Zach and his group walked dazedly along the wide, respectful street.
As they walked, they observed the harmonious yet eerie scene around them.
Machoke carrying timber with humans, Snover chasing and playing with children, Petilil sunbathing leisurely by the street, Aron and Swablu patrolling with knights, and many Pidove landing on rooftops... Pokémon seemed to be everywhere.
Compared to their last visit, this place had undergone earth-shattering changes.
What surprised Zach even more was that this territory seemed to prioritize the survival of Pokémon, as there were still many natural-looking grassy areas and trees between the town's streets for Pokémon to stay, just like a park.
Those Pokémon did not harm humans, and even when they saw the group of strangers, they showed no hostility, instead, they smiled at them in a friendly manner.
These scenes continuously challenged the perceptions of Zach and the others.
At this moment, a sense of confusion inevitably arose in everyone's hearts.
The relationship between humans and Pokémon—when did it become so good?
"Boss, look over there!" a subordinate said, pointing to a shop.
Zach turned his head and saw a shop with a honey illustration on its sign.
Zach couldn't help but step forward and ask, "Excuse me, what do you sell here?"
The shop owner was a woman around thirty years old; she looked at the newcomers and asked with a smile, "You're outsiders, aren't you?"
Zach nodded.
"No wonder!" the woman said with a smile, introducing, "These are all honey, honey brewed by a Pokémon called Combee. Its taste and quality far surpass ordinary honey!"
Combee—?
Zach was instantly stunned.
As far as he knew, that was a Pokémon specialized in Gathering nectar.
Their honey was highly nutritious and tasted better.
For this reason, some people in some places had tried to raise that kind of Pokémon, but these Combee would rather die than comply; even when kept in captivity, they would never Gather nectar.
Later, it was discovered that there was a queen among the Combee colony, and Combee only obeyed the queen's commands.
Once separated from the queen, they would refuse to Gather honey.
Later, some tried to capture the queen as well, but they were met with fierce resistance from the entire Combee colony.
Some even lost their lives because of it.
And how did the people here manage to make Combee and their queen obedient?
Thinking this, Zach couldn't help but ask on the spot.
The woman's face showed a smile: "These are all taught to us by His Highness Draconis! His Highness Draconis believes that Pokémon can coexist with humans. At first, not many people believed it, but now—we can't live without Pokémon!"
"Hey! Pokémon are so scary, aren't you afraid?" a subordinate next to Zach couldn't help but ask.
"His Highness Draconis said that as long as you treat Pokémon with sincerity, Pokémon will definitely reciprocate with the same sincerity. I used to think they were scary too, but now! Pokémon are actually quite cute!"
The woman waved, and a Budew jumped onto the counter. She looked at everyone and said,
"See! What a cute Pokémon! His Highness is truly amazing!"
The subordinate had an expression of incomprehension.
Treating Pokémon with sincerity, that sounds too incredible, doesn't it?
Pokémon are so terrifying; just meeting them can lead to their attacks, and in more severe cases, even loss of life.
If it weren't for life's necessities, he would rather stay in the city his whole life and never see a Pokémon!
Unlike his subordinate, Zach's face showed a thoughtful expression as he listened to these words.
As a merchant, he keenly sensed a business opportunity from it.
Honey brewed by Combee was a very popular item among some royal nobles.
They regarded this rare, uncommon, and difficult-to-obtain product as a symbol of noble status.
If they could purchase sweet honey from here and sell it elsewhere, they would surely make a lot of money!
However, before that, they had one more thing to do.
Zach recalled the adult he had met before, the lord of this territory, Draconis.
He had to meet him.
Just then, Zach saw a person dressed as a knight passing by.
He quickly stepped forward and introduced himself: "Hello, sir, I am Zach, the merchant who visited here once before. Last time, Lord Draconis bought some things from us, and now I have brought all those goods!"
Upon hearing this, Gerolt sized up the few people in front of him.
He was silent for a moment, then spoke: "Follow me!"
"Yes!" Zach had the rest of the caravan wait there, while he alone followed Gerolt to meet His Highness Draconis.
Passing through street after street, in a short while, the two arrived at the central location of the town.
That was the Town Hall where Draconis and others specifically handled official business.
Taxes, property sales within the town, and shop rentals all took place here.
The concept of a Town Hall was proposed by Draconis. Although it was somewhat out of step with the times, the castle had not yet been built, and having such a place made handling daily official business much more convenient.
When Gerolt brought Zach here, Draconis was also touring the place under Alfred's guidance.
"His Highness Draconis, there is an outsider claiming to be a merchant who wishes to see you!" Gerolt bowed before speaking.
Merchant?
As soon as Draconis heard this, he immediately understood what was going on.
"Let him in!"
Soon, Zach respectfully walked in from outside.
He looked at Draconis, who was sitting behind the desk, bowed, and said respectfully: "My Lord, I have brought the livestock and slaves you requested, as per your instructions!"
"Oh?" Draconis immediately became interested: "Take me to see them!"
"Yes!"
Under Zach's guidance, Draconis soon saw many familiar common animals.
Common dairy cows that produce milk, common cattle, common sheep, common pigs, and common chickens.
On the other side stood more than twenty Pokémon with their hands and feet bound.
Draconis glanced at them; there were roughly 8 Machoke, 4 Timburr, and 8 Conkeldurr among them.
At this moment, these Pokémon were huddled together, cowering. Their eyes were vacant and dull, and their bodies bore many scars left from not receiving timely treatment.
The few young Timburr hid behind the Conkeldurr, their faces full of fear as they looked around at their surroundings.
Draconis looked at this scene thoughtfully.
Clearly, these Pokémon were previously slaves.
And in this era, slaves could be freely bought and sold.
"My Lord, these are the Pokémon you requested!" Zach introduced from the side: "This Pokémon is called Machoke. They are very strong and can easily move things that humans cannot."
"These are Conkeldurr; the concrete they make is very sturdy. In some big cities, they are excellent at building city walls!"
"These small Pokémon are Timburr. Although they are not very strong, they can assist Conkeldurr on construction sites."
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