Become their wicked yet gentle lord.

Little did Anyaberg know that his secret keeping of some spy crystals made for Zona, merely to satisfy his dark voyeuristic desires and DIY fetishes, would be met with Ryusha's completely opposite reaction, causing him to feel a sudden tightness in his groin and break out in a cold sweat...

"Hey... Ryuka, we still have important business to attend to, don't we? What about those infiltrators? We can only leave with peace of mind if we catch them as soon as possible, right?"

"Haflene will take care of those things~ And even if we can't catch them, leaving them on the road is just a bit of fun~ Just like you~ My lovely little genius~"

Anja Berg was mortified and furious when Ryuka whispered "little genius" in his ear! Ryuka was younger than him! She should be calling him "older sister"! Even when he was toying with Melanie and Hetia, he would sometimes call them "older sister" in a deliberately sweet way! But he never did that to her!

The reason is simple: I look too young! Especially during puberty, Ryuka's height increased rapidly, and she's already taller than me, who's over 1.6 meters...

As she spoke, Ryuka played the video she had secretly recorded of Anyaberg the night before… On the cramped single bed in the train carriage, Anyaberg leaned against the bed, her eyes fixed on the crystal ball in front of her. It showed the stimulating scene of Ryuka spreading Hefren's thighs and thrusting into her! Anyaberg had one hand grasping her own breast, her fingers gently teasing the nipple, while her other hand held a new toy, trembling as she pressed it against her inner thigh. The red-haired girl was completely naked, only wearing white cotton socks on her feet, her secret self-pleasure clearly recorded! Even the way her pink vulva opened and closed, bubbling under the vibrations was clearly visible!

This shameful scene filled Anyaberg with utter humiliation and indignation. She turned her head away, refusing to look, but Ryusha's devilish whispers continued to mock her:

"It seems you've upgraded more than just the magic vehicle and magic armor with Ansel's gel—you've even secretly upgraded your own toys! This item shouldn't be on the materials expenditure sheet. Tell me honestly, how much have you secretly misappropriated?"

"Gurgle..."

Ryuka was right. When Anjaberg discovered that Ansel gel, when combined with other materials, could be used to create many different soft gels, he naturally thought of applying them to his own toys. This made those originally hard toys much more comfortable... and Ryuka also noticed this in the videos.

"I only used some scraps! How could I bear to waste such precious research materials!"

"Is that so, Adela?"

"Yes, my master!"

At Ryūsha's prompting, Adela rummaged through drawers and placed a small box in front of Anyaberg with a clatter...

It was filled with sex toys of all colors, seemingly from another era, yet which looked familiar to Ryuka...

"It seems you not only stole Ansel's gel, but also my design concept!"

Ryusha laughed with great interest, while Melanie looked on in astonishment as she picked through the items: pink soft rubber beads, vibrating toys of various shapes and colors, and all sorts of soft, harmless clips and restraints...

"Anya... how on earth do you manage to handcraft so many strange things while on top of your intense research and development work..."

"This isn't important," Melanie said, her eyes shining as she looked at Anyaberg and asked Ryusha.

"Ryuka, how about we try it all on Anya?"

"Waaaaaah!!! You guys try it yourselves! Try it on Adela! Stop bullying me!!!"

The thought of having to endure this for several more months filled Anyaberg with despair, and her legs involuntarily tightened...

Chapter 5 The Courage of Ordinary People

While they were playing and frolicking, Liu Xia suddenly changed her expression, reached out and flicked Anya Berg's nose, and then let go of her.

"I'll teach you a lesson next time."

Seeing Ryūka's sudden change, Melanie realized something:

"What's wrong? Is there a problem with Haifulian?"

Ryuu nodded. He had just received a message from Heflian in the Temple of Consciousness, which made him realize that this matter was not simple.

"One peak-level archmage, three peak-level grand knights. The tiny Bauhinia Kingdom has really gone all out this time. I wonder what they're planning..."

Ryusha gave a cold laugh and immediately prepared to go support Hafulen, not forgetting to give instructions to Melanie and Anyaberg:

"Drive the two vehicles onto the deck of the large ship as planned and secure them, ready to depart at any time."

"Don't you need my help?"

Melanie asked cautiously. Although Ryūka was a Celestial Rank expert, four peak Grandmasters were still a formidable force, especially since they came from a southern kingdom renowned for its magic and arcane arts. But Ryūka shook his head:

"I thought they were just some petty thieves I could easily deal with, but this is a bit of a surprise. However, if we were to fight seriously, they wouldn't be willing to fight me head-on, so don't worry..."

Ryūsha's main concern was that if a fight broke out at the port of Weihe, it would damage the town and port, affecting the reputation and business environment of the Sochi province. After all, no one wants to fight in a place that provides them with high tax revenue.

After saying that, the boy immediately went to the River Transport Association, where he quickly found the lurking Hafulen and her soldiers, as well as the chairman who had helped him secretly collect civilian ships the day before.

“Haifulian, Mr. President.”

Upon seeing Ryūka's arrival, the sweating president wiped his balding head and said to the young governor:

“Governor! You’re amazing! This morning, someone tried to bribe my men to find a few fast ships to leave the port! As you know, Miss Alvarez ordered the port closed, and you gave me extra instructions, so I couldn’t afford to be careless…”

Seeing the president rambling on and on, Haiflian quickly chimed in:

"President, please wait a moment... Ryuu, their group of twenty people are all soldiers from the Bauhinia Kingdom disguised as merchants. As I mentioned, there are four peak Grand Masters, and the rest seem to be experienced mages and knights. They are disguised as merchants from the south, and their goods, documents, and identities are all in order, especially with magic that conceals their presence. If they weren't in such a hurry to leave today, it would be very difficult to investigate them."

"It's good that we've found them now." Liu Xia waved his hand. As long as they don't fight in the town, these mere twenty people are nothing. But the key is to figure out why they wanted to sabotage his and the delegation's mission.

This mission is a normal diplomatic exchange between nations, and it has already been communicated to the entire world. The Bauhinia flower cannot prevent the delegation from arriving; otherwise, it would have been a very serious diplomatic issue. Ottomans, as an old empire, still wields considerable influence!

After careful consideration, Liu Xia concluded that there must be some conspiracy within the Bauhinia Kingdom that needed to slow their arrival. Perhaps it was preparation for war, or something else entirely, but whatever it was, figuring out the motives of the Bauhinia Kingdom's Queen Mother, who had seized power, was more important than capturing these twenty people!

Capture them and interrogate them? What if we alert them? There might be more than just these twenty people... Liu Xia pondered for a moment, then asked the president of the river transport association beside him:

"Mr. Chairman, they want to hire a ship, right? Do you have any way to secretly arrange for me to get on the ship?"

"Your Excellency, Governor?"

The chairman's eyes widened, but having been in this position for so long, he was well-versed in human relationships and had seen many business disputes. He immediately understood that Ryuka wanted to secretly infiltrate this foreign spy network!

The middle-aged man in his forties immediately became excited! He had lived most of his life working with fishermen and boatmen, or haggling in small businesses, and had never done anything worthy of praise! To risk his life for the Governor! To dance on the edge of a knife! In his mind, this was a sure thing, a chance to make a name for himself! Perhaps his deeds would one day appear on a sculpture in Sochi's city square, for his descendants to admire!

Even if the other party was a ruthless foreign spy, the Governor was a dignified Heavenly Rank official! Although he didn't know exactly how capable Heavenly Rank officials and Grand Masters were, he absolutely believed that Ryūka wouldn't let anything happen to him! Thinking of this, the Chairman's expression hardened, and he patted his chest, saying to Ryūka:

"Don't worry, Your Excellency! Leave this to me!"

……

"Are you sure it's okay? That chairman is just an ordinary person, to put it bluntly, not even a particularly honest person. He's only acting this way because he's seen you..."

As Hafulen spoke, she led Ryusha into an attic. From there, they could see the River Transport Commissioner heading towards a dockyard. There, the group Hafulen had mentioned was standing, seemingly trying to suppress their anxiety. She felt this behavior was suicidal; if anything went wrong, the Commissioner might be torn to shreds…

"Don't worry, ordinary people also have the ability to demonstrate their courage and wisdom and create glorious moments that they will remember for a lifetime... Don't underestimate any ordinary person." Ryuka slightly curled the corners of her mouth and looked at the group of 'merchants' that the president was heading to.

As Hafulen had said, they were indeed enveloped in a faint layer of magic. Apart from Hafulen and Ryusha, the other soldiers couldn't detect the subtle pressure emanating from them even when they came to check. The middle-aged man at the head of the group was chatting amiably with a boatman, while a veiled woman beside him impatiently crossed her arms, her slightly upturned white shoes tapping impatiently.

"That woman is a great mage, the leading man is a great knight, and the silent, burly man next to him who looks like a bodyguard, and the 'clever guy' behind him who is directing the people to move the goods, are also... Judging from the details of their movements, they are all veterans!"

Heflian pointed lightly to Ryukyu, showing him that from her vantage point, her elite knights were quietly surrounding and sealing off the area. But Ryukyu waved her hand dismissively.

"Let them retreat. With four senior officers and the rest of us, they can't handle the aftermath of the battle. Instead, we should trust the chairman; he'll handle everything..."

For Ryūka, his subordinates were not expendable resources, especially with the territory rapidly expanding and abundant supplies. These elite soldiers were all promising talents; as long as Ryūka could guarantee them a supply of resources commensurate with those of minor nobles, most of them could rise to high-ranking positions in the future! It would be such a pity if they died on the eve of dawn…

"Understood……"

This kindness and care shown to her soldiers was one of the reasons why Hafulen held Ruka in such high esteem. She gestured to the soldiers below, signaling them to quietly withdraw…

"Now, let's see how the student council president performs..."

Ryūsha said calmly that he and Hafren had already installed listening and communication devices on the River Transport Commissioner, allowing them to communicate remotely even though he wasn't one of Ryūsha's core followers. Meanwhile, the ordinary middle-aged man who had volunteered to serve the Governor was angrily charging towards the group of disguised Bauhinia soldiers, shouting at the bribed boatman!

"Hey! Cole! Who are these people! Who told you to bring them here!"

At the guild leader's angry shout, the boatman who was communicating with Greg shuddered! Seeing that it was the guild leader, his guilty conscience pricked him, and he stammered an explanation:

"Mr. Chairman, they...they are businessmen..."

"Of course I know they're businessmen! I'm not blind!"

The president roared angrily, showing none of the obedient demeanor he displayed in front of Ryūka and the others. His appearance immediately put Greg and his group on alert; several of them began scanning their surroundings for observation points, subtly adjusting their stances and shoulders to prepare for a burst of power. But the president's next move put them at ease:

"How many times have I told you! If you take on jobs privately again, you're fired from the guild! Damn it! You don't even want to pay your 20% guild fee! Cole, you're a real son of a bitch! If it weren't for your father, I would have kicked you out long ago!"

Having said that, the guild leader immediately adopted the expression of a shrewd businessman, scrutinizing Greg and his group as if they were several fat sheep, and asked in an arrogant tone:

"Ah, esteemed merchants from afar, our Lady has ordered the port closed. All ships are prohibited from setting sail, as a group of petty thieves dared to damage the Governor's vessel. Even if your situation is urgent, you will likely have to wait in Weihe Port for a week."

His arrogant demeanor actually made Greg lower his guard. The chairman's words had clearly conveyed the following information to him:

First, he still thought they were a group of ordinary merchants. Of course, a middle-aged man who was neither a magician nor a knight could not see through their disguise.

Second, he knew the boatman he had bribed, and it was clear that Cole had been secretly doing private work behind the guild's back more than once or twice, but the guild master still turned a blind eye, or rather, he only cared whether Cole had handed over the guild's share.

Third, this fool didn't report to the guards after discovering their group, indicating he didn't believe they were involved in the ship sabotage. Instead, he seemed intent on profiting from them; after all, it's common for merchants to bribe local checkpoints and soldiers to allow passage, fearing disruptions to their travel plans. As the president of the river transport association, he was probably already used to such things.

Thinking of this, Greg forced a smile, secretly shielding Monica, who was already looking displeased and ready to kill, from view. He rubbed his hands together and smiled at the president:

“Your Excellency Chairman! We know that! But if this shipment is delayed, my employer will kill me! You know the rules of the South; we cannot disobey our employers or clan leaders. And if I lose my job, who will take care of my three wives and children!”

"Ah~ three wives~ you're truly enviable, but judging from your appearance, it's not surprising. I wish I had the chance to go to the South too~"

The chairman, with narrowed eyes, spoke slowly and deliberately with Greg, showing no intention of dismissing them or releasing them. This kind of behavior often meant he was about to accept a bribe…

But bribery is an art, especially for people who are used to having a little power. You not only have to satisfy their greed, but also their desire for face.

Greg immediately adopted a generous demeanor, tentatively approaching the president, and after seeing that he did not flinch, boldly put his arm around his shoulder:

"Oh, President, what are you saying! You're quite handsome yourself! If you were where we were, you could easily have five wives! No! With your magnanimity and respectable status, six would be perfectly fine!"

"Is that so? I heard that in your area, the maximum number of men is four, isn't that right?"

“That’s just in name only.” Greg’s eyes darted around, and he laughed heartily. “You know, sometimes young and beautiful female slaves and maids are more obedient and more enjoyable than wives. Chairman, rules are rules, and facts are facts… right? Nobody’s going to turn down pleasure…”

Greg cleverly steered the conversation to this point, taking the opportunity to slip a money pouch from his sleeve and push it into the chairman's hand.

"Please, kind sir, if this shipment can't be delivered on time, my three wives will become the master's slaves. I beg you..."

That's right, rules are rules, and facts are facts. When the chairman saw the heavy money bag and listened to Greg's intriguing story, his eyes lit up, and he smacked his lips. No one could doubt his shrewdness!

written request for leave

I need to take a day off.

Chapter 6 Secular Transactions

Greg, with his impressive height, squinted at the short, stout Ottoman beside him, confident that the river transport chairman would not refuse his persuasive tactics. However, to his surprise, the chairman, after hesitantly accepting his money pouch, neither relented nor put the pouch in his pocket.

“This…” The president raised his eyes, asking Greg’s name with a pleading look. Greg immediately replied with forged identification:

“Marcus, President, just call me Marcus.”

“Ah, Mr. Marcus.” The chairman nodded in satisfaction. “Money is certainly a good thing, but I’m more interested in what you were talking about earlier… You know, merchants from your southern countries used to have very prosperous businesses. Of course, times have changed, and you’re doing well now too, but what you just said makes me miss your old ‘goods’…”

"Old goods?" Greg blinked, initially not understanding what the chairman meant by 'old goods'. But seeing the chairman's somewhat probing and suspicious gaze, he quickly realized.

"Ah~ you mean that one!"

Greg couldn't help but curse inwardly, "What a cunning and greedy fellow!"

The so-called 'old goods' refer to the slave trade!

Even though Otto was a unified empire, and despite occasional small-scale internal wars and the poor being sold into slavery, the rate at which slaves were produced was far slower than in the chaotic and conflict-ridden southern kingdoms. And the slave trade was the most prolific business of the southern merchants…

Especially Greg, whose appearance was reminiscent of southern slave traders who used to trade in Otto. Unfortunately, after the Ryukyu gradually banned the slave trade, they were cut off from their source of income in Sochi. It wasn't until the Ryukyu helped to revitalize the workshops in Sochi that they discovered that transporting in-demand goods from Sochi back to the south to sell to their own people was far more profitable than buying southern slaves to come here!

After all, slaves still need to eat and drink, and they might die on the way.

“Yes, that’s right.” The president looked at Greg, who seemed to have suddenly realized something, and smiled with narrowed eyes. “You know, no matter how eloquently you put it, someone my age no longer has the opportunity or the courage to venture south…”

In the end, it all came down to women! This made Heflian, who was eavesdropping from afar, roll her eyes and mutter in Ryūka's ear:

"What on earth is he doing! Wasn't he supposed to get you in there? Why can't he get away from these low-class topics?!"

Seeing Haifulian's disgusted look, Ryuka couldn't help but curl the corners of her lips into a smile:

“Arguing and bragging about money and women is the most common way for men to ‘get to know each other’… The more they do this, the less these Bauhinia people will doubt the ‘authenticity’ of the chairman. Besides, the chairman might be using this method to dispel their concerns.”

"Their concerns?" Haiflian was completely bewildered. "What do these Bauhinia spies have to worry about? Logically speaking, shouldn't the River Transport Commissioner be the one worrying about these people who want to bribe the boatmen and himself?"

"You said they were spies. If you were a spy, would you so easily trust a river transport association president who suddenly appears at the bribery scene, isn't afraid of being easily bribed, and even wants to stuff people onto their boat later?"

Ryūka watched with great interest the guild master in the distance, an ordinary man who, with decades of worldly experience navigating the complexities of life, was managing to hold his own against a group of dangerous foreign spies. This made Ryūka realize that a person's power and influence had absolutely nothing to do with their ability to use martial arts or magic!

"Besides, if they really are genuine southern merchants, they must have been involved in the slave trade. After all, we've only been in Sochi for a year. This group sees the chairman's question as a test of their identities. Let's wait and see. I believe that since this chairman has volunteered, he can definitely do it..."

Ryuga glanced at the River Transport Commissioner and Greg in the distance. After answering the Commissioner's riddle, the latter laughed awkwardly.

"Our trading company does indeed engage in this kind of trade, but thanks to your governor, this business is no longer possible in Sochi. Perhaps you could..."

Greg chuckled and pulled out another tempting gold coin, far more substantial than the silver and copper coins in his purse. This greedy guild master was asking him for female slaves—where was he supposed to get those?! Although this shady business still existed in the border region between Sochi province and other territories, even with Greg's elaborate disguise, he couldn't actually establish connections with slave traders from other areas.

The guild leader didn't take the gold coin. Instead, his eyes darted around, and he smiled at Greg:

"There aren't any in Sochi, but there are outside of Sochi, right? Beyond Raven Ridge, all these businesses are legal further south! Mr. Marcus, if you bring me a charming southern woman next time you come, not only will I be happy to help you with this matter, but I'll also be more than willing to lend a hand with your business in Sochi in the future!"

"Well, a good quality slave isn't cheap... Tsk! Alright! I'm in a hurry to leave! I still have some influence with my colleagues in other places! I'll definitely pick one that will satisfy you!"

Greg forced a pained expression and reluctantly agreed to the chairman's request. After all, it was just an empty promise; once he was on the ship and left, who would remember what conditions he had agreed to?

"That's good, that's good!" The guild leader chuckled and pushed the money pouch back, as if his own wish had been fulfilled and this small amount of money was insignificant. But his next words made Greg's expression change!

"I'll arrange for my nephew to come with you later. He can help me vet the candidates—and it'll be good for him to broaden his horizons."