Lord of Rot

A male servant walked over, carrying a dish.

”What’s this?” Claude looked quizzically at the small scoops in the cup. He could feel an astonishing chill emanating from it.

Looking over at Leech, he saw that he seemed to have a cup as well.

”Ice cream,” Leech said, gesturing with his hand. ”Go on, try it. It’s cool and refreshing, a specialty of Porcupine Territory.”

”Yes.”

Claude picked up his spoon, scooped up a spoonful, and put it in his mouth.

So cold and refreshing!

A coolness exploded in his stomach and climbed up his spine.

It wasn’t just cool; it had a rich sweetness that lingered on his tongue.

Claude, desperate from the heat, finished the ice cream in just a few bites, yet he still wanted more.

But after finishing, he realized something was off.

What had he just eaten? Ice!

East Port had ice, and Claude himself owned a small icehouse, which had cost him a pretty penny.

’To think Porcupine Territory has ice so readily available, and such delicious ice cream at that.’ Anyone who told him Porcupine Territory was poor from now on, he would definitely tear their mouth off.

”How was it?” Leech asked.

”A rare delicacy!” Claude nodded hastily. He meant every word.

”I’m glad you like it.” Leech instructed Jiao, who was standing nearby, ”Jiao, take Mr. Claude to the commercial district.”

”Mr. Claude, you can discuss any business matters with Jiao.”

”Yes,” Jiao nodded.

Normally, a merchant visiting a territory wouldn’t be received by the lord himself. Leech decided to show some goodwill because Claude was among the first merchants to arrive, but after confirming that he was from East Port, he suddenly wasn’t in a hurry anymore.

’From East Port? Even if I tried to chase him away with a stick, he probably wouldn’t leave.’

Porcupine Brand Soap had just caused a stir in East Port, and now a merchant from East Port had arrived. Leech wasn’t an idiot; he was sharp enough to see the connection.

”Thank you,” Claude nodded. ’Generally speaking, a lord wouldn’t be responsible for commerce anyway. From the sounds of it, I can probably just talk to Jiao directly about the soap.’

He preferred negotiating with merchants rather than conversing with a lord, who carried the oppressive weight of his station.

After leaving the castle, Claude couldn’t hold back any longer. ”Mr. Jiao, I hope to speak with you about the Porcupine Brand Soap.”

Jiao stopped and looked at Claude in surprise. ”Porcupine Brand Soap? My apologies, but that is a top-level secret in all of Porcupine Territory. Both its manufacturing and sales are handled directly by the Lord. If you wish to discuss Porcupine Brand Soap, you must speak with the Lord.”

”Then... then can I...” Claude pointed back at the castle behind them.

’Who would’ve thought a lord would handle business himself!’

”Perhaps you can come back tomorrow,” Jiao said diplomatically. ”The Lord had to make time in his schedule to see you just now.”

”Yes, I’ll come back tomorrow then,” Claude nodded.

Lords weren’t so easy to meet.

’Busy? I’ve never met a lord who was actually busy. Most of them were busy siring bastards or drinking and making merry.’

Before seeing how well people lived in Porcupine Territory, Claude would never have believed a poor minor lord would dare to slight him. But now, all he could do was wait.

’Wait it is, then. All for that magical Porcupine Brand Soap that’s taking East Port by storm.’

”You can have your caravan head to the commercial district first,” Jiao said. ”We have shops prepared for visiting caravans to trade with the locals.”

’Since I’m already here, I might as well do some business.’

Claude didn’t refuse, but when he entered the commercial district, he was utterly astonished.

’Does it not cost money to build houses in Porcupine Territory?’

The roads were so wide, and the shops were all empty, one after another.

The visiting caravan’s goods for sale attracted the local residents.

Seeds, shoes, cloth, and so on—a wide variety of things were available.

The purchasing power of the Porcupine People stunned Claude even more. In a single afternoon, he had sold nearly half of his caravan’s merchandise.

Meanwhile, Leech was feeding small strips of meat to the Horse-headed Eagle Rocket.

At the same time, he was multitasking, controlling the Red-haired Earthlings to plant Magic Potions in the Headland Caverns. Without Aina, he had to put in the effort to farm himself.

The results were decent. Aside from the occasional puff of poisonous mist, the Ghost Finger Grass was growing quite well.

It just required a lot of tending and constant supervision, which was a bit mentally taxing.

”COO COO.”

A gust of wind blew past. It was Rocket, who had been waiting with its head tilted up for a long time without getting any food and was now flapping its wings impatiently.

Leech snapped back to reality, picked up a strip of meat, and tossed it lightly. Rocket leaped into the air, snatched the meat, tilted its head back, gave it a shake, and swallowed it down.

”Alright, that’s it for snacks today.”

He picked up a brush and groomed Rocket’s coat. Its downy fuzz was about to molt and be replaced by hard feathers. Leech estimated it would be able to fly very soon.

Leech guessed that Rocket would be able to carry a rider into the sky in less than three years.

Rocket cooed a few times and turned to go play by itself.

’The backyard isn’t big enough for Rocket to run around in anymore. I should set aside some land for a pasture.’

Developing his own Cavalry was a necessity, and it would be a good place to raise warhorses. In the early stages, however, it could be a running ground for Rocket.

A horse cooped up in a yard isn’t a horse; it’s a pet.

Leech told Gelan about this idea. Coincidentally, the road-paving work had slowed down, so they could start by marking out the pasture.

「Dinnertime.」

Jiao approached. ”Lord, Claude wishes to discuss the soap business with you.”

”The soap business?” Leech shook his head. ”Jiao, this is a golden opportunity. How can you only see the soap?”

’It’s true he came for the soap, but Porcupine Territory has more than just soap. I have to make Claude see the other things we have to offer.’

”We have beer with a richer flavor, strong liquor, honey, healthy livestock, and pottery,” Leech said. ”This is a great opportunity.”

Jiao nodded. ”I understand, Lord!”

”I trust in your abilities,” Leech said. ”Tomorrow, I will remain behind closed doors and refuse all requests for a meeting.”

To make Claude stay in Porcupine Territory for another day, Leech chose to simply hole up and play deaf and dumb.

Claude, having failed to secure a deal for the soap, would surely be unwilling to leave. Leech was one hundred percent confident he would be willing to stay another day. This would be the perfect chance to show him the other specialties of Porcupine Territory.

There was no way Claude wouldn’t be tempted by high-quality, inexpensive goods. The prerequisite was that he had to stay and see those things. Otherwise, he would only have eyes for the soap and have no interest in anything else.

’How could I possibly let you leave without you spending money on my things!’

”Alright, don’t eat at the castle either,” Leech said to Jiao. ”Go have dinner with Claude. Oh, and you can have wheat beer and strong liquor tonight.”

Quick-Blade, whose butt had just touched his chair, shot to his feet. ”Lord, let me go have dinner with that Claud. I’m an expert at creating a good drinking atmosphere.”

”You’ve already said what’s really on your mind,” Leech remarked.

’What ”go have dinner”? His real goal was the strong liquor.’

Once before, Leech had let Quick-Blade taste the high-proof distilled liquor. Quick-Blade was instantly hooked, even finding the wheat beer tasteless afterward.

”Also, his name is Claude, not Claud.”

’One is a balding, portly middle-aged man, the other is a handsome guy with a thick head of hair. How could he mix them up?’

”Haha.” Quick-Blade, having been called out, didn’t seem the least bit embarrassed.

Jiao accepted his task and trotted away under Quick-Blade’s envious and jealous gaze. If he didn’t leave right away, he was afraid Quick-Blade would knock him out and take his place by force.

Under Quick-Blade’s resentful stare, Leech calmly picked up his chopsticks.

After becoming a Transcendent, his appetite had increased several times over, and his stomach was already starting to growl.