Interests

"I'm going to help her, make her realize that I'm her real friend. When she's thanking me with tears in her eyes, I'll give her the middle finger and call her a stupid idiot!"

Leona's words were truly exuding domineering power.

Even she herself was moved by her own words.

Damn it, I'm so loyal!

She was wary and even misunderstood by her former best friend, yet she didn't break off the friendship. Instead, she went to great lengths for her, even venturing into dangerous places like Goth's Pass. After being misunderstood and wary by her best friend, she was also wary and wary of her best friend's husband. This couple is exactly the same; they are both heartless.

Leona's anger intensified at the thought. She glared at Kang De's face, silently vowing, "I'll not only curse Tina, but I'll also call you a stupid idiot!"

Then she saw Kang De's gentle expression and kind eyes.

I thought of that axe blow.

Forget it.

I'll only criticize Tina.

Feeling utterly defeated, the girl heard Kang De ask, "And then?"

Leona asked, bewildered, "What, and then?"

Kang De said matter-of-factly, "What does it have to do with you wanting to help your best friend? Don't deny it, you're probably here for me, aren't you?"

"..."

"..."

Leona looked at Kang De, hesitant to speak, took a deep breath, and her expression changed several times. She probably wanted to transform into Brother Fly, but she already had some understanding of Kang De's character.

Finally, she sighed softly, "I'm so loyal to you, can't you at least praise me first?"

Kang De thought for a moment.

Although so far this woman's story is only one side of the story, and she speaks very eloquently, who knows what she's really thinking? At least for now, her credibility is only 40%.

But praising her is fine. If she's really that loyal, I'd be happy to give her a kiss, let alone praise her. And if she has ulterior motives, praising her is just a way to appease her without any loss... So, let's praise her then.

--After all, I'm not exactly a straight man.

So he reached out and pressed his hand against the silver-haired girl's head, feeling her soft hair and warm little head, and smiled, "Yes, yes, you're really amazing, very loyal, a good girl..."

"..."

"..."

Leona's eyes widened, seemingly still unable to process what had happened. After all, it was all too astonishing; nothing like this had ever occurred since she was ten years old.

Immediately afterwards, her delicate face flushed crimson at a visible speed, her eyes filled with shame, anger, and even rage. She forcefully shook off Kang De's hand and roared.

"You idiot! Where are you putting your dog paws?!"

Almost simultaneously, the car windows on both sides were rolled open, and Hong San and the old butler poked their heads in from the left and right sides respectively, looking at the situation inside, since Leona's shouts could easily cause misunderstandings.

They noticed the subtle embarrassment on Kang De's face, and they also saw Leona shrinking down, gently patting her head and smoothing her hair, as if there was something dirty on it.

Kang De glanced at Hong San, then at the old butler, paused for a moment, and explained, "Don't misunderstand, she just asked me to praise her, so I patted her head..."

He paused for a moment, and then, for some reason, added another sentence.

"It's the top one."

Alas.

At the same time, Leona's angry rebuke came pouring out. "Unbelievable! Touching a lady's head, what kind of old man are you! You'll mess up her hair! It's very uncomfortable!"

The old butler silently withdrew his head and closed the window.

Hong San did the same thing.

Only the two people remained in the carriage, staring at each other.

Finally, Leona, as if all her strength had been drained, slumped down, let out a long sigh, and said with a helpless expression, "Fine, fine, I've never seen a man like you before."

She leaned back on the soft cushion, abandoning her ladylike demeanor, even crossing her legs, and looked at Kang De, saying, "Let's talk about you again... Shall we start from when we discovered your whereabouts?"

Kang De waved his hand and said, "That won't be necessary. Just tell me why you wanted to contact me."

Leona frowned and said, "Nonsense, you're Tina's lover. She thinks you're dead, and now she's practically a crazy widow. I found you, so of course I hope you can reunite with her and, incidentally, bring her to her senses so she won't look at people with that terrifying gaze all the time."

Kang De blinked. "... Wait, friend, hold on a minute. You want me to reunite with Tina? What do you think I did all the way west from Glittering Sand to Goth? To cross the ocean and go home?"

Leona bit her lip, her expression becoming very serious.

"They're different."

She said, "I hope you realize how serious this is and get to her as quickly as possible, so you don't get bogged down in unimportant things—like you are now."

The girl straightened up and said earnestly, "Kang De, from Cathayan, I bring disturbing news. It may be just a guess, but it implies a terrible ending. Tina is in bad shape. I'm not sure what she's going to do, but I don't doubt her determination and... madness."

"So, once we reach an agreement, I want you to come back to City Hall with me immediately to see that bastard mayor and tell him everything honestly, including your identity and Tina's insane plan, in order to persuade him to let you leave the city... Although I don't trust him, this is the only way now."

"Or if you have enough strength and ability, then find a way to leave the city on your own, then immediately rush north to join Tina's group, go see her, comfort her, go..."

At this point, a sigh and a hint of helplessness appeared on the girl's face.

"Go help her... I wanted to say that, but I think you probably can't do much to help, but she might be happy to be by her side."

Kang De frowned and said, "I don't understand what you're talking about. What exactly is Tina planning?"

The silver-haired girl looked at him, a hint of professional superiority flashing in her eyes, before saying helplessly, "This is difficult. A guy like you is good at fighting and killing, good at intimidating pretty girls with an axe, but you know nothing about business and economics... Convincing you may be difficult, but I'll try my best to explain what Tina has been doing recently in a way you can understand."

Leona organized her thoughts and then said, "Tina raised her banner in the north, giving speeches in every city, calling on people to form a volunteer army. As a result, wealthy merchants and nobles generously donated money, and her reputation spread quickly. She was hailed as a legendary princess who combined beauty, wisdom, and decisiveness, and more and more people flocked to her... Do you know what drove people to invest in and follow her?"

After asking the question, the girl was prepared to hear answers such as "justice," "beauty," and "faith."

Kang De replied without hesitation, "Interest."

Leona's eyes widened.

"What's with that look? Surprised?" Kang De said. "People in this world can flock together for profit, and they can also scatter for profit. That's just how the world is. Everyone is striving for profit, only the form and amount of profit differ, depending on the role they play."

At this point, a subtle look of disdain crossed his face. "You don't actually think those people were moved by Tina's speech and her iron will and conviction, and decided to follow her, do you?"

"... Of course not!"

Leona felt subtly looked down upon and was quite annoyed. She retorted irritably, "It's all about interests. Those bastards and those without inheritance rights are gambling; fallen knights are after honor and land; mercenaries are after money. Just like you said, different statuses and identities lead to different interests..."

"But the real main force supporting Tina were the wealthy and powerful merchants and nobles. They were rich, had abundant resources and connections, and they provided a lot of weapons, equipment and food. They gathered manpower to Tina Tina's army, and they hired and directed their subordinates and bards to boast and promote Tina everywhere..."

The girl looked at Kang De and asked, "So, what benefits do these people, who are not short of money and status, have for investing in Tina and supporting her so strongly?"

Kang De said impatiently, "Stop beating around the bush. Tina must have promised some huge benefit that is completely impossible or even something she doesn't want to deliver, which is why she's luring these rich and powerful guys to throw money and people around like they've lost their minds. This is probably the dangerous and crazy thing she's doing right now—please go on."

"..."

Leona's expression froze, her small hands trembling as she took out a delicate little silver bottle from a hidden compartment beside her, put it to her lips and gulped down several mouthfuls, panting heavily.

This guy isn't stupid! Why is he so brutal, so good at fighting, so clueless about romance, yet also so smart?! What kind of weird person is this?! Can't he just be nicer to me?!

She exhaled a few breaths, then said, "... Sell the shares."

Kang De raised an eyebrow and said, "Hmm?"

Leona said, "Tina claimed to those nobles and merchants that Goth's instigation of the elven invasion, and even the Empire's inaction, was because Goth discovered an ancient ruin with immense wealth, about to unlock its secrets. That's roughly it; I don't know how she managed to deceive them..."

"But that's not the point. The point is, she claims she'll divide the wealth and profits of this ruin into shares and sell them to merchants and nobles, as long as they subscribe in the form of supporting Goth —food, men, money, supplies, anything is welcome. And in the future, when the ancient ruins are excavated, the shares will generate dividends."

"Moreover, excavating ruins has long-term benefits, as well as short-term benefits; the shares are essentially a loan, and after a period of time, interest will accrue..."

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PS1: First update. Ah, comments and private messages are closed again for reasons that cannot be described... It's closed across the entire network. You know what I mean, so don't say anything. If you don't understand, it doesn't matter. The second update will be a little later.