Chapter 470: Time to open the Transcendent Gacha Tickets

Ethan followed John through the entire Goldenveil alcoholic beverage production complex, stopping every few steps to taste samples of the new products.

The scent of fermented malt and damp wood permeated every warehouse, mingling with the heat rising from the large copper vats. Workers moved between the rows of barrels, wiping sweat from their brows as they checked seals and labels.

With more than ten third-stage mages working solely on the production of beverages infused with magical elements, it was only natural that the shelves were brimming with a wide variety of unique products.

As they walked, Ethan also spoke at length with John about exports and, above all, about how things were going with the new merchants arriving in Goldenveil every day.

A city of that size, with a massive port open to people from all over the world, naturally didn’t take long to gain fame.

Every merchant heading for the Eternal Forest stopped in Goldenveil to restock and sell their own goods. Not a single day went by without the city receiving at least one or two large ships.

The previous week, a relatively large fleet belonging to a merchant family from the Central Empires had docked at the port. Its crew, however, seemed to be in a hurry and barely did any business with Goldenveil, merely restocking before continuing their journey.

For these merchants, Goldenveil’s vast selection of alcoholic beverages was something that immediately caught their eye.

What was an everyday drink for the common people here could easily be sold as a premium product—a luxury item for wealthy merchants and nobles across the rest of the continent.

The same was true for the small portion of magical grains that Ethan released onto the open market.

Of course, those grains were now even scarcer, and Ethan didn’t know if he’d be able to supply many of them even to Ron.

Winter was approaching, and he needed a stockpile for more than five hundred thousand people. And that wasn’t all.

He also needed to fill Goldenshield’s warehouses, preparing them for a long siege.

Goldenveil’s metal was also very popular among merchants, with weapons, tools, and mass-produced parts being some of the most sought-after items.

The magical steel produced by the dwarves, used in high-level armor, had even earned its own nickname: Golden Steel.

The steel obviously wasn’t golden. The name came from the base color of the Goldenveil banner.

All of this, of course, was sold at a very high price and was never of the same quality as the equipment supplied to the Goldenveil army. Still, for merchants accustomed to far inferior items, it was practically divine.

John had much more contact with these merchants than the blacksmiths of Goldenveil did, so he was able to tell Ethan quite a bit about the city’s general situation and, of course, about its population.

Their interests, the way the culture was changing, what young people liked to do in their free time.

John was one of the wealthiest men in Goldenveil thanks to the profit shares he received from the city’s alcohol production.

He even owned a mansion in the upscale district, but he still lived primarily in the intermediate district and remained a man who got his hands dirty, working hard alongside his employees.

Those employees spanned many generations, and he listened to each one of them—students preparing for college, parents working for their children’s future, and older workers thinking about retirement.

He ate with the common folk and celebrated with the common folk.

He was one of the best sources of information a Lord could have about his own people.

In the end, Ethan spent the entire morning talking with John and even with Tomas, the current mayor of Goldenveil, who was also inspecting the town’s beverage production facilities.

By the time Tomas was red-faced and thoroughly drunk, Ethan left with a smile on his face.

Goldenveil was developing exactly as he wanted it to.

Its culture was taking shape as liberal and welcoming, but not so liberal as to become a haven for demons.

Freedom of the press reigned almost unrestrained, with the exception, of course, of information related to Ethan’s wives and his family in general.

The press was free to criticize him, but insulting his wives outside their official positions in the Goldenveil government could lead to very severe punishments, depending on how the insult was made.

One fool had even been sentenced to a hundred lashes and twenty years in prison after making obscene jokes about Alice in a newspaper, which, naturally, was shut down.

It was a relatively light punishment. In any other noble city on the continent, speaking that way about a duchess would be more than enough to cost someone their head.

The man was actually lucky. Given Alice’s standing in the minds of the people of Goldenveil, if the police hadn’t gotten to him quickly, he would have been lynched without a doubt.

Ethan did not see himself as the leader of a democracy, even though he was from Earth and ruled an independent duchy where the press was infinitely freer than in the rest of the continent.

He was an autocratic Lord, and he preferred that his people never forget that his word was law and that his power knew no bounds.

Once the visit was over, Ethan returned to his office.

He sank into his chair with a sigh. A stack of documents was already resting on the desk, mostly related to the players and Seo-ah’s guild.

Honestly, he was still thinking about what to do regarding the beautiful Korean woman.

She was hopelessly in love with him, but she still didn’t know that he was a real person and that Estria was a real world, not a game.

He really wanted to tell her, but there was a problem.

The moment he did, she would lose her status as a player and become trapped in the game, just like Ophelia.

Knowing that her brother was also a Golden Lord, Ethan left that problem to be resolved between her and her family.

His eyes soon drifted to the two Transcendent Gacha Tickets he’d received after taking Carmilla as his wife.

A smile curved his lips as he picked them up. It was time to see what other incredible Transcendent-grade items he’d win!