Lord Chronicle

Chapter 76 The Return of the Caravan
"Wake up, wake up." Kress couldn't help shouting.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Marlene, who was reinfused with her soul, slowly opened her eyes.

After the adventure on the frozen plateau, Thor and his party rushed back to Lovell without stopping.He gave Hitches the task of re-implanting Marlene's soul. This senior alchemist disguised as a magician is the only person in the territory who has studied the soul.

Although he repeatedly revealed his identity as a magician, under the threat of Saul, Hitches finally had no choice but to compromise and injected the fire of the soul into Marlene.

After waiting nervously for a while, everyone was very happy to see Marlene finally opened her eyes.

She looked around in a daze, and when her eyes regained focus, Marlene sat up suddenly and hugged Sol beside the bed: "Master, there is a necromancer..."

Sol and Jessica glanced at each other, and both of them secretly breathed a sigh of relief.It seems that there is no problem. Marlene still has the memory of the moment when she lost her soul. As long as she rests for a few days, the little girl will be fine.

Touching Marlene's hair, Jessica said, "Don't worry, those necromancers have already been beaten away by us."

"Really?" Marlene looked up at Sol.

Saul helped her lie back on the bed: "Of course it's true, how can those guys be my opponents."

After being infused into the soul, Marlene was still in a weak state, so she nodded upon hearing this.Seeing her drowsy and about to fall asleep again, Jessica said to everyone: "Okay, Marlene is fine, everyone go back, let her have a good rest."

Everyone understood and walked outside the house.Just as Sol was about to leave, he suddenly felt his sleeves tighten, but was held back by Marlene.

"Master, Marlene is still very useless, and everyone is worried again." She said with a sad expression.

Sol smiled and patted her cheek lightly: "Who said that? When you were not here, I was hungry every day, and now I can't wait for you to cook me a delicious meal."

"Hmm..." Marlene nodded joyfully upon hearing that, "Then I'll...give it to the young master tomorrow..." The voice became lower and lower, and she had fallen into a deep sleep.

After covering Marlene with the quilt, Sol turned around and found that he and Jessica were the only ones left in the room.

"Why? Let me declare first, I won't do anything to Marlene." Sol looked wary.

Amused by his appearance, Jessica couldn't help giving him a blank look: "You..." She said and took his arm and walked out: "Let Marlene rest alone."

Sol was confused by Jessica's "intimacy": "What's wrong?"

Walking outside the room, Jessica looked back at the sleeping Marlene, and said suddenly, "Actually, this time, I'm really grateful to you. I've heard the details from Kress, if it wasn't for you , Marlene may never wake up."

The secret passage turned out to be like this, and Sol couldn't help scratching his head: "Ahaha, it's nothing."

"No, it's different this time." But Jessica was very stubborn: "I was only a few years old when the old lord brought Marlene back from the relic forest. We grew up together, and our relationship is closer than that of sisters. Be intimate. This time, her soul was taken away by the Necromancer, and I was completely bewildered. Fortunately, you are desperate to get her soul back. If it weren't for this, I, I really don't know what to do..."

Speaking of this, Jessica, who was extremely strong even when the necromancers attacked the territory, had tears in her eyes, which showed how much she cared for Marlene.

Sol couldn't help being silent, he could naturally understand Jessica's mood.Marlene, who is innocent and kind, and treats everyone kindly, makes everyone in the territory love her. Even herself, doesn't she also deeply love this little girl who always likes to cling to her?
He patted Jessica comfortingly: "Forget it, stop thinking about it, as long as Marlene is fine."

"Yeah." Jessica wiped her tears embarrassingly: "But I still want to thank you."

"There's no need to talk about this between us. But if you really want to thank me, why not just...hehehe..." Sol suddenly smiled hippiely, rubbing his hands, his eyes wandering back and forth on Jessica.

Unexpectedly, it was rare for this guy to be serious, and he immediately showed his true colors.Jessica blushed, and couldn't help spitting: "You, you go to hell!"

"Hahaha..." Thor laughed loudly in the corridor.

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When he came outside, Sol couldn't help taking a deep breath.After all the perils out there, he realizes how much he misses this quiet town, which he now completely calls home.

In the distance, you can still see a few scorched and broken roofs, which are the traces left when fighting against the undead invasion not long ago.During Sol's pursuit of the necromancer, thanks to Jessica who presided over the aftermath work, everything was handled in an orderly manner.Now, except for the houses that were destroyed by fire at the entrance of the town, the town has completely recovered.

Kress and the others have already dispersed. After all, the undead have retreated not long ago, and there is still a lot of work waiting for them to do.Jessica accompanied Sol to the lord's mansion as usual.

"What are you going to do with the girl you brought back?" Jessica asked as she walked.

"You mean Mira?" Saul scratched his head in embarrassment.

In fact, everyone was not surprised by Mira who followed Sol to the town. After all, the townspeople were used to their lord bringing back all kinds of weird people from outside.

Sol temporarily placed her in the lord's mansion and slept in Marlene's former room.But soon he discovered that this girl didn't seem to be used to a civilized life, she would stay awake in a good bed, and Mira preferred to sleep on the ground, even on the sofa and in the yard.

But that's okay, after all, as long as it's not sleeping on Sol's bed, there's nothing wrong with it.But this girl's horrible appetite made him very depressed.

If Kress is very edible, then Mira is super edible.Ever since this invincible eater came to Sol's house, his kitchen has suffered. This girl has eaten up almost everything that can be eaten, even the tulip bulbs that Marlene planted, and all the mice in the house...

Now that Saul regrets it, he realizes what a heavy price he had to pay for the sentence "Come with me, at least it will make you full" that he said to Mira back then.At present, the food expenditure of the Lord's Mansion has skyrocketed, and the mother and daughter Mei Xi, who temporarily provided him with takeaway services, have made a lot of money.

"Marlene, come back quickly." Saul lamented in his heart more than once, if I continue to eat like this, I will go bankrupt sooner or later.

Listening to Jessica's question now, Saul couldn't help but feel pain.However, Mira had saved her own life several times on the frozen plateau, and she was also responsible for recapturing Marlene's soul. He felt sorry for him, but he naturally had to take responsibility for bringing her here from his hometown.

He smiled wryly: "What else can I do, I have to keep her. Fortunately, this girl can eat, and I can afford it."

Jessica shook her head: "I know that, I'm asking what you plan to do with her in the future?"

This made Saul startled, he really didn't think about it.From the current point of view, Mira seems to be more suitable for living in the wild, rather than in a civilized society. How to deal with her in the future is really a headache.Sometimes Saul wonders himself, can I pick up a female version of "Tarzan"?

The two walked and talked, and not long after, they had already climbed the hillside and arrived at the Lord's Mansion.While Marlene was recuperating, Jessica hired Julie to tidy up Sol's house and provide three meals for the super lazy lord by the way.

Unexpectedly, before entering the yard, I heard Julie's scream from inside.Startled, the two rushed in.

Hearing that the yelling was coming from the back of the house, the two immediately went around.Over there is the back door of the kitchen of the lord's mansion. The door is wide open at the moment, and the inside is in a mess. Julie is standing among a pile of broken tableware.

"Julie, what's the matter?" Saul was shocked and angry, could there be any zombies that slipped through the net?
Julie was terrified. Seeing him and Jessica, she stammered, "My lord, Mira..."

"What's wrong with her?" Jessica asked calmly.

Julie shook her head, as if she still couldn't believe it.She pointed to the yard and said, "Mila is holding all the food in the yard... Sigh, you should go and see for yourself."

Looking at each other, Sol and Jessica were very surprised. They left not long ago, what happened to that girl again?The two came to the yard in the direction of Julie's finger.

From a distance, there was a swishing sound.Sol is very familiar with this voice, so before he arrives, there is a wry smile on his face, isn't it...

I saw strands of soil being thrown into the air behind the towering giant tree where Simba made his nest in the middle of the yard. Turning around, a huge pit had appeared under the tree at some point. Constantly being thrown out of the pit.

He didn't need to look at Sol to know who did it. He had seen Mira's digging ability comparable to that of a groundhog on the snow mountain.It's just that there are no snow rats here, so why is she digging holes?

The answer soon became apparent, as mountains of food were piling up beside the pit.

After a while, the disheartened Mira emerged from the pit.Seeing Sol, she froze for a moment, then grinned, revealing a mouthful of white and neat teeth.

"Mira, what are you doing?" Saul asked, pointing to the hole in the ground.This girl is really unstoppable, what kind of a good yard has been turned into.

Mira didn't answer, but pushed the food by the side of the pit into the pit three times, five times and two times, and then filled it with soil while Saul and Jessica were stunned.

"What? Bury, bury the food!?" Sol was really startled now.

"Hey, don't do anything stupid, can these things be eaten after being buried?" He hurried over to stop them.

Just kidding, do you really think you are a wild animal?Please, these things will rot if they are buried, and there are freshly baked cakes, cut cheese and pudding in them, and they will eat dirt if they get soiled.

Unexpectedly, before her hand touched Mira, she suddenly turned around and opened her mouth to bite.Startled by her action, Sol and Jessica quickly took two steps back.

"Wuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"

This time there was no way out, and Sol had to let her toss.It wasn't until the hole was filled that Mila pushed back two handfuls of soil with her feet, and then she lay down on the hole with a happy face.

"..." Saul looked at Jessica who also had a wry smile on his face, and couldn't help covering his face and lamenting: "Oh my God, do I count as raising a dog?"

"What should I do?" Jessica smiled bitterly, and she could see that she was more amused than Sol's helplessness.

Sol spread his hands: "What else can I do? I have to ask Aunt Macy to send another batch of food."

Before the words finished, Julie's voice came from behind: "Yes, but including the last debt, there are 14 gold coins in total. Thank you for your patronage."

Saul opened his mouth wide, staring in amazement at Julie who came behind him at some point.The latter smirked at him proudly just because he had just made a big deal.

Shouldn't this girl instigate Mira?Sol suddenly thought so.

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The matter of Mira made Saul depressed, but good news came soon. In the evening, Kress came to report that Reed's caravan had returned.

Saul was overjoyed, the secret path finally came back.The caravan went out for a surprisingly long time this time, but Thor didn't care about how much money he made. He was eager to know how the contact with the Adventurer's Guild was going.

"Go, take a look." Saul wiped his mouth and stood up from the dinner table.

Jessica got up as well, only Mira was still devouring it as if no one else was around.After walking two steps, Saul found that Kress hadn't followed, and turned around strangely: "What's wrong? Let's go."

Kress looked at the huge amount of food prepared for Mira on the table, and couldn't help swallowing: "Hey..."

Of course Sol knew what he was thinking, and the captain of the defense did not eat and drink here once or twice.He waved his hand helplessly: "Forget it, you eat, I will go by myself."

Kress cheered, and he was not polite, took off the saber around his waist and sat down.Soon, the Xilihulu eating and drinking sounds of a man and a woman at the dinner table echoed each other.

"This is delicious, and this one is not bad... Mmm, Julie's craftsmanship is really good... Wow, you damn girl, you actually bit me!"

Looking back at Mira and Kress who were twisting together, Sol shook his head and went out.

At this moment, there is already a lively scene outside the town, and the caravan returning from a long journey is warmly welcomed by the people of Lovell.Children ran around the pack horses in a row, Reed directed the town workers to unload, Dylan yelled loudly, and ordered the escorting recruits to line up, and the parents who were looking forward to the return of the wanderers surrounded the outside , constantly searching for the figure of his child with his eyes...

The townspeople automatically made way for Saul and Jessica. Seeing them, Reed handed over the ledger to his deputy and quickly ran over.

"My lord, I have already heard about what happened a few days ago. Is the loss of the territory big?"

Sol shook his head: "Except for the destruction of some houses, there is not much loss. You came back just in time, and the territory needs to purchase a batch of spare supplies. Jessica will give you the list later."

"I'll do it right away." Reed readily agreed, without complaining at all that he was going to work again.

Since the formation of this caravan, Reed, who aspired to be a great businessman, has burst out with great enthusiasm, and almost wished to lead the caravan to make money outside every day, and his enthusiasm surprised Sol.

Jessica said at this time: "Don't worry, you can rest for a few days first, Mr. Lester has come to ask me about your return date several times."

Reed's father, Lester, the owner of the prop shop, was standing not far away with his wife.However, his son is now the financial officer of the territory and the leader of the caravan. The old man was sensible and didn't come to disturb him. Of course, it is inevitable to brag in Aunt Maisie's tavern.

Turning around and saying hello to his parents, Reed said, "My lord, about your asking me to contact the Adventurer's Guild..."

Sol was about to ask him, so he said, "You haven't had dinner yet, have you? Let's go to the lord's mansion to eat and talk."

Reed nodded, whispered a few words to his deputy, and left with Saul.At this moment, Dylan said: "Disband!" The recruits who stood upright laughed and dispersed immediately.

All of a sudden, the field came alive. Parents took their sons who hadn’t returned for a long time to greet him, and there were laughs everywhere.Kafir also accompanied Lesta to welcome his elder brother, and the three siblings kept talking together.

Sol involuntarily stopped and turned to look at this warm scene.The setting sun casts long shadows for everyone, the resting horses occasionally snort and flick their tails leisurely, the workers happily send the goods to the warehouse, under the dark golden sky, people happily go to the town surrounded by smoke. rush.

"What's wrong?" Jessica followed him and stopped.

"No, it's nothing." Sol smiled: "I just feel very happy suddenly."

As he said that, he patted his stomach exaggeratedly: "Ah, I'm starving to death, let's go home too."

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"This, what is this..."

Saul stared at the messy table, speechless for a while.

Tables that were full of food half an hour ago are now piled high with empty plates.Meera and Kress, with their full bellies, were both lying under the table, like two flatulent puffer fish.

"I, I would lose to a little girl..." Kress was still muttering unwillingly.

Sol felt that he was about to lose his temper, how much would this meal cost?Is there any other law, two, I am the lord, at least give me some leftovers, right?

"Any food left?" Jessica asked the current head chef.

Julie said regretfully: "Miss Mira and Kress met, just like the words the lord taught me before, what is called 'matching opponents', both of them performed super-level. The food that was just delivered in the afternoon It was all eaten up, and there was nothing edible in the kitchen."

Plop!It was Saul who fell to the ground.God, God, are these two Saiyans?

"The lord and Reed haven't eaten yet, can you ask Aunt Maisie to bring some food?" Jessica asked.

Julie nodded: "I'll go to Mommy's right now."

After Julie left, Jessica pulled Saul with a pained face and Reed who was stunned into the study.It wasn't until this moment that Reed closed his mouth wide open: "Who is that girl?"

"Her name is Mira, and she was brought back from the frozen plateau by the lord." Jessica simply explained.

Reed couldn't help shaking his head: "It's unbelievable that there is something more edible than Kress."

"Okay, let's get down to business, how does the Adventurer's Guild react?" So far, only Jessica has remained calm.

When it comes to business, Reed also got serious: "I have already contacted them, and they mean that they can only reply after reporting to the higher-ups. Because I am in a hurry to ship the goods, I can only leave early. But I think they also have an agreement with them. Good intentions, I believe a representative will be sent here soon."

"Yeah." Jessica nodded, as she and Sol had expected.Now that they have sent a reconciliation signal, the other party has no reason not to accept it, so all that remains is to wait for the opponent to come to the door.

Overall, this is good news.Just as Jessica was about to speak, she found that Saul was still in a state of "distressed grief", so she gave him an elbow in secret.

"Ah!" Waking up suddenly, Sol hurriedly said, "You've done a good job. Is the trade going well this time?"

Reed stroked his bearded chin: "It's not bad. We are working with suppliers everywhere. At present, they still don't believe in the strength of our Lovell. It seems that it will take a while to open up the situation. "

It can be seen that Reid is still very anxious about the caravan's delay in gaining the trust of merchants from all over the world and completely paving the way.But there is no way, who called Lovell "poor and remote"?Even if Sol obtains the title of earl and is deeply loved by the king, it will be difficult to change this for a while.

Sure enough, Sol decided it was time to surprise Reed.He deliberately took advantage of Reed's unpreparedness and said, "So it is really necessary to open up an exclusive trade route."

"Yeah..." Reed nodded casually.

Suddenly, he reacted abruptly: "Exclusive trade route? Wait, Lord Lord, are you joking?"

Seeing that Jessica was smiling too, he believed Sol was serious.Sol was taken aback by Reed's reaction. He rushed onto the table and grabbed Sol's hand like that: "My lord, where is the exclusive trade route you mentioned?"

Startled by his actions, Sol couldn't help but yelled: "Calm down, calm down."

Only then did he realize that he had lost his composure, and Reed backed away embarrassedly: "Please forgive me, but I can't bear it anymore. If there is an exclusive trade route, I can assure you that in a year, I will be the one for Luo The profit earned by Vile will not be less than 300 million gold coins per year."

After all, he is a capable person. Speaking of this, Reid revealed strong confidence.

Sol and Jessica glanced at each other, secretly thinking that they had chosen the right person.With a light cough, Sol said: "That's right, I have reached an agreement with the barbarians on the frozen plateau. We will provide them with all kinds of supplies they need, and they will exchange them with various specialties on the frozen plateau. And..."

Having said that, Sol deliberately paused: "They will only provide it to us."

Reed's breathing became short, of course he understood what Saul's words meant.Due to various reasons, this group of tall compatriots on the frozen plateau has always been out of the sight of the inland countries of Madina, and it is difficult to transport all kinds of precious products on the plateau to the inland.Occasionally, a lucky businessman gets one or two, which are all luxuries that the nobles are vying for.

Now, the lord actually told him that he can operate this lucrative business route, and it is an exclusive operation!For a moment, Reid almost saw a golden mountain beckoning to him.

Exclusive business routes are the biggest dream of every businessman, not to mention such a precious place of origin.Just think about how many times I have been transporting the special products of the frozen plateau and selling them to various parts of the mainland. I don’t know how many people will be enthusiastically pursuing them at that time. A scene in a dream.

Seeing that he was gradually losing control of himself, Sol quickly cooled him down: "Don't worry, all the preparations need to be done by you, and I have already promised the other party that I will provide them with a batch of supplies for free first. In addition, our transaction It must be fair, and you must not make money against your conscience, understand?"

Reed nodded again and again: "Of course. Don't worry, even if it's just a cheap deal, the value of the special products of the frozen plateau will increase exponentially if they are sold inland. This is definitely a profitable business."

Saul secretly thought this is of course, otherwise I would have to die to get through this line of heaven and earth.

After thinking about it, Reed said worriedly: "But about the trade route...Dinar doesn't have a ready-made trade route with that side. If you want to pass through the northern wilderness, I'm afraid you won't be able to pass the orc barrier."

Jessica said at this time: "You don't have to worry about this. Kress and Chip have found a road leading to the frozen plateau in the Widney Mountains. Although it is a bit difficult to walk, it is still no problem to pass the horse team."

Reed was overjoyed: "This is no problem, as long as there is a way to go, I can transport things out even if it is a sea of ​​​​knives and fire."

Saul was ashamed when he heard that, as expected of an authentic businessman, this dedication to profit is really terrifying.

Another problem is the weapons that those barbarians need, but Thor doesn't plan to tell Reed yet.This has to be done by yourself, please Gein in Kaweiling can handle it.

Anyway, to the royal family of Dinard, the barbarians on the frozen plateau did not pose a threat at all, so there was no charge of "smuggling weapons to the enemy country".At that time, I will add another reason of "armed barbarians to contain the orc empire", maybe I will be rewarded again.

"Then, there are still more than 500 million funds in the territory. It takes about 40 gold coins to purchase spare supplies and the first batch of gifts for the barbarian tribe. In addition, we need to make some preparations for entering the frozen plateau and purchase their special products. The total amount of funds needed is about 80 gold coins. Lord Lord, please allocate the funds as soon as possible, so that I can proceed." At this time, Reid began to calculate the accounts.

Hearing what he said, Sol said with a strange face: "This...actually, there are not so many funds in the territory."

Reed nodded understandingly: "I understand this. A lot of money must have been spent to fight against the invading undead. So how much money is left? 400 million? Or 350 million?"

"Uh..." Sol shrank back a little guilty: "100 million..."

"How much!?" Reed's eyes almost popped out: "Why are there so few left?"

Of course, Saul couldn't tell him that he had bought medicine from Elebena, so he could only say, "Because of various reasons, it cost a lot."

"What's the reason?" Reid immediately became angry: "Could it be that you just used gold coins to hit those zombies directly? Otherwise, why would you spend more than 400 million so outrageous!"

No way, as a pure businessman, as soon as money is mentioned, Reid starts to get serious.What's more, after the disappearance of more than 300 million funds last time, a large number of gold coins disappeared again for no reason. How could he, as the financial officer of the territory, bear it?
God Denisos, what on earth is the lord doing?In a few months, the huge sum of 1000 million can be tossed down to only one-tenth of it.

"Please, tell me, okay, where did all this money go? As the treasurer of the territory, I feel so bad." Just when Sol thought he was about to lose his temper, Reed burst into tears.

Although he was not corrupt, Sol still felt a little guilty.After all, he spent so much money, but he couldn't tell him the reason.Especially seeing the blue veins on Reed's forehead throbbing non-stop, he was really afraid that his financial officer would die of a cerebral hemorrhage.

At this time, Jessica rescued Sol and said, "Although for some reason, I can't tell you the details. But I can guarantee that every penny of this money is spent for the territory."

Hearing this, Reed looked a little better.At least compared to the unreliable lord, Jessica has much more credibility.

In order to show that he is not a fool who spends money indiscriminately, Sol said again: "Although I spent a lot of money, I got 200 bottles of the secret medicine of the Temple of Life 'Birsina's Blue Tears'."

"Really?" Reed looked up.He has been doing business abroad for a long time, so he naturally knows the value of these precious secret medicines.

Jessica nodded: "Yes. But these medicines cannot be sold to you. We plan to keep them as reserves in the territory, just in case."

Reed finally thought about it, the money belonged to the lord, and he could spend it as he wanted.Anyway, with the exclusive trade route with the barbarians, it won't take a few years to earn back.

Thinking of this, he sighed: "There is not much money left in the territory, so some large construction projects must be stopped, and the trade with the barbarians can only be continued after the trade with the barbarians is profitable."

Sol and Jessica had already reached a consensus on this point, and he readily agreed: "Don't worry, Jessica will arrange it, you just need to do your best to get the business route over there."

At this time, there was a knock on the door, and Julie walked in with a large basket of food.Only then did the three realize that they had been talking for a long time, and their stomachs were already shaking.

"Okay, let's talk about something tomorrow, let's eat first." Jessica helped Julie put the food on the table.

Saul, who was already so hungry, chewed honestly and happily. Reed was stunned for a moment, and then grabbed the food and stuffed it into his mouth as if angry.

"Woooooo... 400 million, 400 million gold coins!"

"Shut up and eat quietly, you stubborn miser!"

(End of this chapter)