"You were watching it all night?"
Upon hearing this, Nix seemed a little guilty and said somewhat awkwardly:
"No...no, I just felt something was off last night, and that's when I realized it, meow..."
Looking at Nix, who knew nothing about matters between men and women, Nazra smiled and beckoned Nix to come closer.
Nix approached with some skepticism, while Nazra whispered something in her ear in a voice barely audible.
Nix's face flushed red at a visible speed, her eyes widened, and she stammered:
"Oh...so that's how it is! Nazla is amazing!"
…………
Linde had no idea what the two orc girls were talking about. After finishing his breakfast, he received some really good news.
Weeks, who had been sent out to explore for minerals and draw maps within the territory, returned to the territory in the middle of yesterday night.
Linde then summoned him directly to the mansion.
Weeks entered the mansion with two ordinary soldiers and knelt down.
"My lord, I have not failed you!"
Weeks, who was in the lead, pounded his chest with one hand and said excitedly.
Linde looked at the young bronze warrior. In just a few days, his youthful face had become resolute and mature.
"Come on, tell me what you've gained from this trip."
Linde was curious about what kind of surprise this reconnaissance squad could bring him.
Weeks then unloaded the heavy bundle from his body, placed it on the floor of the hall, and slowly untied it.
The contents of the package were scattered all over the floor, a mess of all sorts of things.
Strange stones, isolated plants, monster hides and fur, and other odds and ends.
Weeks then picked up something carefully wrapped from the clutter and handed it to Lind with both hands.
"My lord, this is a map of the territory I drew during this trip. I have marked all the possible locations I discovered."
Linde unpacked the package, took out the rolled-up parchment map, and examined it closely.
Linde's eyes lit up instantly. The map was drawn in great detail, with the locations of mountains, rivers, and forests clearly marked.
Locations where mineral deposits might exist were also marked with special symbols.
He looked at Weeks, his eyes full of admiration.
"Well done, Weeks."
Weeks pointed out to Lind the stones that he found on the ground, which he thought were minerals, and told him in great detail about where the stones were found.
Looking at the several types of minerals in front of him, Linde activated his Deconstruction Aura and began to examine the composition of these stones.
"Hmm... Graystone, this thing isn't very useful."
"Sharp stone? That's a good thing. It's one of the necessary materials for enchanting blades, although it's not worth too much money."
"Oh? Isn't this iron ore? That's a useful hard currency, but I wonder how much there is in the deposits..."
After looking around, there were no particularly unusual minerals, which was within Linde's expectations.
After all, if there were a large amount of rare minerals in his territory, it would be a different story whether he, a mere baron, could even keep his title.
Moreover, the discovery of an iron mine of unknown size and a zeolite mine is already quite remarkable.
Looking at the map, the iron ore mine isn't too far away; the distance is acceptable.
The only problem is that the Lishi mine is a bit far away, and given the current shortage of manpower in the territory, it would be difficult to mine it.
But since it was ultimately his own territory, he was bound to receive benefits sooner or later, which made Linde very happy.
"Is there anything else?"
Weeks picked up the monster armor plates from the ground; they were the same plates from the docile monsters he had seen before.
"My lord, the two of us tried to lure them with the plants that the magical beasts love to eat, but perhaps because there were too few of them, we couldn't lure them very far before they ran back to their group."
The soldier who seemed more astute added:
“We’ve tried a few times, and if we have enough of this plant, they should be able to be successfully lured.”
“The monsters keep a close watch on the area where they usually forage, and we are outnumbered and outmatched, so we don’t dare to get too close.”
"We can only get some when they're not looking, and it's all here."
Looking at the plants on the ground that were already somewhat wilted but not completely dead, Linde felt that he could still revive them using his revitalizing aura.
When the time comes, we can set aside a portion of our territory specifically for planting it, and then we won't have to worry about these magical beasts not coming.
"Not bad, not bad at all, Weeks, and you two, what are your names?"
The more astute-looking soldier behind Weeks tapped the other man next to him, stood up, and spoke first:
“Sir, my name is Will, and this kid is Dodge. We’re both from Mins Village.”
“Oh… Mings Village, I remember it.”
Linde racked his brains and finally remembered the place called Mins Village. It was a small village on the outskirts of Earl's City with a small population.
The two were greatly surprised to see that Linde actually remembered the village he came from.
Linde continued:
“Wex, you did a great job on this mission, and I will give you a reward accordingly. Will and Dodge, you will receive the same reward.”
"I will reward each of you with a warhorse and a set of Truk’s fine plate armor as a recognition of your outstanding contributions."
Linde smiled and said:
“Wex, you take Will and Dodge to rest for a few days. After that, I want you to form a new team to conduct a detailed exploration near that iron ore mine, to see the specific reserves and mining difficulties. You can discuss the specific number of people in the team with Astaire directly.”
"Will, Dodge, you two come too."
Upon hearing this, the three immediately knelt on one knee and said in unison:
"Thank you for your kindness, sir. I will obey your orders!"
Linde nodded, then looked at the map and ore on the ground, pondering his next development plan.
He thought that once the iron ore was mined, he could forge more weapons and tools to enhance the territory's strength; and if those docile magical beasts could be successfully lured into the territory, perhaps animal husbandry could be developed.
Linde felt increasingly optimistic about the future, and a confident smile appeared on his face.
"People are in high spirits when they have good news..."
Linde was greatly pleased with Nazla's "care" after days of mental exhaustion.
However, the most urgent task now is to transplant these plants and grasses to ensure their survival.
Linde wasn't worried about the thing not surviving; with the revitalizing aura, he was 100% sure he could fatten it up.
Lindsay told Jeremy to find someone to plant two plants in flowerpots and put them in her bedroom.
I think it won't be long before I can keep it alive, and then I can just find a place to plant it.
"Hmm... the place where the monsters foraged on the other side of the river was pretty good... so we've decided on that place."
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