Salvatore’s actions, which seed very rational, were basically because he "adopted the advice of his senior, Vatore."
The issues that Vatore couldn’t bother with and those that Salvatore stubbornly refused to listen to often appeared very hesitant and immature... and in the end, they usually ended up regretting not heeding the advice of the experienced.
It was for this reason that Salvatore was constantly in a "save , oh dear Salvatore" state in Noah.
He produced many haphazard and seemingly pointless by-products, which just sat in Salvatore’s store.
Among these, a considerable number of "very strange function" products even caught Annan’s interest. So items were simply not available in other stores.
So, Annan bought a batch, considering it as supporting Salvatore’s business.
Among them, there were indeed so useful items.
For instance, a mirror: If it was illuminated for a period of ti, it could subsequently project gems from up to a hundred ters away, even through obstacles.
This mirror was actually an unintended result of Salvatore attempting to create a "mirror capable of stable video communication." He tried to solidify the spell into the mirror, but he failed.
Annan bought it, planning to have Dmitry carry it to the Pillar of the Poison Fern in the province of Saint Alexis, to search for a gemstone vein he had once seen in a nightmare.
Salvatore also created a peculiar petrifying poison—truly petrifying. It could turn the internal organs of the animals that ingested it into stone, and they could not be turned back.
Annan planned to experint with diluting it to see if it could be used as a pesticide with no residual effect...
This was a concoction he had unsuccessfully developed while trying to cure an old lady’s kidney stones. From the sa batch, there was also the "Turn Stone to Mud Potion," which could effortlessly convert rocks into a rather viscous mud—this could perhaps be used in construction.
There was a man who had once been an asbestos worker.
Asbestos was also one of the commonly used transformation materials. Many fireproof materials required asbestos for transformation, with a not insignificant consumption rate—but for ease of transport and use, asbestos would be made into asbestos tapes, processed into the size of a roll of toilet paper.
Perhaps because of the versatility of Divine Arts, people of this era were unaware that asbestos is a powerful carcinogen. But "asbestosis" among workers was already recognized—simply being exposed to asbestos could lead to the inhalation of microscopic fibers that would accumulate in the lungs and cause fibrosis of lung tissue.
On Earth, it was considered an incurable disease—because asbestos-related diseases were difficult to treat.
In this world, however, it was considered another kind of incurable disease: theoretically treatable, but those afflicted with it could never afford the cure.
It was a disease involving "an exceedingly large amount of foreign material" in the body and "organic changes in the internal organs." Additionally, it didn’t involve curses or viruses... which ant that Divine Arts of the "regeneration" attribute were completely ineffective against it.
One must use the "purification" line of Divine Arts to clear out the foreign material—this ant the necessity of having Mr. Radiance’s bishop to perform the treatnt.
Furthermore, even after removing the foreign material, a bishop capable of treating internal organ injuries was needed to perform recovery, otherwise massive internal hemorrhaging would lead to death.
Obviously, the average person could not enjoy the treatnt given by two bishops from different countries.
The sa applied to silicosis, thrombosis, tumors, and stone diseases—these were unexpectedly severe ailnts in this world. Their severity mainly stemd from the necessity of having bishops of both the "gold and silver group" to cooperate in treatnt...
But a priest from The Holy Nation was almost impossible to send to other countries. So one could only be treated in The Holy Nation, calling upon the extrely rare Silver Baron priests to assist in treatnt there.
Naturally, that ca with an extra cost.
And for Noah, which had outlawed the use of civilian subways, such diseases were terminal because the Silver Baron’s Divine Arts were not capable of curing "proliferative" or "foreign substance" illnesses.
But Salvatore refused to be deterred.
Leveraging his experience in treating the old lady, he spent two weeks and managed to create a compound potion for the treatnt of "asbestosis." Its treatnt principle involved injecting a transformation spell into the body to convert the fibrotic lungs and asbestos into blood clots. Then, a specialized potion for treating pulmonary embolism was used.
However, the compound potion involved spells attachnt, with the cost alone reaching three Gold Coins, not to ntion the labor. A targeted Healing Potion also needed to be custom-made... In the end, the man was saved, but it was Salvatore who fell ill.
In order to heal this man, Salvatore had created a large quantity of semi-finished potions capable of locating and marking foreign objects in the body. He planned to further process this batch of potions, turning them into "Gunshot Wound Healing Potions" that could imdiately expel bullets from the body.
"Master Benjamin would be proud of you,"
Annan comnted thus.
But Salvatore was unconvinced.
"We’re just researchers, after all. What does it matter what we study?"
He shrugged his shoulders, "You could have them research the Philosopher’s Stone, but they wouldn’t be able to produce it, right? So why not work on sothing that can truly et a need?
"Of course, due to the direction of their research, they might not be convenient to do so. Other wizards might need to earn money with their research, to supplent their funding... but I don’t need to, I’m quite wealthy.
"Since I’m not lacking money nor urgently needing a research topic right now, I think I might as well use this money to help those in need—what does it matter what we study?
"If I have researched it, then people in the future won’t have to. By inheriting my research notes, they can avoid many detours. I believe that all suffering in this world will eventually be cured, limited only by the inadequacy of today’s technology.
"Therefore, this isn’t a waste but an advance expenditure... I’m using my money to fund future research."
As he spoke, he even handed Annan several stacks of bills, "As you see, I’m still quite rich."
The paper currency of this world cos in only one denomination, which is equivalent to one "Noah Gold Coin." This one bill equals the purchasing power of one Noah Gold Coin—because the gold content of coins from different countries varies, while the standard for silver coins is consistent, so they still have to be exchanged for silver coins when used.
When Annan felt the thickness of the bills, he knew that one stack amounted to a hundred bills.
And Salvatore had given Annan as many as six stacks.
... Although Pope Glorious IV also had dealings with the Duke Annan, promising to invest ten million over five years into Winter, Winter wouldn’t be short of money for these few years. But half of this ten million would be offset by goods provided.
That is to say, Glorious IV hoped to give the money to Annan, for Annan to distribute the money to the people in the na of work, and then have the people purchase goods from Noah that were delivered to Duke Winter, using this way to enhance the standard of living for the people of Winter—at the sa ti, it could also help clear out so inventory.
After all, storing inventory also incurs costs.
This ans that only one million Gold Coins would actually flow in each year, and this amount is also six to seven tis the total annual tax revenue of the Grand Duchy of Winter.
In Noah, a good warhorse costs only about twenty Gold Coins. But in Winter, this purchasing power becos even stronger—a mid-sized city’s entire annual tax revenue probably wouldn’t reach six hundred pounds.
"This money isn’t for the Grand Duchy of Winter to use,"
Salvatore patiently instructed, "It’s for your personal use.
"I know that with your personality you’d feel embarrassed to tap into the national treasury for personal expenses. You might even skimp and save... but you are growing, and you’re also a duke—it’s not proper to pinch pennies.
"If there’s sothing you want to eat or buy, just do it. On holidays, you could also buy so gifts for Princess Maria. Because this isn’t the duchy’s money, it’s your money... Don’t worry, I’m very rich. And I’m not lacking money, either."
I knew that already.
You guessed right; I indeed wouldn’t use the national treasury for personal expenses, but... why are you giving spending money?
What sort of relationship do we share?
Have I done sothing that deserves to be paid?
Do I look like I’m short of money?
—Aren’t you the one who’s actually short of money?!
Holding the thick stacks of bills, Annan fell silent.
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