Darkstone Code

The issue of the Saintess is also one of the most embarrassing problems in Nagariel, and the entire society is avoiding these issues.

There is a very distorted set of values at the lower levels of Nagariel society. They place great importance on chastity, yet at times they appear very open, which is quite contradictory.

The Saintesses have long served the gods and have already lost their chastity. Over the years, they've been serving various gods, and generally, families do not want their children to marry such women.

At the same time, the families willing to marry such women do not have enough capital to support them.

These Saintesses have become accustomed to doing nothing all day. In the temple, they would consume various drugs and be in contact with various scriptures all day long, losing even the most basic ability to work.

Nagariel is not an affluent or developed country; as long as one person in a family has a job, they can support everyone.

Here, every member of the family must work together to maintain a normal life, and those willing to marry these Saintesses are usually poor men—willing, but unable to afford it.

In the end, these women can only become wives of several men or simply go to places that operate in the trade of flesh. Some people are interested in these Saintesses who have served the gods, which is also the choice for most of them.

They can continue to maintain the lifestyle they've long been accustomed to in those settings, without worrying about living until the day they are completely discarded.

The parade floats gradually moved away, and the parked cars on the roadside started again. The awe and curiosity in the eyes of the people on the roadside gave everything here a strange and twisted feeling.

After he arrived at the hotel and rested for a while, Asir brought over the "bill" during dinner.

It was clear that his mental state had improved significantly. Lynch's words in the car played a good role, and he started to return to work.

"Mr. Hassana is asking for one hundred thousand Galliers for each leopard-lion skin and one million Galliers for each living leopard-lion!"

At the official exchange rate, one hundred thousand Galliers is about two thousand five hundred Federation Sol, but at the actual exchangeable rate, only one thousand two hundred Federation Sol is enough.

One million Galliers is twelve thousand Federation Sol—a tenfold difference. No wonder Hassana was furious; those hunters indeed caused him a significant loss.

Lynch looked over these bills, casually tossed them back, and said, "Tell him that's impossible. Reduce each demand by a zero; that's our baseline. Of course, if he's willing to accept payment in bonds, it can be appropriately increased, starting at twenty percent of his quoted price."

This unprocessed, unbranded, un-showcased raw skin isn't valuable in itself; what's valuable is the added value it has in the commercial society.

Hassana and the others can't imbue it with this added value, so it's only worth this price!

Asir quickly took notes; this was his primary job. After solving this issue, he picked up his notebook to start discussing the upcoming schedule.

Throughout Magulana Province, people have been inviting Lynch for inspections. Mayor Mikhail is asking when Lynch would have time for a sit-down discussion.

Additionally, some merchants sent various samples hoping Lynch would take the time to look at them, ideally to meet face-to-face with Lynch.

After browsing through these items, Lynch decided to first have a chat with Mayor Mikhail.

The next morning, with the enthusiastic and attentive service of the Police Station Director, Lynch enjoyed the wonderful feeling that privileges bring.

On the "empty" road, only his convoy rolled along; people stood on the sides, and regardless of whether their eyes reflected fear, curiosity, or hatred, they all bowed their heads at that moment.

In the crowd, a child looked up at Lynch sitting in the luxury car. Lynch also noticed him; one look filled with innocence and curiosity, the other calm without even a ripple, they stared at each other across not a very far distance.

This gaze lasted less than three seconds when a woman with a terrified expression reached out and pressed the child's head down. The emotion on her face seemed to plead with Lynch not to punish them for a child's innocence.

Seeing the woman's nearly tearful appearance, Lynch withdrew his gaze as if nothing had happened.

The convoy quickly drove away, and people clustered together again, with the complex emotions in their eyes fading quickly—this is their life.

Mikhail's house is located in the city center. In the Federation, people would rather live in the suburbs but develop the city center land into commercial areas, which means immeasurable wealth.

Here, however, the city center represents not wealth, but status.

Whoever can live in the city center is a respectable person with status in this city, and only the lowly refugees live outside the city's perimeter.

This also made the journey filled with "fun" not seem so long. In less than half an hour, Lynch was sitting in the back garden of Mikhail's house.

The excellent gardener filled the place with a variety of blooming flowers, creating a stunning contrast to other areas of the city.

Surrounded by blooming flowers and natural fragrances, a maid brought tea and snacks for the two of them.

The local tea, unlike the popular floral teas in the Federation, was primarily about aroma. The tea here was very sweet, with a lot of honey added. After taking a sip, Lynch had no further interest.

Mikhail took a big gulp of tea from his cup, added some more, put the teapot down, picked up a piece of pastry, and said while chewing, "These past few days, many people have been asking me what industries you're planning to invest in here, where you'll build the factory, and when you'll start construction..."

Lynch watched him as crumbs of pastry fell on his clothes. He didn't seem too concerned about his own image at the moment. "The people are eagerly waiting for some good news, but after several days without any new updates, they're getting restless."

He swallowed the pastry in one go, clapped his hands, and continued staring at Lynch, "Shouldn't we do something? You need to make people here know you're here to do business, not to hunt!"

There was a noticeable change in Mikhail's attitude. Just a few days ago, he was somewhat "soft," but now his attitude has changed somewhat, primarily because of the Provincial Governor's sons.

Whoever is more outstanding will likely take the position of the future Provincial Governor. While it may seem there's little difference between a Provincial Governor and a Mayor, it's actually quite significant.

The sons of the Provincial Governor can easily command Mikhail to do things he might not wish to do, and he can't resist. His family wouldn't go to war with a local emperor for his sake. They are more likely to replace Mikhail with someone obedient, hence his change in attitude.

For the Provincial Governor's sons, turning Lynch's assets into their own has become a test. The brothers have started their actions in tacit agreement, thinking Lynch would be as easily taken down as those merchants before.

Lynch looked at Mikhail without saying a word, just staring at him.

His calm gaze made Mikhail uncomfortable. He lowered his head, using the pretext of brushing off pastry crumbs to avoid Lynch's gaze, softening his voice slightly, "Only when the flame burns the strongest can the water in the pot boil, just like people's enthusiasm. There are more advantages to acting now than later. You should understand what I'm saying."

Only then did Lynch slightly nod his head, "I understand what you're saying. But how is the city's power grid capacity?"

Mikhail was momentarily stunned, quickly regaining his composure, "We… can meet your electricity needs!"

"But what you said gives me a feeling that it's quite reluctant!"

When Mikhail spoke, there was a moment of hesitation. Nagariel mainly relies on thermal and small hydropower. Currently, their power generation can meet the city's electricity demand, but if there's a massive increase in consumption, the city's power grid will face severe challenges, as will the power generation capacity.

Mikhail seemed unwilling to be looked down upon by Lynch. He shook his head slightly, "No, we can shut down electricity in some areas to primarily supply your electrical demand. So, do you already have some ideas about factory construction?"

Lynch picked up a piece of pastry from the table, broke off a corner, and put it in his mouth. Very sweet. The people here seem to have a blind pursuit of sweetness.

"A raw material processing plant, a smelting factory, but before that, I must have someone survey where there might be iron mines."

"I will place the factory in the mining area to save a lot of costs. Furthermore, there's a factory to produce some tools we'll be using extensively next."

"These all take time. If you expect me to wave my hand and produce a factory, employing countless people, you might as well pray at the Temple than discuss this with me!"

Lynch's attitude can't be described as strong, but neither is it weak, just as Mikhail expected.

Young people are always reluctant to back down, even in Nagariel. Sometimes young people have foolish ideas of challenging authority.

"Since you have plans, we should spread the news to reassure people. There's also something else you must know..."

Mikhail looked Lynch in the eye again, "Are you planning to leave here soon?"

Lynch nodded, "I plan to return to the Federation next week. I bought some things from Mr. Hassana. I need to send these back, and at the same time, deal with some backlog there. This situation of running back and forth will become regular in the future."

Mikhail nodded noncommittally, "Mr. Lynch, although I am reluctant to mention this, some people have not lived up to the enthusiasm of the Nagariel people. To avoid some negative influences, I suggest you make some statements before you leave!"

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①, Raw leather/fur prices are very low. A whole raw cowhide costs around two to three hundred, but turning these things into finished products can range from a few thousand to tens of thousands. The added value isn't in the manufacturing process but in the brand value of the trademark.

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