Knight Captain

After the transaction ended, there was a little over a minute left.

Across from her, Monroe was already grinning from ear to ear. He cradled the three tubes of blue liquid like treasures, then hurriedly found some cotton cloth to wrap them in so they would not get knocked or damaged.

"Right!" He smacked his forehead, seemingly remembering something important.

"Would you like to become friends with me?" Monroe wore a flattering smile.

"Friends?" Claire looked puzzled.

"Yes. As long as we each pay one Trade Point, we can become fixed friends. Then we can specifically match with each other next time. Another trader told me about it before."

Claire had no idea about that. During the transaction, she had not had any spare Trade Points, so the option of becoming fixed friends had never appeared.

"Sorry, I don't have any extra Trade Points."

Regret immediately appeared on Monroe's face. He truly wanted to hold on tightly to a trading partner like Claire.

Though Claire said that, even if she had spare Trade Points, she would not have become friends with him. There was no particular reason—his world level was simply too low. It was not worth spending even a single Trade Point on.

Claire had learned about this world from the original owner's memories. Once those warriors reached the level of Gold Knight, the bullets she remembered would not be very effective against them. Unless she hit them with an RPG rocket, that was another matter.

And this era clearly did not have anything like RPG rockets.

The five-minute countdown ended, and the cross-world high-definition call automatically shut off.

Claire took the guns and bullets out of the trading space. Once the transaction was over, that space could no longer be used.

After leaving herself one revolver and one bullet, Claire tossed all the rest into her Spatial Ring.

Spatial Rings had long since been developed by the mages who pursued truth in this world, and they could even be mass-produced. The one Claire had held ten cubic meters and was worth one hundred thousand Gold Coins. It had been bought back when her ancestors were wealthy; the current Claire could not afford one at all.

Whenever she used this Spatial Ring, Claire could not help but sigh in relief that her good-for-nothing father had not pawned it off.

After opening the revolver's cylinder, Claire inserted the bullet in her hand. After giving it some thought, she took out the dagger from her Spatial Ring and scratched a white mark onto the chamber where she had loaded the bullet.

The dagger and the three tubes of Basic Healing Potion had both been taken from her Spatial Ring. The reason she had pulled them out of her clothes during the transaction was merely to avoid drawing suspicion.

After marking it, Claire flicked the cylinder back into place, her expression excited. She had spent over twenty years in her past life in a prosperous, stable socialist country. She had never even had the chance to touch a real gun.

After admiring it in her hand for a moment, Claire lovingly played with the revolver. Guns really were men's toys; she was soon completely engrossed in it.

"As the saying goes, Seven Steps Away, Gun is Fast..."

Still, Claire was not excited enough to fire it immediately as a test. There would be plenty of opportunities later. It would not be good if she frightened Butler Regan outside the carriage.

Butler Regan had already been the Griffin Family's steward back when her good-for-nothing father was alive. Even after she fell on hard times, he had been willing to follow her back to this remote coastal city. He could truly be called loyal and dutiful.

At the knights' estate in Nafu City, the knights were drunk out of their minds. One after another, they lay sprawled across the floor and tables without a shred of dignity, their limbs spread wide as they let wine spill over their bodies and drip onto the ground.

"Captain, it seems our lord, the Viscount, has returned." Vice Captain Hant spoke cautiously.

Dean could not help frowning when he heard that. He had been happily drinking, and Hant just had to bring up something so unpleasant!

He immediately roared, "What are you scared of, you coward? So what if he's back? He doesn't know anyone or anything here. Won't he still have to rely on us? Otherwise, with him being just some little brat, the nobles in the city will swallow him whole!"

Dean, the Knight Captain of Nafu City, was extremely displeased. Since that bastard had gone to the royal capital, his family had lived comfortably in Nafu City for three generations. Yet now, at this very moment, the brat who had inherited the viscount title wanted to return. How was he supposed to keep enjoying the good life?

Vice Captain Hant forced a smile. "Yes, yes, yes, but he is still the Viscount. They sent someone ahead to notify us. No matter what, shouldn't we go welcome him?"

Slap! Dean, already in a foul mood, slapped Hant across the face.

"Since when was it your turn to make decisions? Does Nafu City listen to you or me? Are you the captain, or am I the captain? You're just a vice captain, and you're telling me how to do things?!"

Dean stood up and pointed at Hant as he cursed him out. Hant could only cover his face and retreat into a corner, not daring to say a single word in response. He had merely meant to offer a kind reminder, yet Dean had taken his good intentions for ill will.

"Hmph!" Dean snorted. "So what if I go welcome him? So what if I don't? I'm going to give him a taste of reality and let him see who has been managing Nafu City after his family was gone for so long. Without relying on me, he can forget about having a good life!"

Of course, he did not have the nerve to kill Claire. But Claire was still just a child. He did not dare rebel openly, but there were plenty of tricks he could pull behind the scenes.

When he noticed that none of his men had echoed him, Dean swept them with a cold glance. "What's this supposed to mean? You don't want to follow me anymore?"

The knights below immediately chimed in. "Captain, you're right. You've lived in Nafu City for so long, while the new lord is still young. He'll definitely need your help."

"Exactly, exactly. He should be thanking you."

The men below continued agreeing with him. Though they felt some unease toward the lord who was about to arrive, the fear commoners felt toward nobles was nearly etched into their blood. But Dean's tyranny weighed even more heavily on them. Besides, he was a Silver Knight. Even if all of them joined forces, they would not be his match. What could they do even if they disagreed?

Curled up in the corner, Vice Captain Hant looked at the high-spirited Dean and let out a soft sigh. Ever since the Viscount's family had moved to the royal capital fifty years ago, it had taken Dean and his people only a few years to turn Nafu City into their personal playground. Hant had also gotten a little benefit by following along, so he could not exactly call himself a good person. Still, compared with Dean, he at least had some moral boundaries.

Now, all he could do was wish the new lord good luck.

After being jolted about in the carriage all the way, Claire opened her bleary eyes after dozing for nearly four or five hours.

"Ha!" She stretched and yawned. "A carriage really isn't a suitable place to sleep."

After rubbing her hazy eyes, Claire called out, "Regan!"

Before long, Regan, dressed in a butler's uniform, pulled open the carriage curtain and poked his head inside. He had graying hair and a grizzled beard, with a square face that made him look dependable.

Claire asked, "Have we entered the viscount territory?"

"Yes, Young Master. We've entered your viscount territory. We'll reach Nafu City in a few more hours," Regan replied respectfully.

Claire was not dissatisfied with their pace. Although they had sold off many family possessions, most of the inexpensive furniture had been kept. At Regan's suggestion, they had brought it back to Nafu City, where furniture available only in the royal capital could not be purchased.

With so much furniture in tow, their speed naturally could not be considered fast. Moreover, they had bought ordinary horses. If they had used magical beasts that cost several hundred Gold Coins, they could have traveled considerably faster.

But neither Claire nor Regan could bear to spend that kind of money. Even if they bought one, given their current finances, they would probably starve the magical beast into malnutrition.

"Where are we now?" Claire asked.

"This is the village closest to Nafu City. It mainly grows wheat and raises livestock such as horses, cattle, and sheep." Regan added, "All the land here belongs to you, Young Master."

"Hm?" Claire became interested. "Doesn't that sound rather like the evil landlord class?"

After stretching once more in the carriage, Claire yawned again. "I'm tired after riding for so long. Let's stop here and rest for a while. I want to get down and take a look..."

Regan grew somewhat anxious. "Young Master, this is where those lowly commoners live. Why don't we return to Nafu City first..."

Claire was briefly stunned. She had only recently transmigrated, and she still found it difficult to accept hearing him refer to commoners as lowly people.

Then she stood, walked over to Regan, and patted him on the shoulder. In a soft voice, she said, "They are not lowly commoners. They are my subjects. One day, I will let them live better than people anywhere else in the world. Get down. I want to inspect my territory."

Claire's tone carried an unquestionable command. Regan instinctively stepped aside, and Claire climbed out of the carriage, taking a deep breath of the outside air.

With a light jump, Claire leaped down from the carriage and began stretching by the roadside. After sitting in the carriage for so long, her body had become stiff.

Seeing his young master get down, Regan could only order everyone to rest where they were. Yet during the break, his gaze kept drifting toward Claire, intentionally or otherwise.

His young master seemed different from before. She was much more confident, and her words made one's blood boil. As expected of a young master of the Griffin Family! Her ambitions were so extraordinary, so lofty!

Regan became immersed in his own emotion, while Claire wandered around, filled with curiosity about this new territory. She had grown up and studied in the south in her previous life. She had seen southern rice paddies, but this was her first time seeing wheat.

As the breeze passed by, she could smell the faint fragrance of wheat.

As she walked, Claire's attention was suddenly drawn to a small black shape. Looking closely, she saw it was a little lamb. Its originally snow-white wool was filthy, as though it had rolled around in some field.