What did you do with the dice?

But for a viscount, this level of security is probably not enough.

Sanitieta glanced at the servants standing on both sides inconspicuously. He was sure that there must be at least one wizard among them, observing secretly. He must have prepared a spell that could be released at any time. In order to cover up his abnormality of not speaking, all the servants stood aside silently with their heads lowered.

But Sanitieta could only say that the Viscount was still inexperienced. He must have never seen a "great knight" like Rusalka who was not even a human being.

However, he did not bring Rusalka here today to rush to be wanted. The two of them exchanged a few pleasantries as they walked. When they sat down in the decorated reception room and started to have afternoon tea, the Viscount brought the topic to the right track.

Viscount Conesnat said, "Baron Rusalka has only recently taken office. I never expected that your heroic deeds would reach my ears before I even had the chance to get to know you."

"It's nothing to mention." Rusalka's elegance didn't last long before she revealed her true form. She waved her hand, looking rather frivolous. "They were just bandits, I just wiped them out casually. How can I call it a heroic deed?"

Viscount Consenat's eyes flashed with a subtle scorn, but he quickly returned to normal and stroked his beard. "I heard the bandits also have a wizard and three powerful crossbows. 'Merely' is not enough to describe their ferocity, right?"

Rusalka opened a private chat: (How did he know so quickly?)

Sanita: (I'm more concerned about how he knew there were three crossbows. This number is too accurate.)

Rusalka: (As long as you are sure that he hired someone to do it, I will first let these guards around feel the feeling of being a pack of dogs without a leader)

Sanitta: (I envy your sense of humor. Why don’t you just ask him directly?)

Rusalka knew it definitely wasn't the Viscount's doing, so she just mentally exchanged pleasantries with Sanitieta while continuing to play Tai Chi with him. "Yeah, even being a bandit these days requires this kind of strength. For a knight like me who came from humble beginnings, it's not easy to protect the little bit of family property left by our ancestors. Bandits are one thing, but I also have to be on guard against those who covet my territory every day. It's too tiring."

After hearing this, Viscount Conesnat laughed heartily. "In that case, have you ever considered joining my army? Becoming my knight? I'll leave your territory intact, but I'll assign someone to manage it. All taxes collected will be yours. On top of that, I'll give you a salary that will satisfy you. How about that?"

Well, if this were said by a beautiful girl with a beauty score of about 9, such as Phoenix, then even if Rusalka said that she was not moved, her body would still honestly half-kneel down and choose to become the other party's sword.

But hearing this from a shabby old man made him feel a bit disgusted, and he started complaining to Sanita, who was already trying to hold back his laughter, in the private chat channel: (I can’t stand it anymore, I really want to chop him down.)

Rusalka, with murderous intent rising in her heart, refused at the speed of light: "No, I can't just throw away the territory conquered by our ancestors. There are hundreds of people in this territory, I can't just ignore them."

Viscount Conesnat only showed a look of regret, but seemed to have anticipated this result. He did not try to persuade him to stay, but changed the subject and said, "Well, it is natural that Knight Rusalka is unwilling. Well, actually, I also know why you are here, so I specially invited you to come to my house for a chat.

Regarding the matter of the former Lord of Pearl Tears, I'm very sorry. I immediately sent people to investigate, but have found nothing so far."

Rusalka said disapprovingly, "It wasn't the Viscount who did it, so why apologize? Besides, I think even those guys who make a living by singing on the streets know who did it. Although they're confused about their own lives, they know the truth of this matter in their hearts."

Viscount Consenat shook his head and said, "Knight Rusalka, you are being too arbitrary. Lord Ropa did not do this."

Rusalka: "Well, I didn't even mention it was him, but even the Viscount thought it had to be him, right?"

Viscount Conesnat chuckled and said, "Young man, I'm well aware of the feud between your two families. It's only natural for you to suspect him. But in reality, he had no reason to act. When this matter, which should not be exposed in public, is so easily exposed in broad daylight, you should have realized that Lord Roper could not possibly be the instigator of this."

Rusalka: (What's the theory of relativity? If I kill him now, does that mean I'm definitely not the murderer?)

Sanitieta: (Because you're a PL without a framework for thinking, you'd have such a rebellious thought. Natives, with their clear sense of hierarchy and family honor and disgrace, wouldn't do something so risky. He's a classic example of someone whose words are blunt and whose logic is blunt. While I want to punch him, I have to admit that what he says does make sense.)

Rusalka: "Your Excellency, he has ten thousand motives to kill everyone in our family, just like he controls the price of salt in our territory."

Viscount Consenat nodded. "That's true, but since Baron Rusalka has already mentioned this, let's be frank. The wizard you killed a few days ago was none other than Lord Ropa's third son."

This sudden information shocked Rusalka and Sanitta. Although they knew that the group of people must have been sent by Lord Ropa, they did not expect that this guy was so cruel as to let his own son lead the team to do such a thing.

When Rusalka came to her senses, she had already prepared herself for an all-out war with Lord Ropa. Suddenly, she felt that this little thing was insignificant and jokingly said, "Really? Then he must not be favored, and he must have fallen so far that the master of the family kicked him out to make a living as a bandit."

Viscount Conesnat: "You are wrong. He is the most talented of Lord Ropar's three sons and the one with the greatest hope of inheriting Ropar. Lord Ropar has also proposed this matter to me. Do you know what I am planning?"

Rusalka silently reached out and touched the hilt of the sword behind him. His action suddenly made the guards around him extremely nervous. The atmosphere of the dinner was harmonious just a second ago, but the next second, the sound of swords being unsheathed was endless, and the situation was tense and deadlocked.

“Don’t be nervous, Knight Rusalka. Being young and hot-tempered is not a bad thing, but it is not a good idea for a noble.

Think carefully. If I truly wanted to capture you, I would have sent the city guards, not brought you before me and used myself as bait. As the saying goes, a noble shouldn't stand under a fortress. Viscount Conesnat berated the others, "You too! This is my guest, and this is where we're eating. What are you all doing? Put your weapons away! You have no manners at all."

After hearing this, the guards put away their weapons, but their eyes were still fixed on Rusalka nervously.

Sanita: (Brother Xiao, there's no need to enter the battle here, don't get excited)

Rusalka placed her hand back on the table with a hint of regret, picked up her chopsticks again, and said, "What does the Viscount intend to do? Fine me? Or does he want me to apologize to him?"

Viscount Conesnat shook his head, stroked his beard, and smiled, "Of course not. If you're willing to give me a favor and let me mediate for you, I can personally introduce you two and write off this matter. Lord Ropa will not pursue the matter of you killing his third son, and you will not pursue the matter of the former Lord Pearl Tear's family with him."

Following Sanitta's instructions, Rusalka shook her head slightly and said, "If his son, a bandit, was killed by me, wouldn't that be bad for him if word got out? Do you think you can use this to settle your feud with me? Your scale, always known for its fairness, seems a little off this time."

Even with Rusalka's insinuation, Viscount Consentett's smile remained undimmed. He simply said softly, "Indeed, what Baron Rusalka said is correct. But there is one very important point, and that is the cause of the former Lord Pearl Tear's death. To this day, everyone is just speculating, and there is no evidence to prove that it was Lord Ropa who did it.

And the evidence that you killed his son is very solid.

But if you can both shake hands and make peace, then these evidences can temporarily disappear.

Lord Ropar's third son was a gifted magician. His other two sons lacked such talent, and could even be described as mediocre. With his death, Ropar lost a significant portion of its future. And you, Knight Rusalka, are the future of Pearl Tear, aren't you?

Given the nature and results of the two events, I think they can offset each other, and to be honest, I think it even leans a little towards you."

Sani Tieta: (This old fox's rhetoric is quite clever, his shifting of concepts is perfectly natural, and he doesn't have the rustic air of a medieval idiot who only knows how to fight and kill. He's worthy of being someone who can hold this position. This guy's IQ is at least 15.)

Rusalka: (Then there are only three of me.)

Chapter 15 "Peace"

Sanitta was very clear in his mind. Viscount Consnat said so many nice words, which sounded very fair and even beneficial to Rusalka. If he put himself in the PL perspective, then the whole thing would be a hundred benefits for them.

The things that Luopa Ling did were listed as follows:

1. Kill all those who may affect their control over the Pearl Tear Territory.

2. Gave them a large sum of money as ransom.

3. Gave them some good military supplies for free.

4. Let Rusalka quickly win the hearts of the people and boost local reputation.

5. Donate one of your core hero characters, a mage and heir, to reduce the future threat of the Pearl Tear Territory.

Now the Viscount's act of wanting to mediate is simply to give the Pearl Tear Territory, which has made a lot of money, another exemption from war, which completely offsets the only negative impact of this war - the hatred value. If this negotiation result is placed in the world of role-playing games, it can also be regarded as a legendary victory that is recorded in the glorious experience of the character card.

However, this is PL thinking after all, and unfortunately, Sanita is a person who is very good at quickly integrating into the environment and thinking.

If I were a real person living in this world, I would have to consider what the benefit would be for the Ropa Territory in the "fairness" that the Viscount mentioned.

The answer was very simple, and he felt that Rusalka could probably figure it out. That was the motive of the third son who was hacked to death and his role as a bandit.

It does sound ridiculous, but there is no other reason to doubt it.

There's a very strange thing about the whole thing, a question that the Viscount raised from the beginning, and Rusalka also hinted at, but Sanitieta ultimately never got an answer to:

Now that they had taken over the large mine, why did the Luopa family still insist on seizing the territory of Zhulei, even resorting to such extreme means as killing the entire family of the former lord? Zhulei Territory wasn't an imperial throne, so why would they rush to assassinate the emperor in the street like Sima Zhao?

Moreover, when the first plan failed, he sent his own son and elite guards to do the dirty work, showing his determination to kill the Pearl Tears Lord at all costs.

If this is really a reason that can be simply summarized as "family feud", then the Viscount's so-called mediation is nothing but empty talk to Lord Ropa, who is obviously already furious. In modern terms, it means - he is already in the late stage of cancer. No matter how skilled you are as the attending physician, what can you do to him?

However, the Viscount spoke with such confidence and analyzed so much for Rusalka, and his purpose seemed to be simply to convince Rusalka.

What does this mean? It means that at least on Lord Ropa's side, he is confident that he can get the other party to sign a peace agreement. Or even worse, it was Lord Ropa who took the initiative and asked the Viscount to act as the mediator. The Viscount only came to persuade him after receiving a favor from the other party.

This is very intriguing, and the question goes back to the starting point: What exactly was Lord Ropa trying to achieve that made him make such a decision that his entire family would all in at the beginning, and in the end, he didn't pursue the matter further even after his son died, a decision that seemed to start well but end badly?

Moreover, he also bought all the prisoners who seemed to be on death row. Thinking about it now, this is a bit inconsistent with the world view.

After thinking about it carefully, Sanitta felt that he couldn't come to any logical conclusion. To put it bluntly, the information he could understand now was too little, so he was confused about the current situation.

But there is one thing he is very sure of, that is, Viscount Consent is definitely biased towards the other side. It is like the Werewolf game. No matter how righteous a bad guy is in his speech or how nice his words are, the vote in his hand must be unclean.

Just like when Lord Ropar, after taking over the large mine, chose to continue the seemingly pointless act of blocking the vital salt line of Pearl Tears, Viscount Conesnat did not intervene. From this point of view, it was already clear that this guy was bent on the side of Lord Ropar, and there was no way to wash his hands of it.

It was a headache. Sanitieta sighed inwardly. In a sense, he was very envious of Xiao Ge, also known as Rusalka. After sharing his entire thought process with Rusalka, hoping to get a different perspective, he never expected that Rusalka would only think for three seconds before giving an answer that was completely in line with the PL character:

Rusalka: (Why think so much? Once I level up, I'll chop them all down. Why don't you just learn Speak with the Dead and ask their corpses? The dead can't lie.)

This answer made Sanitieta feel like a clown with all his complicated games and guesses.

----

As a result, Sanita still couldn't think of any good reason to refuse, nor could he think of the disadvantages of mediation. Since the benefits were so obvious, he was too lazy to think about how much of the iceberg was buried under the sea level, so he simply let Rusalka temporarily agree to the mediation arrangement.

The Viscount seemed very satisfied with Rusalka's straightforwardness and promised to notify and arrange a meeting between him and Lord Ropa within a month, the location of which would be in the city of Consenat.

After finishing the meal, the two of them took a day off in the Viscount's territory. The next morning, after having breakfast, they said goodbye to the Viscount, who had no intention of keeping them.

After being escorted out of the Viscount's residence by carriage and arriving at the inn he had arranged, and after packing their bags and being completely free, Sanitieta teased Rusalka, "The Viscount said at the dinner table that he wanted to introduce you to his third daughter. You're eager to be assigned a wife, aren't you? Why are you refusing someone who's offering it to you now?"

Rusalka curled her lips. "This old man is really mean. Think about it, he said before that he wanted to hire me, but it would cost a lot of money. Now if I marry his daughter, wouldn't it be free? He's just wishful thinking. Does he think I'm a fool?"

Sanita: "Your thinking is flawed. I think her daughter is quite pretty and young, only 16 years old. Although it may not be legal over there, it is perfectly legal here."

Rusalka patted Sanitta's shoulder and said with dismay, "No matter how beautiful she is, can she be as beautiful as the Phoenix that my family spent 10 points to sculpt? Besides, brother, we have traveled to another world now, why are you still thinking about your human woman? I want a harem of beast-eared girls, thank you."

Sanita laughed and said, "I don't really understand you two newts."

Rusalka: "You were planning to form a guard for me. How do you plan to do that?"

Sanita said, "I'm going to post three quests. One is about the Pearl Tear Territory's land reclamation mission, the other is about recruiting miners, and the third is about hiring a blacksmith with a large salary."

Rusalka: "Pioneering/mining/forging? Where do these things fit in?"

Sanitta sat in the stable carriage, fiddling with a gleaming gold coin. On the front was the king's portrait, and on the back was the sword and shield emblem of the Sneidi Kingdom. "Recruiting soldiers in real life isn't like in games, where you just build a barracks and spend money and click to recruit. If you want to maintain a permanent army, you have to ensure their roots are in the Pearl Tear Territory, so you need to expand the population first."

Rusalka: "I know what you mean, but what do you mean by miner?"

Sani Tieta: "There's a large mine with decent reserves between the northern border of Pearl Tear Territory and Luopa Territory. Originally, the mining rights to this mine were shared by both Pearl Tear Territory and Luopa Territory. But when the previous Pearl Tear Territory's funding chain collapsed, he sold the mining rights to Luopa Territory, making a small fortune. That's why the phenomenon of He not eating meat porridge occurred."

Rusalka: "I understand. Let's take it back, but you just promised the Viscount to maintain peace with the Ropa Territory."

Sanitta made a bewildered expression. "What? When did we say that? Didn't we just say that we're willing to formally sign a peace agreement with Lord Ropa when we meet next month? My promise to try for peace does not mean I agree to peace now.

I'm asking you, do you have the confidence to take back the big mine within three months?"

Rushaka was speechless: "The inequality is solved in seconds. You are indeed a master of law. Brother Fei is 6."

Sanita: "Thank you for the compliment."

The carriage stopped at the guild gate. Before getting off, Rusalka suddenly thought of a question: "Wait, why three months? Shouldn't the negotiations be held in a month?"

Sanita: "Oh, you look down on me? I can let him close the deal in one go? What's wrong with giving him some friendship fees at the last minute? My Pearl Tear Territory's friendship is not worth that price? What, you don't want to pay? Then how can we make friends? Let's go and see the big mines in the north, my family."

Man, this is disgusting, Rusalka thought.

----

When Rusalka issued the mission this time, she paid a deposit of 100 gold coins, which made the already tight treasury even worse.

Of course, there is a reason for the deposit. According to the calculation, the deposit = 50% of the total bounty of the published task. In fact, Rusalka still used a certain amount of credit points to pay off the debt. The total amount of bounties he published actually has no upper limit. It is expected to cost at least 400 gold coins. Obviously, Zhulei Territory does not have that much money.

However, since land reclamation/recruitment were "batch tasks" and long-term commissions with small profits but quick turnover, and coupled with the honor of Grand Knight Rusalka and the noble blessing of the barony, the guild did not ask him to pay such a large deposit at one time. Instead, they collected 100 gold coins, deducted 5%, or a brokerage fee of five gold coins, which was 95 gold coins in total, and agreed to use it as a deduction for the commission fee first, and he could make up for it later if it was not enough.

After finishing what needed to be done, Sanita went to the market, bought some local specialties, and then set off for home with Rusalka.

After signing the contract in the guild, Rusalka, in front of the guild registrars, who were filled with admiration and flattery, acted like a wealthy man leaving in style. In fact, he was already shouting in the private chat channel: (Gosh~dang~ money~ah~~ Today, my hands are shaking, today, my heart aches.)

Sani Iron Tower: (What are you yelling about? It's a gift anyway. Even if you spend all your money, you can still make it back. The big mine is a cash cow. If you can take it, the Pearl Tear Territory will never have to worry about funds again. You can even secretly manufacture weapons and equipment yourself, and have a strong army. With some effort, light infantry can become heavy cavalry!)

Rusalka: (I will never believe your nonsense again)

Sani Iron Tower: (Let me put it another way. 100 gold coins unlock the high-intensity combat dungeon in the Big Mine. Fight! Awesome! Fight all the time! Awesome all the time!)

Rusalka burst out laughing, and her heartache was gone: (Hey, that's a reasonable thing to say.)

Chapter 16 Fermentation

Half a month later, Lord Ropa learned from the intelligence dealer that Rusalka had released the information about these commissions in the guild.

Lord Ropa was also an elderly man. After losing his third son, his already hunched body looked even older. His hair, which originally had a hint of light gray, was now completely white.

Since he inherited the Luopa Territory, he has done things that his ancestors had never done. He obtained the mining rights of a large mine, found out information that could change the fate of his family, and forced Lord Zhulei into a desperate situation.

He even had outstanding descendants. His eldest daughter married the viscount's second son, and his second daughter married another baron's son. Among his three sons, the eldest son was very talented, but unfortunately the accident ruined his future.

The second son is uneducated and spends his days idling around and having fun, but that's not that important. He doesn't cause trouble and the family has enough money for him to squander.

The third son has awakened his magical talent, has the means and strategy, and is strong enough in execution to inherit his mantle and title.

But his only flaw was that he was too cruel and ruthless. Lord Luopa knew that his eldest son's accident was deliberately caused by his third son. Because he knew this, he exiled him to the south of the Pearl Tear Territory for a few years, trying to make him reflect and learn the word "forbearance".

Moreover, such an experience was not a punishment, but a preparation for him to take over the Pearl Tear Territory in the future and inherit the family against all odds.

Therefore, he gave almost all the elite troops and equipment in the family to his third son, asking him to endure again and again, just to ensure that nothing could go wrong.

It can be said that he has won the life of Zhulei Ling.

But at the last moment, he was defeated miserably. It was all because of that illegitimate child who came out of nowhere, the one named Rusalka, who didn't even inherit the inferior genes of the Pearl Tears family name, and he didn't even have the blood of aristocrats flowing in his body.

But the laws of the kingdom, and the suicide note whose authenticity he still doubted, as well as the fact that it was accidentally delivered to the inspector, led to a sudden official enthronement, allowing this great knight returning from the east to gain a firm foothold in the Pearl Tear Territory.

Everything was too coincidental, and these coincidences strung together undoubtedly provided a vague answer to a question in his mind.