What did you do with the dice?

Rusalka: "With a swift, sharp blow, I slaughtered five guards and a wizard! And I stole so many valuables. I only provided the captives with three meals a day and locked them in a small, dark dungeon, not even allowing them time for exercise or exercise. I even let one of them go with a message. I told him to start by saying, 'Lord Pearltear has asked me to bring you a message.'

Oh my god, look at the time! It's time for Tata to start the timer! I suspect the person who reported this must have received a bribe. Why hasn't he passed the word to everyone in half a month?

Sanitieta rolled his eyes. "Let's not even talk about whether the other side understands your clichés. How can you call this arrogant? Do you have a misunderstanding of the cruelty of war? If you really want to disgust them, then you should kill all the prisoners, hang their bodies from carts, and parade them around your estate for a few days. That way, they'll know you're determined to fight them to the death, and only then will they actively retaliate militarily."

Rusalka waved her hand. "That's too inhumane. Even the Geneva Convention isn't that cruel. Speaking of the Geneva Convention, I might as well make these prisoners do some work. Otherwise, it would seem like I'm being polite."

Sanita: "Ah? You just remembered now that prisoners need to work? I doubt your identity as a Paradox player is fake."

Rusalka laughed and said, "Okay, we'll send them to the plantation to pick cotton!"

Sanita ignored Rusalka's new, lame joke and said, "Forget it now. Calculating the date, they should be sending an envoy soon to discuss the ransom."

In their expectation, the interrogation period should be about 5 days, so if you haven't killed the prisoners and paraded them in the streets after a week, it means you still want to negotiate.

After confirming that there are some options for negotiation, they will need to spend another week or so to discuss the purpose of the negotiation and the ransom budget, so this will take about half a month."

Rusalka questioned, "If you knew that, why didn't you tell me earlier? I've been sending people to gather intelligence about the grove every day for the past two weeks. I've been actively looking through documents, hoping to get another guard team to practice with."

Sanita: "To be frank, how can you handle government affairs with such anticipation every day? In half a month, you will definitely eat and sleep all day long. It's not good to let people around you think you are unmotivated. After all, you are our backbone now."

Sanitita's guess was almost right. Two days later, Rusalka, who had been waiting anxiously, finally saw a convoy of envoys.

Phoenix knocked on the door and received a "Come in" response. Then, she bowed to Rusalka, who was sitting in the office, and said, "My Lord, there is a convoy at the door claiming to be from Ropa. They claim to be envoys from Lord Ropa and wish to discuss some matters of cooperation with you."

Rusalka wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth imperceptibly and nodded. He considered putting on a serious expression, but he was so excited that he couldn't help laughing. "Haha, they're finally here! Ahem, well, what I mean is, open the door and take them to the reception room. And by the way, notify Sanita at the library and ask him to come over there too."

Fortunately, Phoenix didn't mean to complain. She remained expressionless as always. She shook her cat ears, nodded, and retreated: "Okay, Lord."

Rusalka looked at the cat's tail hanging behind her, rubbed her slightly itchy palm, slapped herself lightly on the face, cursed herself inwardly, and walked out the door to the reception room.

As a result, the messenger found Rusalka already sitting there when he entered the room, which scared him and the maid who brought him to the reception room.

"Well, my lord, I'm sorry, I'll prepare tea right away!" The maid apologized to Rusalka in a panic and ran away, leaving Rusalka confused.

The messenger also stood there very awkwardly, neither standing nor sitting.

"Sit down." Rusalka generously gestured for the other party to sit down.

The expression on the other person's face became even more confused. He nodded repeatedly and sat down opposite where Rusalka pointed, but only half of his butt was sitting on the sofa, looking like he had hemorrhoids.

Then, Sanita walked in. When he saw this scene, he was also stunned, and then he cursed in the private chat channel: "Brother Xiao, in ancient times, there was a saying that great fools appear wise, and you are just as wise."

Rusalka: "What's wrong?"

Sanita: "They are guests, you are the host, and this is the reception room. You went to the reception room before them and sat there waiting. First of all, this is not in line with the reception rules. The correct order should be that the guests are seated, refreshments are served, and then the host is seated.

Secondly, you're the lord and he's the envoy, so why should he sit across from you? He and I should sit across from each other in the left and right guest seats, and you should sit in the main seat in the middle. Are you crazy? You let him sit in the vice-chairman's seat? The vice-chairman's seat is for guests of your same rank!"

Oh, no wonder the other person looked like he had seen a ghost.

Rusalka accepted it humbly, but she was stubborn and said in the PL channel: "Isn't it all your fault for making me wait so long before, which made me bored to death recently, and I got anxious for a while. Don't shout, just watch me operate."

It was called an operation, but in reality it was just an action and a sentence. Rusalka pointed to the chair next to her and said to the messenger who looked a little anxious, "Oh, sorry, you sit here."

Sanitieta held his forehead and chatted privately: "Brother, who are you to apologize to him? You don't want him to go back alive, right?"

Rusalka: “Ah, this.”

Sanita: "I told you to read more and watch less Phoenix."

Rusalka: “Aba Aba.”

Before the other party's confusion escalated into panic, Sanitieta hurriedly said, "The lord has been busy with government affairs recently and has been quite busy. I am his staff, so I will be the one to negotiate with you. The lord has made the decision. Please take a seat, envoy."

The messenger hurried down the steps, stood up, and sat down in a chair opposite the Sani Tower. He nodded and bowed slightly to Rusalka and said, "Oh, I have long heard that Lord Pearl Tears is diligent in governance and unparalleled in bravery. I was momentarily intimidated by your aura and did something impolite. I hope Your Excellency will forgive me."

Rusalka waved her hand: "It's okay."

Sanitta turned and looked at him, and the straight gaze made him shut up decisively.

Can't I just keep quiet?

Messenger: "Let me introduce myself. My name is Alora, and I am an envoy under Lord Ropa."

Sanitta: "Hello, my name is Sanitta, and I'm Lord Pearl's messenger and staff member. I've long heard of Lord Luopa's great name. I wonder how he's doing these days?"

Alola: "Thank you for your concern. The master is in good health. I recently heard that there were bandits causing trouble in the Pearl Tear Territory. He is concerned about the neighbors and wanted me to ask if there is anything I can do to help."

Rusalka privately chatted: (Good guy, I haven't wanted to help you for a few years, and now you're here to help after the suppression?)

Sanita: (Stop messing around, they are bandits)

Sanita: "Not really. After all, we recently won a great victory in our anti-bandit operation and even got some spoils."

Allura: "That's wonderful! Our Patriarch has also heard of Lord Pearltear's bravery. I'm just wondering if you're interested in selling these spoils of war?"

Sanita hesitated and said, "Well..."

Alora said hurriedly, "If the goods are in good condition, then the price is negotiable."

Sani Iron Tower: "To be honest, some things are really useless to the Pearl Tear Territory, but there's a saying that goes, 'Dwarves fear the weapons they make the most.' Although the weapons may not have a heart, the people who use them do. What if the goods sent out by the Pearl Tear Territory support another group of bandits?"

Alola had clearly anticipated this, responding fluently to this metaphorical and highly targeted question: "Lord Pearl Tear's concerns are naturally known to our Patriarch.

But if you think about it carefully, the minor conflict between our two families seems to be just some minor disputes in our ancestors, which is not worth mentioning now. We also understand that the relationship between Lord Pearl Tears and your family is not harmonious, and it can even be said that they are only related by blood.

Therefore, our family head also intends to put aside the past grudges from this generation onwards, which is why I am here to convey this friendship and request. Compared to long-term cooperation, the value of these goods themselves is not worth mentioning. We also hope to gain the trust and friendship of the current Lord of Pearl Tears through this initial cooperation."

Sanitieta: "The former Lord of Pearl Tears has yet to be buried. That tragedy will inevitably affect the fortunes of the Pearl Tears Territory. I don't think the olive branch you hold in your hand will take root in the land of Pearl Tears."

Alora: "I sincerely ask, the assassination of the former Lord of Pearl Tears and his family was not the work of our Ropa family at all. It was a deliberate frame-up. While our head of the family expresses deep regret, we are also fully investigating the truth and apprehending the murderer. This is not only to comfort the former Lord of Pearl Tears' spirit in heaven, but also to clear our family's name."

From this perspective, I think our two families can definitely cooperate, and this is also one of the reasons why the head of the family sent me here."

Rusalka: (How credible is his words?)

Sanitta: (Aristocratic negotiation requires a 50% truth and 50% falsehood)

Rusalka: (But why do I feel like this guy doesn't have a single real word besides punctuation marks?)

Sanita: (Don't make any noise, I'm thinking)

Chapter 12: Raising the price from the ground up

Sanitieta and this Arora had been arguing for nearly three hours, and Rusalka had grown sleepy during the conversation. She only managed to avoid yawning because she was thinking about Phoenix.

The contract negotiations were a back-and-forth affair. As a lawyer, Sanita became more and more courageous. They talked until almost dinner time. Arola could no longer bear it and gave a price that was at or close to his bottom line. Only then did the two sides reach a preliminary agreement.

Sanita's purpose was certainly not to mock or disgust the other party. For a pure time traveler like him, emotions were not important at all, resources were important.

Besides, it was Rusalka’s entire cyber family who died, so what does it have to do with him, an orphan who started out as Sanita?

Since there is no friendly ally at the beginning, it is better to exchange all historical resources for resources that are actually available now. Once you have the resources, you can use them to cultivate future relationships with characters.

Even if it is a dead person, its surplus value must be squeezed out. As for the matter of the former Lord of Pearl Tears, he doesn't care who the murderer is, he just wants more funeral expenses.

In general, he and Alola both knew that the so-called feud was not an obstacle to cooperation at all. To put it bluntly, the prerequisite for cooperation was just one thing: more money.

Satisfied, Sanita looked at Rusalka, who was already lost in thought, and asked him to repeat his words in the private chat channel: "Thank you very much for coming from afar with your friendship and assistance. It's getting late, so please stay for dinner. It's not too late to stay overnight before leaving."

Alola did not refuse such an invitation. When nobles interacted with each other, it was a common etiquette to let each other's envoys stay at the same table.

After receiving a positive answer, Rusalka went out and told Phoenix, who had been waiting at the door for a long time, to go to the kitchen to cook.

After dinner, Sanita knew that Rushaka could not bear it any longer, so he continued to exchange information about the two territories with Alola alone. Alola then began to test the waters on the issue of "purchasing" the crossbow.

"I heard that Lord Pearl Tear seized a lot of strategic materials this time. Our Lord is very interested in one of them and is willing to buy it at a high price."

Sanitieta knew what he was going to say, so he stopped him from asking any more questions in advance: "No problem. Apart from the crossbow bed, you can pick anything else you like."

Allura knew there was little room for negotiation. He'd originally just given it a try, so upon hearing this, he gave up hope. "Well, it looks like Lord Pearltear is planning to reorganize the guards."

Sanita didn't answer the question, but changed the subject: "The intact one will definitely not be sold, but there are two damaged ones."

Allura's eyes gleamed at this, but she didn't express her eagerness. "Oh, really? But damaged items aren't worth much, especially medium-sized weapons like this. The materials and labor required to repair them would be a considerable sum."

Sani Iron Tower: "That's exactly the case. So we don't have any solution for it yet, so we'll just put it in the warehouse."

Alola: "How about this? If the Pearl Tear Territory doesn't need these two scrapped machines and wants to sell them, I'll ask my lord if he wants to buy them after I return. After all, repairing old ones is always cheaper and more efficient than building new ones."

Sanita: "Well, that's fine. I'll pass it on tomorrow morning."

The next morning, Arora, who had received the news that "Rusalka was willing to sell", hurriedly said goodbye after breakfast.

After seeing off the messenger, Sanitta took Rusalka to the library on the pretext of exchanging the latest information.

Most nobles have a collecting habit, and the former Lord of Pearl Tears is no exception. The only thing that makes Sanitieta feel favorable towards the former Lord of Pearl Tears is that his collecting habit is books.

It is said that this library has a collection of more than ten thousand books and has maids specifically responsible for cleaning. The reason why there is no dedicated librarian is because there is no need for it - the former lord only had a collecting habit, not a reading habit.

It feels great to be surrounded by three layers of bookshelves with a total height of 2.3 meters. It feels like I’m back to the days when I was preparing for the bar exam in the library before college.

There was no one around, and the feeling of freedom that the entire space belonged to me was truly intoxicating.

If you put a mobile phone next to this wooden table and play a self-deception game, it would be like a return to youth.

Of course, not having a mobile phone also has its advantages. In just one month, Sani Tieta had finished reading the three thick reference books in the library. Thanks to the DM for assimilating the language. At least the common language in the books is still Chinese characters, which saves him the effort of learning the characters from scratch.

As for the languages ​​of other races, Sani Tieta did not force it. After all, he only knew two languages ​​in his previous life. There was nothing to regret if he did not know all of them after traveling through time.

It was obvious that Rusalka was not a library lover. He did not feel excited at all when he entered the room. He went straight to the bookshelf closest to the door and picked out a book called "Noble Etiquette" with a gold-embroidered spine. Then he pretended to turn the book to the middle, put it on the table, and then reached into his pocket very conveniently.

Of course he didn't touch anything, so he was subconsciously stunned, then patted his right pocket, and then did the same action to his left pocket.

After thinking for a few seconds, he realized that he didn't have a mobile phone in his pocket. He lowered his head to look at the book with a little embarrassment, waiting for Sani Tieta, who was reading seriously opposite him, to speak first.

Sanita placed a bookmark and raised his head. "Then let's talk a little bit about the gains from this negotiation, and analyze the intelligence we've both gained recently."

Rusalka asked in confusion, "We clearly have a private chat channel, why did you specifically drag me here to chat?"

Sanita has become accustomed to explaining for Rusalka: "Is there a possibility that we cannot let people doubt our ability to communicate privately?

Besides, we haven't sat down and talked face to face for a long time. If we treat each other like strangers every day, it will give people the impression that you are cold to me, and then my ability to use you as a shield will be reduced."

Rusalka: "Although that makes sense, it sounds so awkward to me. I wonder if your next sentence will be 'Brother, you smell so good'? You are so handsome but you have never had a girlfriend. I can't help but have doubts in this regard."

Sanitieta sighed. "In my last life, I was obsessed with running and leading group fights. Now, I'm completely absorbed in negotiations, constantly thinking about making more money for our Pearl Tear Territory. You, the guy who spends every day idle and chatting with the maids, can't I spend a little less time complaining about you?"

Rusalka was definitely not convinced. She closed the book "Noble Etiquette", knocked it on the table, and retorted, "What do you mean by chatting with the maids for no reason? I was chatting with them for a purpose."

Sanitieta was startled when he heard this, but when he thought of the man next to him, a love-loser who he knew well, he knew that the purpose he mentioned was not to try to capture these maids. However, he probably didn't know that he only needed to beckon the maids to rush over one after another. "What's the purpose?"

Rusalka perked up when she mentioned this. "Didn't you ask me to find out more about Phoenix's background and personality? I thought about asking her directly, 'Tell me, who are you?' But that's definitely not going to work."

Sanita: "Then you still have some brains."

Rusalka: "Dude, we both graduated from junior high school, high school, and college. When you attacked my IQ, didn't you consider that the splash damage would hit you?"

"Ah, I'm injured, and I've become mentally retarded." Sanita read, "Are you satisfied?"

Rusalka was amused. He placed the book flat on the table and said, "I recently learned from chatting with the maids that the Filin people have a very long lifespan. Unlike the cats and cats in our world, the cat people of this world, the Filin people, are said to live seven times longer than ordinary humans."

Sanitta: "Wow, your wife even brought her own formalin."

Rusalka held up the Etiquette of the Nobility with both hands, placing its cover facing the Sanita Tower. "Don't interrupt me. This information is very important."

Sanita smiled without saying anything and made a "please" gesture.

Rusalka: "As the saying goes, the most effective way to understand a leader is to ask his subordinates, so I specifically asked those maids to talk to me about their opinions on Phoenix."

Sanitta: "Excuse me for interrupting. I just want to remind you that not only the maids, but also the male servants are Phoenix's subordinates. Don't be too picky about gender."

Rusalka: "Uh... I forgot, but it's not important. Our other maids are more similar to Phoenix in terms of ideology. Anyway, I asked them. Let me restore the clues.

Most maids think that Miss Phoenix is ​​an extremely outstanding head maid. It is said that she came to the Pearl Tear Territory very early. She was already there when the previous generation of the Pearl Tear Territory just inherited the mansion. Due to the age advantage of the Filin family, she has always been young and has a good memory. She soon became the head maid.

She was also very familiar with many of the hidden corners of the mansion, and was able to personally clean it spotlessly. She was also very kind to her subordinates and rarely argued with others. Occasionally, if a maid or servant accidentally broke something, she would appropriately cover for them.

Sani Tieta: "Oh, I'm just wondering why the all-porcelain vase on the third-floor corridor is so much smaller and made of a different material."

Rusalka: “Huh?”

Sanita: "It's okay, it's not important. I'll mix it in with the package and sell it later. You continue."

Rusalka: “She was so outstanding, always so beautiful, and had an extraordinary aura, which made those gossipy maids think that she would definitely have a chance.

As expected, not long ago, the former Lord of Pearl Tears wanted to marry her as a concubine. According to the maids, they were envious at the time. It was like she had suddenly soared to fame, rising from servant to master. If she got pregnant, even the child's blood would be that of a noble.

Sanitta: "But she is still the head maid now."

Rusalka: "Those maids were the classic example of 'fearing their brothers' hardship, but also fearing their brothers driving Land Rover'. When they told the second half of the story, they couldn't hide their smiles.

As for marrying a head maid as a concubine, the former lord's wife would definitely not agree, saying that Phoenix was of humble origin and it was not in accordance with the rules. Seriously speaking, although a concubine did not need to be aristocratic, she had to come from a merchant family or a warrior family. At the very least, she had to have a name and a surname among the common people. Obviously, a maid like Phoenix, who was a pure orphan, did not have these conditions.

Women have a strong sense of crisis. If you don't handle this kind of young, beautiful woman like the Filin family, it's easy for a mistress to take over. His three wives and one concubine all refused to agree. The former lord was very adamant and insisted on marrying her, so the mansion was in turmoil every day.