Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

The unexpected turn of events came from an unexpected person, namely the loyal subordinate (self-proclaimed) of His Excellency the Blood Wolf, the most trusted assistant of the lord of Iron Peak County and Vernge County (according to others), Winters Montagne's mouthpiece in the upper echelons of Maplestone City (which is not untrue), a young outsider gradually beginning to be respectfully addressed as "Excellency" (absolutely true) — Little Priskin.

Little Priskin appeared at Winters' residence, originally to use his once-per-week "right to audience."

At some point, everyone around His Excellency Montagne began to subtly or not-so-subtly push their way in front of him.

And the less overlap someone had with him in official matters, the more fervently they pushed.

Take Little Priskin for instance, if Winters didn't order otherwise, he could "face the Excellency" three times a day, wishing he could live right under "Excellency's" watchful eyes, causing Winters much annoyance.

So Winters simply ordered Little Priskin to only see him once every two weeks unless it was an emergency.

After some pleading from Little Priskin, it was changed to once a week.

But Winters gave a clear definition for "emergency": as long as Winters deemed Little Priskin's matter not urgent, it wasn't urgent;

and if Little Priskin used an insufficiently urgent matter as an excuse to visit, Winters would have Xial and Heinrich beat him up.

With these rules in place, Little Priskin became much more obedient and didn't run to Winters' house every few days like before.

Just the day after the Iron Peak County all-officer meeting, Little Priskin came to Winters' house again, using his sacred and inviolable "right to audience."

Though he came every week, Little Priskin actually didn't have any major matters that needed reporting to Winters in person.

He talked about the sale situation of various Iron Peak County products in Maplestone City, then as usual, lingered in Winters' living room, chit-chatting, refusing to leave directly.

In the past, Winters would have already personally shown him the door.

But today was special; although the person who should have left wasn't leaving, the one Winters had been hoping for finally came.

"Mr. Priskin." Anna walked out from the kitchen with a silver tray, politely serving a cup for Little Priskin and pouring a drink from the cup into the saucer: "It's really wonderful to have someone trustworthy like you to help him in Maplestone City."

Little Priskin was flattered and hurriedly picked up the saucer but didn't dare to drink; instead, he kept glancing to the left.

To Little Priskin's left, on the largest soft sofa in the living room, Winters crossed his arms, his face darker than the bottom of a pot.

Winters' residence had no hired servants; the service soldier and guards were only Xial and Heinrich—and both had been sent away today.

So when the "uninvited guest" paid a visit, Anna took it upon herself to entertain the guest.

If only Winters was home, never mind the precious drinks from the Far East, Little Priskin wouldn't even get a sip of water, or else he'd linger for at least another half hour.

The male host showed no hospitality whatsoever, just sat there with a stony face, saying nothing.

After arranging the cups, Anna gracefully returned to Winters' side, sitting close and calmly entwining her arm with her lover's.

"Drink up," Winters finally spoke: "Drink more."

That's what he said, but his eyes clearly conveyed: "Get lost, get lost, get lost..."

Little Priskin couldn't just leave. He had received advice from a wise man to come resolve Blood Wolf's problem.

"I heard," Little Priskin said cautiously, holding the saucer, "that the bumpkins of Vernge County are blind to the benefits of your Meng Plough?"

"Oh? It's reached Maplestone City already?" Surprisingly, Winters wasn't angry when someone struck a sore point; he picked up his cup, took a sip including the residue, and grinned: "No need to sugarcoat it, completely ignored."

The Blood Wolf smiled, but Little Priskin only grew more frightened.

"Oh, he thinks too simply," Anna took the cup from Winters, gently filtering the liquid into the saucer: "Though ploughs are necessary, precisely because every household needs them, every household already has them. Like furniture, once a family has it, even if outdated, they won't easily replace it."

The "Madam" had a kind of special appeal in her voice, making people feel refreshed and unconsciously calm.

With the "Madam" beside him, Little Priskin wasn't as nervous as before, unlike past solo meetings when his mind went blank and only after leaving did he remember what he meant to say.

"That's how it is," Little Priskin nodded gratefully, then braced himself: "But it's more than just that."

"Oh?" Anna displayed a puzzled look at the right time, allowing the conversation to continue.

"It's not merely because ploughs are large items not easily replaced. It's also that as long as they're used, they need sharpening and repairing."

Little Priskin didn't dare to directly gaze at the Madam's pretty face, so he stared at the cup and awkwardly said:

"So, the bumpkins... local farmers buy ploughs from local blacksmiths because they not only need ploughs, but need blacksmiths too. Hence, the local blacksmiths treat the plough business as a monopoly. You're essentially competing with local blacksmiths by selling ploughs. When common people buy Your Excellency's plow and need repairs, local blacksmiths won't even bother."