"Thanks, brother. Just treat him as a servant in normal times, and when you have free time, give him some pointers on sword training. Sure, the kid's wild and stubborn, but he's not incorrigible, and he works hard. Having him by your side puts my mind at ease—I won't have to worry about the little rascal anymore." El's face was full of gratitude.
"Oh right, there was something else—why can't I think of it?" After thanking Lorist for his help, El started racking his brain, trying to remember the second thing he'd come to see Lorist about.
"Let me see... I was with Ledos when Jiro, the fruit seller, sent word that you'd returned. So I was about to come find you. When Ledos heard you were back, he said something... something about the Laude brothers? The Laude brothers? Next block over—Councilman Wumengbade, that lecherous old geezer? Ah! I remember now." El just couldn't recall, pacing frantically around the room, until he finally muttered to himself and remembered what it was.
"Heh heh, Brother Lorist, before you went to the Ruins Archipelago, did you manage to get that thing I asked you for?" El rubbed his hands together with a sleazy grin.
"Ah, that Terence donkey pizzle. It took quite a bit of effort to get one, but Old Gar confiscated it. Your uncle said you've been slacking off on your training lately, spending all your time chasing after women, and that a young man needing that sort of thing for virility is simply disgraceful. So he decided he'd be the one to keep it—if you want it, go ask him for it." Lorist relayed Old Gar's words verbatim.
"What?! That thing was taken by my uncle?!" El jumped to his feet. "What nonsense! That old man does nothing but make trouble for me! I'm perfectly fit—I don't need that stuff! I asked you to get it as a gift to court Councilman Wumengbade's favor! Old Ishi in the two blocks next to mine doesn't want to do it anymore. I've already negotiated with him—after the new year, we take over management of the two blocks he's been running. All we need is for Wumengbade to agree to lobby for us in the city council, and it's a done deal."
Men simply couldn't stand being told they couldn't perform. Watching El's flustered and exasperated expression, Lorist laughed for a moment before asking curiously, "Hey, El, doesn't city hall have a regulation limiting each organization to managing no more than three blocks? You already have three. Now you want to take over two more from next door—would the city council agree to that?"
"It was Ledos's idea. Have the Laude brothers front the operation. We contribute half the manpower, Old Ishi's remaining people make up the other half, and we set up a new organization to manage those two blocks. On paper, it's two separate entities, but in reality, it's all one family." El said huffily. "That old geezer Wumengbade is insatiably greedy. Last time I sent him a hundred gold coins and he still wouldn't commit to anything—just said he'd 'do his best.' Then he went on and on about how wonderful the effects of Terence donkey pizzle are. When I got back, Ledos said the old geezer still wanted the stuff, so since you were heading to the Ruins Archipelago anyway, I asked you to get some. I really hope the old geezer takes it and loses his vigor, dying in a woman's arms like he's always dreamed."
Of course, El was only talking big. He didn't actually want Wumengbade to die in bed with a woman—that would be even more trouble, a bigger loss, and he'd have to spend a fortune finding a new councilman to represent them.
Lorist thought about it and gave El a suggestion. In fact, when he'd obtained the Terence donkey pizzle in the Ruins Archipelago, he'd already done his research. Eating just a thin slice was enough to keep a man vigorous for an entire night. And the piece he'd gotten was long and heavy enough to be cut into one or two hundred slices. So Lorist suggested that El slice it up first, then commission a batch of attractive glass bottles. Pair each bottle with some medicinal wine and put a dozen or so slices in each one—that would look far more premium and elegant, and the recipient would feel much more honored. Most importantly, it would control the quantity. El had originally planned to give the entire Terence donkey pizzle to Wumengbade. At that rate, the old geezer would have enough to last three years, and the next time he needed a favor, Wumengbade would demand an outrageous price.
"That's brilliant! Why didn't I think of that? You really have the better head for planning, brother." El was thrilled. Lorist's words had opened a whole new window of possibility in his mind, and he immediately extrapolated. "Maybe we could even make a business out of this. Send people to the Ruins Archipelago to buy up all the Terence donkey pizzle there—even at two or three times the price. Bring it back, slice it up, repackage it as you described, and sell it on the open market. I'm sure it'd be a very profitable venture. The only slight problem is the glass bottles."
Lorist nodded. The glass bottles were indeed an issue. Galentea only produced two types of glass products. The first was green glass—a type of small flat glass, lake-green in color, with poor transparency, only suitable for window panes. It wasn't expensive. The second was oil glass—very transparent and clear, specifically used for making glass test tubes and glassware such as teaware, wine sets, cups, plates, and bowls. It was extremely expensive.
All the glory had come to naught.
A mage had racked his brain and figured out a method and formula for producing green glass and oil glass without relying on magic circles. He passed these down to his children. Later, when the Trinber Kingdom was established, the mage's descendants presented the ancestral formulas and production methods to the king, and were ennobled as Grand Dukes. These two types of glass thus became specialty products of the Trinber Kingdom.
Lorist had seen both types. As for green glass, he figured the haziness and opacity were due to impurities in the raw materials that hadn't been properly filtered. What puzzled him was that Trinber had been producing both types of glass for over a century—had they never once thought about improving the production process? Over a hundred years, and green glass hadn't improved in size or quality at all. They truly lacked ambition.
As for oil glass, it was something Lorist had never encountered even in his previous life. It looked similar to ordinary transparent glass, but it had a peculiar property—it seemed to possess an oily quality, and nothing could stick to its surface. Legend had it that mages used oil glass's properties to create enormous laboratory apparatuses, partly to make it easy to observe changes during experiments, and partly because cleanup was effortless—just rinse with clean water after an experiment, and no residue could adhere to it.
Lorist had tested it himself, smearing various adhesives on an oil glass test tube. After a day and a night, the adhesives had long since dried, but when he picked up the tube and gave it a shake, the dried adhesive simply flaked off like paper. It truly could not stick to oil glass.
Back when Lorist was designing the decoration for the women's fashion boutique, this glass had given him a terrible headache. Green glass was unsuitable, and oil glass wasn't produced in flat panes. In the end, Lorist spent over a dozen gold coins buying a large batch of white crystal and had it processed into flat sheets, solving the problem. The leftover crystal scraps were fashioned into crystal chandeliers—a win-win.
"Right now, the most common oil glass test tubes on the market go for one large silver coin apiece, and finely crafted oil glass tea sets sell for several gold coins per set. You could have someone design the bottle style first, then go to the Trinber Kingdom to ask how much a custom order would cost. As long as it's under one gold coin per bottle, you're fine. You can factor all of this into the cost. The more exquisite the packaging, the higher the price you can charge—and the people buying this stuff will actually feel it's worth it. The pricier it is, the more face they have." Lorist told El.
"Right! Now that you put it that way, I'm sure it'll be a great business. No wait—I need to get to the tavern immediately, before that old geezer uses the thing himself. That'd be a huge loss." El couldn't sit still and was ready to head back to the Red Crow Tavern right away to retrieve the item from Garrilando.
Lorist laughed and cursed, "Stop talking nonsense. What would Old Gar do with that stuff? And stop arguing with your uncle all the time—he's doing it for your own good. Oh, and it cost me eighteen gold Fordes to get this thing. Remember to put the money on the counter."
"Uh, you might not have heard yet—last month, that old geezer uncle of mine proposed to Louise, and she said yes. In two months, she'll be the lady of the Red Crow Tavern. Why couldn't he have done this a few years earlier? He's almost sixty, and now he's a dead tree sprouting new leaves, a withered tree welcoming spring. Doesn't he realize he's nearly twice Louise's age? And Louise actually agreed. Now tell me—can I feel at ease with that stuff in my old geezer uncle's hands?" El shared a piece of big news with Lorist.
"Really?" Lorist sat bolt upright.
"Of course. Everyone's known for a while now. It happened a month ago—you just got back, and they probably forgot to tell you," El said.
Lorist felt genuinely happy for Big Sister Louise. Having a good home to settle into was something worth celebrating. Old Gar was a decent man—sure, he was a bit old, but he was a Gold Swordmaster, and his body was far sturdier than an ordinary person's. Maybe in a year or two, El might even get a little brother or sister.
"Looks like I need to prepare a wedding gift for Old Gar and Big Sister Louise," Lorist said.
"There's still two months—take your time picking something out. And help me pick one too while you're at it. I can't be bothered with that kind of thing—gives me a headache just thinking about it." El looked at Lorist and said, "I'm heading back to the Red Crow Tavern now. Want to come along?"
"No, I'll stay here for one last night. Tomorrow morning, send a few carriages over to help me move these books and other things to the academy. And you can have that kid who wants to learn swordsmanship come along too."
"All right then. I'm off." El vanished soundlessly, as if he had never been in the room at all.
Gradually, the sky brightened as the entire city awakened from its slumber. The sounds of carriages and voices slowly merged together, and
Lorist had been sitting at his desk all night. He watched the silver moonlight step by step retreat from the room, watched the twin moons vanish beyond the horizon, watched gorgeous dawn clouds gather at the edge of the sky, and watched the newborn sun reveal its smiling face.
This was a new day, and a brand-new beginning.
Below, the sounds of servants talking and moving about drifted up. Before long, there was a knock at the door.
It was Lina and another maid. They brought Lorist a sumptuous breakfast, just as they had every morning during those three years.
Lina's eyes were a bit swollen—it seemed she had cried the night before.
Lorist sent the other maid away and had Lina stay to attend him during the meal.
Lorist found it rather amusing as he stared at Lina's reddened, puffy eyes. "Why didn't you rub them with two eggs? That takes down swelling very well."
"I'm fine—I just forgot." Lina turned her body away, unwilling to let Lorist see her face.
He took out a book. Its cover was wrapped in mulberry paper, with the title *The Fantastical Journey of Knight Mingulak* written on it. It seemed to be a popular novel about knightly adventures.
Lorist placed the book in front of Lina. "Lina, this book is for you."
Lina was stunned. Lorist smiled and said, "I know that like the eldest miss, you don't like reading this kind of novel—you think they're all just nonsense the authors make up to swindle money. But open the book and take a look. There's a surprise inside."
Half-doubtful, Lina opened the book and immediately clapped a hand over her mouth in shock. The pages were filled with colorful fashion design illustrations for women's clothing.
"I drew all of these last year. The eldest miss saw some of them before and wanted to produce them all and bring them to market, but I stopped her. If too many styles hit the market at once, it would cause chaos and we wouldn't be able to control fashion trends, which would tank our profits. So in recent years, we've only released a hundred or so designs, and combined with your own modifications, that's been enough to meet customer demand. But here are over three hundred new designs—none of them have ever appeared before. Now I'm giving them all to you, Lina."
"D-Does the eldest miss know?" Lina clutched the book to her chest like it was a glowing hot coal, wanting to put it down but unable to let go.
"She knows, but she doesn't know I drew this many. See this room, torn apart in a mess? That was the eldest miss's doing. She was trying to find these designs, but she didn't know I'd gathered them all together and disguised them as this book, just sitting right there on the bookshelf—so she couldn't find them. She probably thinks I hold a grudge against her. She didn't even ask me about them last night." Lorist's smile was tinged with bitterness.
"What I'm about to say—don't repeat it to anyone except your father. Understood?" Lorist looked into Lina's eyes.
"I-I can swear—" Lina stammered.
"Tell your father, Sir Som. I believe the Windsor Family's complete alignment with the Rofi Family is a very unwise move. The eldest miss is bent on marrying into the Rofi Family to become a Marquis's wife, thinking this will bring protection to the Windsor Family. But what if the Rofi Family develops designs of its own for the Windsor Family? Then the Windsors would have nowhere to turn. What's more, the eldest miss selling off her properties in Morant City cuts off her own retreat. At this point, no one can stop it—we can only pray that Marquis Rofi is sincere toward the eldest miss and harbors no ulterior motives."
"Yesterday, the eldest miss let slip that His Lordship the Marquis has a plan to deal a devastating blow to those four lords who seized your family's territory. Afterward, the Windsor Family will be compensated with a plot of land, and the eldest miss will grant that land to your father, elevating him to Baron. If everything goes smoothly, Lina, you'll soon become a young noble lady yourself. When that time comes, you must remind your father—regarding the Rofi Family, concessions can be made on almost anything, but there are two things he must absolutely never agree to."
"First, the young Master Windsor is only eleven years old. Don't let him accept any lord's education or knight's training from the Rofi Family—lest anything happen to him. Keeping him by your father's side is the safest option. When the young master is older, send him to Morant City for his studies, far from the Rofi Family. Second, when the young master grows up, the Rofi Family will very likely propose a marriage alliance. To prevent this, you should remind your father to find a suitable match and arrange a betrothal for the young master as soon as possible, so the Rofi Family can't interfere."
"Finally, this concerns you, Lina. Don't let anyone know about these designs I've given you—not the eldest miss, and not Suzy. The reason the eldest miss has decided to reopen in the royal capital of Qigeda is because His Lordship the Marquis will arrange everything for her. So I'm worried that the Windsor Women's Fashion Boutique may end up in the Rofi Family's hands. If that happens, it'll be your designs that allow you to rise again. If people find out you have so many designs, I fear you could be in danger as well. So you absolutely must not let anyone know—understand?"
Lina nodded vigorously, her face flushed red, her eyes growing misty again.
"If the Rofi Family harbors no ill intentions, then the shop in the royal capital will remain the eldest miss's property. In that case, you can bring out one design every month or two, claiming it's your own creation. Really, Lina—you've been in charge of women's clothing production and the fine-tuning of details all this time. You have real talent, and having your own ideas in design is the most important thing. Once you become a renowned fashion design master, no one will suspect you when you release new styles."
Lorist glanced out the window. "The carriages for moving the things have arrived. We should say our goodbyes. Did you remember everything I just told you?"
"I remember, Master Lorist. I'll do as you say."