Chapter 171: The Count’s Return Gift
That evening, Duane and Clement drafted the terms and signed their names.
If things went smoothly, people from the Holy Radiance Church Court would probably arrive on Black Forest Island around January or February of next year.
Before then, Duane could make some arrangements and deployments to ensure he could make the best use of this group.
The next day, having finished all his business in the Royal Capital, he took the weapons and equipment gifted by the King and embarked on his return journey.
Just as on his way there, Duane hitched a ride on Count Kais’s ship.
This time they traveled downstream, and with the Count intentionally resuming normal speed, they arrived at Silent Harbor the following morning.
Count Kais invited Duane to stay at Sea Cliff Castle for a few days.
He would arrange for men to go with Duane to Black Forest Island and transport all the captives from the Gale Corps to the Silent Shore for imprisonment.
This would ensure the hostages’ safety and also prepare for the upcoming negotiations.
Duane, of course, had no objections. Without the Count’s fleet, he would have had to hire a ship to go back anyway.
"Duane, when you came to Sea Cliff Castle, you gave me a cargo ship. By rights, I should give you a gift in return, but I haven’t been able to think of a suitable one."
"You’re too kind. The ship was my way of showing gratitude for Lloyd’s gift. You don’t need to give me anything in return."
’He had originally wanted to use the ship to get closer to Count Kais and have someone speak up for him.’
’He just hadn’t expected that the discovery of a rare resource like Meteorite Iron in Viscount Freddy’s Secret Realm would make everything go so smoothly, rendering his gift of the cargo ship almost irrelevant.’
’But regardless, he truly hadn’t thought about receiving a gift in return.’
"The Kennedy Clan can’t be seen as discourteous."
Kais laughed heartily. "I see you don’t have a passenger ship. How about this? I’ll give you an ocean-going passenger ship, and I’ll even arrange for two veteran captains to go to your territory and train your people for two months."
Duane had originally intended to refuse, but he couldn’t bring himself to turn down such a tempting gift.
"Then I’m truly grateful, Count!"
Kais grinned. Originally, he hadn’t thought a return gift was necessary either.
But his recent experience in the Royal Capital had only deepened his favorable impression of Duane. Whether it was his strength or his mind, the young man was destined for great things in the future.
An ocean-going passenger ship was nothing compared to the benefits he had gained because of Duane.
"His Majesty instructed me to help you establish a Messenger Passage between Black Forest Island and the Silent Shore. I will have my baron see to it."
Count Kais added, "However, business is business. You will have to bear the costs associated with the Messenger Passage."
The breeding and raising of the Silver Gales, as well as the manpower and resources required to establish the passage, all cost money.
Count Kais was neither Duane’s relative, nor did he need anything from him, so naturally, a price had to be discussed.
Moreover, the Silver Gales were not his personal property; they concerned the interests of the barons under his command, so he had no authority to offer the service for free.
"Don’t worry, that’s only natural."
Duane asked, "I was just wondering, how much will this cost?"
Count Kais thought for a moment. "The Messenger Passage will require at least three Silver Gales. To get it set up, you’ll need at least 1,000 Gold Coins."
Duane’s eyes widened when he heard the price. "That expensive?"
Kais couldn’t help but laugh. "The Silver Gales are Demon Beasts, after all, and they aren’t easy to tame. Besides, establishing the passage for you will require them to spend at least two or three months at sea. 1,000 Gold Coins is already what I’d consider a friendship price."
"Alright!"
Duane spread his hands. "But Count, I don’t have that much money anymore."
Hearing this, Kais was even more amused.
"No problem. We have business partnerships. In about half a year or so, you’ll probably receive compensation from the Starfall Islands. You can just pay me then."
He wasn’t worried about Duane running off; after all, the island wasn’t going anywhere.
Duane nodded. ’That could work,’ he thought.
"In that case, my Lord Count, could I borrow some money from you?"
He decided to be shameless and just ask. "Black Forest Island isn’t very peaceful. I need to buy some potions for my subordinate, Kaelon, an Earth Tier Warrior, to aid his training and combat. As you know, Earth Tier Potions... are very expensive!"
The Count’s lip twitched. He couldn’t believe Duane was actually hitting him up for a loan.
In all his years as a Count, he had rarely been asked for money to his face. Even when it did happen, the matter was always handled through his butler, Moer.
"Since you’ve asked, I’ll lend you some. But you’ll still have to sign an IOU."
He thought for a moment, then added, "Why don’t you just go to the Kennedy Clan’s Magic Potion shop to make your purchase? I’ll have someone put in a word to let you put it on a tab."
The Kennedy Clan had a team of Mages researching Magic Energy Passenger Ships, so of course, they also had a team that produced Magic Potions.
It was just that they mostly purchased materials from outside sources to make them, which meant higher costs. Since their prices had to be competitive with the market, their profit margins were relatively slim.
"Thank you so much!"
Duane bowed deeply.
’Buying these potions for Kaelon was just an excuse; he intended to consume the vast majority himself.’
’After all, he was now an Earth Tier Warrior and could consume Earth Tier Potions to gain attribute points.’
Duane spent the next few days in a flurry of activity.
First, as one of the founders of Kennedy’s Time Closet, he was dragged by Natalia to visit the factory currently under construction.
As expected of a great clan, the site had been more or less cleared in just a few days, and construction materials were steadily arriving. It probably wouldn’t be long before they could begin production.
Meanwhile, Zelina was preparing to organize the raw materials, Derek had already recruited the first batch of tailors and weavers, and Sharp was expanding upon the customer list provided by Natalia to find more buyers.
If they were all ordinary people, every step would have likely required immense effort. But they had strength, connections, and resources, which made things much simpler.
Seeing their enthusiasm, Duane immediately drew up designs for the spring and summer collections that very evening after the partners’ banquet.
For the initial phase, simply changing the colors and making minor adjustments to these five designs would be enough.
「On the third day.」
Duane arrived at the Silent Shore’s trade district.
The area was lined with shops and stalls selling everything from basic necessities to Magic Potions and Spell Combat Techniques.
The trade district paid a considerable amount in taxes to the Kennedy Clan each year, serving as one of their sources of income.
Led by the butler Moer, Duane went straight to the Kennedy Family’s Magic Potion shop.
Most of the Magic Potions here were suitable for Ordinary Realm Warriors and Level 1-3 Mages; higher-Level ones were much rarer.
There were only a dozen or so types suitable for Earth Tier Warriors.
For Duane, who was mainly looking to gain attribute points, he would buy whatever was cheapest, as long as the potion had no irreversible side effects.
After some browsing, he purchased a total of twenty-five bottles of Magic Potions across five different types, plus two bottles of Bear Heart Burning Blood Potion just in case.
The five types of potions were mainly for restoring stamina and accelerating the generation of Fighting Qi, and also included items like Antitoxic Pills for dealing with Level 5 Demon Beasts. On average, they cost one hundred Gold Coins per bottle.
This shopping trip put him into a massive debt of 2,700 Gold Coins.
’Money spent can always be earned back,’ Duane thought, but he still had to wonder: ’Is it really worth spending so many Gold Coins just to gain 2.5 attribute points?’
’But if he didn’t use them now and waited until he reached the Celestial Tier, he would only get 1.5 attribute points from the same potions, losing out on a whole point for nothing.’
’Based on the principle that every little bit adds up, Duane gritted his teeth and made the purchase.’
Although Moer didn’t quite understand why Duane was buying these seemingly useless potions, he didn’t say much.
In any case, this was bringing profit to a Kennedy Clan business. Whether the potions were useful or not wasn’t his concern.
"Baron, there is also a shop over there that sells Enchanted Weapons and Spell Scrolls. Would you like to take a look?"
Moer said with a bow, "If there’s anything you’d like to purchase, you can also take it now and pay later."
’This must be the Count’s idea,’ Duane thought.
"Do you have any Level 6 Spell Scrolls?" he asked.
"Uh, no, we don’t have those."
Moer shook his head. "There aren’t many Level 6 Mages in the Kingdom to begin with, and even fewer who can create Spell Scrolls. However, while the shop doesn’t have any Level 6 ones, we do have some Level 4 Spell Scrolls."
’Level 4 Spell Scrolls are quite powerful, too. If I had a scroll like that during the assassination attempt a few days ago, I wouldn’t have been in such a sorry state and might not have come so close to death.’
"Let’s go. Take me to have a look."
Just as they stepped out of the shop, they heard shouting and the sounds of a fight from down the street.
Duane looked over in surprise. A crowd had gathered, and from the sound of clashing longswords, it seemed someone was fighting.
In all his time since coming to this world, this was the first time he had witnessed such a scene.
Moer smiled. "This is a common occurrence. When ordinary people encounter injustice or feel they’ve been wronged, they often resort to violence if they can’t negotiate a solution. You don’t need to pay it any mind; a Guard squad will be here shortly."
The words had barely left his mouth when a small squad rushed over.
They were a team established under the leadership of the Kennedy Clan, specifically for maintaining order in the trade district.
As soon as these men appeared, the crowd of onlookers automatically parted, and the two fighting parties were forcefully separated by the Guards.
It was only then that Duane got a clear look at the troublemakers’ faces. "Huh? It’s them?"