Heir to the Kingdom of 1.4 billion people

Chapter 122 The Plan to Destroy Twilight City
The Twilight Chamber of Commerce, third floor.

"She actually wants to ban the sale of Twilight Tea! Damn it, I gave her a Thunder Demon Crystal, which is considered top-grade even among Firefly-level teas. She can make at least five Gold Sols by reselling it!"

"He must be trying to get more bribes. Greedy, so incredibly greedy!"

Ekus cursed repeatedly, picking up a teacup from the table as if to smash it in anger, but then silently put it down after considering it was worth one silver sol.

"My lord, the Queen of the Southern Territory, Rosa Martha, is rumored to be someone who wouldn't solicit bribes. Could it be that she has discovered the secret of the Bewitching Tea?"

Raphael thought for a moment and said.

Upon hearing this, Ekus's anger suddenly froze, and he rested his chin on his hand, lost in thought.

"This shouldn't be! This is a gift from my god. Unless one is a believer suffering the same pain, how could a mere mortal possibly discover it? Could it be that the great one has returned to the Southern Territory?"

As he pondered these thoughts, Ekus's expression changed drastically, a mix of confusion, surprise, and fear flashing through his mind.

The three vampires in the room looked puzzled, not understanding why the merchant's expression suddenly became so complicated.

"That's impossible. My gift comes from an being whose status far surpasses your imagination. How could a mere mortal possibly discover it?"

After regaining his senses, Ekus explained to everyone.

"My lord, will this affect your plan to launch the Plague of Deception and destroy Twilight City?"

“It’s alright. I’ve already accomplished great things by selling a cup of tea to the whole city. Even if I stop selling, it won’t affect my advancement to the New Moon,” Ekus said, waving his hand.

“Moreover,” Erkus said, a sly smile playing on his lips.

"It might not be a bad thing to let those ignorant people experience the hell of unfulfilled desires in advance."

Looking at the merchant's sinister smile, even Raphael and his two companions, who were vampires, felt a chill run down their spines.

Red Fox Castle, bedroom.

"Anlia, how many cups of evening tea have you been drinking a day lately?"

After explaining the definition of drugs to Rosa, Xia Mingyu rushed to Anlia's room and asked anxiously.

After learning about the problems with the twilight tea, he felt an urge to slap himself twice for recommending it to the girl.

“Your Highness, apart from taking a sip of tea at the beginning, I haven’t had any more evening tea,” Anlia said.

Upon hearing this, Xia Mingyu finally breathed a long sigh of relief, and his whole body visibly relaxed.

That's great. If Anlia were to develop an addiction to the unknown tea because of him, he would probably want to tear that merchant to pieces.

However, while he was relieved, he was also a little puzzled. After all, the girl did not have the protection of nobles, so how did she resist the beautiful illusion brought by the Twilight Tea?
Seemingly noticing the confusion on the face of the man she admired, Anlia tiptoed and gently hugged his waist.

She pressed her ear against the other person's chest, listening to the pounding of their heart, and whispered:

"Compared to those false dreams, I still wish I could lie on your chest like this and hear your real heartbeat."

After all, there's no way I could marry you, is there?
The girl thought to herself.

"Your Highness, I miss you so much." She raised her head, her deep blue eyes filled with adoration.

rustling.

A gust of wind blew by, causing the window curtains to flutter, and sunlight streamed through her loose golden hair, turning each strand a honey-like color.

Seeing this beautiful scene, Xia Mingyu didn't say much, but gently lifted the girl's chin and kissed her petal-like lips.

He wanted to give this girl, whom he hadn't seen in so long, a breathtaking kiss.

As dusk falls and twilight deepens, the distant horizon is gradually dyed a brilliant orange-red.

After spending a tender afternoon with Anlia, Xia Mingyu reluctantly left Red Fox Castle to find Youde to get his medicine.

The streets were still crowded, but unlike the smiles and cheers at noon, almost everyone looked worried, and every minute and every second someone was sighing.

"Sigh, how come the Twilight Tea was banned right after the price was reduced? I haven't bought a single cup yet, and I've already used up all the stock I had at home."

"I wonder when the ban will be lifted. Why would the lord do this?"

"The benevolent lord must have his reasons for doing this, but it's really agonizing to suddenly not have tea."

People complained to each other with long faces.

Although they did not understand Count Martha's decision to ban twilight tea, no one questioned it out of trust in this benevolent lord.

This stark contrast made Xia Mingyu feel a little uneasy, after all, he was the real decision-maker.

"It seems they can still stay rational for now, but I wonder if they will fall into withdrawal symptoms in a few days."

Along the way, Xia Mingyu thought to himself with great concern.

This time, no one kindly invited him for tea; perhaps even the kindest person was troubled at the moment. No. 13, Chenfeng Street.

Xia Mingyu stopped in front of an unassuming pharmacy and couldn't help but smile as he looked at the monkey face on the signboard.

dong dong dong.

After knocking a few times, the wooden door slowly cracked open, and a gaunt face resembling a monkey emerged from the darkness. Two startlingly bright yellow eyes were embedded in the deep-set eye sockets, making it look as terrifying as a murderous doll from a movie.

Xia Mingyu was almost startled and took a step back, but fortunately he remained calm and stopped in time.

Otherwise, that would be too hurtful to the other person.

"Sage, you've arrived!"

Unaware of his unusual behavior, Yude's face lit up with delight, and he quickly ushered him into the apothecary.

"Lord Mingyu, please have a seat. I will go and fetch the bearskin potion for you right away."

Yu De hunched over and carefully wiped the dust-free chair, speaking rather reservedly.

"Thank you."

Xia Mingyu did not refuse the other party's kindness. He sat down and looked around the pharmacy.

On the stacked wooden shelves were all kinds of herbs: sage, rosemary, mint, marigold, and many other herbs he didn't recognize.

On a long wooden table, there were oddly shaped containers and tools.

On the shelf behind the wall were some ceramic jars with various labels, such as fox tail, bat blood, scorpion venom, and so on.

Although the pharmacy was not large, it gave Xia Mingyu the feeling that it had everything he needed.

He could imagine that Yud was in this little hut, working day and night alone, concocting herbs, without friends or family.
Hmm, I wonder if he's also gotten addicted to twilight tea!
Xia Mingyu felt a pang of panic.

"Lord Mingyu, this is the bearskin potion I've prepared."

At this moment, Youde walked over and respectfully handed over a small box.

Do you drink evening tea? If so, how many cups a day?

Xia Mingyu grabbed Youde's shoulder and asked anxiously.

“My lord, I don’t drink tea, but it seems that the lord summoned many famous apothecaries to test the Twilight Tea leaves. I thought I would be summoned as well.”

As he said this, a clear look of disappointment flashed in Yud's eyes.

Having been surrounded by malice since childhood, what he values ​​most is the recognition of others.

Hearing this, Xia Mingyu breathed a sigh of relief, took the box, and gently opened it.

Inside the box, nestled in a soft cushion, lay a bottle of medicine, its brown liquid soaking a section of bear skin covered in thick brown fur.

The skin sometimes stretched out and sometimes curled up, as if it still had a life of its own.

"Bear skin, cat tail, snake belly, eagle eyes—it seems that to be a hunter, you first need a good stomach."

Xia Mingyu muttered to himself, thank goodness he chose the noble path of the mage, otherwise swallowing these magical beast organizations whole would be truly disgusting.

"Thank you for your hard work. Could you do me another favor?" Xia Mingyu said as he put away the box.

“Your will is the goal of my life from now on. Please give me your orders,” Yud said solemnly.

He would not hesitate to give his life for the person in front of him, let alone just help him.

"I need your grace to help me analyze the effects of Twilight Tea and how to counteract it, but the problem is that commoners who drink Twilight Tea will see the illusions in their hearts and are easily addicted to tea, which is dangerous."

"If you want to refuse, that's perfectly reasonable."

Xia Mingyu took out a tea bag from his pocket, his expression hesitant, with a hint of guilt.

Because he knew that Yud couldn't refuse.

As he expected, Yud agreed without hesitation.

This made Xia Mingyu's expression even more guilty, and he didn't even dare to look at the other person.

“My sage, please rest assured, I am a pharmacist and I have resistance to all drugs, including tea.”

Seemingly sensing his guilt, Yude gently comforted him.

Then, under Xia Mingyu's tense gaze, Youde carefully picked up a few tea leaves from the tea bag and put them in his mouth to chew.

(End of this chapter)