Li Xi could only hope that Avril was not at home, having been summoned by that brat of a city lord. Just as he was trembling with fear, he heard Iris laughing and chatting as she pulled Avril in.
Avril, while talking to Iris, cast a look at Li Xi with her unnaturally glowing eyes, a mischievous desire to cause trouble evident in her gaze.
Li Xi quickly glared at Avril, urging her to quiet down. He knew very well that this woman was a troublemaker who would stir up chaos if left unchecked. Otherwise, she wouldn't have uttered such daring words about stolen affections being more exciting.
"Madam, I haven't seen you these past few days. I thought you had left Cador City too. Please, sit. This is hotpot, made by his own hands."
"Thank you, both of you. Your relationship is truly wonderful. I envy your life. Unlike me, I'm all alone, with no one to cook for me." Avril's words carried a subtle hint of sourness that made Li Xi's hairs stand on end.
"Please, eat. This hotpot is best enjoyed while it's hot," Li Xi began to speak incoherently.
"Madam, please eat. This is my first time trying it too," Iris enthusiastically offered a bowl.
"Then I am truly fortunate to have Iris's company. It's delicious."
Watching Iris constantly dote on Avril and Avril continuously flatter Iris, Li Xi felt that the atmosphere was somewhat off.
He deliberately brought up a heavy topic.
"Ah, do you think Cador City still has hope?"
Iris sighed deeply, the meat she had just swished in the pot no longer tasting appealing. "Without a miracle, Cador City's ruin is inevitable. The major temples have been pondering this for days. Even the Adventurers' Guild has B-rank quests seeking a solution to save Cador City, but there are no good answers. Some temples are already considering lowering their rank in Cador City, as believers are everything. If there are no people, having such a grand temple is a waste of resources."
Avril, however, had a different opinion, chuckling lightly. "Actually, this matter is quite simple. The new city lord, Morton, came to see me this afternoon, asking if I had any good ideas."
Li Xi and Iris both looked at Avril. "What solution do you have?"
"I have a solution, but the person to execute it is not me. So, I'll keep you in suspense for now about whether this can succeed." Avril's eyes flickered towards Li Xi, and he immediately understood that she was referring to him. But what solution did he have? Li Xi pondered carefully. Being strong didn't necessarily mean having good management skills. Was he supposed to use Mourinho's name? But would the influence of a Dragonborn be that great?
If Cador City were his, he could easily revive it with his past life experience, focusing on infrastructure and providing employment through public works. It wouldn't be difficult. But Avril didn't know any of this. Why then did she believe he possessed such capabilities?
"If you can truly save Cador City, you will be its hero. Not only the residents of Cador City but also the major temples will be indebted to you," Iris, oblivious to the subtle exchange between her husband and her best friend, thanked Avril earnestly.
"It's alright. This is something I'm willing to do myself. No one can force me if I'm unwilling," Avril's gaze kept shifting to Li Xi. Li Xi felt that if this continued, this meal would turn into a banquet of Hongmen, with him as Liu Bang.
Therefore, changing the subject was the best option. "Madam Avril, why did the young city lord summon you?"
"Didn't I save the city lord once before? We had a good conversation then. The old vampire city lord wanted to adopt me as his goddaughter, and we even kept in touch through letters. Now that the young city lord has succeeded to the throne, he doesn't have many trustworthy people around him, so he thought of me and wanted to appoint me as his personal advisor. I accepted." Avril's nonchalant tone showed no hint of excitement about her elevated status.
"Personal advisor?"
"Yes." Avril took a bite of a vegetable, feeling that this hotpot was perfect for winter.
Li Xi chuckled inwardly. Iris, as a priestess, had already reached a certain level. If not for her not-so-high cultivation, she could have soon been promoted to bishop. Now Avril was the city lord's personal advisor. Given that the city lord was just an eight-year-old child, facing Avril's damned charm and unparalleled affinity, the city lord of Cador City might not be in charge after all.
Then, as the man behind both women, wouldn't that mean Cador City was his?
The surprise came too suddenly, and Li Xi felt a bit lightheaded. He directly took out a bottle of wine from his spatial ring. "On such a wonderful occasion, we must have some wine to celebrate."
Don't think too much of it. There was no licentiousness after drinking. At their level of strength, they were almost immune to most aphrodisiacs in the world, unless they intended it.
The next day, after seeing Iris off, Li Xi eagerly went to Avril's home. "Tell me quickly, what is the solution you spoke of?"
Avril pointed at the bed and beckoned Li Xi with her finger. Li Xi understood instantly; he couldn't get the answer without expending some physical effort.
In the afternoon, the two of them lay on the bed. "Now you can tell me, right?"
Avril narrowed her eyes. "It's the dwarves. What other solution could there be? I'm not a god, I can't create things out of thin air."
"That's not right. The dwarves live deep underground. Even if I brought them up one by one, it would take ten days. Add in other preparations and reception personnel, and it won't be completed in less than a month."
"Have you forgotten the markers I left on the dwarves? As long as my magic power is sufficient, I can open a teleportation gate and transport the dwarves to Cador City."
"But your magic power isn't enough, is it? Does the city lord's mansion have any way to rapidly increase your magic power in a short period?"
"You don't need to worry about the details of this matter. I'll handle it. You just need to handle the dwarves' affairs."
Having a woman who took care of everything for him was truly wonderful. If two hundred dwarves could emerge from the underground world and settle in Cador City, Li Xi had no worries about Cador City's prosperity.
Although the craftsmanship of these two hundred dwarves might not be at its peak, preventing them from achieving master status among the dwarf race, comparing them to Cador City's blacksmiths would be an insult to dwarven skill.
Back when Cador City only had two dwarves, they were able to drive a large number of blacksmith shops. Now, with two hundred dwarves, Cador City would be synonymous with exquisite weaponry. Mercenaries and warriors who had once desperately sought good weapons would flock here once they knew Cador City had three-digit numbers of dwarves.
A large population would inevitably drive economic recovery, as these people would need to eat and sleep. This would revitalize the taverns, and the taverns would in turn boost the consumption of surrounding agricultural products, thus reviving the stagnant economy.
The next day, Avril registered a merchant group under her name. At Li Xi's instruction, it was named Konoha. The Konoha Merchant Group's primary business was weapon forging. The young city lord in the city lord's mansion should have absolute trust in Avril. Not only was a second-class street allocated for the later settlement of the dwarves, but he also gave his approval for Avril to mobilize all resources.
According to Avril and Li Xi's casual conversations, as long as the dwarves arrived, the city lord's mansion would cooperate fully, and everything would be expedited. It was even stated that a large number of personnel would be assigned to assist the dwarves. In essence, the dwarves would be treated as lords and ancestors upon their arrival.
Li Xi also went to the street, now renamed Konoha Street. It was in a good location with decent infrastructure, but due to two past disturbances, few people lived there. Originally, there were a few households, but they had all moved out under the city lord's mansion's high demolition compensation.
At the end of Konoha Street, Li Xi, who had just accepted his first B-rank quest, watched Avril perform her spell.
At Avril's request, no third party was present. With the perimeter secured outside, not even a bird could fly in.
The city lord's mansion's limited stock of magic crystals was used by Avril as if they were disposable. She crushed them, using the crystal powder to draw a magic circle ten meters in diameter on the ground. She then placed a magic crystal the size of a child's head into the eye of the formation. Complex and esoteric incantations stirred up waves of energy, and a teleportation gate rose from the crystal powder.
Using the energy from the magic circle and the magic crystal, Avril was able to cast a spell beyond her usual level, successfully connecting to the underground world.
"Go. The teleportation gate can be maintained for half a day."
Li Xi kissed Avril's forehead. After forcefully casting the spell, Avril's face was now pale.
With time pressing, Li Xi stepped into the teleportation gate. When he opened his eyes, he had arrived at the Copperbeard Dwarf tribe.
The busy dwarves, upon seeing the sudden appearance of the teleportation gate and Li Xi emerging from it, all knelt. "Greetings, Master."
In more than half a month, the dwarf settlement at the foot of the volcano had not changed much, except that a lava river had been diverted from the crater. As long as ore was thrown into the lava, along with some special combustion agents, the ore would melt like chocolate in the lava. The rest could be scooped out directly with a ladle.
"Roar!"
A tall figure, completely black and gleaming, as if a resurrected god of war, leaped out.
Tight armor coupled with articulated treads on the joints, a helmet inlaid with a massive red crystal, and a foot-long spike protruding from the shoulders and chest where vital weapons would be.
"Second Generation, what are these enhancements?" Li Xi was utterly surprised. Just by looking at them, Li Xi fell in love with this set of equipment. The fine scale-like patterns were crafted with meticulous care by the dwarves.
"Master, although the materials in the underground world are not as abundant as those on the surface, the unique environment has yielded special materials. This metal, which can be directly scooped from lava, has better ductility and defense. After our forging, Mr. Second Generation can completely ignore level two and three attacks."
"If a mage can engrave enchantments on it, it can further enhance the excellent properties of this metal, increasing its magical attributes by ten percent."
Li Xi couldn't believe his ears. Metals inherently had a natural resistance to magic, creating an insurmountable barrier between them, which is why mages were rarely seen fighting in armor.
Only a few types, such as mithril and true gold, possessed excellent magical properties. He never expected to find such a metal in the underground world. Ten percent might not be a lot, but it wasn't insignificant either. No one would complain about having stronger defenses. Forget ten percent; for some professions, even one percent would be worth striving for. "Is the output of this metal high?"
Copperbeard Hammer, who had rushed over upon hearing of Li Xi's arrival, shook his head upon hearing this. "Not high. Crafting the armor for Mr. Second Generation has already consumed half of our inventory. This inventory was accumulated by our Copperbeard tribe for three hundred years since arriving underground. Now that the ore vein has been depleted, we plan to use the remaining metal to craft armor and weapons for Master and Madam."
Since the quantity was limited, Li Xi gave up on his idea. "You are very thoughtful. I came down this time to discuss your return to the surface world."
"We have already established connections in the cities where we will live. When you go there, your living conditions and treatment will be the best."
"Thank you, Master."
"Don't thank me yet. You know your status in the human world is also of great importance. Therefore, for your sake, and for ours, our relationship must never be exposed. We can only say that we have come to Cador City to settle at Avril's request."