The meeting came to an end sooner than I expected. It was pointless to thoroughly discuss a business plan before the trade agreement came into effect and so far, there were no signs of any new laws.

During our discussions, I found out that the invitees were all sceptical of Richard’s business plan. I was the only one who fully supported him since I was already aware of the future. I barely even listened to the discussions since I was not very familiar with the terms he used. Regardless of what his plans were, I was ready to invest a portion of my savings.

The others looked down on me because of my young age. I was just twenty-three years old and compared to them, I was indeed inexperienced when it came to business. The meeting was not very productive, but its original purpose was not to start a business but to get acquainted with each other. I was seen as the naïve rookie who was here just for the points I earned at the House of Fortune. Robb was the confident but unreliable information broker of the group. Tesha was labelled as the pragmatic and picky person nobody wanted to argue with. Joey was the coolheaded guy who always acted in a friendly and supportive way while Choumka was the crazy superstitious Wildman who would rather trust the spirits of his ancestors than make use of deductive reasoning. This was the group of investors Richard gathered for his business.

We decided to call it a day to give everyone enough space to think things through. Another meeting would be arranged as soon as the new laws would come into effect.

I left the Spatial Bank with Robb and headed back to the Healing Temple. There were no healers accompanying us on the surface, but I suspected that a few men were keeping their eyes on us.

“What did you think of this meeting?” Robb struck up a conversation.

“It went as I thought it would. There is nothing much we can do before the Union passes the trade agreement. This was more of an attempt at building a network.”

“Right. Did you enjoy playing the innocent rookie? If I did not recall how we first met, even I might have fallen for your act.”

“I don’t have any bad intentions in doing so. I just want things to go on as if I was not here in the first place. Besides, I am really clueless when it comes to business.” I replied, shrugging my shoulders.

“Hmmp. Who would believe these words?”

“That’s up to you. But you should also work on getting your information tips right.”

Robb clicked his tongue, unhappy that I raised this point. “I do what I can, but you know it’s not easy.”

“Do you have any news about Park Sungjun? I haven’t heard from him recently.”

“He’s doing fine. He advanced to the first circle and has been spending some time outside the Healing Temple acting as bait. Apparently, he volunteered for it. I think he is looking for his parents and the people he cares about.”

‘Looking for his parents?’ I fell silent as Robb spoke. ‘That’s right. He is someone who relied on his parents on Earth and should be very attached to them. But… Even though his situation is quite good here, as a first circle creature, he won’t be able to save them. It’s funny how I told him to endure but I myself am not willing to take it down quietly anymore…’

“I wish him luck, but I also hope he won’t do something stupid in the process.”

The Healing Temple came into view. Robb and I went separate ways, returning to our respective halls. I had a practice session arranged with Eliss; It was high time to learn a different formula. I had more or less mastered the Healing Potion and only needed to practice to improve my success rate.

“You are finally here.” The dark elf greeted me coldly.

“Apologies. It took a little bit longer than usual.”

“Hmmp. I already opened the grimoire at the right page. Have a look at the formula. We’ll start in a few minutes when I’m done with this.” Eliss said as she shifted her attention back to her cauldron.

I felt that my mentor was not in a good mood, but she was never in a good mood whenever she was brewing. I glanced at the grimoire; the title of the page was Flame Potion. It was a rather common potions which could be described as a Cocktail Molotov. However, as a Fire element user, I never used that potion in my past life.

The ingredients were quite common and were all related to the fire element in some way. Salamander’s Blood, Ashes of a Plume, the Egg Shells of a Flame Lizard, a pair of Volcanic Orchids… The list went on.

I took the initiative to start preparing the materials. The instructions were quite detailed since the Flame Potion was also considered as a beginner potion; the formula has been refined countless times already.

Eliss joined me a few minutes later and started questioning me about the ingredients. It was the usual procedure and I was already used to it. We got all the materials prepared for three whole batches of potions. Since I would be the one brewing, Eliss was expecting a lot of failures.

However, before I could get to work, the green gem on the door started flashing. Eliss frowned and put down the knife she was holding. “Who is it? Do they not see that the red gem is lit up?”

She grumpily made her way to the door while I took control of the cauldron and increased the heat flow. I heard the door creak and Eliss snapped unhappily. “What? Do you not see that I do not want to be disturbed?”

“Still as short tempered as before, Eliss. I came to see you after so long and this is how you greet an old friend?”

I froze in place as the person’s voice echoed through the laboratory. It was a voice I heard before, but it was not one I recalled fondly.

“Keera? Hmmp. Since when were we friends? What do you want?”

I raised my head and glanced at the door. There, I saw the person I least wanted to meet in the Healing Temple. The speaker was none other than the succubus who approached me on my first night at the Healing Temple.

Our eyes met, sending a chill down my spine. The succubus winked seductively as she waved at me. “Are you not going to let me inside? Do you want the entire Medical Hall to hear what I came here for?” Keera said with a chuckle.

Eliss remained silent. Her eyes turned cold, but she nevertheless took a step back and allowed the succubus inside her lab. The closed the door behind her and glared at Keera. “Now, speak. What do you want?”

Keera walked inside and looked around her with interest. “You are doing quite well for yourself.” She said teasingly. Her tail danced around as her long slender legs moved toward me, lifting up her skirt just enough to attract my attention.

“I am not here for you but rather, to speak with your student. I asked around and found that he was in your lab, so I had no choice but to disturb you.”

“And what do you want from my student?” Eliss asked, crossing her arms.

“I am just here to ask him a few questions. I had to return to Tussock just for this.” She said in a sultry voice. Then, she turned her attention toward me. “Did you miss me, little man?”

“Gulp.” I nervously took a step back, avoiding her gaze. I looked at Eliss, pleading for help before the succubus started using her Charm on me again.

“Keera. Please stop. I don’t mind what you do outside but do not do that sort of things here and leave my student alone. If you suck him dry, how are we supposed to get any work done?” The dark elf came to my rescue with a frustrated expression.

“Oh? Did I scare you? Don’t worry. I won’t try to do anything. To be honest, the last time I did it with him, it was quite disappointing and if it was not for the large amount of vitality he had, I would not even have been interested in him. Humans are quite disappointing when it comes to sex you know?” The succubus said teasingly.

I did not know how to feel about her statement. Was I really that bad? Nevertheless, I was relieved that she would not make another move on me. “Then, what do you want to ask?” I cautiously asked.

“Just a simple question. You attracted the attention of the city hall recently and they requested me to ask you a simple question. Have you used a pearl before?”

“A pearl?” I blurted out, confused by her strange question.

“Yes. A pearl. Have you used one recently?” The succubus pushed again.

“What kind of pearl?” I did not recall coming across any pearls over the past few weeks. Although I did not perfectly remember the events on the zeroth floor, I did not recall seeing any treasures in the form of a pearl there.

“I don’t know. It can be any kind of pearl. Maybe a jewellery that contains a pearl? Or it can be a piece of equipment?” Keera said with a thoughtful expression.

I scratched my head confusedly. “Sorry. But I really cannot remember using any pearls since I came into the tower. And even before that, I probably haven’t since I do not come from a wealthy family.”

The succubus seemed disappointed. I could tell from the way her tail dropped down. “Is that so? I guess the city lord was just making a fuss about it.”

“If there is nothing else, I will politely ask you to leave now.” Eliss said impatiently.

Keera quickly hid her disappointment and displayed a playful expression. “Are you kicking me out already, Eliss? Do you not miss me?”

“Who misses you? Just go away now. You are delaying my experiments!” The dark elf said as her face gradually reddened.

“Fine. I will leave. I’m sure we’ll get to talk very soon. After all, the class reunion is going to take place in a few months.” The succubus blew a kiss at Eliss before running away, filling the corridor with her giggles.

I remained silent as the dark elf closed the door behind her and let out an exasperated sigh. “That annoying succubus is finally gone.”

I focused on my work and allowed the flustered Eliss to return to her usual self. It was the first time I saw my teacher acting this way. I could tell that she knew the succubus, but I could not determine what their relationship was. I kept my head down and silently followed the instructions written in the grimoire.

The atmosphere remained tense throughout the entire brewing session. And it did not help that I failed all three attempts I had. When it was time to clean, I finally asked the question that has been burning my lips.

“Eliss. Who was that succubus and how do you know each other?”

“Oh?” The dark elf’s expression hardened. After an awkward silence and intense stare, she finally replied. “She’s someone I know from Vanaheim. We both graduated in the same year. You can say that we used to be friends but eventually we took our own paths and moved toward different goals.”

“…”

I left soon after cleaning up and went straight to my room to take a power nap. The day felt more draining than usual.

‘Vanaheim… The main academy of the Union where talented youngsters of all races gathered to learn about spells and other race-exclusive skills. Both Eliss and the succubus graduated from there, meaning that they should be the strongest members of their generation.’

‘The succubus is called Keera and she came back to ask me a very odd question. What did she mean by using a pearl? As far as I am aware, there are no treasures like that in the tower.’

‘She mentioned the city lord which probably means that she is here because of my previous actions. I might have attracted undesired attention.’

‘The conundrum is surfacing once again… To either live peacefully but remain at the bottom of society at the mercy of others or to grow in strength and risk attracting the ire of the people at the top who will feel threatened…’

…

At the city hall, Keera yawned impatiently as she faced Amber, the city lord. The latter was reading through important documents about the work done by the new guards sent by the Union. Eventually, she took off her glasses and looked at the succubus.

“Sorry for the delay. Did you complete your task?” She asked calmly.

Keera nodded casually and took off her necklace. “Here you go. Everything is recorded in there. You can check his reaction, but I don’t think he lied or tried to hide something when he looked confused. What kind of question is that anyway?”

Amber took the necklace and closed her eyes to focus on the enchantment. The scene that took place inside Eliss’ laboratory played inside her mind. She focused her attention on the human and played the scene a few times.

“He seems genuinely confused. He may not be the person the council is looking for. I personally don’t understand the meaning behind this question, and I guess only the person involved and the elders would understand.”

“Tssk. Why did these old men not move their ass to see for themselves? They could have confirmed if it was him directly.” Keera said as she lazily leaned to the side.

“I guess they themselves don’t know who the person they are looking for exactly is. They told us to keep an eye out for the humans who stand out and considering the situation, there are hundreds of humans who could meet the criteria. For now, I’ll tell the guards to monitor the human. Maybe he is just good at hiding his thoughts. You can go back now. Thank you for taking care of this task.”

“It’s fine. I can go inside the Healing Temple thanks to my sister but don’t ask me to hurt anyone in there.”