The next morning, Elyse made a deal with the minotaur priest.
Every month, they would trade at least ten thousand tons of iron ore. The goods they traded mostly included daily necessities that the minotaurs were short on, like food, salt, and cloth.
The ship left, and Leo and his group were on the ship too.
"Leo." Lilia found him and made sure no one was watching. She said, "I found out the soldiers were trying to salvage our sunken ship last night."
"What?" Barnett shouted, and immediately had a bad feeling. "The map. Sir, the map is still on the ship."
He regretted not taking the maps with him.
With the maps, the Kano Kingdom could definitely build smoothbore cannons.
Leo didn't care. He said, "It's okay. The most important thing for a smoothbore cannon is gunpowder. No one else knows how to make it except me."
He had only taught Ava a little about making gunpowder, but the key techniques were only known to him.
Barnett frowned and stopped talking.
"Is there a substitute?" Leo looked at him and asked, confused.
Barnett nodded. "I'm not sure, but the gunpowder Sir made is similar to the Blazing Curse made by the Alchemist."
"Blazing Curse?" Leo didn't understand.
Barnett, who had seen a lot, explained in detail.
The Blazing Curse was a magical item made by the Alchemist. It was a red powder that could burn and explode.
"A magical item?" Leo felt relieved. He said, "Even if it can replace gunpowder, this thing is very valuable. If it's used in battle, not even a kingdom, but an empire would not be able to afford it."
"You're right." Barnett agreed, nodding. Things made by the Alchemist were always expensive.
Lilia interrupted them and said, "Leo, are you really going to become a noble in the Kano Kingdom?"
Leo sighed and said, "If you could steal a big ship, we could run away."
"Really?" Lilia's eyes lit up, but then she frowned. "No, there are more than five thousand elite soldiers here. There are also over three hundred soldiers on this ship. I can't beat them."
Leo comforted her. "It's okay, let's go to the Kano Kingdom first. We'll think of a plan later."
...
The journey was smooth. The flag of the Kano Kingdom flew high, and no one, not even any group or pirates, dared to target this strong army.
Elyse occasionally introduced the customs and culture of the Kano Kingdom to the girls, making them all feel excited.
But during these days, she didn't get close to Leo. Instead, she hinted to Barnett and Solomon that she wanted to build ironclad warships and make smoothbore cannons.
Both of them told Leo about it.
This woman had big ambitions.
If she had ironclad warships and smoothbore cannons, she could definitely become a strong ruler, and the Kano Kingdom would become a powerful empire.
...
After more than half a month of sailing, the ship left the fog and everything suddenly looked clear.
On the wide sea, there were many ships moving back and forth. In the distance was a huge, busy city.
Carno City, the capital of the Kano Kingdom.
This was one of the few countries that built its capital by the sea.
It was also the only choice. The Kano Kingdom was huge, but the land was long and thin. Except for the coast, the rest of the land was dry and not suitable for people to live.
Leo came up to the deck and looked far away at the city.
"Lord Leo, what do you think of our Kano Kingdom?" Without him noticing, Elyse had also come to the deck. She looked at the city in the distance and asked with a smile.
"It's good." Leo said without turning around.
It was only because the world's technology was so backward. If gunpowder was common, this Kano Kingdom would be easy to attack and hard to defend. It would be almost worthless.
Elyse didn't care. She stood on the deck, her hair flying in the wind, her skirt flowing. She said softly, "Don't worry. The Kano Kingdom will become even more prosperous!"
Leo looked at her again.
These days, he had learned a lot about Elyse.
She was the princess of the Kano Kingdom. She had high status and a good reputation.
The Kano Kingdom didn't have a prince. The old king wanted to pass the throne to Elyse, but some nobles were unhappy and started to act secretly.
Elyse's trip to the Black Dragon Kingdom was meant to be friendly, to improve her status.
But she didn't expect to find out that the Black Dragon Kingdom was planning to attack the Kano Kingdom. That was why she was being chased all the way. And she just happened to meet Leo…
"Clear the way for the ship!" At that moment, a voice came from the shore. A big port appeared, with soldiers gathered and greeting Princess Elyse.
"Lord Leo, I've already told my father to prepare a place for you. I'll invite you to the palace in a few days." Elyse smiled and led Cynthia off the ship.
"Look! It's really Princess Elyse!"
"Princess Elyse is so beautiful! It's an honor to see her in person!"
…
The common people outside the port were shouting in excitement.
It was clear that Elyse had a lot of support among the people.
Leo's group didn't go with them. They were escorted by a group of soldiers to a big mansion in the city.
It was said that this place used to be the home of a count who didn't respect Elyse. He was destroyed, his family wiped out.
This woman was much more ruthless than she looked.
The mansion was clean and nice. It had been cleaned recently. It wasn't fancy, but it was a good place to live.
The next day after Leo moved in, the king made him a count. He gave him lots of jewels, money, servants, and even a group of elite soldiers.
They said it was to protect him, but everyone could tell it was to watch him.
Leo didn't care at all.
The king didn't want to see him. When some nobles came to visit, he just refused them.
Elyse came often, but only to see the girls.
She always brought nice cakes and beautiful small gifts. The girls got closer to her.
Especially Anna and Marina. Sometimes they were invited to the palace to play.
Leo knew Elyse was trying to buy the girls' loyalty. He didn't care and didn't even respond.
A few days later, Barnett and Solomon were also invited to the palace. They came back with a message.
The soldiers of the Kano Kingdom had really found the smoothbore cannon and the maps.
"Those maps weren't just for the smoothbore cannon. They also had blueprints for flintlock guns, crossbows, composite bows, and even rough sketches of ironclad warships."
"Sir, you were right. That Elyse wants us to build ironclad warships, smoothbore cannons, and make gunpowder." Barnett said, still feeling uneasy from his trip to the palace. Especially the old king-he had given him a big pressure.
Leo nodded, not surprised. He asked, "Did they give you any trouble?"
"No. We did exactly what you told us. I think Elyse is about to lose her patience." Barnett could feel how eager the old king was for the gunpowder.
Leo smiled. These days, Elyse had been ignoring him on purpose, trying to make him feel uneasy and then bring him in.
Creak.
The door opened, and Anna and Marina walked in.
Leo was surprised. He asked, "You guys weren't supposed to be at the palace? Why are you back so early?"
He remembered that every time the two girls went to the palace with Elyse, they always came back late. But today was only midday.
Marina looked at Anna, who was pouting, and said, "Elyse kicked us out."
"Hmph. That woman is so cheap."
Anna pouted, throwing the toy she was holding and sitting down to sulk.
Barnett saw that there was nothing else to do, so he said goodbye and left.
Leo looked at the two girls, curious. He asked, "So, did Elyse not treat you well this time?"
Anna ignored him. Marina answered, "She did. Elyse promised us we could go to the palace treasure room and pick any item we wanted. Anna had her eyes on the crown."
The crown?
Leo was speechless. The crown was for the new king, a symbol of the throne. Only the new king could wear it. It was impossible for Elyse to say yes.
But it was already said, and there was no way to take it back.
He asked curiously, "What happened after that?"
Marina's smile got bigger. She said, "Of course Elyse said no. So Anna asked for a thousand water crystals and a thousand flamestones, and then she kicked us out."
"A thousand? A thousand water crystals and flamestones?" Leo was shocked. Anna really asked for way too much.
Even a kingdom wouldn't be able to come up with that many crystals all at once.
Water crystals and flamestones were both powerful magical items that helped with elemental magic.
Anna was a water mage, so water crystals were super useful for her.
As for flamestones, it was obvious that this girl asked for them for Leo-so he could make more gunpowder.