After a tour of the steam engine, Roland and Margaery returned to the castle office to negotiate the details of the trade contract. If this kind of negotiation involves bargaining, it is not uncommon for both parties to fight for a day or two, so the Chancellor of the Exchequer is usually responsible for doing the work for him, and the lord only needs to explain the quantity and the bottom line. However, the other party has already finalized the price, and Roland has saved a lot of effort accordingly.

"I expected the next arrival to be a month later, when three sloops laden with saltpeter would arrive with me. The businesswoman wrote quickly on the parchment, "At ninety percent of the market price, it is worth about three hundred and fifteen golden dragons." ”

"By that time the town will be able to produce almost two steam engines," Roland deliberately kept the quantity down, "that is, a thousand golden dragons, which you can make up the difference with or replace with other goods." ”

"What kind of goods do you need?"

"Iron, copper, lead, alum," he said, "are common minerals." But the first three things I need are not ore, but smelted ingots. In addition, I need ten sets of crystal glassware, it doesn't matter if there are carvings, kettles or wine glasses, but they must be the best quality products produced by the Wangdu Alchemy Workshop. If the price exceeds the difference, I can make up or deduct it from the cost of the two steam engines for the next month. ”

"You're taking me for your businessman," Margaery chuckled, "I don't run a mine, but I know a few people who specialize in the ore trade. It's just that I never expected that a remote frontier land could contain such a big business opportunity. Few nobles lived here, but they had to consume a lot of saltpeter, and as a town built for the mines of the northern slopes, they had to buy minerals from outside. This is simply not in line with my common sense of business, Your Highness, your territory is incredible. ”

One of the major characteristics of industrial production is that a large amount of raw materials are swallowed and the finished products are exported to the outside. Roland spread his hands, "There will be more in the town in the future, I think we can achieve a long-term - "

At this moment, Margaery's eyes suddenly widened, and she looked behind Roland in surprise, who was stunned, and subconsciously turned her head, only to see the drenched lightning sticking to the floor-to-ceiling window, her hands clutching the glass, her face full of panic - her face was pale, strands of hair were attached to her forehead, and drops of water were dripping down her hair, as if she had just been fished out of the water.

Roland quickly got up and opened the window, and after the lightning flew into the room, he threw himself into Roland's arms, his panicked expression suddenly relaxed, and his body fainted.

"Nightingale, call Nanava quickly. He said anxiously.

"Yes. An answer came from the empty side.

What's going on, she shouldn't have encountered evil beasts or demons in the air, could it be that the other party also has the ability to fly? Roland roughly checked Lightning's body and found that there were no obvious external injuries, so he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Your Highness, she...... Is that what you mean by lightning?" said Margaery, covering her mouth, slowly approached the prince and looked carefully at the little girl in his arms.

Roland chuckled in his heart, damn it, how could he forget her. He shouted out the door, "Sean!"

The guards walked into the office.

"I'm sorry, Madame Margaery, but I'll have to ask you to stay here for a while," the prince stood up, holding the lightning bolt, "and take the royal merchant to the guest room on the first floor and keep an eye on her, and don't let her out without my orders." ”

"Yes!"

"What? No, Your Highness...... Please wait," she suddenly realized, "I have no ill will towards witches, and besides, she is the daughter of Thunder, and I will not give a message to the church-"

"I'm just in case," Roland interrupted, "I'll come to you later." ”

......

"Your Highness, she's awake," Nightingale said as she opened the door.

Roland nodded, and followed Nightingale into the bedroom. The bucket next to the big bed was still steaming, and the soaked clothes hung haphazardly around the bucket. There was a group of witches around the bed, and Wendy sat at the head of the bed, gently combing the little girl's hair, which was not completely dry. The lightning that had not seen blood on her face before was now a little ruddy, and she leaned back on the two stacks of pillows, the quilt was pulled high so that only half of her head was exposed, and her eyes were staring at Roland.

"How's it going?"

"Not hurt, but from a coma caused by the exhaustion of her magic," Nightingale replied, "Wendy washed her body and woke up not long after she was carried into the bed. ”

He walked over to the bed and smiled at Lightning, "What's going on? ”

"I've found the ruins," she muttered in a low voice, "but there's a devil in there." ”

This sentence made everyone's faces change.

"You're in?" the scroll asked.

"No," Lightning shook his head, recounting what had happened, "the devil is in the basement doorway, and there are still people calling for help inside. But I was so scared that I ran away and didn't think of a way to save her. She tucked her head back into the covers, "Am I not qualified to be an explorer?"

"No, you're doing a good job," Roland comforted, "a good explorer knows how to judge the situation, and won't deliberately put himself in danger, you can't save her alone, and running away is the right choice." ”

"A witch in the tower?" Wendy thought, "and no one but a witch can reach the depths of the Hidden Forest. ”

"Witches won't go there either," scroll shook his head, "that's a relic from four hundred and fifty years ago." If it weren't for the map, it would be difficult to find the location of the stone tower in the vast sea of trees. Unless ......"

"Unless what?" Roland asked.

"Unless someone lives there all the time. Shujuan said slowly.

"Do you mean that they did not start from the kingdom, but have been there for generations since four hundred and fifty years ago, living in isolation?" the prince mentally rejected this speculation, what kind of concept is this to live in the primeval forest! elusive beasts, all kinds of terrible insects and poisons, no stable source of food...... Even if it is Bei Ye, it is impossible to live in the forest for a long time. What's more, there is still a winter of heavy snow in this world that lasts for months, and evil beasts and demons are rampant, settling in the hidden forest is simply self-defeating. He looked at the lightning, "Are there any signs of human presence near the ruins?"

"Nope. The little girl shook her head.

"Maybe there's more than one map," said Zoroya, "and maybe there are others who, like us, are looking for Tachira's whereabouts." ”

"Either way, we can't help them," Ye Zi sighed, "No one can quickly get to the stone tower except lightning." ”

"I'm afraid we'll have to go to find out the real situation," Roland touched his chin, "anyway, it's good to come back safe and sound." Tonight's class will be suspended for a day, so let's have a good rest. When the time comes, the puzzle will naturally be solved. ”

Leaving Lightning's bedroom, he said to Nightingale, "Next, we have one more trouble to solve. ”

"Just let her take the Punishment Stone," she laughed, "and leave everything to me." (To be continued.) )