Chapter 184 Princess Irene's "Open Conspiracy"

In a manor in the wealthy area of ​​Thunder City, a slow flame burned in the marble fireplace, warming the reception room.

A guard stood with his head bowed and respectfully conveyed the priest's answer to Princess Irene Campbell, who was sitting at a walnut triangular table.

"...The man in the rumor accepted your summons, but he is currently tracking down the dragon that stole the villagers' cows in the area of ​​Broken Rock Peak, so he cannot return to Thundershire immediately to keep the appointment. The priest said that the man hopes to set the meeting time at the beginning of next month. He would be very grateful if you are willing to wait a little while."

"I didn't expect the dragon in the rumors to be real..." Theresa, who was standing nearby, looked serious and frowned, "But why would the dragon target this place?"

"This... I don't know either." The guard hesitated for a moment and answered truthfully.

Theresa didn't expect him to answer, she was just talking to herself.

Irene sighed softly and put down the teacup in her hand.

"I didn't expect such a serious disaster to happen in a place that our royal family didn't notice..."

Looking at Irene who was trapped in self-blame, Theresa couldn't help but speak.

"Your Highness, only the respected Saint Sith knows everything that happens in this world. Please do not blame yourself. And if I may be frank, the one who should really worry about this is not you, but your brother, His Majesty Edward."

Irene said, shaking her head.

"Since my father handed the ancestral sword to me, given his wisdom, it must not be a spur-of-the-moment choice, but he also has high hopes for me and hopes that I can shoulder part of the responsibility of the Campbell family. And it is undeniable that we failed to pay attention to the suffering of our people. This is indeed a dereliction of duty for our royal family."

Theresa: "Your Highness..."

"Theresa, don't comfort me. I am no longer a child. What I need is not comfort, but the assistance of wise people."

Looking at Theresa who was speechless, Irene blinked her bright and intelligent eyes, then looked at the guard, thought seriously for a moment and continued.

"Please tell the priest in Silverpine Town that Princess Irene understands Mr. Flame King's work and thanks him for taking time out of his busy schedule to satisfy the curiosity and willfulness of a girl who admires him. I just wanted to invite him for afternoon tea. It's nothing important. Please focus on business and don't let the dragon get away."

"I will wait patiently until early next month, hoping that I will have the honor of hearing him tell the story in his own words."

This is the equivalent of a dictated letter.

She admitted that she had put some thought into her wording.

For example, she deliberately did not use her royal identity, but instead used her personal name to shorten the social distance. Another example is that she took advantage of the vanity that mature men have to a greater or lesser extent.

However, considering her identity, these are harmless little things. I believe that even if the gentleman sees through it, he will not mind.

In a sense, this is also a kind of "open conspiracy".

At least that's how it seemed to her.

The guard carefully noted down Her Royal Highness the Princess's instructions and obeyed the order respectfully.

"I will convey your instructions."

"Well, I leave it to you."

Feeling complacent with her own plan, Irene smiled and nodded, then suddenly thought of something, frowned and continued asking.

"By the way, I almost forgot to ask, how many cows did the dragon steal?"

The guard answered truthfully.

"It is said that the local sheriff said that the dragon attacked a ranch, causing the loss of nearly a hundred cattle. Not only that, the beast also burned down a granary, injured dozens of people, and looted the tax money stored in the treasury of the city hall."

Theresa's eyes widened when she heard this.

“So serious?!”

The guard said with a complicated expression.

"I don't know the details... I heard it happened last month, and it happened in the middle of the night."

He actually felt that something was amiss. After all, the dragon looted the ranch, burned the granary, and even robbed the city hall's treasury. It didn't seem like it was robbing, but rather like it was here to purchase goods.

Based on his experience at the grassroots level, this kind of behavior was actually quite suspicious. It was like every time the royal affairs officer came to the army to check the accounts, they would train frequently, and then the facilities in the barracks and the equipment in the armory would frequently malfunction.

However, seeing that Her Royal Highness the Princess seemed to believe in the legend of the Fire King, he didn't want to go against her.

What's more, what if the local baron did it himself to evade taxes? Wouldn't he offend the nobles by talking nonsense?

Besides, there is a probability that such outrageous things will happen, it’s just that there may be more exaggeration.

After all, every local he asked swore that they had seen giant dragons with their own eyes, and had seen more than one. It seemed that the Fire King rode a giant dragon to defeat another giant dragon, and then chased away a group of giant dragons.

Irene frowned slightly and was silent for a moment. Then she gritted her teeth, took out a golden pocket watch from her arms and placed it on the table.

"Please take this pocket watch to the nearby market and sell it for me, and then send the money to Silver Pine Town."

The guard looked at the princess in surprise, his mouth open and unable to speak for a moment, obviously not expecting her to do this.

Theresa, who was standing nearby, was also shocked and spoke subconsciously.

"Your Highness...are you serious?"

She remembered the pocket watch.

It was a gift from the previous king to Princess Irene, and it was said to have been made by a dwarf craftsman.

The magic of this watch lies in the fact that ordinary clocks need to be wound up, or simply driven by magic, but that pocket watch does not require winding up the spring or replacing the magic crystal. It can turn just by wearing it on the body. It is said to be worth quite a lot of money.

In Theresa's impression, Princess Irene always carried it with her, and even put it on the bedside table when she slept.

She never thought that Her Royal Highness the Princess would choose to sell it.

Looking at Theresa's shocked face, Irene smiled gently, trying to make her tone sound as relaxed as possible.

"…Compared to the losses suffered by the local residents in the disaster, the price I paid is nothing. Moreover, even people who have nothing to do with us are working hard for our people, and I also want to do my part for them. This winter is colder than usual, and I hope this money can make up for the losses of some local people and alleviate their suffering in the cold."

To be honest, she was not as relaxed as she looked.

After all, it was a gift left to her by her deceased father, and it was also the most valuable treasure she had besides the priceless objects.

But she believed she was doing the right thing.

Perhaps the money obtained from this pocket watch can save countless families, preventing their family members from starving to death and wandering in the cold wind like the refugees outside the city.

If her father's spirit in heaven saw this, she believed he would be proud of her choice today.

“Your Highness…”

Theresa looked at her with emotion, took a deep breath, and said seriously, "It is my honor to serve such a kind and generous lord like you."

Lending a hand to the weak is a chivalrous virtue.

Although she did not agree with Irene selling her beloved things, she was educated in chivalry since childhood and could not help but respect the act itself.

Looking at Theresa with a solemn expression, Irene smiled and said.

"We have known each other for such a long time, please don't say such cheesy things."

The guard standing aside with his head bowed hesitated for a moment, but ultimately did not speak.

What he actually meant was that in a place like Yinsong Town, the local granary was more like the lord's property, and even if it burned down, it would not necessarily cause a few people to starve to death.

As long as it's not all burned.

But reality is reality, how could he dampen the princess's enthusiasm? A benevolent lord might be what he longed for.

In comparison, His Royal Highness Edward, who colluded with businessmen to implement so-called reforms, was like a devil sent from hell to cause trouble.

He even had an inappropriate thought in his mind -

It would be nice if the late king had entrusted Her Highness Irene with more than just the Light of Legend.

…

"Take a look, take a look, don't miss it if you pass by!"

"If you miss this market, you will miss this shop. Don't hesitate, don't linger. Hesitation and lingering are just a waste of time!"

"The Sokoto Chamber of Commerce can assure you! Everything you buy from us is absolutely worth the money. We only sell good things that most people have never seen!"

The market in Thunder City.

The not very wide street was crowded with people.

I saw three covered wagons parked in the middle of the crowd, with their curtains open to the sides, displaying a wide variety of goods like mobile shelves.

More than 20 strong-looking guards stood around, guarding against pickpockets in the crowd and preventing the surging crowd from overturning the caravan. Right next to the caravan, a kind-looking man was standing in front of the stall, shouting at the top of his voice.

For the proud citizens of Thunder City, any new gadgets were nothing new to them, but the doggerel-like marketing rhetoric still attracted the attention of many people.

With the idea of ​​watching the fun, people passing by the market gathered together, wanting to take a look at what new things were on the stalls that were worthy of this out-of-town merchant's bragging so shamelessly.

It didn't matter that they just took a look. They were really glued to the novelty things on the shelves and couldn't take their eyes away for a while.

Good job.

These are truly things they have never seen before!

I just don't know what's the use...

Looking at the crowd that blocked the street, Sokdo's face was flushed with excitement and he couldn't help but sweat on his palms.

Just as he expected.

When he transported those strange and eccentric gadgets from Beifeng City to Leiming City, they really attracted the attention of local citizens!

Although most people came here just to have fun, it didn't matter to him! He had a plan for the next move!

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Seeing that the time was almost right, Sokdo frowned and gave a look in a certain direction of the crowd.

Soon, a middle-aged man wearing a round felt hat and a monocle on his nose ordered two servants to push through the crowd and squeeze to his stall. He reached out and picked up a small silver square box about half the size of a palm, and asked curiously.

"What the hell is this?"

Seeing the object in his hand, Sokdo smiled enthusiastically.

"Hey, this is a lighter! The customer has good taste and immediately chose this popular item that we strongly recommend! Just press the button on it to light it. It can be used at home or when traveling. It is very convenient! You can get a 10% discount if you buy it now!"

Not just something to sell.

Even the marketing language and tactics were copied verbatim from the Skeleton in Beifeng City.

To be honest, even he, who traveled a lot, was shocked when he first saw it, not to mention the citizens of Leiming City who did not have much experience.

"Lighter?" The hired helper stroked his mustache and muttered with interest, "Interesting... Maybe I can equip the sailors on my dozen ships with a set."

"You are the captain?!" A "surprised" expression appeared on Sokdo's face.

"I'm not a captain, but I have a fleet that travels between the colony and the port of Thunder City. I was worried about the inconvenience of igniting a fire in the humid environment on the ship, but I didn't expect the problem to be solved like this." The man in the round felt hat said with a smile, as if he had really solved a big problem.

After hearing his identity, the citizens around him all showed expressions of admiration and envy on their faces.

In Thunder City, captain is already the most respectable profession in the eyes of ordinary citizens, not to mention the big bosses who own many ships.

Even true nobles are jealous of their wealth, not to mention ordinary citizens, who can only fawn on them when they see them.

However, most people cannot curry favor with them and can only envy or be jealous of them, or go to great lengths to imitate their decency.

This situation is not common outside of Thunder City, but it is a very common occurrence in the economically prosperous Thunder City.

"I didn't expect you to be the captain of more than a dozen ships. How disrespectful!" Sokdo said with an earnest expression, changing the subject, "Your time must be very valuable, right? Considering your status, please allow me to recommend this product to you!"

As he spoke, he took out a leather bracelet from his arms.

The bracelet was just the right thickness of an adult's arm, with buckles to adjust the tightness, and in the center was a pitch-black stone slab.

The man in the round felt hat raised his eyebrows, pushed up the monocle on his nose, stroked his chin and took a closer look.

"This is?"

Sokdo said immediately.

"Magic crystal watch! It's different from ordinary watches. It doesn't have hands on it. Instead, it can directly display numbers!"

As he spoke, he fiddled with the button on the side of the watch and demonstrated how to use it to everyone in front of him.

As he pressed his index finger, a line of numbers made up of faint flashes appeared on the flat crystal surface.

Everyone was surprised when they saw this, as if they had seen a miracle performed by Saint Sith himself! "This, this is incredible!"

"Is it magic?!"

There were cries of surprise all around, people exchanged surprised glances with expressions of disbelief on their faces.

"I felt a slight fluctuation of magic power, but it wasn't very strong... It was no different from those pointer watches that were automatically wound by magic power."

A magic apprentice who was suspected to be an adventurer closed his eyes tightly, trying to sense the magic fluctuations that were so weak that they were almost negligible, and analyze the principles behind them from those clues.

Unfortunately, apart from being able to determine that it was the inscription that was at work, he was completely confused about the deeper details.

The way the magic worked here was beyond his cognition and even overturned his understanding of the inscription, so that there was a hint of weirdness in his eyes when he looked at the merchant.

"How is this possible?!"

"Sorry, I'm just a traveling merchant, and I bought it from someone else." Sokdo smiled embarrassedly at the man dressed as a magician.

He actually didn't quite understand it, but he heard from the skeleton soldiers in the cemetery that it seemed like some underworld text and magic crystal powder imaging technology were used.

Currently, this technology is still immature and can only display a few lines of scribbled numbers and characters, and the quality is not very stable.

However, the guy called [Chemical Pool] seemed to be full of ambitions for this technology, and he said a lot of things that he couldn't understand, including things like subverting the media industry and changing the world... Even though he couldn't understand what he said, he got very excited.

Thinking of this, Sokdo couldn't help feeling a little regretful. It was a pity that the guy was a ghost and couldn't stand here to sell for him.

Otherwise, with that guy's eloquence, he might not even need to arrange actors to perform this lame circus, and the goods in his caravan would be sold out! The man in the round felt hat took the watch with joy, couldn't wait to put it on his hand, and even raised it above his head to show it off.

"Not bad, not bad... I like this thing very much! How much is it?"

After coming back to his senses, Sokdo’s face immediately broke into a smile, and he spoke earnestly.

"This will be more expensive than the lighter. It will cost 500 silver coins—"

"Five hundred?! Such a convenient watch only costs five hundred silver coins?! This is too worth it!" The man in the felt hat made an exaggerated expression on his face. Without saying a word, he took out five gold coins of the Ottoman Empire and threw them on the stall. Then he happily put them on his hand.

To be honest, this watch really matches his outfit. After all, Sokto put a lot of effort into selecting the actors and performance props.

Looking at the five glittering gold coins, everyone around was shocked by the generosity of this old man. When they looked at the dazzling array of goods on the stall of the Sokdo Chamber of Commerce, their eyes suddenly changed.

If they thought they were just some weird new things before, now these new things have become symbols of fashion trends in their eyes!

Even the rich man who owns more than a dozen ships is full of praise for it, so how bad can the things here be? Although most people around here can't afford watches, they can still afford lighters, which cost only 20 silver coins each.

Not just a lighter.

There were also things like magic crystal lamps, nail clippers, voice boxes, shower gel, and even flush toilets and flip-flops. Regardless of whether they were needed or not, they were all snapped up in the frenzy.

Unfortunately, the citizens of Thunder City were still too young and had not been exposed to the Internet, so no one suspected why such a wealthy guy would appear in the same market as them.

But then again, the money that Sokdo earned was not from smart people.

Another thing is that what he sells is not fake.

He believed that with the quality of these goods, it was only a matter of time before they found a market in Thunder City, but it would be quicker using unconventional means.

Time is money.

Since he could go faster, there was no reason for him to take it slow.

Looking at the stalls that were looted, Sok Dule couldn't close his mouth.

Perhaps it won't be long before he can really take over a fleet and sell the goodies he found in Beifeng City to places farther away.

Especially the empire’s homeland!

That's where the truly vast market is! Just as Suokeduo was imagining a bright future, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a familiar face in the crowd, and he was immediately startled.

When he looked over carefully to confirm that he had not made a mistake, the person had disappeared, as if he had been submerged in the surging crowd.

"…Is it an illusion?" Sokdo muttered to himself.

Saint Siss above...

He actually saw the Demon King in the crowd just now!? He silently added in his heart, "Praise the Demon King", and then Suokeduo stopped thinking about it and put it aside.

The devil appeared in the human city...

This kind of thing is too ridiculous no matter how much you think about it! - (Thanks to the leader "Gu Yue who embraces Yamato on both sides" for the reward!!!) (End of this chapter)