The beautiful, youthful girls from the Royal City have become something of a minor sensation in Harbor City these past few days, their names occasionally mentioned in the streets and alleys.
Among the five of them, Ella is the most recognizable—not just because of her ample chest, but also because she’s often appeared in public lately.
As soon as she arrived, someone recognized her:
“Hey, isn’t that pink-haired girl from the Church of Light… the… the… what was it again?”
“Saintess!”
Someone nearby replied.
“No, the blonde one is the Saintess,” another person corrected.
“How can you not recognize such an obvious feature?”
“What? But I remember on the day of the sermon, even the Saintess listened to her. So what’s her status, then?”
“Shh, let’s hear what she has to say.”
At this moment, Ella raised her loudspeaker, her sweet and soft voice ringing out:
“Everyone, people of Harbor City, greetings! We are envoys from the Royal City. The Kingdom is planning to intensify the development and construction of Harbor City, and has specially sent us to conduct an inspection. Thank you for your support and cooperation over these past few days.”
She started by revealing her official status—backed by authority, her words carried weight—and instantly quieted the crowd.
Developing the city?
That sounded like a good thing.
“Also, my name is Ella.”
With the groundwork laid, when the girl introduced herself, some people instinctively clapped, giving the scene a somewhat ceremonial feel, as if welcoming a visiting leader.
Ella patiently waited for the applause to die down—not that it was very enthusiastic, just a smattering that faded after a few seconds—then continued:
“After a period of investigation, we’ve found that Harbor City has an excellent location, outstanding natural conditions, and a rich humanistic spirit, meeting all the basic requirements to become a major city. However—”
That “however” made everyone’s hearts clench.
“Due to an accident the day before yesterday, a small problem has arisen.”
“What small problem?”
“Miss Ella, please tell us, we’re sure we can solve it.”
“Yes, we definitely can.”
Solve it, my foot.
Ella muttered inwardly, her beautiful face showing a trace of sorrow, stirring sympathy: “The day before yesterday, our respected workshop master Dagon passed away. Those present at the time probably saw it—a powerful, unidentified Siren launched an attack at the scene. The truth behind the incident is still under investigation. For now, the reality we face is that we have lost a master craftsman forever.”
At that moment, Celes, who was waiting under the platform, couldn’t help but whisper, “What if Dagon suddenly jumps out and says he’s not dead?”
They had only slain Governor Kelu, while Dagon had escaped.
“Oh right, I almost forgot.”
Leah quickly turned to Zero and said, “Ella asked me to pass a message to you: if Dagon shows up, you go up and deal with him—say he’s a Sea Demon Priest in disguise.” Celes frowned, “Will people believe that?”
“Ella says she has a way to make someone look suspicious after death.”
Well, as long as there’s a plan, even if you don’t know the details.
Zero, however, didn’t care about that issue at all.
What she cared about was—“Ella asked you to pass the message? Why didn’t she tell me herself?”
Leah didn’t notice the slight change in the assassin girl’s eyes and replied casually, “Probably too busy, didn’t get around to it.”
“…Alright.”
The crowd, meanwhile, didn’t have much of a reaction.
The death of the workshop master was indeed a pity, but that was about it.
Dagon had always lived a reclusive life in Harbor City, usually only interacting with apprentices.
More people knew Ami than knew Dagon.
He’s dead, huh. What a shame.
Let’s have a moment of silence.
“Mr. Dagon was a Master Craftsman of Harbor City. His death is a tremendous loss,” Ella said, feigning grief.
“Fortunately, we have found his personally taught disciple, so hopefully his skills have not been lost and can continue to shine for Harbor City… Ami, young sir, they haven’t been lost, have they?”
Only then did everyone notice the young man standing below the platform, also holding a copper loudspeaker.
Hearing the young lady’s question, he hurriedly raised it and replied, “No, most of them haven’t.”
“May I ask, what small part has been lost?”
Ami hesitated for a moment, met the countless eyes around him, and uttered three words: “Pearl Oyster!”
He had long since memorized these lines, not missing a single word—the only problem was that some parts were rather hard to say aloud.
“What?”
Ella quickly asked the question on everyone’s mind.
“It’s just simple processing—cleaning and polishing—how could that be lost?”
“It’s not that simple. Cleaning and polishing aren’t the key. The most important step lies in Master’s unique technique.”
Ami recalled what the young lady had told him, braced himself, and said, “During polishing, Master would sweat profusely, using his sweat to draw invisible patterns on the shells. He told me that was the core of why Sirens used them as ritual items.”
Of course, this was all made up by Ella, but it made sense.
After all, pearl shells, which could be found everywhere on the beach, shouldn’t become hot commodities among Sirens just because of a simple cleaning and polish.
As for the effect of saying this.
“My goodness, is that true?”
“So you’re saying the Pearl Oyster coins are covered in his… hand sweat?”
“No wonder they’re so smooth.”
Some people were already subconsciously feeling a bit of aversion towards the precious currency they carried in their pockets every day.
But this was just the appetizer—the real point was coming.
Ella took a deep breath and said, in an unbearably heavy and pained tone, “Folks, the last thing I ever wanted to see has happened. As Ami said, Dagon alone possessed the unique secret technique for making Pearl Oysters. His death means—we have lost the ability to issue this currency.”
The crowd began to stir. Some seemed to realize something, while more people hadn’t figured it out yet, only sensing that something big was about to happen.
Ella clapped her hands, pulling everyone’s attention back: “After several days of investigation, we’ve found that there are still many, many Pearl Oysters in the world—so many that you couldn’t use them up in a lifetime. But unfortunately, they’re all in the hands of the Sirens. As you know, for decades now, the Sirens only take in, never give out, hoarding enough Pearl Oysters to rival the wealth of nations.”
This time, the crowd was in complete turmoil.
“All in the hands of the Sirens? There won’t be any new ones in the future?”
“How can that be? Doesn’t that mean they have more wealth than all of Harbor City?”
“What happens when we run out? Will we have to work for them?”
Hearing the voices around her, Celes recalled what Ella had said before going on stage: people only crave wealth, but wealth does not equal currency.
The essence of currency is credit, and credit is, in fact, very fragile.
She looked up and watched as the beautiful, pink-haired girl fished a gold coin from her pocket and tossed it high into the air under everyone’s gaze.
Bathed in sunlight, it gleamed with golden light, the graceful outline of the girl’s figure forming a delicate silhouette that made hearts race.
Celes quietly touched her own flushed face.
“This is the Official Gold Coin of our Human Kingdom, made with a set ratio of gold and high-value metals, crafted with exquisite technique at the Mint of the Royal Capital, issued in strictly limited quantities under supervision, and accepted throughout the nation!”
Ella called out sweetly and clearly, “We are humans—let’s keep our wealth in our own hands!”