Wedding Bells and Visiting Guests

Half a month later.

Crouching Dragon Ravine was filled with a festive atmosphere. The castle, too, had shed its usual look, decked out in all kinds of decorations and blazing with color.

The servants had prepared all sorts of dishes. Besides most of the fruit and seafood produced in Crouching Dragon Ravine, everything else had been bought specially from major shops: expensive melons and fruit, snacks, and other treats. As a result, Lin Lei's little treasury had shrunk by at least half.

There weren't many guests at the banquet. Lin Lei was a newly ennobled noble and didn't know many of the other nobles well. Aside from Miss Alice from Flower Territory, the only other guests were Aierlan's parents, relatives, and friends.

To Lin Lei's surprise, the Dwarf Chamber of Commerce had sent representatives as well. He guessed they had heard there was a mineral deposit in Crouching Dragon Ravine and wanted to build a good relationship with him.

The head of the Blue Moon Mercenary Group was seated off to one side of the banquet hall. They were now considered part of Crouching Dragon Ravine's territory. Facing pressure from internal strife and attacks by outside forces, Lan Linglong was willing to become a mercenary for Crouching Dragon Ravine.

Crouching Dragon Ravine would take only ten percent of their profits. In return, if the territory faced a major crisis, it could requisition them to fight unconditionally, making them the territory's official mercenary group.

The rest of the guests were senior officials who had risen through the ranks in Crouching Dragon Ravine. Furell, who had been away on a mission, and Vix from Green Goblin Town were also at the banquet. All in all, it was quite lively.

"What are all these dishes? I've never seen them before, but they look incredibly appetizing."

Miss Alice gazed at the food on the table, curious.

"This is tilapia, a very tasty fish. It lives in the water. This one is huge; my fishermen caught it and brought it over especially. You can try it."

"Tilapia?"

Miss Alice picked up a fork and awkwardly speared a piece of golden-brown fish. She put it in her mouth and chewed. A delicious flavor unlike anything she had tasted before bloomed on her tongue, and her eyes brightened.

"It's very good. I've eaten fish before, but it was always so fishy that it was hard to swallow. This fish is different. I can't taste any fishiness at all; it's simply delicious. Baron Lin Lei, how did you do it?"

Lin Lei smiled and explained.

"My two little chefs made it. They're Halflings I bought, and they're very good cooks. If you'd like, you can send someone to learn their cooking skills.

"Crouching Dragon Ravine lies beside the sea, so our greatest strength is our abundant seafood. We'll definitely be selling it to the surrounding areas in the future. When that time comes, Miss Alice, I hope you'll help us out."

Miss Alice ate with great enjoyment. She was clearly a food lover, and she didn't mind Lin Lei's way of promoting his territory's specialties. She readily agreed.

After that, Lin Lei didn't stay by Alice's side. The stars of the banquet were him and Aierlan. Although Aierlan was entertaining her own family, he still needed to look after the other guests. He couldn't neglect them just because Alice was of high status.

"My dwarf brother, I'm glad you could come to my wedding banquet," Lin Lei said cheerfully to a dwarf who had come over to toast him.

The dwarf wasn't as boorish as usual. Instead, he bowed to Lin Lei with the manners of a gentleman to offer his congratulations, making Lin Lei's smile deepen.

Being praised by others didn't necessarily make someone a good noble, but hearing their praise was certainly a wonderful feeling.

Happy times always passed quickly. The sun sank in the west, and the banquet came to an end.

Lin Lei was already a little tipsy. With his strength, he could have soaked in alcohol without getting drunk. But he was happy today and hadn't used his strength to resist the alcohol, so he'd ended up like this.

Butler Cress handled the guests' departures and accommodations himself. Lin Lei only had to enjoy the happiness of being a newlywed and play the part of a husband who had just ridden his bride.

The next day.

Lin Lei got up from his five-meter-wide bed. His head was a little foggy from the drinking the night before, but after circulating his essence force, he soon came to his senses.

"Where's Aierlan?"

Lin Lei was a little puzzled. He remembered holding a beautiful woman earlier, but when he woke up, he was alone. It seemed the drinking had really gotten in the way; he hadn't even noticed her getting up.

"My lord, you're awake. You were sleeping so soundly that I didn't want to disturb you. I had the servants prepare breakfast. Come and eat."

Aierlan came in, her hair pinned up and dressed in red. Seeing that Lin Lei was already awake, she spoke happily.

Lin Lei pulled her onto the bed and cuddled with her for a while before getting up to eat.

"Cress, are any of last night's guests still here?" Lin Lei casually asked his butler. He had specifically arranged lodging for the guests the night before.

"They've already left Crouching Dragon Ravine, my lord," Cress replied respectfully.

"Have Aierlan's parents left too? They didn't stay to look around for a while?"

"They've left. They said they still had business to take care of back home. It took a great deal of effort for them to make time to come this time."

"All right," Lin Lei said regretfully.

After breakfast, Lin Lei set out for the Cuju Field, which was under construction.

Cuju was very popular among the nobles, and the kingdom held several cuju tournaments every year, with generous prizes.

But Lin Lei wasn't building a cuju field to enter the tournaments. He was doing it purely for fun and profit. In his previous life, he had been a passionate football fan who could only watch matches on television and couldn't get on the field himself. But every fan dreamed of playing, and now Lin Lei had the chance, so he wasn't about to pass it up.

Crouching Dragon Ravine was developing rapidly, and most residents had spare money. Though it had no shortage of everyday shops, it was seriously lacking in entertainment. There were only two or three taverns where people could drink, and nowhere else to relax.

So Lin Lei was building not just a cuju field but also a Colosseum, a Racecourse, and other entertainment facilities. The investments were enormous. Materials alone cost hundreds of thousands of gold coins, and that didn't include labor or land costs.

The expenses were high, but Crouching Dragon Ravine could afford them, and Lin Lei was confident these entertainment facilities would bring in plenty of money.

Just think of the football leagues back in his old world. Ticket sales alone brought in hundreds of millions, not to mention betting and revenue from related events.

Just thinking about it made Lin Lei start drooling.

The Cuju Field stood on the eastern side of Crouching Dragon Ravine and covered an area about the size of two football fields. The site had been carefully chosen: it was far from residential areas, and there was plenty of open land around it. If Lin Lei wanted to turn the area into a red-light district later, it wouldn't take much effort.

"Furexi, how's work on the Cuju Field coming along?" Lin Lei asked Furexi, who was overseeing the construction under the sun. Furexi was a Bugbear and Furell's brother. Unlike Furell, he wasn't obsessed with fighting; like the little Goblins, he preferred Goblin Engineering.

"My lord, this project is very simple. We just need to build a wall and construct tiered seating so people can watch comfortably. As long as we have enough materials, I can finish it in half a month," Furexi said confidently. He believed he was second to none when it came to engineering.

"Very good. I look forward to seeing the results. If you run into any problems, report them right away, and I'll help you solve them."

Lin Lei patted his shoulder to show his appreciation.

The Goblins undeniably had a unique talent for engineering and architecture. He had opened up his architecture books to them, and one after another, they had become experts. These days, the Goblins handled almost all construction in his territory.

If Lin Lei hadn't discovered the Goblins' talent for engineering so late, he wouldn't have had to spend a hundred thousand gold coins hiring human master builders for the nearly completed Silver Barracks.

"Nowadays, farmers don't hire humans to build their houses and cowsheds. They go straight to the Goblins. As they put it, Goblin construction is both good and fast, and it's better to spend a little money than waste so much of their own time."

Lin Lei couldn't help sighing.

"Back when Furell first came to Crouching Dragon Ravine, all he faced was hostility, disgust, and fear. Now the Goblins are slowly integrating into human life."

Lin Lei didn't spend long at the construction site. After looking around, he headed to Crouching Dragon Ravine Magic School, where he happened to see his younger sister, Avril, learning magic from Aierlan.

"Madam, why did you come out so soon? Shouldn't you rest a little longer? It's not as if you'd miss much by taking a day off."

Lin Lei walked over to Aierlan, concern in his voice.

"..."

Aierlan looked at Lin Lei in confusion.

"Why can't I come out to work? Why should I rest? I've always taught magic at this time."

"No, I mean, aren't you, you know...? It's not good for you to be walking around."

Lin Lei gestured wildly as he tried to explain.

"Haha, you mean that? I may be a mage, but my physical strength is no worse than an ordinary warrior's. It doesn't affect me at all."

Aierlan covered her lips with one hand and smiled.

"..."

Lin Lei smiled awkwardly too, the muscles in his face twitching without him meaning to.

Damn it, I forgot this wasn't a world without magic.

He felt a little dejected.

"You two carry on. I have something to take care of, so I'll be off."

Lin Lei fled without looking back.

"Big sister, what are you laughing at? I didn't understand what you and Brother were talking about. Tell me."

Avril looked at Aierlan with innocent, shining eyes.

"Uh..."

This time, Aierlan blushed at the question.

Karma comes around. She had brought this on herself.

"My lord, this is a letter from Viscount Edward. The messenger said it was probably an order from someone higher up."

As soon as Lin Lei returned to the Lord's Mansion, Butler Cress came over and handed him a sealed letter.