Start with Island Lord

Seven o'clock in the evening.

Southeast of Xialin City, Broken Gold Pier, Golden Sturgeon Inn.

This is an ordinary hotel. The entire third floor was booked by Rosen for a small private night banquet.

At the top of the long table, he and Selena sat side by side, with two confidants sitting on the left and three newly recruited followers on the right.

Before the banquet started, Rosen picked up his wine glass and said with a smile: "May Mother Nature take care of Paddlefish Island~ Cheers."

After saying that, he drank the maple dew wine in the glass in one gulp.

Everyone also drank it up in one gulp.

Rosen continued: "We have been busy traveling these days, and we can see that everyone is tired and hungry. So, forget about the damn table manners, open your belly and enjoy the food."

As he spoke, he picked up a table knife and cut off a large piece of roast lamb, stuffed it into his mouth and chewed it.

Everyone was indeed starving, and what was on the table were all the delicacies unique to the north of Weilan. They were freshly cooked and exuded a rich aroma.

Since the lord Rosen took the lead in letting go, everyone naturally followed suit and feasted.

For a moment, no one could speak, and the whole table was filled with the sound of chewing and swallowing.

After a while, when everyone was six to seven full after eating, they regained their elegant posture and began to exchange their views on Northland food.

Selena forked a piece of maple sturgeon fillet as tender as crystal, took a bite, and evaluated it carefully.

"The aroma of maple syrup perfectly melts the fishy smell of sturgeon, and greatly stimulates the freshness of sturgeon meat. It is much more delicious than the same dish I have tasted in Dawn City."

Rosen smiled and said: "Sturgeon is a specialty of the North Weilan Sea. Of course, the dishes born from sturgeon are the most authentic ones made by the chefs of the North Weilan Sea."

"But speaking of it, although the taste of this sturgeon fillet is good, it is not top-notch because it is not the best sturgeon."

Selena was curious: "Sturgeon still has an explanation?"

Rosen then explained: "There are many types of sturgeons, including freshwater species and seawater species. We generally eat seawater species."

"But the real delicacy is the freshwater species, and it is one of the rare species called 'Moonlight Paddlefish'."

Speaking of this, Rosen showed a hint of pride on his face.

"Moonlight paddlefish are distributed in the rivers of Shire and Winter counties, but their numbers are not large."

"The place where they are most distributed is in our Paddlefish Island. Paddlefish Island is named after the paddlefish."

Selena drooled a lot after hearing this: "Oh~ I can't wait to go to Paddlefish Island."

Rosen naturally nodded in agreement, but his expression immediately became serious.

"Of course we have to go to Paddlefish Island, and we can go there quickly. If we rent a boat from the pier and take a favorable wind, we can get there in three hours at most."

"But we can't go there empty-handed, we have to be fully prepared."

Speaking of this, he looked around at everyone: "Because of the Duke's ban, we can only do smuggling business with Weilan."

Seeing that everyone was paying attention to him, Rosen continued to talk about his plan.

"But without the support of local lords, even smuggling is very risky."

"So, my idea is, next, we will split up and act in a low-key manner, hiding our identity as much as possible."

"My wife and I will visit the count to seek secret support."

"Shitou, Kruber, you are a team, you have two main tasks."

"The first is to inquire about information from Paddlefish Island at the pier. You, Shitou, are mainly responsible for this."

"Second, pretend to be an ordinary businessman and buy a batch of daily necessities, such as clothes, bedding, furniture, and food."

"Especially for food, we don't pursue quality, as long as it is edible, the more quantity, the better."

"It's mainly Kluber's job."

"Don't be busy recording, just listen. I will give you the relevant purchase list and money tomorrow morning."

Shitou and Kruber nodded in agreement.

Rosen looked at Alonso again: "Mage, when you were recruiting, you explained the conditions for your following. Although the conditions are quite harsh, I will still satisfy you."

"But you have also seen the current situation. Paddlefish Island is a barbaric place, and there is no magic laboratory on the island."

"So, my idea is that I will find a way to buy a batch of magic equipment and materials in Shire County and bring them back to Paddlefish Island for you to use and study."

"Do you think this is okay?"

Alonso agreed simply: "This little difficulty is not a problem at all."

Rosen nodded and smiled, and then said: "Thank you very much for your understanding. In return, I will provide you with a new piece of alchemy knowledge for you to study."

Alonso was startled: "Brand-new alchemical knowledge? Is it high-energy alchemy? Or life alchemy? Or the recently emerging lightning alchemy?"

Rosen shook his head: "No, it's a more partial form of transformation alchemy."

"Crates' "Transfiguration and Alchemy". Oh~ this is really a side subject, but as long as it is useful, I don't mind learning it."

Serena smiled and said, "It's very useful, I promise."

Alonso immediately said: "Since His Highness has promised so, I will study it carefully."

Rosen looked at Wei Ge again: "Madam, I only have a superficial understanding of potions."

Wei Ge has lost the disguise of transformation and revealed her true appearance.

She is about twenty-eight or nineteen years old, has a very cold temperament, is tall, and has a very mature figure, but she has a pleasant baby face and a pair of big dark blue eyes with long eyelashes.

Regarding Rosen's words, she said in the usual disdainful tone of an expert to an outsider: "It's good to know the basics. Many young mages like the Baron can't even tell the difference between potions and witchcraft."

Selena was not very happy and felt that Wei Ge was too arrogant.

"Madam, my husband is not a half-baked wandering mage. He is a formal mage taught meticulously by an academic tutor."

Wei Ge shrugged: "Then I have to add one more comment that may displease His Highness. The level of potions in the Weilan magic world has lagged behind the mainland for at least thirty years."

As soon as these words came out, all the Masters Weilan except Rosen were angry, but they wanted to refute, but they didn't have enough confidence, so they could only keep a calm face and say nothing.

Along the way, Rosen had had several conversations with Wei Ge, and he had gained a good understanding of her character. He knew that this woman had a hedgehog-shaped academic personality, which was very difficult to get along with, but she did have real talents and learning.

For ordinary people, getting along with such people is simply a pain, but for lords, such people are great treasures.

Because the lord doesn't like to see his subordinates forming cliques, and this kind of person with outstanding professional ability and messy interpersonal relationships is simply the best... ahem~~ the best minister.

He immediately smoothed things over: "Since Ms. Wei Ge can become the royal potion master of the Levend royal family, her ability is undoubtedly beyond doubt."

"Weilan's potion science is indeed far behind that of the mainland. This is also an objective fact."

"But through my superficial understanding, I deeply feel the importance of potions, so I plan to greatly support Miss Wei Ge's potions research."

These words made Wei Ge's tight facial features soften a lot.

"If the lord can say this, his knowledge of potions is already better than that of at least half of the potions masters."

Rosen continued: "Everyone should know how much money I have on hand."

"But I will find a way to buy various alchemy equipment for potions in Shire County. The quality will be as good as possible. The initial budget is set at 8,000 Oggs."

As soon as these words came out, everyone was surprised, and the weapon refiner Alonso was even a little jealous.

Wei Ge was also surprised. Her big dark blue eyes blinked several times, and she seemed to be vaguely moved.

Selena, on the other hand, was confused because she knew that her husband would never invest heavily in an uncertain goal.

Rosen caught everyone's eyes and then said, "I heard that a new magic potion has appeared on the Witte Continent called Steel Potion."

Wei Ge nodded as soon as he heard it: "I know the formula of this potion and the refining method, but with all due respect, it is not a mature potion."

"It is true that its effect is very strange. It can temporarily turn soft and loose limestone into a hard substance similar to steel. However, the cost of this potion is very high, but the effect only lasts for 20 minutes, and it is only effective on limestone."

Rosen smiled faintly: "So, I hope Madam can research a strengthened steel potion."

Wei Ge thought carefully: "Lord, improvement is not difficult, but I need to know your expectations for improvement."

"The types of raw materials that can be effective, the more the better, this is the first expectation. The second expectation is that the strength should be as high as possible. There are no other requirements, just try your best."

Wei Ge was startled: "Don't you ask for the effective time?"

"No request."

"What a strange request, but you are the lord and you pay the money, so you have the final say."

She considered the technical details carefully and gave a definite answer: "It's not difficult."

At this point, the business is basically finished.

"It's still early, so feel free to eat and drink."

There was still a lot of food, so everyone continued to enjoy it.

Since there was no more business, the atmosphere was much more relaxed. Among the seven people at the table, five of them were mages. As they ate, they naturally discussed magic issues.

When there is discussion, there will naturally be disagreement.

"I think the ring only has six layers." Stonard said.

"Only the sixth floor has been discovered, kid." Alonso chuckled.

"I believe in Sage Ramo's prediction that there should be a higher magic ring above the sixth level." Selena also expressed her opinion.

Wei Ge took a sip of wine and said, "According to the news from the Glorious Empire, the Ring of Magic must have a seventh layer, and it has been named the Ring of Miracles."

When she said this, everyone looked at her: "Glorious Empire. Who said that?"

"The only legendary mage in the mainland who has publicly revealed his identity as a magic saint, Duke Sistine, the Imperial Master."

As soon as these words came out, the Masters Weilan were all stunned, and none of them could speak.

After a long pause, Selena turned around and asked Rosen: "Dear, have you heard of it?"

Rosen nodded and began to explain again in a eloquent tone.

“Duke Sistine’s original words were ‘Based on his improved Rameau Sun Formula, it can be deduced that there should be at least one stable ring of magic above the six rings’.”

"For this achievement, Queen Zoya praised the Duke for his miraculous wisdom, and this is also the source of the name 'Miracle Ring'."

"However, the Duke himself did not say that only the seventh level existed, nor did he directly name it."

Wei Ge looked at Rosen in surprise: "Lord, your knowledge far exceeds your age."

Rosen nodded slightly and said, "Thank you for the compliment~"

Wei Ge immediately asked: "Then how many layers do you personally think the magic ring has?"

Rosen habitually shook his glass and said with a smile: "I don't know, but if I have to say one, I think it should be 11."

Wei Ge was stunned: "Why?"

Rosen narrowed his eyes and smiled: "Because 11 is a beautiful prime number."

The mages were stunned, and then they all thought that Rosen was talking nonsense, so everyone laughed, and the room was suddenly filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

Rosen also smiled, and raised his hand to take a sip of maple wine.

When the clear and sweet wine went down his throat, the words of the earth's ancestors emerged in his mind: 'The lower class heard the truth and laughed loudly'.