The Sea, Treasure?

"There's such a thing!" Nalant frowned. A triple price difference was too ruthless, especially since taxes were levied on purchases. This was something Nalant had never heard of. If he were selling goods, it would be understandable to collect taxes—after all, it protected local industries, and every Earl Territory operated this way.

Of course, Nalant also vaguely guessed the reason Quinte did this: he was certain the villagers had no way to purchase goods elsewhere.

Storm Territory was located in the far southeast of the Tulip Earldom. To travel to other territories on foot took at least a day and a night, and the route was filled with dense forests and wild beasts, making it extremely dangerous.

Conversely, traveling to the Barony of Quinte only took half a day, making it the only place where the serfs could buy daily necessities.

"I could send guards to other noble territories to buy grain, but the problem is that other nobles might not be willing to sell that much. Rations for over a thousand people for several months would be tens of thousands of pounds!"

"Besides, that would be a huge expense, which would instantly exhaust my ten gold coins of starting capital!" Nalant thought as he moved forward.

After continuing along the dirt road in the wilderness for over an hour, the party was finally about to reach the next village.

After winding around a low grove along the dirt road, the view ahead suddenly opened up, revealing an endless expanse of azure coastline.

"Hm? This is the sea? My territory is actually right next to the coast?" Smelling the salty sea breeze, Nalant was stunned, and even his horse came to a halt.

"My Lord, what's wrong?" Seeing Nalant stop his warhorse, Vivian and the others asked with curiosity.

"Vivian, is Storm Territory right next to the sea?"

"Yes, my Lord. Outside Storm Territory lies the endless sea!" Vivian nodded, puzzled.

This was truly unexpected. The ocean—this was synonymous with treasure.

"Vivian, what is the name of the village ahead?" Having received confirmation, Nalant suppressed the excitement in his heart and looked toward the cluster of houses near the seaside. That must be the second village of Storm Territory.

"My Lord, that village is called Misfortune Village!"

"Why would it be named that?" Nalant frowned.

"My Lord, the people living in that village are all those who were exiled to Storm Territory. Because they are all relatives of the Daughters of Misfortune, the villagers of Wheat Leaf Village gathered them all here, so it's called Misfortune Village!"

"There's actually such a thing!" Nalant had thought that only outsiders held strong discrimination against the relatives of the Daughters of Misfortune; he hadn't expected it to exist within his own territory as well.

"By the way, Vivian, then how were you allowed to live in Wheat Leaf Village?" Nalant suddenly remembered that Vivian had been discovered in Wheat Leaf Village.

"My Lord, my parents were tailors, and I can also do simple sewing, so the villagers of Wheat Leaf Village allowed me to live on the edge of the village!" Vivian answered in a low voice.

"Sorry, Vivian!" Nalant worried that he had touched upon a painful memory for the girl.

"My Lord, you don't need to apologize to me! Because of you, Lilia and I have the life we have now!" Vivian revealed a sweet smile instead; she felt very satisfied with her current life.

Soon, the group arrived at the entrance of Misfortune Village. The scale of Misfortune Village was very small, with only a few dozen dilapidated thatched huts.

"Greetings, my Lord!"

"Greetings, my Lord!"

Surprisingly, a group of villagers had already gathered at the entrance of Misfortune Village. Upon seeing Nalant, they knelt and offered their greetings.

Nalant scanned the crowd and discovered that the majority were girls, with men accounting for less than a third.

This was because, during the exile, only the female relatives of the Daughters of Misfortune were forced to come to Storm Territory, while male relatives came only if they volunteered. For instance, Vivian's father had abandoned the two sisters and had not come to Storm Territory.

"Everyone, rise!"

"Thank you, my Lord!" The serfs stood up cautiously.

Once the serfs stood, Nalant began to inquire about the basic situation of the village.

The village chief of Misfortune Village happened to be in the crowd, and at Nalant's call, he immediately approached the horses with caution.

"Kenbi Cowdung, greetings, my Lord!"

"Hm, good name!" Nalant nodded, suppressing a laugh, before continuing, "Kenbi Cowdung, what are you all gathered here for?"

"Replying to my Lord, we are preparing to head to the Blazing Forest in the west to pick wild fruits..." Kenbi Cowdung answered cautiously.

"Going to pick wild fruits? The whole village together?"

Next, Nalant asked about many details and finally learned the true reason they had gathered.

As it turned out, this was also a disaster caused by Anthony's grain requisition. The situation in Misfortune Village was even worse than in Wheat Leaf Village.

Their village had few able-bodied laborers, so they produced little grain and usually had to go to the Blazing Forest in the west to gather wild fruits to make ends meet.

This time, Anthony had requisitioned almost all their grain. Even worse, two months ago, it seemed that a magical beast had appeared in the Blazing Forest to the west, and several serfs had already gone missing while picking wild fruits.

They were now forced into a corner, so they planned to go pick wild fruits as a whole village to look out for one another.

"If there really is a magical beast, it won't help even if you go together!" Nalant shook his head, frowning.

Magical beasts were entities no weaker than Dark Creatures, and were often even more terrifying than most of them.

Because magical beasts not only possessed extraordinary power, they also possessed intelligence. Even a Title Knight had to be careful when dealing with them.

"You have the sea right beside you; why not try fishing at the coast?" Nalant looked toward the seaside. Having the villagers fish would surely be more filling than picking wild fruits.

"Uh..." The serfs seemed stumped by Nalant's question.

Even Vivian looked at her Lord with a strange expression.

"Is there something wrong? Sea fish should be more nutritious, right?" Nalant was even more confused than they were. Logically, the oceans of this world hadn't been destroyed yet; calling them a treasure trove of food wouldn't be an exaggeration.

"My Lord, there are Sea Monsters at the coast. The villagers cannot approach the shore to fish unless the army is sent to drive away or slay the Sea Monsters!" Vivian answered Nalant in a low voice.