'That butler didn't tell me about this,' Richard thought.

If the previous City Lord had been kidnapped from his own castle, it wasn't strange if his servants had also been killed — leaving none behind.

Those who survived were probably too afraid to ever serve again.

"Richard, it seems this city is too dangerous…" Sister Lisa commented.

If the risk meant death, she was clearly hesitant to stay in such a place.

"Sister Lisa, the whole world would laugh at me if I left right after arriving," Richard replied with a wry smile.

Of course, he couldn't leave. His position here wasn't just some royal assignment — he was the rightful owner of the entire city.

Even if he wanted to leave, the next City Lord would still have to be appointed by him.

"My Lord, there's no need to worry too much. We've already planted several spies among the barbarian tribes. If they plan to target the City Lord again, we'll definitely know in advance," Arthur said.

Richard nodded at that.

He was fully confident he could survive.

"By the way, is there any Spirit of Nature collected from taxes?" Richard asked.

He wasn't shy to ask — it was rightfully his.

"The Spirit of Nature we collected last time has already been sent to the capital, so we currently have no stock left," Arthur replied.

Richard rolled his eyes at that.

If he had known, he wouldn't have asked.

"Ehmmm!" He cleared his throat.

"In that case, can you give me all the information you've gathered about the Ancient Ice Region?" he asked again.

Of course, it was impossible for them to have no information — whether about treasures or the barbarian tribes themselves.

"My Lord, all the information we've gathered has been recorded by our scholars and stored in your castle's library," Arthur replied.

"I see. Then, show me the way to that library. And there's no need to find servants for me — I prefer to live alone," Richard said.

"Please follow me, my Lord," Arthur replied, stepping forward.

So far, Richard found him more like a machine than a man, even though he had flesh.

But that was exactly the kind of subordinate he liked.

He didn't trouble him with unnecessary matters.

Entering the City Lord's castle, Richard found that the main hall was rather plain.

It was spacious but lacked proper furnishings.

Even the tea table was missing one sofa — whether lost or simply never existed, he didn't know.

The only remarkable feature was the staircase, seemingly carved entirely out of ice.

Arthur walked to a door beneath the stairs and opened it, revealing a large library filled with books.

"My Lord, that cabinet is where we store all the information we've gathered," Arthur said, pointing at a shelf filled mostly with papers instead of books.

"Alright, I'll read for a while. Wait outside," Richard replied.

Arthur nodded and immediately left, leaving Richard and the other three who had followed him.

For Sister Lisa, the library clearly held no interest — she couldn't even read.

"Richard, I'll go look around the castle," she said.

Richard nodded in response, allowing her to explore freely.

Assets like this castle were hers as much as his, after all.

"By the way, you two are not allowed to enter this library," Richard said to Gray and Laura before stepping inside and closing the door — locking it too — leaving the two of them dumbfounded, clearly not expecting him to be that stingy.

Richard was slightly worried that there might be information about priceless treasures here. If they knew, they might act on their own to seize them.

He walked over to the cabinet containing the gathered reports. Of course, he didn't bother reading sheet by sheet. He didn't even touch a single paper — he simply released his Sixth Sense, enveloping the entire cabinet.

That way, he could read every piece of information at once.

Some of what he read changed his expression — a few even surprised him.

There were plenty of records about valuable treasures, but most were either too difficult to obtain or located deep within the Ancient Ice Region.

The deeper one ventured, the stronger the barbarian tribes became.

More astonishingly, some tribes were said to have their own Rulers.

The weaker tribes lived near the outskirts, but even the weakest among them were led by a high-tier Magus World Realm warrior.

Ironically, those same barbarian tribes were the ones guarding most of the valuable treasures.

Of course, Richard didn't find anything that could help him unite with the world.

But for increasing his Aether in a short time, there were several possibilities.

Richard spent a long time reading, but even longer thinking.

He had originally come up with a plan — to extort the barbarians of the Ancient Ice Region by threatening them with the power of a Grand Sovereign.

However, as he read through the information, he realized something:

This method had already been tried many times by others before him. The barbarians never surrendered — they would rather die than yield. And if one tribe were massacred unjustly, it could trigger a massive retaliatory war from the others.

Though they often fought among themselves, when one of their own was oppressed unfairly, the rest would unite to avenge them.

After thinking for a long while, Richard still hadn't made a decision.

Knock! Knock!

"My Lord! My Lord!" Suddenly, there was a knock at the library door — Arthur's voice sounding urgent.

Startled, Richard quickly opened the door, wondering what had happened.

"What is it?" he asked, his eyes falling on the paper Arthur held — it looked like a letter.

"My Lord, someone from the capital sent you a message," Arthur said, handing it to him.

Richard quickly read it.

(Richard, I am Luca Holystar. Forgive me for disturbing you. I'm sending this letter to deliver a message from my younger uncle. He is willing to pay you in exchange for returning Sterling, his beast slave!)

"Ohhh…" Richard certainly hadn't expected such a message.

Though it was sent by Luca, it was clearly from Ethan Holystar himself.

'What could he possibly offer me?' Richard wondered.

Sterling wasn't that important to him. He couldn't command him anyway since Sterling was bound as another's slave.

And it wasn't as if Richard truly needed a beast's abilities.

Rather than relying on Sterling, it would be better for him to find an Arcane Art that granted similar powers.

Therefore, if he could gain a huge benefit by releasing Sterling, he naturally wouldn't mind doing so.

That was Sterling's only real value in his eyes.

But if the offer wasn't worth it, he might as well keep him. Who knew — maybe Ethan would die somehow, and Sterling would become free again. At that point, he could enslave him himself.

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