Chapter 1212: Rainbow Stone

“Ahhh! Help! I can’t steer it! Someone help me!”

The shriek cut through everything. Roland looked up and saw the vehicle careening toward the flower bed at the center of the yard, Mystery Moon rigid at the wheel, eyes clamped shut.

“You idiot!” Lily yelled through her teeth. “Hit the brake!”

“I did — it’s not working — ahhhhh!”

The car struck the flower bed with a crunch of displaced soil, bounced, and streaked for the castle gate.

“Your Majesty, watch out!” Wendy’s voice came from somewhere behind him.

Chaos erupted.

Roland stood watching Mystery Moon wrench the wheel back and forth with her eyes still shut, and had time for one clear thought: how does a car with no engine capacity manage to go this badly wrong? What an extraordinary disaster of a driver.

But the crowd had not scattered. Every witch had stopped in front of the vehicle instead. Anna threw up a wall of Blackfire. Lotus split the yard with a ditch, separating Roland from the path of the car. Iffy conjured a Magic Cage. Andrea had a Light Arrow nocked and drawn. Nightingale locked a hand around Roland’s arm, ready to pull him into the Mist at the first need.

In the end it was Phyllis and Lorgar who solved the problem. They seized the bumper with both hands and wrenched the vehicle clean off the ground. Anna smothered the Magic Ceremony Cube with Blackfire. The steam engine coughed once and fell silent.

“Ahhhhh! Run! Everyone run!” Mystery Moon screamed, still gripping the wheel.

Lily crossed the ditch in three strides and slapped the back of Mystery Moon’s head. The scream died into a muffled grumble.

Mystery Moon opened her eyes. Her hands moved from the wheel to the back of her skull. She looked around at the broken flower bed, the ditch, the wall of witches — and arranged her face into an expression of complete innocence.

“Mystery Moon!”

Wendy and Scroll came at her from opposite directions, faces tight with fury. The words hit in waves — “You always cause trouble!” — “No time off this week!” — “Copy the rules of the Witch Union one hundred times!” — “Five sets of homework before dinner!” — and Mystery Moon was dragged out of the vehicle and into the castle before she could form a defense, her wails echoing back across the empty yard long after she had vanished.

The remaining witches stood in collective silence.

“I examined the steering wheel and the brake,” Anna said. “Nothing’s wrong with either of them.”

“Then why —”

“She wasn’t strong enough to maneuver the car.” Anna’s voice carried a magnanimous calm, as though this were simply a fact about rainfall.

Roland laughed before he could stop himself. It was true: anyone weaker than Mystery Moon would have the same problem. He would need to add an assist mechanism to the wheel and the brake before the next round of volunteers.

Lotus and Anna repaired the yard between them. Roland looked at the remaining witches, who were doing their level best to conceal their eagerness, and shook his head. “If you want another ride, talk to Anna. As long as she agrees, I have no objection. Just don’t destroy the castle. And be back for lunch.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

“Let me go first!”

“You weren’t even here when —”

The yard filled with noise again.

“Sir, this is the place.”

The carriage lurched to a halt in front of a tavern. Victor Lothar stepped down, tossed two silver royals to the coachman without looking, and pushed through the door.

“Mr. Victor!” A young woman in a white robe trotted toward him, reaching for his luggage with both hands. “We kept your room. Please, right this way.”

The top-floor room was exactly as he had left it: incense burning low in the corner, a bottle of grape wine on the side table, and his personal maid Tinkle already pulling back the curtains.

Victor nodded once. This was the power of money. It could not resurrect the dead, but it could hold a room in amber.

“It’s been a while,” Tinkle said, opening the window and pouring his tea. “My employer thought you’d been robbed by bandits or drowned in a shipwreck. He has the accountant check the gold royals you deposited here every single day, calculating how long he can keep the room before he’s allowed to rent it to someone else — but then he doesn’t want to violate Neverwinter contract law.” She paused. “It’s been enormously entertaining to watch.”

“You’re not afraid he’ll find out you’re talking like this about him?”

Tinkle stuck her tongue out. “Only if you tell him. By the way — where have you been? Was it something important?”

“Somewhat.” Victor sipped the tea. “I’ve spent most of the past six months in the Southern Territory.”

“The Southern Territory?” She tilted her head. “That’s not a gemstone region, is it?”

“Gemstones grow wherever you know to look. In the south, for instance, they grow on trees.”

“Sir,” she said, mildly indignant, “you’re making fun of me.”

Victor smiled and said nothing more. He couldn’t blame her. He wouldn’t have believed it himself before he saw it — the cotton field stretching out under the Southern sun, Leaf’s cultivated plants rising from it in dense rows, every boll large and soft and white as packed snow. Nothing like the sparse, coarse cotton he’d always known.

The past few months had been relentless. He had summoned every tailor from his home city, built a processing plant at the Port of Clearwater, hired a full staff, and by the time the harvest came in he was ready to sell. Business exceeded every estimate. The new cotton was affordable and high quality; it outpaced competitors before they had time to adjust. Blankets, winter jackets, warm robes — it all moved.

But Victor knew competition was a patient thing. Other merchants would eventually buy cotton seeds from Leaf too. His market would contract. So alongside the common goods, he had opened a second line: high-end garments, each piece tailored to order, each one carrying a small embroidered logo of a colorful gemstone at the collar or cuff. A mark of origin. A mark of quality.

People began calling it “Rainbow Stone.”

He extended the same logo to his low-end goods — blankets, common robes — only in monochrome, a single color instead of many, to hold the distinction without abandoning either line. His reasoning was simple: even if a rival merchant undercut his price by half, buyers who had learned to look for the Rainbow Stone logo would still reach for his product first. The same instinct that made nobles spend three times the price on a ring processed by a recognized master, rather than the identical stone from an unknown dealer.

“How long are you staying this time?” Tinkle asked, after the silence had run its course.

“Three or four days. There’s a great deal waiting for me back in the Southern Territory.”

“That soon?” Her voice dropped.

He understood what she wasn’t saying. If he surrendered the tenancy, she would be reassigned to rotating guests, which she preferred to avoid. Victor had no strong feelings about the room itself, but he found her company reliable.

“Don’t worry. I’ll leave a generous deposit before I go.”

“Really?” Her face changed at once.

“It’s not a great sum.” He straightened up and flipped a gold royal in her direction; she caught it without fumbling. “That’s your pay. I need to go to the Administrative Office. Lead the way.”

Chapter 1212 - Rainbow Stone

Translator: Transn Editor: Transn “Ahhh! Help! I can’t steer it around. Someone help me!” A piercing shiek interrupted Roland’s train of thought. Roland looked up and saw the vehicle dash toward the flower bed at the center of the yard. In the vehicle sat Mystery Moon. “You, you idiot!” Lily said through clenched teeth. “Hit the brake!” “I did… but it doesn’t work, ahhhh!” Mystery Moon screamed in terror. The car ran wild. It bounced off the flower bed and streaked toward the castle gate. “Your Majesty, watch out!” Wendy shouted. There was instantly a great commotion. “Holy crap,” Roland said within himself, gaping at Mystery Moon who steered the vehicle frantically with her eyes clamp shut. He was astonished that a car without gas could go so wrong. What a monstrous driver Mystery Moon was! Much to Roland’s consternation, the crowd was not dispersed. All the witches, on the contrary, stopped in front of the car. In a second, all the witches applied their various abilities. Anna summoned a Blackfire wall; Lotus created a ditch to separate Roland from the yard; Iffy summoned her Magic Cage, and Andrea was about to shoot her Light Arrow; Nightingale grabbed Roland by the arm, ready to drag him into the mist anytime. In the end, Phyllis and Lorgar stopped the vehicle by force. They grasped the bumper of the vehicle and lifted the car off the ground. Then Anna turned down the Magic Ceremony Cube with her Blackfire. The steam engine was immediately silenced. “Ahhhhh! Run, guys!” Mystery Moon yelled hysterically, her hand still on the steering wheel. “You BIG THICKHEAD!” Lily strode across the ditch and slammed her hand on the back of Mystery Moon’s head. Her scream instantly perished into a grumble. Mystery Moon opened her eyes, her hands on her head, looking perfectly innocent. “Mystery Moon!” Seeing Wendy and Scroll dart in her direction in a hot rage, Mystery Moon realized that she had made a big mistake. She pleaded, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry —” But it was too late. She had been dragged out of the vehicle and into the castle before she could justify her behavior. “You always cause trouble!” “No time off for you this week!” “I order you to copy the rules of the Witch Union 100 times!” “And you also have to complete five sets of homework before dinner!” Mystery Moon’s cry reverberated across the whole yard. All the witches shuddered at the long murmur of echoes, except Anna. “I examined the vehicle. There’s nothing wrong with the steering wheel or the brake,” Anna said to Roland. “There’s only one reason why Mystery Moon lost control.” “What’s that?” “She’s not strong enough to maneuver the car,” Anna said with a magnificently forgiving air. Roland laughed at such an amusing truth. It appeared those who were weaker than Mystery Moon probably could not drive the car unless he installed an assisting mechanism to the steering wheel and the brake. Lotus and Anna soon fixed the yard. Looking at a group of witch who was not able to disguise their eagerness, Roland said while shaking his head, “If you still want to go on a ride, then talk to Anna. As long as she agrees, I don’t have any objections. Just make sure that you don’t destroy the castle. Right, another thing. Don’t forget to come back for lunch.” “Yes, Your Majesty!” “Please let me have a go first!” “Hey, I came here before you!” The yard was again alive with laughters. … “Sir, it’s here.” A carriage staggered to a halt in front of a tavern. Victor Lothar alighted from the wagon and tossed two silver royals at the coachman before he got in. “Mr. Victor!” a pretty young lady in a white robe greeted him at a trot. She took the luggage from Victor and said ardently, “We keep the room for you. Please, this way.” Victor’s room was the largest one on the top floor. Everything was just as the same as when he had departed last time, including incenses, grape wines and his personal maid, Tinkle. Victor nodded in satisfaction. This was the power of money. Although it could not bring the dead to life, it could freeze time. “It has been a while since last time you were here,” Tinkle said as she pulled back the curtains, opened the window and poured him a cup of tea. “My boss thought you encountered bandits or died in a shipwreck. He asked the accountant to check the gold royals you left here every day to see how long we can keep the room for you. He wants to let out this room to someone else but at the same time doesn’t want to break Neverwinter contract law. It’s really amusing to see that he was caught in such a disgusting dilemma.” Victor felt his fatigue gradually dissipated as he listened to his maid babbling. He asked, “Aren’t you afraid that he’ll know that you badmouth him behind his back?” Tinkle stuck out her tongue and said, “Unless you tell him. By the way, where have you been? Was it a great undertaking?” “Well, sort of,” Victor said while sipping the tea. “I spent most of my time in the Southern Territory in the past half a year.” “The Southern Territory?” Tinkle echoed in confusion, her head lopsided. “That area isn’t famous for gemstones, is it?” “There are gemstones everywhere, provided that you know where to find them,” Victor said, shrugging. “For example, in the south, gemstones grow on trees.” “Sir, you must be making fun of me,” the maid said a little indignantly. Victor smiled. He knew Tinkle would not believe him. In fact, he could not believe it either before he actually saw it. The cotton field was, to his surprise, even more beautiful than gemstones. The plants cultivated by Leaf were incredible. The cotton was large and soft like snow, completely different from the one he used to see. Victor had been busy in the past few months. He summoned all the tailors in his native town, built a plant at the Port of Clearwater, and hired staff to work for him. Once the harvest season was over, he started to sell the cotton to the public. His business was better than he had initially anticipated. As this new cotton was affordable and high-quality, they soon outstripped their competitors. All his products were fairly popular, from cotton blankets all the way to cotton winter jackets. Nevertheless, Victor knew that competition always existed. He knew when other merchants also started to purchase cotton seeds from Leaf, his market would inevitably shrink a little bit. Therefore, apart from common cotton fabrics, he also produced high-end commodities, which were mainly clothes tailored to wealthy customers. All the clothes were carefully designed and made, with a tiny logo of a colorful gemstone at sleeves and collars that marked the uniqueness of his products. Those clothes were soon acknowledged by a certain group of people and were subsequently called “Rainbow Stone”. Victor thus also granted the same logo to his low-end products such as blankets and robes, only that the logo is monochrome. Victor predicted that even if other merchants sold their products at a lower price than his, people would still tend to buy his products because of the Rainbow Stone logo. Just like jewelry, nobles always preferred to purchase those processed by masters over the ones that were not. “How long are you going to stay here this time,” Tinkle asked after a long silence. “Probably three or four days. I have a lot to do in the Southern Territory,” Victor replied. “That soon?” the maid asked in a low voice. Victor understood that Tinkle would have to serve other customers if he decided to surrender the tenancy. She preferred to clean a vacant room than serving customers. Victor did not really care about the possible change, but he did like Tinkle to serve him. He had not got tired of her yet. “Don’t worry. I’ll pay a good amount of gold royals before I return to Neverwinter.” “Really?” Tinkle said, her facing lighting up. “That isn’t much, really,” Victor said while straightening up and tossed a gold royal at Tinkle. “This is your pay. I need to pay a visit to the Administrative Office. Lead the way.”