Chapter 132 - Gains (2/2)

Of course, he had also considered the pitfalls in doing so. Hence, if the situation was truly critical, he wouldn’t mind handing this object over to the King or a church. — While knowledge of the gods was indeed valuable to some people, it was unlikely to be able to convert into the forces of production that he needed. In the future, he could use this shard to exchange for other gains; as long as the gains were enough, it would be worth it. But this would definitely be the choice he would take only in the situation where there were no other alternatives.

Pittman and the two knights who went to the courtyard to save people had also returned to the meeting chamber a while later.

“The powers of the heretic cult believer have begun to fade away. It wasn’t difficult to release the magic on those poor men.” The old druid explained how he was able to take care of that extensive sorcery this quickly. “The two knights and I rescued a portion of the people and then got those in slightly better conditions among the rescued people to also help. Together with the means to control the vegetation, we managed to dig out all the people buried in the ground. However, those who had lost their lives still made up a significant number. A third of them could not be saved. Amongst the remaining living ones, a good deal of them have received severe damage to their minds. While some could recover, I’m afraid some will forever be in a trance.”

“This is truly a grievous loss.” Gawain glanced at Viscount Andrew with sympathy.

Andrew could only manage a bitter smile as he shook his head. “I’ll probably have to spend a fortune to deal with the aftermath… But I’m still alive. Things will get better somehow. Right now, what I’m most grateful for is that my two sons went elsewhere in the territory a few days ago to collect rent. Their procrastination is considered to have saved their lives. But my little daughter…”

“Your daughter is still alive,” Sir Philip informed. “But the poor girl had suffered serious damage to her mind. She’s now in a crazy state. Perhaps only the gods would know if there’s a possibility for recovery.”

“It’s enough that she’s alive, it’s enough that she’s alive…” Viscount Andrew said with a complicated expression. This aristocrat who was once elegant, confident, and proud had aged at least twenty years in this one night. Right now, his voice was exhausted and tired. Even though there were many things that could be considered good news, they were unable to sustain this body and mind that were exhausted. However, he still put in an effort to lift his head and look towards Gawain who was standing at a side. “Anyhow, I want to thank you for your succor. The Leslie Clan is greatly indebted to you and your knights. — If you have any needs, feel free to mention it.”

Clearly, he too knew that it was quite unkind to give that troublesome stone slate fragment away as a gift…

“Giving mutual help and protection was a rule that Charlie and I had set for the aristocrats of Anzu seven hundred years ago. I was merely fulfilling what I’d said back in those years,” Gawain spoke with an especially strong sense of righteousness. “I will not take advantage of this opportunity to profit from your misfortunes, but since we have the chance to have a talk, perhaps we can strengthen our cooperation.”

“Cooperation?” Viscount Andrew repeated this word.

“You should know, the new Cecil territory is currently being constructed. We lack all sorts of supplies, and most of them are purchased from Tanzan Town.” Gawain smiled. “At present, what we’re lacking most are storage crystals and various magic-conducting materials, and the Tanzan Mine has a massive crystal mineral vein.”

Seeing that Viscount Andrew’s expression was slightly rigid, Gawain Cecil went on, “Don’t be nervous, I’m only asking if I can buy them. — I only hope to be able to purchase large amounts of all kinds of crystal magic materials at a favorable price from now on. We don’t require quality. Even crystals of the lowest grade will do. We only ask for ample amounts. You don’t have to worry about any losses. You must know, our insufficiency of supplies is huge. The amount that the new Cecil territory wants to purchase will definitely be enough to swallow up a big batch of your crystal output. Even if the price is slightly cheaper, your profits would exceed what you earn after having to pay to transport those crystals in smaller batches to other territories and searching for markets there. If you agree, I will wait till things have settled down here before sending someone to negotiate the prices.”

Viscount Andrew relaxed and nodded lightly while listening. He began to recognize that this was a win-win idea. The Cecil territory would get large amounts of cheap magic-conducting materials, and Tanzan Town wouldn’t have to worry about markets for the crystals and could even swiftly raise the funds needed to repair the castle and for other aftercare work.

As for how the Cecil Clan who was poor and broke not long ago suddenly became wealthy and even started making coins recently… Viscount Andrew was absolutely uninterested.

Regardless of whether they had found a gold mine in the Dark Range or if this old ancestor from 700 years ago had dug out his true lifetime savings[2], it had nothing to do with him. As a Viscount living at the border with a flexible mindset, Andrew Leslie was always very open-minded and very good at grasping the things that were truly beneficial to himself.

As a matter-of-fact, he had correctly guessed a part of the truth. — Gawain had indeed dug out lifetime savings; only, it was the lifetime savings of the entire Anzu Kingdom.

Seeing Viscount Andrew nod, Gawain went on, “Second, population. I hope that you can help me publicize news of the Cecil territory taking in refugees. If you have refugees here and you do not want them, you may send them over as well. In short, a surplus of population in any form, as long as they aren’t people who violate the law and commit crimes, I want them all. I won’t ask for a specific number in this aspect. Just do what you can.”

Viscount Andrew agreed even more readily this time. He didn’t think there was any problem with directing people to the Cecil territory at all. In fact, this was a good chance for him to clear the ‘useless people’ in his territory. After all, there were too many wanderers gathering in the slums, and they could not yield any worth at all.

“One more thing.” Gawain smiled. “I hope to hire some people who are literate and have mathematical knowledge. No, no, I’m not referring to those scholar-level people. Their apprentices would do. — I want a batch of such people. Whether they are serving as recorders or copyists, the only requirement is being able to read and count and having ample patience.”

[1] This means that owning a treasure gets a person in trouble because of other people’s greed.

[2] The Chinese term used for this literally translates to ‘capital to buy a coffin’; it refers to money that people save for their funeral expenses and, usually, the last of their savings.