"Master, it is time for dinner." Nailisi had followed him in without him noticing.
"Mm, have you caught them?" Saleen turned around and looked at Nailisi.
"Jola has already sent them to the south." Nailisi's voice was very soft. Besides Saleen, even Aini could not hear what she said.
Before Saleen came, Jola had personally led a team to capture the scouts found in the west of the city. Jola's ability was indeed reassuring. Within a few hours, he had brought them back.
"You don't have to stay here. Go and ask around where they came from," Aini said to Nailisi. He was not sure about Nailisi's interrogation methods, but he knew that even a silver grand swordmaster had been taken care of by her.
Nailisi left unwillingly. She wanted to see what Saleen was going to say to Irene. She was not interested in interrogating prisoners. In the past, she was so concerned because her body needed to grow and the flesh of an expert was beneficial to her evolution. Now that her evolution requirements were higher, these prisoners were of no use to her.
Saleen was a mage, so he could not really be the owner of the city. To him, the practice of magic was the most important thing. This town hall was a place for the owner of the city to handle official business. As for who would be the owner of this position, he would have to discuss it with Lex before deciding.
No matter who became the owner of the city, the actual owner of this city would still be Saleen. After all, this city was designed for mages from Sregl Island to be stationed here. Lex could not possibly send a person to be in charge of the city. She only wanted a safe teleportation portal. Only when this city belonged to Saleen would there not be any conflicts between the two parties. As for the future, when the Bitter Water County had enough sorcerers, they would have the power to build their own teleportation portal.
Seeing Saleen's calm expression, Irene felt a ripple in her heart. It would be great if I could marry this mage. It would not be bad to be his lover … Irene thought in her heart, her face revealing a slightly infatuated expression.
Aini saw this and laughed in his heart. He did not point it out because he was too close to Saleen, so his thoughts were different from others. If Saleen could get the direct descendant of the Williams family, there would be much less competition on his side. If a woman were to follow a man, of course she would not put her family first. Aini even had the intention of establishing his own family. Otherwise, he would not have bet all his savings on Saleen.
"Helene, please come with me." Saleen did not realize that Irene was different. It was not that he was slow to react, but that he had never experienced such things before.
Irene followed Saleen and Aini to the restaurant on the second floor. This restaurant was used by the town hall. As the city's structure had not been completed, there were no officials in charge. Those who ate here were all swordsmen from Sregl Island.
The City Hall covered a large area and was rectangular in shape. The dining hall was facing the south, and there were more than 20 windows in a row, all of which were inlaid with cheap glass. However, the glass was not colored. Instead, it was pure and transparent. It looked like a broken crystal.
By this time, the sky was already dark. Many of Saleen's subordinates had come for dinner, and the dining hall was filled with people. Once Saleen entered, there was no noise in the dining hall. The swordsmen and mages from Sregl Island stood up and bowed to Saleen. Aini's men already had a mansion, so of course they would not appear here.
Saleen nodded and asked everyone to sit down. He was still not used to this, but he did not object.
They walked to the east side of the dining hall. There was a screen blocking out a single room. Irene took note of the screen. This thing was usually only used by people from Cloudflow. It did not look new and was not made locally. It seemed that Saleen did not lack any resources. Otherwise, he would not have spent so much effort to transport such daily necessities all the way here.
The chefs in this dining hall were all from Sregl Island. They had originally cooked on the ship, but now that the harbor was frozen, the people on the ship had moved to land. Only a few of them stayed on the island far away to take care of the warship.
"Irene, there is nothing good to eat here. Please don't mind." Saleen was very amiable now. He was not as aggressive as when he had caught Irene. He knew in his heart that Irene was in such a hurry to come back because she wanted to cooperate with him.
The mute enchantment on the screen was activated, and the sound in the dining hall was isolated by magic. This single room was immediately sealed. No matter what the three of them said, no one outside could hear them.
"Mage Saleen."
Saleen smiled and shook his hand. Irene looked back and said, "Saleen, Aini, he …"
"Aini is my best friend. Irene, I want to ask you, does the Williams family still have a ship like yours?"
Irene was stunned. After a moment of silence, she said, "No." Her ship was given to her by her mother. It came from Cloudflow. The Williams family was not good at sea trade. This ship was the only thing that could go across the ocean. Once the ship sank, her family's status would drop significantly. Saleen's words touched her most sensitive spot. Other than the sea route, she had nothing to take out for negotiation.
"I don't think so. Even if they were to manufacture it in Lianyun Harbor, they would have to wait for two to three years." Saleen was very knowledgeable about shipbuilding. A normal small ship would take a few months to build. A large ship that went across the ocean would be close to two-hundred meters long. It would be considered fast if it could be built within two to three years. Of course, if all of them were to be refined using magic, the speed would increase tremendously. The cost would also increase by hundreds of times. No one could afford it.
Irene's expression dimmed. She had raised money again and even took a large sum from her mother. She wanted to get a ship from Saleen so that she could set sail the next spring. She could still make up for her losses. Otherwise, her family would not support her adventures anymore.
However, Saleen seemed to want Aini to join in. Since when did the Williams family agree to cooperate with the Clyde family?
"Irene." Aini did not have his usual cold demeanor. He looked at Irene with a smile and called out.
"What is it?!" Irene immediately pulled a long face. She had not forgotten what had happened when she was young. Aini had almost broken her teeth.
"Saleen's meaning is very simple. You can do this alone without using your family's power. That sea route was not created by your family, right? "
Irene was shocked. She had thought about what Aini said before, but it was not possible. Without her family's backing, she could easily be eaten up by other powers. She was the one who had discovered the sea route and the rights were in her hands. However, her family had provided the swordsmen and funds so that she could take the risk.
"You want me to betray my family!" Thinking of this, Irene's eyebrows raised. She was still carrying her short sword and her hand immediately pressed on the hilt. The Qin people were indeed hot-blooded. Even if she was facing two grade-5 mages, Irene could not tolerate such provocation.
Aini shrugged and said, "What are you talking about? You will marry sooner or later. Does marrying count as betraying your family?"
Irene's face turned red again. Saleen said, "Let the three of us cooperate. You provide the sea route and it will count as two shares. Aini is providing the swordsmen and it will count as two shares. I will provide the ships and escort warships and it will count as six shares. Don't be unwilling. I still have to give out half of these six shares. This city does not belong to me alone. "
Aini struck while the iron was hot and said, "Irene, you have to think carefully. By next spring, the people from Bitter Water Prefecture will enter this city in large batches. It will be difficult for you to split into two shares. It will be the same for me. We have to provide the money and the swordsmen now. Once it is too late, Saleen does not lack money. "
Irene frowned and calculated in her heart. If she could get twenty percent, it would be more than what she could get from her family. She still asked, "Saleen, since you will have the swordsmen by spring, why do you still want to calculate like this?"
"This city does not belong to me alone, but this business can belong to me alone. I can deploy three warships … "At this point, Saleen could not suppress the annoyance in his heart. Lex had left with one warship. She had said that she would let the warship return first, but she had disappeared without a trace. If Lex was in danger, the Qin Empire would have been in chaos. He did not know what kind of trouble had caused Lex to bring the mages and swordsmen from Sregl Island.
"Three warships!" Irene was shocked. She thought that Saleen had a large merchant ship that could be modified into an expedition ship. She did not expect Saleen to have a warship. The defensive power of a warship surpassed that of an expedition ship. Even if it was sailing in the northern sea, as long as it did not collide with an iceberg, it could break through a normal layer of ice.
"Yes, but I do not have enough manpower. At least one of the three warships needs to be left behind to protect the port temporarily. I only have enough manpower for one warship. The people that Aini is bringing are his personal forces and are not related to the Clyde family. If you agree, this business will belong to the three of us. "
"Do you have any special requests?" Irene did not believe that there was such a good deal.
"You have seen my city. It has just been built. For the next five years, every time we go out to sea, the funds and manpower will be shared by the two of you. After five years, the three of us will share equally."
Seeing that Irene was hesitating, Aini said, "In the first year, you only need to provide the route."
Saleen nodded and said, "After three years, I will have more ships. This business can be expanded."
Irene thought, "Saleen wants sixty percent. It may seem like a lot, but Saleen is offering warships. No matter what, I will not be able to get it. After five years, everyone will share the cost equally. I will not be at a disadvantage. This business will be managed by the family alone, won't the family be furious? "
"Irene, I can promise you the Williams family. In the future, you will get the same share of the trade as Aini. As for the other two families, I will take special care of them."
Hearing Saleen's promise, Irene was relieved. If she could get a large share of the trade in this city, her family would be satisfied.
"Okay, we …"
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