Surviving The Fourth Calamity

Chapter 224: Chapter 46: The Elf Princess Who Came to Seduce William_2

William couldn’t help but sit up straight and took a close look at King Noah, ”You could go pray at the Temple of Time and Space yourself, that’s something only the deities can decide on.”

”I used to think that this king was cooperating with the Noble Temple for more benefits,” Adrian slumped on the sofa, ”but now it seems like he thinks the Noble Temple isn’t to be trifled with, and he obeys to avoid risking his life. William, on the other hand, could survive as long as he’s shameless enough.”

”Even though he’s a coward,” Fran commented, ”at least he’s a passable king.”

He looked at Hill’s disapproving expression, ”To many people, slaves aren’t considered human. The fact that he cares about the lives of ordinary citizens is already commendable.”

”King Noah,” William began somberly, ”opening up Noah’s Northern Border for the Undead to fight demons is helping you clean up your lands. It does not compensate for the trouble you’ve caused me.”

”Of course,” King Noah straightened up, looking at William happily, ”as long as we can do it, we will definitely satisfy your wishes.”

Looking down from his position of power, William said, ”Noah must pay half the cost for rebuilding the Alchemy Factory.”

”Impossible,” King Noah’s head shook like a rattle, ”one fourth is already Noah’s limit.”

”Is this money only coming out of your pocket?” the Chancellor took over the conversation, ”The Great Nobility should also contribute half, shouldn’t they?”

”Noah now,” the King Noah said with a wry smile, ”is almost broke.”

He spoke candidly, ”Getting rid of those bloodsuckers also came at a high cost.”

”You could compensate with slaves,” the Chancellor suggested with a smile.

”What would Saral need slaves for?” King Noah exclaimed with wide eyes, ”To free them again? Your Majesty doesn’t need to please the deities that much, right?”

”During Saral’s recent rebellion, many former slaves in the factories turned a blind eye,” the Chancellor couldn’t care less about his country’s scandals leaking, ”His Majesty the King has no interest in giving them a second chance.”

They will be sent to Cortez to work the fields for the king.

The slaves from Cortez and those from Haifasardo have already been sent to Saral, all arranged to farm the lands on both sides of the capital.”

Adrian took a sharp intake of breath, ”Weren’t the original slaves in the factories well-trained? Isn’t this wasting years of effort?”

”It’s fine,” Fran nodded, ”The main workforce in the factories was always the ordinary citizens of Saral. The king used those slaves for convenience and to give them some visible benefits. After all, most of them were directly owned by the Royal Family, and they probably lived even better than ordinary people before.”

”Now, if all these people are sent to farm the fields, there’s no ground for complaint,” Adrian shook his head helplessly, ”How can they be so foolish? Was living on their knees really that great?”

”Their children will hate them for it,” Hill lamented sincerely.

Adrian nodded in agreement, ”Harming both themselves and others.”

”Then why still ask for Noah’s slaves?” Hill looked at the screen, puzzled at King Noah’s actions, wondering if he was genuinely clueless or just haggling?

”Those people might become restless once they get to Cortez,” the Prime Minister of Saral said calmly, ”but Noah’s slaves will be more willing once they arrive.”

”That is true,” King Noah said laughing, ”Life in Noah isn’t so grand. Maybe it’ll be better if a whole family is together, right?”

Yes, he was bargaining.

A minister standing behind King Noah quickly stepped out and joined the finance minister who came out from behind the Chancellor, to discuss the cost of rebuilding the Alchemy Factory and the number of slaves.

Hill sighed. The Elf Princess, seeing that William would rather negotiate with King Noah than pay her any attention, had actually taken out a table, placed some fruits on it, and sat back in a chair to drink juice.

”These fruits, are they all special produce from the Elf Forest?” Adrian wondered, ”The type that’s hard to grow outside? But you could still buy them with money, right? Does she think that His Majesty the King cannot have them?

But he is a deity of the Space Series!”

”Nothing special, just need the Wood Elemental Spirits that’s all,” Hill said nonchalantly, ”I’ve already got the seeds, and since these grow slowly, they’ll be in my valley by next year. I’ll send some to grandpa and you then, or you could come pick them yourself.”

”Call me when they’re ripe,” Adrian said with a smile, ”I really want to see what these fruits look like on the tree.”

Hill nodded.

”She’s trying to attract His Majesty the King’s attention,” Fran suddenly spoke up, ”Not that she’s truly foolish.”

Hill’s eyes widened as she glanced between the screen and Fran.

”Elf girl, do you know how old she is? How many times she has embraced love?” Fran said with a bitter smile. ”To them, the Goddess of Love is but a naive girl who understands nothing.”

Hill scratched his head and took another careful look but still didn’t get the feeling.

”Her sitting posture, the way she drinks water, though subtle, are all carefully crafted,” Fran said distantly, ”When I met your grandmother, she was part of a unit that included pure Elves. They didn’t get along with her.”

Hill and Adrian both clamped their mouths shut, daring not to move, hoping to hear the rest of this gossip.

”Your grandmother specifically told me about the various small expressions and actions elf girls use to catch a lover’s attention.”

However, Fran showed no intention of sharing the specifics, only indicating that the princess was employing those same gestures and expressions.

This time, Hill really sighed. He wasn’t stupid; why would his grandmother tell Fran all this? It must have been that Elf who didn’t get along with her that seduced Fran!

Such good gossip, and she didn’t go into detail! Leaving it hanging like that made him and Adrian itch with curiosity to know the whole story.

Fran ignored the two men’s meaningful glances. ”What do the Elves want to do with this? Is this princess really from the Royal Family?”

He shook his head. ”No, that’s not right! A princess of the Elven Royal Family should have blue hair.”

At this moment, the ministers, who had been arguing in a huddle, seemed to have reached an agreement.

The Chancellor had already walked up to report to William.

Watching William nod lightly, he turned and said, ”After the agreement is drafted, it will be sent for everyone to review once more. If there are no issues, it will be officially signed under the witness of the God of Commerce and Contracts.”

The Chancellor glanced at the diverse expressions of the foreign ministers, ”His Majesty the God of Time and Space will only witness the signing, not interfere.”

He cast a sidelong glance at the Elf Princess before he began, ”The second item on the agenda today is the explanation of the fallen deity incident by the Dwarf Kingdom and the Elf Forest.”

With an arrogant shift of posture, the Elf Princess seemed to have no intention of standing up, merely hinting for the Dwarf emissary to speak first.

William frowned and tapped a finger on his throne, and the princess’s chair and table vanished.

The princess stood up briskly, seemingly unaffected by the sudden disappearance of the chair, and it showed no sign she had just been leaning back in it.

”His Majesty William seems quite unsparing of the girl,” the Elf Princess said, abandoning her previously haughty demeanor, smiling as if nothing had happened.

”The third persona,” Fran commented softly, ”She’s trying to test what kind of woman His Majesty the King likes.”

”Can you tell that?” Hill felt as if his world was maybe a little too sheltered.

”Behind her, there must be Elves specializing in studying His Majesty’s behavior,” Fran shook his head slowly, ”They still look down on humans after all!”

Fran, looking at Hill and Adrian staring at him, chuckled, ”That’s in the King’s Hall, right at the heart of the Royal Palace, which serves as His Majesty’s third eye, omnidirectional at that.”

”So this Elf Princess isn’t the protagonist?” Adrian suddenly exclaimed, ”Couldn’t be that the real Royal Princess is about to come, could it?”

As they chatted, the Dwarf emissary had already approached the front of the hall.

”The greatest main god of the Dwarves, Moradin, has denounced the God of Smithing and the God of the Gray Dwarves as desecrators. And he no longer recognizes them as members of the Dwarf Deity System.”

Hearing the familiar name, Hill was a bit surprised; Moradin, the Dwarves’ main god—was it the same name in all worlds?