James stood on the bow of the ship, looking at Sakura City. Many of the ships came into view, and most of them were better than the ship that he was on. (The bow of a ship is the front part, designed to cut through water efficiently. It's crucial for navigation and stability at sea.)
"Their boats are very good, as expected of a city that thrives on trades, but they're just brainless and corrupted nobles that only care about money."
James thought about what Lucas had told him to do, and he couldn't help but sneer. "Ha! Enjoy your current noble life as much as you can right now. Your life will be hard in a few days."
"Sir, we're about to get to the dock." An attendant said, going over to James's side to ask for instructions.
"Okay." James nodded. "Tell them to stick to the plan and be careful to not get caught. You will feel my wrath if you ruin the Young Master's plan."
"Sir, rest assured. We aren't going to commit any crimes. Instead, we're actually doing good. No one will come to catch us. Besides, even if they do catch us, we can just deny the fact that we know nothing." The attendant said lazily.
"You might as well change your name to Slacker." James said angrily.
"He he… that's fine. Then I'll be Slacker from now on." The attendant said, smiling.
"Get lost." James said in an angry voice while rolling his eyes.
"He he…" Slacker laughed, taking several people with him. After their ship got docked they all disappeared into the crowd. He didn't think what Lucas was doing was a bad thing. After all, they were there to recruit some commoners to work in Sedona City, and Sedona City's salary was extremely high. Slacker had never seen a city lord that was as generous as Lucas.
He knew that most of the commoners couldn't get enough food to eat and thought that only idiots would turn down such a good opportunity. They also spread the news that Sedona City was willing to take in beastkins and will treat them fairly.
They were both good deeds in Slacker's mind, so he didn't understand why James was telling him to be careful.
Humans were also a type of resource. If a noble learned that a noble from another city was trying to bribe the people in his city, he would probably start a war.
Unfortunately, Slacker couldn't understand that with his limited knowledge. He was just a small delinquent in Sedona City who would steal small amounts of things. Well, he had some conscience and would only steal from the big families and not the poor commoners.
One day, Slacker decided to go and steal something from the city lord's Mansion, but he easily got caught by James just moments after he snuck inside the gate.
James looked at Slacker disappear into the crowd and couldn't help but think about the time when he had caught Slacker. After he had reported this matter to Lucas, Lucas didn't ask him anything and just told James to do what he wanted with Slacker.
James had thought that Slacker was quick-witted and had some conscience even though he was a delinquent, so he made Slacker his attendant.
"Come on, let's go into the city." James said, waving his hand and going into Sakura City with a few servants. He had come here today on an important mission, which was to use the information on the horse thieves' attack time and plan as a bargaining chip to negotiate with Sakura City's city lord. Ben had recommended him to Lucas to be the person to take on the mission. James and the servants made their way towards the city lord's castle after asking for the way.
They quickly reached the castle and asked the guard to tell the city lord that he was from Sedona City.
Sakura City's City lord quickly summoned James.
Sakura City's city Lord was a fit person. He was not like his son who was fat. He was having his lunch after finishing the official matters. These days he was very worried because he got the news that horse thieves will soon attack his city.
"Greeting city lord, I am James. I have been sent by Lord Baron Lucas of Sedona City. This is the letter from him." James said in a very good manner.
"Alright. Bring it up." The city lord said to one of the servants.
A servant immediately went over to take the letter and hand it to Sakura City's city lord. Sakura City's city lord wiped his oily hand on his clothes. He was not like this but the tension of being attacked by horse thieves anytime stressed him out. He took the letter and started to read it. He frowned more and more as he read the letter.
James's eyes slightly widened seeing Sakura City's city lord wiping his hand on his clothes. That's not like the behavior of a noble at all. He seems more like a commoner.
"What?" Sakura City's city lord rapidly stood up as he finished reading the letter, and glared at James. "Does your lord really know where the horse thieves come from? And even know how they plan to attack Sakura City and the time of the attack?"
"Of course. I believe that Lord Lucas had mentioned that in the letter." James said confidently.
"How can I believe what he said is true or false?" Sakura City's city lord asked, killing intent flashing through his eyes. He was trying to get some information out of James.
James just smiled in response, saying, "It depends on what you think. Whether or not you believe it is up to you, right?"
Sakura City's city lord closed his eyes, his breathing quickening. He thought of how the letter had mentioned that the horse thieves numbered about 500 people.
That number of horse thieves put him in a difficult situation. He had previously gotten hold of the news that the horse thieves were going to attack his city, but he had only been able to form a militia of about 100 people. The leather armors hadn't even been manufactured yet. He was in a very desperate situation and all the cities which were nearby Sakura City had turned down his request for help. Only Sedona City helped him by selling leather and hide which was why he was listening to James.
Sakura City's city lord took a deep breath and exhaled. "What's Baron Lucas's condition for telling me the horse thieves' plans?"
Those worse made James relax a bit. He quickly started to tell him what Lucas had told him. "Lord Lucas heard that you have 2 large ships-"
"What?" Sakura City's city lord cut James off before he could finish. "Large ships? And 2 of them? Don't even think about it."
"City Lord, don't you think that it's worth it to use 2 large ships to get Sakura City through the calamity?" James asked, smiling.
"No way. I can at most give 2 medium-sized ships. You should know that I only have 7 of them. There is no way I will give you large ships." Sakura City's city lord said, waving his hand. Large ships were the foundation of Sakura City. His ancestor had bought the large ships from a city at an expensive price. Every year, the 2 large ships helped him bring in tons of wheat from other cities. They were the reason that Sakura City became so prosperous.
"That… alright, fine," James said, showing a reluctant expression. Lucas had told him that when negotiating, he should act as if they were the ones making a loss. James gave Lucas a thumbs up in his heart. This city lord's reaction is the same as Young Master had predicted. Two medium-sized ships, easily obtained.
"Here, this is the letter from the horse thieves. It includes their attack plan and the time of the attack." James said, taking out another letter.
Sakura City's city lord hurriedly took the letter and quickly read it. His face became paler and paler as he read the letter. After he finished reading the letter, he said in a trembling voice, "I will add two more medium-sized ships and ask Sedona City to aid Sakura City in this tough situation. I will never forget your help."
"Sure, the knights will come after the ships get to Sedona City." James said, his eyes smiling for a moment. Everything matched up with what Young Master Lucas said to him. In his heart the respect he had for Lucas increased even more than before.
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