[Hot Potato in the Secret Room]

[First chapter today. The second will be posted tonight, and there'll be another bonus chapter at midnight to climb the rankings.]

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The Hot Potato in the Secret Chamber

He had unexpectedly acquired gunpowder. What could something like this do in this world?

Make guns and cannons? Lead the trends of the age and, in one stroke, propel this era of cold weapons into the era of firearms?

What a joke!

Du Wei wasn't foolish enough to think that possessing gunpowder meant he could create modern firearms. First, what would he make weapons for? Stage a coup and seize power? Go to war? Du Wei had no interest in any of that. Second, were firearms really so easy to make? Forget guns and cannons... after gunpowder was invented in China in his previous life, people had spent countless centuries knowing only to use it for fireworks.

Were firearms really that easy to produce? Guns or cannons—forget making an entire gun, Du Wei couldn't even make the simplest gun barrel.

Besides, this was a world of magic! In this world, even if you had guns and cannons, they might not be as useful as magic.

The most basic low-level mage only needed to know wind-element flight magic and the simplest fireball spell...

As long as such a low-level mage flew into the air and threw fireballs downward, he could basically be regarded as a humanoid Apache attack helicopter!

Under such circumstances, what advantage would a few crude cannons made with a little gunpowder and rudimentary techniques have?

What was gunpowder for?

Du Wei's answer was simple: making money!

Having grown increasingly accustomed to this world, Du Wei had, almost as a prank, created the McDonald's Fleet, the Black Pearl, and Captain Jacks Pailuo... and he was gradually beginning to take an active interest in this world.

Interests beyond magic.

Since he couldn't go back anyway... he had to make things a little more interesting.

Even the all-powerful demon's servant had been unable to send him back. Du Wei had more or less given up hope. And once Du Wei opened his heart... once that prankster streak in him was unleashed, it was difficult to predict what kind of waves it would ultimately stir up.

At the very least, his head was now full of "ideas" that would be enough to scare the poor old steward into a fit.

After returning to the castle, Du Wei first summoned Made, the servant he valued most. Made was in charge of Du Wei's private little treasury. When Du Wei had been kicked out of the Imperial Capital, the thousand gold coins the Countess had secretly given him had been kept by this servant.

"How much money do we have left?" Du Wei asked bluntly.

Made answered quickly. "Eight hundred and ninety-two gold coins." After a pause, the loyal servant added, "Because of the little building you had constructed and the things you bought, we've already advanced several months' worth of your allowance. And since your allowance was stopped starting this month, we could only pay the difference out of our own pockets."

There was a touch of resentment in Made's voice, mainly directed at the old steward, Hill. It seemed this former groom had been feeling rather oppressed by the old steward.

"And for the next year, we can't expect to get even a copper coin from the steward," Du Wei sighed.

"Isn't that so?" Made said gloomily. "Young Master, I think you should come up with some way... the Count is being far too harsh on you. You're still a child, after all, and this incident wasn't your fault either. Did you want to be kidnapped? I do have an idea..."

"What is it?"

Made's eyes shifted as he lowered his voice. "In two months, it will be the Countess's birthday. If you send a gift back to the Imperial Capital then, along with a letter asking the Countess for help, and if she pleads with the Count on your behalf... perhaps your restriction might be lifted early."

Du Wei nodded. "Good idea, dear Made. A very good idea. Even if I don't ask her to plead for me, I should still show some consideration for Mother's birthday... but what sort of gift can eight hundred-odd gold coins buy?"

Made had nothing to say. This had gone far beyond the scope of thought available to a former groom.

Du Wei had no intention of having this groom contribute any more wisdom. He patted Made on the shoulder. "All right, I have my own ideas, but thank you for the reminder. Now I need you to do something for me."

Du Wei quickly drew up a list and handed it to Made.

"Buy everything on this list for me... and I need all the craftsmen listed here as well."

After taking the list, Made glanced over it and did a bit of mental calculation. His eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Young Master... if we buy all these things, and hire these craftsmen as well... I'm afraid there won't be much money left in our hands..."

In truth, Made was being quite restrained. What he really wanted to say was, "I'm afraid we won't have even a single copper coin left!"

Du Wei smiled with complete confidence. "Made, do as I say. Don't worry, we'll be rich in the future—very, very rich! It's just... I have a large sum of money outside, but there's no hope of getting it within two months. And Mother's birthday is two months from now, so I have no choice but to think of something. All right, go."

What could he do? If he could wait three months, once the McDonald's Fleet's pirate plan to rob pirates was complete, he would have a huge influx of gold coins.

But right now, he had no cash on hand!

As for the secret chamber beneath the study... Du Wei had gone in to take a look last night.

Guess what was inside?

Not gold, nor jewels... but things that made even Du Wei dizzy just looking at them! There was no doubt that all of them were extremely valuable. But... selling them off quickly would be difficult.

For example, a suit of warrior's armor sewn together from more than three hundred high-grade gemstones, each pierced and threaded with golden wire! Such a thing had no practical value in battle, but as a work of art, it was worth a fortune!

Something like that probably couldn't be sold in the small cities on Roland Plain. Only major cities like Walker Port or the Imperial Capital might have buyers.

Of course, if Du Wei truly needed money, he could dismantle it and remove a small gemstone to sell. But that would destroy a work of art of staggering value! Naturally, Du Wei would not do something so foolish and loss-making.

Then there was a ceremonial crown carved from a single flawless piece of the finest natural amethyst! Four hundred years ago, when the Empire stood at the height of its power, the emperor of the time had gathered many master craftsmen to create it. Twenty-nine high-grade magical gemstones had been set into the crown, along with thorn flowers made from dissolved mithril, each petal inlaid with a large diamond cut into a prism shape!

This crown was not the first time Du Wei had seen it. He had previously seen an illustration of it in a book.

Legend had it that this priceless crown was a gift from the emperor of that era to the newly appointed Pope of the Temple of Light upon his accession and coronation!

But regrettably, during the later war against the northern foreign tribes of the continent—the very continental war in which the Roland Family rose to prominence and, through military merit amid the chaos of war, received the entire Roland Plain as its fief...

This crown, which had always been kept within the Temple of Light, mysteriously disappeared!

The Temple of Light regarded this matter as one of its greatest humiliations in centuries! The crown used for the Pope's coronation had actually been lost! For the following centuries, every Pope, upon taking office, would make recovering the coronation crown one of the wishes passed down from generation to generation.

Tell him, then—did Du Wei dare take such an item out and sell it for money?

If he sold them on the first day, the Temple's knightly order would probably come knocking on the second!

There were nineteen items in total among the treasures Semel had left in that secret chamber! Every single one was worth a fortune, yet each was a hot potato that could not be sold!

In fact, when Du Wei had seen a whole room full of such hot potatoes last night, his imagination had run wild for quite a while... What kind of woman had Semel been back then?

Where had she gotten all these things?!

But when he asked the replica Semel beside him, she knew nothing at all. The memories she had copied contained no information about these items.

Thus, although Du Wei had acquired nineteen priceless treasures, he was still troubled by money in the short term.

It was not that he lacked money; what he lacked was liquid cash for emergencies.

After weighing it up, he had given his last eight hundred-odd gold coins to Made for procurement. That meant that for the next three months, Du Wei—the dignified eldest son of a count, the young master of the Roland Family—would truly not have even a single copper coin in his pocket.

And after doing the calculations, he found that his future magic experiments, the preparation of magic potions, and the refining of plants were all consumables that needed to be constantly purchased and replenished.

How could he get hold of one or two thousand gold coins to tide him over?

Throughout lunch, Du Wei pondered ways to make money. The meal itself was quite good: several pieces of tenderly pan-fried goose liver, bread baked to a golden sheen, and a bowl of richly fragrant seafood soup... Clearly, aside from strictly carrying out the count's orders to keep Du Wei confined and cut off his funds, the old steward had not made things difficult for the young master. He had also been quite attentive to Du Wei's dietary preferences. The goose liver and seafood Du Wei liked were not cheap, but when it came to the normal daily expenses of food and drink, the old steward still did not dare treat Du Wei stingily.

After lunch, Du Wei drank some tea. This world had no coffee, but it did have tea. Its tea-drinking customs, however, differed greatly from those of Du Wei's previous life. Nobles liked to add a little honey or gummy sugar to their tea... while some with unusual tastes even liked to add things such as mustard.

Of course, the tea in this world was also somewhat stronger in flavor than that of his previous life.

After drinking a small cup of honey black tea, Du Wei saw the old steward hurrying over.

Old Steward Hill was now deeply dissatisfied with this young master! He had actually destroyed an oil painting that had been treasured for two hundred years! Good heavens! Did he not know that painting was a portrait of an ancestor of the Roland Family? Did he not know how many ages that painting had survived?

He had actually burned it!!

As the old steward tasked with guarding the Roland Family's ancestral estate and property, Hill was extremely displeased by the young master's ruinously wasteful behavior! He had already decided that he would definitely add a harsh account of this matter to the letter he wrote to the Imperial Capital!

"Young Master, do you have any further instructions?" The old steward's attitude was still respectful enough, though his tone was somewhat cold.

"As long as I don't leave the castle, I can do anything else here, correct?" Du Wei asked.

"...Yes." As the old steward answered, he could not help feeling uneasy... What was this young master planning to do now?

"Very good. I need a maid who knows needlework. Also... bring my horse to the entrance."