Lord: My Shop Connects to Modern Times

Tom trekked aimlessly across the southern wilderness for three days before finally making his way back, exhausted, to the location near Ironstone Keep where he was to meet his informant.

"You're here. Why are you alone? Where's Arthur?"

"We're doomed!" Tom seemed a little shaken. "The security was tighter than we expected; I almost didn't make it out!"

The masked contact was somewhat surprised. He looked Tom up and down: "Why would anyone specifically seek out 'rats' like you in a newly established territory?"

"Don't even mention it. That lord named Lynn came up with some kind of census, and everyone in Grayrock Town is like they've been thoroughly investigated. I really don't know how the residents are accepting it!"

Tom shook his head, seemingly unwilling to discuss the topic further. After telling the other party about his experiences and discoveries in Grayrock Town, he left in a hurry.

Before leaving, he left behind something like, "Don't ask me to go to Gray Rock Town again..."

The intelligence was quickly encrypted, copied, and sent back to Ironstone Castle. Viscount Gavin, carrying a handwritten explanation and intelligence filled with apologies, went to Earl Carl's territory.

In Frostfire City, in the Earl's Castle, in the underground chamber.

The air was cold, mixed with the smell of aged stone. The magic lamps embedded in the walls emitted a faint glow, barely providing any illumination.

The bag of fertilizer and a few thin papers on the long table in the center of the room looked particularly out of place under the light.

Gavin Horsman stood with his head bowed at the bottom of the long table, not daring to look at the man in the shadows behind the table, who was none other than his superior, Carl Booth.

Count Karl wore a plain, dark gray robe, his face so ordinary that it was easily forgotten, except for his eyes, which were so calm they were unsettling.

He was using a thin silver needle to poke at the fertilizer granules, occasionally bringing them close to his nose to sniff, or placing them under a light to observe their luster.

"This is... a sample your subordinates obtained by chance?" The other person's voice was calm and emotionless.

"Yes...yes, Your Excellency." Gavin's forehead was beaded with sweat. "It was obtained from the fields of Grayrock Town. I have severely punished the person who acted without authorization and sealed it up and presented it to you immediately."

He made no mention of his initial rage and fear upon discovering the virus, only emphasizing his "loyalty" and "efficiency."

Count Karl remained noncommittal, picking up the intelligence report Tom had brought back and glancing at it: "Tight defenses, well-managed...no anomalies detected?" He softly repeated the last few words, his gaze returning to the bag of fertilizer:

"Then what is this? Sugar? Salt? Or some other 'seasoning'?" The other person's words seemed to be a joke, but Gavin understood that they were blaming him for not gathering information effectively.

Gavin fell silent. He had privately consulted people in the territory who had some knowledge of herbs and minerals, but no one recognized the substance, and no one dared to experiment with it.

"Interesting." Count Karl put down the silver needles and clasped his hands together.

"A young nobleman, exiled and who should have been rotting away in poverty, suddenly displays an unusual sense of control, builds unusual walls, uses unusual tools, grows unusual crops, and now even possesses this creation that has never been seen before."

Every time he said something "illogical," Gavin's heart sank a little further.

"And your spies spent several days and only told us that the place was well-managed?" For the first time, Count Karl's gaze truly fell on Gavin. It was a seemingly indifferent look, yet it made Gavin feel uneasy.

"Viscount Gavin, are your men too incompetent, or is that Lynn Cole... too adept at hiding his true nature?"

"Your subordinate... Your subordinate is terrified!" Gavin bowed his head deeply. "It must be that Lynn who is exceptionally cunning and deeply hidden! Your subordinate is willing to send more capable men to investigate this matter thoroughly..."

"No need!" Count Karl interrupted.

With more and more unknowns emerging, Earl Karl wondered how far Lynn's influence would develop if things continued to drag on, and how he would explain this to his superiors...

He slowly began, "No matter how many people we send to investigate now, we won't find anything out. These are all things he wants you to see, or rather, things he can make you see."

He paused, his voice taking on a slightly amusement: "Viscount Gavin, you are a nobleman, your territory in the south. If a convict escapes from prison in your territory and flees to a neighboring territory, and the lord of that territory harbors the criminal… what do you think should be done?"

Gavin was taken aback at first, but then a vicious and clear outline of a plan quickly took shape in his mind with the manager's prompting.

A flash of understanding, along with the ruthless shrewdness of an old aristocrat, crossed his eyes: "You mean... send someone in to infiltrate and cause trouble?"

"No." Karl raised his index finger and waved it. "Send people in? Your intelligence says they are well-managed and the chances of them causing trouble there are slim. You might not even pass the first hurdle of the so-called census."

"Viscount Gavin, I need you to release a real prisoner from your territory, so that this person can legitimately enter Lynn's territory as a refugee."

Count Karl said, enunciating each word clearly: "Remember, it's a real, actual, criminal!"

Gavin understood completely, his blood rushing slightly: "Then, as the neighboring lord who was victimized, I have the right to demand that Grayrock Town hand over the criminals they are harboring. If they fail to do so, or attempt to protect them... that would be a blatant defiance of the law and a challenge to the authority of the nobility. I would then be 'forced' to take the necessary measures to uphold the order and dignity of the law in the South."

He could even picture the scene: with the banner of "hunting down fugitives and upholding the law" raised high, the troops would be rightfully at the gates of Gray Rock Town.

Count Karl nodded slightly: "Correct. Go and do it. If the other party resists, we can use that as a pretext to do it legitimately."

"Yes! I will arrange it properly!"

Count Karl said no more, turned and left, disappearing into the shadows outside the stone chamber like a ghost.

Gavin remained alone in the stone chamber, the candlelight casting his shadow on the wall, making it appear menacing.

He slowly sat down, his fingers tapping on the table as his mind raced through suitable candidates. He needed several people with serious crimes and sufficient "accountability."

"Lynn Cole..." Viscount Gavin murmured the name, a mixture of fear and cruelty on his face. "Don't blame me; blame yourself for offending these 'big shots.'"

He only needed to do what was ordered to him; the reasons were not his concern.

Gavin was confident he could take over this small territory of no more than a hundred people. Even if the enemy possessed some magical items, he believed they couldn't stop the iron hooves of his knights.

He could almost see Grayrock Town in chaos and utterly vulnerable under the iron heel of his troops, while he, through his excellent performance, would rise even higher in his noble status in the Southern Territory…