Pregnant Sow

"Where in town could I find a gem artisan?" Russell asked Charles immediately after buying the White Crystals.

"For gem artisans, there's a lamp shop over on Second Cross Street. The artisan there is exceptionally skilled at polishing Gem Lamp Fixtures. Of course, Fluorite Castle should have outstanding gem artisans in its employ to polish gems for the Baron Lord."

"Then let's go to the lamp shop."

Russell promptly led his men to the lamp shop, found the artisan who polished Gem Lamp Fixtures, and explained his request. "I need you to polish these two White Crystals into lenses... convex lenses... slightly thicker in the middle and thinner around the edges..."

What he actually wanted was a pair of Reading Glasses.

His grandmother, Old Madam Ingrid, was already advanced in years. The Battle Qi Seed she had nurtured in her youth had also declined, no longer able to nourish her body.

Thus, she had become somewhat farsighted. She could see distant things just fine, but letters and books up close were blurry.

Russell planned to give his grandmother Reading Glasses at her birthday banquet. Of course, he was not having a complete pair made, but two single lenses—the sort of old-fashioned monocles worn on chains.

Reading Glasses came in different prescriptions, and Russell had no way to test her eyesight accurately. He could only make two monocles with different strengths for his grandmother to try.

Once she found them useful, he could have a more accurately prescribed pair of Reading Glasses made.

"You are truly filial, my lord," Charles praised. "What's even more amazing is that a simple crystal lens can let farsighted eyes see clearly again. It's quite unbelievable."

"Life is full of wonders, as long as one is good at discovering them." Russell smiled. He believed his gift would make his grandmother very happy, and it was not even expensive—just two White Crystals.

Glass could actually be used to make Reading Glasses as well, but Russell considered it too cheap. Besides, the glassmaking techniques here were still inadequate, leaving too many impurities in the glass.

Of course.

Before he came across the gem stalls, he had considered making his grandmother several dishes from Earth. But Mrs. Moore was difficult to communicate with, making that possibility too unlikely. Reading Glasses were the better choice.

The caravan had brought many novel goods, and Russell wandered through the market until the sun slanted westward.

"My lord, are we returning to the manor now, or staying at Fluorite Castle?" Charles asked.

"Neither Fluorite Castle nor the manor. Let's find a small inn in town for the night. There are small inns here, right?"

Charles said awkwardly, "Of course there are, but... your status is too honorable..."

"It's only for one night. It doesn't matter." Russell's motives were far from simple. "Life on the snowfields is far harsher than a small inn, yet sooner or later we will fight on the snowfields, won't we? Consider this getting used to it in advance."

"Very well, as you wish."

"Teacher Charles, go home and stay there tonight. Come back tomorrow morning." Russell gave Charles a day off.

Charles's cock had indeed been neglected for far too long. At that, he chuckled. "Thank you for your generosity and kindness, my lord."

Night fell.

In the cramped little inn, Russell had a room to himself, while his personal valet and several Knight Retainers squeezed into another room—the caravan's arrival had left the inn with no spare rooms at all.

Though the smell was somewhat unpleasant, Russell still slept soundly.

Once he fell asleep, accompanied by a cry of "Caw," the Dark Dreamscape descended once more. Centered on the small inn, it shrouded a large stretch of the surrounding streets.

He swung himself onto Little Dream Dragon's back.

At once, points of magical light lit up across the streets.

"It's treasure-hunting time again, Ice Cream. Let's go!" Russell had chosen to stay at the small inn precisely for this moment.

While browsing in the daytime, he had been unable to tell whether many of the caravan's goods were valuable or worthless.

But now, within the Dark Dreamscape's range, anything worth snapping up would have nowhere to hide.

"Caw!"

Man and dragon flew slowly toward the first source of magical light.

"Excellent. These should be Magic Potions. Their glow is concentrated and intense, and there don't seem to be any fakes among them." Russell arrived at a stall that had already closed for the night. The vendor was sleeping inside the tent beside his stall.

Russell nodded and left.

Magic Potions meant nothing to him. If he ran short, he could simply go to Fluorite Castle and mooch some off them. There was no need to spend money buying them.

After making the rounds, Russell had examined most of the magical creations, but there was little room for bargain hunting. Vendors capable of following a caravan might pass ordinary goods off as magical creations, but none would sell magical creations as ordinary goods.

"What a pity!"

Russell was deeply disappointed. It seemed his plan to find bargains had fallen through. Then, riding Little Dream Dragon, he headed toward a source of magical light at the edge of the Dark Dreamscape.

"Hm?"

He soon let out a cry of surprise.

"This appears to be a stall selling livestock. The cages on the cart hold lambs, calves, and puppies... The glowing one seems to be a sow? The sow's belly is glowing, and something seems to be curled up inside it. This..."

The surprise had come too unexpectedly, too suddenly.

At an ordinary stall selling young livestock, there was actually a pregnant sow—and it seemed to be carrying a Phantom Beast baby.

"Could it really be a Phantom Beast baby?" Russell carefully observed the pregnant sow from every angle. Unfortunately, the piglet had not fully developed, so he could not make out its exact appearance. Its glow was also very faint, liable to go out at any moment.

After all, it was tremendously difficult for an ordinary animal to conceive a Phantom Beast baby.

But if it truly was pregnant, then with enough nutrition and enough time, it might yield returns countless times over.

"I'm taking this sow."

"Caw!" Little Dream Dragon could not understand why Russell was so interested in a sow, so it gave a cry to express that it was tired.

Then the Dark Dreamscape dissipated, and his consciousness returned to chaos.

Early the next morning, Russell woke from his sleep, roused his Knight Retainers, and hurried to the livestock stall.

The vendor had not set up his stall yet and was feeding the young livestock.

Upon learning why Russell had come, he immediately set down the feed in his hands and enthusiastically introduced the sow. "I paid a great price to transport this sow here. I was afraid the piglets wouldn't withstand the cold along the way, so I brought her over before she gave birth..."

The sow was black all over, greedily chewing on pig feed.

The vendor continued, "This is an excellent breed of pig, the Golden Black Pig. Do you have your own manor, my lord? You can raise these Golden Black Pigs there. In a year, they'll be ready for market, and you'll have rich, delicious Golden Black Pig meat. Whether roasted or smoked, it's absolutely superb!"

Golden Black Pig was a specialty pork from the Golden Baron Territory. Russell had only eaten it at banquets in Fluorite Castle.

It truly was delicious.

So he smiled and said, "All right, I'll buy this sow. How much?"

"That will be one Gold Coin and sixteen Silver Coins."

It was not expensive, so Russell did not bother haggling. He simply nodded. "Ram, pay him... Jack, you and the others take the sow back to the territory. Watch out for bumps. Don't harm the piglets in her belly."

"Yes, sir." The Knight Retainers decisively borrowed the vendor's cart, hired a serf from town, and had him pull the cart toward Wuyou Snake Manor.

Russell remained in town and continued browsing until he had visited the entire caravan. Only after collecting the two finished monocles from the lamp shop did he meet up with Charles and return to the territory together.