My basement connects to another world.

Chapter 51 Opening the Granary and Distributing Grain

Chapter 54 Opening the Granary and Distributing Grain

inside the room.

The rising sun shone through the narrow window, casting a slanted light on a figure huddled by the door.

She was a young woman with long purple hair, which flowed down to her waist like purple silk. The upper part of her hair was gathered at the back of her head and tied into an exquisite knot.

The remaining strands of hair cascaded down like a waterfall, enveloping her slender, curled-up body.

Tissa slowly woke up, her head still buried in her knees.

She was still wearing the same white mage's robe from yesterday, with dust stains from her journey on the collar and cuffs, and a dark stain on the fabric at her chest, wet with tears and now dry, slightly stiff.

She looked up, her eyes somewhat dazed, and murmured, "It's dawn—"

Immediately, she regained her senses and quickly recalled her situation.

Yesterday, after being rejected by that despicable imposter Roger, she was left alone in this room, isolated and helpless.

They didn't even dare to go near the bed.

I always feel that no matter where I hide, danger will suddenly strike at any moment.

She gripped her staff tightly, too afraid to sleep, her nerves on edge.

In her hazy state, she could even vaguely hear a thumping sound coming from outside. The sound was deep, like footsteps or knocking, which made her even more afraid to close her eyes.

Even though she was a mage, she tried to resist the growing drowsiness through meditation, but ultimately she couldn't overcome the limits of her body.

On their journey that day, they were ambushed by a horde of "Grey Ridge Beasts"—and by sheer chance, they ended up in Cape Territory with the imposter Rogge, where they were coveted by the governor.

One thing after another weighed heavily on her, making it hard for her to breathe.

She was so tired.

I don't know when, but I finally lost consciousness completely.

She subconsciously checked herself over; her clothes were intact, and even her short staff was still safely in her arms.

Fortunately, she was not in any danger by dawn.

"Tissa, cheer up—you can do it."

She whispered to herself, raised her hand to pinch her cheek, forced herself to cheer up, and slowly straightened up while holding onto the wall.

She lowered her head to tidy her appearance, took a deep breath, grasped the doorknob, and turned it open.

A maid was standing two or three meters away from the door.

The maid looked over somewhat awkwardly and said repeatedly, "Madam."

A new maid had arrived—Tissa's gaze quickly swept across the clean corridor and the door to the adjacent room before she turned to the maid before her and asked calmly, "Where is the lord?"

"The lord is waiting for you in the study," the maid replied with a bow. After a pause, she asked cautiously, "Would you like to have breakfast first? It's ready in the kitchen."

Tissa was shocked when she heard this.

The maid's attitude was completely different from that of the servants from yesterday.

His respectful demeanor and careful questioning clearly showed that he regarded her as a lord's wife who truly needed to be served.

What's wrong? Why do I feel like something's not right after waking up?

"Go see him first"—Tessa almost blurted out.

But a sudden, empty, cramping pain in her abdomen made her pause; she hadn't eaten all day.

The long journey and the fright of the previous night had exhausted her strength. If she didn't eat something first, she was afraid she wouldn't be able to protect herself at all.

"Let's eat first." She suppressed her curiosity and nodded.

The maid led her to a small hall where food was already laid out on the table.

A piece of black bread and a bowl of thin wheat porridge.

Tissa had been hungry all day and couldn't be picky at this point.

She sat down, picked up the bowl of porridge, and took a sip. The porridge had a musty, stale taste, almost undetectable in terms of saltiness.

She frowned slightly and picked up the black bread again.

She forcefully broke off a small piece and put it in her mouth. The rough bran had a dry and slightly bitter taste, and she had to eat it with porridge to barely swallow it.

Tissa tried her best to maintain her ladylike demeanor and finished her porridge and bread bite by bite.

Hunger makes even the most unpalatable foods precious.

After finishing her meal, she couldn't wait to stand up.

"Take me to see the lord."

She's now filled with questions.

That imposter Rogge—what's going on with him?

Did she misunderstand everything yesterday and scare herself?

Was the consul actually a good person?

No, that's not right. Perhaps—perhaps Rogge really does have bodyguards following him, and his duke father secretly arranged for them?

Lost in thought, she was led by a maid to a heavy oak door.

The wooden door, inlaid with iron bands, was much taller than the other doors along the corridor, and it was the lord's study.

The maid stopped and stood quietly to the side.

Tisha steadied herself, a slight panic rising in her heart, and raised her hand to knock on the door.

A faint male voice came from inside: "Come in."

Is it really that imposter Roger? Tissa turned the doorknob.

The door was pushed open, and a burst of bright sunlight rushed in, so bright that she instinctively turned her head and squinted.

This study was even more spacious than the consul's room she had seen yesterday.

Directly opposite is a wall of large glass windows, arranged in an ornate arch and set in a dark wooden frame.

The morning light was pouring in through the window, illuminating the entire room.

A very long oak table stood in front of the window, its wood heavy and its edges carved with simple scrollwork patterns.

The table was covered with open files and booklets, which were gilded by the sunlight.

The imposter Rogge was sitting behind the long table.

He was sitting in a high-backed armchair.

He was intently flipping through something, half of his face bathed in light.

Beside him, on a lower round stool, sat a petite figure.

She was an orc girl.

A pair of pure white cat ears stood atop her head, their tips twitching slightly, their soft fur outlined by the backlight.

A fluffy white cat tail hung down from behind, its tip swaying slightly from time to time.

She was staring intently at the imposter Roger.

Only two people? Tisha was stunned by the scene before her.

Where are the others? And where did that consul go?

Wait, this... an orc?

Her gaze lingered for a moment longer on the girl's lively cat ears and gently swaying tail.

The Kingdom of Orseron is a purely human kingdom, and orcs rarely appear within its borders.

If you see one here, he's either a slave or—could it be that his father, the Duke of Rogge, arranged it?

Did that duke really have personal guards stationed behind him?

But is this orc girl one of them? Tissa couldn't help but take another look.

The girl tilted her head curiously, her cat ears turning forward. She was clearly a charming and beautiful girl, showing no trace of a personal guard.

"What are you standing there for?" The imposter Roger looked up at her calmly.

Tissa felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze, paused for a moment, and then walked over.

The long table was covered with food.

Files, booklets, and several sheets of parchment with curled and stiff edges were densely packed together.

The orc girl sat quietly on the round stool next to her, her pair of pale cat ears twitching occasionally as she curiously observed her.

"Take a look." Jiang Yuan handed her the booklet he was flipping through.

Tissa took it instinctively.

She was still somewhat dazed, her gaze fixed on the densely packed records above. Each entry and expenditure, each name, was an internal affair of the Cape Territory.

Such documents should, in principle, only be accessible to those in power.

Does he really have control here?

But how did he do it? Even if more guards arrived, they couldn't possibly mistake "Rogge" for someone else.

The imposter looks completely different from the real Roger.

Tissa couldn't understand it.

But no matter what, her heart skipped a beat, and a look of surprise flashed in her eyes. She felt as if the road had taken a turn for the better.

She has leverage over the fake Roger; he's not the real Roger.

If it were the original Rogue who controlled the territory, she would be powerless to resist.

But now, she has leverage over the other party, so she can refuse and buy herself some room to maneuver.

At least, she no longer has to be afraid all the time.

Perhaps even that matter has a glimmer of hope—

However, this is, after all, just a small, remote territory.

She steadied herself and looked down carefully, but the more she looked down, the more her brows furrowed.

The records in the booklet were laid out before me, one by one:

Cape Territory is backed by the sea, with sea breezes blowing in from the opposite direction. The land is mostly saline-alkali flats, and the area of ​​arable land is very small.

Even so, the tax rate set by the governor was 30 to 40 percent higher than that of the wealthiest cities in the heart of the Kingdom of Arcane, as she knew them.

The grain reserves section was almost entirely empty, and there were frequent records of civilians starving to death within the territory.

This is practically driving people to their deaths.

Jiang Yuan said, "The territory has a population of approximately three thousand people."

He then changed the subject: "I'm giving you a task: compile a summary of the territory's situation and hand it over to me."

"In addition, I have already instructed the captain of the knights that he will obey your orders. Go and check how much food is still stored in the territory, and prepare to open the granaries to distribute the food and relieve the civilians."

"Order the captain of the knights to obey me?" That big guy with the scar on his face? Tissa almost thought she had misheard.

Is he willing to share power with himself?

And what's with this orc girl?

With too many questions weighing on her mind, Tisha even wondered if she had slept for more than a day.

How come everything has become so strange overnight?

However, before she could even sort out her thoughts, she suddenly realized what he had said and immediately shook her head: "Are you crazy? You can't release the grain."

Seeing that the other person was looking at her, she suppressed her distracting thoughts and said seriously, "I just flipped through the book. I roughly estimated that the arable land here is barely enough to feed two thousand people, but the tax rate set by Cape Territory is 30% higher than that of several major cities in the heart of the Kingdom of Arcane!"

"This tax rate, placed in a border territory covered with saline-alkali land, means that most farmers can't even keep the seeds after paying the tax."

"Moreover, the brochure states that there are no workshops here, nor are there any regular caravans passing through. In other words, the territory's income almost entirely depends on agricultural taxes. But no matter how high the tax rate is, if it can't be collected, it's all for naught."

"The grain reserves are most likely empty. If you say you're going to release grain now, how many days can you hold it?"

She spoke fluently and without pause, getting straight to the point.

As expected of a "college student" — Jiang Yuan nodded and said, "I said, distribute the grain."

Here we go again? Tissa felt a sense of déjà vu about this scene. The man in front of her seemed to understand, but he just wouldn't do anything about it.

She frowned and said, "You'll regret this."

Jiang Yuan smiled slightly, looked at Tissa, and asked, "Tell me about the 'Theogor' academy you came from."

Tissa was slightly taken aback, not expecting him to suddenly ask this.

But she quickly suppressed her doubts and sorted out her thoughts to answer: "The City of Theog is the best mage academy in the Kingdom of Orseron. It only trains true mages."

"Auseron is also known as the Kingdom of Arcane".

"Because this is the kingdom of mages, the kingdom's power structure, laws, and social hierarchy are all based on whether or not one possesses magic."

She paused, her tone carrying an undisguised pride: "Students who come from Theog will be recognized in any city within the kingdom."

"So you were one of the best students there." Jiang Yuan looked at her. "Then how did you end up marrying Roger?"

Tissa's expression froze.

After a brief silence, she simply said in a low voice, "—This has nothing to do with my studies."

Jiang Yuan didn't press further, but instead said, "You still need to do one more thing: teach me magic."

Tissa paused for a moment: "You, aren't you a hunter?"

"No, you're wrong," Jiang Yuan said casually. "I just know how to shoot."

Tissa opened her mouth, but for a moment she didn't know what to say.

She couldn't help but glance sideways at the orc girl next to her.

The girl tilted her head, examining her closely, her cat ears twitching slightly, as if she found it amusing.

Tissa withdrew her gaze and said seriously, "Learning magic isn't something you can just do on a whim. First, you need to determine if you have the talent. Furthermore, this path requires time and proper guidance."

"You think I have no talent?" Jiang Yuan said, "That's why I came to you."

Now that he has the opportunity to learn magic, he naturally can't just find any mediocre person to learn from; he needs to be sure about this woman's abilities.

"Level" is crucial to avoid being led astray.

After saying that, Jiang Yuan stood up and stretched. "Give me a complete copy of the introductory course you took in Theogle. I have to go now."

He paused, then added, "I'll be gone for a while. Don't look for me or make a fuss."

After saying that, he strode outside, and Hilu curled her fluffy cat tail and got up to follow him.

Tissa was taken aback, then quickly asked, "What do you mean by 'disappearing for a period of time'? Hey, Roger?"

Jiang Yuan didn't even turn his head, only leaving behind the words: "My name is Jiang Yuan. Oh, by the way, besides distributing grain, also post a notice to recruit a batch of maids."

He dismissed all the servants and women from the castle, and now he is short-handed.

"————?" Tissa was full of questions. When she came to her senses and chased after the door, she only saw the maid standing quietly outside.

But that person had already vanished without a trace.

She had no choice but to return to her room.

Looking at the empty room where only he was, he suddenly realized that there were still too many questions he hadn't had a chance to ask.

"Oh right, we can ask that guard captain—" Tissa suddenly remembered what the imposter Rogge—no, it was Jiang Yuan—had said.

But then she thought again and hesitated, not daring to go looking for him rashly.

After all, what happened today was too strange!

"Let's wait and see—"

She muttered to herself, her gaze falling on the stack of documents on the table. Finally, she sat down and began to read through the pages.