What is the Quality of a Knight

In the center of the Flower Farm, the Tulip Great Sprite, accompanied by the Tulip Sprite and six Tulip Elf Bugs, surrounded the Black Tulip, absorbing its aura to perform assimilation.

Liszt stood to the side, watching the Tulip Great Sprite.

In the memories of his predecessor, the Great Sprite known as Xiangxiang was estimated to be over sixty years old. More than twenty years ago, it had been just a small sprite, successfully evolving into a Great Sprite during the generation of Liszt's father. It was precisely because of Xiangxiang's help that the Tulip Family had developed rapidly, with vast quantities of tulips traded for countless riches.

Using that wealth to build a battle-hardened knight order, Leewilliam had been enfeoffed as a Count for his military exploits within a few years.

Coral Island became the family's fief.

Sprites... even though I have the memories of my predecessor and have watched Xiangxiang since I was a child, no matter how many times I see it, it is never enough. Sprites are truly beautiful things that should not exist in this world... It is a pity it is not mine. I only have five elf bugs, no, soon I will have six.

He had written to the Count, hoping to trade for an elf bug, and the Count had clearly agreed, as Levis had brought a Wheat Elf Bug with him.

"My dear brother, Father asked me to pass this Wheat Bug to you as a reward for discovering the Tulip Potion." Levis took out a jade box and handed it to Liszt.

"Is this a reward outside of the trade, or part of it?"

"Outside of the trade, haha. Liszt, do not think of us as outsiders." Levis smiled gently, his aristocratic bearing no less refined than Liszt's. "Regardless, the blood of the Tulip Family flows through our veins. A single potion, or rather the importance of the tulip, is of immense benefit to the family. Father was very pleased when he heard."

"Then I shall accept it. Please thank Father for me."

"Why not thank him in person?"

"Hmm?"

Lvera walked over. "Grandfather has fallen ill and is bedridden. Father intends for the three of us siblings to visit the old man together. Therefore, once matters here are settled, you must return to Coral City with us tomorrow."

"Is that so?" Liszt nodded, having no reason to refuse.

"Then let us leave the reminiscing for lunch. Let us settle the formal business first. Lvera, you discuss things with Liszt; I am going to take a look at the scenery of Flower Town... I have never been to this small town before." Levis mounted his steed and departed with his attendant knights and Raiden, who was guarding his safety.

Liszt watched Levis ride away.

Lvera suddenly asked, "You truly do not wish to part with this black horse?"

"I am very sorry, Sister."

"It is extraordinary. You discovered that?"

"Yes."

"You refuse to sell?"

"I do not sell."

"Very well. It seems that not only has your luck increased, but your temper has as well." Lvera narrowed her eyes. In their childhood, she had beaten Liszt quite often—the predecessor Liszt had been a good-for-nothing who frequently suffered beatings from his older brother and sister, who would steal his toys.

Liszt did not want to recall the past; those were not his experiences. "What have you brought for me, Sister? Business is business; you cannot fool me."

"I am not interfering with the sales of the Tulip Potion. I am only here for one assimilation session: one Sprite and two Elf Bugs. The payment I am providing is five hundred catties of wheat, eight hundred catties of millet, one hundred catties of pig iron, fifty catties of wrought iron, and a bag of seeds for the specialty of Falcon Town, the Sweetheart Vegetable... There is no Sweetheart Bug, so whether you can grow them or not is your concern."

"Less than I imagined, but it will do."

"Do not be greedy. If it were Lytton, I would only be willing to pay half."

Lytton was the Count's youngest son, born to the current Countess, who came from a minor noble family. Status follows the mother; the mother of Liszt and his siblings was the daughter of a Marquis, which was far beyond what Lytton could compare to—when measuring an aristocrat's status, the titles of the paternal and maternal families and their connections were key.

Seemingly dissatisfied with Liszt's current attitude, after the deal was struck, Lvera proposed a spar.

"What is the attribute of your battle qi?"

"Fire."

"What secret manual are you practicing?"

"Fire Dragon Drill."

"Let us have a bout. Let me see your current strength." Lvera took the long spear carried by her attendant knight. "Since advancing to an Earth Knight, it has been a long time since I have sparred with you."

The spar was an excuse.

The goal was nothing more than to teach Liszt a lesson.

But the current Liszt was no longer the timid Liszt of before. He merely smiled faintly. "My apologies, I have not finished practicing my secret manual yet. Let us spar another day."

Lvera's gaze was sharp. "Are you avoiding this? That is not a quality a knight should possess."

"A knight's qualities include fairness. Sister, why not wait until I have finished practicing the Fire Dragon Drill?" Liszt gently deflected the verbal jab.

Raising an eyebrow, Lvera lowered her spear. "You are as cowardly as ever."

"This is called wisdom."

"You certainly know how to flatter yourself."

Lvera was nineteen and unmarried, still a vibrant young person. Liszt's mental age had long passed the adolescent stage, and he would not be angered by a few words.

After exchanging a few boring pleasantries, Levis returned from his stroll.

"Dirty, chaotic, and poor." He shook his head incessantly. "Liszt, I have come to understand your need for food. Flower Town is far more destitute than any town I have ever seen."

"That is indeed true, but I will govern it into prosperity."

"By relying on the Black Tulip? Then let us discuss that matter... First, the assimilation: one Great Sprite, one Sprite, and six Elf Bugs. Tulip Castle will pay a total of three thousand catties of wheat, two thousand catties of barley, five hundred catties of wheat flour, one thousand catties of wrought iron, thirty barrels of beer, and seeds for various crops."

After a quick tally, Liszt did not haggle and accepted the trade.

Cart after cart of supplies was hauled into the castle's warehouse, instantly filling the space that had previously looked rather shabby. The grain alone was enough to feed the castle for half a year, the pig iron and wrought iron could be used to forge tools and armor, and the seeds were specifically requested by him to be planted in Flower Town.

Without Elf Bugs, the barren land could only be irrigated with farm manure to see if it would yield any results.

Come to think of it, the town was no longer very dirty—feces were collected daily and sold to the castle, and Liszt had ordered them to be distributed to the various hamlets to fertilize the fields. The time had been short and the quantity small, so for the time being, other than in Peanut Hamlet, there were no obvious results elsewhere.

The atmosphere at lunch was pleasant; Gortai was an excellent facilitator of banquet moods, chatting and laughing with ease.

After the meal, Levis and Liszt discussed the cultivation and sale of the Black Tulip: "Father's intention is to buy out the cultivation and sales rights of the Black Tulip in one go. As compensation, you can receive one thousand gold coins. At the same time, you may also continue to grow them in Flower Town and sell them to Tulip Castle when the time comes."

"That won't do. The Black Tulip is the cornerstone of Flower Town's development. I will not abandon a continuous stream of revenue for a mere one thousand gold coins."

"That is one thousand gold coins, not a small sum. I don't even know if Flower Town could collect that much in fifty years of taxes."

"If magic herbs are planted on a large scale, perhaps in a few years, I could earn over a thousand gold coins annually from the Black Tulip alone. Magic herbs are in short supply; there has never been a magic herb that couldn't be sold on the market."

"You must realize that without the family's channels, the Black Tulip can never be transported out of Thorn Ridge."

"That is precisely why I want to discuss cultivation and sales with Father, or rather, with you, Brother... I can provide the seeds to Tulip Castle, but I must receive a certain percentage of the cut from all the Black Tulips grown."

"You mean we do the planting, and you just lie in your castle waiting to count gold coins?"

Liszt picked up his milk tea cup and replied unhurriedly: "In essence, that is correct."