Fezak returned to the castle very late, when everyone except the soldiers on night duty were resting. He took a loaf of bread and two sausages from the kitchen, and a tin of goat's milk under his arm for supper. However, in front of the door of his room, he was surprised to find Siegel waiting for him there.

"My lord, I'll ......" Before Fezak could finish his words, Siegel raised his index finger on his lips and motioned for him to whisper.

"Janet doesn't know I'm up yet, so let's be quiet. ”

He followed Fezak into the room and used his magic to light the firewood in the fireplace to warm it up. The goat's milk jar floats to the flame on its own, swirling and slowly heating up. Siegel took out the elven biscuit and handed it to Fezak, "Try this, dessert from the elven forest." ”

"Thank you. Fezak ate the biscuit in two bites. A fruity fragrance fills the belly, the fatigue of long hours of work quickly relieves, and the pores of the whole body are comfortably stretched. "That's a good thing, my lord. ”

"Sit down," said Siegel, "though this is your room, forgive me for being so polite." In the afternoon, Janet told me that the finances of the territory are not good, tell me what you know so far. ”

"Lord Lord, in fact, our income has been rising, and the gold mines in Banstripe Mountain show no signs of drying up, but we are spending money too quickly. Fezak looked sad and took out an account book from his backpack: "The Elemental Magic Array and the Rune Arrow Tower have drained our treasury at once, and the construction of the castle and city walls has made matters worse. Fortunately, you are very smart to mortgage the Banwen Mountain Gold Mine, otherwise we wouldn't even be able to scrape together the bricks and stones for construction. Judging by the accounts. Within two months, you can also use the method of dismantling the east to make up for the west. But with the arrival of spring. Sowing could be the last straw that crushes our Heim Collar. At that time, there will be no way to borrow gold coins unless you take a tough stance. ”

"How about halting one or two projects, or slowing down the pace of construction?" Siegel asked.

"In fact, most of the money has already been spent, turned into building materials and runic materials, and is being transported to the territory. At this time, the termination loss is not only monetary, but also reputational. Fezak sighed and replied, "I don't know whether to say it or not, I have a suspicion." The dwarves who came to settle there were probably hiding something from the Rune Arrow Tower. Because the cost is too high. ”

"Show me the accounts. Siegel said.

Following Fezak's fingers, Siegel found the column that marked the rune arrow tower, and then his eyes opened as big as a plate: "Two hundred and forty-four thousand eight hundred gold coins?!" He took a breath, his whole body trembled, and then said: "Is this building an anti-evil city wall or an anti-demon fortress?!"

"Your Excellency, you also know that the dwarves are basically self-contained, and others don't know the knowledge of this rune. Before you go, give them the whole project. Fezak said, "If the dwarves really did something in it, we can't really fall out with them." They are still needed for the construction of city walls, arrow towers and many other places, and the Spotted Mountain gold mine is still in the process of being mortgaged. ”

Siegel frowned. Apparently someone took advantage of his trust. "Don't worry about it, I'll find out. He would remember when Irint had taught him how to divide the spoils. Then he said to Fezak, "Although they are all dwarves, the dwarves who stay here must obey the arrangements of my lord, they are different from the top of Mora, and Elint is a man of honor and justice, which will not affect the mortgage of Zebra Mountain." ”

Fezak bit his lip and nodded, putting away the ledger. "Other than that, we should find a way to make money, the sooner the better. After all, two months later is spring ploughing. The replacement and maintenance of cattle and horses, seeds, and farm implements are all expenses, and we also need to prepare food for the time when there is a shortage of crops - if only there was a turnover of at least 5,000 gold coins. He thought for a moment, and finally said, "The news I got from the gnomes, there are no new orders for the rune elemental guards for the time being, I'm afraid I can't count on it. And all this action is based on the maintenance of the normal prosperity of the market, and the expenses of the castle cannot be suddenly reduced, otherwise the creditors will be like wild dogs that smell meat, and they will all be surrounded by them. ”

"Any suggestions?"

Fezak shook his head: "Maybe you have a second gold mine, my lord?"

"The Walled Mountains do contain a lot of treasure, but I have a pact with the Top of Mora not to let anyone else dig into the mines of the Walled Mountains. With our current situation, do we have the spare capacity to develop a third mine?"

Fezak shook his head, knowing in his heart that this could not be done. The production of gold mines has stabilized and there will be no sudden increase, and iron ore mines, although excavated, are low in production and understaffed. Now Siegel has the nickname of "Civil Lord", which is spread in a small area of the Southern Lord. If a third mine is developed, this ugly title will really be confirmed.

The two men fell silent, and by this time the goat's milk was boiling, and Siegel floated the jar over and filled the two cups.

"Now that I'm a lord, I can't smuggle in my own territory. Siegel smiled bitterly and said, "And I look down on pirates, so naturally I will not rob other people's things, I am not a liar and rely on false promises to make money, and I am not a war maniac who loots other people's territories." It seems that most of the things that come in quickly are for the bad guys. Fezak, why do you say that's happening?"

"Because honor and conscience are the most valuable things in themselves, they don't make money, but sell them at a low price?" replied Fezak.

"You said it to my heart. Siegel picked up the goat's milk cup and said to Fezak, "Good regard." ”

Fezak smiled and clinked glasses with him, then took a sip.

Even if the good people are celebrated, this matter still needs to be resolved, and a solution must be found as soon as possible. Siegel let Fezak eat first, while he leaned against the fireplace, warming himself up and thinking. Five thousand gold wasn't too much, but it was only the minimum required that Fezak had calculated, based on the Elemental Rune Guardians continuing to maintain their current income—if only there was a second product.

Since the Knox Guild has been incorporated into the Mage Federation, there is not much difference between offering them new products and selling technology. It is easy to have an impact on the strategic situation. They are willing to spend a lot of money on something to buy at this time. It may not be long before it can be used in warfare. Therefore, the channel of the Mage Federation is not a last resort. It's better not to think about it.

The Top of Mora is also not a good market, the dwarves are interested in mineral gems and delicate magical weapons, but in these areas Siegel can't catch up for a while, and he has nothing to sell to the dwarves. Shield River Beer can become a specialty thanks to the help of the Gem Clan, you can't go to them again, right?

After thinking about it, the only rich people around were the lords of the south. They had become accustomed to a comfortable life, and had not fought a large-scale battle for a long time, presumably their gold coins were buried in the treasury. The Southern Lords don't have mages or advisors to help them, which means they're still amazed at magic. These people seem to be good buyers, but Siegel needs to think about what they are looking for.

"What do the Southern Lords need?" Siegel whispered into the flames, but Fezak heard it.

"Simple but novelty, but preferably not weapons or armor. Fezak said: "It's better if it's something that can be consumed, such as food and other things that can be consumed, such as the elf biscuits just now." ”

"It's just rations for hunger, and they don't spend money on it. Siegel stood up and paced back and forth by the fireplace, thinking about what he could use. Magic. There is no doubt that such a thing must be magical. In this way, it can be sold for a long time in the future, and if you use dwarven rune technology like the Elemental Rune Guard, it can increase the monopoly and provide a lasting guarantee for the spell.

Lasting......

Siegel suddenly had an idea.

"Fezak, don't worry, go to bed!" Siegel ran out of the room and ran to his lab--study, his voice echoing through the hallway, "I've got a great idea, see if I can make it happen!"

Remember that at the Dragon Lion Cliff, the Rock Priest used the Perseverance Rune, which was able to increase the stamina of his companions around him and enhance the recovery ability of his body. This runestone is expensive to make, but it is worth the price. Siegel didn't want to copy this rune as it was, mainly to prevent the southern lords from using it on the army and shooting themselves in the foot. Siegel wants to weaken this rune, reduce it to the lowest cost, and support it with the least number of people.

Due to the reduced power, if the effect of the runes is scattered and covered, the effect will be even worse, so it must be focused. In order to do this, he needed the help of the magic circle. Using part of the Mage's armor spell, he made an extremely weakened version of the Perseverance Rune like armor, covering the recipient with a thin layer.

This transformation was not difficult, and Siegel was able to complete it quickly with his own skillful operation. He tried the effect, and in him, the recovery power brought by this perseverance rune was far inferior to his own physique, and he basically couldn't feel the difference. If it is used on swordsmen and warriors to restore their strength, then this product is far from up to the mark.

But this was in line with Siegel's vision, which he had not designed for combat use. The Knox Society's emotion control spells are used to manipulate thoughts and modify memories, but some of the ideas of their spells are still worth learning from. Siegel selected the spells and combined them with Ding Bao's dwarf's illusion system to create a one-time potion.

Excitement and amplification of emotions, followed by endurance provided by the Rune of Fortitude, the combination of several creates a wonderful effect. Young and old-fashioned people can benefit from this and enhance their longevity between beds.

The most perfect thing about this product is that the cost is very low, because it is a weakened, disposable thing, and only the most general materials are needed, so Siegel estimates that it is only about a hardware coin. The dwarven runes can be used on necklaces or rings to be sold as high-level magic items, while the potions can be used to ensure a steady stream of profits.

If you don't buy a potion, the runestone will only have a weak ability to recover physical strength, which is better than nothing - so the key to the whole combination is still the potion.

Siegel was busy all night, and the next morning he called the dwarf and told him what had happened. "So, I made this kind of thing in the hope of improving the economy of the territory. But I don't want my name to be associated with this potion, right?"

"Pi Ya" smiled and said that there was no problem. "Give this thing a name," said the dwarf, "and I won't do it for you." ”

Siegel pondered for a moment, then said, "There are dwarven runes in it, and it will definitely attract attention." Why don't you sell it as a dwarven product, so how about calling it Mora's Root?"

The gnome laughed, his thumb high and hard. (To be continued......)

PS: What kind of potion is this, everyone knows it, right?