Chapter 297 - When in Shadora

Zenia really went to where her feet literally took her, and she dragged her husband along with her. Shadora had various things to offer, and they were totally new in Zenia's eyes. She also thought that their technology was more advanced than other kingdoms. She was not certain about their expertise in the field of medicine, but the contraceptive pills that Doctor Lizbeth had given her were truly advanced.

The good doctor informed her that the pills had no side effects and proven effective. Many Shadoran women who did not want to get pregnant were using the pills. 

She even put her name on the line when she told her, "Let the people in Shadora know that I'm a fraud when the pills fail to protect you."

When Zenia was busy checking out the fabric store, Vaughn saw a nearby weapons shop. There were weapons in the display that he couldn't recognize, but they looked impressive. The weapons could easily pass like the ones that Zenia had designed. If he did not know that Zenia had never been to Shadora, he would suspect that the designer of the weapons was his wife. 

He went to Zenia and whispered, "I just need to check the weapons in that store," he pointed at the store that he wanted to visit, "Look for me there when you finish here first."

"Okay," Zenia replied and smiled warmly at him.

Vaughn leaned closer and gave her a kiss on her cheek. Zenia was surprised, and he did it in front of so many people. Everyone who saw it couldn't help but grin. The people of Shadora were very affectionate, and it was natural for them to express their feelings openly. However, they knew that Vaughn and Zenia were mere tourists in Shadora. In fact, they knew that they were the couple that recently got married in Shadora.

Vaughn did it so naturally that Zenia couldn't complain. She just nodded her head and Vaughn went on his way. She refused to look at the faces of people who were shopping with her. She knew that they were looking at her. She could feel their gazes. She continued inspecting the different fabrics and acted as if nothing happened. In the end, the people began to disperse, and some of them started gossiping.

Zenia sighed and accepted the fact that there would never be a perfect place. Shadora was almost perfect if not for the gossip-loving citizens of the kingdom. 

Zenia had decided that the Shadora linen was the best fabric in the kingdom, but the Ishelon silk was still far superior in quality. She could sell the Ishelon silk without trouble, and it would surely become popular a few months after she introduced it in the market. But, the linen possessed a distinct charm. She liked it very much.

"Shopkeeper, how much is this linen?"

"A bolt costs two gold coins."

"Hmm, how many bolts for a gold nugget?"

The shopkeeper gasped. No one paid a gold nugget to her again ever since the last visit of that certain princess. If the Madam before her would spend one gold nugget for bolts of linen, could her shop meet the number of bolts that the Madam wanted to purchase?" 

"For a gold nugget, I can give you 25 bolts of linen."

"That many? Do you also have a dressmaker here? I want something easy to wear and comfortable using the linen. I only need two bolts of linen for me and my husband. Can the rest of the nugget cover for the tailor and dressmaker's fees?"

"L-let me take care of everything for you, Madam. Your gold nugget is more than enough to cover everything that you require. You still have a lot of change for that."

"You can keep it and treat it as my compensation for you. So make sure to do an excellent job."

"I will make sure that you will be satisfied. Please wait here for a while, Madam, and I will prepare right away."

"Hmm, I will keep looking for other interesting things in your shop."

The shopkeeper went to find a dressmaker and tailor for her very important guest. It had been a while when she last served a rich customer. If she was not mistaken, the last customer was a Princess from Tissuria. It was not surprising since Shadora and Tissuria were sharing the same sea. The emergence of the portal made it even more convenient to travel back and forth to Shadora and Tissuria. 

That princess bought two bolts of wool for the cold months, which had already passed. The shopkeeper thought that the customer must have been unsatisfied with her purchase because she did not return. She knew that she failed to be attentive to the needs of that customer and often wondered whether things turned differently if she gave enough attention to that customer. 

The shopkeeper learned her lessons well and decided that she would pay more attention to every customer that would visit her store. The shopkeeper left Zenia and went to a shop next to the weapons store that Vaughn had decided to check out.

"Good sir, you have good weapons here. Is there a way to try them out?"

The store manager smiled and nodded his head, "Every weapons store in Shadora has its own testing ground. I can let my apprentice take you there to try out the weapon that you wish to test."

Vaughn picked up something similar to the semi-automatic crossbow that Zenia had designed. It contained more arrows than the one in Zenia's blueprint.

The store manager's apprentice accompanied Vaughn to the testing ground. The apprentice showed Vaughn how to use the weapon. It was the same as the semi-automatic crossbow of Zenia. But, Zenia's semi-automatic crossbow was easier to handle and reloading of arrows was much faster. 

Vaughn chose a target and released the arrows. Zenia's semi-automatic crossbow was more powerful and more precise. Zenia's semi-automatic crossbow was way better in almost every aspect, except one. The crossbow in Shadora could release more arrows simultaneously, but Vaughn doubts if the arrows could kill the enemies during battle. In Vaughn's opinion, the released arrows lacked the needed power to take down the enemies.

The apprentice returned to the weapons store together with Vaughn after testing the crossbow. The store manager was already excited to know about Vaughn's opinion.

"Well, what do you think of it, sir?"

"Hmm, it's good. How much do you want for it?"

"I can give it to you for ten gold coins. This is already a bargain. I usually sell this top quality product for fifteen gold coins."

'Ten gold coins? Are you trying to rip me off?'

To be precise, Vaughn only paid Mr. Smith a total of three gold coins for each semi-automatic crossbow. The materials used and labor were already included in the payment, and he added two gold coins for each bow as a bonus. All in all, he only paid five gold coins per semi-automatic crossbow.

Vaughn looked like he was caught between buying and leaving the store. In reality, he was thinking of whether to ask who designed the weapon or ask to meet the designer in person. He was curious because Zenia once told him that the design was something she did when she was young, but she couldn't find the flaw in the design. The first thing that popped into his mind was that someone found her design, found the flaw and fixed it, and sold the design. However, the Weaponsmith Master of Tissuria was able to make great improvements in the design of the semi-automatic crossbow.

The store manager feared that Vaughn would not make a purchase and informed him, "That is our last piece for the lot, sir. A few days ago, two gentlemen purchased so many crossbows like the one you're holding and only left us with few pieces."

"When will the next batch of this crossbow arrive?"

"I'm afraid that we will not be able to produce it anymore. We get our materials from Prazia, and King Odhran suddenly stopped selling the materials to us. One of my apprentices even heard that the two gentlemen who had visited us earlier were indeed from Prazia. We heard a rumor that King Odhran wanted to recall the metals that they had sold to different kingdoms before. You might not know this, but Prazia's metals are the best in Maecaea."

"Is that so? How come I only hear it now?"

"Ah, you must be from Tissuria or Ishelon. In comparison, Tissuria and Ishelon have the best of the best metals but both kingdoms are not selling their raw materials. The next best source of materials is Prazia."

"Why do you think King Odhran stopped the selling of metals?"

"We have a hunch that Prazia has started producing their weapons. They must have acquired a good weaponsmith. Before, they could only rely on other kingdoms, such as Shadora, to supply them with the weapons that they need. I'm afraid that I will go out of business soon without good materials to produce my high-quality weapons."

"I will get this crossbow for fifteen gold coins. I am interested to know more about Prazia's plan. Please gather some information for me and who knows… I might be able to help you get the raw materials you need to produce your weapons."

The store manager's eyes beamed when he heard Vaughn's statement. If he was lucky, he could get metals from Tissuria or Ishelon, he dared not ask where the gentlemen before him had come from.

"Thank you so much, sir. I will see what I can do. May I ask why you are interested to know?"

"Ah, just like you sir, I am just very curious, and I won't be able to feel at ease until I get my hands on the information that I need to know."