Noel and Tristan continued wandering around the city. As a future lord, he gathered information about the town like its economy and politics.
"Here you go." Noel handed a few coins to the seller while grabbing a huge bag that contained their supply.
Of course, Noel had thought about using the Honor Points to procure water and hunting demons for food, but he was a bit skeptical about the idea.
On the one hand, losing some Honor Points gave a lot of convenience. On the other hand, he didn't want to waste too many Honor Points, especially with the fact that the two kids were here.
He wanted to get accustomed to the fact that they might have no water to drink. He would definitely use his Honor Points in an emergency though.
Due to his policy, he understood the supply problem the kingdom had. According to the locals, the kingdom had a problem with both water supply and food.
While their border wasn't as good as the Muivell Kingdom so that the demons could roam in their kingdom and become the source of food, it was still hard to hunt one.
Drinking water was also a problem because rain only came every now and then, so most of their water supply came from either other cities or underground.
Those two necessities were a bit expensive in this area. So, Noel learned how they handled the problem and ran a city.
The situation might not apply to the Muivell Kingdom, but if a drought or famine hit his territory, he could use their method to get by. This was the reason why Noel didn't bring a lot of stuff and used his system to his advantage. He wanted to procure everything from this kingdom and ask things while he was at it.
After procuring their supplies, Noel looked at Tristan, who was wearing his clothes.
"Is there something wrong, Master?" Tristan asked. The 'master' in his mouth was like a slave calling its owner instead of a disciple calling its teacher. Tristan was aware of his position. He hadn't become Noel's disciple, so it was only right for him to address him this way.
"We still don't have any clothes for you and Sandra. Let's get some and continue the journey."
"I don't mind if I only need to wear that ragged clothes." Tristan politely rejected, not wanting to burden Noel even further.
"The living conditions are extreme in the desert, I don't want you to get frozen during the night. If you are sick whatsoever, it will also burden me. So, we're going to get some clothes for both of you." Noel continued walking, ignoring his concern. He added, "If you want to repay me, you can do it by completing my tests."
Tristan raised his eyebrows, surprised. It seemed that Noel had some expectations of him. In order to turn his life around, Tristan swore that he would definitely become Noel's disciple.
The two continued to walk to the clothing store.
However, they suddenly heard a rumbling sound coming from the side, followed by a lot of cheers.
"Ooohhh!"
"Sir Ramirez."
It was a bit far away from them, but it seemed that the cheers were moving in their direction.
When other people heard about those cheers, they came out of their buildings and tried to find the so-called Ramirez.
Even the store in front of him suddenly opened its door as a few employees came out to take a sneak peek.
"Ah?! A customer?" An employee stopped for a moment, recognizing Noel and Tristan. However, seeing their clothes that didn't seem to be coming from this kingdom, the employee asked, "I apologize, Sir. Do you mind waiting for a bit?"
"Is there a celebration or something?" Noel asked.
"You must be a tourist." An employee smiled and extended her hand to the side, explaining, "The city protector must have come back. I don't know if you are aware of it, but the city protector is the most respected person in this city. He leads his army to hunt a lot of demons to feed the citizens. Thanks to him and the team, we have no food problem."
"Is that so? Now I'm curious about him." Noel nodded in understanding. "Is he coming back every day?"
"No. He usually organizes twice a month. They bring a lot of demons back. If you wait for a bit, you will see a long train of demon corpses."
"Oh? In that case, I'll wait here and see the process. Will there be a problem if I am from another kingdom?" Noel asked.
"Of course not. There are a lot of tourists and Sir Ramirez doesn't have any problem with foreigners. So, you will be fine."
"In that case, I'll watch it and enter the store after it's over."
"Thank you for your understanding, Good Sir." The employee smiled. It seemed that the parade was a big deal, considering they respected him so much.
Even normal customers came out to take a peek at this Ramirez.
Curious, Noel stood next to the store with Tristan beside him. He asked in a low voice, "Do you know anything?"
"Yes. Each city usually has its own protector. You have to be strong and capable of leading an army to hunt the food. In exchange, you become the most respected person in this city. You will get money from the tax people pay, you get the fame not only in the city you protect but also in another city, and you can easily get any woman you want. Sometimes, they don't mind becoming a concubine, but sometimes, it causes a conflict and strength will overrule everything."
"I see." Noel squinted his eyes as the cheers were about to reach his place. Noel waited for the so-called Ramirez to appear.
Before that person appeared, it seemed that Ardagan had managed to capture him first by using the Affection Medal.
Name: Ramirez
Affection: Neutral (0/100)
Description: He doesn't know you.
After the information, Ramirez finally appeared in the corner of his vision.
He looked like a man in his early thirties. He had curly black hair and a robust body. His eyes were sharp but gentle.
The one that stood out from him was the sword that he used. The sword curved so much that it was almost a crescent. The handle and the scabbard were coated with gold with a lot of shining gems.
He didn't seem to have any armor. His clothes were very loose and thin, exposing a good portion of his body.
Noel squinted his eyes, trying to measure his ability.
As he expected, this person was only a Spirit Master. What piqued Noel's interest was the middle-aged man next to him. He looked more reserved and calm, but Noel could see that he was a Spirit Grandmaster.
If Noel had to fight them, he could easily defeat this Ramirez and have a hard time against this old man. Behind them were a lot of charts carrying a mountain of demon corpses. Surprisingly, the ones that pushed the carts were humans. If he looked at their attire, he was sure they were slaves. They all looked exhausted, but nobody paid them any attention.
He could understand that these demons could be used to feed the entire city for a while. Noel hardly encountered any demons on his way to this place, so it seemed that this group was the one exterminating them.
'I wonder if I can use this kind of system too? Well, the soldiers will definitely hunt some demons. But how should I distribute the Demon Crystals and the meat?' Noel frowned and asked Tristan. "How do you distribute all those things?"
"There is another building for that. Usually, they share it over a period of time and a person from the family will line up. If they find out that there are two members of one family lining up, then you will be punished."
"That's for the meat. How about the Demon Crystals?"
"They are usually distributed to the army. They are the ones keeping the town safe, so it's only right for them to get stronger."
Noel contemplated for a moment. 'The soldiers can probably do that, but I think I should get a portion of the Demon Crystals for additional funds or another way to reward them. Since I'm near the border, there will be a lot of demons around, which means the meat will be abundant. Should I sell their corpses as well? But bringing all their corpses is going to be a challenge. Unlike this place, we don't have slaves or even terrain. Should I pay people to do the rough job? But will it cover the cost? If it's too long, the meat will rot as well. This is hard.'
Noel kept encountering a lot of questions as he couldn't help but ask, "Is there any way to preserve meat? I mean, they're doing it twice a month, right? It means the meat has to last for about two weeks."
"Yes. They do have a preservation method. But I'm afraid I don't know the method."
"I see. Where can I find the method? Is it available to the public?"
"I believe they are secret methods to each city and only the protector knows about it. It's a kind of liquid that prevents the meat from rotting." Tristan pointed at the corpse. "Right now, there is no mixture yet. But once they process it, we usually get meat with some sort of powders. Not only can it preserve the meat longer, but it also tastes better."
Noel became more curious about it. He thought about it until the parade was over and the store finally opened again.
