"Knight Alan?" Dahlia frowned. Who was Alan?
"The knight who was beside Princess Daisy yesterday," Number Seven reminded her.
"Let him in." Hearing this, the three women exchanged glances and hastily said. They could all see the joy and worry on each other's faces.
Creak...
The door pushed open, and Knight Alan walked in.
"Ladies, the King invites you to the royal palace to discuss the matter of iron ore export." The moment Alan entered, he got straight to the point and stated his purpose.
"The King wants to negotiate with us personally?" Mira asked in utter surprise, wondering if there was something wrong with her ears.
"Yes. Please depart at your earliest convenience," Alan nodded and said flatly.
"Let's go. We shouldn't keep the King waiting." Dahlia chuckled lightly, her eyes flashing with calculation. She turned her head and instructed Kasi, "Kasi, bring the goods."
"Yes." Kasi nodded, picked up the boxes in the corner, and followed Dahlia and the others.
Alan had clearly come prepared. A carriage was parked downstairs outside the inn. Just looking at its decorations, one could tell it came from the royal palace.
The carriage was quite large; even with Dahlia and her two companions sitting inside, there was plenty of extra room. Soon, under Alan's lead, the carriage headed straight for the royal palace, traveling unimpeded the whole way.
"I wonder what the situation is. Did Princess Daisy convince the King?" Mira whispered, afraid Alan outside might hear.
"We'll know when we get there. If it really doesn't work out, there's nothing we can do. We've tried our best," Dahlia said calmly. When it came down to it, she was very composed.
"Do you think the King might imprison us and threaten us to hand over our goods?" Mira said, letting her imagination run wild, a worried look on her face.
"Probably not. If that were the case, he would have just arrested us already." The corner of Elisa's mouth twitched. She had to admire Mira's wild imagination.
Tramp, tramp, tramp, tramp...
Before long, the carriage came to a halt. Alan's voice came from outside. "Ladies, we have arrived."
Dahlia and her companions stepped down from the carriage. Number Seven and Kasi, who had followed behind, immediately stuck close to their sides.
Alan didn't stop them. This was the royal palace; one or two extra knights couldn't stir up any trouble, so he let Number Seven tag along.
"So this is the royal palace of the Dwarf Kingdom," Mira sighed in awe.
The buildings here were not short or small; they were about the same size as the Siacan royal palace, just built in the architectural style of the Dwarf Kingdom.
"Please follow me," Alan led the way.
Tramp, tramp, tramp...
Along the way, all the dwarf knights they saw were clad in armor and wielding weapons. Worthy of a kingdom rich in iron ore, the armor and weapons on the knights were all forged from high-quality iron, even featuring some simple decorative patterns.
"Compared to our soldiers in Sedona City, it seems our soldiers look much more majestic and handsome," Mira whispered to Dahlia.
"Of course." A smile appeared on the corner of Dahlia's mouth. She had seen how the armor parts were manufactured in Sedona City. It could only be described as simple and brutal, yet highly efficient.
It relied entirely on molds and stamping machines. The finished pieces had clean lines and patterns, and their shapes were identical, ensuring there was never any unevenness.
"Ladies, please wait here for a moment." Alan led them into a reception hall and then went to notify the King and Princess Daisy.
Tramp, tramp, tramp...
Before long, Daisy appeared alongside King Roberson.
Seeing Daisy emerge with an elderly man, Dahlia whispered to Elisa and Mira, "That should be the King of the Deepstone Dwarf Kingdom, Roberson. Be careful, both of you. Don't speak carelessly."
"Understood." Mira nodded hastily.
"Mhm." Elisa replied without changing her expression.
"Princess Daisy, Your Majesty the King," Dahlia remained composed, bowing slightly to the two as a formal greeting.
Elisa and Mira followed suit and bowed as well.
"Ladies, please have a seat. Let us talk." Daisy returned a smile, gesturing for the three to sit down.
Dahlia waited for the King and Daisy to take their seats before leading Elisa and Mira to sit down gracefully.
Seeing this, Roberson inwardly praised the three women.
"Welcome, the three of you," Roberson said heartily.
"It is our honor," Dahlia responded elegantly.
"Ladies, how do you find our Deepstone Kingdom compared to the Siacan Kingdom?" Roberson asked casually.
"The Deepstone Kingdom is wonderful. It has many strong, brave dwarf warriors," Dahlia offered polite pleasantries.
"Hahaha... Indeed, our dwarves are all warriors!" Roberson laughed heartily, picked up the wine glass on the table, and poured a few gulps down his throat.
Dahlia's eyes flickered. From the box Kasi had brought, she slowly retrieved a bottle of Bamboo Tube Wine and placed it on the table without opening it.
Gulp...
Roberson's eyes slowly widened, and his throat bobbed. He could practically still smell the aroma of the wine he had encountered yesterday lingering at the tip of his nose.
Recalling the taste of yesterday's wine, he suddenly felt the drink in his hand was dull and flavorless. He quietly set his glass down.
"This..." Now, all Roberson had eyes for was the Bamboo Tube Wine. He couldn't help but ask, "Is this Bamboo Tube Wine?"
"Yes, this is a meeting gift for you, Your Majesty," Dahlia said softly, a faint smile gracing her lips.
"Thank you." Roberson hesitated but ultimately accepted it. A maid beside him stepped forward and took the Bamboo Tube Wine.
"Ladies, you are here for iron ore, correct?" Roberson spoke first. Having accepted the gift, he couldn't keep them in suspense any longer.
"Yes, Your Majesty. We would like some iron ore and hope you can export it to our Sedona City," Dahlia said calmly.
She thought to herself that Lucas's trick really worked. She had prepared a few other items, but to her surprise, the very first one achieved such a great result.
This was the so-called art of conversation. She had only learned a few things, but whatever it cost to use a gift to break the ice and open up the situation was entirely worth it.
"What do you need iron ore for?" Roberson frowned and asked in a deep voice, "Is it to forge weapons? Our Deepstone Kingdom has plenty of weapons available for export."
"Our Sedona City needs to develop. We are building houses and roads, which requires a massive amount of iron," Dahlia said, her expression serene.
"Building roads and houses requires iron?" Both Roberson and Daisy were puzzled. This was their first time hearing that iron was needed for such things.
"Princess Daisy and Your Majesty, you must not know about Sedona City, correct?" Dahlia didn't answer their question, but instead countered with one of her own.
"We do not." The two shook their heads. They had indeed never heard of Sedona City.
This was completely normal. After all, Sedona City was located in the western reaches of the Siacan Kingdom, an extremely remote area. If one traveled by ordinary ship along the waterways from the Deepstone Dwarf Kingdom, it would take nearly two months to get there.
.
.
.
.
You can read advance chapters and view R-18 images of the characters on pat reon page.
pat reon.com/GreenBlue17
200 power stones.
5 new reviews.