Farming in the Magical World

“Mr. Ford, the Dark Pattern Sword in our castle isn’t famous at all. You’re really well-informed!”

Lanny picked up the tea he had specially brewed, took a sip, and savored the strong bitterness in his mouth, but his eyes drifted to Ford across from him.

Upon hearing Lanny's words, Ford seemed to recall something amusing and burst out laughing.

"Haha, Baron, you're mistaken. Your Dark-Patterned Sword is now a household name throughout the North and the surrounding areas."

"Oh?" Lanny put down his teacup upon hearing this, looking at Ford with surprise. "How could this be? Has something happened that I don't know about?"

Ford chuckled again. "Do you remember Gino Williams?"

Lanny nodded. He naturally remembered that this person had only left the castle not long ago and had left a very "deep" impression on him.

"Haha, you probably don't know this yet, but Gino has made quite a name for himself now, and is considered the rising star of the Williams family..."

Ford then recounted what had recently happened to Gino and his group.

After leaving Castor, Gino and his party traveled slowly towards the center of the kingdom. In each new territory, they would seek out the most renowned knight and challenge him to a duel.

Of course, since he was the son of a grand duke, some knights, who were not nobles themselves, were willing to give Gino, the son of a grand duke, some face and let him win a few rounds.

But when they actually clashed, Gino surprised everyone by cutting his opponent's longsword in a few strokes and then swiftly pointing his sword at his throat, winning cleanly and decisively. Among his opponents were some well-known knights.

He traveled and challenged his way through life, and his fame grew. He even attracted screams from noble ladies wherever he appeared, making him seem like a star knight.

Many people even call him the rising star of the Williams family, and he seems to enjoy this title, always smiling and nodding, never refuting it.

However, doubts gradually arose. Some knights who lost the duel questioned whether he had only won the duel by relying on the sharpness of his longsword, and whether his knightly skills were actually quite ordinary.

When curious onlookers came to inquire about this matter, he did not shy away from it, and argued vehemently that some of his moves were performed in conjunction with this dark-patterned sword, so he could naturally regard the dark-patterned sword as part of his strength.

By this time, the fame of the Dark Pattern Sword had spread far and wide, but he remained tight-lipped about who forged it and where it came from, only claiming that his family was willing to reward knights who came to serve with the sword.

He also emphasized that there are limited spots available, and those who arrive late will not receive this preferential treatment.

During this period, many knights who had experienced the Dark Pattern Sword had planned to serve the Williams family in the Central Plains, all for the sake of obtaining a Dark Pattern Sword.

As a businessman, Ford naturally knew some business tactics. He paid a price to one of Gino's retainers to learn that this kind of patterned sword came from the Wells family in Caster Ridge in the North.

Of course, he was vague about what price Ford paid, and Lanny didn't ask for details, assuming it was nothing more than gold coins.

Listening to Ford's account, Lanny stopped dismissing Gino's behavior. He thought to himself that this matter was probably not simple; it wasn't just Gino acting recklessly, but rather someone else orchestrating it.

First, they made a commotion, then released news of the Dark Pattern Sword when people came knocking. Finally, once the news had spread sufficiently, they began to close the net and recruit knights. Their methods were clear, their objectives well-defined, and their tactics highly sophisticated. He even suspected that the rumors were deliberately spread by this person.

Of course, he was also quite grateful to this person, and even more grateful to Gino, that annoying guy, who was practically a free product spokesperson.

As for who this person was, Randall—the assistant butler who followed Gino—immediately thought of this person. Their previous interactions had left a deep impression on Randall.

“Oh, I see! Mr. Ford, it seems you are unaware of our transaction with the Williams family!” Lanny picked up his teacup and took a sip, giving himself time to sort out his thoughts.

After a moment's thought, he spoke again, "The dark-patterned sword in Gino's hand does indeed come from the Wells family; your information on that point is correct!"

Upon hearing Lanny's confirmation, Ford straightened his back, somewhat elated.

However, Lanny didn't finish speaking. He continued, "We've reached an order with the Williams family for ten Dark Pattern Swords, which, together with the ones Gino has, makes a total of fourteen Dark Pattern Swords!"

"but... ..."

Looking at Ford with some regret, Lanny shrugged. "I regret to inform you that our ability to forge Dark Pattern Swords is actually limited. We only have a total production capacity of less than 20 Dark Pattern Swords, and we don't have any extra quotas."

"You may be disappointed."

After saying this, he lowered his head again to sip the tea in his hand, but kept a close eye on Ford's expression, wanting to see how Ford would react to such a change.

Is Lanny really not going to sell the Dark-Patterned Sword?

Of course not. The castle's financial situation has only improved so far, but it hasn't paid back a single silver coin of the debt yet.

Not to mention that the expenses of the guard are not small now, and the materials needed to make weapons and the research are even more expensive. How could he possibly cut off his own source of income?

The reason he said that was simply because he had previously told Gino and his group that the castle only had so much magic powder that it couldn't make many Dark Pattern Swords. If he were to start mass production of Dark Pattern Swords now, wouldn't he be openly offending Duke Williams?

However, he couldn't simply not sell, so he had to choose a suitable partner to sell in small, discreet quantities, ideally without attracting the attention of the Williams family for a short period.

He believed that if given a year, he would no longer be afraid of the Williams family, who were far away in the Central Plains. But what he lacked now was time.

The Locke Merchant Guild isn't large; although it's spread throughout the kingdom, it's not enough to compete with some of the major noble families and large merchant guilds. Furthermore, it's composed of several minor nobles, resulting in a complex and chaotic network of relationships, making it an excellent potential partner.

However, Ford needs to be smart enough, otherwise he wouldn't want to take the risk. He would rather send Tim to sell a small amount near the North, which would be slower but safer.

Sure enough, when Ford heard Lanny say that he only had the ability to manufacture 20 Dark Pattern Swords, he immediately became anxious and asked, "Is it because of the limitation of materials? What materials are needed? The Chamber of Commerce has manpower all over the country and can purchase anything you need. Please rest assured in this regard."

Lanny waved his hand, but did not explain the reason. "Don't ask for the reason. You just need to know that we only have this much manufacturing capacity. Otherwise, the Williams family would have cooperated with us long ago and wouldn't have just ordered a batch of Dark Pattern Swords."

"You should have a full understanding of the value of the Dark Pattern Sword. Do you really think the Williams family is inferior to your merchant guild?"

Ford knew the value of the Dark Pattern Sword. The reason Gino could stir up trouble in the knight world was because of the sharpness of the Dark Pattern Sword.

Ford nodded bitterly, his disappointment evident, and he seemed somewhat dejected.

Upon receiving this news, he rushed to Castel. Why? Naturally, he wanted to seize the opportunity before others could react.

He didn't want to be kicked out of the Chamber of Commerce, because not only would his own future be bleak, but the Earl behind him would also lose face.

Ford didn't wallow in self-pity for long; he suddenly remembered a strange detail.

Since the Dark Pattern Sword no longer meets the conditions for cooperation, why is this nobleman Lanny saying so much to me?

Was it just to promote that tea? Such a small business shouldn't be like that. Who doesn't have goat's milk? And what noblewoman doesn't know how to brew tea?

Ford was actually mistaken about this. Lanny really did intend to start a tea business, but unlike what Ford envisioned, he wasn't buying blended tea, but rather pre-processed tea leaves. And this business was definitely not small.

Of course, Ford was unaware of all this. Following his own train of thought, he quickly came to the conclusion that perhaps the Wells family's manufacturing capabilities were not limited to this, and that he was saying this on purpose for some reason.

As for the reason, considering Gino's high-profile style, it's not hard to guess. The Williams family didn't want the forging technology for such a powerful weapon as the Dark Pattern Sword? To dispel their greed, limiting the scale of production was a good reason.

Were Ford's ideas easy to come up with? Of course not, but why was Randall misled?

Naturally, it was because he had thoroughly researched the Wells family before he arrived, and already had a preconceived notion. They weren't convinced by Lanny, but by their own investigation.

On the contrary, Ford knew nothing and stumbled upon this place by accident. In addition, Lanny did not show a very firm refusal, which is why he guessed the situation with a high degree of accuracy.

Thinking about all this, Ford felt he might have found the root of the problem, so he looked up at Lanny and instead of trying to persuade him, he went straight to talking about his sales plan for the Dark Pattern Sword.

"Baron, regarding the sale of the Dark Pattern Sword, here are our plans. First, we will not advertise or sell the Dark Pattern Sword on a large scale. We will only contact familiar knights privately to control the scale of the Dark Pattern Sword as much as possible, so as to prevent such a precious weapon from being sold too cheaply."

Seeing that Lanny, though expressionless, did not refute him, Ford's spirits lifted. He felt he had found the real core of the problem, so he continued with the plan he had not yet finished explaining.

"Secondly, we will try to limit our sales to war-torn regions such as the North and South. After all, weapons only show their true value when needed. Don't you agree?"

Ford, seeing that Lanny still hadn't responded, became more and more confident as he spoke. With a slight smile, he offered what he considered a high price: "As far as I know, it seems that your price for each Dark Pattern Sword was 30 gold. Our Locke Merchant Guild is willing to offer 50 gold per sword. I wonder if this price will still satisfy you, Mr. Baron."

After saying this, Ford stopped talking and looked at Lanny with anticipation.