Chapter 462: Chapter 354: Changes After Spring (Part 2)

"When the Baron was here, the taxes were very low," an attendant complained in a low voice. "I don’t know which of those good-for-n..."

"Shut up," the manager barked, cutting his subordinate off. He then gave Uncle Musa an apologetic smile. "My apologies. He’s young and doesn’t know any better."

"It’s nothing," Uncle Musa said, waving a dismissive hand. "But, back to what we were talking about—why are you stocking mithril? I thought you said there weren’t many Magic Beast Materials around."

"Oh, that’s during the winter. Spring is just around the corner," the manager said, gesturing for the attendant to carry the Magic Staff inside the shop. "Once spring arrives, the Adventurers will return to Yangjiao Town. That’s when we’ll see a surge in Magic Beast Materials."

"Spring is less than half a month away now," Uncle Musa calculated.

"They can’t find many jobs here, anyway. After spring begins, life starts to stir again. Animals come out to forage, and the goblins come out of hiding. Those Adventurers can make a living just by hunting goblins and gathering herbs." The manager nodded. "The moment they set foot in the forest, they’re bound to run into Magical Beasts. That’s when all sorts of materials will start flooding the market."

"That’s a good point," Uncle Musa said with a nod, after a moment’s thought.

But then, another thought occurred to him. He ventured, "You don’t think someone might have wiped out all the Magical Beasts during the winter, do you? After all, with so many Adventurers moving to Torch City, there’s not much competition left in the forest."

"Are you suggesting someone plans to monopolize the forest’s materials?" The manager let out a laugh. "I take it you’ve seen a chicken scared to death before?"

"A chicken scared to death?" Uncle Musa was taken aback. ’Weren’t we talking about Magic Beast Materials? How did we get onto this?’

"The chicken’s eyes are bloodshot, its feathers all puffed out, its neck craned and rigid. Its claws are clenched tight, as if trying to grab onto something," the manager described, his tone deceptively casual.

"What does that have to do with materials?"

"There was once a man who wanted to monopolize the forest’s materials. That man was Count Valentine."

"Count Valentine? You mean the one who transported that giant creature’s corpse to the Royal Capital a few months ago? I was in the Royal Capital then and saw it," Musa immediately chimed in.

"No, not the current Count Valentine," the manager said, shaking his head. "His father, the *previous* Count Valentine."

"The previous one?" Uncle Musa frowned. He hadn’t heard much about him. After all, he was about the same age as the current Count Valentine—the one who served the Third Prince—and Musa was clearly a bit older than him. Back when the previous Count Valentine was alive, Uncle Musa had been nothing more than a guard for Baron Merlot.

"Yes. Do you know why the previous Count Valentine was found dead in his own great bed? He died in agony, his face twisted in a horrific grimace, as if he’d suffered endless torture. And yet, he couldn’t make a sound, not even enough to alert his guards." The corner of the manager’s mouth curled up, as if he’d seen the corpse with his own eyes. "He looked just like a chicken that had been scared to death."

"So..." Uncle Musa hesitated. "He was tortured to death?"

"Yes. To be precise, he was tortured to death by a Mage."

Uncle Musa raised his eyebrows. "A Count, killed by a Mage? He’s a noble. Surely his castle had defensive measures."

"Yes, it did," the manager said with a smile, but then waved his hand dismissively. "But those are only effective against ordinary Mages. Against a High Tier Great Mage, such measures are hardly enough."

"A High Tier Great Mage?"

"Yes. Those old monsters, the higher-ups in the Magic Federation," the manager continued to explain. "The reason the previous Count Valentine died was because he issued a decree in his domain—something called the ’Unified Procurement Order for Forest Products,’ I think. He planned to force Adventurers to turn over all forest products they gathered, including all Magic Beast Materials, directly to him. This, of course, directly infuriated the Magic Federation."

"So they just killed a Count, just like that?" Uncle Musa clicked his tongue. He was starting to get a bad feeling about this.

"Indeed," the manager sighed. "That’s why I’m telling you, it will not end well for anyone who tries to monopolize the forest’s Magic Beast Materials. Those old monsters might not meddle with the nobility or get involved in politics, but when something touches upon the Magic Domain, those people are terrifying."

"Take that, for instance," he said, pointing back inside the shop. "The Magic Staff you just saw was commissioned by a High Tier Mage. It’s made entirely of the finest materials. The Magic Crystal Stones are top-grade Elemental Magic Crystal Stones—the kind of thing you can’t just go out and find, you can only hope to stumble upon."

"That Magic Staff... it had three Magic Crystal Stones set in it, didn’t it?" Uncle Musa asked, recalling the staff he had glimpsed earlier.

"That’s right. The crafting fee for that one Magic Staff is enough to let us close up shop and live comfortably for several years," the manager said with a laugh. The satisfied grin on his face was plain to see.

"You certainly made out well, then," Musa said, nodding with a smile. At the same time, his gaze drifted to the mithril on the counter, a flicker of worry in his eyes.

"The client provided the materials; we’re just earning the crafting fee," the manager said with a casual wave of his hand. But it was clear he was saying it to show off the exquisite craftsmanship of his time-honored establishment, the Giant Dragon’s Horn.

"Alright. I’ll be back in five days. I hope you can have the order ready by then." Musa took the contract from the attendant, who presented it with both hands. After a quick glance, he signed and affixed his seal.

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