ships to send the 'girls' awaiting transformation to your island; you just need to transform them according to my requirements, and you needn't worry about anything else."

"Luosen blinked: 'Are the girls people, or sheep?'"

"Levinde chuckled: 'Both.'"

"Luosen nodded to show understanding: 'Go on.'"

"Similarly, you provide a materials list, and I'll help you procure them in Levinde; of course, you can send a trusted aide to supervise."

"We can establish a covert trade route between Levinde and White Sturgeon Island."

"Luosen laughed: 'There isn't really any secret route between Levinde and White Sturgeon Island; any trade between us would be discovered by those with ulterior motives.'"

"Although the island and Levinde are separated only by ocean, nowadays ships dare not cross the ocean directly—they would get lost, encounter deep‑sea monsters, and also meet many mysterious deep‑sea alien races."

"For safety, cargo ships generally keep close to the coastline."

"Thus, the actual route is: from Levinde sailing west all the way to the northern Liuguang Strait of Aaron, then heading north to Weilan Dawn City; at this point they usually need to resupply once."

"Then continue north along the coastline to Shattered Gold Dock, finally crossing the Wind‑Cease Strait to reach White Sturgeon Island."

"It amounts to making a huge detour, turning a roughly 1,500‑kilometer journey into over 6,000 kilometers."

"Not to mention the time lost; along the way they could be intercepted at any moment."

"Muradi chuckled softly: 'Before there was none, but now there is, because an unlucky captain was blown all the way by a storm and unexpectedly discovered a safe passage in the open ocean.'"

"This new route follows an underwater mountain range, with several resupply islands along the way. It not only halves the distance but also allows bypassing Dawn City to trade directly with northern Weilan."

"Luosen was secretly shocked, for the emergence of this new route is extremely important."

"It will not only change Weilan's commercial landscape, but also alter Weilan, and even the political structure of the Natural Alliance."

"But he showed no outward reaction, even wearing a pleased expression: 'Sounds good; just send the girls over.'"

'"As for the price,"'

"Muradi interjected: '400 Ogres each; I know you're short on money, so I'll first prepay 20,000 Ogres as a deposit, on the condition that you work only with me.'"

"Luosen clicked his tongue in amazement, 'What a partner, this guy even wants to monopolize.'"

"Anyway, this money comes for free, and the other side's price is decent, so we can go ahead."

"But the future situation will change, so we can't say it's set in stone."

"Thus Luosen smiled: 'Your price is good, but I can only guarantee that in the next three years, in Levinde you will be my sole partner.'"

"Muradi pondered briefly, then nodded in agreement: 'Fine, let's sign the contract.'"

"Soon, the two signed the contract."

"But the matter wasn't over; Luosen didn't want to let such a good trade opportunity slip."

"'Mr. Muradi, I now intend to purchase a batch of supplies from Levinde.'"

"Unexpectedly, Muradi chuckled: 'I know you lack supplies, especially the various magical tools that Weilan lacks. So I've had a friend allocate a ship full of high‑quality goods for you.'"

'"As for the price, it will be somewhat higher than normal channels. If you buy a lot and lack funds, I also accept credit, or we can exchange using the White Sturgeon Island brothel operating permit.'"

"Luosen immediately felt this guy was quite formidable; no wonder he could become a brothel magnate."

"(End of Chapter)"