Monster Girl Development Master

Page 59

Princess Celine quickly regained her ladylike expression: "Hmm, it is indeed very good, but isn't this just the same as the magic iron equipment?"

“But it doesn’t use magic iron. You can take it back and have someone test it.” Zhuang Sen wasn’t surprised. After all, in terms of effect, rune items and magic iron equipment are indeed very similar, and they can perhaps be collectively called magic equipment. But as mentioned before, the actual difference is that rune items are more versatile.

"These weapons must be very expensive, right?"

Although she coveted such a magnificent and powerful weapon, Princess Celine was unwilling to take advantage of others without considering that it would affect the negotiations; such was her upbringing.

"Don't worry, this thing is only priced at 100 gold coins on the market."

Zhuang Sen patted Nia's head. "I told you, this isn't magic iron equipment, and its abilities have a limited number of uses, something like this..."

“Ten times.” Nia picked up where Zhuang Sen left off, explaining more professionally, “Your Highness, you can look at the runes on the hilt of the sword. Those are [Instruction] runes, which can display the energy stored in the runes. This [Flame] sword can only unleash ten flame blades when fully charged. However, as long as the runes are not damaged, you can take it back and recharge it. Of course, there will be a charge.”

A short sword selling for a hundred gold coins? At any other time and place, Princess Celine would have had that swindler hanged a hundred times over. But if a hundred gold coins could buy ten uses of fire magic, she'd be shouting, "I want a thousand! No, ten thousand!"

At worst, she could sell her mansion in the capital and move in with her sister. With this weapon, wouldn't that mean all her subordinates were bloodline users? Okay, there's still a difference in physical strength and she can't match their numbers, but so what! She's seen bloodline users before; those attacks, let alone ten thousand, a dozen or so would be enough to kill some weaker level one bloodline users. Besides, she just saw that Zhuang Sen had other types of runic equipment—rings and necklaces, so surely he had armor too?

If only we could arm an army of rune warriors—

"...Your Highness! Your Highness the Queen!"

"Ah!" Princess Celine, who had been lost in her fantasy, suddenly woke up, instinctively straightened her chest and raised her head, revealing an elegant princess smile.

Zhuang Sen shook his head, proudly showing off, "How about it? Isn't my Nia's cooking pretty good? Is this gift enough to repay you and the Princess for your help?"

Princess Celine nodded vigorously: "Of course, Earl Johnson, you are incredibly generous and kind, a true model of nobility and a paragon of knights. By the way, are you planning to send tens of thousands of items?"

Zhuang Sen was almost choked by Princess Celine's sudden change of attitude. Just now he felt a little bad about taking it for free, but now she was asking for tens of thousands. Where was her manners and upbringing?

Sigh, as expected of my Nia, she easily crossed the moral line of a princess with just a few moves.

Despite his pride, Zhuang Sen wasn't about to make a losing deal: "Your Highness, you're joking. Right now, only my Nia can make rune items, and the daily production is very limited. Let alone tens of thousands of items, there aren't even a few hundred in total. And even if we calculate it at one hundred gold coins per item, I can't afford to give back millions of gold coins."

Princess Celine, having calmed down, felt somewhat embarrassed and formally apologized to Count Johnson: "I'm sorry, Earl Johnson, I was too surprised and lost control. However, I do wish to purchase the rune equipment made by your wife."

Zhuang Sen nodded: "I accept your apology, Your Highness. Let's get back to business. As a token of my appreciation for your help to you and the First Princess, I'm willing to personally gift you two sets of rune equipment, including a longsword, a dagger, and full plate armor. In addition, you and the First Princess will enjoy a permanent 10% discount with me. Are you satisfied?"

Satisfied, of course satisfied. Princess Celine wasn't the insatiable, greedy type. The return gift Zhuang Sen had given her was more than enough, even exceeding her expectations. Two complete sets of runic equipment, according to Zhuang Sen's pricing, might not even be worth as much as a set of high-grade magic iron armor, and in some people's eyes, it might not even be as valuable as the "promotion" he had shown her. But Princess Celine wouldn't think that way.

She knew very well that helping Johnson was actually beneficial to her and Serafina under the circumstances, and the king was also clearly inclined to keep Johnson, which is why she succeeded so easily. In other words, this matter was not as difficult as it seemed, nor was it a great favor. This was more than enough, not to mention that Johnson also added a permanent 10% discount.

Hmm? Wait a minute, why did Zhuang Sen add an extra permanent 10% discount? Is he hinting at something? Like, cooperative trade?

Although a 10% profit margin is a bit low, the price could be increased if the goods are shipped to more distant places. Besides, these goods will be in her warehouse, and they can be taken out as a temporary measure in case of a critical moment.

Sure enough, although Earl Zhuangsen outwardly disagreed, he was actually willing to support Sister Wang; that must be it.

……

Zhuang Sen hadn't anticipated Celine's wild imagination. His offer of a 10% discount was simply a normal tactic to lure in big clients. While his rune equipment production wasn't great yet, his other weaponry production was substantial. Besides, he set the price, and his 10% discount wasn't limited to the princess's side; that eldest prince seemed quite wealthy too!

Anyway, the battle for the throne won't get to the tense and exciting stage until next year's war. In the meantime, Zhuang Sen will definitely take the opportunity to amass a fortune in gold coins. As for what to do then... well, Leon territory might not be at its current level by then.

It's August now, and there are still four months until next year. Spring is for planting, and the Fallen Star Kingdom wouldn't choose this time to start a war against a primarily commercial federal city. That means the real war won't begin until at least May or June next year. So, Zhuang Sen has at least nine months. Even if he doesn't develop anything during those nine months, just by constantly nurturing his monster girls, he could at least get Dantalian to awaken five times. By then, perhaps a Vengeful Kingdom or the Kingdom of Leon will appear next to the Fallen Star Kingdom. And what about the struggle for the throne?

Who do you think you are, and who do you think you are, to ask me to help you fight for the throne!

Not to mention the nest system now. In nine months, even if we only count the two nests that exist now, two monster girls will join every month. That's eighteen in nine months. Eighteen monster girls who have awakened three times! That's a total of thirteen count-level combat power! And monster girls are much stronger than ordinary level three bloodlines!

However, Zhuang Sen would not explain these things to Princess Celine. Instead, he took the obviously shocked Princess Celine to visit Nia's workshop again, showed her the other types of rune equipment, and talked about the expected pricing and production volume. This was to show the samples to the major customer in advance and confirm the supply volume.

After all that, Princess Celine finally got used to it and regained her composure as a princess, but she still couldn't hide her feelings: "You have truly given me a huge surprise, Earl Johnson. Now I finally understand why you said those blacksmith masters outside were just apprentices. Compared to Master Nia's amazing skills, they are indeed just a group of apprentices. But if I may be so bold, I wonder when they will be able to learn rune techniques?"

Zhuang Sen was not surprised by Celine's question, and shook his head with great regret, saying, "Unfortunately, one must have dwarven blood to learn runecraft. Blacksmiths outside cannot learn it. What they learn is not this, but something simpler—by dwarven standards—such as plate armor, lamellar armor, great shields, and the smelting methods of different alloys, etc. Therefore, the production of rune equipment will not be able to increase in the short term."

Princess Celine was disappointed, but also somewhat relieved: "Well, it seems I was being too simplistic. But perhaps this isn't so bad. May I buy all your rune equipment?"

“I would say yes, but I don’t want to offend Prince Grean, so I’m sorry.” Zhuang Sen shrugged. He didn’t want to be monopolized, not because he was worried about offending anyone, but because if he were monopolized, how could he manipulate prices?

Princess Celine was disappointed, but there was nothing she could do but smear Prince Grean: "Well, your vigilance is justified; my brother is indeed petty."

What a wonderful little sister!

This reminded Zhuang Sen of his own bratty younger sister.

Having said all that, Princess Celine looked at Nia's workshop, which wasn't very large, and felt a mix of emotions. The confidence and aura she had when she went to find Zhuang Sen had vanished. The weaknesses she had found in Zhuang Sen were no problem at all in the face of the rune equipment and those exquisite weapons.

With these resources, and given that Zhuang Sen is a bloodline holder who has awakened three times, anyone who dares to restrict him with food or thorns can simply be dealt with by him saying, "If you won't sell, I'll have to rob you!" After all, Falau isn't a royal territory, and Zhuang Sen has the legal right to inherit Falau... Regardless of his rank, just tell me if he has it or not!

Princess Celine wanted to win over Johnson to her sister's side even more, but she couldn't think of any way to do so.

Hey~

Chapter 138: Hana's Garden

Princess Celine sighed inwardly, preparing to bid farewell to Zhuang Sen. Nia's rune workshop had a profound impact on her, making her realize that ordinary conditions wouldn't be enough to win Zhuang Sen over. However, she hadn't given up; in fact, she was even more determined to win him over. But her mind was too confused right now, and she planned to go back and think things through carefully to see if there were any other methods.

“Earl Zhuang Sen…”

"Oh, have you seen enough? Then let's move on to the next location."

As Zhuang Sen spoke, he cupped Nia's face and kissed her, "Don't overwork yourself, Nia, you'll be busy tonight."

Nia blushed shyly as Princess Celine looked at her, and gently nudged Zhuang Sen with her elbow: "I know, please say hello to Hana for me."

The two flirted and teased each other, completely controlling Princess Celine. By the time she realized what was happening, it was too late to refuse, and she no longer even had the thought of refusing... Does Zhuang Sen have more secrets?

The group boarded the carriage again, bypassed Nia's rune workshop, and arrived at a manor outside Starry Night City. The surroundings seemed no different from an ordinary manor, except that there were more crops planted there.

Princess Celine gazed around at the surroundings. Common crops such as wheat, cabbage, tomatoes, and potatoes were growing well and were clearly nearing harvest time. Common magical potions such as North Wind Blossom, Tranquil Blossom, Entangling Vines, and Sea Urchin Trees were also thriving. There were also some flowers that she didn't recognize, but that wasn't surprising. She wasn't a scholar, so it was normal for her to not recognize some things.

So what's wrong with this estate? Aside from the wide variety of crops, there doesn't seem to be anything special about it.

Princess Celine looked at Zhuang Sen with a puzzled expression. Zhuang Sen smiled slightly and did not explain directly, but instead asked, "Your Highness, when do you think these crops were planted?"

The question was quite obvious, and Princess Celine realized that these crops had most likely been stimulated by bloodline abilities. So, she carefully considered the abilities of the "farmer bloodlines" she had encountered before and gave her answer: "About three months?"

Enabling common crops and potions to ripen once a season is already an exceptionally good ability among growth-enhancing abilities. Forcibly extending the time is not impossible, but it would either be impossible to achieve on such a large scale, or it would significantly damage the land, making it not worthwhile. In fact, Princess Celine believes that the reason this manor is so complex is probably because there are many different "farmer bloodlines" here, and because they are good at enhancing different crops, it has become like this.

Her thinking wasn't entirely wrong, just a little off.

"These were all planted half a month ago, Your Highness." Zhuang Sen smiled and waved to Hana, who was wearing a straw hat in the distance. Hana, who was already running this way, immediately sped up, while the other members of the Flor family, especially the women, who were busy in the fields, all showed deep envy.

They also want a count husband who dotes on them like that!

"Dear, dear..."

Hana, rushing over, instantly turned her excitement into fear upon seeing Princess Celine and a squad of Zhanxing Guards. She hid behind Zhuang Sen, even though he wasn't as tall as her and couldn't block her at all. But it didn't matter; hiding like that immediately gave her courage, at least she stopped trembling.

Zhuang Sen shook his head. This social anxiety was truly hopeless. Even though she had now become a member of the Flor family and had taken revenge on her brothers and sisters who had bullied her in the past—assigning them to be in charge of the most troublesome and difficult crop handling—she still always acted like she was easy to bully when she saw outsiders. It was really worrying.

Zhuang Sen took Hana's hand and introduced her to Princess Celine with a helpless yet proud expression: "Your Highness, this is also my wife, Hana Flor Leon. This entire estate is thanks to her, although for now it is only limited to this one estate."

In just half a month, all the crops on such a large estate have reached maturity? And judging from Zhuang Sen's demeanor, it doesn't seem like a one-time upgrade that would sacrifice the land... In the end, Zhuang Sen has no need to do this, and Leon Territory isn't facing any problems right now. However, this means that the so-called food crisis should be completely unaware of any threat to Zhuang Sen or Leon Territory.

Is this what Zhuang Sen wanted her to see?

For some reason, Princess Celine felt it wasn't right, because it was too simple and lacked impact.

Zhuang Sen did not disappoint Princess Celine's expectations. Holding Hana's hand, he continued, "Your Highness, please come with me. The real thing I'm going to introduce to you is yet to come."

Princess Celine thought to herself, "As expected," and followed after Count Johnson, lifting her skirt: "Count Johnson, could you please tell me what it is?"

“Just some flowers, Your Highness,” Zhuang Sen said with a smile. “You’ve already seen them.”

Princess Celine, recalling the unfamiliar flowers, looked up and realized they were indeed approaching a flower field, which puzzled her. While flowers were indeed beautiful, they didn't seem to offer much benefit to the development of the territory.

This question did not receive an answer from Zhuang Sen, only a mysterious smile in return. Princess Celine could only ponder it herself. After the impact of the Rune Workshop, Her Highness had placed Zhuang Sen in a very high position, feeling that every move he made must have a profound meaning and a high degree of significance—that is, the so-called persona filter.

But she couldn't think of any role that flowers could play in the development of the territory. There was no such thing as tourism in this era. Most people would probably never leave the vicinity of their own village in their entire lives, and even nobles rarely went far from their fiefdoms.

However, these flowers do smell very fragrant... But wait, isn't it too fragrant?

Princess Celine gazed at the flower field, which was at least a hundred meters away, and took another deep breath. The rich, sweet fragrance filled her delicate nose, making her feel much happier and more relaxed.

Zhuang Sen smiled mysteriously and continued forward. Princess Celine, whose attention was diverted by the fragrance of the flowers, did not pay attention and simply followed. The further they went, the stronger and sweeter the fragrance became, making them involuntarily smile.

Finally, the group arrived at the flower field. Princess Celine couldn't help but squat down and gently stroke the small yellow flowers in front of her: "Earl Johnson, you said you were going to introduce these particularly fragrant flowers to me, right?"

“That’s right, Your Highness, I’d like to introduce you to these exceptionally fragrant flowers.” Zhuang Sen gently stroked the flowers in front of him as well. “If I could make you smell just as sweet, how much would you be willing to pay?”

Princess Celine's eyes lit up, and for the first time she followed Zhuang Sen's train of thought: "You're planning to make perfume? Indeed, if you can preserve the fragrance of these flowers, I think you'll become every woman's dream lover."

“I thought I already was,” Zhuang Sen shrugged. “So, Your Highness, I think we don’t need to talk about what we discussed last time.”

Princess Celine smiled helplessly, looking at the various crops growing vigorously around her. Recalling the weapons and special rune items produced on the assembly line in the rune workshop, she had to admit that she simply couldn't offer Zhuang Sen enough tempting terms.

“You are right, Earl Johnsen.”

The author says:

Author's Note: Bonus chapter today, totaling 6603 words~ Sorting out the farming aspect and advancing the plot. Update progress: Monthly tickets 29/50, Request tickets 0/50, Rewards 700/5000

Chapter 139: Lamia's Lair

After seeing off Princess Celine, who looked disappointed, Zhuang Sen stretched and took out the ring he had gotten from Nia from his pocket, putting it on Hana's finger: "How is it? Do you like it?"

"like!"

Hana chuckled foolishly, bent down and hugged Zhuang Sen, rubbing her face against his like a lovesick woman.

Dantalian touched the necklace around her neck, showing no jealousy, and said seriously, "Lord Zhuangsen, won't you take Princess to see the Knights?"

“I had planned to, but Her Highness seems to have reached her limit. I’m afraid that further provocation might backfire, and we might be suspected of treason and usurpation, which would be troublesome.” Zhuang Sen kissed Hana and calmly counterattacked the infatuated Anawa. “Besides, at this point, Her Highness and the Grand Duke are already locked in a fierce battle. There’s no need to continue. It would be better to keep some trump cards up… I should have taken her to the Knights from the beginning.”

Nia and Hana have already made great strides, so it's no surprise that the other monster girls have also made progress. Lydia has long since easily taken actual control of the army and enhanced its combat power with the help of [Rune Items] and [Durahan Swordsmanship]. She has also won over the hearts and minds of the troops, and even those Shadow Raven Knights who are not nominally under her command as the honorary leader are now openly and secretly swearing allegiance to her.

After all, whether soldier or knight, who wouldn't want better equipment, more exquisite skills, and higher pay? Even if the price is being trained and driven like a dead man by the Headless Horseman, as the saying goes, as long as the salary is right, even the Four Emperors will be defeated. For the armies of this era, as long as they are paid a lot of shiny gold coins, they are willing to be treated like dead men, or even actually become dead men—it's not like we haven't seen countries that command armies of zombies and skeletons.

Therefore, the standing army of the Leon Territory is no longer what it used to be; one could at least say that it is now as strong as iron, both inside and out.

Similarly, Dantalian had already taken control of the entire legal department—physically—every single one of them had knowingly broken the law and was now in jail awaiting ransom. The vacant positions were filled by nuns from the Church of Vengeance with Zhuang Sen's permission. Zhuang Sen wasn't worried about Dantalian's betrayal, and the Church of Vengeance's moral compass and capabilities far surpassed those nobles who upheld the law while defying it.

Mira has already subdued those so-called scholars. She doesn't even need to use her monster girl abilities; her knowledge and reputation alone are enough to make those scholars kneel down instantly, including the original Grand Scholars. In their words, "Being able to serve as a dog for the Tower Lord of the Thousand Towers Kingdom is the greatest honor!"

Ange's Blue Raven Merchant Guild has grown remarkably. With the help of various local specialties from Zhuang Sen's side, and under the dual pressure of being both the Minister of Commerce and Zhuang Sen's sister, the Blue Raven Merchant Guild has become incredibly powerful, even crushing the Falau Merchant Guild under its feet—of course, it was Lady Lia who was accommodating her.

With Zhuang Sen already in power, the Falau Merchant Guild is no longer really needed. Even though Lady Lia has a firm grip on the Falau Merchant Guild in Leon Territory, it is ultimately something belonging to the Falau family, and it can't be as useful as one's own. If there's no other way, then so be it. But now that there's a replacement, of course it should be replaced, especially since the Falau family has already taken action against Lady Lia.

Well, although Bishop Charles has confessed that the assassination was orchestrated by Cross, since Old Deng has gone to such lengths to fabricate absolutely true evidence, how could Johnson possibly waste his cheap father's good intentions?

Besides, it's not entirely unfair to the Falao family. After all, Lady Lia does have a grudge against Zhuang Sen's "aunt," and the Falao family is clearly also stirring up trouble, trying to profit from the "internal strife" and "political instability" in Leon Territory. The evidence is the recent rise in grain prices across the region. It's estimated that the Falao family will send someone to "help" Zhuang Sen soon.

What Princess Celine could think of, Zhuang Sen could certainly think of as well. Even if he overlooked something, his shrewd monster girls wouldn't miss it, and they had naturally made preparations. But even so, there were still some troublesome issues—grassroots governance.

The territories of other nobles can be ignored for now, but Zhuang Sen's own royal territory and the territories of his own monster girls certainly need to be governed. Moreover, the monster girls are not willing to leave Zhuang Sen, so they need even more manpower to manage them. This problem is indeed not easy to solve. Training and selecting talents takes time and cannot be rushed.

Of course, Zhuang Sen doesn't need to be in a hurry right now. He has only been a count for less than a week. Under normal circumstances in this era, it would be considered genius for a newly appointed lord to figure out how much money, how many people, and how much power he has within a week, let alone to install his own people and completely control the troublesome matters of the army, law, and finance. It is normal for the struggle to last for one or two years, or even seven or eight years. It is only because this is a world where bloodline is respected that the struggle is almost impossible to overthrow the bloodline nobles unless someone of the same or stronger bloodline intervenes. Otherwise, some nobles would have been overthrown long ago.

Given Zhuang Sen's current situation, it can be said that he has completely surpassed 99% of the noble lords.

……

After spending some time cuddling with Hana, which revitalized the socially awkward sunflower, Zhuang Sen set off again. However, instead of going to Leon Manor, he went to the Temple of Aranta. Compared to its previous desolation, the temple was now bustling with activity and incense offerings. Many new, youthful faces had also appeared; these were orphaned girls adopted by the Temple of Aranta and now officially part of its staff.

Although the Temple of Aranta had become crowded, Johnson and his companions did not need to wait in line and, as always, quickly met with Bishop Rosa: "Your Excellency, it seems you are in a good mood lately."

Looking radiant and as if she had become a few years younger, Bishop Rosa smiled kindly and sincerely: "This is all thanks to you, Earl. But you didn't come here just to amuse this old woman, did you?"

Zhuang Sen shrugged helplessly: "I can't hide it from you, Dantalian and I want to place one in the temple..."

Bishop Rosa waved her hand: "Go, go. From now on, let Dantalian decide these things. There's no need to ask me. I'll just wait for Dantalian to become Pope and get rid of that old bitch Yelena."

Zhuang Sen and Dantalian exchanged a glance. They couldn't do anything about the old bishop who had started to "slack off" after discovering Dantalian had surpassed them, so they took their leave and went to Dantalian's private bedroom. The simple decor wasn't worth mentioning; Dantalian hardly ever rested there anymore, and their purpose in coming wasn't to tidy it up.

After transforming the Sacred Scale Fruit Tree into a Sacred Slime Nest, Zhuang Sen considered where to place the other nest. He ultimately decided to put the [Egg of Lamia] within Starry Night City for easy protection of the capital of Leon Territory. Considering the nest's security and efficiency, the best location wasn't Leon Manor, which Zhuang Sen was unfamiliar with, nor Starry Night Castle, which he hadn't yet visited. In fact, the only place Zhuang Sen could truly trust was the Temple of Aranta, the Dantalian's home sanctuary.

It's not just the defensive capabilities; more importantly, the people here are all proven to be his own, which naturally earns Zhuang Sen's trust.

Having made his decision, Zhuang Sen no longer hesitated. He took out the [Egg of Lamia], placed it on Dantalian's bed, and chose to activate it.

The snake egg, which looked quite ordinary and was of normal size, suddenly lit up with multicolored light after Zhuang Sen confirmed its activation, and complex patterns spread across its smooth shell.

Whether or not to be included in the bloodline.

Zhuang Sen chose to refuse. Although he currently possessed the [Poisonous Lamia] bloodline, it was a level four bloodline, and using it on a level three nest would be too wasteful. Moreover, he was still considering whether to give it to Lady Liya, but a 97% success rate was still a bit low...

As Zhuang Sen chose to refuse, the light on Lamia's Egg stopped changing and stabilized at a lighter red. At the same time, the patterns spread rapidly, even extending from Lamia's Egg to the bed, the floor, and even the walls, turning the originally simple room into an eerie and mysterious place.

During this process, Lamia's egg seemed to gain something, and its size increased rapidly, growing to about half the height of a person before stopping.

[The nest has been built, random template - Lamia]

Lamia's Lair: Lamia's Secret Room