Chapter 174: 110. Keken’s Thoughts
Saint Nali has many districts, most of which were roughly defined for their original purposes at the beginning of their design, a story from the time of the Griffin Party’s governance.
At that time, they planned to center the residential areas in circles around the Golden Palace, layering them according to status and wealth from high to low.
Less than four kilometers east of the Golden Palace is Nali Lake, the largest saltwater lake in all of Nali and also the royal family’s private territory.
The name of the Nali Kingdom doesn’t actually come from any classics or legends, but from this largest saltwater lake within Nali.
The ancestors of Godlin the First were sinners who were exiled to Nali Lake by the empire [Central Empire] that spanned the entire Western Continent, and they lived for generations at what was then considered the edge of the savage Western Continent.
Until the birth of Godlin the First, who like the Pride of Heaven rose against the Central Empire at just twenty-five years of age.
He marched east from Nali Lake, conquering all the small kingdoms along the way, defeating the Central Empire’s army, annexing the capital Saint Cassell, and reaching Keken, the origin of magic and religion, where he was bestowed the surname Godlin, meaning “law of the gods.”
Indeed, ancient Nali was once a very large kingdom.
However, precisely because it was so enormous, ever since the death of Godlin the First, the farther the borders, the weaker the central control became, and the Godlin Royal watched helplessly as the territories their ancestors had worked hard to conquer were taken piece by piece in independence movements.
By the time of Godlin the Fifth, the largest war of independence in history, the Shivali Rebellion, occurred.
Shivali has had its own culture and traditions since ancient times and was also a federation with autonomy during the Central Empire, but bowed to the authority of Godlin the First, living in the shadows of the kingdom for two hundred years.
However, starting from the time of Godlin the Third, the control of Nali began to weaken gradually.
Seeing this lack of control, local warlords rose in Shivali and eventually, during the era of Godlin the Fifth, a farmer who defeated a serpent unified the entire territory, calling himself the “Sun Empire.”
The army of the empire, symbolizing the sun rising in the east and setting in the west, advanced fervently toward Nali and ultimately took the capital.
At that time, King Godlin the Fifth was a foolish coward who could even endure as his wife and son were captured and humiliated by the Sun Knights, smiling as he signed a treaty recognizing their independence.
The place where the treaty was signed is now known as the “Haserogen District,” where the Baicui family currently resides, as the merchant group that escorted Godlin the Fifth back to Saint Nali was the Baicui family.
At this time, on a fine evening, in a three-story villa in Haserogen District, Keken’s two wives had just finished washing up, dressed in semi-transparent silk nightgowns. The conservative Cardu sisters, with black hair and eyes, displayed their boldest appearance in front of their husband, wearing the latest trend in Nali known as the “husband-slaying set.”
It was evident that the effect was very good, Keken couldn’t take his eyes off them.
“Hey, where did you buy these clothes?”
Upon hearing her husband’s question, Dora and Laura giggled, covering their mouths. One of them went to the side of the room and lit a Cardu incense, its faint fragrance instantly filling the air and causing a warm sensation in their lower abdomen.
The Cardu people loved making incense, with a wide variety, including ritual incense specifically made for worshipping the Mother goddess, as well as private fragrances for health and increasing attack speed.
The effectiveness of such nighttime functional incense, while not as potent as dragon blood, is milder and does not harm the body, making it preferred by gentlemen who understand the importance of long-term benefit.
“This outfit was recommended to us by Madame Berlinster; she is a Nali native, and the restaurant I took you to before was also her recommendation.”
“This dress is indeed quite embarrassing, but if you like it, that’s all that matters.”
The two blushing sisters gently massaged Keken’s scalp, waiting for the incense to take effect.
“Oh my, no wonder that Berlinster fellow has so many children; his wife is not good-looking and likes to gamble. I used to wonder how they could sleep together at night. With this dress, even if you said they were angels beside the Mother goddess, I’d believe it; it’s simply too sexy.”
“Decency.”
“Hahaha, sister, hurry up and stop him from defiling the Mother goddess!”
The two sisters playfully patted Keken on the head with pillows. Keken, feeling restless, was on the verge of wanting to make a move when suddenly the telephone in the bedroom rang.
“Ding ding ding~”
Keken’s expression briefly froze, interrupted in his spell. He glanced at his wife next to him and then somewhat impatiently walked to the phone to pick up the receiver.
“Hello, who is it? Oh… oh! Mr. Fisher.”
Keken’s expression shifted slightly, and he gently put a finger to his lips signaling for silence. His two wives understood and lay down on the bed as they watched Keken sit down by the window.
Fisher’s voice came through, asking, “Keken, are you asleep?”
“No, not yet; it’s still early. Is there something wrong?”
If it were anyone else, he would have already hung up, but he respected Fisher, so he didn’t show any impatience.
After some simple pleasantries, Fisher asked directly about the charity gala this weekend, and just as Fisher guessed, this matter was indeed under Keken’s responsibility.
“Yes, I’m in charge of this. Do you want…”
“Like this, I want to donate one hundred thousand Nali to the Baicui Bank. I wonder if I can be admitted to this weekend’s charity banquet; I have something special to do.”
Pausing on the special matter, Keken’s mind began to wander as he considered the attendees, including the prince, and that the event would be held in the Healing Room. Fisher’s intentions were likely either related to the prince or the Healing Room.
As for the royal affairs, he was already in contact with Elizabeth, so he wouldn’t overstep; the most likely connection was the Healing Room.
The Healing Room was backed by the Nali Exploration Company, and if anything went wrong, it could not be traced back to him. Plus, he was following the proper donation procedures to enter the banquet.
Thinking this through, Keken spoke, “Oh, hold on, let me think.”
Sensing the arousing incense, it was indeed somewhat challenging to focus on serious matters. Keken struggled to crack open a window slightly to disperse some of the incense with the night wind and, after some reflection, said, “One hundred thousand Nali has certainly reached the threshold for attending that banquet, but if it’s Mr. Fisher, I recommend donating only fifty thousand Nali. I can give you a special quota, and with your reputation, you just need to arrive at the charity banquet; do you need to conceal your identity?”
Fisher hadn’t expected Keken to be so astute; after a moment of thought, he smiled and said, “I need to keep a low profile.”
“In that case, using internal channels of the Baicui Bank, only seventy thousand Nali will be required. Ah, don’t mind my laughing; the actual amount reaching the charity cause is only seventy percent of the original donation. Thirty percent remains in the foundation’s accounts. I can manage it; you only need to donate seventy percent of the original amount, which is seventy thousand Nali.”
Keken held a feather pen, his mind swiftly reflecting on all the operational details, and then said to Fisher.
The conversation at night wouldn’t last long, especially as both of them were straightforward in their words.
After confirming a few matters with Fisher, their conversation finally came to an end.
“By the day after tomorrow, around Thursday, I will send you the invitation to the Healing Room in the name of the Nali Baicui Bank. If you want more discretion, you can also enter through my special access with me, and you can bring one female companion or a servant.”
“No problem, it’s not a bother. Just remember to transfer seventy thousand Nali to this account tomorrow.”
“Yes, yes, won’t keep you, alright, goodnight, Mr. Fisher.”
After confirming the details with Fisher, Keken set down the receiver, excitedly scribbled a few words on paper, appearing very happy.
Behind him, Laura and Dora exchanged looks of confusion regarding Keken’s actions and curiously asked their husband, “Is it that scholar Fisher Benavides?”
After finishing writing, Keken closed the windows and took a deep breath of the incense placed in the corner of the room, then quickly ran to the sisters’ side, wrapping an arm around each of their shoulders and nodding, “Yes, it’s the one who came to the Southern Continent, the senior from the Royal Academy.”
Dora nodded her chin and turned to ask, “Why would you help him like this? As far as I know, he’s just a scholar. Even though he has some relation to Princess Elizabeth, it’s still not much. Or even if he becomes the husband of Princess Elizabeth, it wouldn’t help the Baicui Bank. You know, the husband of the princess must stay clear of the parliament and other businessmen.”
Keken chuckled, reached out to tap his wife’s head, and replied, “Well, first of all, Fisher is an extraordinary talent. He previously designed a self-proving ring for souls. The mages of the Magic Association and the Exploration Company wanted to design some soul-related spells to make money but couldn’t come up with anything. He never replies to their letters. He never collaborates with those commercial companies.”
“Letting him owe us a bit of favor can never be a loss. If it comes to it, we can ask for a few patents on his spells and profit immensely, especially since he is Heilson’s student.”
“But this is not the most critical aspect.”
As Keken spoke excitedly, he sat up straight and addressed the ladies behind him,
“I didn’t want you to worry and didn’t tell you, but actually, during my time on the Southern Continent, I once led a small troop to watch that bunch of Southern Branch Dragon Race fight with the Western Branch.”
“What? Watching others fight? How could you go so far and not tell us, especially to observe the Dragon Race in battle? Aren’t you afraid that group of subhumans will catch you? Seriously!”
The two wives were a bit angry about their husband’s secrecy and almost reached out to tug on his ear.
Because Keken had previously informed them that the red Dragon Race of the Southern Branch was very special and could be considered dangerous.
Knowing how dangerous it was and still wanting to go see, it puzzled them greatly.
Facing his wives’ questioning, Keken smiled and explained, “Ah, it was particularly perilous at the time; I even doubted that the red Dragon Race had noticed us, but was simply too lazy to care. I stood on the mountain with binoculars watching the two armies face off. You know how terrible the combat abilities of the Dragon Race are; when they fight, it’s already outrageous, and that red Dragon from the Southern Branch is even more formidable.”
“She could break into the center of the Western Branch’s army single-handedly and capture their commanding leader, with just a wave taking down numerous Dragon Race soldiers and imprisoning all the resisting Dragon soldiers. Such a creature is clearly not easy to deal with, with that level of intelligence and ability; give her a few more years and she will probably dominate the entire Southern Continent.”
After hearing this, both women worriedly looked at Keken and asked, “Aren’t you worried that the city lords won’t listen to your advice?”
“Hah, even if she drives all those stupid pigs out of the Southern Continent, what does that have to do with us? The Western Continent is not peaceful either; once they finish with their own issues, they won’t have the energy to care about the Southern Continent. By then, that place will have already developed. I’m just skeptical whether that Dragon Race will attack the Western Continent.”
“I’ve gathered a lot of intel. You don’t know, that red Dragon Race’s battle chariot actually belongs to Fisher Benavides. That chariot is not even for combat; she treasures that chariot immensely and even takes it with her in battle. Don’t you understand? That Dragon Race has a special connection with Fisher.”
“To take a step back, we could completely change identities later, for example, becoming traders collaborating with him. As long as we maintain a good relationship with Fisher, it will always present an opportunity in the Southern Continent, or specifically with that red Dragon Race.”
“I’m not interested in the job my father arranged for me at the Baicui Bank; what’s the point of continuously relying on that? My future lies in the Southern Continent. The true skill is opening a branch of Baicui Bank in the Southern Continent. Just you wait and see, although the time might take a while, I’m still full of confidence about the future.”
The two wives completely did not understand Keken’s plans and thoughts, but they always silently supported him. They had witnessed how unhappy Keken looked while reluctantly working under his father’s arrangements.
So they smiled and gently touched Keken’s body, saying, “I understand, great planner, the incense has already thickened.”
“After all this talking and still not moving—don’t you want a baby anymore?”
Keken chuckled, casually turned off the bedside lamp, and then let out a low growl, heading toward the battlefield.
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(End of Chapter)
