The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 422

Chapter 422
Eivass: I Know Everything

“…I understand.”
Eivass took a deep breath, holding the little crow nestled in his embrace with both hands.

He lowered his head, extending his index finger to playfully poke the crow’s head, and said casually, “You gave the Star Antimony people a large number of orders. And the Alchemists, they’d never seen such a scale of business before… They thought a huge deal had arrived, so they kept increasing their recruitment of apprentices and expanding production.

“And the current King of Star Antimony, Valentine VII, didn’t realize the problem at first. He blindly increased state sponsorship for Alchemists, cultivating many extraordinary individuals into becoming Alchemists.

“—Soon, the Alchemists were overloaded. Because the market quickly became saturated… or rather, the orders you gave them became saturated.

“And with a continuous stream of Alchemists graduating from academies, the country had to continuously provide large amounts of sponsorship to these young Alchemists. An Alchemist of the Third Tier could receive a monthly grant of two hundred gold coins. But the market was already saturated, leading to an oversupply of Alchemical Products within Star Antimony.

“The experimentation and development of Alchemical Products require significant investment, but with enough competitors at similar stages of research, it’s very likely that by the time one group finishes their research, a competitor has already completed theirs. Thus, their research either gets scrapped directly or they are forced to push it to the market in an incomplete state… My guess is correct, isn’t it?”

“—You are indeed incomparably wise, Minister.”
Grandet conceded gently, even adding proactively, “With an oversupply of goods and a drop in quality, we would naturally have to lower our purchase price. You should understand, this is not our fault. It was His Majesty the King’s hasty mistake, but it’s not for us to compensate.”

“Yes, so you reduced the order volume.”
Eivass stroked the crow, softly saying, “And that was the trigger for everything.

“In the Alchemy profession, if you can’t be at the top of the market, you basically lose money. More and more young Alchemists, seeing the huge profits in this field, either voluntarily or involuntarily entered it, quickly putting a strain on Star Antimony’s finances.

“And the Royal Alchemical Association had greatly enhanced its status and influence through the immense profits of previous decades. However, the King of Star Antimony lacked the power of the Path of Authority, making him unable to forcefully control the situation. This made it difficult for Star Antimony to cancel the sponsorship system or reduce grants… So they chose to increase taxes, directly leading to higher tax revenues.

“But even so, the excessive number of Alchemists caused the cost of raw materials to continuously rise; large numbers of low-level Alchemists squeezed each other in the market, leading to declining incomes for everyone. Alchemical workshops went bankrupt, Alchemists became unemployed… They gradually became restless. And the means they tried to reduce the pressure within the industry was to use their own power to shift the pressure onto the Botanists who supplied the materials.”

Therefore, the “King” was continuously forced to accept lower prices by the Alchemical Association. They were even driven to the point where they couldn’t make any profit, or even sell materials at a loss.

And they could only sell to channels other than designated suppliers… The “King” who chose to bring goods from the Ascension Ritual was likely not alone, and he wasn’t the only one trying to smuggle goods overseas. There would be many others like him. This would further increase the cost of Alchemical Products.

It was precisely for this reason that Star Antimony, through their connection with the Lloyd Society and Minister Dross, continuously smuggled large quantities of Alchemical Products into Avalon.

—Because their stockpiled goods were reaching a point of desperation.

The Goblin Merchant Guild basically monopolized the trade ports, making it difficult to re-open markets in other countries even if they could seize shipping routes. Moreover, they were completely ignorant of those unfamiliar markets, and venturing into them would likely only result in losses.

Even under these circumstances, Star Antimony still decided to start with Avalon and open up the western shipping routes.

This indicated that they had been pushed to their limit.

Star Antimony, though appearing immensely powerful, was on the verge of collapse.

They couldn’t afford even the slightest defeat, which was why they never dared to truly engage in war with the Iris Flower. Instead, they mobilized the entire nation for a sudden surprise attack and seized Avalon. After obtaining Avalon, they completely disregarded the territory…

One of the primary reasons was to obtain the “claim” of the Silver Dragon’s relatives.

With this legitimacy and the Guarantee of the Pillar God, they could then contact other countries and conduct trade.

After all, news across the ocean was difficult to disseminate in a timely manner, but Apostles could travel freely within the shrines.

Star Antimony needed to obtain the shelter and recognition of the Apostles to proactively engage in trade; they chose the Pillar God’s shelter presumably to avoid being targeted or interfered with by the Elves. Furthermore, they likely realized the Crown Lord’s dissatisfaction with Avalon, understanding that this was an opportune moment for NTR.

Another reason was that all they desired was Avalon’s western port.

That was not Glass Island—Glass Island was located in the southeast corner of Avalon.

This was why Glass Island was abandoned and became so desolate… Eivass initially thought it was due to Sage Heavenly Envoy’s influence. But now, it seemed that wasn’t entirely the case.

Because the Star Antimony people’s gaze was not on Glass Island at all!

Their fundamental purpose was to resolve the pressure within their own country.

They could have cooperated with Avalon, just as Emma suggested.

In this timeline, Avalon was gradually becoming prosperous. Eivass’s influence was immense, and Grand Arbitrator Meg had not been killed by Red Phase. Star Antimony did not dare to directly wage war on Avalon, so they chose cooperation.

In the original timeline, they could have done the same—Star Antimony would provide goods, and Avalon would be responsible for processing them; Avalon, with its good relationship with the Elves, could also proactively establish westward routes and even open up trade channels between Star Antimony and the Church.

—But Star Antimony, to avoid being backstabbed by Avalon in the future, chose to raze Avalon directly.

While Avalon’s weakness and Star Antimony’s confidence in a quick victory were direct reasons, the fundamental cause was the impending internal collapse of Star Antimony. Therefore, they had to risk offending the Crown Lord and choose this perilous path.

Because doing nothing was also a death sentence.

“Their countermeasure against the Gryphons,” Eivass suddenly said, “was that Gargoyle Legion, wasn’t it?”

Hearing this, Grandet showed surprise for the first time: “You even… know about that?”

With his deep cunning, that might have been a deliberate expression—after all, he could have easily concealed his surprise. By choosing to reveal it, it was a form of flattery.

Flattery aimed at an arrogant heart.

Eivass could naturally see through it all. But he chose to go along with Grandet, giving a slight, arrogant chuckle: “I know everything.

“For example, I know you’re in trouble too. Your three plantations on the Southern Continent have all encountered resistance from local armed organizations, and you must have suffered significant losses recently, right?”

Hearing Eivass’s words, Grandet was genuinely shocked.

This was because he hadn’t told anyone about this matter yet, and had even instructed his employees to keep it a secret—meaning Eivass’s spies could even reach as far as the Southern Continent.

In reality, this was a quest triggered by Grandet’s reputation.

A group of relatively intelligent Trolls, who claimed to have “escaped from a laboratory and thus achieved enlightenment,” were attempting to rescue their ignorant compatriots from the plantations. In reality, these Trolls, who appeared to be pursuing freedom, were a force sponsored by the “Good Lords” of the Ancient Kingdom of Anxi.

However, Eivass certainly wouldn’t share this information with Grandet.

He merely smiled slightly, raising the crow in his hand.

The crow’s ruby-like pupils fixed on Grandet, making him suddenly feel a chill.

The Gray Green was too weak to even realize the anomaly of this crow.

But Grandet, who had reached the Fifth Tier on the Path of Wisdom, could perceive that the “crow” was a profound darkness akin to an abyss, like a vortex.

“—I told you, I know everything.”
Eivass’s lips curved slightly upwards as he softly spoke Grandet’s True Name: “Grandet.Dead Eye… or rather, 『One Who Hides in a Horse’s Belly』.”

Hearing this, Grandet’s pupils constricted.

He looked up in astonishment at Eivass, who cast a shadow over him, and the faint, reddish-purple light flowing within Eivass’s pupils. He then looked at the “crow” which he couldn’t see through at all, and only felt fear from its presence.

—Grandet felt fear for the first time in a long time. Fine beads of cold sweat broke out along his spine.

Did this “crow” tell him?

…But frankly, that was about all Eivass truly knew.

Although he had vaguely heard some background stories from the forum, such as how he hid in a horse’s belly in his childhood for some reason, which also cured the plague, making him extremely ugly, Eivass wasn’t sure if the details were absolutely correct, nor did he know the cause and effect. To avoid being exposed, he chose not to say anything, only stating the parts he knew to be absolutely accurate.

No need to say more. The more you say, the more you err.

Intelligent people would naturally fill in the blanks themselves.

“Now, let’s restart this conversation.”
Eivass leaned back, a faint smile on his face, and said calmly, “Let’s get straight to the point… What is your request?”

The same question as before.

But this time, Grandet truthfully provided an answer.

“…I originally intended to persuade you to establish the Goblin Merchant Guild in Avalon.”
Grandet’s voice was low as he took out a handkerchief, its exquisite craftsmanship evident, and wiped his sweat. “But it seems you already have your own ideas.

“I still hope Avalon can open up trade ports. The ‘Midsummer County’ on Avalon’s west side has good ports and is suitable for conversion into a commercial city.

“As long as you agree and the port expansion in Midsummer County is completed… I can allocate three merchant fleets, providing an annual import and export volume of at least eight million tons. Of course, if it’s inconvenient for you, I can send my own people to build this port.”

“And the cost?”
Eivass asked with a smile, seemingly worried, “Avalon’s finances haven’t been very good lately… Star Antimony promised to contribute funds to help us build ports and railways.”

“What are you saying—since we’re the ones using it, then naturally we should be the ones paying.”
Grandet wiped his sweat again, smiling politely and elegantly. “As soon as you sign the construction documents, I will send people to start work. Besides the port in Midsummer County, we can also help expand Lloyd Port and Queen’s Port. I will dispatch my engineering teams; half of them are Extraordinary, and they can complete the construction in at most two months.”

“But Avalon is quite long from east to west… Will the goods in between use the old railway?”
Eivass asked casually.

Hearing Eivass’s question, Grandet was finally able to confirm that Eivass also intended to open up the country.

—As long as you want it!

Losing some money or something… That wasn’t a problem. As long as Avalon agreed, the Star Antimony people would have to pay back all the money lost.

“Three new railways,” Grandet extended three fingers, “from west to east, connecting all major cities. All cities with three or more Bishops stationed will be connected. I will fund it, and I will find people to build it. It will be completed by next summer—we can also provide Star Antimony’s most advanced locomotives at cost price for ten units to Avalon.”

“Twenty, maybe,” Eivass advised, “or twenty-five would be fine—our steam trains are too slow, and carrying goods is inconvenient.”

“Only ten, and only ten.”
Grandet shook his head, his attitude resolute. “Minister, you can also find Alchemists to analyze the technology.”

“Can it be on an installment plan?”
Eivass said with a smile, “You know our finances in Avalon aren’t great… If too much is allocated at once, I might not be able to secure approval. Avalon’s decisions all go through the Round Table Hall, it’s not just a matter of my and Her Majesty’s word.”

“That’s easy to arrange. You can find a specialist later to discuss it with me. Come directly to Madam Gray Green.”
Grandet smiled, putting the topic aside for now. “After all, I wouldn’t dare to get too close to Countess Eivass. Perhaps in the blink of an eye, those lovely gold coins would disappear.

“However, in order for our construction team to enter… you will need to pass a law allowing foreign races into Avalon. There are quite a few Trolls in my construction crew.”

“Ah, that’s natural.”
Eivass nodded, knowing this would eventually have to be passed.

But he still said somewhat reservedly, “However, I will have to discuss this with Her Majesty personally… This, after all, violates Avalon’s tradition.”

“Oh, right, Minister—I heard the Moriarty Family has been engaged in business for generations,” Grandet said with a respectful and polite smile. “Avalon’s economy isn’t doing very well now… I presume finances must be quite tight?”

“Mmm… I don’t really know. After all, I’m not that interested in family businesses.”
Eivass smiled.

This was a rare truthful statement.

But Grandet found it hard to believe.

He lowered his voice and gestured a “six”: “I can personally provide the Moriarty Corporation with a twenty-year, six-million Star Antimony gold coin interest-free loan…”

—How much?
Eivass was startled.

That was almost half of Avalon’s annual military budget!

And from Grandet’s tone, it seemed to be a personal kickback to Eivass.

It was only then that Eivass truly realized what his status meant.

He wasn’t particularly interested in money… but it wouldn’t hurt to accept it, and it could also help Isabella replenish the national treasury.

So, Eivass nodded and promised, “Before Queen Sophia’s funeral ends, I will give you an answer.”

Upon hearing this, Grandet rose from his seat.

This level five Extraordinary, a renowned expert worldwide, performed an impeccably standard, and thus comical to behold, knight’s salute to Eivass, who was only a Third Tier:

“—Yes, Minister.”
It was not a salute offered out of respect for power.

It was a salute offered out of respect for authority.

An update of over seven thousand words has been completed!
(End of chapter)