“You are absolutely right,”
Aileen’s response greatly pleased Voss, and he nodded with a smile. However, he quickly added, “But you don’t have to worry; the City Lord won’t lay a hand on us.”
“I know.”
Shrugging indifferently, Aileen glanced at Voss, “Grandfather holds significant influence over the import of yarn, so unless the City Lord is a fool, he wouldn’t dare meddle with us.”
“No, that’s not the reason.”
This time, Voss shook his head, clearly feeling that his granddaughter had missed the main point.
Aileen was surprised, and looked at Voss quizzically, not understanding where her thoughts had gone wrong.
But Voss soon offered an explanation:
“Merchants are profit-driven, so even without us, as long as the City Lord can offer money, he would still manage to find another Chamber of Commerce to import yarn. Therefore, that’s not our real safeguard.”
“Then what is our safeguard?”
“That depends on what we can offer this City Lord.” He paused for a moment, then revealed the answer, “Thunderhawk City is too small, small enough that only we can assist him, and that is why he won’t touch us.”
“Ha, I doubt that.”
Challenging Voss’s assertion, Aileen pursed her lips, “Grandfather, our City Lord hardly seems like a man of great ambitions; otherwise, he wouldn’t have ended up in his current predicament. So, he might not even need us.”
“That’s not important.”
At that moment, Voss smiled slightly, then looked at his granddaughter, “Aileen, whether the City Lord has great ambitions is not for us to consider. I just want you to understand one thing—if we are clear about our own value, only then can we survive.”
After saying this, Voss handed Aileen a letter.
“Take this letter to the City Lord tomorrow.”
As she took the envelope and looked at it, Aileen immediately showed a surprised expression, and turned her eyes towards Voss:
“Grandfather, why…”,
……
……
The next morning, Rocky rose early, having slept more soundly that night than ever since his arrival, without even dreaming, and woke up feeling refreshed, all his fatigue gone.
But he didn’t laze around upon rising early; as the City Lord, he had many duties to attend to, like appointing the new Captain of the Guards and the new administrative officer.
Regarding this matter, Rocky had made a plan yesterday; he intended to have Liliya temporarily take over as Captain of the Guard Corps.
The Guard Corps was the only military force in Thunderhawk City, hence it couldn’t be left unmanaged. With the severe shortage of personnel, it could only be handled by Liliya, and given her sufficient prestige and strength, this wouldn’t be too difficult for her.
As for the new administrative officer, Rocky decided to take over for the time being himself since Thunderhawk City was rather small and the role of the administrative officer was basically symbolic; he believed he could handle it.
This arrangement was naturally out of necessity, for apart from Liliya, Rocky had no one else he could rely on, so he had to opt for this temporary solution and consider slowly cultivating his own team later.
However, just as he had finished breakfast and was about to inform Liliya of his decision, Liliya informed him first—that Aileen had arrived.
“Aileen? Who is she?”
Rocky was unfamiliar with the name Aileen and had no idea who she was.
“She’s Voss’s granddaughter.”
“Voss’s… granddaughter?”
This response surprised Rocky, wondering if Voss wanted to see him. But if Voss had something to discuss, he should have come himself; why send his granddaughter?
“Let’s go, let’s see what this is about.”
Always wary of the shrewd Voss, Rocky stopped pondering and simply took Liliya with him to the City Lord’s Hall.
Before long, he met Aileen who was already waiting there in the City Lord’s Hall.
“City Lord, this is a letter from my grandfather.”
After briefly introducing herself, Aileen didn’t beat around the bush and directly handed over the letter her grandfather had asked her to deliver the previous night.
As Rocky took the envelope from Aileen, he looked at her, then at the envelope in his hand, his mind filled with questions.
But as he opened the envelope and saw the contents of the letter, he frowned immediately!
Having held the letter for a long time, Rocky finally turned his gaze back to Aileen and asked, “Is Lord Voss ill?”
“Yes, grandfather felt unwell yesterday and is now resting in bed.”
“So he sent you to take over the position of finance officer?”
“No, grandfather only suggested it, everything still depends on the arrangements of the City Lord.”
Aileen not only looked somewhat similar to Voss, but her tone and demeanor were also much like his, facing Rocky with the same unassuming yet confident manner, and her words were meticulously chosen.
Her words, however, plunged Rocky into deep thought.
The letter Voss had given him was actually a leave request, basically stating that he was not feeling well and needed some time to recuperate. Of course, all of this was nonsense; he was fine just yesterday, and now he was too sick to work in just one night? Rocky could hardly believe it.
The most important content of the letter was just one thing: Voss was recommending his granddaughter to fill in for his position as finance officer.
What was this old fox thinking?
Looking once at the youthful Aileen, Rocky couldn’t comprehend Voss’s intentions. Why suddenly push his granddaughter forward?
At the same time, he felt helpless because it was clear that Voss intended for Aileen to succeed him. Rocky’s only options in this matter were to agree or disagree.
But in reality, he had no choice. If he disagreed with Voss’s suggestion and did not let Aileen take over as the finance officer, then who would fill the position?
He was even struggling to find someone for the nominal position of administrative officer, let alone the indispensable role of finance officer. If not Aileen, then who?
So, although it seemed a bit irregular, after frowning and thinking for a while, Rocky nodded at Aileen and said,
“Aileen, the finances of Thunderhawk City will be in your hands. I hope you will not disappoint Lord Voss’s recommendation.”
“Thank you, City Lord.”
“Please quickly summarize the city’s financial status and the financial revenues of the last three quarters and bring them to me.”
“Yes.”
By agreeing to Aileen becoming the new finance officer, Rocky also gave her a task to summarize the financial situation of Thunderhawk City and present it to him.
Following that, Aileen responded with a nod, deeply bowed to Rocky, and turned to leave.
Only after she had left did Liliya turn to Rocky.
“Rocky, what exactly is Voss planning?”
“Who knows…”
Shaking his head, Rocky couldn’t figure out Voss’s thoughts, but he felt that Voss’s actions were in his own favor. Now that the original team of Thunderhawk City was completely gone, Rocky’s control over the city would further increase, which was undoubtedly a good thing.
Therefore, he didn’t ponder this issue much; rather, he turned to Liliya:
“Liliya, I’d like you to temporarily take charge of the Guard Corps. It’s only temporary until I find suitable personnel for other appointments.”
“No problem.”
Liliya didn’t refuse his request; she clearly understood the importance of controlling the Guard Corps herself, and that such power should not fall into the hands of outsiders.
After that, things were easy to manage. Liliya went to take charge of the Guard Corps, and Rocky summoned all the personnel that had once belonged to Perolo to the City Lord’s Hall. He met with them and also arranged for them to compile detailed data of Thunderhawk City, including population, industry, and material reserves, and bring it to him.
As the lord of the city, Rocky had to have a comprehensive understanding of his city.
After arranging all this, he finally reached a brief respite in his work.
However, rather than resting, Rocky returned to his room and then took out the research notes left by Winsair!
The notebook detailed various aspects of Mana Runes, representing a huge wealth. Rocky had to learn everything within and master the Mana Runes completely.
“Come on…”
Holding the notebook in his hands, he took a deep breath and then slowly began to flip through it, diving into the content.
He was completely immersed, and by the time he stopped, it was already late at night!
“Unbelievable…”
Closing the notebook slowly, Rocky struggled to calm himself but couldn’t manage it.
Because the content he saw in this research notebook was simply too shocking!