The request for a private meeting surprised everyone, especially the city lord's men.

They wanted to object, to voice their protests, but they held their tongues when they saw the same baffled looks on the faces of the feudal lord's guards. They waited, hoping the guards would intervene, but their hope was in vain.

"I go by the name Astban, my lord," Ray introduced himself.

"Astban, you say. So you have something that will surprise me more than anything I've ever seen?" the feudal lord asked, an sharp glint in his eye. "That's what you're claiming, correct?"

Ray nodded. "Indeed. I'll stake my life on it."

"Oh!" The feudal lord looked at Ray with renewed interest. "So if you fail to surprise me, I have the right to claim your life?" he asked, a big, amused smile on his face.

He had seen many things in his life as a feudal lord and had met with many negotiators, but this was the first time a young man, not even in his twenties, had so readily gambled his life. It truly interested him.

"Astban!" Manoban looked at Ray with pleading eyes. She didn't know if things would go as planned, or if the feudal lord was playing a trick.

Ray, however, was confident. He might be Astban now, but he was also from a modern world, a place where he had seen miracles that might never exist here. He held Manoban's hand to reassure her, then turned to the feudal lord. "Will the lord grant this young man a chance?"

"Very well," the feudal lord said after a long silence. "I shall see."

"My lord!" "Feudal Lord!" guards from both sides exclaimed, but the feudal lord ignored them. He chose his two most trusted men and gestured to Ray. "Lead the way, Astban."

Ray led the feudal lord and his guards away from the crowd, toward the grain cellar. The city lord's men were furious, but their hands were tied. They could only wait and watch from a distance.

Once inside the cellar, the feudal lord's eyes scanned the empty room. "Where is this grand tribute?" he asked, a hint of impatience in his voice.

Ray smiled. He took a handful of grains from his pocket, the ones he had modified earlier, and presented them to the feudal lord. "These are the grains, my lord," he said.

The feudal lord gave quick glance at the grains, then at Ray, a puzzled expression on his face. "These are just ordinary grains. What is so special about them?"

"They are not ordinary, my lord," Ray said, his voice firm.

He watched as the feudal lord looked at the grains again, his expression shifting from puzzlement to intrigue.

Ray continued, "They are a tribute unlike any you have ever received. These grains can feed a hundred men for a week, and they will make a man strong and healthy. They can even make a man immune to all sickness and disease."

The feudal lord's guards laughed, but the feudal lord looked at Ray with a strange intensity. He took a single grain in his hand, bringing it close to his face.

"It's rice, but… how can it be this big?" he muttered, truly stunned. He then sniffed it. "This is?" The aroma was richer and more powerful than anything he had ever smelled.

Ray grinned. "Wait, my lord. We have something prepared that will make this even more exciting." He could see the feudal lord was already amazed, while the two men who had laughed earlier now had their mouths shut.

…

Meanwhile, outside, the city lord's men were anxious. "What could they be hiding? I have a bad feeling about this," one of them muttered.

Another scoffed. "What's there to hide? He must be trying to bribe the feudal lord. It's a death sentence. Soon we'll see his corpse instead of some surprise." They all laughed, confident that a bribe was the only thing Ray could possibly offer.

The feudal lord's guards had similar thoughts, knowing that nothing angered their lord more than an attempt to buy his favor.

Manoban's father returned with a bowl of cooked, fragrant rice and presented it to the feudal lord. "I suggest you try this, my lord. With this, you will understand if my son-in-law's words were just an understatement or the reality."

He opened the lid of the bowl, and a rich, warm aroma instantly filled the room. "My lord!" he said again, offering the bowl.

At the same time, Manoban's mother brought two more bowls for the two guards who had laughed earlier.

They were visibly embarrassed, but with the delicious scent filling their nostrils, they took the bowls with a newfound look of respect. Before the feudal lord could even take his first bite, the guards were already digging in.

"Wow!" one of them muttered, chewing with his eyes closed. "This is heaven!" the second shouted even louder.

The feudal lord thought to himself, If I didn't know these two, I would have thought they were artists hired by these people, but knowing them makes me wonder how good this can be. He finally took his first bite.

The feeling was like drinking cold, fresh water after being thirsty all day—but on a much grander scale. "Otherworldly!" he exclaimed.

He took another bite, then another, finishing the entire bowl in seconds.

"I feel full, but at the same time, I feel like I can eat more," the feudal lord said shamelessly. The guards had the same thought but didn't dare voice it. "This feels like the first real food I've ever had in my life."

However, Ray's words then disappointed him. "Forgive me, my lord, but with all the pressure on us, we could only prepare these three bowls."

"Pressure?" the feudal lord asked, his eyes narrowing. "Don't tell me this was the only grain you had and you used it all to make a few bowls of rice." This was a hard reality for him to accept.

Ray shook his head. "That's not the case, my lord. We have two sacks prepared instead of the five given for the tribute and these two are full of the new type of grains you just tasted."

"Then what is the problem?" Ray's words confused him and left him feeling disappointed.

The taxes and tributes that are collected by the Feudal lord were not for his personal use.

Only a small portion went to his own treasury; the majority went to the true lords of the territory, who would eventually deliver it to the emperor's royal depository.

He knew that two sacks would not be enough to satisfy his superiors, but instead of being angry, he wanted to know the reason for the small amount and, more importantly, the origin of these incredible grains.

Ray understood the feudal lord's concern. He knew he had to be careful with his words. "My lord, my family is being targeted, and our lives are at stake. Our rice fields were destroyed with the motive to force my soon-to-be wife into something we don't want."

The feudal lord's face hardened as he heard Ray's story. "Someone wants to do what?" he asked, a cold fury in his voice.

"Yes, my lord," Manoban's father said. "He believes that since our fields are destroyed, we have no other option but to seek his help. But, my lord, what he doesn't know is that with this new grain, we have an answer.

In the future, we can give a much larger portion of this rice, but only if our lives remain safe."

The feudal lord looked at the seeds in his hand. He knew this would catch the attention of the emperor, and if he made the right decision, his position would be solidified and would rise.

Then he looked at Ray. "Then why didn't you ask the city lord for help? Why look for me?"

Ray's expression turned grim as he recounted the city lord's entire conspiracy. He told the feudal lord how the city lord had hired men to destroy their fields, intending to force the family to hand over Manoban.

The feudal lord glanced at Manoban, acknowledging her beauty, but his gaze was not one of lust. Instead, he simply wanted to see if the city lord would truly dare to destroy a family for a woman.

"I may be willing to listen," the feudal lord said, his voice cold, "but what proof do you have to solidify your claim?"

Ray shook his head. "I don't have any proof at this moment. However, if you question the city lord's men who are behind this conspiracy, you might find some answers." He then told the feudal lord about the city lord's other plan: to poison the feudal lord's horses, making them appear sick and weak during his departure.

This revelation ignited a cold fury in the feudal lord and his two guards. "He dares..." the feudal lord growled.

Ray nodded. "You can wait until the day of your departure and see for yourself, my lord."

"Very well," the feudal lord said, his expression hardening. "I'll see that. But now, answer me honestly: What is the source of these new types of grains? Where did you get them, or did you produce them on your own land?"

Ray apologized, "Please forgive me for this, but I cannot answer that unless I know my family and friends are safe."

This amused the feudal lord, who said in a stern tone, "Don't you think if I join hands with the city lord, help him get what he wants, and in return, he helps me get what I want, that would be worse for you?"

Ray smiled, letting out a light chuckle. His expression then turned cold. "Then we'll be left with no choice but to fight with our lives on the line. But I'll make this very clear: no power in this world can create what you're holding in your hand."

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