The next day, the Leyan Family received two guests. Leyvi hurriedly went downstairs after he received the ssage from Bana.
Bana insisted on being the gatekeeper of the family, even though Leyvi told him not to. However, which son-in-law makes his father-in-law work as their gatekeeper? Although he was sowhat uncomfortable, he respected Bana's wish. For so reason, he felt that Bana was the most stubborn person in the household.
When Leyvi entered the guest reception room, he saw a man and a woman sitting side by side, drinking coffee. It turned out that Anda and Layla were already here, entertaining the guests. They sat on the other side of the table with enough space for another person to sit in between, also drinking coffee.
It was the most popular coffee brand in the South Region, Coffeezilla. It was rumored that the owner of the brand was an Alchemist Prince, two levels higher than Anda's current level. The owner created a unique roasting technique that gives their coffee a distinct, unique flavor, unable to be replicated.
"Please forgive
for making you wait. I was having a pleasant dream, but I imdiately forgot what the dream was the mont I woke up. I spent so ti trying to recall it. Hahaha!" Leyvi cracked a joke and laughed. He sat in between Anda and Layla while observing the two guests.
Both were wearing black and blue uniforms. The uniforms had the sa design as the Bureau of Investigation's uniform, but slightly different colors, which were black and brown. They also had a slightly different symbol embroidered on their uniforms. However, the man had an additional piece of clothing that set them apart. He had an important-looking cape attached to his shoulders, indicating his high status. Leyvi wasn't sure which organization they ca from.
The man looked very young despite his cultivation in the Nascent Soul realm. Short, black hair, tanned skin, and a stoic face.
On the other hand, the woman was larger than the man, to be precise, larger than everyone here. However, it wasn't necessarily because of her muscle. It seed like she was born with a large fra. Since they were sitting, he couldn't accurately judge how tall she was, but she might be taller than him.
"Good morning, Mister Leyan. I am the South Region Protector's Twelfth Envoy, Gareth and this is my secretary, Emma." Envoy Gareth introduced themselves, ignoring Leyvi's joke.
"Emmmph...!" Leyvi almost spurted the coffee he just sipped.
Sec-secretary? Not a bodyguard?
Leyvi looked at Emma and then Layla, back and forth to compare the two secretaries. The contrast was too big! Once again, he had made the mistake of judging a book by its cover. Who said a burly woman couldn't be a secretary?
Husband, stop comparing us like that! Layla complained in her heart. Leyvi didn't even try to hide his actions, making her feel embarrassed.
"Ahem, pardon . I was a bit curious." Leyvi returned to normal.
"Mister Leyan, you are the 74th person to react like that when I introduced my secretary. So it wasn't a big deal." Envoy Gareth said, still with a stoic face.
What the heck? Did he count that? Don't tell
he did this on purpose? This envoy probably has a weird sense of humor.
"Husband, he is enjoying your reaction. That woman is the sa." Anda secretly inford Leyvi.
I knew it! This guy is a weirdo! That girl too! It looks like they have trained their stoic face very well. He can't even detect any emotion from them.
"And they are most likely a couple. Their scent is intermingled." Anda continued.
Oh? That's interesting. So mister envoy here like burly ladies. Leyvi saluted Envoy Gareth in his heart.
"Hahaha, since Lady Emma is the secretary of an envoy, she must be very competent. Whoever married her must be lucky." Leyvi praised casually.
The next mont, Gareth's stoic face finally broke. It was not that obvious, but Leyvi saw his little smile.
Hahaha! I won! Not stoic anymore, are we? Look at you, acting all happy when I praised her. Leyvi celebrated secretly.
After a few seconds, Envoy Gareth returned to his usual stoic expression.
"Envoy Gareth, are you here to appoint
as the city lord? To be honest, I'm not really interested in this position." Leyvi finally got to the point.
"Mister Leyan, you are mistaken. I'm not here to appoint you as the city lord. I was tasked to hand over the Deed of Sovereignty to you. From now on, you will be the owner of Bara City and the city will be considered a semi-autonomous city!" Envoy Gareth declared.
"WHAT???" Both Anda and Layla stood up in shock.
Huh? What's going on? Leyvi was confused. Why were his wives so shocked? Was being a city lord and being an owner not the sa thing? And what is a semi-autonomous city?
"Envoy Gareth, are you serious about what you said?" Anda asked seriously.
Gareth nodded. "It is true. Emma, the deed, the artifact, and the key, please." With a sweep of her hand, all three items appeared on the table.
Anda imdiately examined the Deed of Sovereignty given to Leyvi. It was true! They granted her husband the full authority to govern the city as he wished. It differed vastly from how an appointed city lord must operate!
The appointed city lord had the expectation from the Continent Protectors to follow all laws and regulations strictly and regularly report to higher authorities. Furthermore, the city had to adhere strictly to the laws set by the Continent Protectors, with little to no room for deviations. It was the city lord's primary responsibility to enforce these laws and maintain order.
However, Leyvi did not need to do any of that. Being the owner ant he had more independence. He could make decisions on local laws, the economy, or trade with no need of imdiate approval from the Continent Protectors. He was even allowed to develop his own set of regional laws as long as they didn't violate the overarching laws of the continent.
Being a semi-autonomous city allowed Leyvi to retain full control over the area's natural resources and all the taxes that must be paid to the Protectors would all end up in Leyvi's pockets. This would allow him to monopolize the wealth generated from spirit mines, herbal fields, or Qi-rich environnts. It would be all up to Leyvi whether he would contribute to the city's prosperity or not.
The question is why? What is the motive behind all of this? She had already guessed that the South Region Protector was behind the extrely generous gift since the envoy ca personally, but she was worried if it had carried any hidden intention.
"Is it related to the Holy Cat City incident?" Anda asked.
"That's right. Thanks to Mister Leyvi's crucial contribution, staking his life in the process, the worst-case scenario was successfully prevented. If not, millions of cultivators could have died."
"The only reason we didn't announce Mister Leyvi as the Hero publicly was to prevent him from being targeted. We don't know if the perpetrator has more accomplices hiding sowhere. So, Protector Gandolf the White decided to award Mister Leyvi with the ownership of Bara City and its surrounding areas for his ritorious accomplishnts." Envoy Gareth explained stoically.
Anda exhaled. So it was indeed the South Region's Protector. However, even if Leyvi had helped save the entire city, Anda still felt that the reward was way too generous. The deed says semi-autonomous, but from what she read, it was almost fully autonomous. All other taxes would be exempt, except for a small amount of tribute tax.
The only ti the Protectors would interfere was if Leyvi let so terrible and heinous things happen to the city. Unless the Protectors considered Leyvi a traitor or he did sothing outrageous, he would basically be an emperor in this place.
Anda licked her lips. She wondered what Emperor Leyvi tasted like.
"So, that ans I don't have to be the city lord, right?" Leyvi asked. He also had read everything and grasped a little gist of the situation.
"Yes, that's right. You can handle it as you see fit." Envoy Gareth replied.
"Hahaha! If it was like that, things would be much easier. Layla, how about it? You beco the city lord!" Leyvi suggested.
He felt that no one other than her in the Leyan Family had the ability to govern a city. Furthermore, her clone talent could help her a lot in governing. If Layla declined, then he could only find soone else more suitable for this job.
If he were to be appointed as the city lord and had to work under soone else, he would have declined, but having full authority here was a completely different matter. He couldn't reject it anymore because this would greatly increase his family's progress.
Hey, hey. I may not be smart, but I'm not stupid either. This was a gargantuan chance for the Leyan Family! Hmm? What took Layla so long to reply?
"Ah? Layla, why are you crying?" The situation scared Leyvi. Could it be she thought that I was forcing her?
"Husband, are you really entrusting this responsibility to ?" Layla stared into Leyvi's eyes as if she was trying to see beyond what she saw. Her tears were still dropping.
"Layla. Don't worry about it. If you don't like it, you can decline. I'm not forcing you or anything. I just thought that you would do a great job. Don't cry okay?" Leyvi tried to soothe her.
"Do you trust ?" She asked again.
Leyvi smiled. "Of course I trust you. I'm not lying, right Anda?"
"If you are lying to my sister, I would have beaten you up first," Anda replied.
Layla let out the brightest smile. "Husband, thank you. I'll do my best!"
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