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"You were quite right."
Aileen's response satisfied Voss, and he nodded with a smile. But then he added, "However, you needn't worry; the City Lord won't move against us."
"I know."
Aileen shrugged indifferently and glanced at Voss, "Grandfather has a significant influence on the import of yarn, so as long as the City Lord isn't a fool, he won't touch us."
"No, that's not the reason."
This time, Voss shook his head, indicating that his granddaughter didn't grasp the key point of the matter.
Aileen was surprised, puzzled as she looked at Voss, unsure where her thoughts had gone astray.
However, Voss quickly explained:
"Merchants are always after profit, so even if we're not around, as long as the City Lord can bring out the money, he can find a new Chamber of Commerce to import yarn. Thus, that isn't our true safeguard."
"Then what is our safeguard?"
"It depends on what we can offer the City Lord." After a pause, Voss provided the answer, "Thunderhawk City is too small, so small that only we can help him. That's why he won't move against us."
"Ha, I doubt it."
Aileen pouted at Voss' explanation, "Grandfather, our City Lord doesn't seem like he has great ambitions. Otherwise, he wouldn't have ended up in this situation, so he might not need us."
"That's not important."
Voss smiled slightly at that moment, then looked at his granddaughter, "Aileen, whether the City Lord has grand ambitions isn't for us to consider. I just want you to understand one thing: only by figuring out our value can we survive."
After saying this, Voss handed Aileen a letter.
"This letter, deliver it to the City Lord for me tomorrow."
Looking at the envelope, Aileen immediately revealed a surprised expression and immediately looked towards Voss:
"Grandfather, why are you doing this…"
...…
...…
Early the next morning, Rocky rose early. Last night was the soundest sleep he had since his arrival, not even dreaming until daylight. Upon waking, he felt refreshed, with all fatigue gone.
However, his early rise was not idle. As the City Lord, he had many matters to attend to, such as appointing the new Captain of the Guards and the new administrative officer.
As for these matters, Rocky had already made plans yesterday. He intended for Liliya to temporarily also take on the role of Captain of the Guard Corps.
The Guard Corps was Thunderhawk City's only armed force and absolutely couldn't be left unmanaged. In the face of severe staffing shortages, Liliya had to take on the role, and for someone with enough authority and strength like Liliya, it wasn't difficult.
As for the new administrative officer, Rocky decided to act as one himself for now. After all, Thunderhawk City was very small and the administrative officer was essentially a nominal position, one he could manage.
This arrangement was naturally out of necessity, as Rocky had no one else available besides Liliya. Hence, he could only choose this stopgap measure and consider gradually cultivating his own team later.
Just after he finished breakfast and was about to inform Liliya of his decision, Liliya was the one who notified him first, saying that Aileen had arrived.
"Aileen? Who is she?"
Rocky found the name unfamiliar, not knowing who she was.
"She is Voss' granddaughter."
"Voss'… granddaughter?"
This answer greatly surprised Rocky. Was Voss seeking him? But even if Voss had matters, shouldn't he come himself? What's with sending his granddaughter?
"Let's go, let's see her."
Regarding the cunning Voss, Rocky always found him hard to read, so he simply stopped thinking about it and directly brought Liliya to the City Lord's Hall.
Soon, he met Aileen, who had been waiting in the City Lord's Hall.
"City Lord, this is a letter from my grandfather."
After a brief self-introduction, Aileen got straight to the point, handing over the letter her grandfather had instructed her to deliver last night to Rocky.
Receiving the envelope from Aileen, Rocky looked at her, then at the envelope in his hand, his mind full of questions.
But when he opened the envelope and read its contents, he frowned deeply!
Holding the letter, Rocky pondered for a long time before turning his gaze back to Aileen and asking, "Lord Voss is ill?"
"Yes, my grandfather felt unwell yesterday and is bedridden."
"So, he wants you to replace the financial officer?"
"No, my grandfather merely suggested it. Everything still needs the City Lord's arrangement."
Aileen, who resembled Voss slightly in appearance, also shared a similar manner and tone to Voss, maintaining a calm and composed demeanor in front of Rocky, speaking impeccably.
But her words plunged Rocky into deep thought.
The letter Voss handed to him was, in fact, a leave of absence, roughly stating that his health was not in good shape and he needed some time to recuperate. Of course, that was nonsense; he was perfectly fine yesterday. How could he not go to work today after just one night? Rocky wouldn't believe it at all.
The truly significant content of the letter was only one thing: Voss recommended his granddaughter to act as the financial officer.
What was this old fox planning?
Glancing at the girl named Aileen, Rocky couldn't grasp Voss' intentions. Why suddenly push his granddaughter forward?
At the same time, he felt helpless, as Voss was clearly planning to have Aileen replace him. All Rocky could do was agree or disagree.
But in truth, he didn't really have a choice. If he didn't accept Voss' suggestion and didn't let Aileen take over as finance officer, then who would?
He couldn't even find someone to take over the nominal role of the administrative officer, let alone the vital and irreplaceable position of the finance officer.
So, although it seemed irregular, after frowning in thought for a while, Rocky nodded at Aileen and said:
"Aileen, Thunderhawk City's finances will be entrusted to you. I hope you won't let down Lord Voss' recommendation."
"Thank you, City Lord."
"Please quickly summarize the city's financial status and provide the financial income for the last three quarters to me."
"Yes."
While agreeing to make Aileen the new finance officer, Rocky also assigned her a task, which was to compile a summary of Thunderhawk City's finances for him.
After agreeing, Aileen bowed deeply to Rocky and then turned to leave.
It wasn't until she left that Liliya looked at Rocky.
"Rocky, what does Voss intend to do?"
"Who knows..."
Shaking his head, Rocky couldn't understand Voss' intentions. However, he thought Voss' actions were beneficial because with this, Thunderhawk City's original base would be gone entirely, and Rocky's control over the city would further strengthen, rendering it undoubtedly a good thing.
Therefore, he didn't dwell on this matter too much, but instead turned to Liliya:
"Liliya, I would like you to temporarily command the Guard Corps, but only temporarily; I will make other appointments once I find suitable personnel."
"No problem."
Liliya did not refuse this request. She knew the importance of the Guard Corps, and she indeed ought to help Rocky control such a force, ensuring it didn't fall into the hands of outsiders.
With this resolved, the rest became considerably smooth. Liliya took charge of the Guard Corps, while Rocky gathered those under Perolo's command into the City Lord's Hall, meeting with them and arranging for a detailed report on Thunderhawk City, including its population, industries, and resources, to be provided to him.
As the City Lord, Rocky needed a comprehensive understanding of his city.
Once everything was arranged, his workload finally came to an end.
However, instead of resting after having some free time, Rocky returned to his room, where he took out Wensel's research notebook!
This notebook contained detailed records on Mana Runes, constituting a great wealth. Rocky's task was to learn everything in the notebook and fully master Mana Runes.
"Let's begin…"
Holding the notebook, he took a deep breath and then slowly opened it, studying its content.
Through reading, Rocky became so engrossed that by the time he stopped, it was already late at night!
"Incredible…"
Closing the notebook slowly, Rocky attempted to calm himself, yet found it impossible.
The content he had seen in the research notebook was simply too astounding!
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