As Roland walked into the port surrounded by the guards, two three-masted sailing ships flying the black and white double-headed dragon flags were unloading goods. The officials of the City Hall stood around the piled-up wooden boxes, exclaiming from time to time.
"Long time no see, Your Majesty," Maggie quickly came forward, smiling and curtsying, "Please forgive me for meeting you in this state... It's really not suitable to wear long skirts when sailing on the sea. I hope you don't mind."
A man beside her also saluted with his hand on his chest, "Your Majesty, Sander. Flying-Bird from Twin Dragon Island greets you—I wonder if my attire pleases you?" He winked, "It should match the phrase 'soaring seabird' quite well, right?"
Before he could even speak, Roland had already noticed the conspicuous outfit. It was hard not to notice a humanoid target covered in feathers. The clothing was the usual Fjord merchant style, but from the turban wrapped around his head to the soft leather shoes on his feet, bird feathers formed tassels everywhere. After a long voyage, many feathers had turned into bare shafts, and even those decorations still hanging on the clothes had lost their original luster, making one think of a drowned chicken.
"No... you misunderstand," Roland said, rubbing his forehead. The "Sander. Flying-Bird" in his mind was just a very common blue picture, and any same-sex person of his age, and a few of the opposite sex, had eagerly clicked on it. "Although you don't want Lightning to recognize you, I bet that if you enter the castle in this getup, you will be stared at by her inseparable partner, Maisie, Mr. Thunder. In that case, even with a fake beard glued to your face, it would be difficult to hide."
"Hahaha... is that so?" Thunder laughed heartily, "Too bad, I'm quite satisfied with this outfit. You don't know, since I had the tailor make this set, it has become popular on several islands."
Is this the power of role models? Roland silently rolled his eyes. Moreover, the other party was indeed the most outstanding explorer in the Fjords. Even at nearly forty years old, he could maintain such a youthful attitude. Anyone else would probably not bother to go to such lengths for a temporarily fabricated name.
It all started with that letter before the expedition.
After the steel seaship was refitted, the next stage should be sea trials. Roland had always kept a respectful distance from the unpredictable sea. At the same time, he was clear about the level of his first iron ship design—undoubtedly, even with a lot of equipment and functional areas cut, it was still a long way from being a truly finished product.
It's not that a pile of iron blocks that can float and move back and forth counts as a qualified seaship. Under the heave of the waves, the working environment of the hull machinery is completely different from that of inland river ships. With the first use of steam turbines, the reliability of the entire power system is still a question mark. It would not be surprising if it threw anchor as soon as it left the port.
What's more troublesome is that he has no idea about the ship's maneuverability, or human-computer interaction—if he encounters difficulties with mechanical principles, he can go to the Dreamworld to search for solutions, but how to actually operate a ship, before the popularization of electronic auxiliary systems, is probably a different answer for each type of ship. There is no other way but to figure it out on his own.
Therefore, inviting Thunder to personally conduct the sea trials was the best option he could think of.
The other party is not only an experienced navigator, but also the leader of an exploration team, with as many as a hundred outstanding sailors under his command, and their feedback will inevitably be more valuable.
Roland plans to take this opportunity to test and adjust while recording all the data of the ship during the voyage. In this way, when the next seaship starts construction, there will undoubtedly be a leap forward. And these data will also be a valuable asset for Neverwinter Manufacturing.
Because this stage may take two or three months, it is necessary for Thunder to stay in Neverwinter City for a while. In order not to expose his identity, Roland casually fabricated a fake identity for him in the letter, which was Sander. Flying-Bird. Unexpectedly, he not only gladly accepted it, but also added a bunch of settings to this identity, and his acting spirit really made the King of Graycastle marvel.
"By the way, Your Majesty, have you really completed the construction of the steamship so quickly?" Thunder changed the subject, "In the Fjords, even the best craftsmen,
plus the most suitable materials, need several years."
"This is already considered slow, after all, steel is much easier to process than wood, as it doesn't take time to soak in preservatives, nor does it need to wait for air drying and shaping, as long as the heat is right." Roland shrugged, "It's now in the shipyard at the harbor. If you're interested, we can go take a look now."
"I couldn't ask for more!" Thunder's eyes lit up immediately, "When I was at sea, I was always thinking about it!"
"But what's going on with those gold dragons?" Roland pointed to the wooden boxes being moved off the ship one after another. City Hall seemed to be counting the number of coins in the boxes. "I said before that this ship would only be calculated at cost price."
"Of course, we wouldn't dare to refuse your kindness," Maggie replied, "Those are all the sales proceeds from perfume and Chaos Drinks."
"That much?" He was slightly surprised, "It's not the delivery date stipulated in the contract yet, right?"
"Because it's just along the way, and it can reduce the burden of the next delivery." Maggie covered her mouth and smiled, "Also, you guessed it right, Your Majesty. These two items are very popular in the Fjords, especially the latter, which can be said to be selling like crazy. Varieties with good taste can be resold several times to increase the price tenfold, and even those with slightly worse taste are willing to collect them. In short, Chaos Drinks have now become a symbol of strength at banquets of major chambers of commerce."
Roland couldn't help but raise his eyebrows. It seemed that it was indeed the right choice to let professional resale merchants do this business.
"Your Majesty, there is a magic reaction in the crowd," Nightingale whispered in his ear, "Are there witches in their team?"
Only then did he notice that not far behind Maggie, a woman seemed to be looking this way. Most of her body was hidden behind a maid, revealing only half of her head. When their eyes met, she quickly retracted her head, flustered like a frightened rabbit.
Roland vaguely remembered the female merchant mentioning this in a previous letter, "Is that person your witch friend from before?"
Following his gaze, Maggie nodded lightly, "Yes, Your Majesty, she is Joan."