The auction of relics at the "Twilight Mutual Aid Society" lasted from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The competition was so fierce and the scene so lively that Todd had to grit his teeth and persevere for two hours before he had to find an assistant to take his place and continue hosting the auction.
All 220 sacred relics were snapped up, with the lowest price at 18 silver moons per relic and the highest price reaching 25 silver moons per relic. The total amount raised in the auction was 4,149 silver moons.
In terms of ownership, new residents of Muxi Town bought up about 80% of the sacred bones, while local merchants snapped up less than 20%.
The church deacon reported to Todd based on the latest census. The permanent population of Mussey (those who own property in the town) probably exceeded one thousand, most of whom were not poor farmers, artisans, and craftsmen, but rather wealthy gentry and merchants.
Todd found it somewhat unbelievable. When Muxi Town was first established, its population experienced three major increases, but those were all poor people attracted by land and low taxes. Why would these gentry and wealthy merchants voluntarily come to settle in such a remote place as Muxi Town?
After the auction, through Alfonso's introduction, Todd met Wilder, the knight who had fought alongside him at Watchtower, in the chapel.
Todd had a deep impression of the bearded middle-aged man, but he was puzzled by his decision to leave the fortress and settle in Twilight Town.
“Sir Wilder, after that battle, I always thought that you would become the commander of Watchtower based on your achievements.”
Hearing Todd's words, the bearded man shook his head dejectedly: "They did promote me—to manage the stables, a sinecure with no real power."
Todd's eyes widened in surprise.
Wilder continued, “My former commander, the fallen Sir Adams, was loyal to the Silver Ring royal family and was irreconcilably opposed to those corrupt nobles in the kingdom. This personnel reshuffle at Watchtower has given those parasites the perfect opportunity to place their cronies in key positions throughout the castle. Meanwhile, most of us old-fashioned ones have been given insignificant posts.”
“So…” Wilder pointed to himself with his thumb: “I quit!”
Todd glanced at Alfonso beside him, whose brow was furrowed, and asked again, "These nobles are wantonly eliminating dissidents and installing their cronies. Doesn't the king stop them?"
"Stop them? The royal family is already overwhelmed with its own problems, how could they have time to deal with them?"
"What?!"
Wilder stroked his beard: "I heard that there was a civil unrest in Silver Ring City a while ago. It was caused by the residents' inability to bear the increasingly complicated taxes. People burned down shops, smashed statues, and thousands even ran to the palace gates to shout insults, targeting the queen."
Queen Mary?
The image of that aloof, unattainable woman flashed through Todd's mind, and he asked curiously, "What does opposing taxes have to do with the Queen?"
Wilder seemed somewhat puzzled: "I've heard that the Queen loves jewelry and paintings, is fond of banquets and balls, and has even demanded that the King build her a huge, expensive replica of an ancient garden. The reason the kingdom is raising taxes is to satisfy her increasingly outrageous demands."
“This is a completely fabricated rumor…” Todd shook his head.
Upon hearing this, Wilder didn't know what to say, but simply smiled and echoed it a few times.
Todd thought about it carefully, but then he was stunned.
Although it's a rumor, its content is partly true and partly false. The demands for building gardens and raising taxes are false, but the love of jewelry and famous paintings, and the enthusiasm for banquets and balls, are true. Such a deceptively deceptive rumor, a mixture of truth and falsehood, could not possibly have been fabricated by the public; it's highly likely that someone deliberately spread it.
But what was the purpose? Why were the rumors directed at the Queen?
Todd shook his head and laughed self-deprecatingly. Anyway, it had nothing to do with him, so why bother thinking about it so much?
However, the reasons why the wealthy merchants and gentry in the Silver Ring Kingdom chose to settle in Muxi Town have been found: one is that the town's taxes are very light, and the other is that the town has a stable population and good public security.
“My lord, all the coins have been put into the Holy Treasury. Here is the list…” Huggins knocked on the door and came in. He was stunned when he saw that there were other guests in the room.
Wilder knocked over the chair he was sitting on, and pointed at Huggins with a trembling hand: "You...you weren't dead?!"
Todd rolled his eyes, got up from his seat, patted Huggins on the shoulder to signal him to take good care of the guest, and left the room.
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That evening, Todd hosted a dinner party for the Ragrens, whom he hadn't seen in a long time. They were a middle-aged couple who were also members of different races but had only met once at an underground gathering.
The banquet was held in a side hall of the church, and Karin, Edgar, and Jerry were invited to attend.
Todd sat at the head of the long table, with Mrs. Raglan and Karin on his left and Mr. Raglan, Edgar, and Jerry on his right.
Karin, who was talking to Mrs. Raglan, inadvertently glanced at Todd, who quickly blushed and turned away. Todd was somewhat surprised; the girl who had spent several months with Rachel was different from before, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
As he watched the crowd gather together, laughing and chatting, Todd's gaze drifted into the distant void. He recalled the underground gathering when he had just transmigrated to the other world, and in his mind's eye, he seemed to hear that old yet warm voice again.
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