Lord: Starting with Biological Modification Chapter 54 - 50: My Lord, Do You Like It?

As the seemingly endless caravan slowly rolled into the vicinity of Newly Town, the entire town fell silent.

Captain of the Guard Barrett stood on the town wall, his single eye wide with shock.

’What in the world was he seeing?’

The wagons were covered with heavy oilcloths, their wheels carving deep ruts into the road—a clear sign of heavy cargo.

The people walking with the caravan weren’t ordinary drivers, either. They wore uniform, dark-blue artisan’s attire, with a golden sail embroidered on the chest.

Their steady gait and focused eyes marked them as master craftsn.

There were even three figures in Alchemist robes among them, two of whom were speaking in low voices with a white-bearded old man at the head of the group.

"My heavens... Wasn’t Lord Velin supposed to be on ’disaster relief’?" Barrett muttered, forgetting to tuck the wineskin in his hand back into his belt.

’Is he... bringing back the Golden Sail Comrce Association’s entire Alchemy Workshop?’

Not far away, old Walker, who had just led the villagers in digging a new irrigation channel, leaned on his shovel. His increasingly sharp eyes reflected the advancing caravan.

His lips trembled. He wanted to say sothing, but no words would co.

He had thought that the Stone Skin Soft Vine and Sea Salt Potatoes Lord Velin created were already powerful enough.

But what he brought back this ti was a legion of craftsn and scholars, enough to build an entire city.

Awe and fervor spread through the hearts of every resident of Newly Town.

Every so often, their lord would create a fortune beyond what any mortal could imagine!

At the foot of the small hill that half-enclosed Newly Town, Velin was explaining his plans to Caroline.

"The mountain’s interior will make for the best laboratory. It’s climate-controlled and well-hidden."

Velin pointed to an area on the mountainside that had already been marked by the craftsn. "The Origin Association’s headquarters will be built here. I will personally oversee the construction, and it will have the highest level of security."

He paused, his gaze shifting to the distant salt flats shimring with a white frost.

"Also, I’ll be scheduling the promotional plan for the Sea Salt Potatoes. If all goes well, the Golden Sail Comrce Association will have control over a new, inexpensive food crop that can be mass-produced in any coastal port."

"This will not only recoup your funds quickly, but it will also beco your leverage for controlling those port cities."

Velin’s voice was calm as he laid out one plan after another, analyzing the pros, cons, and potential profits.

But to Caroline’s ears, these words weren’t so simple.

Everything he said was for the sake of the Golden Sail Comrce Association, to lighten her burdens.

He seed even more anxious than she was to pull the association out of the weakness following its pyrrhic victory and make it strong again.

Her heart, which had cooled on the terrace a few days ago because of his "scattered sand theory," was now slowly being thawed by a warm current.

She gazed at Velin’s focused profile, his intelligent eyes reflecting a vision of the future, and for a mont, she was lost in thought.

This man was like a precision instrunt, yet all his gears seed to revolve around her.

"You..." She had just started to speak when Velin turned and began walking toward the Lord’s Mansion.

"Co with . There’s sothing you need to know."

After so thought, Velin decided he should tell her that the "Calamity Star" was an artificial creature, but he would tell her and her alone.

The Lord’s Mansion was still the sa three-story building, but now it was bustling with people, livelier than before.

Velin pushed open the door to his office.

The next second, Caroline froze in the doorway.

Inside the room, Xiaolan was standing on one foot, her body held in a very... alluring pose.

One of her legs was raised high behind her, almost touching the back of her head. Both her hands were tightly gripping her small, white-stockinged foot as she struggled to maintain her balance.

The pose naturally pushed out her chest and tightened her hips, stretching the curves of her body to a breathtaking degree.

The sweat stains that had soaked through in a few places only added to the girl’s naive yet pure allure.

Hearing the door open, Xiaolan turned her head in delight, her face still flushed from the effort of holding the pose.

"Lord Velin!"

Her voice was full of a "hurry-up-and-praise-" kind of cheer.

"I knew you just got back, and I wanted to be the first to tell you that I can finally do this pose! Look, do you like it?"

A thick layer of ice seed to form over Caroline’s face, all the color draining from it.

She stared at the scene before her.

’The pure yet fiery girl... the sensual pose... "Do you like it?"...’

’So this is the "thing" he wanted to know!’

CLICK.

She said nothing. She turned in silence, her high heels tapping sharply on the floor as she walked out without a backward glance.

"Caro..."

Velin had just started to call out to her when things went wrong on Xiaolan’s end.

When Xiaolan saw that Velin hadn’t entered alone, she realized her gaffe and, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, let out a shriek. She scrambled to put her leg down but lost her balance in her panic and fell to the floor.

"Ah!"

"I-I’m sorry, my lord! I-I didn’t an to... there was a stranger..."

Ignoring her throbbing ankle, she covered her flushed little face with her hands, so embarrassed she wished she could dig a hole and bury herself on the spot.

Caroline went straight to the carriage parked outside the mansion. The coachman, without even waiting for a command, shivered at the icy aura radiating from her, cracked his whip, and sped away.

By the ti Velin rushed out, he had already missed his chance to explain.

Cohen, who was now his dedicated liaison, walked over quickly, his expression exceptionally grave.

"Your Excellency Velin, the Vice President..."

"She had urgent business," Velin supplied for her.

Then he asked, "From the look on your face, is there bad news?"

Cohen nodded and lowered his voice.

"We cross-referenced our investigations along the two lines of inquiry—the ’Calamity Star’ and the sick fish. All the evidence points to the sa target."

"We suspected it before, but now it’s confird: the Black Stone Hand Comrce Association."

"They planned and executed everything from behind the scenes. Although they paid a price, as the number one comrce association in the coastal region, this loss was hardly a crippling blow for them."

"Your Excellency, Hector is a paranoid madman. You’ve ruined his plans, so you must be careful of his retaliation."

With that, Cohen took the remaining n to catch up with the Vice President. Their next stop was to check the state of the fisheries at Stone Bridge City.

「Night fell.」

In his office at the Lord’s Mansion, Velin stared at the map of Newly Town, which had barely changed. His eyes were ice-cold.

Different colored charcoal pencils marked the water sources, the woodlands, and that vast expanse of white salt flats.

He looked up, his face devoid of expression, and gazed at Barrett and old Walker, who were both covered in a cold sweat.

"I solved the plague in Tarry Port, brought back enough craftsn and scholars to build a city, and even planned industries that will feed and clothe all of you in the future."

He tapped his knuckles lightly on the salt flats on the map, each tap like a blow to the two n’s hearts.

"And you, in the two weeks I was gone, did you just stand here and stare blankly at this land?"

His voice wasn’t loud, but it carried a chill that seed to freeze the air.

"Tell , gentlen. What, exactly, made you think that ’standing still’ was the best response to everything I’ve brought back?"