Alex planned to give her a storage cube later since she would join him on his journey. He also considered teaching her to cultivate to make her become stronger.
"Really?" Lily said with an excited tone.
"Yes, of course, I will give you one later."
Alex didn't plan to reveal the storage cube here since others who see it will ask for the item, and it will quickly become everyone's focus.
His storage cube is a game-changer; if he introduces it here, the whole kingdom will change, for better or worse.
It will bring many benefits but also many problems that will turn the kingdom upside down. He was sure if he did that, Aimu would be really angry.
Lily then excitedly told him, "Let's go to the auction then. Today, we have one that will sell many unique items, from old items filled with history to some special weapons and armor made by our famous blacksmith. I heard today's session will also have exotic animals and plants."
"Exotic animals and plants? What does that mean? Animals from outside?"
Based on the meal Alex just ate, the meat doesn't taste any different than his world. Some tasted like beef, some liked chicken, and the most unique one he tasted was like crab meat, but when he bit into it, he could taste the juicy fat of beef mixed with pork.
It's very tasty, making him feel addicted.
"It's animals and plants that are almost extinct. When our ancestors moved to this secret realm, they also brought many types of animals and plants to create their own ecosystem.
We separate this into a conservatory area for almost extinct animals and an area for training and hunting."
Alex was confused hearing this; usually, endangered species under protection would be made illegal to sell, but here, it's sold in an auction.
"Isn't the animal protected? Why would you sell it then?"
"It wasn't always . In the past, we really forbade it, but it just ended up in criminal activity, and more money was burned to raise security.
The king at that time then tried a new policy, which was that, occasionally, we would auction these endangered animals and plants."
"Yes, after that, the interest in buying these endangered animals from criminals dropped.
Who wants to take the risk of buying an illegal one when the legal route exists?
It's not like the price is cheaper, and the penalty for it is death.
You may not believe it, but with this new system, the species are safer now. Since it's run by a proper channel, they can maintain the population.
Count how many can be sold without disturbing their population growth."
Alex then remembered how illegal substances in his world were treated differently.
In countries that allow the substance, there are almost no criminal activities on the substance, but in countries that put a ban on it, even with death as punishment, the activity was still rampant; there was just a high demand for the drug.
Two, in particular, were still fresh in his mind since they often show up in the news and are banned in every country.
Tenovix is a powerful hallucinogenic drug that allows the user to relive their happiest moments. With so many tragedies happening on his planet, this drug quickly rose in demand because many people wanted to see their loved ones again.
The second one is Arcane dust. This drug allows normal people to temporarily gain a boost of power in physical strength, but the side effect makes them lose their sanity, while their bodies will quickly deteriorate afterward.
This thought made Alex's mood turn sour, as it reminded him of the situation on the frontline that he would need to face soon.
His change of mood didn't escape Lily's attention, "Are you an animal activist or something? Why has your mood suddenly become bad?"
"No, I just remembered something important I need to do. When is the auction? And can we still get in?"
Alex asked since auctions usually require them to register beforehand and pay a guarantee fee before they can enter.
"It's later at night, and it requires us to register first. Even for me, a royalty, it's no exception. Usually, we would not be able to enter now, but with that, I am sure they won't dare to block your entry." Lily said as she pointed at his bangle with a smirk.
"Good, this thing is useful after all. Do you know how much money is inside this?"
"I honestly don't know, but I am sure it's more than enough to pay for everything you want. 5% of the whole country's tax goes to the Sentinel, and he never uses money at all."
Lily's information made Alex's lips curl into a smile. With how long the Sentinel led the country, it wouldn't be exaggerated to say the money inside is more than the whole year's income of the whole kingdom.
'If he knew I have a storage ring, I am sure he wouldn't have given me this bangle.'
Seeing his smile, Lily couldn't help but think that Alex was planning something bad.
'Just why did the Sentinel give him the bangle without telling him anything?'
"Alright, now that it's settled, it's time for me to pay the bill," Alex then called the waiter.
Hearing he was going to leave, the Manager quickly blocked his path.
If Alex left now, who would pay for the rest of the people queuing outside his restaurant? The line had already grown so long that it reached a few blocks.
"Good sir, if you leave now, who will pay for the rest of the bill?"
"Did you mean I need to wait until it all finished?" Alex inquired with a frown.
Seeing Alex's expression, the Manager quickly clarified, "No, you don't need to do that, sir, but what about all the bills then? Since you promised to pay for everyone's food for the day. There are still many people queuing outside."