Chapter 296 The Arrival of the Ironwood Era

Night fell, and the Flower had sailed around for a while before finally reaching Black Horse Port...

"Black Horse Port needs a lighthouse, my lord. At night, while it's possible to navigate the vast sea by referring to the stars for direction, it's impossible to accurately pinpoint the location of the port," Kosto said after stopping the ship.

"We'll consider it later. I currently lack an architect, and it's not yet time to reveal Black Horse Island," Lister replied.

They disembarked.

Without wasting any words, Lister immediately rode Hiddleston and headed straight to the rubber tree insect grass. The crystal lamp lit the path, and he easily followed the trail worn in the bushes to reach his destination.

He cast the Eye of Magic.

He saw the three spirit insects motionless on a branch.

Without further ado, he began climbing the tree. For an elite Earth Knight, climbing a tree was effortless, and he easily reached the branch where the spirit insects rested.

Under the light, three milky white, plump rubber tree spirit insects were lined up, apparently asleep. They were nearly pure white, even their eyes, making it hard to distinguish which side was the head and which was the tail.

They were about a finger long and as thick as a thumb.

They resembled silkworms but were more beautiful and intricate, like living creatures sculpted from jade. Even though Lister saw spirit insects every day in the castle, he still marveled at their beauty, amazed by the incredible creations bestowed by the Creator.

"Little ones, don't sleep. How about some jade powder as a midnight snack?"

He whispered softly, and as per usual operation, he applied jade powder in front of the spirit insects, enticing them to wake and begin licking the powder.

Then, he applied jade powder to his finger and extended it to the spirit insects' mouths.

Snap.

He bonded with one spirit insect.

Snap.

He bonded with another spirit insect.

The third snap.

The last spirit insect was successfully bonded. Thus, the rubber tree spirit insect triplets were all contracted, forming a bond with a connected heart.

"Come, onto my hand."

He extended his hand and received the three chubby spirit insects. A peculiar sensation filled his mind, as if three indistinct emotions were duplicated, appearing in his mind, perfectly synchronized. They thought and responded to Lister in unison.

They climbed from his hand to his shoulder.

Then followed Lister as he left the insect grass.

"Congratulations, my lord, on contracting new spirit insects!" Marcus, Lassie, and Griffin, who had gathered, congratulated him.

Lister placed the spirit insects into a jade box held by a servant and smiled as he accepted their congratulations. "You've all worked hard watching over the spirit insects. I've brought a barrel of Flower brew. Share it among yourselves."

"Thank you for your generosity, my lord!"

"I should also thank you for your hard work in developing Black Horse Island."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, they soon arrived at the port town. After resting for the night, Lister would return to Flower Town the next day. His presence was no longer required on Black Horse Island.

"Marcus, Lasse, Griffin, the rubber tree spirit insects have been contracted, but I don't intend to relocate the rubber tree insect farm. The environment there is very suitable for the growth of rubber trees. If you have free time, please organize a group of serfs to transplant the scattered rubber tree saplings to the area around the insect farm and plan a rubber tree garden."

"Yes, sir."

……

The next morning, Liszt woke up very early because he needed to bond with his mount, Lightning. He rode it for a stroll and left.

Sitting at the bow of the ship, he thought it would be another boring voyage, but the white clouds floating in the sky stirred something in his heart, as if sparks of inspiration were igniting.

A familiar melody surfaced in his mind, echoing softly.

Without hesitation, he quickly took out parchment and ink, picked up a quill, and rested it on Dudley's back, beginning to record the melodies. After a few moments, the melody gently faded, and the parchment was filled with dense notes.

"It’s..."

He shook the parchment, the inspiration having faded, but the excitement of recording the notes still lingered in his heart. The melody that emerged was comparable to a well-known piece.

This was a classic work by music master Joe Hisaishi, the theme of a classic Studio Ghibli animated film.

This melody was even more popular than the film itself.

Carefully putting away the hastily recorded score, he summoned the smoke task.

The serpent script changed: "Mission completed, reward: melody."

This indicated that Duniko Hyacinth had received the letter he sent, and simultaneously, the smoke task had unearthed the melody from his memory.

"The power of fate is truly magical, even memories can resurface... I wonder when it will reward me with knowledge about cement? I must have seen and studied how to make cement, but now I only remember some vague principles, such as mixing limestone and clay, grinding them finely, and then firing them in a kiln."

He hadn't figured out what limestone looked like yet, nor had he found clay. Developing cement was currently beyond reach.

If the smoke task could unearth his memories and bring to light the images of limestone and clay he had seen, he would be able to easily identify them. The same applied to glass.

The thought was just a fleeting moment.

The serpentine script rapidly changed: "Mission: The fast-growing iron thorns have matured, and the carpenters at the carpentry shop have also accepted the impact of the new invention. It's time to boldly usher in the Ironwood era of Flower Town. Please build a woodworking workshop and produce new furniture. Reward: three wild tea bushes."

"Hmm?"

He saw the reward content: wild tea bushes.

In this world, 'tea' refers to drinks like coffee or milk tea. He had never tasted Chinese tea, and not even in knight novels had he found any mention of tea. He had once thought there were no tea plants in this world.

Unexpectedly, the reward was wild tea bushes.

"They must be growing somewhere on Black Horse Island! Tea is a wonderful thing; drinking it can promote health and wellness, especially aiding in detoxification and digestion... As I recall, in ancient China, tea was a strategic commodity, alongside salt and iron, especially in trade with the northern nomads."

Nomads primarily consumed meat, which was hard to digest, and thus required tea to aid digestion. This was why the Tea-Horse Trade existed, exchanging strategic horses for tea.

Even the American Revolution was triggered by tea; the Boston Tea Party was the immediate catalyst for the War of Independence.

The importance of tea was evident.

Liszt's situation was similar; he ate a lot of meat, especially monster meat, which was greasier and harder to digest than regular meat. With tea, he could better absorb the nutrients from the monster meat.

This applied to most nobles.

"It's conceivable that tea will become another one of my major products!"

His spirits soared: "Upon my return, I will immediately establish a woodworking workshop and usher in the Ironwood era in Flower Town as soon as possible!"