The carriage jolted along the road, and the scenery outside the window gradually became familiar.
His Blackstone leaned against the carriage window, half-closing his eyes, his mind still replaying today’s encounter with Ai Lin.
Although the outcome wasn’t too bad, after so many years, the first impression he left on her this time they met again was really not good.
How should he approach her…
“Hey, hey, hey!”
Ni Wei, sitting across from him, spoke again.
His Blackstone opened his eyes and found the girl staring at him with a scrutinizing gaze.
“What is it now?”
“You haven’t said much since we got on the carriage, and you’ve been frowning.”
Ni Wei’s tone was a bit sour.
“You’re not still thinking about that woman, are you?”
“No…”
“Hmph!”
The girl turned her head away, staring out the window, but her hand gripping her skirt unconsciously tightened.
“I’m serious. It was a complete misunderstanding between me and her.”
“Why are you explaining to me? I don’t care…”
“…”
‘Why does explaining make it more troublesome?’
Forget it, let her think whatever she wants.
After days of getting along, His Blackstone had summarized some rules for communicating with Ni Wei.
***
By the time the carriage entered the Duke’s Mansion’s gates, the sky had already darkened.
The lights of the mansion were scattered like stars in the night, and from a distance, it gave His Blackstone an indescribable warmth.
“The young master is back!”
The guards at the gate rushed to greet them as soon as they saw the carriage.
Before the carriage had even stopped, a figure quickly ran out from the mansion.
“Young master, you’re back! Why did you take so many days?”
Seeing His Blackstone jump down from the carriage, Rafina Falier’s face instantly blossomed into a smile.
“Mm… stayed a few extra days in the royal capital.”
Feeling the girl’s almost undisguised joy, His Blackstone’s heartbeat skipped a beat.
“You’ve worked hard these days. Is everything all right at the mansion?”
“Everything is fine, young master, no need to worry.”
Rafina Falier bowed slightly, then turned her gaze to Ni Wei, who was getting off the carriage behind His Blackstone.
“Ni Wei, did you have fun these days?”
“Mm…”
Ni Wei replied softly and walked over to Rafina Falier’s side.
The two sisters exchanged a glance, and Rafina Falier’s gaze soon settled on Ni Wei’s ears.
“These earrings…”
Rafina Falier was slightly stunned.
The emerald-green gems emitted a soft luster under the lights, giving Ni Wei a bit of an aura she hadn’t had before.
“Very pretty.”
Rafina Falier praised sincerely, reaching out and gently touching her sister’s earlobe.
“Did you buy them in the royal capital?”
Ni Wei instinctively glanced at His Blackstone, her cheeks slightly flushing.
“It was… Master His Blackstone bought them for me.”
Ni Wei herself didn’t notice that her voice involuntarily rose a bit when mentioning this.
Like a child who couldn’t help sharing a beloved toy.
His Blackstone stood to the side, his mouth twitching.
‘This girl, why is she suddenly showing off?’
Rafina Falier looked at her sister’s smug expression, and the smile in her eyes deepened.
“Really pretty, it suits you.”
“Of course.”
Ni Wei lifted her chin slightly.
“Master His Blackstone really has good taste.”
“?”
“Alright, let’s head inside first.”
His Blackstone spoke up, interrupting the sisters’ conversation.
“Young master, I’ll prepare some supper for you.”
“Sure, I am a bit hungry.”
***
In the dining room, a few simple dishes had been set on the table.
His Blackstone sat in the main seat, and Rafina Falier very naturally sat to his left.
Ni Wei glanced at her sister, hesitated, then sat down on His Blackstone’s right.
“Young master, have some soup.”
Rafina Falier ladled a bowl of soup and gently placed it in front of His Blackstone.
His Blackstone picked up the bowl and took a sip; the delicious taste made him squint in satisfaction.
“Mm, although the dishes in the royal capital are good, your cooking, Rafina, really suits my taste.”
Hearing His Blackstone’s praise, Rafina Falier seemed greatly encouraged and spoke up:
“Then… would young master like another bowl?”
“Sure!”
Ni Wei, sitting across, saw this and silently picked up a piece of meat and placed it on His Blackstone’s plate.
“Hm?”
His Blackstone looked at the meat on his plate, then at Ni Wei, stunned.
‘What is this girl up to?’
“…Eat.”
“Uh… thanks?”
His Blackstone picked up the meat and took a bite.
Ni Wei secretly glanced up at him, confirmed he ate it, then her mouth unconsciously curled up, and she quickly buried her head and continued nibbling on bread.
After dinner, His Blackstone took a refreshing bath, washing away the dust of the journey, then collapsed onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep.
The multi-day trip had made him feel the fatigue of travel.
He slept until noon the next day.
When His Blackstone came to the study after lunch, he found Florin had already arrived at some point.
“Young master.”
Florin nodded to His Blackstone.
“Mm, tell me, what happened these days?”
His Blackstone walked around Florin and sat in the large chair behind the desk.
“The domain’s affairs are mostly running normally, and the mines have been fairly peaceful recently. As per your instructions, we have mined quite a bit of gray crystal.”
At this point, Florin adjusted her glasses.
“When does young master plan to put these gray crystals to use? After all, those mines can’t produce anything else besides gray crystal. Now the Duke’s Mansion has to pay the workers’ wages but can’t make money from the mines.”
“Don’t worry about that, I’ll figure something out soon.”
“Alright, I’ll follow young master’s arrangements.”
Florin changed the subject.
“There’s another thing I think you need to pay special attention to, young master.”
“Speak.”
“Recently, while I was visiting a few towns around the domain, I noticed that the Church of Light’s activities have become much more frequent than before.”
Hearing the words “Church of Light”, His Blackstone frowned slightly, his expression becoming serious.
“They’ve been recruiting all kinds of people into the church recently. You should know that’s not a good sign.”
“Mm…”
His Blackstone tapped his fingers lightly on the desk.
“Alright, I understand. Anything else?”
“Nothing for now. Oh, right, young master.”
Florin paused.
“You must have seen the old master during your trip to the royal capital, right? How was it? Did it go smoothly?”
“It went fairly well. I managed to get some financial autonomy from the old man.”
“That’s really great.”
There was a note of relief in Florin’s tone, as if she was genuinely happy for His Blackstone.
“I’ll take my leave now, young master.”
“Mm.”
After Florin left, His Blackstone leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling for a while.
The Church of Light is starting to recruit people en masse…
Come to think of it, in the original game, the description of the Church of Light as an organization was very sparse.
But for some reason, ever since he awakened his previous life’s memories, he always felt that this church was up to something…
Just as His Blackstone was pondering, a familiar string of text appeared in his vision.
[Today’s Flash Report! Shock! A certain red-haired mercenary has gradually become a core member of the Church of Light! Isn’t this a kind of life’s comeback?! For details, pay 3,000 gold coins to unlock.]
Red-haired mercenary?
Is it news about Feng Aotian?
Speaking of which, during his last direct contact with her, His Blackstone discovered that for some reason, Sijina Kalundina, who was supposed to become the Hero, had actually become a member of the Church of Light.
“Pay!”
His Blackstone chanted in his heart.
[The Church of Light’s new member, Sijina Kalundina, has recently been recommended to participate in the Church of Light’s special training program at the church headquarters. It is rumored that High Priest Sailasi will personally meet with the outstanding trainees of this program.]
This…
Looking at the intelligence provided by the system, a hint of doubt arose in His Blackstone’s heart.
This Feng Aotian, why is she getting more and more tied to the church?
What exactly is the Church of Light’s background…
It seems he’ll have to investigate properly.
His Blackstone let out a light sigh, then clapped his hands.
“Li Nuo Er!”
The emotionless girl appeared silently in front of His Blackstone.
“During the time I was away, were there any suspicious people near the mine?”
“There were, young master, there were.”
“Hm?”
His Blackstone secretly felt relieved that Florin indeed hadn’t noticed the abnormality at the mine, and he was glad he had arranged for Li Nuo Er to watch over it.
“What kind of people?”
“All kinds of people, mercenaries… villagers…”
Li Nuo Er counted on her fingers, seriously recalling.
“But after they were caught, they all admitted that they were sent by the Dawn Trading Company.”
“Dawn Trading Company?”
Another organization of the Church of Light?
It can’t be that coincidental, can it?
Could it be that they also know about the gray crystal?
If that’s really the case, then he really needs to implement the gray crystal industry chain as soon as possible.
“Alright, I understand. Keep watching that area for the next few days. For now, go to the town and bring Molis here for me.”
“Yes, young master.”
The emotionless girl nodded and disappeared from the study.
His Blackstone didn’t idle either. He grabbed paper and pen from the desk and began writing down the gray crystal smelting process according to the information provided by the system.
***
“Young master, you called for me?”
“Mm, you should know that I recently acquired some mines and mined quite a bit of gray crystal from them, right?”
“Yes, young master.”
Molis scratched his head.
“Young master, to be honest, this gray crystal really doesn’t sell for much. I’m afraid we don’t have much room to maneuver.”
“Who told you to maneuver? First, take a look at this.”
Saying so, His Blackstone pushed the paper with the gray crystal smelting process to Molis.
“Young master, this is…”
Molis squinted, trying hard to see the trick in it.
“It’s okay if you don’t understand. Didn’t I also acquire a few closed shops? Arrange to have all those shops turned into blacksmith forges as soon as possible, and find me a batch of reliable blacksmiths.”
“This… will this work, young master?”
This was the first time Molis doubted His Blackstone’s words.
“If I tell you to do it, just do it. Why so much nonsense?”
“Yes, young master!”
Perhaps sensing that His Blackstone’s tone had become a bit impatient, Molis agreed repeatedly, then turned and quickly ran out of His Blackstone’s study.