Chapter 445: Praise at the Birthday Party

There are also Spirit Bugs in the sea, which is a significant discovery.

Liszt couldn't help but ponder how to obtain the resources of Spirit Bugs in the sea. He can swim but not dive, which makes it hard to get close to marine Spirit Bugs, and relocating the Spirit Bug grass in the sea is also quite challenging. Moreover, the Spirit Bug grass in deep waters may not adapt to shallow water environments.

Even if the Spirit Bug grass can adapt, the marine plants affected by it cannot be transplanted to near-shore areas, rendering the effort futile. After all, marine plants have specific environmental needs.

Given the current situation, even as an elite Earth Knight who relies on potions, he can't conquer the ocean.

But the mermaid Acheronides (Acheronides) can do it. She is a sea spirit, and the Spirit Bugs in the ocean can be easily contracted by her, and the Spirit Bug grass can be moved around easily.

As for the relationship between Acheronides and himself, Liszt never worries. They share an unbreakable familial bond.

If even Acheronides had to be watched and distrusted, life would be too tiring.

Of course, for the Spirit Bugs that he can contract, Liszt still prefers to do it himself: "Acheronides, to make managing Spirit Bugs easier, from now on, if you find any Spirit Bugs in shallow waters, be careful not to contract them. Let me contract them so we can make the most of their potential."

"Okay, Acheronides understands."

"When you're out in the sea in the future, remember to observe the various seaweeds carefully. If you spot any Spirit Bugs, don't let them get away."

"Okay, okay."

Ever since he discovered Spirit Bugs in the sea, Liszt decided to focus on developing Acheronides' abilities. He can rule the skies and lands of his territory, and the ocean will be managed with Acheronides' help.

...

For the Earl's birthday, Liszt gave a black pearl, but it was only as big as a sea bowl.

With the discovery of the black clam and pink conch populations, black and pink pearls aren't rare anymore. Even though black pearls are plentiful, they've lost a lot of value in Liszt's view. Now, he only cares about black pearls that are basketball-sized or bigger.

Because a black pearl the size of a basketball, when turned into a "Wind-Calming Pearl," can clear all wind-attribute magic power within a hundred meters, enough to shield a ship.

Smaller pearls wouldn't cover a ship, so their value drops a lot.

Therefore, except for Levis's wedding, when he gave a basketball-sized black pearl as a gift, for other holidays, he'd pick black pearls that are sea bowl-sized or smaller.

He's even decided to sell black pearls as a specialty item to boost the territory's income.

"Small black pearls and pink pearls can be sold, but pearls that can be made into Wind-Calming Pearls and Water-Calming Pearls must be stored as strategic reserves... However, the names Sea-Calming Pearl·Wind and Sea-Calming Pearl·Water seem a bit wordy. Why not just call them Wind-Calming Pearl and Water-Calming Pearl?"

One Wind-Calming Pearl, one Water-Calming Pearl, and one Keel-Calming Pearl together make up the Sea-Calming Trio.

...

The noon meal was a family banquet.

Thus, no followers attended.

The Earl sat at the head of the table, with Lady Mary on his right and Lady Penelope in the middle of the long table. Levis and Gloria sat in the middle on the other side, with Gloria's sister Ronasa beside her. Ronasa would stay at Tulip Castle to accompany her sister for a while and was in no hurry to return.

Lvera and Liszt sat at the far end of the long table.

Noble banquets do not have fixed seating arrangements. Apart from the host sitting at the head and nobles of the same rank sitting at the same table, there are not many other rules. Even at buffets, seating is often dispensed with, and people eat however they feel comfortable. After all, everyone is a lord, and the relationships between colleagues are quite loose.

Most countries, including the Sapphire Duchy, are not centralized but rather feudal, with territories divided among lords.

Regardless of the size of the territory, as long as there is no lord-follower relationship, there is no obligation between them, and naturally, there is no need to be overly constrained by the status gap.

For instance, Roderick, the Marquis of Golden Island, one of the six marquises of the Duchy, is someone Liszt only needs to greet when they meet, without the need for excessive deference.

He only needs to pledge allegiance to Earl Lee William. As he attends more and more banquets,

Liszt is becoming increasingly accustomed to this system and its rules, gradually moving away from a bureaucratic mindset. He will not feel weak in the knees just because the other party is a marquis, nor will he feel entitled to command a noble simply because the other party is only a knight. The authority of nobles is limited to their own territories.

"Over the past few years, I've been occupied with overseas ventures and seldom celebrated my birthday. Since Lytton was born, the family has not added new tableware."

The Earl raised his glass and said with a smile: "Now that Levis and Gloria are married, the Tulip family's dining table can finally be set with new tableware, and my hope is to have a second set as soon as possible. Even every year on my birthday, the tableware should outnumber that of the previous year."

The second set of tableware naturally implies that Levis and Gloria should quickly start a family.

While monogamy restricts the number of children nobles can have, the great nobles still hope to have many descendants to expand the family.

"Father, Gloria and I will strive to expand the family," Levis raised his glass and casually responded.

"This is your duty, not just to work hard, but to prioritize it above battlefield honors."

After instructing Levis and his wife, the Earl turned to Lvera: "My daughter, you are already twenty years old, you have your own thoughts, and I will not interfere. But I hope you can take action as soon as possible, attend more social balls, meet more young nobles, and select a suitable match."

"Of course, I understand."

After addressing Lvera, the Earl turned to Liszt.

The Earl picked up his glass but pondered for a long time before saying: "Liszt, I am thoroughly pleased with everything about you. You are the pride of the Tulip family, steady, intelligent, brave, and far-sighted. All the virtues of a knight are evident in you."

"I merely have a bit more luck and a bit more foresight than others," Liszt said modestly.

"Luck is indeed a part of a knight's strength. Cheers," the Earl tipped his head back and drained his glass of red wine.

Liszt also finished the red wine in his glass.

Finally, the Earl's gaze fell on his youngest son, Lytton, and he offered much advice. As the half-brother of the three siblings, Lytton grew up largely under the guardianship of the Earl and Mary. He has strong talent, is thirteen years old this year, but there are subtle indications he may soon advance to Earth Knight.

Such talent puts pressure on the three siblings.

Especially for Levis, who feels the greatest pressure. Many resources of the Tulip family have been allocated to Lytton, which makes Levis, as the eldest son and family heir, very dissatisfied.

Once, Liszt's predecessor was very jealous of Lytton's talent.

But the current Liszt is very indifferent to Lytton. He even has a gap in his heart with his full siblings Levis and Lvera, let alone his half-brother Lytton, making it difficult to regard him as a real brother. He strives to maintain a hands-off approach.

Not to suppress him, nor to pay attention to him.

His focus is on the expansive future, with no room for Lytton in his plans.