After clearing up the ruined palace, Count Daybreak stared at it sadly. Half of the damn thing had been destroyed, and apparently, the bedroom areas had gone down with it.

“Pack it up, pack it up!” The count’s head butler harried the servants. “Save what you can! We’ll need to demolish this place and rebuild a new one, so hurry and take everything away!”

Servants scurried back and forth, lugging carts full of books and food. Furniture followed, and with a great deal of fanfare, the golden, sun-themed decorations were carried out with dignity and respect.

“Wow,” said Risti. “Your decorations are more respected than you, Count Daybreak.”

The count, who was watching the whole thing, stiffened up.

“Right? You’d think that these golden decorations are actually the real count,” Nero added. “Like the person beside us is just the means in which these decorations are preserved from generation to generation.”

Count Daybreak let out another odd noise.

Dia decided not to murder the poor guy emotionally, since the dead-eyed count looked like he was on the hint of a mental collapse. Instead, she looked at the palace and said, “Now that your home’s ruined, why not follow us to Nightfall County? We can have the count take you in as a valued guest while your home rebuilds.”

The shaking fellow swayed on his feet and fell to the floor.

“Did he faint?” Dia looked at the pale count. “How troublesome…what? Why are you looking at me like that? I didn’t even say anything related to the sunny decorations and how they’re more valued and protected than their owner, alright?”

“…I think saying that would have been better on his heart, to be honest.” Nero picked up a nearby twig and poked the count’s sides. “Oi, wake up. I’m going to keep poking until you awaken, you hear me?”

“Still, what brought that on?” Risti asked. “I thought the premise of the count writing a letter of apology was, you know, to not visit Nightfall…”

“His palace was destroyed, so I figured it would be better if he took refuge in another palace. And it’ll outsource the cost of his daily expenses to another territory too.” Dia looked at the crumbling palace. Half of it had been destroyed from the sheer backlash of the Red God’s Bearer of Destiny; given its height and size, the palace had been disproportionately affected by the sweeping winds and the shockwave that followed.

In fact, it wasn’t just the palace; most of the houses in Daybreak County had been affected too. Houses had been destroyed in that sudden burst of force, while street stalls had been blown away. Fortunately, there were no deaths and everything, and Count Daybreak had regained enough of his wits to send out disaster relief and subsidise a rebuilding to the affected residences.

“Yeah…and the county’s so poor that I don’t think he can rebuild the palace anytime. Might as well just use all that money for disaster relief,” Dia muttered.

“Ditch the palace?”

“Yeah, keep it to the size of Farah County’s palace,” Dia replied. “Farah Palace is really small; it’s like Moon Mansion, minus the dome. Unbelievable, I know, but I’m told that it saves money and feels a lot more homely.”

“I can see that, yes.”

“That’s why I suggested living in the Nightfall Palace for some time.” Dia grinned. “Besides, wasn’t Daybreak complaining about talent drain and capital outflow? Maybe he can coordinate with his schoolmate over there to create a complementary economy.”

Risti bobbed her head and looked at Count Daybreak, whose sides were still undergoing the poking treatment by Nero. “Competition won’t help his county, true. Nightfall County has the best infrastructure and policies for trade, after all. The only saving grace that Daybreak has is sunrice and the fact that it is the neighbour of Schwa Dukedom.”

“Sunrice?” Nero looked up. “What’s that?”

“Oh, it’s a kind of rice that’s super fluffy,” Dia replied immediately. “It’s really good. Lustre imports a lot of sunrice from the Daybreak County, because it’s just that good.”

“Okay, we get it.” Nero drove the stick into the count’s sides, and the latter shot up with a yell. “Maybe we should buy a few carts and bring them back.”

“Can we?” Dia asked, her mouth watering immediately. “I mean, we did bring some money. And in times of disaster, we can probably buy all their stock at a slightly lower price.”

“Thereby driving up demand from Lustre and increasing prices overall, huh?” Risti muttered.

Count Daybreak, who was on the verge of losing his temper, calmed down immediately. Rubbing his sides and looking at Dia, he said, “That’s a very wise choice! Sunrice can last for years in storage, has a very good mouthfill and is very nutritious! In addition, it can also promote bloodflow, has strengthening effects and ensures a good night’s sleep!”

He clapped his hands. “With sunrice, always get up in time to see the sun rise!”

“Ooh, a marketing slogan.” Nero bobbed his head. “Well, we’ll consider buying sunrice charity. I’m sure your people need the money anyway, so…how much can we get with three hundred thousand gold?”

“Let’s get you in touch with the traders.” Count Daybreak straightened his face. “Come on. They’ll be pleased to hear about this. Our prices are low and fair, and since you’re buying in bulk…”

“Looks like our departure will be delayed by a bit again,” Risti noted. “But I really want to try out sunrice.”

“You should,” Dia replied. “It’s a staple of Lustre! Although it’s really expensive, though. Duties, customs, road taxes, middlemen…”

Count Daybreak looked at Dia. “Yeah, I’m told that the retail price has to be very high, since we’re selling across multiple territories. And it doesn’t help that Farah County has moonwheat, which is excellent for pastries, while Schwa Dukedom already has established staple foods. Our only market is in another dukedom, and we need to rely on their people to trade in the first place.”

Dia had no idea why the count was directing those words to her, but it did apprise her of the current situation this unfortunate county was facing.

To make matters worse, the centre of economic power in Istrel Dukedom was actually in Licencia. Farah County, which occupied the enviable middle position of the dukedom itself, was still recovering from economic problems and was using agrarian methods to solve it. With its superior position as the dukedom’s centre, it managed to marginalise Daybreak County, and things just snowballed from there.

As for the dukedom capital, it was located between Farah and Nightfall, a small city that didn’t have much of a presence. The old duke didn’t bother developing the dukedom capital, since most of the Istrels’ wealth came from the sovereignty capital…in other words, the huge spending power of a high noble had no effect on Daybreak County.

“So,” said Dia, her mind running through a whole bunch of information, “what kind of people are your farmers anyway?”

“They’re a nice bunch, but you should see them for yourselves,” Count Daybreak replied. “Also…about that offer, I think I’ll take it up. You’re right. This is no time to be building a palace, and I suppose I should actively move to coordinate with Count Nightfall. It’s a pity that Countess Farah has been absent from the public eye for the past few years — it’s said that she’s training to become a tri-folder — or else I would have invited her along.”

Dia exchanged glances with Risti and Nero, who tried their best to look as innocent as possible. Nero had discovered Farah’s identity after a while — it wasn’t too hard — but there was at least one truth to those words.

Farah was indeed working hard to become a tri-folder.

Resisting the urge to mutter cryptic words, Dia cleared her throat. “About those traders…”

“Right. Follow me, I guess.”

Leaving behind the ruined castle, Count Daybreak led them down the main street of the city. There were still some damaged areas here and there, but thanks to the prompt response, most of the rubble had been cleared up. Tents had been set up for those whose homes had been blown away, and a queue of people lining up for food could be seen in the city square.

“The Merchant Association is the best place to do business in Daybreak,” said the count. “It’s a place for sellers to showcase the best goods at the best prices, and—”

The world shook, and Count Daybreak looked up at the sky. Thousands of white-clothed soldiers streaked towards the west a moment later, their bodies alight with a violent, tri-coloured glow.

A chill ran down Dia’s spine as she took in the sight of these soldiers, who were evidently chasing down the Red God’s Bearer of Destiny. Had they located his whereabouts? Or did something happen?

Dia didn’t know, but as she looked at the soldiers, who looked completely different from the Moon soldiers she had encountered, she could sense that something had changed.

Something…huge.

[End of Book 7: Reddest Rage]