Don't think this is unbelievable.
It was the same in the Western Middle Ages on Earth in his previous life.
Back then, they didn't have sugar, so they used honey as a substitute. They would even specify in their wills exactly how many barrels of honey they owned, to prove how wealthy they were.
It wasn't until the Crusades that they discovered for the first time that solid sugar existed in the world.
At first, sugar was incredibly precious. They even used it as medicine, treating illnesses such as coughs, fevers, and dysentery with it. Even during the Black Death, people used granulated sugar to treat...
"You don't need to thank me, Lord!" Vivian was at a loss at Nalant's excited expression. As far as she was concerned, she had only discovered a wild fruit that couldn't fill anyone's stomach.
"My lord, if you need more, there should be plenty of these 'little trees' in the surrounding woods... S-sugarcane!" Vivian added.
"There are plenty more? Vivian, hurry and show me!" Nalant grew even more excited.
With Vivian leading the way, Nalant began searching through the nearby grass. Sure enough, he found quite a few patches of wild sugarcane growing here and there.
Since it was wild, the sugarcane was somewhat scattered. But according to Vivian, this wasn't all of it. Sugarcane could be found in many places throughout Storm Territory.
Hearing this, Nalant smiled and nodded, then stopped wandering through the grass.
Quite a lot of the sugarcane hadn't fully ripened yet. It would need at least another month to grow, but he wasn't in a hurry. He would need some time to process it all anyway.
When they returned, the little girl Sherry had nearly finished communicating with the bees. She ran over, her face beaming with excitement.
"My lord, look! This is the king of the bees!" Sherry ran up to Nalant, then opened her palm to show him an enormous bee. It was the queen of this colony.
"Very well done, Sherry!" This was a double blessing. It meant he would have not only sugar but honey to eat from now on.
And having gained such a large hive might also prove very helpful in dealing with Quinte Camp in a few days.
Afterward, with Sherry's help, Nalant had two guards carry down the enormous beehive.
There was practically no beekeeping in this world. The only way to get honey was to search for it in the wild.
But now that he had Sherry, Nalant could move the entire hive to the castle without a care.
The next morning, three wagons stood loaded with goods in the castle's forecourt, ready to depart.
This time, Nalant would send a total of twelve people with the caravan to Tulip City.
Aside from Quick and his First Guard Squad, the other person was the steward, Thomas.
With Anthony dead, he was the only one who could read and was familiar with Tulip Castle.
This time, Thomas would take Anthony's place in reporting on the territory's development to the count, and he would also explain Anthony's death.
"My lord, then I'll be off! While I'm away, please take good care of yourself!" As the steward, Thomas was deeply invested in the castle's affairs. He would likely be gone for about ten days, and he was quite reluctant to leave.
"Don't worry, Steward Thomas. Just handle everything according to my instructions!" Faced with the steward's concern, Nalant felt a little awkward. Thomas wasn't a beauty, after all. If he were a beautiful steward bidding him farewell so reluctantly, Nalant would definitely give her a warm hug.
"Yes, my lord!" Thomas had no idea he was being dismissed. He answered reluctantly.
"Quick, I'm entrusting the caravan's safety to you! And remember what I told you to buy, especially the leather armor!" After speaking with Thomas, Nalant turned to Quick, who was fully armed.
The leather armor was for Vivian's squad. Since they would likely earn a good deal of money this time, he couldn't let them go into battle wearing ragged clothes anymore.
"Yes, my lord. Quick will ensure the caravan's safety and carry out the tasks you've given me!"
"Excellent! Then set out! I'll be waiting for you to return to Storm Territory!"
"I swear to serve you, my lord!" Quick stood ramrod straight and pounded his left fist against his chest. It was the standard military salute in this world.
After saluting, Quick looked toward the caravan and waved his hand. "Everyone, move out!"
After the caravan departed, Nalant went straight to the study.
"System, I want to draw a prize!"
The previous night had been the Night of Meteors, but without the system's warning, Nalant hadn't dared to use the search function again.
After all, under normal circumstances, the odds of a meteorite giving birth to a Sprite were extremely low. If a baron's territory managed to produce two Sprites in a year, that would already be lucky. If Nalant kept trying to search, there was a ninety-nine percent chance he would be throwing away his Energy Points.
But even if he couldn't get a Sprite for now, he could still keep drawing prizes.
Nalant urgently needed to increase his strength to deal with the situation at the Buffer Zone camp.
As the prize wheel appeared, Nalant pressed the start button without hesitation.
"Ding! Congratulations, host. You've obtained one Intelligence Fruit!" The result came quickly. This time, Nalant received a purple fruit that looked like a plum.
"It's an Intelligence Fruit! Still, it's better than that Charm Fruit!" He wasn't very satisfied, but he accepted it. At least it was better than the Charm Fruit he'd gotten last time.
As soon as he took out the fruit, a sweet fragrance wafted through the air. Nalant popped it straight into his mouth.
"Whoa!"
The sensation from the Intelligence Fruit was completely different from that of the Strengthening Fruit. When all the fruit's juice had slid down his throat, Nalant felt his whole body shudder. Then his mind cleared.
If his brain had been like a single-core computer a moment ago, after eating the Intelligence Fruit, it had instantly become dual-core.
His mind was not only clearer now, but everything around him seemed sharper as well.
"It's really that powerful?" Nalant hadn't thought much of the Intelligence Fruit before. With his own intellect, he hadn't thought he needed a boost. But now, all he could say was, Well, that's delicious!
The law of "well, that's delicious" had been fulfilled. Nalant suddenly thought of the Blazing Triple Slash technique, which had left him baffled before, and took out the sheepskin parchment.
"Ha ha! The Intelligence Fruit really is incredible. Everything's suddenly so clear! Ultimate move, here I come!"
"I'm Peter, and this is Kali... We greet you, my lord!" In the castle hall, Vivian entered with several stonemasons and carpenters.
"Take a look at this blueprint." Nalant didn't waste words and handed over the design he'd drawn the night before.
Apart from castles, there were no such things as toilets in the towns of this world.
The stonemasons and carpenters carefully accepted the blueprint and looked it over.
"Well? Can you build this structure?"
"My lord, we can build it according to your blueprint, but if we divide the inside into little rooms and dig a ditch underneath, no one will be able to live in it!" One of the stonemasons was a little bolder than the others and answered cautiously.
"Right. You don't need to worry about that. Just make sure you build it well. Also, start work on this toilet immediately. For materials and labor, discuss it with the guard captain!"
"I want three of these toilets built in Wheat Leaf Village and one in Misfortune Village!"
"Yes, my lord!"
Afterward, Nalant entrusted Vivian with overseeing the construction of the toilets.
At the same time, he had Vivian announce his first decree: starting tomorrow, serfs were no longer allowed to dump their excrement wherever they pleased.
Anyone who broke the rule would receive ten lashes. Repeat offenders would be hung up in the square for public display.
Of course, Nalant had also considered the difficulties the serfs would face before the toilets were finished.
He instructed them to dig a pit, bury their excrement in it, and leave it to dry and ferment. After some time, they could dig it up and put it to use.
Once he had finished giving his instructions, Vivian took the craftsmen to the forecourt to discuss the construction of the toilets, while Nalant headed to the rear garden to continue practicing his Battle Qi technique.