Chapter 182
Chapter 182: How About It? I Got It Soon! (2)
The man enjoyed the gaze directed at him and spoke in a relaxed voice.
“I am Glen from the Tower of the Bloody Flame. I will purchase all the food available.”
Upon hearing his identity, people looked even more surprised.
The Tower of the Bloody Flame is currently regarded as the foremost mage tower in the North.
Moreover, Glen himself is quite famous. As a mage who has reached the 6th Circle, he was responsible for the external affairs of the tower.
Glen looked around, as if to say that this was sufficient.
Indeed, the others could only swallow nervously, unable to speak.
“Offering 1 gold for a bag of wheat? They say it’s the best tower in the North, but they truly have money to spare.”
“Crazy bastards! What are we supposed to do if we buy at that price? Are they bragging about being rich?”
For the impoverished territories of the North, it was a price they simply couldn’t match.
They were trying to hold out until the next harvest by purchasing food, but if they bought at that price, their territories would be bankrupt before the harvest even came.
However, the mage tower, having a relatively small population and overflowing with funds, had plenty of leeway.
Glen, endowed with all authority from the tower, continued confidently.
“Oh, I heard there are Runestones available. We’ll buy them all too.”
At the mention of Runestones, others’ eyes glinted with greed.
“Did that rookie noble really have Runestones?”
“Ah, I should have taken them earlier.”
“Ugh, such treasures are in the hands of this punk. What a waste. Truly a shame.”
Others were also aware of the Runestones. The nobles who had heard rumors back then were all pondering how to take them.
While Ghislaine was trading only with the tower, most didn’t consider it an unfounded rumor either.
Of course, when they heard that Marquis Branford had become Ghislaine’s guardian, everyone gave up.
Glen waited for Ghislaine’s response, a smirk pulling at his lips.
“Right now, food is of utmost importance. Over time, you won’t be able to get it even if you have money. I should also see how many Runestones are left. I can always reclaim the money later.”
While it wasn’t openly admitted, the Tower of the Bloody Flame was raised by the Duke Delphine Faction.
Naturally, Count Desmond knew that he would eventually strike against Ghislaine, so he had no hesitation in spending.
Excluding his relationship with the ducal family, Ghislaine was quite the annoyance from the perspective of the Tower of the Bloody Flame.
“The Tower of the Bloody Flame is still holding on. It’s clear that this brat is providing Runestones.”
They were pouring considerable funds into strangling the Tower of the Bloody Flame in a bid to bring it down.
But how could the Tower still be operating when they had no idea where it was obtaining Runestones from?
As Ghislaine chuckled at the murmuring crowd, he thought, “These guys are really funny.”
The Tower was bound to receive any necessary support from the Duke’s family anyway.
Even so, they shamelessly came asking to sell food and Runestones.
Indeed, they were impressive in many ways.
“They’re probably trying to secure as much food as possible, while checking the remaining amount of Runestones.”
Having fallen into the trap of Runestones, it would surely be a bitter pill to swallow. They would want to seize every last bit.
Ghislaine squinted and surveyed the crowd.
“There are quite a few of you.”
There were quite a few unseen tails of the ducal family, like the Tower of the Bloody Flame’s.
Those who had already made deals with the duke’s family, those whose retainers had all switched sides without the noble knowing, or those merely testing the waters, among others.
After naming all the territories related to the Duke’s family, including the Tower of the Bloody Flame, Ghislaine said, “I won’t sell food to these territories, so everyone should go back.”
Of course, Glen and the named territories all wore expressions of surprise.
Without negotiation on prices and a promise to pay them several times over, they were being told not to sell.
“What do you mean by that? Why won’t you sell to us?”
“Please tell us the reason!”
Even with protests filling the banquet hall, Ghislaine shook his head.
“Go back, don’t ask why. It’s my pleasure. Take them out.”
As Ghislaine gestured, knights rushed in and dragged away the named individuals.
The reactions of those being taken away varied. Some threatened while others appealed to emotions.
“We will never forget this! You will surely regret it!”
“It seems you rely on Marquis Branford, but we’ll see how long that lasts!”
“Please, I’m begging you! The territory residents are starving!”
“Have mercy for the poor people!”
Listening quietly, Ghislaine couldn’t help but snort at the mention of “the poor people.”
The nobles of the barren North were infamous for their cruelty. Selling food to them would never reach the territory residents.
They were likely only worried about keeping their armies maintained to prevent the starving territory residents from revolting.
To them, territory residents were no different than slaves.
Despite Perdium being poor, they had managed to hold on until now because Zvalter had not exploited the territory residents.
Knowing this well, Ghislaine was not swayed by such appeals.
The envoys who were named were all dragged away, but Glen pushed aside the knights’ hands and stood his ground, speaking defiantly.
“Hey, Baron! Are you currently disregarding the Tower of the Bloody Flame? Do you truly not know who I am?”
A fierce aura began to emanate from Glen, the mage who had reached the 6th Circle.
Overcome by rage, he decided to use force to pressure them.
Who dared stop him, the head elder of the foremost mage tower in the North?
“Ugh!”
The envoys around him were startled by his intensity and quickly retreated.
Boom!
With an evil spirit-like expression, Glen took a step forward.
In that instant—
Clang!
Belinda, Gillian, and Kaor suddenly appeared, their swords against Glen’s throat.
At the same time, the knights blocked the door to the banquet hall, everyone unsheathing their weapons and surrounding him.
Claude quickly hid behind Wendy.
“Ugh!”
Glen’s heart, which had been boiling, suddenly turned cold.
Perhaps due to his overexcitement, he hadn’t even noticed the presence of the three approaching. If it had been a battlefield, he would have lost his head on the spot.
“There are… such powerhouses in Penris?”
He had heard that it was a territory lacking in military force, with no proper knights. Yet when had they gathered such strong individuals?
The three, who had swords pointed at Glen, looked at Ghislaine and spoke.
“Young Master, may we kill him?”
“Lord, just give the word.”
“Hey, did everyone see? I was the fastest, right? I mean, I’m so awesome, aren’t I?”
Glen could only stiffen and bite his lip.
He could feel the clear urge to kill. If he took just one more step, or even twitched a finger, it was clear he would lose his life.
“T-these crazy bastards dare…”
He had never seen anyone behave this way towards the elder of a mage tower.
As his rising rage made him tremble, the sound of Ghislaine’s raucous laughter reached his ears.
“Do you want more? I’m merely an illusion, you know. Plus, there are many witnesses around.”
Those words snapped Glen back to reality.
Having been humiliated like this for the first time, he was far too excited. If he had really acted, it would have caused significant trouble.
Not now. They were the hidden dagger of the duke. They couldn’t be revealed to the Crown Prince Faction in this battle.
If he acted rashly based on personal judgment, he might lose his head to the duke at any moment.
“Huff…”
Taking a deep breath to calm his emotions, Glen glared at Ghislaine.
“Our tower will never let this pass. Be prepared, Baron.”
“Look forward to it.”
“I will make you regret this.”
With that, Glen turned to leave.
After all, Count Desmond was planning to strike this territory. At that time, he vowed to help end Ghislaine’s life.
Mages never forget a grudge. They would make this brat feel the terror of mages deeply.
With more than half the people kicked out, and Glen leaving, the remaining people began to exchange confused glances.
“What just happened? Why were those people chased away?”
“Why are we left behind?”
“Daring to go against the foremost tower in the North! This guy truly has guts!”
Not knowing the criteria for being dismissed made it natural for them to be confused.
The one clear point was that negotiations were impossible with this crazy bastard who didn’t consider diplomatic relations at all.
Watching the anxious faces of the crowd, Ghislaine spoke softly.
“The atmosphere turned briefly unpleasant. In fact, I’m quite soft-hearted. Thinking about how many people are starving in the North, it breaks my heart, making it hard for me to sleep. I’m… a pacifist, you see.”
Hearing that, the people thought.
‘Is he really insane?’
‘Then why did he chase those people away earlier?’
‘I had heard rumors about him not being in his right mind, but I never imagined it would be true…’
An awkward silence fell. Breaking that silence, Ghislaine continued.
“So, I won’t accept money.”
Everyone was taken aback. Right now, food was as valuable as gold. No, it was difficult to even offer gold to purchase food.
Yet to say he wouldn’t accept money?
One person, hesitantly sensing the situation, asked lightly.
“So, then are you thinking of exchanging for other resources from the territory?”
The Penris territory was also well-known for its resource scarcity, so that seemed a strong possibility.
But Ghislaine shook his head at that question as well.
“No, I won’t accept resources either.”
Hearing this, the expressions of the remaining people brightened. If he wouldn’t accept money or resources, then all he would offer in return was interest and love.
‘This guy’s quite impressive. He seems to be soft-hearted while pretending to be tough at first.’
‘Oh, he’s cute, probably because he’s young.’
The envoys concealed their true thoughts while thinking freely.
‘For now, we just need to get food. As for defense costs, we can ignore them.’
‘As long as we can hold out through this drought. We’ll fix his habits later.’
‘Right now, it’s just fortunate that we’ve accumulated some food. Do you think you’ll continue to thrive like this? The world is not that easy-going.’
The envoys suppressed their laughter, their cheeks twitching. At that moment, Ghislaine casually said.
“I will take soldiers instead of money. Each territory needs to send an appropriate number of soldiers according to its size.”
The faces of the envoys turned pale in an instant upon hearing that.
