Chapter 511 - 322: The Opening of the Demon Shadow Festival

Chapter 511: Chapter 322: The Opening of the Demon Shadow Festival

The people of Deepwater City had grown used to something new popping up in the city every day.

’What was that phrase the Lord always used?’

’Changing daily, renewing monthly.’

It was a perfect description. Something new appeared every day, and by the end of the month, the city looked completely different.

And the latest new thing was, of course, the Demon Shadow Festival.

A festival dedicated to the Shadow of Evil.

Strange festivals were not uncommon—beer festivals, cheese festivals, and the like—but a Demon Shadow Festival was a first.

If this new festival had any distinguishing feature, it would be the incredible number of tourists.

The people of Deepwater City had never seen so many out-of-towners. Of course, most of them were technically "out-of-towners" themselves, having settled here less than two years ago, but they had already started to call this place home.

The station operated almost 24 hours a day, continuously bringing in guests from all over.

When the station was first built, people had wondered why Zog had made it so large. He had even included numerous shops, souvenir stores, and restaurants inside.

Now, those storefronts were prime real estate. Renting one was a guaranteed way to make money.

A small commercial district had also sprung up around the teleportation point. Since tourists who could afford teleportation had significantly more spending power than the average visitor, the prices in this area were much higher.

So expensive that the employees running the shops couldn’t understand why these things were worth so much.

Shoes for dozens of Silver Coins, bags for several Gold Coins, and watches for over ten Gold Coins.

’What makes a watch that valuable? It tells time just the same as one that costs a dozen Copper Coins.’

The luxury goods the shop clerks handled were things they could barely afford even with a full year’s salary.

What was even harder to understand was how these customers bought luxury goods as if they were stocking up on wholesale trinkets.

Thanks to these tourists, the residents of Deepwater City had recently seen a nice boost to their incomes.

Who would have thought that those celebrities could attract so many people?

Foot traffic in all shops and entertainment venues increased significantly, and the taxi drivers were especially overwhelmed.

Most of the drivers were originally horse-drawn carriage drivers. Zog provided them with free driver’s training to help them learn to drive cars and offered them low-interest car loans.

’It’s a Lord’s duty, when a new industry replaces an old one, to find a place for those in the obsolete profession.’

’Not just to casually say, "Those who can’t keep up with the times deserve to be left behind."’

’That would be too cruel.’

’Who knows if you’ll be the next one to be phased out?’

For people who had worked in an industry for most of their lives, learning new things on their own was not that easy.

If you just abandoned them, it might be fine if there were only a few. But with a larger group, they were bound to gather in taverns to vent their frustrations.

And if someone were to stand up and give a rousing speech to a crowd of poor drunkards...

Before you know it, you’ve got a full-blown movement.

Zog’s initiative to help the carriage drivers transition became a model for this era of rapid change. The media lavished praise on the Red Dragon Lord, holding nothing back.

It was not unprecedented for a member of the Dragon Race to become a Lord. After all, Metal Dragons were fond of playing the role of wise old sages, so a few had served as Lords before.

But a Five-Color Dragon as a Lord was certainly a first.

So the media claimed that this excellent Lord’s only flaw was sharing a name with that famous Evil Dragon.

Zog had even responded to this on a talk show.

"That’s right, we just have the same name. ’The Unprovoked Calamity’ or whatever? Never heard of him. There’s a popular new tabletop game out, called Dragon and Dungeons. It has a really fun scenario about defeating a Zog. I recommend you all give it a try..."

In any case, the driver training initiative was a success. The drivers were thrilled—their livelihoods were secure, cars were more convenient than carriages, and they no longer had to look after horses.

The common people were happy because the new vehicles were much faster than carriages. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

Zog was happy, too. He earned a good reputation and provided a playbook for other Lords to copy, speeding up the transition from carriages to cars in their own domains.

Only the horses were not very happy.

During those few months, many restaurants in the city added new dishes. Their common feature was that the main ingredient was horse meat, and they were only available for a limited time.

Thanks were owed to the horses for their contributions: providing convenient transport in life, and warming bellies in death.

And since the "warming bellies" part was such a rousing success, many of the city’s residents found themselves unable to forget the braised horse meat Zog had introduced.

Once the supply of cheap horse meat ran out, regular-priced horse meat remained on the menu. The braised horse meat even became a local specialty of Deepwater City.

It was even vacuum-packed for easy transport, allowing tourists to take it home with them.

"Could you eat a little less of that?"

「In Zog’s office at the Lord’s Mansion.」

This was a Lord’s Mansion without a grand hall. Zog usually stayed in his office.

Watching Elsa wolf down the braised horse meat, he couldn’t help but comment.

"Nope," Elsa said, her cheeks stuffed. "It’s your fault for docking my year-end bonus. I’m going to eat my money’s worth back through employee benefits!"

The Zog Group always provided unlimited free snacks. The cost was low, but it was a huge boost to employee morale. Besides, Zog enjoyed them himself.

Still, it was rare to see someone, like Elsa, eating with such a vengeance.

"I’m not saying you can’t eat. But don’t just eat the braised horse meat. That stuff is pretty salty. You’ll get high blood pressure when you’re older if you’re not careful."

"This one’s expensive!"

Elsa replied defiantly.

After a moment’s thought, she asked, "What’s high blood pressure?"

"An incurable disease you get when you’re old. Well... if you live an unhealthy enough life, you could get it in middle age, too."

Elsa’s furious munching paused for a moment. You could almost see the simple calculation running through her head.