Chapter 98: Slowly, slowly, let me take it easy (13)

Ka-cha~~~ ka-cha~~~

Luosen walked down the spacious castle corridor, with the steward Mr. Abulu ahead of him and two attendants carrying his luggage behind him.

This time, he would stay directly in the Inner Court Guest Chambers of Maple Leaf Castle.

"Mr. Abulu, is my mentor Lady Agneth also here?"

"No, Lady Agneth happens to be out on business, but she should be back soon."

"Oh~~ How is Count Robert's mood?"

"You can't tell, but at least he isn't angry."

Abulu remained tight-lipped as ever, and Luosen's Detect Guard previously set up in the castle had already failed.

Thank you very much.

Upon reaching the Inner Court Guest Chambers, while the two servants were putting his luggage down, Luosen found a suitable moment, took out a 100 Ogre-valued gold coin, and slipped it quietly into the steward Abulu's chest pocket.

The motion was natural and covert, unseen by anyone but Abulu: "Thank you, sir, for the information."

Abulu was jolted by a flash of blue light; he raised his hand, touched it lightly, and his heartbeat began to quicken against his will.

This amounted to half a year's income for him.

Most importantly, whether it was given secretly or in cash, he could use it directly.

The Baron is really generous.

Although his family had long served the Count as loyal stewards, servants also have their own households and need money to improve their lives; as long as it doesn't violate principles, giving them a little convenience is no big deal.

Moreover, this Baron is the chief apprentice of Princess Anna and is highly favored by the Countess, so he can only be considered a half-outsider.

Thinking this, he quickly glanced left and right, saw no one paying attention, and returned the favor.

"Count Robert is very dissatisfied; he has even smashed a cup before. It's not only because of the Flame War Regiment affair, but also partly due to dock smuggling."

A hundred Ogre for such important information is truly worth it.

Luosen nodded lightly to show he understood.

"Fortunately I managed to connect with the Countess; otherwise, given the Count's temper, I would have to cause trouble before the mentor returns."

Although he leverages the island's geographical advantage and doesn't fear the Count's troublemaking, between neighboring lords it's best to fight without breaking unless there's a deadly feud, as falling out is never good.

As for now, the best course is naturally to delay and wait for the mentor to return.

But doing so would make the Count think he's acting with impunity, only making him angrier, and he can't always rely on the mentor.

One's own problems are best solved by oneself.

After thinking, Luosen returned to his room, opened his chest, took out a few prepared items to carry with him, then continued following Abulu toward Count Robert's Government Study.

Just halfway there, he heard a clear, tender voice from the corner: "Where is anyone? Where is anyone? Where are they?"

As he spoke, a pretty figure in a sky-blue dress stepped out from the corner—it was Princess Ailis.

Upon seeing Luosen, the look of confusion on her fair, plump face instantly turned into genuine delight.

"Baron Luosen, you've come really fast. Mom told me this morning you shouldn't be so quick. Since you're now a lord, there's plenty to attend to on your lands."

Luosen smiled: "Princess Ailis, your aunt is the mentor I respect most besides my parents; she urged me to come quickly, and I dare not delay."

Ailis giggled: "You'd better watch out; Aunt told Father she'll surely give you a stern scolding."

After saying that, she immediately changed the subject: "Anyway, things will pass. Come on, help me look at my original food recipe; what I've made this time is really fun."

It's clear the young princess still has a playful, girlish heart.

Steward Abulu had to caution carefully: "Princess, your father is waiting for the Baron."

Upon hearing that, Ailis instantly lost her temper: "Fine, fine, then I'll come ask for guidance after dinner."

After shaking off that playful princess, Luosen knew the mentor's test posed no major obstacle.

The phrase "stern scolding" was surely meant for the Count to hear.

If the mentor said nothing at all, that would be true anger.

Soon they arrived at the Count's study door; he knocked lightly: "Uncle, I'm here."

Come in.

His voice was calm, but a suppressed anger could be felt beneath.

This is only natural; who could be happy after being schemed against?

He pushed the door open, casually closed it, and saw the Count seated behind a wide starlight-wood desk, his upper body leaning back in a high-backed leather chair, his violet eyes—slightly lighter than the mentor's—fixed on Luosen, a cold smile on his face.

"There's basically no black iron ore on the island; it's just your lie, right?"

"My father's letter says there is; if you don't believe me, I can show you the letter."

Luosen looked apologetic and indeed produced an old envelope.

When fabricating a lie, you must of course make the whole set; in this world many things can be done but not spoken.

If a bad deed is unknown, it's as if it never happened; but if you make it known to the world, you fall into a severe moral dilemma.

Thus, clever lords ought to be moral saints.

As for the Count, apologies must be made and pockets must be opened.

On the other side, the Count stared, surprised; he examined Luosen's face closely and saw only sincere apology.

This left him with no outlet for his anger.

But the anger remained.

"Give me the letter!"

Luosen immediately handed over the letter.

The Count examined it closely and found the paper aged, the script crude, and the tone that of a father admonishing his son.

Ted had once served as his guard for many years; he knew Ted, so at a glance he recognized the letter as genuinely Ted's, and it indeed mentioned the black iron ore.

Thus, Luosen had not lied to him.

This eased the earl's anger considerably, because he hates being deceived the most, especially after just experiencing the incident with Mage Kao.

Fine, at least you didn't deceive me.

Now then, tell me about the Flame War Regiment.

Since there's no black iron ore and you've pacified the island, why did you privately keep my elite warriors?

Luosen immediately apologized sincerely: 'Uncle, I know what I did wasn't quite proper, so this time I've brought you compensation.'

Compensation~~ that's about right.

The earl's tone softened: 'Speak, how do you plan to compensate me.' 'I'll tell you in advance, the Flame War Regiment is quite expensive, not only including armor and equipment but also daily training, plus the military supplies I've prepared this time; altogether it's a large sum of money.'

He decided to squeeze Luosen hard, taking back all the money the other side had secretly earned from smuggling.

Moreover, no amount of persuasion would work! Luosen read the mood and took out the prepared wooden box: 'Uncle, the compensation is naturally sufficient.'

But let me wait a moment before speaking; this time I've brought you some gifts.

He placed the wooden box on the table, opened the lid, and inside lay a row of exquisite magic implements crafted from hardened mithril.

I and Your Highness personally crafted these high-grade arcane trigger talismans; you, uncle, the countess and young masters, and the instructors each receive one.

The earl blinked: 'Heh, this gift is quite generous.'

The high-grade trigger talismans are still quite valuable.

He leaned in slightly to look at the box, noticing that the magic implements' appearance was extremely exquisite, and he had deliberately added the maple-leaf element of the Luobote family, which looked quite nice.

He held back, wanting to maintain his composure, because he still hadn't forgiven this cunning little baron.

But in the end he couldn't hold back, leaned over to pick up a talisman, and examined it closely.

It felt warm and smooth to the touch; although it was metal, it had a hint of warmth, making it very comfortable to hold in winter.

Looking at the details, not only was the shape exquisite, but the craftsmanship was astonishingly high—there was no flaw to be found, giving a rare sense of flawless beauty.

One can easily imagine that the artificer must have poured a great deal of effort into it.

Mm, this looks really good; you and the princess have put thought into it.

His anger had mostly dissipated, after all he had a full ten Flame War Regiments; losing one and rebuilding another is no problem.

As long as the compensation is sufficient, with his Shire County's population of over a million and countless martial talents, he could quickly rebuild one.

This gift is fine; I'll accept it, but the compensation must not be lacking in the slightest.

Although he said that, the earl's expression softened considerably.

Luosen laughed: 'Uncle, you know I don't have much cash on hand.'

The earl flared up again: 'Hmph, you're lying; I can tell you've got plenty of money.'

Luosen knew the earl was hinting at his smuggling, so he immediately pleaded poverty: 'Uncle, really, it's not much; all my overseas trades are just hard-won deals. The limited cash I have is all spent hiring talents from Shire County.'

And this money will ultimately stay in Shire County.

This matches the earl's information pretty well; he chuckled and said: 'Alright, then lay out your compensation proposal.'

Luosen immediately brought out the plan he had prepared earlier.

'My idea is that we go into business together; I handle the artificing and provide the materials. You only handle sales, with profits split 40-60, us four, you six.'

'Also, because the magic implements are small in size, we don't have to worry about the duke discovering them.'

The earl was dissatisfied with this plan and shrugged his shoulders.

'I admit your artificing skills are superb, but the cost of making these magic implements is definitely not low; you couldn't even compete with Aaron's goods, breaking even would be hard, let alone making a profit.'

Luosen immediately replied: 'We certainly know that, so we won't sell high-end goods, only low-end ones.'

The earl snorted: 'How much money can low-end goods make?'

Luosen then produced the sample magic implement he had prepared earlier: 'Uncle, take a look at this.'

This magic implement is a bracelet made of a lightweight, unknown transparent material, with many mithril filaments embedded inside; the filament structure can be seen as extremely complex, giving the whole bracelet a very mysterious aura.

What is this?

'Beautiful Maiden Bracelet; it doesn't have much use—just wear it and you needn't worry about anything; it continuously transforms into pure water energy that nourishes the body, making one healthier and the skin more moist and smooth.'

The earl felt it increasingly dubious: 'Who would like this nonsense? Also, how much do you plan to sell it for?'

'Three ogres each, while the cost is three kelens, and the mithril silver threads inside add up to less than three grams.'

The earl was somewhat surprised: 'Mm, this cost is really low. I'm just afraid it won't sell.'

Luosen countered: 'Uncle, whose money do you think is easiest to earn?'

'Of course, the rich's money is easiest to earn.'

'No, uncle, it's women's money that's easiest to earn.'

'Mm, that's true too, after all women love to spend money, spending it doesn't pain them at all, and they have no idea how hard men work to earn money.'

'Regardless of big or small, upon seeing something they must buy the best; perfume must be the newest, skirts.'

As they talked, the earl actually began to complain to Luosen.

Luosen timely stopped the earl's grumbling: 'Now, for just three ogres, grit your teeth and you can become more beautiful; don't you think women would be unwilling to spend the money?'

'Mm, that actually makes some sense.'

Luosen immediately said: 'Shire County has over a million people, half are women, that's 500,000; if just one in ten buys, that's 150,000 ogres, and after subtracting costs there's still over 130,000 left.'

The earl felt his head spin a bit; after a while he regained his senses: 'Wait, wait, wait—even if that many people bought, you couldn't possibly produce that many, could you?'

Luosen hehe laughed: 'Uncle, I alone certainly couldn't make that many, but I've invented a brand-new artificing technique that can greatly lower the threshold for making bracelets.'

'Currently, our island can produce 5,000 similar bracelets per month.'

'Actually, we don't have that many yet, because the underground secret production line is too small, capacity limited, and there are many high-end tasks that also can't be devoted entirely to making this little trinket.'

'But this is only temporary; the Sea Island Public Magic Implement Factory is already under construction and will install a large batch of dedicated low-end production lines.'

'In a few months, once the first batch of students from the Sea Island Academy have been trained, the factory will be able to start operations, and the bracelet output will immediately explode.'

'But this shouldn't be talked about too much, lest we frighten the earl.'

Seeing the Count somewhat persuaded, Luosen pressed on: 'To sell the bracelet a bit better, besides calling it "Beautiful Maiden Bracelet", it can also be called "Happy Woman", "Gorgeous Bright Flower", guaranteeing that anyone who hears it will feel moved.'

Moreover, I have also developed other types of low-tier magical devices, such as 'Disease Immunity Necklace', 'Stallion Waist Belt', 'Agile Stride Leather Boots', 'Soul Tranquility Hat'.

The Count felt his experience was insufficient, because this young Baron's ideas were too unconventional; although his speech was clear, the pace was too fast, making him feel unable to keep up.

Wait wait wait~~~

The Count raised his hand to stop Luosen's chatter: 'Don't keep chattering on and on, slow down, slow down, let me ease up~.'

Before his words even finished, a light laugh of 'Jier' came from outside the door, followed by a sentence spoken with a teasing tone.

'Luosen, stop talking. If you keep going, our esteemed Count won't be able to tell north from south~.'

Crack~~

The study's door was pushed open, and a voluptuous yet graceful figure walked in.

It's no one else; it is Luosen's arcane instructor, high-tier Mage. Oh no, now already Arcane Master Anna Luóbótè Lady Agneth.

(End of Chapter)