Chapter 109.2

In the end, the technology was provided for a fee, and a considerable amount of money came into Isteria’s territory.

By the way, it was from Alond that the messenger of Gregorn territory easily agreed because they had been receiving bribes from Alond regularly.

It was decided that instead of providing technology to Clairats, they would sell the finished product to Clairats after the production in their country was settled.

During the discussion, it was discovered that Clairats already knew the appearance and basic operation of the turbine, and Narson decided that even if he tried to hide that information, they would eventually make a counterfeit product.

Due to the characteristics of the turbine, it was extremely difficult to install and remove it repeatedly or keep it out of sight, so this was an unavoidable result.

The reason why Clairats did not let domestic engineers develop counterfeit products from scratch was because it was essentially proclaiming, “I have planted spies in your ranks.” If they made counterfeit products without permission, that would’ve caused diplomatic discord.

Even the Istere side would lose a lot of money if it was reopened, so this was a landing point.

It was supposed that rumors from traders were heard by the Clairats leaders, but it was a very troublesome story.

After a brief chat, Noel turned to Narson.

“By the way, I heard before that the development of new sawmills and hand pumps is progressing. Is it going well?”

“Um, both prototypes have been completed and are now being adjusted for mass production.”

“Oh, thank you. I would like to buy one hand pump for my well after it has been installed at a key location. Everyone seems to have a hard time pumping well water.”

When Noel said so, Alond, who was listening, opened his mouth.

“Do you use the tools publicly?”

“No, I don’t do that. A dedicated processing plant will be built for the sawmill and centralize the work. The hand pump will be collected and stored at the end of the work, depending on where it is used.”

“Do you report to the royal capital?”

“I don’t do that either. Keep it as secret as possible.”

“Understood.”

“Everyone should keep this in mind. It’s not only that we don’t want to be embroiled in any conflicts, but it’s also an opportunity to have an overwhelming advantage in our country.”

Everyone nodded at Narson’s words.

In the evening, as Kazura and Liese walked along the corridor, Nord and Alond came face-to-face.

When they saw them, they stopped a few steps ago and bowed deeply.

“This is Ms. Liese, it’s been a long time.”

“It’s been a long time, Mr. Noel. Mr. Alond, how are you?”

“My father works hard every day, but I manage to get by. I’m glad you are doing well too, Ms. Liese.”

When Liese replied with a smile, they both raised their heads and smiled at her.

Both of them had great sales smiles.

“Mr. Kazura, this is Mr. Noel, the head of the Luson family, and his son Mr. Alond. They are civilians who are in charge of all transactions with Gregorn territory.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you, my name is Kazura.”

After receiving an introduction from Liese, Kazura bows while greeting.

“Oh, you are Kazura-sama? Please forgive me for not being able to say hello.”

Noel bowed terrifyingly, followed by Alond.

“No, don’t worry. I’m sorry I suddenly went to stay at Nord’s mansion before. I am grateful for the hospitality you showed me on that occasion.”

“No, I couldn’t even say hello because I was out of town that day…”

“No, I am…”

As they exchanged compliments while bowing their heads to each other, Alond interrupted at the right time.

“I’ve heard that my brother has been very good to you, Kazura-sama. Is my brother of any use to you?”

“Yes, he’s able to help me in many ways that even I didn’t notice. He’s really good.”

Alond smiled very happily at the answer.

Noel also looked very satisfied.

“I am relieved to hear that. My younger brother is still a young man, so I think there are some shortcomings, but I look forward to working with you in the future. If there is anything I can do to help, please let me know.”

“Thank you. I hope to see you then.”

When Kazura replied, they bowed deeply, gave a word of gratitude, then left the entrance of the mansion.

“Are they Havel’s father and brother? They seem like nice people.”

While looking off their backs, Kazura whispered, and Liese groaned, “Hmm.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m not good at dealing with those people, right?”

“What is it now?”

Kazura looked at Liese with a slightly surprised face.

“Well, I think Noel has a fairly straightforward personality, but as for Alond, I don’t know what he’s thinking, nor does he let people get too close…”

“Why do you think so?”

“Why… What should I say? I just feel that way.”

With that said, Liese groaned again, “Hmm.”

“I’ve met Alond several times, and I thought at that time, ‘I don’t trust this person, I don’t trust anyone but myself.'”

“It’s a great impression that you don’t trust anyone. Did you talk so much about each other?”

“Yeah, it was just a normal conversation. I thought so but it was just intuition.”

“Intuition… aren’t you used to seeing him yet?”

“Well, he’s been away for about two years now, I’ve seen him a few times, and I thought I was getting to know him well and we’ve become friends, but this time it’s getting less frequent.”

“Didn’t you give up because you didn’t flutter at all?”

“I don’t think I’ve taken such an explicit attitude, but… I wonder if he had an attitude without realizing it.”

Recalling the past, Liese groaned with her hand on her mouth.

“I don’t have a particularly bad impression of Kazura, so I can’t be sure of that.”

“However, I was a little concerned that the topic of Marie had not come up at all in his earlier conversation with Alond and the others.”

“Well, listen to half the story. I don’t hear any particularly bad rumors, I might just think so. Besides, there are quite a few girls who yearn for him.”

“Oh, he’s popular, too? Well, it seems like he is.”

Liese nodded to Kazura’s words.

Alond was tall with an intelligent look, and the atmosphere Kazura felt earlier was very soft.

Moreover, if you were in the position of a senior civilian in the territory, there was no reason not to be popular.

“He’s a good talker and a caring person. He’s also a model civilian, and he seems to appreciate his father.”

“But you don’t like him, Liese?”

“Yeah. I can’t really say why, I’m not good at expressing myself. I think I’m the only one who has that impression of him.”

“Well, there are some things that don’t go well with people.”

“Oh yeah. Think about that.”

After some small talk, they went back to their room.