Mystery: I, the Hermit, am too eager to improve

Chapter 197 Audrey, He Seems to Know You

"Consider it doing a good deed for the day."

Roy sighed.

Leonard, for example, hasn't contacted me since then, but we still maintain a connection on the star chart.

If he wanted to find the other party, it would be very simple; he could contact them directly through the star map. But for now…

Roy doesn't have any specific need to use Leonard.

He didn't expect a return on his investment like Daly's; he was just preparing to create extraordinary items for the "Apostle of Desire."

That item has rather special characteristics.

With the help of the mysterious temple, he was already able to create extraordinary items, but the negative effects were terrible—

One is that during the process of using it, one's own desires will be continuously enhanced.

Second, the shadow will continue to activate and eventually devour the user.

"Let's try to weaken it a bit, otherwise the negative effects of this thing are too great."

Roy attempted to reorganize and revitalize the business.

This series of actions reduced the activation effect of the shadow and extended the devouring time to one hour, but it did not weaken the former.

but.

Fortunately, as long as it is placed under light, the negative effects of Shadow Devouring can be suppressed and offset.

This is already the limit.

……

"Knock knock knock".

There was a knock on the door.

A few seconds later, someone came out from inside to open the door.

Leonard rubbed his eyes.

"Ms. Daly? Is there something urgent that you've come so late?"

"Yes."

Dai Li's expression was serious.

She glanced inside and asked, "Is it alright if I come in?"

"certainly."

Leonard nodded.

Daly rarely visits this late; the only possible reason for her coming now is—

She really has something to do!

After entering the house, Daly closed the door and said, "Leonard, were you there when Dunn and Klein died?"

"I was there, but I was unconscious. When I woke up, all that was left at the scene was ashes."

Lennart's voice was low, and he avoided looking directly at Daly. "I'm so sorry, if..."

"It's not your fault, Leonard. I'm not here to dwell on this. I want to ask, did you have a divination performed on the ashes?"

"Dali asked quickly."

Leonard said, "There was a divination afterwards, but it involved Megao's ashes..."

"Has it been broken down into smaller parts?"

"What?"

Leonard was stunned for a moment, not quite reacting.

"Subdivide the ashes into several parts, even as subdivided as possible, and then use divination to confirm the location."

"Dali asked urgently."

Leonard paused for a long while, then finally lowered his head: "No, but the captain and the others should already be—"

"He might not be dead!"

"When I went to Tingen last time, I sensed he wasn't dead! He must still be alive!" Daly said seriously.

"But……"

"There are no bodies, right? I want to investigate, do you want to come with me?"

Dai Li said.

In just one breath, Leonard made his decision—

"go!"

……

"Iger, welcome."

"Thank you, Audrey, I didn't expect you to come out to meet me."

Roy smiled faintly.

Then, he looked down at Audrey's side.

A golden retriever looked up at him.

Hello, Susie.

Susie wagged her tail, neither barking nor speaking, displaying a gentle and affectionate demeanor.

Audrey smiled and said, "It seems Susie likes you a lot; she remembered you after only meeting you twice."

"Susie is very smart."

Roy patted Susie's head.

The expensive pets that were brought in...

Why not take advantage of it!

After some rummaging, he followed Audrey into the ball, his tall figure immediately attracting a lot of attention.

in particular--

He was brought in by Audrey.

Audrey's charm was renowned throughout Backlund.

but.

Many nobles already knew the identity of "Aiger" and raised their glasses to come over. The one at the head was none other than Earl Wolf.

"Count Wolf, you are as valiant as ever."

"Aeger, your wisdom and deeds have become widely known in Backlund recently. If this continues, it will be difficult for me to see you."

Count Wolf laughed.

The two exchanged compliments for a while, and then several more nobles came up.

Finally, with Audrey's impeccable manners, Roy was able to escape, and then—

He saw Grylint.

The current Grelint is in a completely different physical and mental state, and the weakness caused by some of her previous bad habits has been corrected.

They are completely different people.

Grylint was clearly very curious about "Aeger".

After chatting with the young people for a while and having a relatively relaxed, pleasant time that was enough to fill his stomach, Roy had to go upstairs.

That was his real purpose in coming—

Negotiate a deal.

but.

The outcome was predictable; with his enhanced Eye of Insight, he had essentially confirmed the surrounding situation.

There are some security measures inside the villa, but not many.

Most of the nobles upstairs were familiar faces.

The details of the collaboration were finalized last time.

this time……

It's really just a matter of further discussion on the specific implementation later.

This meeting could have been skipped if the Duke of Negan hadn't died, but now that the Duke of Negan is dead and a new Conservative leader hasn't been elected, what can be done?

We arrived at the second floor.

"Count Hall".

"Aig, I've been wanting to come find you, but after thinking it over, I still think it would be better if we all got together and had a chat."

Earl Hall gestured for him to sit down.

The faces present were the same as before.

Roy sighed.

"The matter concerning Duke Negan was truly unexpected."

"Damn assassins, they've completely ruined our cooperation plans!"

Count Wolf cursed and swore.

Roy glanced at it.

Another person, also a familiar face, was just as angry as him.

Viscount Zago.

He was also a fiefdom viscount, and although he had sold some land before, he still had a considerable amount of land remaining.

but.

For reasons Roy had previously learned, his recent business investments may be facing considerable challenges, and the outcome is likely not good.

"Mr. Egger, I heard you were there at the time?"

"Yes, it's a pity I couldn't save Duke Negan; I only managed to capture the murderer."

Roy sighed, then drew the prayer gesture of the Church of Knowledge, "May Duke Negan rest in peace."

Seeing this, everyone started drawing various hand gestures on their chests.

Through observation...

He roughly understood the composition of these nobles' beliefs.

Only one or two people are followers of the Steam Church; the rest are mostly followers of the Night Church or the Storm Church.

very good!

After everyone finished praying, Earl Hall said, "Mr. Egger, the previous cooperation is still valid. Please tell us what your needs are, and we will try our best to meet them."

"First, a piece of land was used as an experimental and seed-producing area, and the resulting grain seeds were ripened and distributed."

"The Duke of Negan gave my daughter Audrey an estate as a token of his gratitude, and there happened to be some land around it that could be used for experiments and seed production."

"Okay, I'll provide the seeds. I also have some land in that other spot that I can contribute."

"That's what Earl Wolf said with great pride."

The other nobles echoed this sentiment.

Those with money contribute money, while those without contribute labor, manpower, and land. Of course, there are also some conflicts of interest involved.

Roy doesn't want much.

Gold pounds, materials —

Most of them were given to the Dawn of Elements and the Church of the Earth; only a small portion belonged to him.

Ultimately, what he needs more is to establish "path dependence," making everyone dependent on convenient and powerful farming methods.

This is a promise made to the Earth Mother Goddess—

One shouldn't dine on God's free meal.

of course.

Even if it's only a small portion, it's still a very large amount relative to the total amount. The accumulated amount should be enough for him to advance to Sequence 4 or purchase some extraordinary materials.

……

"How is it?"

"Everything went smoothly. By the way, the location is set at your manor; this is Earl Hall's idea."

Roy answered.

Audrey smiled sweetly.

"No problem. I don't really need that manor anyway. If it can produce high-yield grains and crops, it will be a great help to the whole of Rune."

That's right.

Roy stared ahead, then sighed softly.

Hopefully, this food will bring some benefits to ordinary people, so that future disasters will not be so severe.

He is very clear.

Not every nobleman is as kind as Audrey.

Quite the opposite.

Most nobles are greedy, and during their expansion after accumulating initial wealth, many of their operations were shady.

This is true everywhere and in every era.

Why are you sighing?

"If there were more nobles like you, there might be no hunger in the world."

Roy smiled.

Audrey paused slightly, then said, "I'm not as good as you say."

See you next time.

Roy waved his hat and then walked away.

Audrey gazed at the other person's tall figure, then fell into deep thought—

It looks like...

I don’t think the nobles would help the commoners.

With a heavy heart, she turned and walked back.

"My princess, thank you for your help. The transaction went smoothly."

Count Hall said he wanted to give him a hug.

Audrey seized the opportunity to ask, "Dad, if we can really achieve the production volume Mr. Egger mentioned, will we help civilians through the crisis after the war breaks out?"

Earl Hall paused slightly, then remained silent for a few seconds before finally saying, "Audrey, if it were a week ago, I would have said 'yes,' but now..."

"No, right?"

Audrey lowered her eyes slightly.

Count Hall did not answer directly, but said, "Everyone participated actively to achieve this cooperation because of their own interests."

"But without commoners, what is the point of us nobles?"

Audrey didn't understand.

Earl Hall patted her shoulder gently and said, "Go and rest. I still have to see the guests off."

"Okay, Dad."

Audrey did not press the matter.

As a psychologist, she already knew the answer.

Audrey walked heavily upstairs and sat in her study. After a moment, Susie pushed open the door and came in.

It stood on its hind legs, opened the door by itself, and then quickly closed it.

"Audrey, you seem down."

"Why……"

Audrey sighed.

She understood.

This is the mindset of most nobles; it cannot be forced, but their hearts are inevitably heavy.

Susie clearly didn't understand her troubles. She sat down, wagging her tail, and quietly kept Audrey company.

After a few seconds, Audrey turned her head.

"How was your observation today?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but from my own feeling, it seems like he knows you."

Susie said.

Audrey paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "It's normal for you to know me."

"It's not that kind of acquaintance."

Susie explained again.

but.

Clearly, even though it enjoys reading, it still cannot describe it through its own understanding.

Audrey thought for a moment and offered a guess.

"Could he have done some research beforehand?"

"have no idea."

It lay down on the side, lost in thought.

but.

It always felt like something was off.

If Susie had enough knowledge, she might have been able to glean the key elements from this "sense of incongruity," but she clearly hasn't figured it out yet.

As someone directly involved, Audrey was indeed unable to see things clearly.

She could only sigh regretfully.

"Next time, when Fors comes back, I'll invite them to a small gathering, and then observe them further."

"Um."

……

On the way, Roy was riding back in a carriage when he suddenly heard shouts coming from ahead.

"Stop, stop, stop!"

The Earl of Hall's male servants were in a panic.

The most serious thing is—

The horses appeared to be frightened.

"What happened?"

"Mr. Egger! The horse has suddenly gone out of control."

The male servant shouted.

Roy took out the "Holy Water of the Sun," sprinkled some of the holy water from it, and then used his spirituality to sprinkle it on the horses in front of him.

Immediately...

The horse calmed down.

Holy water is primarily used to ward off evil spirits and dispel cold, but it also has subtle calming and fear-reducing effects.

After being baptized by holy water, the horses were no longer so afraid and gradually became more obedient.

Then, Roy poked his head out.

A well-dressed man wearing glasses stood by the roadside, shouting loudly in an attempt to stop their car.

Roy glanced at the other person.

"Sir, what's wrong?"

"The sewers ahead are somehow damaged, and a carriage has already gotten stuck. If you go any faster, you might get into trouble."

The other party replied.

Roy was slightly taken aback, then used his Eye of Insight to survey his surroundings, and indeed saw a carriage that had fallen into the wreckage not far ahead.

This appears to be an accident.

but……

Who the hell is so heartless as to collapse the sewer system?

He was speechless for a moment.

"It seems I'll have to go back to the way I came."

Roy reluctantly got out of the car, then turned to the manservant and said, "Thank you, and please also thank Earl Hall for me."

"Oh, no, I should be thanking you."

The male servant was clearly still somewhat shaken—

If something really happens, he'll definitely lose his job.

Living in Backlund, he simply couldn't leave this job.

"goodbye."

Roy smiled and nodded.

Then, he looked at the man on the roadside.

"Thank you too, kind sir. Were you a victim of the carriage incident ahead?"

"No, I'm a doctor at this clinic. Actually, this hole appeared this evening, but no one came to deal with it or put up warning signs."

The other party complained speechlessly, "Those people are the most enthusiastic about collecting taxes, but they're always inefficient when it comes to getting things done. I don't know if it will be fixed by next week."

"Given their efficiency, I'm afraid it will be difficult."

(End of this chapter)