Chapter 43

Early in the morning, we quickly head to the port. However, as we board the ship, Logg suddenly says, "Gerrald, we cannot go to Lunas at our usual speed."

"Huh? Why?" I inquire.

"Well…"

Logg looks away from me, and I glance at his daughter. Lun releases a sigh and says, "He forgot to press the recharge button last night, so we can't go at full speed."

"Right. I guess that's okay. We only need to go to Lunas and deliver the food. We can use the crystal when we get back home," I say.

"Hear that, old man?! We're not in trouble! He won't say anything to Mom, right, sir Gerrald?" Lun exclaims.

I smile and nod. "That's right. Don't worry. I'm not a snitch. I'll tell Kisara about this. Also, Lun, please call me Gerrald."

"See, pops?! Gerrald is not a snitch," Logg says, laughing as he pats my back. "You're an alright guy, Gerrald. Anyway, come on! We need to get to Lunas quickly."

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|3rd POV|

Haswar Falena, Sialeeds' older sister and Freyjadour's aunt, gazes out of the window with worry. Her niece is now the puppet queen of the country, with Godwin holding the leash. Meanwhile, her little sister and nephew are battling the traitor who killed her older sister. They are embroiled in a war, and as a sister and aunt, Haswar is deeply concerned for their well-being.

Not only that, she is also anxious about the people under her care. Lunas is not an agricultural city; it is a city for worship. Consequently, the city imports food instead of producing it. Recently, they have had to ration their food because the Godwin family decided to starve them to death.

By her calculations, their food will only last for another week or two if they manage to ration it even more. Without any help, they will starve, and Haswar cannot help but agree to crown Godwin as ruler in exchange for food.

She does not want to do that because other nobles would support Godwin due to this arrangement. However, she needs to consider her people as well. They are relying on her, and she does not want to disappoint them.

She knows that her nephew will be doing okay in this war, but if she agrees to crown Godwin as the ruler of this country, it will make the fight even harder for her nephew. She does not want that.

"Lady Haswar! Lady Haswar!"

Haswar snaps from her thoughts and turns around. She can see one of the servants panting. She helps him get up and says.

"What is it? Has Godwin decided to attack?"

"No! It was not it, my lady! A group of people arrives in front of our city, and they are not from Godwin. They are from the Loyalist Army! They are coming here to meet you. They ask me to give you this letter."

The servant gives her two letters, and she opens one of them. She widens her eyes when she reads the letter. She knows this handwriting. This is Sialeeds' handwriting. She looks at the servant and says,

"Where are they?"

"They are on the other side of the bridge, my lady!"

"Invite them immediately."

"Yes, my lady! I will inform Sir Isato immediately."

Haswar looks at the letter in front of her and smiles a little. Sialeeds' letter is about how she and Freyjadour are doing fine and how the people delivering the letter are good people who will help Lunas with their problems.

After waiting for a couple of minutes, Haswar can see a group of people get inside the room. She knows the father and daughter duo because they are caught trying to get gold from this place even though it is forbidden to try to mine any gold in this area.

However, she didn't know the rest of the people.

"Please take a seat and tell me who you are."

Gerrald nods his head and says.

"My name is Gerrald, and the reason why I come here is because I know you guys are short for food. Is that right?"

Haswar nods her head in sadness and says.

"That is right. We are short of food, and after reading Sialeeds' letter, I know you have a solution."

"I do."

Gerrald takes out a massive stack of rice bags and says.

"This is a small portion of it. I have more than enough food to feed your people for more than three months."

"How much? I need the number."

Gerrald nods and says.

"I have within me more than fifty-five tonnes of rice and forty tonnes of wheat."

"That… That is a lot."

"Yes. I'm willing to sell them to you at a lower price."

"Not giving them?"

"Sadly, I'm a merchant. Not only that but there are people that depend on me to make a profit for them.

Haswar looks at Gerrald for a few seconds before something clicks inside her head.

"You are the Loyalist backer. You are the one financing them."

Gerrald only nods and says.

"Yes. So, how about it?"

"Depends on the price."

"I'm willing to sell the rice for two hundred and twenty Potch per kilogram. I will sell the wheat for two hundred and fifty Potch per kilogram."

Haswar looks at him in shock. The price Gerrald put is half of the market price in the northern region of Falena. Without hesitation, Haswar nods her head and says.

"I agree with this price. I will take thirty tonnes of rice and twenty tonnes of wheat. When can you take them all?"

Gerrald puts his hand on the stack of rice bags next to him and says.

"Whenever you are ready. Take me to your storage to unload all of the rice and wheat bags."

"Follow me."

Haswar takes us to the storage room in the basement of the castle, and Gerrald unloads all the rice and wheat bags Haswar orders.

"Each bag has twenty kilograms of rice and wheat inside of it. The rice on the left and wheat on the right."

"Thank you. That will be six million and six hundred thousand Potch for the rice and five million Potch for the wheat, right?"

"That is right. Eleven million and six hundred thousand Potch for all. You know what? Let's round it to eleven and a half million."

"Thank you. However, you did not need to do that, you know? We can pay them. Lunas might not look like it, but we have a lot of money saved in our vault. Did you also have other things?"

"We have some vegetables, dried meat, and fish."

"Give us dried meat as well."

=/Line Break/=

In the end, Gerrald manages to sell thirteen million worth of goods. Haswar not only buys rice and wheat, but she also purchases some dried meat, sugars, and salts from Gerrald.

"Thank you so much for your help, Gerrald."

"Don't worry about it, Lady Haswar. Also, I'm selling you stuff, not giving it for free."

"Fufufufu~ Of course~ You are not helping us~"

Haswar winks and Gerrald can only sigh. However, he widens his eyes when he sees Haswar hugging him. He hugs her back, and after a few seconds, Haswar releases her grip.

"Thank you, truly."

"No problem. We are happy to help."

"While you are here, can I ask for a favor?"

"Can you go to Haud Village to the east? Because they are under Lord Barrows' wing, Godwin also gives them the same treatment as us. Can you sell the rest of your goods to them?"

"I don't mind."

Gerrald looks at Logg, who shrugs.

"I don't mind. We can visit Haud Village before we get back to Estrise. However, we need to stay there because we will arrive a few hours before the sun goes down."

"I don't mind."

Gerrald looks back at Haswar and says,

"We will help Haud Village."

"Thank you so much."

After saying their goodbyes, Gerrald and his companion go to Haud Village to assist them. While on the boat, Gerrald feels a connection between him and Chiyome flare up. He lets it flow through and hears his servant talking inside her mind.

'Lord Master.'

'Chiyome, is there something you need?'

'Lord Master, I'm inside the Sun Palace, and I can grab the Sun Rune. Should I do that?'