107: Golden Son-in-Law

"Could this be... amethyst?"

Gimel was dazzled by the light emanating from the amethyst and couldn't help but close his eyes, only slowly opening them after a few breaths to adjust.

Regarding his uncertain yet pleasantly surprised expression and the depth of his knowledge...

Lister nodded with a look of appreciation in his eyes and chuckled, "Correct, it is indeed amethyst."

"Gimel, I need you to forge a new pair of Knight Gauntlets for me and embed this amethyst into them."

Hearing this, Gimel, who was admiring the amethyst as if it were a beautiful woman, immediately showed an indescribable expression of joy.

He had originally thought he was lucky and honored just to get a glimpse of it, but he never expected Lister to actually entrust the amethyst to him for forging.

The preciousness of amethyst was incomparable to the black refined stone from earlier.

Almost everyone who could possess it was a powerful noble, a church mage, or a powerful Transcendent like a high-ranking knight; even wealthy merchants found it extremely difficult to obtain one.

Any blacksmith capable of personally using amethyst as a forging material was invariably long-renowned.

Now, he, a nobody in the forging world, was given such a precious opportunity.

This kind of recognition and level of trust left him truly at a loss for words of gratitude.

For a moment, his loyalty to Lister reached its absolute peak.

As the thoughts flashed through his mind, Gimel then voiced the doubt in his heart.

"Lord, as far as I know, amethyst can be embedded in many items, such as staves, armor, weapons, and so on..."

"But for a knight, embedding it in Knight Gauntlets clearly won't allow it to exert its maximum utility. I don't quite understand your intention."

Hearing his words, which carried a hint of reminder within the doubt, Lister did not feel it was inappropriate; instead, he greatly appreciated Gimel's professional responsibility.

With a calm smile, Lister didn't explain much: "You don't need to worry about the utility issue; I have already considered it. You just need to forge it as quickly as possible."

"I shall follow your orders," Gimel respectfully complied, asking no more questions.

Since Lister had spoken, he naturally couldn't have any objections, and he believed that Lister's decision would certainly not be wrong.

Carefully taking the amethyst Lister handed over, Gimel held it in his hands with extreme caution, fearing any mishap.

Compared to Lister's casual movements, it was as if he were the true owner of the amethyst.

In fact, this was also a test by Lister of Gimel's ability and loyalty; after all, his divination ability was not a loyalty detection tool.

Therefore, he wanted to see if Gimel would embezzle the amethyst and flee while demonstrating his forging skills by embedding it.

After all, as long as he sold it, Gimel could live a carefree life for the rest of his days; the temptation was by no means small.

If Gimel had such thoughts and acted on them, Lister would consider it as clearing a mine for himself in advance.

Of course, if not, then all would be well.

According to his long-held philosophy, it was good for subordinates to be capable, but loyalty was the most important thing.

Using one amethyst to test the loyalty of a subordinate who was to be heavily relied upon was, in his view, more than worth it—even if Gimel never actually had the chance to succeed in such a betrayal.

However, judging by Gimel's fanatical gaze just now, Lister didn't think there was any possibility of betrayal.

Without staying for long, Lister gave a few instructions and then led Dewey toward the other places he planned to inspect... "Quick, quick! Lord Lister's Knight Captain, Lord Red, has started presiding over the selection of new Soldiers. If we're any slower, we won't make it!"

"The Lord's Soldiers... doesn't that mean the benefits must be very good?"

"Aren't you stating the obvious? I heard that even for an ordinary Soldier, the salary is one Gold Coin a year, plus other benefits."

"What, one Gold Coin!"

"Why are you shouting? You're going to deafen me!"

"That's a whole Gold Coin! How can I not be surprised?"

"What's there to be shocked about? That's just for an ordinary Soldier. I heard from my brother-in-law that they might also be selecting Apprentice Knights this time, and the annual salary is as high as three Gold Coins."

"Three Gold Coins! Heavens! I couldn't earn that in ten years as a Laborer!"

"That goes without saying. Let's hurry up."

"Wait, when did you get a brother-in-law?"

"Hehe~ Recently, my elder sister got together with Big Brother Marjorie, who just recently became a Full Knight. Also, it seems my younger sister has hooked up with a Full Knight as well."

"Wow, you're set for life then! Why don't I have any sisters?"

"Heh~ What does that matter? You can't do anything about your sisters now, but you can go back and ask your mother to give birth to another younger sister for you!"

"Good point! I'll ask when I get back."

After saying that, the two green-faced youths began to run toward the recruitment location.

Not far away, Lister, who had overheard every word, couldn't help but have his mouth twitch.

Since when did the knights under him become 'golden sons-in-law' who had leaped over the dragon gate?

Dewey, who had observed his expression from the side, already had beads of sweat forming on his forehead at some point. He then said with a bit of a guilty conscience, "Lord Lister, do you need me to go back and warn the other knights?"

"No need." Lister waved his hand and said with a smile, "Such matters of love are quite normal. If you weren't outstanding enough, how could those women in Ironthorn Town take a liking to you?"

"I only hope that while you are in love, you do not forget your duties and responsibilities, and especially that you must not slack off in your cultivation."

"On behalf of the other brothers, I thank Lord Lister for his concern," Dewey said gratefully, while inwardly breathing a sigh of relief.

If he wasn't mistaken, the knight the boy's younger sister had hooked up with seemed to be him.

Fortunately, Lord Lister was magnanimous; otherwise, he might have missed out on a beautiful romance.

Lister did not know what he was thinking; otherwise, he would have used a slightly stricter tone just now.

As the two of them got closer to the recruitment spot presided over by Red, the streets became increasingly crowded.

A large number of young people with expectant looks were chasing after each other like they were running a marathon, their only goal being to secure a position at the front of the recruitment line.

However, what made Lister feel gratified was that although they were competing for the front positions, there were no other aggressive actions aside from minor jostling.

This was clearly a sign of high civility, which could effectively reduce the triggering of conflicts between people.

While the simple and honest nature of the commoners was certainly a factor, he felt it was more due to Brutus's strict management system.

After all, it was very difficult to achieve this level purely through self-awareness.

This was not Lister intentionally belittling them, but rather that human nature had always been this way.

Therefore, he firmly believed that the high-quality appearance of the Ironthorn Territory's residents in the future must rely on this kind of management to be better realized.

As he was lost in thought, the bustling and crowded scene of the Recruitment Office appeared before his eyes.