Farming in a Parallel World and Becoming a God
Chapter 405 - 344 Clearing Accounts and Receiving a Title_1

Chapter 405: Chapter 344 Clearing Accounts and Receiving a Title_1

It is said that the first time she entered, she was sent out after only two minutes, and although she was not frightened into unconsciousness, at the very least, she had been scared into tears.

But the Maiden Priestess was very strong and quickly composed herself, venturing in once again.

Every time she confronted it, the entire Ghost Manor was put on high alert.

Because she was thoroughly acquainted with many of the manor’s affairs, it was impossible to frighten her.

At least the paralysis entanglement of Five-Willow, the paralytic touch of Black Nanmu, and a series of other unique skills, were unlikely to catch her off guard.

Dealing with her required a different approach, mainly involving atmosphere and psychological suggestion, to ultimately break her down.

But the further it went, the more difficult it became.

The Maiden Priestess was not only rapidly adapting but also quickly growing.

With the transactions completed, the crowd gathered around Yewen Pond was also slowly dispersing.

They would take the Ghost Grape Wine far and wide across Felen, selling it at higher prices.

Wherever the Ghost Grape Wine was delivered, the reputations of Gaven and Weizemay Manor would spread.

To gather such a multitude of ships and people here again would have to wait until Weizemay Manor’s new wine was on the market.

With the departure of the last merchant ship.

A celebration was held at Weizemay Manor that night.

This typically dark and gloomy Ghost Manor, when lit with a huge bonfire and candles, hardly looked as ghostly and grim as it did by day, save for a slightly chilly feel.

There were but a few guests in attendance, but each held a distinguished identity.

Taking the seat of honor was, naturally, the host of the place, the owner of Weizemay Manor, Gaven.

Seated on the left were Lord Ilmet, Regina, and Olive.

Seated on the right were the Grand Inquisitor Valon, Darnell, and August.

Rather than a celebration, it was more suitable to call it a profit distribution meeting for the auction.

Gaven, raising his wine glass, stood up first and said, "I am very grateful for your long journey here. The smooth launch of the Ghost Grape Wine Auction couldn’t have happened without your strong support. I believe this successful cooperation is just the beginning, and we will have many more opportunities to work together in the future. Let us drink this cup together to celebrate."

"Well said, I hope we will have more and more opportunities to collaborate."

"The success of the auction was thanks to Mr. Gaven and Miss Regina. We might not have been much help, merely cheering from the sidelines."

"Mr. Darnell, do not be so modest. Your reputation for fairness has certainly helped a great deal, come, let’s drink to this cup."

"Please."

"Please."

The others stood up in turn, echoing in response.

After finishing the drinks, Gaven sat down and got straight to the point, "With the transactions all complete, and the accounts sorted, we can begin to settle the accounts."

"Wait a moment," Regina suddenly stood up and said, "before that, there is a small procedure to follow."

"What procedure?" Gaven asked, puzzled.

This matter clearly wasn’t part of the plan, but from the expressions of the others, it was obvious they knew exactly what was happening, leaving him in the dark.

Lord Ilmet stood up, drawing the longsword in his hand, and with a solemn expression announced, "Gaven Nort, kneel and hear your knighthood."

Gaven’s heart skipped a beat as he understood what they intended to do, and he quickly stood and knelt on one knee before Lord Ilmet.

Lord Ilmet continued, "In the name of the Cloak King Anka Balisk’s heir and the current guardian of Battle Valley, I appoint you as the Duke of Battle Valley. From this day forth, you will officially take on the duties of guarding the Three Rivers Region, and Gryphon Hill shall be your hereditary land."

"I, Gaven Nort, am willing to inherit the will of Anka Balisk and guard this land for generations," Gaven responded loudly.

"I, Valon Yarl, in the name of the current Grand Inquisitor of the Monastery of the Hammer of Justice and the Hand of Tyr, witness this holy oath today, and the ritual is complete," Valon proclaimed, already standing close to Lord Ilmet.

Lord Ilmet’s longsword tapped Gaven’s shoulders and with a serious face, a smile emerged as he said, "Duke Gaven, please rise."

There was no divine radiance descending, nor any other fantastical visions.

This was but the purest, simplest ceremony of human fealty and swearing of oaths.

The recipient of the oath was not Lord Ilmet, but rather the will of the Cloak King Anka, who had passed away hundreds of years ago.

For Lord Ilmet and his ancestors, as the chief swordsman at Anka’s side, had only managed Battle Valley on his behalf after Anka’s death, never acknowledging themselves as the owners of Battle Valley. If anyone could inherit Anka’s will, lead Battle Valley to rise and unify the entire valley, they would pledge their fealty to the new supreme king.

"Many thanks to the Lord and Grand Inquisitor," Gaven said, his smile nearly reaching the back of his head.

Regardless of the investiture ceremony, he was the de facto owner of the Three Rivers Region.

Its main function was to establish a covenant.

As the investiture and witness,

When Gaven’s sovereignty over the Three Rivers Region was questioned, it would be their responsibility to come forward and clarify.

When an enemy declared war on Gaven, it was tantamount to declaring war on the other two parties; they had the right to dispatch troops.

Whether they would actually send troops depended on the strength of Gaven’s relationship with them, along with their own circumstances—nothing is set in stone.

"Don’t thank me; this is what you deserve," said Lord Ilmet warmly, patting Gaven’s shoulder. "Work hard; I look forward to the day you turn the Ashaba River into the Rosaville Road of the water."

The approval in Lord Ilmet’s eyes could not be concealed, no matter what.

Yet that kind of look was clearly not that of a lord towards his subject; it more closely resembled an old father looking at his new son-in-law.

Although Regina was not his biological daughter, she was more dear to him than one, having been entrusted to him from a very young age.

He had watched her grow up and was well aware of just how excellent his daughter was, as well as the pride that matched her excellence.

Many males had vied for her attention from a young age, from teenagers to men several hundred years old, but not one had caught her eye, as far as Lord Ilmet could remember.

The young man before him was the only one who had caused her to turn around and pursue him instead.

This had occurred after just shy of twenty days of interaction.

Lord Ilmet found that the other party really did possess the charisma and capability required.

It was because his ideas were unique and his style of doing things was unconventional.

Only such a young man could be worthy of Regina, who harbored ideas as wild as a Pegasus’ flight.

"Believe me, that day won’t be too far off," Gaven said with full confidence.

Recently, what he had discussed most with Lord Ilmet was the management of the Ashaba River surrounding the Three Rivers Region and how to fully utilize the convenience of river transportation.

Even if Rosaville Road couldn’t be replaced, they intended to challenge its irreplaceable role in Battle Valley.

"If you truly can achieve this, you’ll be the greatest hero of the entire Battle Valley, freeing all our people from the cunning Sambiyans’ centuries-old chains around our necks," Lord Ilmet spoke with barely concealed anger and helplessness.

Rosaville Road runs through half of Battle Valley, passing through the most densely populated areas.

In turn, most of the residential areas of Battle Valley were built up around this road.

But the actual control of this road did not lie with Battle Valley, but in the hands of Sambiyans merchants.

They exerted an increasingly heavy influence and manipulation over Battle Valley through their commerce and this trade route.

This route was their decisive weapon against Battle Valley.

Attacking Battle Valley militarily along this road would be considered the least effective approach.

The most sophisticated one, also the Sambiyans merchants’ specialty, was commerce.

Should relations with Sambia be strained, they needn’t send troops; they only need to blockade Rosaville Road at Black Feather Bridge, refusing passage to merchants.

In less than a year, Battle Valley would fall without a fight.

Their many cash crops depended on this road for export, and numerous necessities of life had to be imported via it.

As for Sambia, their reliance on this road wasn’t as severe; they had at least two land routes leading to Komeer and a sea route to the Moon Sea Region.

"Those bastards are indeed egregious, treating the Valley as nothing but their backyard, ripe for the picking of its fruits," said Gaven, empathizing as though he had suffered the same tribulations.

At this auction, he gained a new understanding of the Sambiyans merchants’ ruthlessness.

Previously they had Carter’s ovetures aimed at cornering the market.

Then they engaged in coordinated bidding to disrupt the auction’s order, aiming to purchase at low prices.

This was why the vast discrepancy in prices for Ghost Grape Wine at auction was so great.

The high prices were typically from other guilds, especially the smaller and medium-sized ones, because the Sambiyans guild continued to drive prices up, giving off an impression they were determined to win all the Ghost Grape Wine before suddenly backing out.

The low prices were mostly due to Sambiyans merchants, because their high, continuous bids prior had depleted many merchants’ funds.

The rest could only watch helplessly as the Sambiyans won the bids at low prices.

To prevent further devaluing the average price of Ghost Grape Wine, Gaven withheld the remaining five thousand bottles.

Rather than continuing the auction, it would be better to sell them afterward at the auction’s current average price to other merchants.

Given the current popularity of Ghost Grape Wine, Gaven just needed to hint slightly at its availability, and within three days, he could sell them out, at prices guaranteed not to be lower than the average auction price.

"Sambia’s current behavior isn’t anything new, having persisted for more than a day or two, so there’s no need to spoil our mood because of a group of lowlifes," said Valon, the Grand Inquisitor, nonchalantly as if it were nothing out of the ordinary. If they didn’t act that way, it wouldn’t live up to their reputation as wolfish businessmen.

"The Grand Inquisitor your Excellency is correct," Gaven said with a smile. "Today is a celebration, a day to split the profits. Let’s continue our earlier topic and settle the accounts.

In the manor’s wine cellar, a total of nineteen thousand bottles of Ghost Grape Wine were readied, two thousand of which had already been shipped to the Monastery of the Hammer of Justice.

Seven thousand bottles remain unsold; the ten thousand sold have brought in one million and eighty-eight thousand in auction proceeds.

According to our initial agreement, the base price is set at two hundred thousand, so after deducting that amount, one million and sixty-eight thousand remains.

Divided equally among the three, each receiving five hundred and sixty thousand, in addition to three thousand bottles of Ghost Grape Wine each—is this ledger correct?"

Gaven spread an account book on the table, which used a simple tabular format and contained the most straightforward totals; the detailed accounts beneath were two fingers thick.

He hadn’t played any tricks with the accounts, as that would have been foolish.

The cooperation with the other two parties was just beginning, with many more opportunities for mutual benefit to come in the future.

"Ssssss..."

Even though those present were calculating individuals, they couldn’t help but suck in a breath of cold air at that moment.

Since Gaven was the one who had been managing the accounts, although they knew the quantity garnered from this auction was significant, they were unaware of the detailed figures.

Each stand to profit one million and ten thousand (with the remaining Ghost Grape Wine calculated at an average of one hundred and eighty per bottle) even with three-way profit sharing, which was nothing short of astonishing.

"If there are no unexpected events, in the future, we can split at least this amount each year," Gaven added with a subtle emphasis.