Irina had come to Frozen Earth Territory along with them not only for the three Magical Beast Eggs, but also because she wanted to personally inspect the territory.
Blade Rose's intelligence had given her some idea of what Frozen Earth Territory used to be like, but as Ryan kept springing one surprise after another, she began to feel that the information was not entirely accurate.
Looking at the Frozen Earth Territory that had nearly been turned upside down, Irina was speechless for a long while.
By the time she took the three Magical Beast Eggs away, Irina's opinion had completely changed.
She remembered her purpose. She had come here to assess the commercial value of Frozen Earth Territory and Baron Ryan, because the Empire had already begun abandoning Northwind Province, and the consequences of that decision would be wide-ranging.
For instance, merchant guilds like theirs might visit Northwind Province less often in the future. Even if they did come, they would only conduct brief trade rather than establish permanent bases in every county city.
At a time like this, choices became especially important. Some merchant guilds would simply abandon trade in remote areas. A few thousand or ten thousand Gold Coins were not worth wasting greater costs on.
For example, several merchant guilds in Zero Crossing City had already decided to abandon all trade profits from Zero Crossing Prefecture. Even Cold Mountain County, near the Fragrant Mountain Plains, held more value to merchant guilds than Zero Crossing Prefecture.
In the future, those merchant guilds' caravans would no longer appear in Zero Crossing Prefecture. Their decisions had also left others hesitating. After all, with fewer merchant guilds, trade would wither, and Zero Crossing Prefecture might show signs of economic decline. They would be affected as well.
After Viscount Miles Family returned