Altura

I looked at the hole with anticipation in my eyes. The trial, I hoped, would be easy so that I could get back to planning my meeting with the Empress. Aswelth had suggested that I level up prior to it to look better. I had agreed.

The hole finally formed and asked me its question. ‘Tell me, Archduchess. What is it that you regret in this life? Or is there nothing of the sort?’ And there went the ease, right out the window. What did I regret? I suppose the answer was nothing. But, at the same time, I did make mistakes. I had to have, it was almost impossible that I didn’t.

So, what mistakes did I make? Hmm, that was the question. I could have started a few organizations earlier. And had better relations with the King and the duchies. The duchies had pretty much turned against me now, I could have perhaps established some relations.

And I had been neglecting Kerrin, he had been loyal, but I had to admit I did not know what I should tell him to do. The work was already assigned. And, oh fudge, the numeration. I had forgotten the numeration and that I could tell other people!

Ok, handling it would have to be delicate since all the other Jewels were keeping it secret, but telling only Adventurers Guild members and the Ducal guard should work, right? So here is a massive regret, I could have told them sooner. And there were all those little hiccups in the planning of the city. I hadn’t even had time to see what the people really wanted now.

The next few hours were spent assessing every decision I made and compiling a long, long list of things that went wrong and why that went wrong. Gosh, I really did make a lot of mistakes. I was awful at anticipating problems, though in my defense, anticipating stuff was something even rulers back on Earth struggled with.

But some problems could have been foreseen, and I could have fixed them in time. I did deal with stuff semi-dencently though. An issue I was seeing was that every single thing was dependent on me in the Arch duchy.

I needed to let go of a little bit of that control. Just a little, I wasn’t ready to trust these people with everything yet. But some could be given. And I had been avoiding Duke Reinar, who I suppose was my father. I hadn’t talked to him since Adreia came in. Before that even. But the list was done. And now time to present it to the hole.

“Hear, me hole, this be the list of deeds I do regret: I regret forgetting numeration, and not using it before. I regret the abandonment of my Father and my resistance to establishing any relation with him, I…” And the list went on.

The hole responded to me, saying, ‘I should have expected something like this, but somehow I did not. Congratulations, Archduchess, you pass this hurdle, for your answer meets the spirit of the question, even if it is thoroughly unexpected in execution. I must say that I am curious of what you will become, a noble that compiles a list of her faults. An anomaly indeed.’

And just like that, I broke through into the Late-Treeling stage. Huh, I did not expect to be the anomaly. I suppose the Xianxia nobles weren’t the best at self reflection, but they couldn’t all be that bad at it, right?

Wait. How long had I spent here?

Xerte

Xerte took a deep breath in as he walked into the Grand Hall. A Treeling, he had found, was treated very differently than a Plant. The second he had broken through, the Empire’s treatment had changed.

A suite of rooms in the palace had been presented to him, ones he had declined in favor of his tent that was devoid of suspicious staff. The people he met with were also of higher caliber. Instead of the butlers before, the Ministers themselves had come to converse with him. And had treated him respectfully.

A part of it, he supposed, was that he was now at a higher cultivation level than them. But there had been a tiny glitch in their plans. The Grand Chancellor had met with him and decided a time, but now the Archduchess had apparently had a long breakthrough during those times. The longest she had ever had. The delay had forced them to postpone the meeting to tomorrow, a day the Empress was busy.

The rumor mill was as usual abuzz, there were rumors that the Archduchess had failed, that her talent was fake, and she was now crippled. A sure factor into why the Empire had now downsized the meeting into one between the Princess and him. But contemplating was for later, he had a Princess to talk with.

“I greet her majesty, Princess Elutra.” Xerte said, following the imperial form of greeting.

“And I return the greeting, Xerte of Alvere. Please, have a seat.” the Princess replied.

“How is the Archduchess. Still in her breakthrough trance?” the Princess asked.

“Yes, your majesty. But General Aswelth has noticed a growth in Qi, anomalous as it may be. So rest assured, there have been no problems with the breakthrough. Perhaps the Archduchess encountered a fortuitous opportunity while breaking through.” Xerte answered.

“Ah, congratulations may be in order then. I have heard of such opportunities, discoveries of the self while breaking through that propelled one past barriers. I hear you yourself had such an experience.”

“ After all, your aura has changed greatly since you were here yesterday. The nature of it has been altered into something more…protective? Or is it organizational? Well aren’t you a mystery, Adventurer.” the Princess said, sipping on her tea.

And just like that, she now knew too much about him. Xerte had a headache, dealing with this woman was not going to be remotely easy.

“I would not know. Perhaps we can discuss the matter at hand. A supply of spirit stones was it?” Xerte asked, alluding to the first item on the agenda.

“Yes, I know that your Arch Duchy recently discovered a mine. And that you have an abundance of food. I would like to procure quantities of both.” the Princess said.

“I can promise that they shall both be accounted for in the next caravan. “Xerte replied.

“I fear that will not suffice. The Empress requires an increased store. How about we come to an understanding? A million spirit stones and three hundred tonnes of food for fifteen million gold. How about it?.” the Princess said.

A wonderful trap. The food and spirit stones were underpriced. And it mentioned ‘food’, not specifying the type. The price fluctuated wildly based on the type of food. Xerte had a very bad premonition. The conversation was going to be a very long one.

And indeed, the negotiation was long, in fact it continued throughout the day and the next, culminating in a deal for the value of seventy million gold a year. A quarter of the duchy’s total production as it was at present.

A part of it, Xerte concluded, was that the Empire wanted to be the duchy’s biggest trade partner, and hence reduce the threat it presented. The Arch duchy had, after all, become very powerful very fast and continued to grow at increased speeds.

A little tidbit Xerte had kept from the Princess was that the Arch duchy’s food production was set to triple within the next month, with the agricultural lands increasing from ten percent to thirty percent of the duchy. And the spirit stone mine had barely been excavated as it was.

The mine would produce ten times as much as it was, and it was already producing nearly a million spirit stones a month. A conservative estimate put the earnings at ten million a year. In other words, the Empire had occupied a much smaller amount of the Arch duchy’s market than they had thought. A fact Xerte was very happy with.

The Archduchess had further told him that the new ‘power source’ could increase production by several times. A power source the Arch Duchy had now located. The fact that it was held by reclusive people made it hard, but it was possible.

The duchy was now on its way to be the economic power in the region. A position previously held by the Confederacy. Xerte knew that most of what was discussed today were deals previously held by the Confederacy.

The deals had given far less output at the same cost, a reason he was sure contributed to the Empire’s willingness to work with the Arch Duchy. The Arch Duchy was a far more trustworthy partner than the Confederacy.

“So, shall we sign?” the Princess asked.

“I apologize, but no. The signing will have to be done by the Archduchess. Perhaps we can arrange a date?” Xerte said, smiling.

The Archduchess was working on breaking through one of her staff’s seals and hunting some Treeling beasts down to level up into the Tree stage. And she had received a whole lot of Qi from introducing him and every cultivator in the Arch Duchy to a very fascinating thing: numeration.