Initially, Ross Bansai had already prepared to cough up a huge sum of money for the sake of convincing Zhou Kun. To his surprise, Zhou Kun's request was not hard to fulfill.
After the negotiation, Zhou Kun requested for a personal favor from Ross Bansai. Ross Bansai definitely did not dare to turn him down.
However, the request made by the adventurer in front of him was rather peculiar. He asked for a large number of vines, the fruit of hardwood vines, and ordinary dragon fruits, which were usually fed to the Storm Pigs.
What's the use of these items?
Ross Bansai did not understand how much Zhou Kun meant by a large number. Zhou Kun merely said, "The more, the better."
All of a sudden, Ross Bansai thought about the fact that the adventurer in front of him had a giant dragon beside him. He wondered, 'Could it be that those things are meant to be fed to the giant dragons?'
Still, the giant dragons are so prestigious. Why would they eat the same things as Storm Pigs?
Despite this, the Bansai Family was still the actual governor of Lan City after all. Although Ross Bansai was not considered a core member at all, he could still arrange for a large number of watermelons, grapes, and dragon fruits to be delivered to Zhou Kun's manor.
The Bansai Family was rather meticulous in arranging matters. By the time Zhou Kun arrived at the manor where Naby previously lived, the appearance of the place drastically changed.
The patrolling guards had been withdrawn, the banner of the Bansai Family had been taken away, and there was even a signboard at the entrance of the manor. According to Naby, the name on it had been changed to "Cohen's Manor".
No matter what, Zhou Kun was considered a real estate owner in the other world.
By the time Zhou Kun arrived at the manor, the butler of the Bansai Family who was in charge of the manor had already gathered all the villagers to wait for their new master.
"Master Cohen, my name is Higgins, and I am the butler left behind by the Bansai Family." Higgins looked a little reserved as he had been assigned to work for Mr. Cohen by the Bansai Family. If Zhou Kun did not plan to let him stay, he would probably lose his job.
"You even prepared a butler for me?" asked Zhou Kun who could not help but be amazed by how efficient the Bansai Family was. Otherwise, he wouldn't know where to look for a butler to take care of the manor.
"Tell me more about the situation in the manor."
"Yes, Master Cohen. There are 313 people in the manor now. The main crops grown in the village are hardwood vines. Currently, there are two Botanical Mages who have been employed to groom the crops on a regular basis. The earliest output will be six months from now..."
In fact, the manor acquired by Zhou Kun was the property beside the one where Naby resided before. In the eyes of the steward, the estate where Naby lived wasn't even considered a manor. Hence, he did not include the output from that mansion.
In order to avoid the mistake that happened during the collection of the watermelons previously, Zhou Kun had specifically explained to Higgins that he wanted to collect the fruits of the hardwood vines after inspecting the manor.
Higgins was not too familiar with Zhou Kun's temperament, but he reckoned that the latter was definitely miserly since he even wanted to collect the fruit of hardwood vines. As such, he carefully noted down Zhou Kun's instructions. He also considered rearing some Storm Pigs in the manor, thinking that his master might praise him.
Zhou Kun did not expect his intentions to be misunderstood, even though he had given several instructions. However, he would only know about it the next time he visited.
He had already informed that he would only return to the manor occasionally to take a look, under the pretext of being an adventurer. During that period of time, everything would have to develop according to the manor's original decor and style. Zhou Kun left after leaving behind tens of Dragon Crystals.
At the thought of the fact that he seemed to have promised Luke that he would visit the Magic Association, Zhou Kun turned around and asked Naby, "Naby, would you like to ride a dragon?"
Anbabu roared with a look of disdain. It did not want to carry the ugly little orc.
"Ride a dragon?" Little Naby had never thought that there would be a day when she could ride a dragon and soar in the sky.
It was Zhou Kun's first time riding Anbabu too. Unlike the Flame Dragon Pilux, Anbabu was a Wind Dragon and thus, it did not have a scorching breath. When it was soaring in the sky, its scales would dissolve the cold wind at high altitude.
Little Naby secretly reached her arm into the air to feel the wind flowing along her hand.
It was Zhou Kun's first time flying. He finally understood why humans had an endless desire to fly. It was because the feeling was simply too thrilling.
The giant dragon Anbabu brought Zhou Kun and Naby towards Lan City. When they were approaching, there was a huge uproar caused by Zhou Kun's impromptu suggestion, which he failed to anticipate.
It was Luke's fault. As the representative of the Magic Association, he had immediately gone to find out about the dragons. However, after understanding the origin of the dragons, Luke himself was relieved, but he did not explain the existence of Anbabu to the Magic Association.
Luke, who was preoccupied with researching, eagerly headed to the laboratory at the thought of being able to get some Ambergris from Zhou Kun soon. He decided to complete the preparatory work ahead of time and continue with his advanced research once he got the Ambergris. He completely forgot about explaining the situation to the president.
"The giant dragon's aura is approaching. It seems to be moving towards Lan City." Ever since the dragon's aura appeared, the members of the Magic Association never stopped paying attention to it.
"What… are there any news from Luke?"
"President, Lord Luke did not reply."
"Inform all the members of the Magic Association to prepare for a battle with the dragon. Activate the strongest Defensive Arrays of the association. Maximize the coverage and surround the main city area of Lan City," President Thomas ordered without hesitation.
"Yes, President!"
Suddenly, all the members of the Magic Association got busy, and the various council members who were originally researching in their labs were mobilized.
Luke initially headed to his lab to continue with his research upon returning to the Magic Association. Soon, he began to hear sounds coming from outside his lab.
"What's the matter?" Luke usually disliked being disturbed when he was experimenting.
"The president has given instructions for us to conduct strictest preparations for war. All the Defensive Array of the entire Magic Association have been activated, and all council members are required to arrive at the site of the arrays."
"What has happened? Why are we suddenly preparing for war?" Luke asked in astonishment as he could not figure out the reason for the sudden preparation for war.
"There's a giant dragon… a giant dragon is attacking Lan City!"
"Why is there a giant dragon?" Luke asked, not realizing the mistake that he had committed.
"I heard that a Wind Dragon is approaching Lan City."
"Wind Dragon? Oh, dear!"
Luke finally realized that he had yet to report to the president about the Wind Dragon from outside the city.
By the time Zhou Kun arrived in the air above Lan City, he saw that the entire Magic Association was gearing up for war against a huge enemy. Countless magic staffs were being pointed at him.
I just wanted to pretend to be cool and ride a dragon. Why did my plan backfire?