The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

Ice cream brought the festival banquet to a climax and nicely soothed the sultriness brought about by the hot weather.

But although the banquet was over, the nobles lying in their chairs, digesting their food, were still discussing ice cream. Li Vera was the most enthusiastic among them, having fallen deeply in love with the taste of ice cream.

“Liszt, tell me, how is ice cream made?”

“Let Mrs. Abbie tell you. I only provided the idea, she completed all the other steps.” Liszt had no intention of keeping it a secret.

If he could produce ice on a large scale, then he would definitely need to keep the ice cream recipe safe as a means of amassing wealth.

But without the ability to produce ice in large quantities, it was impossible to make ice cream on the same scale, let alone transport it long distances for sale. Keeping the recipe to himself was of no use.

Of course, extorting Li Vera was still necessary.

“I will tell only you the ice cream recipe, and it must not be revealed to others. Additionally, as part of a fair trade, you surely can’t expect to get my things for nothing, can you?”

“What do you want?”

“Pig iron or wrought iron.”

“A hundred pounds of pig iron, that’s all I can give you. If you ask for more, I would rather not have the ice cream recipe.”

“That’s fine.” Getting anything was better than nothing, and Liszt understood the balance—giving something away for free was foolish generosity, and the other party might even think you’re a fool; demanding too much was always not good, especially since they were siblings by blood, who could support and look out for each other.

Having struck this little deal, he felt somewhat sentimental.

He remembered his “youthful” self on Earth, when he had made ice cream by hand to win over the girl he liked. Although he did not win her heart, he did learn the skill to make ice cream, which, looking back, was not learned in vain.

“It would be great if I could produce ice on a large scale. Making ice cream is still troublesome. If I made popsicles instead, I could definitely make a fortune… even just making ice could be lucrative.”

The ice cream recipe was sold to Li Vera.

But when it came to Levis, he gave it away for free.

“Brother, how many more days before the Tulip Fleet returns?”

“If we go by the usual timing, they should be back at Coral City’s docks in about a week.” Levis, lighting up a cigar, added, “Are you talking about the slave trade?”

“Yes, I hope to buy a batch of serfs on the next voyage of the Tulip Fleet.”

Having got the recipe, Levis was easy to talk to: “Okay, but what price can you offer?”

“Ten silver coins per serf?”

“That was the old price. Now there’s no fighting within the Grand Duchy, and serf trading is not so common, hard to come by.”

“But I heard not long ago that the lord of Little Papa Island was killed by pirates, and his territory was lost.”

“The Sapphire Duke is very angry about this, and the news has spread throughout the principalities, demanding cooperation to surround and trap these pirates. However, the pirates disappeared without a trace after wiping out Little Papa Island. Some believe this is not a group of pirates, but rather a lord in disguise. Da Pa Pa Island has offered a reward of three hundred gold coins for pirate clues.”

Levis briefly mentioned the reaction caused by the pirate attack on Little Papa Island, then continued, “Except for this incident, things have been calm within the Grand Duchy. Slave trading will require looking further afield, preferably on the borders where the Eagle Kingdom and the Steel Ridge Kingdom are at a standoff.”

“Name a price; if it’s acceptable, I will agree.”

“Twenty silver coins per serf, it can’t go lower than that, otherwise there’s no profit for me,” Levis offered his price, “Another thing, if the number of serfs is too large, I need the gold coins paid now, or I won’t be able to explain it to our father on the accounts.”

Liszt considered for a moment and then nodded in agreement, “A hundred gold coins, upfront, to bring back five hundred serfs for me.”

“Straightforward.”

“I have one condition. These five hundred serfs should mainly be young people, buy more female serfs if possible, and if there are any who have a particular skill, prioritize purchasing them.”

“You mean serfs who are blacksmiths, tailors, tanners, that sort of thing? That won’t be easy; artisans are usually freemen, and the laws of all countries protect them. It’s hard to trade them as casually as serfs.” The various aspects of a city’s operation depend on the freemen, which is why they are protected by state law.

Liszt clenched his teeth, “I’ll add twenty more gold coins. Out of the five hundred serfs, at least a hundred should be artisans.”

“Okay.”

With aching heart, he paid Liszt one hundred and twenty gleaming Nalda Gold Coins.

Looking at the shriveled purse, Liszt felt somewhat wistful. Originally, he had about one hundred and fifty Gold Coins, but after continuously paying the wages of the civilian workers, he had already spent quite a few Gold Coins. Now, there were only sixteen Gold Coins left in his purse, which could run dry at any moment.

Fortunately, the passageway through Thorn Ridge was about to be cleared, allowing merchant caravans to be established, and the seafood from Fresh Flower Town could be sold in Coral City.

He believed that the delicious seafood could surely create decent wealth for him.

After discussing the matter of the serfs, Levis suddenly brought up saltpeter: “Liszt, can’t the production of ice using saltpeter be scaled up?”

“I wish it could, but unfortunately, it cannot.”

“You can mine more saltpeter deposits.”

“Brother, it’s not about me wanting to mine; there simply aren’t enough saltpeter deposits in Fresh Flower Town for me to exploit. I can give you some saltpeter powder and raw ore from when we mine it for you to try finding more. Maybe there are other saltpeter deposits on Coral Island.”

“Alright, I will look for them. You might not have realized that if you can make ice during summer, you can definitely earn a lot of Gold Coins,” Levis said, taking a puff of his cigar. “Once I find a saltpeter deposit, I won’t let you down. Have you noticed that Lady Marie is urging father to get involved in the ice-making with saltpeter?”

“I’ve noticed,” Liszt understood.

“Luckily, father doesn’t care much for ice-making with saltpeter. In the summer, he mostly goes to The Court to serve as the Grand Duke’s coachman, where there are innumerable Ice Blocks to enjoy. There are many ice cellars on Blue Dragon Island—the biggest one, they say, is like a maze. There were workers transporting Ice Blocks who got lost and ended up freezing to death right there.”

Liszt didn’t say anything.

The grandest Noble he had ever seen was Merlin Taro, and beyond that, he had no idea what life was like for a Noble family with a Dragon.

After digesting their meal, the Sun had begun to tilt westward.

The Earl and his entourage prepared to leave; if they did not set off now, they would have to travel at night. Before departing, the Earl rode on his horse with Liszt following on his own steed.

“Fresh Flower Town is very nice; I hope you continue to maintain your ambition. However, merely becoming a competent Landlord is not enough. The rise of the Tulip Family was due to military achievements. The Grand Duke is young and strong, and he has never extinguished the Flame of expansion. So, if you want to step out of Fresh Flower Town, do not give up the pursuit of a Knight’s glory.”

Wouldn’t it be faster to make me a Viscount?

Liszt felt somewhat critical in his heart. The Earl obviously did not like him, yet he played the stern father figure, which felt a bit off: “I understand.”

Afterward, neither of them spoke again, just riding quietly.

A moment later, the Earl glanced at the Li Dragon Horse that Liszt was riding: “That’s a fine horse. Take good care of it; it will be a Landlord’s most important companion.”

“Understood.”

Then the two returned, the Earl rejoining his convoy. Carter, accompanied by servants, stood at the gates of the Castle, respectfully seeing off their esteemed guests.

Liszt bid farewell to everyone one by one.

“Grandmother, be careful getting on the carriage.”

“My little boy, if Fresh Flower Town isn’t comfortable for you, come back to Tulip Castle. Although it doesn’t smell great there, you should find everything you need,” said Lady Penelope, looking back.

“I’ll visit Tulip Castle often.”

Li Vera embraced him and said, “A hundred pounds of iron, when will you come to Coral City to get it?”

“I will.”

Lady Marie, pulling along Lidun who was sullen at not being able to ride a horse, just smiled at Liszt and said goodbye.

Captain Mickey and the other Knight guards displayed standard Knight etiquette.

Like Li Vera, Levis also embraced Liszt, probably to show brotherly love in front of the Earl: “Liszt, the doors of Tulip Castle are always open to you.”

“Thank you.”

The convoy set off slowly, and Liszt watched them go.