Steampunk Era: Mad Abield
Chapter 602 - 418: New Dawn (Part 1)

Chapter 602: Chapter 418: New Dawn (Part 1)

"Was the idea of wearing rings from Anthony?" Logan asked doubtfully.

"Of course, as the head of a household, Anthony putting on a ring for himself and then for his bride, I see no problem with that," Malin declared with complete confidence, speaking as if everything had been arranged beforehand.

"Is this a new way of putting on rings, or is this the trend in the southern countries? I remember that in the northern countries, the bride and groom usually put rings on each other," the Night Watcher’s secretary Lulu asked, full of confusion.

"This is a brand-new way, also the first time in the south. Trust me, as the head of a household, he has the right to do this, and Miss Ranni seems quite happy with it, doesn’t she?" Facing the ethnologist, Malin smiled slightly, subtly shifting the topic to the newlyweds’ blissful life to make the secretary hold her tongue, also using a tactic: "What do you think? When you get married, would you prefer this way, or the way of the North? I believe anticipation is also a virtue."

"Malin, I had no idea you could lie with such a straight face," Faye and Nova appeared before Malin like predators, after Lulu left flushed with an excuse.

"What else could I do, Anthony that fool acted on impulse like that, what could I have done? Should I tell that fool to take off the ring and put it on the bride? That would certainly become the most universally mocked joke of the year in the entire Farole noble circle, maybe even in the northern countries, bringing laughter and joy to nobles, commoners, merchants, and beggars alike," Malin said, looking troubled, as though all he had said was in defense of Anthony.

"Even so, weren’t you a bit too outrageous? Even if Logan can’t know, Lulu can’t either?" Nova asked, full of confusion.

"She’s not my wife, but you are, silly girl," Malin retorted, using a Thainan phrase at the end.

"Stupid girl, I do have a Thainan cook!" Nova raged, then rose up in arms—she picked up Fio and used it to hit Malin on the head.

"It’s a term of endearment, a term of endearment," Malin defended himself wearily, feeling that Fio hitting him was almost like a blessing.

Is this "familiarity breeds contempt" or "tough love"?

"Alright, Nova, let Malin go. He did very well today. He’s taken the blame onto himself, and with his reputation and position, such a change can’t be seen as a joke. He’s helped the Gallo family, who will feel indebted to him because their heir didn’t end up embarrassed. They will stand by Malin and your side more firmly,"

"...Okay, I’m not actually angry, it’s just that I suddenly discovered a whole new side to Mr. Malin, and it’s...it’s hard to put into words, let’s say,"

In the end, Nova forgave Malin, and, of course, she kissed him.

That very night, a crippled old man from the Gallo family came to thank Malin personally, which made Malin feel rather embarrassed—this man who had made the journey himself said something about how the Gallo family was greatly indebted and shouldn’t have come by chariot.

Malin just felt that this noble had too many intricacies, so after talking with him for a while, they finally came to a decision. They decided to build a breeding base and an industry chain factory for processing all kinds of animal materials right there, the Gallo family being responsible for security and Malin giving them a share of the profits, forging a close alliance that was beneficial for everyone.

Nova needed allies, she understood that despite her constant urge to find her father’s murderer. But what to think about that white-haired old man... Malin didn’t really see him as a murderer.

Because he didn’t seem like a Wang Mang or a Sima Yi, lacking a foundation for rebellion. Perhaps he killed the young king for the sake of the country, but... why hadn’t the nobility from both the South and North seen through this?

Was it the antagonism between the two sides?

But that shouldn’t be right either.

So this puzzled Malin greatly.

Now wasn’t the time to reveal the truth to Nova. In any case, Malin needed to bind the Gallo family to his war chariot for the upcoming Tide of the Dead. He needed enough manpower to protect the flame of civilization from being extinguished.

In Malin’s vision, he had to tie the Farol Principality and Sydney to his camp; thus, he could forgive Lady Manli’s rudeness and also those impolite young people, as many of them would eventually stand on the frontline against the Tide of the Dead.

Of course, those who ran away deserved to die. Malin would deal with them, swiftly and cruelly, to show them that everyone has to die eventually, and death cannot be avoided.

Either fight until dawn or perish in the dark night; there was no third option.

When the old man left, Malin specifically opened a portal leading directly to his front door, giving the old man a more tangible sense of just how powerful a caster could be—he remembered that Malin only needed to walk through a door once to decipher the coordinates.

Malin was quite accustomed to it by now.

The old man, however, entered his own door amidst endless gratitude.

Malin worried that he might have startled the old man, and then he thought—hey, what am I thinking? That old man has a Legendary and two nearly there at home, he doesn’t need Malin worrying for him. Besides, the Gallo family doesn’t have a feud with him; surely the old man wouldn’t be more troubled by this than Lady Manli’s sleep quality.

With that in mind, Malin simply returned to his new residence—the Nova family’s palace had been cleaned up, and they were to stay there today.

Speaking of which, that bed was big and soft, truly suitable for the whole family to snuggle up... though it seems I used the wrong adjective.

Well, as long as he’s happy, that’s all that matters.

.........

Just as Malin predicted, Anthony’s wedding didn’t cause any waves. Even the blind nobles could sense from their companions’ conversations Malin’s resolve to protect Anthony, so no one dared to mock the Gallo family—a red-robed Bishop who had wiped out a Black Orc Tide of the Dead in his first battle, and a Prince to two princesses. If such a status couldn’t shut their reckless mouths, then Malin could only say these folks were indeed fearless.

Without Malin lifting a finger, the Gallo family would take care of things themselves—they could use ’protecting Lord Malin’s reputation’ as a pretext for a justified one-on-one war with the other family.

As for that young man Malin had slammed into the wall, Malin later found out it was part of the act. Unfortunately, the Gallo family hadn’t informed Malin, and Malin had acted too quickly, leaving Anthony no chance to show off. It had taken the young man’s companions a long time to pry him out of the wall.

Luckily, Malin believed that a wedding should not end in fatalities, so he didn’t deal a lethal blow, instead using his Spiritual Energy to wrap the young man before smacking him into the wall. The young man took the hit and as a result received gifts from both Malin and the Gallo family—Malin gave two bottles of potions, and aside from the salary already promised, the Gallo family additionally gave the young man a dose of the Sequence level seven potion for an assailant.

After all, being smashed into the wall by Malin was indeed better than being scorned by Anthony with mere words.

Regarding assailants, it’s said this is a newly improved Sequence. In the old days, assailants wielded dual weapons, but now this fierce fellow had swapped one blade for a Revolver—he could slice up close and shoot from afar. As times change, this became popular.

Malin’s World Tree Acorn potion healed all the young man’s injuries—including old wounds and hidden traumas. With such benefits, he had nothing to complain about. On the contrary, he felt like he came out ahead—having used one potion, he still had one left for emergencies, and the level seven potion was a substantial fortune in itself.

For the third son of a Baron, it was as if he had reached his life’s journey in one step.

Plus, he had established ties with Malin—Malin gave this young man named Mark Galipoli a messenger’s coordinates. His friends seemed worth supporting in Malin’s eyes.

At the very least, they were working hard to change their life’s path and earn money, which Malin very much approved of. Their efforts were clear to see. To lend a hand was easy for Malin, but for them, it could mean a change in their life’s Fate.

Just like Malin had helped the Church’s Apprentices before, even though he was no longer an Apprentice, Malin still took one day out of each month to aid them.

With Anthony being married and too busy to chat, Malin quite enjoyed his leisure, strolling around the city with his girl daily, figuring out where to locate his branch base—there was a large open space south of the airport, formerly a slum, which Malin had taken over. He categorized the poor into two groups—one from the North and East Kingdom refugees, the other local poor. Malin didn’t separate them by region, but by their work enthusiasm; those willing to work hard for a better tomorrow were preselected by Malin. For the others... if they wanted to work for Malin, he didn’t mind paying a salary, but if not, the world was big enough for them.

Those who do not work, shall not eat—this is the just maxim no matter the ideology.

Upon receiving orders, Jason’s robots began to join the construction teams. Out of curiosity, Malin inquired about the fate of a little thief and got a piece of intelligence—besides Jason and the old man’s people, a third group was also hunting the boy.

This piqued Jason’s interest, and in addition to ordering the old man’s people to stop hunting the young man, he had them start tracking both the boy and the third group. His point was to catch someone and see who exactly they were.

This received Malin’s support, and at the same time, Malin received news—the Seafloor Base’s first batch of fast-growing vegetables had been harvested. Dorothy somewhat regretfully reported in a communication that the base’s renovation had just started; currently, they could only produce about two tons of vegetables a day. Once the renovation was complete, thirty tons a day would not be a problem.

When Malin heard this, he felt his world collapsing.

First, can vegetables that grow in less than a week really be safe to eat?

Second, how large a plant would he need to build in Carterburg to handle thirty tons of vegetables daily?

Third, setting aside other places, if these vegetables hit the market, Carterburg’s farming class would probably spin around 720 degrees as they underwent their bankruptcy ceremonies. By then, Malin would have to find enough work for them to keep their families from falling apart.

Fourth, with such an abundance of vegetables, to whom would he sell them?

So, after confirming Dorothy’s renovation goals, Malin decided to only renovate the first phase, which after completion could produce about ten tons of vegetables a day. As for the rest, Malin planned to transform it into fast-growing fruit—after making sure both the fruit and vegetables were safe to consume.