The son of the God-Emperor in Warhammer Fantasy

"I am escaping my fate, singing a gradually fading farewell song."

"The person I'm waiting for, how far away is he in the future?"

Elena sipped her regular Tyrell coffee with a sense of self-pity. Naturally, she couldn't afford the Araby coffee that Sulia ordered. Imported from Araby, this coffee cost over a hundred gold marks per pound. Sulia's two cups alone cost twenty gold marks.

Her words made both Ryan and Sulia a bit uncomfortable. Ryan initially wanted to say something, but he respected Sulia. Since the female knight indicated she would handle it, as her husband, Ryan naturally remained silent. He also understood the intentions of the model in front of them.

"Sorry, coffee always brings back many memories." Elena said a few more words but noticed that neither Sulia nor Ryan seemed interested. She quickly changed her tone, "Sorry if I was a bit presumptuous."

"It's alright." Sulia calmly added sugar to her coffee with a silver spoon, stirred it slowly, held the cup handle, took a small sip, and smiled. "Miss Elena, you are quite amusing. It makes me feel that Nur is indeed somewhat different from the rest of the Empire."

Elena's eyes lit up, and she couldn't wait to say, "That's for sure. Nur is different from anywhere else in the Empire. This is the best place in the Empire."

"The best in the Empire? Perhaps. But I know this is the Empire's favorite place for coffee." Sulia smiled brightly, maintaining her elegant demeanor. Elena observed and remembered her every move, trying to imitate her. "Does Lady Sulia also enjoy coffee?"

"Occasionally." Sulia still smiled.

"Oh! Savoring coffee is one of the most wonderful things in the world. When work is exhausting, leaving only an empty shell, ideals are hard to talk about. The soul is hollowed out, surviving like a zombie." Elena mimicked Sulia's way of holding the coffee cup. "But every time the bitter coffee slides down my throat, I remember that life isn't just about the present drudgery, but also poetry and distance."

Ryan nearly spit out his coffee upon hearing this.

Poetry and distance… Miss, would you really leave Nur?

Forget about the Chaos Wastes in the north or the Badlands in the south. You probably wouldn't even go to Middenland or the Wasteland.

Holy Grail quest, please.

"Miss Elena seems troubled by relationship issues?" Sulia said lightly. "I can sense a bit of it from your words."

"Lady Sulia, don't you think some men nowadays are really not considerate enough?" Elena naturally blurted out. "Sometimes I really envy you for marrying for love, while I can only wait."

"So, what kind of man does Miss Elena idealize?" Sulia stirred her coffee vigorously with the spoon.

"I don't have high standards. Handsome, good at making money, gentle and considerate, understands me, and celebrates holidays and anniversaries with me." Elena said softly. "Otherwise, it means a decline in the quality of life. I won't invest my youth and life into marriage."

"Well, I guess I'm lucky. My husband is just like that." Sulia smiled gently, holding Ryan's hand. "We are celebrating our anniversary together."

The model's expression immediately changed. Realizing her mistake, she quickly apologized, "Sorry, I didn't know..."

"It's fine. A chance encounter is part of the surprise." Sulia raised her swan-like neck, her sea-blue eyes filled with a subtle meaning. "I'm glad we met today."

"Thank you... Could I have your contact information?" Elena's expression changed, clearly reluctant to leave.

"Of course. If you need anything, you can find me here." Sulia casually gave Elena a contact address. The model held the piece of paper, thanked them profusely, and left reluctantly, glancing at Ryan one last time. Ryan remained silent, and she left the café, looking back frequently.

"This is Nur." Ryan finished his coffee in one gulp, laughing. "Seeing her smile after getting your contact information was like receiving a pass to Emilia's noble circle."

"That's her freedom." Sulia held her coffee, looking at her husband. "Just like what she says is her freedom."

"This freedom means talking about feelings with me and conditions with Tohru." Ryan put down his coffee cup. "Nur's women are different from elsewhere in the Empire. They often have their own jobs and can support themselves, so they can come to Starbucks for coffee, buy expensive lace dresses and leather bags, which gives them an illusion."

Ryan suddenly laughed, "I don't have a house in Nur."

"Yes, why does the quality of life decline after marriage?" Sulia sighed softly, shaking her head as she noticed the manager returning. "Let's not talk about this. Our answer has arrived."

The couple paused their conversation as the female manager returned, holding a piece of paper. She quickly approached them. "Lord Ryan, Lady Sulia, I asked the owner. He said he could provide information, but please keep it confidential."

"Agreed." Sulia nodded, and the couple stood up, following the manager to the back.

The manager presented an order slip, bowing as she said, "The coffee was ordered by the Golden Smile Music Hall in Nur. They ordered ten identical coffees at once, and this napkin was from one of those cups."

"Golden Smile Music Hall?" Ryan frowned, as the clue seemed to end here.

"Yes, the Golden Smile." The manager explained again, "This was a week-old order. At that time, the Golden Smile hosted a concert, and many guests ordered coffee."

Ryan and Sulia found this troublesome. A concert would have been public, with many attendees. The nobles and citizens of Nur loved music, so who would remember who took which cup of coffee, and what the number was?

"But the delivery person remembers this napkin was given to a lady wearing a mask and a wide-brimmed hat, obscuring her appearance. After receiving the delivery, she just said thank you and handed the order slip to the server as proof." The manager continued.

"May I see the order slip?" Ryan asked.

"Of course." Manager Doris handed the order slip to Ryan. It was an ordinary slip, stained with some wine. Ryan scrutinized it for a long time, then shook his head regretfully. "It seems the clue ends here... Sulia?"

"No, the clue isn't broken! You have no idea how wrong you are, dear." Sulia snatched the order slip from her husband, placed it under her nose, and sniffed lightly. "This is the scent of sunshine, Bordeaux, and Valley of the Sun! It's the scent of Valley of the Sun's sunshine! The lady's unique favor for Bordeaux."

"The scent of high-quality sandalwood barrels… These barrels have aged, with dark wine blending the pleasant aromas of oak, truffle, rose, strawberry, roasted tobacco, and coffee."

"Clearly, this is a 1453 Bordeaux Valley First Growth Haut-Brion, also called La Belle Rouge." Sulia put down the order slip. "Perhaps we can ask Duke Boderick's representative in Nur? This kind of expensive wine isn't bought by just anyone."

The manager and Ryan were both stunned.

"What's so strange?" Sulia put down the order slip playfully, staring at her husband. "As the daughter of Duke Winford, didn't you know I can taste and identify all wines produced in Bretonnia?"

"You always surprise me, my lady!" Ryan happily lifted Sulia in his arms. "Wonderful!"

"How can I be your wife without being impressive?" Sulia smiled happily under the envious eyes of the female manager.

——I am the divider of Long Live the Lady——

Having obtained new clues, Ryan immediately ordered the Oliver Trading Company's Nur branch to investigate how many bottles of 1453 Bordeaux Valley First Growth Haut-Brion had flowed into Nur in recent years. Bordeaux, knowing Ryan's influence, was willing to cooperate. However, tracing the whereabouts of these wines would take time, so Ryan and his team could only wait patiently. The Hedonist Cult was deeply hidden.

Meanwhile, the Nur City Council finally approved Ryan and his team's request to visit the Nur Military Factory. The long-journeyed group could finally tour the Nur Military Factory and the Nur Gunpowder Academy.

This request had quite a twist. When Ryan initially expressed his desire to visit the Nur Military Factory and the Nur Gunpowder Academy, Nur's immediate reaction was to refuse.

The reasons were compelling. The Nur Military Factory and the Nur Gunpowder Academy housed the Empire's best firearms, cannons, and war machines. Although the most advanced guns and cannons weren't as powerful as those in the Dwarf Engineer's Guild at the Brightwater Pass, they represented the pinnacle of human technology, at least in this world.

More importantly, the Nur Military Factory was the Empire's only facility capable of producing and repairing steam tanks. Recently, it had received a massive order, with countless Imperial engineers, senior technicians, and dwarf engineers gathering to create a new and terrifying war machine.

Regardless of Ryan's good relations with the Empire, he was ultimately from another country. His special relationship with Baroness Emanoli made him unpopular among Nur's high aristocracy. When he requested a tour of the Nur Military Factory, he faced significant resistance, with many nobles opposing it.

The approval came down to two points: First, the substantial orders Ryan brought to the Nur Military Factory over the years, as a major client (including Fugen's massive orders counted under his name), made his request to visit the factory reasonable. Second, Baroness Emanoli's rare but clear stance in the City Council, stating, "This is my man. What's wrong with him looking around?"

Thus

, Ryan and his team were allowed to tour the Nur Military Factory and the Nur Gunpowder Academy.

The entire complex was as intricate as a fortress, with sturdy brick walls dividing a series of stone buildings. Workshops, forges, furnaces, and warehouses. Fugen's military orders far exceeded Nur's estimated capacity. Day and night, the forging fires never ceased, enveloping the entire city in a pungent smoke.

Vast amounts of gold and silver from Lustria flowed into Nur's coffers, replaced by unending flames and forging. The entire Nur Military Factory exuded a terrifying vitality, with workers working in three shifts or even two shifts, adhering to a grueling schedule without any complaints. On the contrary, the entire factory was gripped by a frenzy caused by production.

Simply put, the more Nur's Military Factory produced, the more it earned. The substantial profits from large orders delighted the workers, as their wages increased significantly. At this time, no one complained about the workload. They feared not having enough orders. Baroness Emanoli strictly controlled this aspect.

Today, the group was here to see the pinnacle of Nur's, or perhaps the Empire's, technology—the steam tank.

Speaking of steam tanks, everyone's impression was of a terrifying steel beast that roared across the battlefield, shrouded in steam, crushing enemies with its thick steel plates and powerful steam-driven force. The steam cannon could release death projectiles while on the move, making it the Empire's ultimate weapon. Imperial engineers considered deploying it only in times of dire crisis for humanity.

The group's guide was the chief engineer of the Nur Military Factory, Gunther Maybach, a middle-aged man reeking of gunpowder and coal. Holding a wrench, he addressed the visitors, "On the battlefield, the tank commander decides how to use the steam tank, whether to charge or fire. Its power is immense, but over-reliance on steam power can also lead to boiler explosions."

"I see. So, what's the principle behind the steam boiler's design? Dwarf compressed steam technology?" Ryan nodded, asking Engineer Maybach.

"Yes, it's dwarf technology. Even today, we still don't fully understand dwarf steam technology." Chief Engineer Maybach nodded. "That's why designing and manufacturing steam tanks is so difficult. Every part needs precision handcrafting, and the entire process requires constant testing until it's battle-ready. It's a lengthy process."

"So, you can manufacture every part, repair every fault, and modify the steam tank according to battlefield needs, but can't produce new steam tanks?" Ryan asked casually.

"Who said the Nur Military Factory can't produce new steam tanks?" Engineer Maybach frowned, clearly displeased. "Of course, we can make new steam tanks. Don't underestimate us! Our factory can produce a new steam tank every one to two years!"

After muttering to himself for a while, Maybach understood Ryan's meaning, waving his wrench. "Oh, Lord Ryan, I get your point."

"You misunderstood."

"I think you're referring to Master Leonardo da Miragliano's work?"

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