Chapter 59: Betting

The grain on the docks had long been reserved.

Residents who had come to rush-buy supplies discovered that the docks, where cargo ships sat fully loaded, were now covered in “Sold Out” flags.

Bakeries and grain stores in the streets and alleys had also closed their doors.

If a family was fortunate enough to have stored some grain at home, they were fine for now.

But for those who bought food as they needed it—especially bachelors—they might not have a staple meal by tomorrow.

Consequently, the prices of various filling foods began to skyrocket.

Beans and dairy products were also nearly sold out.

Residents were using their savings to trade for food, while the poor were already planning to flee to the countryside for refuge.

Often in the middle of the night, they would secretly open their doors, step out, and lock them tight.

Families carrying their luggage would run toward the city gates; only this way could they avoid becoming a laughingstock to their neighbors.

The city guards usually turned a blind eye.

There was no profit to be gained from stopping these paupers, so there was no need to bother.

However, as these poor people fled, they didn’t seem to notice a luxurious carriage speeding along the main road.

Its destination was the Elven Consulate.

Liv had been waiting in the main hall for a long time when Julia and her father, Domenico, finally arrived.

As soon as Julia entered, she said happily, “Liv, we’ve ordered two ships of grain. That will be enough to last us for a while. Once the new contract with the dwarves is finalized, even more grain will arrive.”

Liv raised her head.

Her silver eyes seemed to glimmer, though only slightly.

“That is good, Sister Julia. Thank you for your hard work.”

Domenico also tipped his hat in greeting and stepped forward.

“Miss Livyat. I am very pleased to see the Elven Consulate is safe. My apologies for the scare you received today. The Governor’s Office did not orchestrate this; we have no idea which damn bastard leaked the information, leading a mob of rioters to storm the Kingdom’s consulate.”

Liv toyed with her fingers as she listened to Domenico’s explanation.

Only after he finished did she look up to meet his gaze.

“So, Your Excellency. I suppose the Kingdom’s retaliation is truly coming, then?”

Domenico waved his hand dismissively.

“Heh. Now that things have reached this point, we don’t need to fear them. The Governor has already ordered the Karl Mercenary Group to march directly into the territory of the Grand Duchy of Tiro to help defend several key fortresses. Other kingdoms are also willing to cooperate with our proposal to purchase additional grain. As Julia mentioned, even the dwarves—who have always been hostile toward elves—are almost ready to sign a contract with us.”

‘Did the mercenary group really enter the Grand Duchy’s territory so brazenly?’

Liv had never known much about the Grand Duchy.

Back when she was a human, she only knew it was rich in copper and silver mines.

It was practically a protectorate of the Republic.

Domenico continued.

“Miss Livyat. What we need to discuss now is the cooperation with the elves. I implore you to persuade the Queen to provide us with a portion of grain. In return, we will immediately transfer a part of our gold reserves to the fortress at the mouth of the Great River, to be kept under elven supervision.”

‘Transferring it to the river mouth fortress?’ Domenico was certainly shrewd. If they did that, Luca—who had just taken his new post—could keep a close watch on their gold.

Liv nodded.

“No problem. I will have the elven nation ship grain immediately to help the Republic through this crisis. But as you know, transporting grain takes time. From what I’ve observed, it seems some residents in the city won’t have anything to eat by tomorrow.”

Domenico was well aware of this, and he had already arranged measures.

“That is true. Therefore, we have already arranged for the Civil Affairs Bureau to open the old grain reserves. We are also purchasing grain from the countryside and surrounding minor lords to distribute as relief food. As long as they agree to repay the Republic by participating in labor when needed, they won’t starve. This should be enough to hold us over until the first ship of dwarven grain arrives.”

He added, “Grain production in the Southern Islands has also recovered a bit, though there is still a lot of land abandoned due to disease that needs to be reclaimed. They can also choose to settle in the Southern Islands; they are very much needed there.”

After listening, Liv gave a slight nod but said nothing more.

At that moment, Tess emerged from the inner hall, having changed back into a proper silk dress.

“Lord Domenico, why can’t the countryside around Lantingcet provide enough food?”

To an elf, this was incomprehensible.

Julia took the opportunity to explain.

“It works like this: for an equal weight of wheat and grapes, the grapes are six to eight times the price of wheat. You can often buy a wooden barrel of wheat for a few small silver coins, but that same amount only buys a small basket of grapes—it won’t even fill it. Consequently, farmers are much more willing to grow grapes, figs, and various fruits.”

“When fresh fruit is brought into Lantingcet, whether it’s bought directly by citizens or processed into wine and preserves, it’s far more profitable than growing grain.”

Domenico added a final remark.

“There are too many people living in Lantingcet. Based just on the number of registered houses, there are 100,000 people. However, the vast majority of houses don’t have courtyards where people can grow their own vegetables or raise poultry. The upper floors of the apartments aren’t even allowed to have open flames. Even so, plenty of people still want to move into the city every year.”

The apartment Liv used to live in had been considered decent; it at least had its own bathroom and a communal kitchen.

That was why it had cost her so much of her salary.

Liv spoke up.

“Rest assured, Lord Domenico. I will act as quickly as possible. The Republic is a good friend to the elves; we will help.”

Domenico gave a dry laugh.

He knew that for this year at least, the Republic owed the elves a great deal.

In his heart, he felt there was essentially no difference between Miss Livyat and the Queen.

Either she was the Queen herself, or she was the Queen’s spokesperson in the mortal world, exercising her authority completely.

When he had written to the Prince Regent to test the waters previously, the Prince Regent had replied.

Domenico had written some fluff just as he had planned, but between the lines, he completely acknowledged the Prince Regent as the supreme leader.

He even mentioned how much the Governor looked forward to the Prince Regent’s state visit to the Republic.

Then he mentioned Livyat, saying this elven lady had an extraordinary temperament and that he did not know which noble family she came from, but being able to study diplomacy and politics under the Prince Regent’s daughter was truly her good fortune.

The Prince Regent’s reply had stated:

“Please ensure the Republic grants Miss Livyat the utmost respect. Any disrespect toward Miss Livyat is disrespect toward the elven nation. In such an event, the elven nation will consider terminating all cooperation with the Republic.”

‘That’s right. If the Prince Regent had hinted at this earlier, I would have known what to do long ago,’ Domenico thought.

Thus, he placed all his future bets on Livyat.

Even if the Kingdom’s prairie cavalry marched south to attack the Grand Duchy of Tiro, as long as he could convince Miss Livyat to send troops, everything would be fine.