Public Library 3
After the grand opening of the Dry City Public Library, two days flew by without anyone's notice, but the place still remained bustling. During this period, more than 6,000 inhabitants of the city visited this building, and there were constant queues in the vicinity of the library.
And while the citizens of Dry City took advantage of this new service, visitors to Yellow City were also super excited to move here. With that, they could pay the annual tax of 1 low-grade crystal and get their identification array to access the library.
Because of this, after learning the library's rules, those visitors who were still getting to know the city left in a hurry to return to their hometown.
They no longer wanted to waste time and were in a hurry to bring their families to Dry City as soon as possible.
...
Meanwhile, the two old friends who came from Yellow City also found out about the rumor regarding this library and were now walking through Dry City streets as they were engaged in a conversation.
"Ehh, it looks like this Minos is even more impressive than we thought. I've never heard of anything like this before!
Even the royal family of the Kingdom of Waves, one of the strongest factions in this region, would never grant access to their Blue-grade techniques to the common population!" Old Lance remarked with a serious look on his face.
"Hmm, it's going to be worse than I expected it to be... Hehe, at this rate, it is only a matter of time before the whole Yellow City gets completely abandoned. It definitely can't compete with that." the old alchemist responded while forcing a smile on his face.
He had no objection to moving to Dry City, but he was still amazed by the 'aggressive' measures that the young sovereign of this place had taken.
Did he want to raise the strength of his population without needing them to remain as his subordinates? Or was he just so confident in his own strength that he wasn't afraid of getting opposed by so many people?
After all, retaining Blue-grade cultivation techniques was a measure to consolidate power in the hands of the dominant families in the north of the Central Continent. That was mostly because these families possessed very few Black-grade techniques that they could only keep for their lineages.
Therefore, what mostly defined regional power were these Blue-grade techniques!
If a significant number of cultivators with Blue-grade techniques decided to rebel... Even the most prominent families in these impoverished parts of the continent could be completely wiped out!
Though a cultivator with better techniques could deal with numerous enemies at once, if the number of enemies was too high, it would only be a matter of time before the cultivator would be facing defeat. This was the reason why the noble families generally retained most of their techniques to avoid civil war.
"Hmm, I was thinking about letting my grandson take over this time, but it looks like I'm going to have to make the first contact. Otherwise, another person from the Kingdom of Waves might form an alliance with him before we could," Lance expressed with a concerned look.
For the old merchant, this library and the agricultural development in Dry City, together, could attract the entire population of Yellow City in just a few months. Not just that, it would not be long before other regions would also start receiving news about this. So, if he didn't take the initiative at this moment by taking advantage and meeting Minos, then he could only regret it in the future for missing out on such a big chance.
"Why don't you come back while bringing your grandson along with you?" Edric asked curiously, and after a moment, he then continued, "I am sure that Dry City will still be a few months away from undergoing major changes."
"I know that, but little Todd is already traveling to the Cromwell Kingdom to participate in the Spiritual Tournament, so he should only be returning in about seven months," Old Lance replied proudly. His grandson possessed a Black talent and was at level 38 while just 18 years old, and it wouldn't be long before he surpassed his grandfather's level.
"Oh! I almost forgot about that. I hope he performs well in the competition. He can have an even better future after that," Edric gave a laugh as he massaged his mustache with a smile on his face.
After talking all the way to Minos' mansion, the two old friends finally stopped as they entered the busy place. Currently, there were people coming and going in droves throughout the day.
After all, the mansion was the center of operations, which not only controlled the army, but the farmers, the library, the city administration, and also the spiritual academy.
So, having a constant flow of a few hundred people coming and going throughout the day was very typical for this place now.
After inquiring the soldiers on guard at the mansion for directions, the two old men soon eventually arrived in the area where Minos' office was located.
At this point, there was almost no movement in the atmosphere, with only a comfortable waiting room with sofas and decor that could offer solace to the passersby. There was also a reception desk staffed by a young woman with a voluptuous figure.
That woman was, of course, Mia.
Upon noticing the two old men arrive in the room, Mia soon put aside her work and came to receive them, "Hello, welcome to Dry City government mansion. How may I assist you?"
"Hm, hello, young lady. We wish to speak with the regional sovereign. My name is Lance Cohen, and this is my friend, Edric. We came from the Kingdom of Waves, and we believe that there are several opportunities for our business with this city."
Lance spoke politely, without any hint of arrogance, knowing that it would only make things worrisome for the reason he had come here for.
"Oh, I see. Let me inform the young master and see if he can meet with you right now," Mia replied before turning around and leaving for Minos' office.
...
"Young master, regarding the development of the base..." a soldier was speaking when Mia, as usual, barged into the room and went to Minos' table.
"Young master, I'm sorry to bother you, but there is a person from the Kingdom of Waves seeking a meeting with you. He claims that he has potential business opportunities with our city."
Upon hearing this, Butler Dillian, who was also present in the office, smiled and said, "Haha, that was pretty quick."
"Oh! Then, that's it..."
After that, Mia informed the names of these two visitors to Minos and then walked out to escort them to Minos' office.
The young Stuart was always eager to make new allies!
A few moments later, Minos dispatched the soldier who was responsible for overseeing the construction of the base on the coast of the Black Plain while waiting for the arrival of the two old men.
Soon, a man with a white beard and another with a mustache and white hair entered the room.
Upon noticing how young Minos was, the two could only look at each other as none of them could hardly believe their eyes. They expected to find a young adult who would roughly be around his mid-20s, but from the looks of it, this sovereign was even more younger than Lance's grandson!
After staring at Minos for a brief moment of shock, Lance finally tried to fix himself by stirring his beard and said.
"Cough! Nice to meet you, Mr. Minos. We heard about you for the first time in Yellow City. I just didn't think you would be this young!"
"Hmm, the pleasure is mutual. I already expected a reaction like this... But anyway, what business brings you here?" Minos inquired with curiosity.
Considering that these old men had probably already explored Dry City, there were many possibilities for their visit. Still, Minos was not certain what their intentions were, thus, he was curious about these two.
"Getting right to the point, I like it. There are numerous possibilities, you see. I can supply items required for spiritual arrays, herbs, and medicines for alchemists, I can also help sell your products in the Kingdom of Waves, etc," Lance gave a brief response.
"I see... regarding selling my products in the Kingdom of Waves, this might take a few years to happen since I am already supplying another region. And I am not able to expand elsewhere anytime soon," Minos responded.
For obvious reasons, he didn't want his harvests to be sold in the Kingdom of Waves as it might attract some unwanted attention, besides, Elen's deal was already going to provide him much.
"But my city certainly needs an array shop or a blacksmith workshop, among other things. We need more alchemists too, and of course, the necessary resources for that as well."
Lance grinned as this was his opportunity, "So, that's it. Here's the proposal, we can open a store in your city, where the population or the government itself can purchase and order all of these items.
As for bringing array masters here, this might not be an easy task. I recommend that you visit the Kingdom of Waves and negotiate directly with the array masters.
Our kingdom has many experts in this field, so I am sure that you can find someone who agrees to make a deal with you and come to this region."
"Oh, that's good!
Having a store in our city can make things easier for us. As for visiting the Kingdom of Waves, I will definitely do so in the future," Minos replied, agreeing with the idea.
After that, the group continued their conversation for a while, with Lance introducing Edric as an alchemist. Upon learning this, Minos immediately extended the same offer to Edric that he had made to Davis.
After all, he knew that Devis alone would not be able to suppress the demand for pills in this ever-growing city. And when he heard Minos' offer, Edric immediately accepted it, being very happy that he had come along with his friend Lance.
Otherwise, no one in Dry City would be willing to do business with him due to the price difference being truly huge!
With that, it was agreed that the Cohen family would open a store in Dry City which would be specialized in offering a range of items related to alchemy and arrays for sale and even various orders.