The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

I want to turn Douson into magic equipment.

Liszt felt he should release Douson’s leash, then let it teach Granney how to be a decent person, for an Intermediate Magical Beast was not something a magician could simply touch.

In the castle living room, host and guest sat down respectively.

Perhaps it was the prestige brought by the “hermit” title, or maybe because magic possessed a certain allure, but magicians held quite a high status in society, belonging to the upper-middle class, with the privilege of entering the second floor of the castle.

“Is this the famous ice cream from Tulip Castle I’ve heard so much about, invented by you?” Granney was instantly drawn to the ice cream with its varied colors as the servant brought it over.

Ice cream is a luxury food—making a small amount of ice cream requires a significant amount of ice, which ordinary people simply couldn’t afford.

Granney had only heard of it, never tasted it.

“Try it. Outside of Fresh Flower Town, only Tulip Castle, Falcon Town, Beer Castle, and Shattered Stone Castle offer this frozen delight,” Liszt said. He had sold the recipe to four people: Levis, Li Vera, Aubrey Lycra, and Brandon Brokenstone.

Other nobles wanted to buy it but were too reluctant to spend the money.

Taking a cup, Granney tasted it, “Hmm, is this ice from nature, not made by magic? Interesting. How is it made?”

“The ice cream recipe is quite valuable.”

“I don’t need the recipe for the ice cream. What I want to know is where does the ice come from? Baron Liszt, don’t tell me your castle is so small that it has an ice cellar underneath.”

Creating ice with saltpeter was not a secret worth keeping.

But the tone of Granney’s inquiry made Liszt uncomfortable, so he responded indifferently, “Mr. Granney, I invited you to Fresh Flower Town to craft equipment and teach me related knowledge about magic, not for me to teach you. I hope you can adjust your attitude.”

Granney scooped another mouthful of ice cream, oblivious, “Seeking the truth is our magicians’ nature. It is still hot weather; even Ice System Magic is hard to cast, let alone making ice by natural means. This is a significant discovery, and I hope you can teach me.”

“Teaching knowledge costs money.”

“How many gold coins?”

Judging by Granney’s demeanor, he was indeed willing to pay in gold coins for the information on the saltpeter ice-making process.

Liszt’s eyes gleamed with a new idea, “I’m not short of gold coins. If you want to know how I make ice, it’s simple: work diligently for me during this period, and after completing the work, I will naturally teach you the principles of ice-making.”

Granney frowned, “I hate working with unresolved questions.”

“Therefore, under the premise of ensuring quality, complete the work as soon as possible, and you’ll be rid of your doubts sooner,” said Liszt bluntly. He had already figured out how to deal with magicians; there was no need to be considerate, just scold them directly—here in Fresh Flower Town, magicians couldn’t stir up trouble.

“Alright, let’s talk about the work. Which black pearl do you need me to craft into magic equipment?”

“Thomas, go fetch my Black Pearl from the study, it’s in the cabinet.” Just moments ago, he had entered the study, taken out the basketball-sized Black Pearl from the Gemstone Space, and placed it in the cabinet, to mislead any observers.

Thomas quickly brought the Black Pearl over.

He placed it on the table.

This Black Pearl wasn’t a regular spherical shape; it was rather lopsided and didn’t look very appealing. But that was Liszt’s aesthetic. To Granney, who had never seen a larger Black Pearl, it was perfect: “Incredible, incredible. A black pearl itself is incredible, but to actually have one so large!”

He caressed the Black Pearl with his hand, “Abundant water system magic power, as if placing me upon the great sea, it must have been born in the deep ocean, oh, it also has this historic heaviness to it, I feel like it has existed for hundreds of years!”

“Do you think it can be made into magic equipment for suppressing storms?”

“Of course, it’s even more outstanding than I imagined, a top-quality material for making magic equipment… However, the materials I brought are probably not enough, I need to purchase more.”

“You’re leaving now?”

“No, no, no, there’s no need to leave, I’ll write a letter and have Charley go buy it, it’s just that some auxiliary materials are lacking, the core materials are not in short supply.”

Charley was that skinny magic apprentice.

Granney was efficient at work, immediately asking for paper and pen to start writing a letter. He addressed it to a fellow magician, asking him to help purchase materials, and then handed the letter to Charley to be taken to Coral City by the Fresh Flower Caravan when they set off. The fellow magician lived near Coral City.

“Baron Liszt, I need a separate workspace to create a piece of magic equipment, especially with such a prime material, it will take a long time.”

“There are many newly built houses in town, you can pick one,” said Liszt as he rose to his feet, “I’ll take you to the town now to choose your room.”

Granney did not bring a horse, and astonishingly, he could not ride one.

So a manservant had to take him by horse.

Upon reaching the town.

Granney’s eyes never stopped scanning. He saw large plots of planned land, including drainage ditches, curbs, and green strips. Although not built yet, the areas were already parceled out. Some houses had been torn down, replaced by neat rows of new ones.

There weren’t many pedestrians. At this time, most people not busy with farming were at the docks, moving rocks.

Only in the workshop area were crowds of serfs bustling about.

“There’s… no… manure?” He looked for a long time before expressing his surprise.

“Defecating in public is prohibited in Fresh Flower Town, there are toilets here, and all residents must use the facilities,” answered Goltai, who had just arrived, “Mr. Granney, long time no see, I hope you like Fresh Flower Town, the environment here is even more beautiful than that of Coral City.”

“I must admit, the streets are clean, but in terms of prosperity, this place is too remote compared to Coral City.”

“It depends on how you define it, brothels, gambling houses, and taverns—none exist in Fresh Flower Town, life is more peaceful. After all, Fresh Flower Town is just a small settlement,” shrugged Goltai, “Once accustomed to its tranquility, you’ll definitely fall in love with it, although admittedly, nights with nothing to do can indeed be hard to bear.”

Freya was already over four months pregnant, and they couldn’t do that, so Goltai’s nightlife was limited to his hand.

Liszt could not help but admonish, “Take good care of Freya, Consultant Goltai.” If he didn’t remind him, who knows, this guy might start flirting with some town girl again.

Goltai chuckled, “Of course.”

After walking around the small town.

Granney did not choose any of the houses here: “My work requires quiet, Baron Liszt, the noise of construction in the town is too disturbing, not suitable, please provide me with a more secluded house.” He enjoyed bustling cities, but his work required silence, hence he lived hidden away in the dilapidated Moss Town.

“In that case, Consultant Goltai, in one of the new houses in Little Wheat Village, pick out a separate house for Granney to serve as his residence and studio,” said Liszt.

“As you wish,” replied Granney.