"Master," Mina's voice sounded from outside.
"Come in," Lucas replied.
Creaaak...
"Master, Freya has returned," Mina said directly upon entering.
"Freya is back?" Annie, who was nearby, immediately stood up with a smile on her face. She hadn't seen Freya for quite some time now.
"She's back?" Lucas was equally pleasantly surprised. The wolf-eared girl had been gone for quite a while.
"Yes, she has already returned to the castle..." Mina nodded.
Tap, tap, tap...
Clear footsteps echoed from outside the open door. The next moment, Freya walked in carrying a linen bag.
"Your Highness," Freya immediately greeted Annie and Lucas upon entering.
"Welcome back, you've worked hard." Looking at the exhausted expression on the wolf-eared girl's face, Annie stepped forward, pulled Freya close, and inspected her up and down. "You didn't get hurt, did you?" She asked with concern.
"No, everything is fine," Freya shook her head quickly, the fatigue on her face clearing away significantly.
"Freya, long time no see," Nicole greeted her softly.
"Long time no see," Freya nodded, feeling the exhaustion in her body dissipate a little more.
"Have some water," Lucas said gently.
"Mhm!" Freya took the teacup Nicole handed her and drank a few mouthfuls. Then, she pulled a roll of blueprints from her coat and handed it to Lucas. "This is the route map, as well as the locations of large quantities of herbs and wild fruits in the surrounding areas."
Lucas set the blueprints aside and asked with concern, "Was anyone injured?"
"No, we're just exhausted from the long journey," Freya shook her head. Her favorable impression of Lucas increased yet again.
"Mhm, did you find the Kryptonite ore?" Lucas asked softly.
"We found it. It's highly likely there is a vein there. I've marked the location on the route map, and left some people behind to guard it," Freya nodded coolly.
"Excellent," Lucas finally unrolled the blueprint and glanced at it. Sure enough, near a location eight days' travel from Sedona City, the word 'Kryptonite' was marked.
"This is the ore we brought back from there. We found these following the identification methods," Freya opened the linen bag she had carried in, revealing several rocks inside, one of which was the size of a human head.
Lucas stood up, approached the ore, and picked up the head-sized rock, a smile gracing his face. If this entire thing is filled with Kryptonite, the size is truly astonishing.
"You've worked hard. Go rest for now. I'll have someone notify you when it's time to eat," Lucas said softly. There was no rush to ask certain questions.
"Okay," Freya nodded and was then immediately dragged away by Annie.
"Then Master, I will go cook," Nicole also left, leaving Lucas alone to study the Kryptonite ore.
Early the next morning, in the dining room, everyone who had just finished eating was rubbing their bellies. Lucas returned to the study, followed by Mina and Freya.
Creaaak...
Entering the study and just taking his seat, Lucas looked at the two entering and asked, "Freya, are you certain you want to depart for the Forbidden Mountains this afternoon?"
"Yes, I need to hurry back as quickly as possible. Jones doesn't have many supplies left," Freya nodded.
Besides, she had already relaxed yesterday; there was no need to waste any more time.
Yesterday, after eating lunch, Freya had been dragged into the city by Annie to stroll around. She had experienced all the new novelties that had popped up recently, such as Mārātān.
In truth, she worked for Lucas not only because Annie was being well-taken care of by him here, but also because Lucas had promised to take them back to the Valtoria Kingdom beyond the Forbidden Mountains. She, too, wanted to carve a path through the Forbidden Mountains as soon as possible.
"Mhm, I will have people prepare your supplies and then use hot air balloons to drop you off near the Kryptonite ore. Any further, and the fuel we carry won't be enough," Lucas nodded, no longer demanding she rest an extra day.
"Alright!" Freya nodded. This would indeed save them a lot of time.
"In the meanwhile, a hot air balloon landing platform and a temporary base will be built near the Kryptonite ore. Traveling back and forth to Sedona City in the future will be much faster," Lucas added.
By then, when Freya returned from the depths of the Forbidden Mountains to that location, she would save a massive amount of time.
"Mina, take Freya to change into some new gear," Lucas turned and instructed Mina.
"Okay," Mina nodded. The new gear naturally referred to the weapons made from the new alloy—lightweight yet incredibly hard. This would be of great assistance to Freya as she launched raids in the Forbidden Mountains.
"New gear?" Confusion flickered in Freya's eyes, but she didn't ask further.
"Let's go, Freya, I'll take you to pick out your equipment," Mina tugged on Freya's arm, and the two walked out together.
Watching Freya and Mina leave, Lucas picked up the documents on his desk and began reading. It was a partnership contract for a merchant guild. This afternoon, Lucas was scheduled to meet the nobles who had arrived from various regions upon his invitation.
Today happened to be the tenth day since he sent out the invitations, and everyone who was supposed to come had already arrived.
Lucas was currently preparing for this exact matter. He wanted to establish a merchant guild, not only for the orders from the Deepstone Dwarf Kingdom, but also for Sedona City's future developmental needs.
Moreover, it was a method of controlling those nobles. As long as they tasted the benefits, they wouldn't choose to withdraw from the merchant guild—or rather, calling it a company would work too.
In the afternoon, after eating, Lucas and Mina rode a carriage toward the Drunken Night under the escort of the war wolves squad. This summit was still being held on the first floor because Sedona City's grand auditorium—the opera house—wasn't finished yet.
"Has Freya left?" Lucas asked Mina after boarding the carriage.
"She has. The supplies were just prepped, and she departed from the air force base with her team," Mina nodded.
"She left in such a hurry. Annie's going to nag me about it," Lucas shook his head with a wry smile. Annie was currently still busy dealing with orders. The arrival of these nobles over the past few days had brought in quite a few orders, all of which, without exception, were related to food.
"Master, Camilla has already arrived," Mina smiled at Lucas.
"With her helping to set the pace, things will be much easier this time," A smile played on Lucas's lips. He remembered how Camilla performed in the audience during his last summit with these nobles; she truly deserved his praise.
Tap, tap, tap...
The carriage came to a halt.
"My Lord, we have arrived at the Drunken Night," Chris's voice came from outside the carriage.
Lucas and Mina disembarked and entered the Drunken Night surrounded by the war wolves squad.
The first-floor hall of the Drunken Night was currently packed with nobles and major City Lords. There were nearly three hundred people in total. They were all lords of their respective cities and held cooperative relations with Lucas.
They had obtained textile machinery technology and other technologies from Lucas. In short, whenever Lucas had a technological innovation, the older technologies would be passed down to these nobles. In any case, the most cutting-edge technologies were always held firmly in Lucas's hands; he wasn't afraid of them surpassing Sedona City.
Tap, tap, tap...
The appearance of Lucas and his entourage instantly silenced the previously noisy Drunken Night.
"..." Lucas swept his calm gaze across the room and walked straight to the podium. Looking at the nobles below, the corners of his mouth lifted slightly. "I am sure this is not the first time you all have seen me. On behalf of Sedona City, I welcome your arrival."
"When Lord Lucas extends an invitation, we naturally must come," A noble immediately chimed in.
"Indeed. Thanks to Lord Lucas, our Riverden City was able to develop so rapidly," Camilla shouted loudly from her seat below, her face brimming with admiration.
"Those nobles who didn't receive an invitation must be extremely disappointed right now, hahaha..."
"..."
The nobles below began showering Lucas with praise one by one. None dared to speak a single unpleasant word. Besides, it was undeniably true that their cities had only managed to develop thanks to the technology provided by Lucas.
Among the crowd, Lucas spotted Viscount Gini, Hana—the City Lord of Chitu City.
"I have heard that some of the linen and other goods you produce have begun to stockpile, and you don't know who to sell them to. Is that correct?" Lucas rested both hands on the podium, his eyes scanning the nobles below.
"Yes, Lord Lucas! The linen we've produced has already piled up in several warehouses, and we don't know who to sell it to."
"And our pottery too, it's piling up to the brim..."
"And our..."
"..."
"What did I say last time? Does anyone here still remember?" Lucas asked in a deep voice, looking at the nobles who had begun to grow noisy again.
The nobles quieted down, each of them trying to recall what Lucas had said during their last meeting.
"Lord Lucas said that if we couldn't sell our goods, he could help introduce us to sales channels," Camilla leaped out to steer the conversation at the perfect moment.
"Right! I remember Lord Lucas saying that too."
"Now I remember, it was exactly like that."
"Lord Lucas, is it true?"
"..."
"Correct. Miss Camilla has a very good memory," Lucas praised Camilla. As to whether he was genuinely praising her memory or something else entirely, only the two of them knew.
"Thank you for the praise, Lord Lucas," A smile blossomed on Camilla's face.
"Yes, I did say that, and I can indeed help you sell your stockpiled goods," Lucas nodded firmly.
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