"Bang, bang, bang..."
Elisa knocked on the study door. From inside came Lucas's pleasant and magnetic voice, "Come in."
"Creaak~"
"Lord... Luc... as..." Elisa's mouth hung open, staring in astonishment at the glass on the study floor and desk. There had to be at least several dozen pieces.
"You're here." Lucas looked up and spoke softly, putting down the glass cup in his hand. His desk was completely covered with glassware—cups, wine bottles, and some odd-shaped samples.
Although the craftsmanship of this glassware was very crude, it was good enough for now.
"This, these?" Elisa pointed at the liuli on the floor, her voice hoarse, "Why are there so many liuli items? Did you find some kind of treasure?"
"This isn't liuli, it's glass," Lucas said helplessly. No matter what he said, everyone insisted on thinking glass was liuli.
Beside him, Annie, Nicole, and Mina's eyes were shining as they stared at the glass on the floor, looking as if they wanted to swallow it all whole.
Although Lucas had brought some glass from Earth, only he used it, like in the liquor cabinet in the study. But that was kept locked, so it wasn't as shocking or attractive as seeing the floor covered in glass.
"Glass? Is that another name for liuli?" Elisa blinked her emerald-green eyes, looking adorably clueless.
"No, glass is not liuli." Lucas sighed. He didn't know how to explain it either.
"This 'glass' is even better looking than liuli. Is it a newly discovered type of gemstone? There's really so much of it." Elisa walked over to the fox-eared girl, squatted down, and picked up a palm-sized glass sphere. With her eye for value, these liuli products could sell for at least ten thousand gold coins, maybe even more. Some of the shapes were just too beautiful.
"Ahem, hem..." Lucas glanced at Tony, who was holding back his laughter. The glass here was the result of two days' firing from seven kilns.
At first, Tony also didn't believe that this liuli was actually fired from sand. It took him over a day to digest the concept that "glass is not liuli," leading him to spend that entire day by the kilns, even personally trying his hand at making it.
"This glass is very cheap. In the future, we can have as much as we want," Lucas said lightly. He didn't want the people in the castle to place too much value on this glassware.
"Huh?" Elisa was stunned.
"Master, you're not joking, are you?" Annie looked up, twitched her fox ears, and asked in pleasant surprise, "Did we discover a liuli mine?"
"How could that be?" Lucas rolled his eyes. It would be great if they had actually found a liuli mine. Regarding the matter of firing glass, besides Lucas, only Tony (who found out later) knew. The people who did know were all currently in the sinkhole firing glass.
"Master, are you trying to say that you... manufactured this glass?" Mina frowned, her cat tail flicking.
"Mm, that's more or less what I mean." A smile played on Lucas's lips as he looked at the girls' wide, beautiful eyes. He said, amused, "No need to be so shocked. Glass is just a basic operation."
"..." Nicole rolled her eyes. She could tell the Master was being smug. Looking at the floor covered in glass, it just seemed unbelievable. This was really man-made?
"Master, can we take these as we please?" Annie held a piece of glassware in each hand, her brown eyes sparkling with joy. She didn't care if it was man-made or not, as long as it was pretty.
"Not right now. These still have a use," Lucas shook his head. He was going to use this glassware as bait.
"A use?" Annie was puzzled, flicking her fox tail as she waited for an explanation.
"This is all bait, used to lure those bounty hunters," Lucas chuckled.
"Huh?" Elisa was stunned when she heard this. Then she immediately understood, staring at Lord Lucas in disbelief. This was prepared... for her?
"Master, you plan to use these to draw the attention of those bounty hunters?" Annie glanced at Elisa, immediately guessing the Master's intention.
"Mm. Only if the bait is big enough will those people fall for it." Lucas's expression was calm as he said, "If we trap and kill a large portion of them in one go, perhaps some people will quiet down."
"Lord Lucas, I am not worth trading this liuli for," Elisa said anxiously. She hadn't expected Lord Lucas to be so bold as to use this liuli, worth tens of thousands in gold, to pave the way for her.
The elf's eyes stared blankly at Lucas. It would be a lie to say she wasn't moved. For someone to be willing to spend tens of thousands of gold coins to pave the way for her, and a human noble at that... this was truly special to her.
"Alright, this is already planned." Lucas waved his hand and instructed Tony, "Have people transport the bulk of this glass deep into that cave. Set it up nicely."
"Yes," Tony said with a serious face.
"Mina, pass a message to Emma at the newspaper office. Have the newspaper announce that an auction will be held on the first floor of the Drunken Night in three days," Lucas said, turning his head to Mina.
This glass wasn't just bait. In two days, the nobles and merchants arriving from the Capital would all be fat sheep, perfect for a good slaughter.
A dedicated auction house hadn't been built yet. The space on the first floor of the Drunken Night Building was wide enough and just right for holding an auction.
"Okay," Mina replied earnestly.
"Nicole, pick out seven small glass bottles from here. Use them to bottle some perfume. Make it look high-class. It can be used as a showstopper at the auction three days from now," Lucas said softly.
"Okay." Nicole immediately squatted down to pick out the glass bottles. She was still in charge of the perfume workshop.
"Also, grab a few large bottles to fill with high-concentration alcohol," Lucas added. He had no intention of correcting people who mistook glass for liuli. No one would believe him anyway.
"Yes." Nicole selected a few more large bottles.
Everyone present knew that in two days, Dahlia would be bringing many nobles and merchants to Sedona City, and they knew the Master wanted to skin a few 'layers' off of them.
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