Chapter 413 Nami’s Apple

Entrusting the care of the Fire Dragon mare to One-eyed Barton, Liszt returned to the castle.

Before dinner, he found some time to play the piano. The urge to be the piano king might have faded, but he still enjoyed playing.

Listening to music cleanses the soul.

At the banquet, his followers got drunk celebrating his successful enfeoffment of Black Horse Island.

"I really wish I could be as carefree as they are..." Liszt envied these people who could eat and drink heartily without thinking about the future.

He was still somewhat down because, before the banquet, the financial officer Blair had reported to him: "My lord, the 4,260 gold coins you requested to raise—even after reallocating all commercial funds and taxes from Flower Town and Black Horse Island—we’ve only managed to gather 1,350 gold coins."

"If we use the future earnings of Flower Brew as collateral, how long would it take to secure enough gold coins from Tulip Castle?"

"I’ve calculated that currently, Flower Brew’s production and market sales are only partially expanded in Coral Island and Red Crab Island, with Golden Island still under negotiation. The monthly share is about 600 gold coins... it would take about six months of collateral to secure enough gold coins."

"Then let’s go ahead with the mortgage."

"But my lord, if we mortgage Flower Brew’s future earnings, the territory’s construction will immediately face difficulties... We don’t have enough funds to support Black Horse Island’s development. Relying solely on Flower Soap, the woodworking workshop, and black tulips won’t be enough to sustain us."

Blair said helplessly.

Flower Town is still too underdeveloped, and Liszt’s determination to grow quickly keeps straining the capital chain.

"Don’t worry, mortgage Flower Brew’s earnings first. I’ll figure out how to cover the missing gold coins." Liszt comforted, but his heart was bleeding, knowing he would have to sell his assets again.

So, while his followers drank heartily, he couldn’t join in—nor did he want to, as he disliked alcohol.

Holding a glass of iced juice, he sipped slowly, his mind preoccupied with how to make money: "Even though Flower Town is rich in resources, with spirit bugs boosting production, it still can’t keep up with my consumption. The most profitable magic potion is only enough for my own use... Supporting an elite Earth Knight who relies on daily potions is no easy task."

In this world, as long as you’re well-fed and have decent aptitude, you can basically train to become an Earth Knight.

But not everyone can afford to support an elite Earth Knight who relies on daily potions.

Black Horse Island hasn’t been developed yet, so Liszt’s earnings currently come entirely from Flower Town. It’s only thanks to the smoke mission and products like Flower Brew and Flower Soap that a small town can sustain his constant potion use.

Gold coins are the biggest hurdle to a knight’s progress.

"Otherwise, sell rubber. Black Horse Island hasn’t been developed much, so it doesn’t need a lot of rubber. It’s such a good product—Tulip Castle should need it, and it could fetch a high price." Besides magic potions and ironwood, the most important agricultural output on the territory is the versatile rubber.

The milk from dragon milk cows is also a key resource, but it’s not something to publicize—it’s better kept for internal use.

He could also sell the stored mithril, jade, and crystal, but these are consumable resources—easy to sell but hard to replace, so he’s reluctant to part with them.

"It’s settled then—sell the rubber."

...

After the banquet.

He went to the seaside villa. Acheronides had hardly gone swimming these two days, diligently reading notes and studying magic, almost obsessed with it.

Leaving Liszt feeling a bit neglected.

"Brother, Acheronides feels close. Soon, I will understand the key information and break through to become a great magician! To help brother with sailing!" Fortunately, she was just too engrossed in magic research, not really neglecting Liszt.

"Effort is important, but don’t stay up too late. Taking breaks can clear your mind and make you more efficient than burying yourself in magic books all day."

"Yeah, Acheronides gets it."

Even as she spoke, her eyes stayed glued to the magic books.

Liszt stopped bothering her and started playing with Nami. Today, the red mangrove spirit bug skipped feeding ducks on Red Tree Island to stay with Acheronides at the seaside villa.

"Peep."

Nami sat on the table, clutching an apple she'd bitten into. Liszt had given her the apple, and she loved apples.

"Nami, do you enjoy the mangrove forest?"

"Peep, peep." Nami nibbled the apple again, then blinked up at Liszt, seemingly puzzled.

"I plan to plant mangroves along Flower Town and Black Horse Island to support green caterpillars and green-headed ducks," he said, ostensibly to Nami but actually thinking aloud. "Green caterpillars can't be raised in ordinary forests."

Green-headed ducks can be caged, but they need green caterpillars to thrive.

Red Tree Island's green caterpillars alone can't sustain large-scale duck breeding.

"Peep." Nami glanced at Liszt, then at her apple. Hesitantly, she offered it to him: "Peep."

"Haha, it's yours," Liszt said, pushing the apple back and ruffling the leaves and flowers on Nami's head.

Nami, with her emerald-green hue, was especially charming.

Besides her beauty, Nami's main role was producing the red mangrove's mildly sweet and sour fruit, which wasn't very tasty or useful. But as the food chain between green caterpillars and green-headed ducks took shape, the mangrove forest's value became clear.

The mangrove forest relied on Nami's red mangrove spirit bug, and she also raised ducklings.

After some playtime.

Liszt headed out from the seaside villa.

...

At dawn, he boarded the Flower ship bound for Black Horse Island. The Flower ship now ran daily between Black Horse Island and Flower Town.

Captain Kosto transported goods while training the crew at sea.

As Black Horse Island grew, Liszt would need a fleet to support it.

"Marcus, Isaiah, what do you think about building a castle here? I want it half in the water, half on the shore," Liszt asked his followers for their opinions, standing on the rocky shore east of the port town.

"A castle ties into the city, my lord. Are you planning to make the port town a port city?"

"Black Horse Island needs a port city. Besides Black Horse Port, only the northwest harbor is suitable," Liszt said. "Given shipping routes and distance, the port town is the best spot for a city."

"I don't mind this location... but my lord, building the castle on land might protect it from sea creatures."

"No!" Liszt said firmly. "I adore seaside castles!"