Blessed by Abundance, Becoming a Scourge of Terra

Since they were already here, waiting a little longer wouldn't hurt.

Sister Lamian dialed the number without hesitation, but it was Warfarin who answered.

"Miss Warfarin, hasn't Huang Cao returned to Eden yet?"

During their usual conversations, she had already learned from Warfarin that Huang Cao had gone to Victoria two months ago, though she wasn't sure whether he had returned yet.

"No. Did something happen?"

Warfarin answered without a second thought.

Sister Lamian told Warfarin everything about Theresia's impending visit and voiced her concerns.

Warfarin couldn't make up her mind either, but she could transfer the call to Victoria.

Sister Lamian couldn't transfer it herself, since she didn't have the Speaker's office landline number, and that blade of grass had never told her.

"Then I'll trouble you with it."

After several beeps, about a minute later, Huang Cao's voice suddenly came from the other end of the line.

"Hello, this is the Speaker's office. How may I help you?"

What a serious voice. It was like having a recitation singer reading a newspaper beside her ear.

"Hello, may I ask what the Speaker thinks we should do if Your Highness Theresia suddenly visits Banshee River Valley? I'm rather worried."

Why did that voice sound so much like Sister Lamian? I don't remember giving her my number.

Oh, it was transferred...

Huang Cao, who was reviewing documents on the other end, blushed faintly upon hearing that playful yet mature voice. Then he said in all seriousness:

"Oh, my heavens, what a misfortune. This news is as dreadful as King Aslan's tone when he reads a royal proclamation.

"I don't know whether this Demon King has come to borrow money or something else, but it doesn't matter. The Banshee sisters earned all of this through their own labor. What is there to be ashamed of or hide?"

"These are your creations, the fruits of your sweat and effort. There's nothing shameful about them. Just say it openly—say that you acquired these things through an equal trade with a certain Speaker of Victoria."

"If you absolutely have to make up an identity, say that the Speaker of Victoria has a Banshee wife."

It was an almost perfect explanation. Sister Lamian couldn't even find a single point to refute.

Still, that Banshee wife he mentioned was rather intriguing~

But then again, how could Huang Cao not know what Theresia was after?

If this Demon King wanted his help, she had to pay a tangible price.

How much was a pretty face worth? There was no such thing as a free lunch.

With the boost from the Originium Beautification Pack, this land had never lacked beautiful faces.

Besides, wasn't Warfarin attractive? Sister Lamian was in the prime of her youth as well.

Theresia? No mercy!

As the Duke Protector of Victoria, Speaker of the Lower House, and Minister of Finance, my status, position, and the resources under my control far surpass those of Theresia, a mere Demon King.

In fact, having gained territory equal to fifteen percent of Victoria's land area, Huang Cao had long since begun to look down a little on Kazdel's patch of land.

It was tasteless to eat, yet a pity to discard.

But he had made an agreement with Sister Lamian—to witness Theresia's change in thinking, and to bet on whether those siblings would break out into civil war in the future.

So for now, Huang Cao felt that as long as that pink-haired one didn't cause him trouble, she could go play by herself.

Of course, it would be a different matter if she came bearing land as a gift. He would gladly accept it all.

After all, according to the original story, those siblings hadn't accomplished anything noteworthy even after a hundred years.

After receiving an affirmative answer, Sister Lamian left her best friend hanging for another half hour.

After all, this was one of the rare occasions when the two could speak alone. Warfarin was finally no longer interrupting from the other end of the call.

About half an hour later, the call finally ended. Huang Cao prepared to resume work and clear the path ahead for his legislators' future inheritance.

After all, the procedures for granting fiefs still had to be handled. Once he took over the king's powers, he would need to carry out a series of measures to stabilize Victoria's situation and prevent opportunists from swooping in to reap the benefits.

Fortunately, the Cyber Ghost's Originium Database came with translation. Huang Cao had spent more than a decade in this world and learned most of the languages spoken by its various countries. Otherwise, whether he could even understand these documents would have been a problem.

At the same time, he planned to add some population to his newly acquired territory.

After all, properly governing such a vast fief required a great deal of effort.

On the surface, Huang Cao's territory was relatively barren. So according to Victoria's hierarchy of contempt, such rotten land was where Talarian remnants of the previous dynasty ought to live.

Huang Cao had exactly that in mind. After all, he was a foreigner, and with the backing of his reputation and status as Duke Protector—

such an arrangement would not provoke anyone's resentment. Many nobles would even gladly give him the green light.

After all, in a sense, Talarians were also considered a destabilizing element. Having someone else deal with them was the best possible outcome.

In truth, Talarians were also Felines, not Wyverns or Dracos with draconic traits.

"Let Your Highness come in. Store all the grain she brought in the warehouse."

Even though she had become wealthy now, borrowed things still had to be returned.

Theresia waited and waited at the entrance to Banshee River Valley. After a long while, her best friend finally came to pick her up.

The moment they met, the pink-haired one launched into a textbook-perfect apology.

Lamian could only nod and accept the apology, then took her hand and led her into Banshee River Valley.

Mr. Huang Cao had been right.

The banshees neither stole nor robbed. Everything in the valley had been built through their own hard work; there was nothing shameful about it.

As for Theresia wanting to borrow money from her?

Lamian told her the truth.

The money had all been provided by Victoria's Speaker's wife. She had merely benefited from it.

Borrowing a few thousand gold coins was manageable, but anything over ten thousand was out of the question.

After dawdling for nearly an hour, Theresia finally entered the heart of Banshee River Valley.

The moment she emerged from the maze, the Demon King was stunned by the sight before her.

Neatly arranged houses filled her view. Decorated by the banshees, every one of them possessed the exquisite beauty of a work of art.

Is this still Kazdel? Did I somehow get transported somewhere else?

Why was that?

They had all come from poverty, so why had Banshee River Valley developed so well? Had they struck a gold mine or something?

But I don't see any equipment for refining a large gold mine.

And what are these wires on those poles? Some kind of casting apparatus I don't understand?

"These wires are part of a device called a telephone. So long as two places are connected by a wire, people on either end can speak with almost no delay, even if they are hundreds of miles apart."

Lamian introduced it as naturally as could be.

"Something this useful exists? Why didn't you tell me, Lamian?"

"They're expensive. Besides, these wires were set up to sell goods. We don't use them casually unless there's an order."

In truth, they used them almost constantly. Mr. Huang Cao did not charge them phone fees.

They only had to pay some maintenance and electricity costs each year, so they could use them freely.

Theresia reached out and touched the telephone wire wrapped in rubber. "I see. Then where does the other end of these telephone wires lead?"

Lamian lied without even pausing to think, immediately stating that all these telephone wires led to Victoria.

What else could they possibly be for?

It was simply that her younger sisters sometimes could not be bothered to go out, so they called each other to chat.

At present, only the telephone wire in Lamian's own room could connect to Eden and Victoria.

"But even if it's for business, one telephone wire should be enough, right? Why install so many...?"

Theresia felt as if her mind could not quite keep up. Couldn't she simply leave all business matters to Lamian?

Why did every household need one? If they were truly that expensive, could this really pay for itself?

My Your Highness, sometimes you really don't need to be this clever...

"Because these wires all lead to Victoria. The nobles want clothing that is distinctive without losing its dignity. Every one of my sisters weaves patterns and designs that can be called one of a kind."

"So our business strategy is one-on-one service. Since we often need to alter styles according to our clients' demands, our fees are very high."

Victoria? Why were the banshees involved with that country?

And so she immediately returned to that question.

Why was Victoria willing to work with Lamian alone, yet not tell the Demon King, the true holder of power in Kazdel?

"Because Victoria's Speaker did not wish to trouble you. Besides, there are also some private transactions between us."

"The Speaker?"

Theresia had never heard that title before.

Since Kazdel had constantly been fighting wars of national defense, it rarely received news from outside.

Unless it was major international news directly concerning itself, such as Leithanian or another country being destroyed.

But from beginning to end, the Demon King had known that Victoria's ruler was King Aslan.

Her information was not that outdated. After all, she had heard a few things while being beaten up.

"That's right. Banshee River Valley owes its current development entirely to the help The Speaker gave us. Otherwise, we would struggle to even guarantee a good harvest."

Gratitude filled Lamian's tone, because it was indeed the truth.

Then the question became: why exactly had Victoria's Speaker helped them?

Though Theresia dearly wanted to take a bite out of this pie that had fallen from the sky, she didn't believe there was such a thing as a free lunch.

So what kind of under-the-table deal were they offering?

Seeing that her best friend didn't trust her, Lamian could only lay out the speech she had prepared long ago, word for word.

In an instant, she slipped into award-winning actress mode and put on a sorrowful expression:

"Because The Speaker has a Banshee wife. Unable to endure Kazdel's environment any longer, she ran away from the river valley. After going through many twists and turns, she eventually fell in love with the current Speaker."

In short, she made up an entire ridiculously melodramatic love story.

In the end, the Banshee had the Speaker invest in the valley's development as a way of repaying her people.

It sounded perfectly reasonable and well-supported. At the very least, Theresia believed it, because she herself was a deeply emotional person.

Compared to cold, hard interests, she trusted human feelings more.

But why couldn't they add just a tiny bit of profit to those feelings?

Wasn't this a money tree arriving right on cue?

Sorry, little Banshee. I'll be borrowing your Speaker for a while!

There was no helping it. Ever since Theresia had seen the beautiful surroundings of Banshee River Valley, she knew she could never go back.

If every Sarkaz could live in houses like these, she would have no regrets even in death.

If Banshee River Valley could be like this, why couldn't other regions be the same?

Help me, The Speaker!

"Lamian, can you introduce me to Victoria's Speaker?"

"This phone should be able to reach Victoria, right?"

Sure enough, the plot unfolded exactly as expected. Her best friend wanted to bring in investment!