Chapter 456 - 340: Isaac: Let’s Make a Deal, Sister-in-law

Chapter 456: Chapter 340: Isaac: Let’s Make a Deal, Sister-in-law

"To be honest, we can’t afford it!"

Caesar looked at Isaac, spreading his hands in a helpless gesture.

"Hm? That can’t be right, can it? I took a quick look before I came. The Solomon Kingdom has gained two towns—one’s an Adventurer’s Town, and the other could barely be called a commercial town. Add Big Sister’s workshop to that... surely it’s not that bad?" Isaac eyed Caesar suspiciously. He suspected his big brother was trying to get it for free!

The Solomon Kingdom hadn’t been independent for long and was considered one of the smaller kingdoms. But as the saying goes, small but mighty. Not every kingdom could get High-level Mages to work for them, and even if they could, it was rare for them to be fully dedicated to production. Therefore, Solomon was actually not short on money.

"We earn money, sure... but we can’t save any of it..." Caesar said with a wry smile, spreading his hands again.

Before and after independence, the Solomon Kingdom’s development philosophy hadn’t really changed: sustainable draining of the pond to catch the fish, and aggressive militarism. It was a completely martial faction.

And besides military expenditures, the annual research funding for Big Sister Cheryl was also considerable. After all, she wasn’t some unregistered laborer hired from the outside.

So while the territory’s income wasn’t low, its expenses were even higher!

Not only was there very little surplus each year, but every couple of years, any plans for a new project would eat up all the funds...

So, asking Caesar to produce a large sum of money right now to buy this thing...

He really couldn’t. This thing would cost several years of military funding, and even that might not be enough. He’d have to cut into Big Sister’s research budget!

Isaac quickly understood. He frowned slightly as he looked at the Inheritance Longsword. In truth, this was a common problem for all Lords who wanted to develop their lands. Their assets changed on a daily basis, but the actual cash they had on hand... was basically none.

But this put Isaac in a difficult position. Give it away? This thing was quite expensive; he couldn’t bear to. Don’t give it away? He felt that if he sold it to an outsider, it would eventually be used against his big brother...

This... was a bit of a dilemma...

"How about... an installment plan?" Seeing the conflict on Isaac’s face, Caesar and Gaia exchanged a glance and asked tentatively.

"..." Hearing this, Isaac looked speechlessly at his big brother Caesar. "How long would those payments take... Are you planning on stopping your kingdom’s development?"

Waving his hand, Isaac frowned in thought for a moment, then turned his gaze to his sister-in-law, Sally. He nodded thoughtfully. "If that’s the case, then I might be the one paying..."

Sally raised a shapely eyebrow and asked curiously, "Does this have something to do with me?"

"Yeah, it’s... how should I put this... I have a research project, and I need to study a Witch’s power..." Isaac glanced cautiously at Sally, and at the same time, the light of magic flickered around him, ready to bolt at a moment’s notice!

At his words, Caesar and Gaia immediately fell silent. They just looked at Sally without saying a word.

After a moment of surprise, Cheryl looked at Sally with a hint of anticipation. The true nature of a Witch’s power... this was a research topic every Wizard wanted to pursue, but very few dared to say it out loud.

Sally hesitated. This was a taboo, the greatest taboo in the world of Witches!

Besides, she knew Isaac wasn’t just asking her; he was asking the Witch Country behind her. Otherwise, with a Dragon Witch right by his side, he wouldn’t have needed to ask her at all to conduct his research.

But this matter wasn’t so simple. Just as High-tier Legendary Wizards could manipulate Concepts and establish world rules, High Tier Witches possessed the same power. And due to the special nature of Witch’s Power, the rules created by Witches skilled in this area were far more effective than those made by Wizards of the same Level.

Regarding research into Witch’s Power, there was a specific monitoring rule. Anyone who privately studied the power of a Witch would be instantly discovered by the Witch Country. Then, a large number of Servant Demons would be sent to either rescue the Witch or kill you.

If you were lucky enough to defeat the Witch’s Servant Demons, then congratulations, you’ve triggered the powerful "you beat the minion, now here comes the boss" rule!

A Witch Guard unit composed of Tier Three High-level Witches would come to arrest you. They would then subject you to all sorts of inhuman torture, making you wish you were dead!

The reason it was only a monitoring rule was that this was also a compromise with the Wizards.

The power of Witches was too great; it was hard for any Caster not to be tempted.

The Witches knew full well the diversity of Wizard methods. No matter how strict the rules, if Wizards wanted to find a loophole, they always could. Hadn’t even mighty Outer Gods been played like fiddles in the hands of the Mad Witches?

Therefore, it was better to channel than to block. Since the Wizards were interested, they might as well open a path for them to research. Who knew, maybe the Witches could even benefit from the Wizards’ findings.

Anyway, the Witches’ opposition to such experiments stemmed from the fear that new Witches would be persecuted. As long as your background was clean, your research methods were proper, you wouldn’t harm the Witch, and you could pass the Witch Country’s review, then letting you do a little research was no big deal.

However, this review wasn’t so easy to pass. First and foremost was connections. You had to know someone in the high command of the Witch Country, and this high-ranking person had to be at least Tier Four. Moreover, they had to be someone who grew up in the Witch Country; someone like Lorna, who had already reached Tier Four before joining, didn’t count.

Second, and most importantly—the review!

This review was divided into two parts: a background check and a research proposal review.

Isaac’s biggest hurdle was this—the background check!

He could handle the former (connections) and the latter (the research proposal review). He still had some contacts within the Flesh Sect, especially now that he was out of the Endless Tower. But the background check...

He was a Mad Witch...

The difficulty of passing this step was... quite high.

He couldn’t even convince other Wizards, let alone Witches.

The prejudice in people’s hearts is truly a great mountain!

So, Isaac could only pin his hopes on an exchange of benefits. His sister-in-law came from the Witch Country. Although she had married out, the fact that the Witch Country could send someone to seal and unseal her Witch’s Power indicated that her connections were not shallow. Especially the unsealing part. If the current Isaac were to perform that operation, he would need to use a Virtual Divinity to grant Sally immense Life Force beforehand just to complete it.

Even so, after the unsealing and removing the power of the Virtual Divinity, he couldn’t guarantee that Sally would be completely unharmed!

From this, it was clear that the Witch who performed the operation held a very high status in the Witch Country. Likewise, the importance they placed on Sally was also not low. Or perhaps... on his big brother?

Isaac glanced at Caesar. The whole world bustles with the pursuit of profit. As long as the benefits were sufficient, there was no cooperation that couldn’t be achieved.

’If it’s my sister-in-law, maybe she can help me solve the "political review" problem?’

Sally fell silent for a moment, her gaze shifting back and forth between the Inheritance Longsword and Isaac. Finally, she glanced at Big Sister Cheryl and said, with a slight lack of confidence, "I can try, but only try! And Big Sister has to be added to the research team. After all..."

Sally didn’t finish her sentence, but Isaac understood. A Mad Witch, of course. He was already used to it.

’The prejudice in people’s hearts really is a great mountain...’