Chapter 239

Early Morning!

After enjoying a delightful breakfast, Lucas planned to inspect the greenhouse outside the city, beyond the castle to check on the growth of the vegetables and estimate the harvest time. After all, there were quite a few merchants in Sedona City, and they would likely be willing to pay a premium fee for fresh vegetables.

"Who wants to go with me to the greenhouse outside the city?" Lucas asked, resting his chin on his hands.

"I… I need to deal with some government affairs, and then I'm going to watch a boxing match!" Annie replied somewhat awkwardly, as she had placed a bet on the match.

"I'm going to help the City Guard; they caught so many people last night." Ayesha said helplessly, as she too wanted to see the boxing match.

"I'll help out at the pizza shop; Elisa is taking the day off today." Nicole said with a shrug, otherwise, she would have liked to go to the greenhouse with Lucas.

As for Helen, she had already gone to school early; it hadn't snowed much in the past couple of days, and the students had started classes again.

"Alright then." Lucas nodded and turned his gaze toward Annie with a smile, "Make sure to take the guards with you when you go out!"

"Okay! Sounds good!" Annie's fox ears twitched with excitement. She needed to finish her government affairs first so she could leave to catch the last match in the morning and then head to the pizza shop for lunch. She had everything planned out perfectly.

"Remember to dress warmly when you go out, and make sure to take the guards with you." Lucas reminded them. Mina had already informed him about the situation with the Scarface and the slave traders last night, which prompted him to be more vigilant about the safety of the beastkin girls.

"Got it!"

"Yes, sir!"

Lucas put on a thick coat and got up to head outside, with Mina following closely behind; she was determined to go with him.

"Thud, thud, thud…"

The carriage rolled out of the castle, escorted by the War Wolves special team, making its way toward the outskirts of the city.

"Young master, early this morning, the City Guard delivered the interrogation results," Mina said softly, nestled in Lucas's arms. "Do you want to see them?"

Inside the carriage was a small charcoal stove, with smoke venting through a small iron pipe to keep the temperature from getting too cold.

"Tell me what's going on," Lucas said, playfully pinching the ears of the cat-eared girl.

"Young master, this group of slave traders comes from an organization called the Black Tail. They are only peripheral members. This time, they targeted Elisa because they wanted to capture her as a slave and then sell her at an auction." Mina said, her cheeks slightly flushed as she spoke briefly.

"Black Tail organization? What's their background?" Lucas raised an eyebrow and asked, "Do you know anything about this organization?"

"I've only heard a few things about them by chance," Mina said with a serious expression, her voice low. "It's a mysterious organization active in the Kingdom of Siacan, and I've heard they have connections in other kingdoms as well."

"The Black Tail organization is very secretive; their main business is slave trading. They target beautiful women, men, elves, beastkin, and so on. Ordinary slaves are not their focus."

"Oh? So they're an international trafficking organization, huh?" Lucas replied, a bit surprised. It was indeed true that such high-profit organizations existed everywhere.

"Young master, I'm worried about Annie…" Mina's eyes flashed with concern. She feared that this organization might set its sights on Annie and Ayesha.

"Don't worry, I'm here." Lucas reassured her, stroking the cat-eared girl's head. A glint of cold light flickered in his black eyes; it seemed the War Wolves special team would need to expand.

"Mm!" Mina nuzzled against Lucas, closing her eyes to enjoy the moment of intimacy.

As the carriage approached the outskirts of the city, its speed slowed down. The roads outside were all dirt, and while they had been widened considerably, it didn't change the fact that dirt roads were difficult to navigate.

Lucas slightly lifted the carriage curtain and saw some civilians and beastkins digging ditches along the sides of the road, which were meant for drainage in the future.

Even in winter, there were still people willing to work, partly because wages were increased by ten percent, but more importantly, they could enjoy a warm bowl of millet porridge.

Half an hour later, they arrived at the greenhouse planting area, where there were dedicated workers to look after the place. Their main tasks were to remove the accumulated snow from the top of the greenhouse and to add coal to maintain the temperature inside.

"City Lord, we have arrived!" Chris said, his cheeks slightly flushed from the cold wind, which had made them numb after rubbing his hands together.

"Creek!"

As the carriage door swung open, Lucas stepped out wrapped in a coat, gazing at the expanse of white. He exhaled a puff of warm breath and walked toward one of the greenhouses.

Mina, on the other hand, was not wearing the coat; instead, she had on a down jacket that Lucas had given her. Initially, she had planned to wear the coat, but she didn't forget her duty to protect Lucas. She felt that the coat would limit her agility, so she decided against it and was even thinking of wearing leather armor instead. In the end, Lucas had no choice but to bring a down jacket from Earth for her.

Sometimes, the cat girl could be quite stubborn. Lucas had mentioned that he didn't need her protection, but the persuasion had little effect. He could only go along with it. While her stubbornness could be a bit silly, it was also one of Mina's virtues.

After lifting the grass curtain at the greenhouse door, the group stepped inside, where the biting cold disappeared. Lucas let out a sigh of relief, stretched his body, and scanned the fresh vegetables inside the greenhouse.

The greenhouses outside the city differed significantly from those in the castle. Each greenhouse only cultivated a few types of vegetables, focusing on large-scale planting of specific crops.

For instance, they had a lot of garlic, peppers, and green onions as seasoning ingredients, and several greenhouses were dedicated to cabbages and cucumbers.

There were also many flowers planted, but most of them were still seedlings. It would take one to two months for them to fully grow and bloom, at which point the materials for making perfumes would be ready.

"The growth looks good!" Lucas nodded, stepping forward to inspect the vegetables. He said softly, "It seems some are already ready for harvesting!"

He was referring to some seedlings he had brought from Earth, including fast-growing vegetables like oilseed rape that could be harvested in just a month.

Mina blinked her eyes. She had already seen the greenhouse in the castle and had eaten cucumbers from there, so she wasn't surprised anymore. 

She was just a bit astonished; previously, she had doubted that vegetables could be grown in winter, but now she was witnessing it firsthand.

"Just in time for some harvesting!" 

Lucas turned his head and scanned the area but didn't see the overseer of this greenhouse. He frowned and said, "Where's the person in charge?"

"Chris, go find him for me." Lucas said in a low voice. If the greenhouse wasn't monitored, it could be ruined in an instant.

"Yes!" Chris moved his surprised gaze away from the vegetables and stepped out of the greenhouse.

The overseer was quickly found. He had a mournful expression and, upon seeing Lucas, immediately knelt down, crying out, "City Lord, the vegetables have been stolen!"

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