Chapter 73 | A Mere Princess of a Fallen Kingdom Dares to Order Me Around?

The night passed without a word.

Lucrezia seemed truly spooked by the intelligence regarding the 'inquisitors' from the previous night. Usually, she loved to pull little stunts before bed, attempting to use her 'succubus methods' to win over Leo, but last night she had been surprisingly well-behaved.

Early the next morning, Leo watched as Lucrezia—sporting faint dark circles under her eyes and looking as anxious as a startled rabbit—hurried everyone to set off. He found it somewhat amusing but didn't say anything.

After a quick wash and a bite of breakfast, the group headed straight for Worcester City’s largest stable and carriage house—'Riders' Dealership.'

As a famous continental chain, the Riders' Dealership storefront was exceptionally grand. The massive showroom was filled with all sorts of carriages, ranging from practical freight carts to luxurious noble coaches.

Although the group arrived quite early, it didn't stop the sales guide from sizing them up with his practiced, snobbish eyes.

"Are you all... here to look at carriages?"

The guide was a middle-aged man dressed in a decent vest, his hair combed to a greasy shine. His gaze swept over the group with quiet indifference.

Leo wore a plain black traveling robe. Lucrezia, though wrapped tightly, looked like a young apprentice. Vespa and A-Ling were dressed as travel-worn adventurers.

No matter how he looked at them, they didn't seem like people with deep pockets.

"Yeah, just looking around."

Leo nodded, ignoring the man's somewhat dismissive attitude.

"This way, please."

Though the guide had already mentally categorized them as 'paupers who can only afford low-end goods,' his professional training kept a standardized fake smile on his face. He skipped right past the 'flagship models' on the central platforms—which cost hundreds of gold coins—and led them toward the 'economy zone' in the corner.

"These models are our 'best-selling civilian kings,' also commonly known as 'the first carriage for young people.'"

The guide pointed to several two-wheeled open-air carts in the corner that looked more suited for hauling pig feed. His tone was dismissive, yet laced with sales jargon:

"They feature a minimalist design with only two wheels. While the road feedback is quite... crisp (bumpy), they are unbeatable in price."

"Only 88.8 silver coins. Let's just call it making a friend."

"..."

Looking at the 'minimalism' that didn't even include a roof, Leo’s lip twitched.

"We want one with a cabin, enough to seat four people," Leo shook his head, stating his requirements clearly. "Ideally four-wheeled, with shock-absorbing runes and a speed-stabilizing array."

"And it has to be spacious, the kind you can lie down and sleep in," Lucrezia added hastily from the side.

"Heh..."

The guide couldn't help but let out a light chuckle.

He turned around and, with an expression that said 'since you want to see the spectacle, I'll let you give up hope,' pointed to the center of the showroom. There stood a luxury carriage bathed in spotlights, jet-black and polished to a mirror shine, its cabin carved with streamlined patterns.

"Sir, the configuration you're asking for belongs to the 'high-end business executive' tier."

"That is our flagship of the year—the 'Black Wind-Ultra.'"

"It’s equipped with our latest 【Suspension Shock Absorption】 and 【Wind-Attribute Assistance】 arrays. The pinnacle of luxury."

"The price: 250 gold coins."

"How much?!"

Vespa, who was touching the wheels, nearly jumped. Her cat tail puffed out instantly, and her voice cracked:

"250 gold coins?! Are these wheels made of gold or the skin made of dragon hide? This is highway robbery!"

"Dear lady, you get what you pay for."

The guide shrugged with a haughty 'you don't understand technology' look.

"The technical sophistication inside isn't something a few wooden planks can compare to. The maintenance and engraving of those arrays alone cost a fortune."

"Furthermore, to ensure the ultimate experience, the carriage must be brought in for mandatory annual maintenance..."

"Uh... do you have anything cheaper?" Vespa leaned in. "We don't need such fancy decorations..."

While Vespa and Lucrezia tried to haggle with the guide using their superior bargaining skills, Leo had wandered over to the so-called 'Black Wind-Ultra' at some point.

He squatted down, tilting his head and unceremoniously poking it beneath the cabin. His gaze fell upon a pale green metal plate where the axle connected to the chassis.

On it were engraved series of complex silver lines, emitting a faint mana fluctuation.

This was the so-called 'core technology'—the shock-absorbing rune.

Almost the moment his eyes touched the metal plate, the professional instincts of a max-level inscription grandmaster from his past life woke up as naturally as breathing.

In his eyes, the mana circuits that seemed profound to laymen were instantly dismantled into basic lines and nodes.

And then...

Leo’s eyebrows knitted into a deep frown.

What the hell is this?

The circuit structure was loose, the mana nodes were a total mess, and the energy loss during transmission was at least 40%!

This kind of garbage dared to sell for 250 gold coins?

Do I look like an idiot to you?

"This array..."

Leo stood up and brushed the dust off his hands, asking casually, "Did your dealership draw this yourselves?"

The guide, who was dealing with Vespa, immediately straightened his back. It was as if a keyword had been triggered; his expression instantly became fanatical and proud.

"Of course! This is an exclusive, full-stack self-developed patented technology of 'Riders' Selection'! It is the result of two and a half years of closed-door research by a team of senior inscriptionists we hired at a great cost!"

The guide had clearly undergone a rigorous induction training known as 'wolf culture.'

As soon as he heard someone questioning the technology, he reacted like his tail had been stepped on. His spine went rigid, and his eyes gleamed with fanatical confidence.

He began to speak of his company's 'core technology' with such fluency and speed it sounded like a rehearsed monologue:

"Sir, what you see is not just an array, but a complete 'Human-Carriage-Horse' smart ecosystem!"

"It integrates our self-developed 【Fuxi Algorithm】 to optimize mana flow, carries the 【Zhurong Temperature Control System】 to ensure warmth in winter and coolness in summer, uses 【Gonggong Hydraulic】 suspension for the chassis, and the central core is the 【Nuwa Smart Brain】!"

The guide got more excited as he spoke, spittle flying as he gestured wildly:

"There's also the 【Jingwei Radar】 early warning, 【Kuafu Ray Tracing】 headlamps, 【Xingtian Shield】 defense, 【Xihe Energy Concentration】 battery, 【Changxi Night Vision】 assistance, 【Rushou Coating】 rust prevention, 【Jumang Photosynthetic】 eco-friendly paint, 【Xuanming Cooling】 air conditioning..."

After rattling off this string of impressive-sounding but stitched-together terms in one breath, the guide puffed out his chest. With an unquestionable tone, he loudly summarized to the stunned crowd:

"In this Worcester City, or even the entire Akhtar Duchy, only we can perfectly integrate these arrays onto a carriage!"

"This is what we call—far ahead!"

"Far ahead!!"

"It is no exaggeration to say that this is the best carriage under 500 gold coins! Period!"

This nonsensical speech, filled with the flavor of 'empowerment,' 'closed-loops,' and 'ecosystems,' left the inexperienced A-Ling and Lucrezia completely dazed.

It even made Vespa, who was busy nitpicking the price, go "Huh?" as she began to doubt herself.

However, to Leo, who hailed from Blue Star and was well-versed in the world, this guide was still too green.

Leo’s lip twitched.

Good grief, the smell of marketing is too strong here.

Still, looking at the guide’s fanatical yet somewhat 'sincere' appearance, Leo thought to himself:

At least this dealership, while they brag hard, still has a bit of a conscience.

At least he didn't grab my hand and tell me a tearful entrepreneurial story about 'suffocating for a dream,' nor did he say he 'made a whole batch of dumplings just for this bit of vinegar.'

He didn't shamelessly shout slogans about 'crushing the goblin workshops and kicking the dwarven forges,' or even 'dominating the top-tier Gnomeregan Motors of the continent'...