"Enclave" Duke

Lia watched from the side with a smile until Milta disappeared through the door.

She rose from the corner and looked at Ian meaningfully.

"The Sea of Miracles is also the Sea of Death. This place is rife with desire, slaughter, bloodshed, and betrayal. Beneath any seemingly friendly face, there may lurk hypocrisy, deceit, schemes, and calculations."

Ian was taken aback, then immediately understood that she was warning him. She thought he had recruited Milta out of pity and was worried that he was too kind and didn't understand how cruel people could be.

Ian's smile widened. "Do you think I'm too kind?"

Lia pressed her lips together without answering. Clearly, she did.

Ian didn't explain. He only said softly, "Only the strong can show mercy. The weak can only put on a brave face!"

Having lived a second life, Ian didn't want words like "kind," "brave," or "cunning" to define him. He had only one identity: "the strong"!

Lia was momentarily stunned, then broke into a radiant smile. It seemed this man understood everything.

"I'll come pick you up for the auction."

Lia waved and turned to leave.

Early the next morning, Ian told Milta, who clearly hadn't rested well, to stay home and keep an eye on the workers. He also warned him not to let anyone onto the top floor.

Paradise Port was growing more chaotic by the day.

Every dock in Paradise Port was packed with sailing ships, lined up one after another. Vast quantities of goods flowed in and out of the harbor every day.

The crowds were thick, order was scarce, and all kinds of factions were hiring sailors everywhere.

This immediately put an end to Ian's plans to recruit sailors. He didn't even have a ship yet, so there was no way he could compete with the others.

Prices in Paradise Port were soaring, too.

Food prices had risen the most dramatically. Potions and Magic Equipment were getting more expensive as well, though thankfully, material prices hadn't risen as sharply.

Still, it wasn't all bad. The silver-blue robe and metal staff Haistorm had left behind had both sold for a good price.

Ian spent several hundred Divine Grace Gold Coins and took the opportunity to buy a large quantity of supplies: spiritual materials, canvas, lumber, barrels, rubber, nails, ropes, food, dried fish, salt, clothes, and a little of everything else he could think of.

Even after buying all those materials, he still had plenty of money left over from selling the equipment.

As expected, the most profitable business was moving money from other people's pockets into your own. He was grateful for Haistorm's "gift."

The materials gradually piled up in the rooms on the first and second floors of the tower.

Watching so many supplies being delivered, Milta tried several times to speak, but couldn't bring himself to ask.

He held it in until dinner that evening, then finally worked up the courage to ask:

"Mr. Trist, why aren't we putting the supplies directly on the ship? Where is our ship?"

Ian smiled mysteriously. "Our ship is still being built. You'll see it in a few days."

That wasn't a lie. Wawa was growing at an astonishing rate every day. Maybe it really wouldn't take much longer.

Ian carefully groomed his beard in front of the mirror. He had to admit, a handsome man looked good no matter how he dressed. A thin layer of O-shaped stubble made him look more mature, with his masculine charm turned up to the max.

With his short hair, wide-brimmed hat, silver-gray trench coat, black leather boots, and belt, Ian's new look made even him feel like a stranger.

Ian hadn't gone out for the past two days. He'd used his spirituality to stimulate his beard's growth and taken the opportunity to put together this new outfit.

A lot of people would be at tonight's auction, including many nobles and Extraordinary from the Eastern Continent. He didn't want to be recognized.

Ian concealed his spirituality to keep its aura from being sensed. With the brim of his hat pulled low, even his family would have trouble recognizing him at a glance.

When Lia stepped down from the Whaling Group's large carriage and saw Ian dressed like that, she didn't recognize him at first.

The change in Ian was so dramatic that she was momentarily stunned.

"How do I look?"

Ian took off his hat, turned around slightly, and gave her a bow.

Lia saw his full beard and burst out laughing. "Not bad. You look much more mature."

"Get in. The captain's in the carriage, too. We can talk on the way."

The carriage carried Abigail, Ian, and Lia straight to the auction house.

Lia handed Ian a list of auction items. The Whaling Group had received it several days earlier.

It listed some of the lots up for auction, while others had deliberately been kept secret and left off the list.

Ian saw that the items included Awakening Potions, Extraordinary Sequence potions, special medicines, Magic Equipment, curios, knowledge of the Extraordinary Sequence, forbidden knowledge, slaves, rare materials, lumber, food, and even a fourth-tier sailing warship.

With everyone busy assembling fleets, hoping to seize an opportunity amid the chaos or fish in troubled waters, someone was actually selling a warship?!

Perhaps noticing Ian's confusion, Abigail explained, "This lot was put up by the Emerald Duke."

The Emerald Duke? Ian was taken aback, then immediately realized that the Emerald Duke was the "Enclave" Duke.

The title "Enclave" Duke was much more famous, so it hadn't clicked at first.

The Emerald Duke was the only duke in the Poldoria Kingdom, yet his fief wasn't within the kingdom's borders. It sounded absurd, but it was true.

The Emerald Duke's territory lay at the junction of the Bema Duchy, the Winter Kingdom, and Taqulin. All three had rather poor relations with the Poldoria Kingdom.

The Bema Duchy lay north of the Poldoria Kingdom and covered a vast area. But because an ancient magical disaster had left little vegetation growing there, much of it was wasteland and desert, and it had long been in conflict with Poldoria.

Taqulin lay northwest of the Bema Duchy, with the Storm Sea along its western coast. Emerald Bay formed a slight divide between Taqulin and the Emerald Duke's territory.

Legend had it that Taqulin had once been the home of the elves. Now, it was occupied by large numbers of Orcs and halflings. The Orcs and halflings of the Eastern Continent were nearly extinct after being slaughtered by humans. It was no wonder relations were poor.

The Winter Kingdom lay northwest of the Bema Duchy and did not share a border with the Poldoria Kingdom. The two had once enjoyed fairly good relations.

But ever since the mist had lifted, the Winter Kingdom's Ice Sea Fleet had begun sailing south and seizing islands with more favorable living conditions. Their conflicts had been escalating ever since.

The Emerald Duke's territory was an enclave, which was how he got his title.

By all reason, with its borders meeting three other powers, the Emerald Duchy should have been besieged on all sides and in a difficult position.

Yet the Emerald Duchy had always been remarkably "quiet." There were no wars or hostile standoffs, and it had maintained peaceful relations with all three. People could even travel and trade freely between the different countries.

It was almost incomprehensible.

Whenever Ian's father mentioned the duke, he wore an expression of admiration. Unfortunately, they lived too far apart, and the two had never crossed paths.

While they were talking, they had already arrived at the Poldoria Royal Auction House.

The Royal Auction House stood in the middle of Central Avenue and looked more like a noble's estate. Beyond the entrance lay a fountain and a plaza, and beyond the plaza's statues of heroes stood a magnificent building with ornate architecture.