Chapter 303 - The Value of Grape Village

Lord Virginia was also a top-notch expert in this regard.Her dance, just like her usual demeanor, was elegant and gentle, with no excessive show of skill, yet it made it impossible to look away.

In her dance, there was also a fantastical color—the Yaling’s Fairy Step blended perfectly into her movements, appearing and disappearing from time to time.

This type of dance seemed to require a lot of space to perform.

In fact, Gaven was led by her to whirl on the spot, the dance circle not exceeding five meters.

Lord Virginia’s greatest strength was her ability to influence and carry others along without them realizing it.

Even dance was no exception.

At the start, she led Gaven, dancing to the violin played by the Pikespirit.

By the middle, they were in sync, with the dance and music flawlessly integrated, as if they had practiced countless times.

In the latter part, the dance led the music; when the dance quickened, so did the music, and when the dance slowed, the music followed suit.

In the final part, the Pikespirit resisted the temptation of wine but couldn’t resist the temptation of the dance, each of them using their hands and feet, following the rhythm with joyous dancing and joining the party.

The banquet lasted from midday until the moon was high in the sky.

Any displeasure from their first meeting had been completely washed away by the fine wine and cheerful atmosphere.

Information about the Pikespirit village was also nearly fully gathered.

Gaven’s earlier speculation wasn’t wrong; the Pikespirit village was small, with just over a hundred individuals, and they had lived in the Three Rivers Region for generations, witnessing the rise and fall of the Weizemay Manor.

Initially, they had been resistant to the establishment of Weizemay Manor and had caused some destruction in secret. Thɪs chapter is updatᴇd by ɴovᴇl(ꜰ)ir(e).nᴇt

This situation continued until Weizemay Manor produced its first batch of wine, after which the Pikespirits not only stopped opposing the presence of the manor but also actively supported it. They greatly contributed to the expansion of the vineyard to its current vast scale.

However, the days of free wine didn’t last many years before problems arose within Weizemay Manor.

With free wine gone, and having acquired a taste for it, the Pikespirits had no choice but to move en masse into the vineyard, establishing Grape Village, and began making their wine. It was just a year into their venture when Gaven arrived.

In fact, the Pikespirits of Grape Village had noticed them the very first day they arrived at Weizemay Manor—they had been keeping a continuous watch on manor affairs.

They had simply thought Gaven and his group would be like the other conquerors, just passing through and soon to flee, disgraced, or never to emerge again.

Unexpectedly, they actually managed to take over Weizemay Manor.

However, the appearance of the Dog Demon caused their impression of Gaven to plummet — a person accompanied by a high-ranking Devil could not be a good soul by any stretch.

This was the reason behind their initial hostile attitude towards Gaven.

If it weren’t for Lord Virginia’s presence, Gaven would have had to put in a great deal of effort to reach a formal diplomatic understanding with them.

Now, with a clear understanding of Grape Village, Gaven confidently declared, "From this day forward, Grape Village shall be your permanent residence, including the vineyard within a hundred meters, which belong to you. Without your permission, no one from the manor will approach within a hundred meters of Grape Village.

The manor doors will always be open to you, and as for the wine produced by the manor, there’s no need to borrow it—you can taste it whenever you wish."

The area occupied by the Pikespirits’ Grape Village was indeed not small, covering over ten thousand square meters.

But the vineyards of Weizemay Manor were even larger, boasting ten square kilometers.

The part gifted away was a mere fraction of a percentage.

To say it was "a drop in the ocean" might be an exaggeration.

However, it indeed had little impact on the future operations of Weizemay Manor.

What was most important was that Gaven currently did not have enough manpower to manage the ten square kilometers of vineyard.

If a small portion could be used to gain the assistance of a hundred Pikespirits, it would be a profitable deal.

Setting other things aside, judging by the growth of grapes in Grape Village, they were undeniably top-notch experts in grape cultivation and management, and they were also clear about the craft of winemaking.

As long as Gaven could recruit a group of strong workers, there would be no need for training. Under their guidance, the winemaking workshop of Weizemay Manor could be reopened.

"What are the conditions?" The one who spoke was an elderly Pikespirit with a small tuft of white goatee. His name was Dennis, and he was the elder of these Pikespirits, the one who drank the most.

Black wine flowed from one cup to the next, and even though the glasses were small, the amount of wine he poured into his belly totaled several bottles, which was quite a lot given his very small stature.

Although appearing somewhat tipsy, when it came to serious matters, he was completely sober, well aware that there’s no such thing as a free lunch, unless it’s poisoned.

"The conditions are simple—assist me in reestablishing Weizemay Manor’s winemaking workshop. It’s easy to find ordinary winemaking workers, but masters skilled in winemaking techniques and knowledgeable in grape cultivation and management are not. I believe neither of these tasks will pose a challenge for you. As long as our manor’s winemaking workshop is up and running again, for as long as it remains in operation, you will never have to worry about running out of wine," Gaven now understood the nature of the Fae Race somewhat.

Negotiating with them is best done without political or diplomatic games, without beating around the bush. They lack the patience to interpret your thoughts, and if annoyed, they might not just give up but could play tricks on you.

Being direct and clear about your intentions is the best approach.

"I can vouch for his credibility," Lord Virginia chimed in, "This is new territory pioneered by Lord Gaven, and we are entering into a deeper cooperation in another territory, achieving remarkable results. Your words alone are not enough—you can send a few envoys to my domain for a visit, check the situation there, and then it won’t be too late to talk about cooperation in detail."

Elder Dennis, who was initially hesitant, nodded, "All right, we’ll do as Lord suggests. I’ve long wanted to see the Fairy Wilderness, but unfortunately, I haven’t had the means to enter. Let’s do this—you give us some time to discuss and decide who to send."

"It’s getting late, we’ll take our leave now. We’ll give you an hour, then we’ll meet at the manor," said Lord Virginia, nodding toward Gaven.

Gaven knew that haste wouldn’t bring success, especially when dealing with a group of extremely xenophobic Fae Race. Gaining their trust was key.

Once trust was established, everything else would fall into place, just as things had gone smoothly for him in the Spring Bud Forest.

If trust couldn’t be established, it was possible that by dawn the next day, the entire Grape Village’s Gnomes might have disappeared.

Avoiding contact with other sentient races was also one of their survival strategies.

Unlike the calm Gaven and Lord Virginia, the Pikespirit girl was anxiously pacing around. Every few minutes, she couldn’t help but fly up high to see if the Gnomes were coming, eventually expressing her concern, "Aren’t you worried that they might not come at all, or perhaps the whole village has moved away?"

"If they were going to move, they wouldn’t be waiting around for us to discover them. They would have left when they found out Weizemay Manor had a new owner," explained Gaven with a smile. "Not to mention, they’ve just tasted the Weizemay Black Wine; they are even less likely to leave."

"Is that black wine really so delicious? Even better than the Dragon Oak honey wine from Nectar Village?" The Pikespirit girl’s curiosity was piqued again, "May I try a little bit? Just a little bit..."

"No way," Gaven and Lord Virginia refused in unison.

They both knew the limits of Nicole’s alcohol tolerance and were well aware of how poor her behavior was when drunk. Letting her have a sip would mean no other business for the evening, as she would turn the manor into a chaotic mess.

"Hmph!" Nicole, unable to hang her face after being rejected, huffed in annoyance and flew back to the top of Thornspike.

But as soon as she got there, she flew back down again, excitedly as she announced, "They’re coming, they’re coming."

This matter was settled.

Gaven and Lord Virginia exchanged a glance, each able to see the delight in the other’s eyes.

They had full confidence in the Dragon Oak War Giant Tree; once there, the Gnomes would undoubtedly be overwhelmed with awe and obedience.

No member of the Fae Race could resist the temptation to live upon it.

It wasn’t about moving them there directly, but rather making promises to these Fae Race, such as moving there after death or if they had enough meritorious achievements, being appointed or promoted to reside there.

This was the outcome of an emergency consultation between Gaven and Lord Virginia.

After all, Gaven needed the help of the Fae Race here, and if all the Fae Race they came into contact with chose to move to the Dragon Oak War Giant Tree, it would be problematic.

Better to set the rules beforehand.

Just like with the Gnolls, turning the journey there into a pilgrimage, a form of honor.

This approach had an invisible benefit: The Fae Race moving here would be carefully selected, time-tested individuals.

Free things often become cheap.

Something fought for with all their might would be treasured and protected with all they had.

Upon seeing the scene outside, even the ever-calm Gaven and Lord Virginia were taken aback.

The issue was not that too few had come, but too many.

Dozens of Gnomes were hopping and skipping their way across.

The Gnomes’ wings weren’t strong enough for high flight. Instead, they used their cricket-like legs’ exceptional leaping power for low gliding.

Although they were only forty to fifty centimeters tall, leaping four or five meters was no problem at all.

Leading them was Elder Dennis, who seemed embarrassed by the large turnout and explained, "They are all very curious about what the Fairy Wilderness is really like, wanting to broaden their horizons."

"Sorry, I can’t take this many at once. I can bring at most twenty-four. Please decide on whom to take," Lord Virginia said apologetically, "If you just want to visit the Fairy Wilderness, that’s easy. I’ll be traveling between this place and there quite frequently. Whenever I have spare time, I can take a few over. Maybe we can find another time for the rest."

"Everything is up to Lord’s commands," said Elder Dennis, his tone unusually compliant since he was a guest in another’s home, and he knew the rules of hospitality.

In just a few minutes, the Gnomes had made their selection.

Obviously, they had agreed internally on a sequence of order.

Without wasting words, Lord Virginia promptly took the twenty-four selected Gnomes and vanished in a flash of white light.

Gaven addressed the remaining Gnomes, who were peering around curiously, "Since you’ve come, why not stay as guests? There’s plenty of food and drink."

"Okay," the responding Gnome, the strong and sturdy one who had spoken with Gaven before, was Duff, the martial training leader from Grape Village, primarily responsible for security and hunting.

Being guests was just a cover; their true intent was to observe the strength of Weizemay Manor.

The more they saw, the more they were frightened.

The one set up as a flagpole at the gate was unnoticed by ordinary people, but he, being of the Fae Race, recognized it at a glance: it was clearly a Treant, emanating a vibrant life force that matched the energy that Gaven had previously used to ban their Spell-Like Abilities.

The dark-barked heath tree in the courtyard was also a Treant, but the aura it exuded was strange, not purely natural life force, but also subtle waves of Negative Energy.

Such a Treant, never before seen or heard of.

The two maids bustling around were known to them, clearly the original lady and her daughter of Weizemay Manor. Hadn’t they turned into Ghosts? How could they be back, lively and kicking?