Chapter 40: Chapter 39 Major Reforms

On the streets of Fein City’s main urban area, Byrne, clad in black finery, adjusted his glasses, instructed guards and servants to go for a meal, and sought out the similarities between this city and the one where he spent his childhood.

He soon deeply furrowed his brow, for he could see garbage strewn everywhere, completely unmanaged, and the sewage-strewn ground was even dirtier than Nasir.

People bustled by in a hurry, houses on either side of the street were chaotically built and crowded, all contributing to a claustrophobic oppression that surrounded Byrne.

With the emergence of steam engines and factories in recent years, the people from the towns and countryside of the East Coast had gradually begun flocking towards Fein City; the massive influx of outsiders, primarily settling in the suburbs, was part of an inevitable, broader trend of explosive urban population growth across many cities on the Ouden Continent.

He quickly fled the general area towards Fein City’s center, noting the environment around him gradually improving.

The city center streets were wide and flat, with a clean pavement, free from any trash, and lined with tall, lush trees whose branches let dappled sunlight scatter in patches on the ground.

Byrne surmised that this part of the street in the city center must be where the wealthy lived.

A boy wearing a hat approached, giving Byrne a shy smile.

“Sir, would you like to buy a newspaper? There’s big news about the Seven Stars Alliance today! Oh, it’s not quite accurate to say that, as there is no longer a Seven Stars Alliance.”

Byrne was slightly stunned and saw that many around him who had bought newspapers were also looking astonished; clearly the boy wasn’t lying, something astonishing had indeed occurred.

Although the Seven Stars Alliance was a bit far from Cyart, Byrne was still curious about what had happened, having never seen a newspaper in Nasir but only heard of such a thing; he wanted to try buying one today.

“Alright, I’ll take one.”

So Byrne spent a copper nal to buy a newspaper from the newsboy’s hands, and began reading this paper named “Cyart World News.”

Byrne was astonished to see it filled with knowledge and information from all over the world, almost like a handy paper treasure chest!

Soon he found the largest page of the newspaper used a giant font to detail a major upheaval in the northern Seven Stars Alliance, and his face instantly changed.

“If this isn’t a double prank, it’s truly terrifying.”

The first matter was the official renaming of the Seven Stars Alliance to the Seven Stars Empire, completely abolishing the longstanding republic structure, as an officer of sub-human status successfully ascended the throne as Emperor of the Seven Stars Empire.

“Miller Corsica of the Seven Stars Empire, from an obscure small noble family, now called the ‘Military God’ is likely one of the most powerful knights on the Ouden Continent, or even in the world today.”

He took a deep breath; if the first matter was utterly shocking, then the next was simply absurd enough to make one question the sanity of the world.

The Sun Church, one of the Five Great True Gods Churches, publicly acknowledged the legitimacy of the Reforging Church, considering it the sixth of the Great True Gods Churches!

“It’s utterly nonsensical; the descent of the God of Reforging is one of the most negatively impactful events over the last century.”

Initially, He slew large numbers of nobility and the Extraordinary Exponent overnight after the Arrival of the Seven, even the then-Emperor perished.

Byrne remembered all too well how countries and churches once regarded the Reforging Order as a scourge; before today’s newspaper, he couldn’t imagine the Reforging Order being recognized as a True Gods Church.

The Reforging Order honored the “furnace” and “steel” as their symbols, and the increasingly popular steam engine of recent years was rumored to be their inventive creation.

“At least both matters won’t affect Cyart, whatever happens in the continent’s north, the distance here is ultimately too far,” he muttered to himself.

Cyart, one of the Eastern Four Kingdoms, is located to the southeast on the Ouden Continent, quite a distance from the Seven Stars.

The city center was much cleaner, houses in the area no longer felt as oppressive, but Byrne was not relieved; the content on the newspaper was too sensational.

“The Sun Church acknowledged the Reforging Church’s status, even after doing such terrible things, they still have a chance to turn around public opinion?”

He recalled the many history books he had read and suddenly felt that in a few decades, the perception of the Reforging Church in people’s minds might indeed change.

“If the Reforging Order could become recognized as a True Gods Church and gain a foothold, perhaps one day, Dawn might also gain legitimacy in people’s hearts.”

A longing arose within him, yet he clearly felt it was a goal almost as challenging as ascending to heaven, even more tangible than the crazy idea of annihilating the Meyer family.

Some fifteen minutes later, Byrne located the bank of Fein City.

In Nasir there were no banks, and intrigued, he walked into the spacious lobby, noticing the candlelight from crystal chandeliers reflecting off the marble floors.

The Fischer family only had those chandeliers with many curved arms and candles; Byrne had never seen more beautiful crystal chandeliers, always irresistibly looking up at them a second time.

“In the future, the Fischers’ house must have such chandeliers,” he thought silently to himself.

A middle-aged dwarf with a big beard approached, dressed in loose bright yellow clothing, with kind eyes, appearing very friendly and approachable.

“Good day, sir, haha! What can I do for you? Feel free to discuss anything with me, especially if it’s about money!”

Nordivar Bank, a giant joint-stock bank spread across the Ouden Continent, is said to have an unusually high number of dwarves among its upper echelons, yet it was the first time Byrne had seen this rare sub-human species in Cyart.

Indeed, today was a day of many firsts for him.

“A loan, I want to borrow money,” Byrne said without hesitation.

The dwarf, standing only about one meter tall and squinting as if he were a stone stump with a human face, laughed heartily, “Hahaha! Good, very good! I swear I like that term you just used! You can call me Milward, I am the head of Nordivar’s branch in Fein City!”

Milward paused for a moment then continued, “However, we are also afraid of bad debts when it comes to loans, so you need to provide some reliable proof.”

Byrne calmly produced the knight identification signed by Duke Black Iron himself, and the dwarf Milward immediately beamed with joy.

“Hahaha! I see, since we are both people of status and identity, it will be easier to talk!”

After leaving the bank, Byrne’s feelings became extremely complex.

The matter of taking out a loan to expand their venture had been discussed with Irene a week earlier, and they both believed that as long as they used the “Pharmacist” ability to continuously develop and improve new potions, the Fischer family could make a steady stream of money.

But after really borrowing a full fifty gold coins, Byrne, borrowing for the first time, felt a heavy psychological burden, because it would be very troublesome if he couldn’t repay the debt eventually.

Later, he found a local merchant in Fein City using the address given by sea merchant John, and they agreed to meet at the merchant’s home.

Byrne, leading his servants and guards, arrived at a glorious mansion, far more beautiful than the town chief’s house and almost as luxurious as Baron Hovern’s residence in Nasir, quickly realizing that he was meeting with a true major merchant.

According to what John said, most of the goods he shipped by sea were sold off nearby with the help of Mr. Gold, whose abilities and connections were extremely strong.

Mr. Gold was a Cyart man, two meters tall and weighing at least three hundred pounds, with a shiny bald head not sporting a single hair, and possessing an intimidating butcher-like gaze.

It was said that his brother-in-law was the lord of Fein City, Viscount Bast.

The interior of Mr. Gold’s mansion could only be described as opulent, and deep inside Byrne hazarded a guess that the ordinary man before him was perhaps even wealthier than Baron Hovern, who was part of the Extraordinary nobility.

Dinner time came, and they started to talk business.

“You want to sell this?”

In his hand, he held a red potion, and his tone was deep, almost aggressively inquisitive, but Byrne sensed no malice—only perplexity.

Byrne, prepared for this moment, nodded briefly, and explained calmly,

“This is a potent detoxifying potion, capable of counteracting all conventional toxins and low-level mysterious creature toxins. The average market price is three gold coins, but my cost is less than one gold coin.”

Mr. Gold pondered for a moment, then asked, “Shelf life and method of transport and storage?”

Byrne went on, “The shelf life is three years, after which the effect will weaken until it becomes ineffective after five years. Remember to avoid impacts during transport and storage.”

He was confident in making money because the cost of the new potent detoxifying potion was too low, at just over a dozen silver coins, leaving a large margin for profit.

Mr. Gold shook his head, gazing at the young man with eyes full of experience and insight, as if reading his character, and spoke calmly,

“Still doesn’t make sense, how many people in the country would be poisoned every day? Ordinary detoxifying potions can handle most situations; the market is too small, not to mention you seem to have forgotten about the costs of storage, transportation, and promotion.”

Byrne was stunned for a while, falling into a long silence. Mr. Gold wasn’t entirely right; he had already considered those costs, but he hadn’t expected Mr. Gold to dismiss those profits entirely.

It turned out that a big merchant backed by the viscount family didn’t care for such small gains; the bald man before him probably only wanted to make big money.

All of a sudden, a smile appeared on Byrne’s face, his eyes brimming with the same confidence once seen in Lucius, as he continued effortlessly,

“In truth, our Fischer family is cooperating with a genius alchemical Spellcaster, who possesses strong research and development capabilities in medicine.”

His eyes gleaming with confidence as if he had already succeeded, Byrne said with a smile,

“As long as you are willing to help, we can bring forth other new potions within a year, and you will be given priority for cooperation.”

Finally, Mr. Gold revealed an intrigued smile, nodding as he said,

“Well, this sounds a bit more interesting now. But I’ll need to sign a contract with you first, and if you can’t bring out something new within a year, I will require compensation from the Fischer family.”

The potent detoxifying potion was only one outcome of the “Pharmacist” ability; Byrne was sure he could produce many more new types of potions in the future.

Unable to hide his excitement, Byrne clenched his fist slightly and said with a smile, “Alright, I’m willing to sign the contract.”