Farming in the Magical World

"Young master, young master, Lord Tim is back!"

Candy's clear shouts rang out on the first floor, echoing through the empty hall and breaking the castle's silence. Even the study on the second floor could hear them clearly, causing Lanny to frown slightly.

Before he could react, the shouting came like a bouncy little girl running all the way to the study door.

Lanny gave her a task a few days ago, and Tim was to inform her as soon as he returned. I didn't expect her to inform her like this. I'm afraid the whole castle knows now.

"Okay, okay, I've got it. I'm almost deaf! You're not a little girl anymore. You need to be mature and reserved, understand?"

Lenny rolled his eyes at her, silencing the words she was about to shout.

Candy stuck out her tongue shyly, tossed her long ponytail, and skipped away.

Tim returned later than Lanny had anticipated. He had thought it would only take three or four days to finish, but a week had already passed since he left the castle.

However, he did not return alone; he was accompanied by four figures, also riding tall horses, whose identities were not clearly discernible from a distance.

Standing by the study window, Lanny wondered if this was someone who had come to buy the Dark Pattern Sword.

If all goes well, four dark-patterned swords are indeed not enough for all of Elfin's knights, so it's not surprising that some others have followed.

This also made him abandon the idea of ​​going directly to the castle gate to greet them. This wasn't about favoritism, and it had nothing to do with status or position.

It wouldn't matter if it were anything else, but if they came to buy the Dark Pattern Sword, and he rushed out to greet them, making them look down on him, it would make the subsequent negotiations difficult.

As the saying goes, those who are eager to do business are not good businesspeople.

"Candy, Candy!"

Lanny got up, preparing to go downstairs to greet Tim and his group, only to realize that he was dressed very casually today: a long robe with a belt around his waist, and tight pants. This outfit was definitely not suitable for receiving guests.

Tiffany had originally planned to put stockings on him, but he was really not used to them. Seeing them reminded him of black stockings, and he got goosebumps all over. He quickly threw them far away, leaving Tiffany completely confused.

"Young master, everyone's dressed like this!"

Looking at the puzzled Tiffany, Lenny scratched his head, unsure how to explain it. He couldn't very well say that this thing would eventually become thin and elastic stockings for women only, could he?

Putting aside whether the explanation is clear or not, even if it is clear, what if she wants me to make a pair? I don't know how to make those things. Although they look nice, not many men would bother to study how they are made.

In the end, he didn't wear the stockings Tiffany brought. Instead, he found a pair of scissors and cut them into mid-calf socks, which looked much better.

Well, I've digressed. The problem is, while this outfit is fine for him to stay in the castle, it won't work when he needs to receive guests. There are strict rules about these things in noble circles.

At home, one wears robes and casual clothes; while riding a horse, one wears riding attire; and if one is a knight, one can wear knight's uniform, though the difference between the two is not significant. When receiving guests, one naturally wears aristocratic formal attire.

If these things are done wrong, at best it will become a laughing stock, and at worst the kingdom's etiquette officials can even convict you of "disrespect for etiquette" and strip you of your noble title and fiefdom.

It is clear that etiquette is indeed a matter of great importance and cannot be taken lightly.

He called Candy to help him change into his formal attire. The dress was cumbersome and bulky, difficult to put on and take off. The key issue was that there was only one set in his size in the castle. Except when he had just recovered from his injury and didn't know any better, he wore it for a while. Later, when he heard that he didn't have to wear it normally, he immediately locked it in the closet.

"Young Master, what's wrong?" Candy poked her head in from the study doorway, grinning at Lanny. She had already thought of this, but deliberately kept it to herself, waiting outside the door.

"You little rascal, why aren't you helping the master change his suit? What are you waiting for?" Lanny could tell from her expression that this little girl was up to her old tricks again.

"Oh dear, that won't do. I'm neither composed nor reserved enough to help the young master put on his formal attire properly. I'd better go ask the madam for help."

Although he kept saying he was going to find the lady, his little head, which was perched at the door, didn't move at all.

"Alright, alright, Candy is a beautiful woman who is both polite and poised. I like Candy the most, is that enough? Come here now."

Lanny glared at the little girl before reluctantly apologizing. He had no choice; the girl was almost at the castle gate, and he was still wearing his "pajamas"!

Hearing Lanny's words, Candy giggled before entering, revealing the dress she had prepared earlier. Her pretty face flushed slightly, though not noticeably.

After the two of them hurriedly changed into their formal attire and arranged for Candy to prepare hot drinks, he rushed to the lobby on the first floor.

Finally, he was greeted by Tim and his group of five in the lobby.

"My lord, I'm back." In the hall, Tim addressed Lanny as "my lord" in a solemn manner, took half a step forward, and performed a half-kneeling salute, a customary gesture for knights' followers, his face calm and expressionless.

This was the first time the two had bowed to each other on a formal occasion. Lanny raised an eyebrow at being addressed as "Master," thinking that Uncle Tim knew his place.

He usually calls me by my name or "Young Master," which is fine, but this is a formal occasion, so it's inappropriate to call me "Young Master" now.

Lenny nodded, a smile spreading across his face, and reached out to help Tim up. "Uncle Tim, you must be tired from your journey."

Then he turned his gaze to the people behind him and asked, "Who are these people?"

The people following behind, judging from their attire, should all be knights. Leading the way was a young man, about twenty years old, with fair skin, standing tall and full of confidence.

The three behind him looked more like attendants. One of them was obviously quite old, with a face full of wrinkles and a slightly hunched back.

"So old, yet he can still be a knight's squire?" Lanny glanced at the old man with some curiosity, guessing that he must have some special skill, otherwise, at this age, it was hard to say who would protect whom.

Tim straightened up with the young master's slight support, then stepped back slightly to the side, revealing the others who were with him, and began to introduce them.

"Young Master, let me introduce you. This is Gino Williams, son of Grand Duke Williams. The three behind him are Gino's knights, Randall and Fern Carter..."

After saying that, he turned around and introduced Lanny to Gino and his party: "Young Master Gino, this is our Caster Ridge's appointed nobleman, Baron Lanny Wells."

Upon hearing that it was the son of a Grand Duke, Lanny stepped forward, bowed with his hand on his chest, and laughed heartily, "Welcome Mr. Gino and his entourage to Caster Ridge. On behalf of the Wells family, I extend my sincere greetings and welcome to you."

He nodded to the attendants behind him, then waved his hand and said, "Let's talk in the study upstairs. This is really not the place to discuss matters, Young Master Gino, please!"

Lanny didn't care about being a little disrespectful to these people before, but now that he knows they are from the Grand Duke's family, he can no longer wait for them to come up and greet him, regardless of the difference in status or the etiquette among nobles. Instead, he needs to take the initiative to greet them.

Gino didn't stand on ceremony; he simply smiled at Lanny and headed towards the stairwell.

Looking at Gino's retreating figure, Lanny was not angry at all. Instead, it was as if he saw glittering gold coins beckoning to him, and the smile on his face became more genuine.

He waved for his entourage to go ahead, then approached Tim and quickly asked, "What's going on?"

Tim joined in, speaking quickly in a low voice as they walked, "They bought all the Dark-Patterned Swords for 120 gold each, without haggling. But they requested to visit the castle, for reasons unknown. I suspect they guessed we have the crafting skills. Watch out for that old squire."

As expected of someone who had traveled with August, he explained the matter clearly in just a few words during the short upstairs trip, and even took the time to point out the squire he mentioned.

"Okay, I understand." Lanny nodded, having made some guesses about the group's intentions, and feeling that this mobile money bag wasn't so glittering after all.

When Lanny led everyone to the study, he was somewhat embarrassed to find that there weren't even enough chairs in the room, and there wasn't even a place for them to sit down.

Seeing this scene, Lanny reminded himself again that next time he must remember to have Jimmy make a few sofas to put in the study.

Just as Lenny was awkwardly at a loss for words, Frank came in carrying a hot drink and three maids with several chairs.

He gave Frank an approving look, then laughed heartily and invited everyone to sit down. "Gentlemen, please sit down. Castells is a small place with simple conditions, please forgive us!"

Gino remained aloof, sitting in his chair without speaking. Instead, it was the elderly attendant behind him who spoke.

"Haha, Baron Wells, you're too kind. Along our journey, we've found that the people of Castor are honest and hardworking, which shows that you've managed the territory very well, Baron."

How should we interpret this? As someone who grew up in the information age, Lanny certainly knows that being simple and honest means being poor, hardworking and enduring hardship, which means not only being poor but also being poor in the sense of being restless and troublesome.

"Haha, unlike Mr. Gino, who exudes an air of grandeur and extraordinary bearing. You, sir, are still going strong for your age, truly worthy of the Williams family. Haha..."

After this brief encounter, both sides formed a preliminary impression of each other.

Randall grew increasingly curious about Lenny. He thought to himself, wasn't Lenny Wells supposed to be a playboy, impulsive, easily angered, and naive? But from this brief encounter, he was clearly not. He was methodical and composed, displaying the demeanor of a seasoned aristocrat. It seemed the rumors weren't all true.

In Lanny's view, Gino was a typical spoiled brat, arrogant and disdainful of talking to him, and the one in charge was probably this entourage.

After the two sides finished their routine aristocratic flattery, Lanny finally asked about the other party's purpose in coming.

"Mr. Gino, are you planning to travel throughout the kingdom? I'm so envious! I've wanted to travel alone for a long time, but my father has always forbade me from going out because I'm too young. Sigh!"

Seeing that Gino didn't react much, but a hint of smugness was already creeping onto his face, he spoke again, "I wonder what brings you to Caster Ridge this time...?"

"We're here this time..." Gino was about to speak when his squire suddenly interrupted, "Our main purpose in accompanying the young master this time is to travel the kingdom and complete his knightly travel mission. We heard that the situation in the northern border of the kingdom is complicated, so we thought we'd come and take a look."

"Who are you?" Seeing the old man interrupting repeatedly, Lanny looked at him with displeasure, pretending to be angry that the conversation had been interrupted by an unknown servant, but in his heart he knew very well that the old man was called Randall.

Tim had already warned him to be careful of this old man, and had just introduced him. How could he not be careful? It was simply a matter of taking advantage of the opportunity when the old man interrupted to give him a warning, so that he could take the initiative in the conversation later.

Lanny's sudden outburst startled Randall, who then realized that he had gotten so used to staying in his territory that he had almost forgotten that this minor baron was also a nobleman.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Mr. Wells, I am Randall, the deputy butler of the Williams family.”

Although he was extremely unwilling, out of respect for the nobility, Randall still stood up and bowed before leisurely sitting down again.

Although he served a duke, who was two ranks higher than a baron, he was still a servant, and respect for nobles was indeed a rule that had to be followed in public.

Frank, standing to the side, heard that he was also a butler, albeit a deputy one, but he was still filled with envy. Frank felt inferior to him in terms of demeanor and conversation, and unconsciously straightened his posture, standing even more upright.

Lanny nodded, acknowledging Randall's offense.

"Randall, it's only because I'm magnanimous that I'm doing this. If it were a petty nobleman who complained about you to the master of ceremonies, I don't think even the Duke could protect you. I'm just doing this for your own good, to remind you. You don't mind, do you?"

Looking at Lenny's well-meaning but actually malicious face, Randall felt utterly disgusted and cursed inwardly, "Who the hell is nagging like this? It's you who's holding onto this. Who cares about this normally?"

"Thank you for your magnanimity, Baron. Randall is very grateful!" No matter how disgusted and annoyed he felt, he still had to thank Lanny for forgiving him. There was no way around it; the aristocratic circle was all about status, and he dared not overstep his bounds.

It wasn't that Lanny was fixated on these trivial matters; it was just that he couldn't remember whether taking the initiative before negotiations meant provoking or pressuring the opponent. He only remembered that he needed to take the initiative, so he figured he might as well press the opponent down a bit and then provoke them a bit more—double insurance.

After arguing with Randall for a while, he turned to Gino with a concerned look on his face. "Indeed, the situation in the North is quite complicated. Recently, there has been a group of Grumman bandits roaming around. Young Master Gino, you should be careful when you travel."