8mi Chapter 70: The New Badge
Chapter 70: The New Badge
In fact, even at the very end, Haaland still wouldn't understand what he was doing.
Harland didn't realize what was going on until Ron took out a bag of fine yellow powder.
"The potato starch made from rock can be made so fine, it's in no way inferior to refined flour."
Ron nodded, a new business idea suddenly forming in his mind.
Since the territory is not yet able to create a flagship product, could we start with food?
Despite visiting the entire potato starch manufacturing plant, Harland still couldn't figure out how the potato starch was made.
The potato flour they sold to Ashwood Territory was actually, at least, dried rock potatoes that had been ground into granules, and it looked similar to coarse grain flour.
Haaland didn't ask any further questions about how the potato starch was made; he'd already seen it all, and he'd just study it himself when he got back.
The two chatted happily along the way, and on the way back, Ron even gave Harland a small bag of fine potato starch, weighing a full ten pounds.
Haaland's eyes lit up: "Then I won't stand on ceremony."
Back at the pit house, Ron announced his decision to go to Gorubak Castle at the dinner table.
After listening, Old Hall did not speak immediately. He put the spoon in his hand into the soup bowl, and the handle of the spoon tapped on the rim of the bowl with a very soft sound.
He had anticipated this. In fact, even if Ron didn't want to go, Old Hall would have tried to persuade him to go.
Mrs. Morrill put down her ledger, glanced at him, and then continued checking the inventory list.
"Fanta will come along," Ron said. "And pick a clever one too."
"Sanlir and Leonardo da Vinci?" Old Hall finally spoke.
“Sure, Sanlir will run errands,” Ron said. “Da Vinci used to be a mercenary at Gorubak Fort.”
Old Hall nodded: "What about the territory?"
"You stay here and handle all day-to-day affairs. Don't wait for me to return. Harvest Town's defenses are handled by Hilden, and administrative affairs by Ton. Mrs. Moriel will continue to be in charge of population resettlement and the Women's Administration."
"What about Duolong?"
"The messenger has already set off. Let him meet us at Gorubak Fortress. He knows the shops, residences, and key points in the city better than we do."
Old Hall was silent for a moment, then stood up.
"I understand, young master. Please follow me."
He led Ron into the underground warehouse of Pit 2 and pulled out an old oak box from the deepest part of the pit.
The brass lock on the box lid had turned green with rust. Old Hall didn't use a key; he just twisted the lock cylinder with his palm, and the lock cylinder popped open with a muffled thud.
He took a neatly folded suit out of the box.
The fabric was dark blue wool, with silver-grey architectural towers embroidered on the cuffs and collar—the coat of arms of the Ashwood family.
The dress was well preserved; there were no insect damage or fading, only the creases from years of wear and tear.
Beside the dress was a matching dark gray cloak, the clasp of which was a silver architectural tower brooch.
"This is what the master wore when he was young." Old Hall unfolded the tuxedo, the wool gleaming subtly under the lamplight. "Moriel found it a few days ago and altered the size. Young master, try it on."
Ron took off his everyday coarse cloth coat and put on a formal suit. The cuffs just covered his wrists, the shoulders were very tight, and the waist was two fingers narrower than that of an ordinary nobleman's suit.
He looked down at the architectural tower on his cuff, put on his cloak, and fastened the architectural tower brooch.
Old Hall took two steps back, looked him up and down, then pushed a bronze mirror in front of him and said the exact same thing his father had said when he sent him to the Knight Academy: "A member of the Ashwood family will never be a disgrace, no matter where he goes."
Ron suddenly smiled at the bronze mirror.
"The old Ashwood era has ended, and the new Ashwood era has begun."
Ron pointed to the architectural tower emblem and brooch on his clothes.
"Change everything to this style."
After saying that, Ron pulled the brooch off, melted it in his hand, and slowly transformed it into the shape he wanted.
A red swastika brooch with black lettering.
"From this day forward, this will be the new Ashwood family crest, and the same goes for the flag."
Old Hall looked at the melted architectural tower brooch, his lips moved, but he ultimately didn't say anything in protest.
He lowered his head, folded the other old suits and put them back at the bottom of the trunk, his movements much slower than usual.
The Ashwood family today is certainly no longer worthy of the emblem of their former building tower.
Although Ron could become an excellent architectural mage, it seems he has new plans.
"Yes, young master! What are your requirements regarding the style of the flag?"
Ron said, "The flag is red with a white circle in the center, and a black swastika in the middle. It's that simple."
Old Hall took careful notes.
When Ron came out of the pit courtyard, Anna was tidying up her staff in the courtyard.
The staff was found among the spoils of war from the Earth Dragon tribe. It originally belonged to a human mage who was eaten by goblins. The wood of the staff was cracked and the magic crystal at the top of the staff had dimmed.
Old Hall used Transformation to re-solidify the staff, and Ron used Condensation to infuse new magic into the crystal. The repaired staff was shorter than before, but it fit perfectly in Anna's hand.
Unfortunately, she was already twenty-five years old, which was a bit too old for someone who had just embarked on the path of becoming a mage.
Ron would be grateful to become a formal mage in this lifetime; he didn't care about his future achievements. Even if he remained a mage apprentice for life, it wouldn't matter; at least he would be qualified to be the introductory teacher for the mage apprentices in the territory.
Talent is cultivated bit by bit.
"How's your meditation technique coming along?" Ron asked her.
"Thank you for your guidance, Lord. I have made progress and can now meditate twice a day," Anna said respectfully, her eyes filled with joy.
Anna was not someone who knew nothing. She came from a noble family of mages, and her family was mainly composed of professional mages. Therefore, she was well aware of how difficult it was for a mage apprentice to master meditation techniques.
Before the accident, her brother was a formal mage, a recognized genius mage in the family. He mastered the family's meditation method at the age of fifteen, but it took him three months to be able to complete the meditation independently. When her brother was able to meditate twice a day, he was already sixteen years old.
This process took almost a year, but she only took a month.
Because Anna understood how difficult it was to master meditation, she was even more in awe of Ron's ability to make her proficient in meditation by simply placing his hand on her head for one night.
As expected of the Ashwood family, once the kingdom's top noble family.
"Only twice a day? That won't do. You need to practice more."
Ron compared his own meditation speed with his own. Even if he used the professional mage meditation method, he could only meditate five times a day. Two times was really too little. It seems that his talent is not so good!
Anna raised an eyebrow. She could tell that the lord was somewhat dissatisfied with her meditation speed, and said somewhat guiltily, "My lord, I will try my best. If you can guide my meditation further, it might be even faster."
Ron didn't answer. He could indeed use his mental power to "guide" others through a meditation path. That was a system-assisted AFK function. Helping Anna meditate once was equivalent to reducing his AFK meditation time by one.
"We'll talk about it when I get back."