Frey's inclination arises from her background, whereas Romantic has a natural fondness for those shiny little things. Over the course of the winter, by interacting with many adventurers in Fir City, she has integrated into their group, albeit loosely, but it was enough for Roman to gather quite a lot of unexpected information.
At that mont, the tavern door was pushed open once more, and there was a brief silence. The Silver Elf Princess disha stood in the snow, draped in a simple silvery fur shawl, her hands covering her mouth as she exhaled, her big eyes anxiously scanning the hall full of people. Humans seed a bit odd to her; elves generally disliked gathering in large numbers. For elves, friendship was more about spiritual attachnt and, due to their long lifespans, their feelings might seem a bit indifferent to humans.
But it wasn't her first ti here; she was here to deliver a ssage for the Lord's attendant mage, Char. The other patrons in the bar tactfully made way for the Silver Elf Princess. The first ti soone mocked her a bit, it nearly embarrassed this pointy-eared girl to the point of blushing red.
As a result, the rumor of the 'Lord's shy second fiancée' spread just like that, and whenever disha thought of this, she couldn't help glaring at Roman.
"disha, would you like so ale?"
"No!"
"How about fruit wine?"
"No!"
"Then how about I warm a cup of ad for you?"
"No!"
disha knew full well that Roman didn't drink herself; she was holding a cup of warm ale simply to stay warm. Moreover, she was so frugal that she never bothered to get a new cup; instead, she would just reheat it once it got cold, and if she could, she would continue with it the next day. But it might be this kind of frugal person who could organize all the expenditure and inco within the territory perfectly. In any case, the sight of stacks of gold and silver coins, which were aningless to disha, only gave her a headache.
The territory was gradually getting on track, and coins were continuously flowing from the silver mine into Roman's hands, which she, the rchant Lady, would then distribute to the refugees. Of course, this wasn't charity; instead, the result was that for the first ti in nearly half a century, large tracts of wasteland north of the Griss River in Fir Territory were being cleared. The seeds of winter wheat had been sown, sleeping beneath the snow, ready to break through as soon as the ice and snow lted.
Char and the craftsman master were discussing receiving more war refugees from the North while the road construction project in the Black Forest was progressing slowly. The population of Fir Territory was not large, and even with the addition of residents relocated from Griss Port and Minsi Castle, it was far from sufficient. Not to ntion the White Lion Legion's troops were not in place, even the workers Rune Dwarf Audem needed to build the city were stretched thin.
And grain was the foundation of this plan. Yet, the rchant Lady's maturity and calm in this matter exceeded everyone's best expectations—just like Char said, it was as if she had an innate talent for comrce that shone brightly, granting her a natural leadership style, allowing her to handle everything with grace and order.
The grain from Ambeser had already been shipped here, but Roman didn't just distribute it directly. Instead, she gave it to the rchants, thus recycling the previously distributed money, and thus for the first ti in many years, the grain market was re-established this year in the deep winter within Fir City—ever since the shortsighted Gruding had monopolized everything.
Roman was already considering raising the paynt for the next round of recruitnt because Brand needed more people, and she had to create this montum. In her view, the grain issue was not a problem at all; as long as the gold from Fir Territory was shining, the rchants from Ambeser would flock here like sharks slling blood. In fact, they had already arrived; the first rchant fleet wasn't large, but the grain and necessities they brought were being unloaded at Griss Port. It didn't matter, there would be more.
Gold attracted not only rchants but also refugees from other territories. The deliciousness of freely flowing currency was sweeter than cake, as her aunt used to say, the rchant Lady was very sure of it.
She put away the report disha forwarded from Char, widening her eyes to ask, "Where's Brand, disha?"
"The Lord hasn't returned yet."
"Then I want to talk to him."
"No." disha imdiately refused, as it wasn't her first ti being used by Roman as a mouthpiece. She quickly explained, "Ever since the Lord entered the Trade Wind Ring, my connection with him seems to be cut off."
"Ah—" Roman let out a drawn-out, disappointed sigh: "Then does Char have anything else?"
"Hmm, he just wanted to ask why you spent so much money hiring adventurers for so bizarre tasks, what's your plan." The Silver Elf Princess glanced at the pile of deer hides on the table, wondering if this guy did it just for fun. But such thoughts flashed only due to the rchant Lady's temperant; as an Elf Princess, disha held a very indifferent view on wealth, if it were Qian or the more serious Frey, they would probably have looked at this lady with a skeptical expression.
"Ah, Roman was just about to ntion this," the rchant Lady displayed a look of surprise, "The forest no longer has any deer herds; do you know why, disha?"
Coming from the era before the Saint War, trained as the commander of the Silver Elves with extensive war experience within the Elf Royal Family, disha's face turned serious as soon as Roman spoke.
Animals in the forest don't disappear for no reason.
This could only an one thing: the other side had already begun to take action. She couldn't help but look at Roman, realizing that the latter was probing for information, "What else do you know, Roman."
"Several adventurers have ntioned that undead activity in the nearby area has been on the rise recently. I think those bad guys from Buqi have arrived. Brand did say they were around here, right?"
Madara—
...(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welco to Qidian (qidian) to cast recomndation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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