Chapter 64: Naming This Place Yanzi-Ronnie Casino

“It was I who found you. However, you weren’t near Profit Empress Ronnie’s tavern. You were floating in a creek, holding your Wolf King Sword, though it was a bit damaged. Ol’ Aubrey has taken it to his blacksmith brothers to repair.”

“How could that be? It’s really strange. Alright, I understand. You can go now. I need some time alone.” 

Draxel was utterly confused.

“Uh… I also have some important news to report. Safiya and Lein recovered quickly after drinking the lion meat soup and were out of danger as of the day before yesterday. Additionally, Yanzi has disappeared. She left no note or anything.”

“Ah… is that so… alright, you can leave now.” 

Faced with both good and bad news, Draxel remained relatively calm, though he still appeared deeply troubled.

“As you wish.”

After Marnid left, Draxel stared out the window, lost in thought.

‘Could it be… No, it couldn’t be!’

In his mind, he pleaded, ‘System, can you tell me, please, is Ronnie still alive? Where has Yanzi gone?’

[Sorry, just like you, I want to know their whereabouts. Please continue the game.]

Tears gradually filled Draxel’s eyes. He couldn’t accept it. He couldn’t resign himself to it. Silently, he asked again, ‘I beg you, I won’t argue with you anymore. Just tell me, I really beg you, please tell me.’

[I truly don’t know, just like you. I also want to find them. Please continue the game.]

Thus, Draxel locked himself in his room for another three days and nights. During this time, Ol’ Aubrey brought in porridge, bread, and meat sporadically, of which Draxel ate only a little.

During this time, even when Safiya and Lein wanted to visit him, Draxel remained silent. He lay on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, lost in thought and despair.

Then, the system came online of its own accord. 

[System Prompt: Enough! I think both Ronnie and Yanzi wouldn’t want to see you like this. It’s time to pull yourself together!]

The next morning, Draxel finally opened his door and came out to see people. Anyone could see his haggard appearance and the look of utter despair on his face.

It had been 7-8 days since he had set out from Uxkhal to defeat the King of the Land Lions.

“My noble lord, I entrusted my blacksmith brothers to repair your Wolf King Sword. Here it is.” Ol’ Aubrey greeted him respectfully, handing back the sword.

“Alright, thank you. Call everyone out for breakfast. I have an announcement to make after we eat.”

“As you wish.”

After a while, everyone gathered in the hall for breakfast.

During the meal, Draxel slowly said, “While I was unconscious and reflecting these past few days, you all have worked hard. I believe you’ve managed Uxkhal well during this time.”

“It’s our duty, my noble lord.” Merchant Marnid replied, seeing that no one else was speaking.

“I hereby announce the opening of the newest luxury casino, named Yanzi-Ronnie Casino. It will be co-managed by my mother, Lady Bela, and Marnid. Marnid, you can teach Little Ma to handle the grape business. Otherwise, you’ll have too much on your plate.”

“Count, I can manage both. Little Ma is still too young,” Manid responded.

“It doesn’t matter. The grape business is already established. Besides, Little Ma is bright and talented. You just need to be patient and guide him well.”

“In that case, I understand. As you wish.” Merchant Marnid didn’t say anything further. He recognized that training Little Ma would indeed be a good thing.

“Safiya, I believe you’ve heard about the renaming of the three villages. The affairs of these villages will now be your responsibility.”

“Alright, I’ll help share the burden.” 

Although Safiya wasn’t particularly close to Ronnie and didn’t know Yanzi, she had heard from others that Yanzi’s quick actions had saved her and Little Dragon Lein. Additionally, Ronnie had often helped both her and the Count, earning Safiya’s respect and admiration.

Therefore, she fully understood Draxel’s current sorrow.

At this point, Draxel continued, “That’s all the arrangements for now. I can’t think of anything else at the moment. Does anyone have any additions or reminders for me?”

Little Dragon Lein, almost fully recovered over the past two days, had been flying and exercising over the town of Uxkhal. It seemed to have noticed something.

“Roar. Count, it seems that Xiao Nan and Xiao Ming, along with a few tier-2 Swadian soldiers, are not in town. Did you assign them any tasks?”

“Oh, yes. Very good, thank you for the reminder. I’ll take care of that today. Alright, I’m finished. You may continue.”

With that, Draxel nodded slightly to everyone and then walked toward the soldiers’ resting area outside the lord’s hall, likely to ask about Xiao Nan and the others.

Watching Draxel’s lonely figure as he walked away, Safiya couldn’t help but sigh. 

“Sigh. I really wonder when he’ll recover and be his cheerful self again.”

“Roar. Exactly, he doesn’t bicker with me anymore. I feel like something’s missing every day like I haven’t truly lived that day.”

A moment later, Draxel arrived at the soldiers’ resting area.

“Have Xiao Nan and Xiao Ming been back in the past few days, or have they been training at the three villages’ training grounds?”

One of the Swadian Knights replied, “My noble lord, I heard from the guards at the gate that they haven’t seen them return.”

“Alright, you three, go to the three villages and bring them back. Once they return, have them report to me in the lord’s hall.”

“As you command.” 

The three tavern mercenary knights accepted the orders and immediately rode their warhorses out of town.

Next, Draxel decided to visit the newly built Yanzi-Ronnie Casino. It had actually been completed for some time, and gamblers had started frequenting it even before he left to battle the King of the Land Lions.

The Yanzi-Ronnie Casino was indeed the most magnificent and grand casino on the entire Calradia continent. It was packed with people, and the bustling casino also boosted the business of the surrounding market, with sales of drinks and food doubling.

Seeing this scene, Draxel was already looking forward to the substantial revenue that would be collected. He estimated that the inflow of money would be very significant and sustained for a long time. This was excellent.

After these reflections, he entered the extremely noisy and bustling casino. Strangely, he didn’t feel overwhelmed by the decadence and indulgence, quite the opposite.