Honestly, Queen Sisi didn't visit to torture anyone; she rely tornted to push to the brink of contemplating suicide. She ruined my family that I went through so much effort to build. Had it not been for what Queen Sisi said, I wouldn't need to prostrate myself on the ground again.
Veirya stepped on my head. It was different to when Queen Sisi stepped on . Back when Queen Sisi stepped on , she, at the very least, used her bare foot, which made it more enjoyable than painful. Veirya, on the other hand, stepped on my head and pressed it right onto the floor with her military boots. My forehead and rear of my head were practically squashed.
"How. Has it been?" Veirya's voice from overhead was cold.
Leah, who was off to the side, also looked at with a heartless gaze, indicating she didn't plan to speak up for . Leah was infuriated when she learned of Angelina's claim. She wanted to just run over and rip apart. I had to admit that it was my mistake; I overestimated Veirya's intelligence. It was impossible for her to comprehend what just happened with her intellect or what exactly the contents of our conversation ant. Veirya only comprehended one thing, which was that I did sothing with Angelina behind her back that I should've been apologetic about.
I did say that I did sothing with Angelina, but it was a joke. Veirya, however, believed that I wouldn't lie to her; hence, despite initially believing Angelina and I to be clean, after I went and said that, she believed Angelina and I went behind her back, even going as far as actually impregnating Angelina.
"I have to admit that I was wrong I was wrong" I remarked whilst thinking, "Wrong, because I trusted Veirya's wits"
"I didn't do anything with Angelina The truth is that's just the drug at work I had to lie to trick Queen Sisi; else, she'd find out about the drug. Your initial belief was correct. Correct, I never had any chance to be with Angelina. You already know that you need at least three to four months to have a noticeable pregnancy, but three to four months ago I didn't even know Angelina."
I needed to lay out all of my thinking for Veirya or she'd have no ans of understanding my reasoning. My voice was evidently strange, since I prostrated myself on the ground. Nevertheless, Veirya understood my issue. Thus, she moved her foot. Still suspicious, she asked, "Why. Can't we tell. Her Majesty?"
"Because Queen Sisi intends to have Angelina take your place on the battlefield. That's what my conjecture is. There's no need for her to seek Angelina, otherwise. Angelina's thod may be a good one, but she was being mischievous at the sa ti. If I'm correct, she was trying to make fun of us; don't worry about it. There's nothing between and her. Rest assured."
"Good." Veirya chose to trust what I said.
Leah was still sowhat doubtful. Puzzled, she questioned, "What exactly is Queen Sisi here for?"
"Mm, it's very simple. She probably wants to attack the elves and bring Mama Veirya along. Previously, I was just guessing, but it's pretty much proven now."
Owing to the fact that Queen Sisi chose to not use our barrel for a bath, we had so free ti. Queen Sisi was very keen on bathing with Veirya, but as soon as she heard that I would bath with her, she left.
That baffled . Queen Sisi was fine with letting see her sleep, yet took issue with sharing a bath with her. God forbid I could wrap my head around that logic. But on second thought her logic was, indeed, correct
Thanks to that, we had ti to clear up our misunderstanding. Family harmony is the most important, after all. If not, it was pretty obvious that Veirya might have ssed everything up. To be fair, Veirya wasn't the only hazard; Leah was a hazard at that point, as well.
"Let's put Sister Angelina's matter aside for now, then. Papa, you never ntioned the matter between you and that elf."
Leah gave a stern look after all that. I never told her about what happened between the Elven Queen and I, so she was always in the dark with regards to it. Today, though, she found out what happened, and she found out that I kissed the Elven Queen. Then, she found out the significance of kissing an elf. As a consequence, she was very serious about the topic. I gently cleared my throat then tried to use the sa trick Queen Sisi used with before, also known as, changing the subject.
"Um, Leah, can we stop calling Angelina 'sister'? You see, Leah, you call Veirya 'mama,' so what should you call Angelina, who's Veirya's mother? Think about this: sister or, more specifically, elder sister is used to refer to those younger than your mama. Angelina happens to be older than Veirya, so don't you think it's not quite appropriate to call Angelina 'sister?"
Leah imrsed herself in deep thought. She desperately tried to figure out if she should call Angelina 'sister' or not; plus, if she wondered what to call Angelina if she didn't call Angelina 'sister'. As such, Leah was deep in thought, thereby temporarily forgetting what she should be asking . Veirya, on the other hand, already asked the question before. Therefore, she wouldn't ask a second ti. What sort of left my conscience feeling uneasy was how Veirya had reached a point where she trusted too much. If I told her I didn't have any relationship with the Elven Queen, she wouldn't press any further. If I had an affair, she might not even suspect . That sort of pure trust deterred from daring to have affairs, as the worst form of torture is when your conscience is blaming you.
Soone suddenly knocked on the door to our residence. It was already very late. Queen Sisi was eager to sleep with Veirya, but she probably gave up on that plan after seeing Veirya's belly. Moreover, it was obvious that Queen Sisi wouldn't be visiting so late. She wouldn't leave the place she lodged at so late. The question, then, was who was it?
Is it Achilles or that young man, I questioned. I'd say they were on the sa boat and wanted to persuade to help them. I already tried to help them but almost got myself dragged into it.
Veirya didn't draw her sword, which proved that our visitor wasn't ard and she didn't perceive them to harbour ill-will. Therefore, I walked over and opened up without concern. I was welcod by blonde hair. Yes, I felt that the blonde hair was much more eye-catching than the owner's face. It was night ti, but the blonde hair was the equivalent of glowing fireflies. The owner had a young appearance and was only about as tall as a high school student. He wasn't the young man from the military. He was dressed very similar to Achilles. I presud he was most likely a businessman. Such a young businessman would usually be a conman or an idiot who helped people count money.
As soon as he saw open the door, the youth imdiately revealed a polite smile as though it was ingrained through training: "Hello, Sir. I was not at the imperial capital when you were last there, which was why I missed the chance to greet you. I am very sorry about that. I hope you will not be offended by that."
"You are?"
I was imdiately alard. The more polite they are, the more cautious you need to be. Only those with enough brains would be respectful and polite. Those sorts of people were the most dangerous ones. I subtly nodded and then stepped aside to gesture for him to co in. He nodded and ca in with a chuckle. Upon seeing Veirya at the dining table, he gave her a deep bow: "It is our first ti eting, Lord Veirya."
Veirya nodded: "Uhm."
Sowhat fearful, Leah hid behind Veirya and warily scanned the youth. He chuckled as he took out a small pouch from his pocket: "These are candies. I prepared them for your daughter. I hope you will accept them."
Leah was eager to take them. I nodded. There was no point in rejecting nial gifts. If I didn't accept so much as a pouch of candy, it'd an that I wasn't willing to talk when, to the contrary, I was sowhat curious as to what exactly he wanted. I, therefore, accepted the candy, which gave him the green light to speak.
"So, I live in that city. I am a businessman. More precisely, I was once a rchant, who was in charge of delivering resources to the military. I have been to this town before. I discovered that, behind the mountain, yes, the mountain behind your town, I discovered an outdoor mine. It was exposed. The ore is black."
"Oh?"
He piqued my interest. A mine with black on the surface was presumably a coal mine. It was simple to mine coal. If I was back in my old world, I'd die fighting for the coal mine. In this world, unfortunately, the industrial revolution had yet to occur. I couldn't let him know it was valuable. Coal might still be absolutely useless to people in this world.
"It is a form of energy, Sir, a very powerful one. I t a young man, who invented a big machine that could boil water and power things, including tal. That is why I believe the flammable black mineral will definitely beco the source of energy for such machines. If I mine the mineral, and then sell those huge machines, we will strike it rich!!"
I could see where he was coming from, and he most certainly would beco filthy rich. The question, then, was how do I gain sothing from a man who was about to make it rich? Of course, I definitely didn't want to slice off piece by piece, and I didn't want a share. I wanted the cake and the pot. The problem was I didn't know where the mine was. If I fought for it after he found it, it'd devalue it. I wanted to them to bring the mine to life to get all eyes on the North. That would attract more investors out for treasure.
"So, you ca here to?"
"As the mountain is a part of your territory, I need to ask you for permission I plan to buy the rights to the mine for one-hundred gold coins." The man pulled out a parchnt. Detailed on it was the approximate location and size of the mine. He rubbed his hands together: "According to the price of the land and the tax rates the imperial city set, the price of land in your North should be very cheap. I hope you will not raise the price. It is pointless to hog the coal mine, after all. Without my friend's machine, no one will like it."
"I'm fine with selling the land for one-hundred gold coins; that said, purchasing land and mining in our land are two separate matters. For you to mine there, you need to pay an extra fee. You're digging my land and mountain, which will have an impact on my townsfolk's hunting activities. You need to make it up to my hunters. In addition, we need to maintain the roads for you. Therefore, you must pay to cover the costs."
"How much do you estimate that to be?"
"Two-hundred gold coins for mining. Additionally, thirty percent of your annual profit from the coal mine will be forwarded to us as paynt for maintenance and protection. Should you need it, we can also provide you with a warehouse for free. What do you think?"
He stopped to think for a while before agreeing: "I can accept that."
While the price couldn't compare to the earnings from the flavouring smuggling, the latter was illegal, while the forr was legal. Land itself wasn't worth money. Additionally, the man before was a fellow who earned the differences from transporting resources. Hence, I didn't think he had much money. That was why it was pointless for to try and make money off of him.
"So, bring two-hundred gold coins another day, and I will have drafted up an agreent. You just need to sign the papers, pay the fee, and you will be ready to work on it. I am very curious about one thing, though. Do you really have enough money to mine?" I inquired.
"Um, we plan to start a company. Do you understand what I an by a company? It is similar to a rchant association, but I like the new na. It makes feel good as the word 'bank' does. We have taken up all machinery and mining work. After hearing what we had in mind, the bank gave us a sum of money to proceed with it, and we can pay them back later."
I responded with a small nod. I learnt sothing important. We then chatted without too much substance before I sent him off. It was a successful negotiation, and I acquired one-hundred heavy gold coins.
"Papa, do you really believe he is telling the truth? Leah thinks he's a liar what big machine..? Leah has never even heard of such a thing."
I gave Leah a small nod: "It's true. Also, he'll make it rich; or rather, Papa will make it rich."
"Papa, are you going to raise the price?"
"You can't sell land for much, and I want all of it. I want the coal mine and the so-called machine that he ntioned. I want all of it. If I'm correct, Her Majesty brought him with her, which would explain why he ntioned our trip to the imperial capital. I think it's safe to assu Queen Sisi is interested in the machine; else, she wouldn't have brought him along. Nevertheless, it appears he won't take the initiative to sell it. That ans I have to let them know what the power of capital is. Since there's a bank, it ans I can gain enough power from the bank to acquire the things he ntioned."
Veirya's weapon was a sword. With it, she could kill the Demon King. Queen Sisi believed people to be her weapon. With them, she could conquer every corner of the world. However, my weapon was capital. With my weapon, I could turn the entire world on its head and inside out. The power capital granted was enough to change an entire world.
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