Elder Thaddeus looked at Will and said, "Oh yes, he talks incessantly. Archimedes is my familiar. We bonded during my second year at the Mage Academy. He belongs to a race of dire beasts. I must admit he's getting lazy and senile in his old age. But, he likes you," Elder Thaddeus said.

"What do mean he's a dire beast?" Will asked nervously.

"What do I mean, mean I what I said, he is a dire beast. Although he's shrunk himself, he'd be too large to fit in my cottage otherwise. His race is similar to the panther you helped kill. But his race doesn't have spots," Elder Thaddeus responded calmly.

Will thought about his past interactions with Archimedes where he felt he was being watched. Then he remembered those times when Elder Thaddeus was gone, was Archimedes his babysitter? The thought made him chuckle.

"Will these letters are for you; they came in your absence. After you read these letters, I want to hear about your trip," he handed Will the letters before heading to his room to rest.

Will sat down at the table, he glanced at Archimedes who laid on the table stretched out not bothering to return Will's eye contact.

Will looked at the letters, besides the letter from Mei that Vanessa gave him, there were letters from his parents, his siblings, and Mr. Murphy.

For Will, business always came first. On Earth, his family accused him of putting them second to his work. Will enjoyed his work, it was his solace, a place of enjoyment. He enjoyed the competition, the chaos, the constant dog-eat-dog mentality. Will enjoyed watching the Chief Operation Officer, and Chief Financial Office dukes it out to be his replacement, sabotaging each other and himself. They enjoyed the young hot-shot employees ruthlessly climbing to the top. But mostly he enjoyed knowing that he was top, dominating everyone. He also enjoyed acquisitions and mergers, seeing his company dominate others, the stock market, becoming a behemoth that terrorized smaller competitors.

But, that was then. Now, Will didn't have any economic competitors. Other than the Merchant Guild master, no other businessman as he equaled. The Tribal Lands were worse than Fermion in terms of well-off business. Everyone only cared about unrivaled strength. To them Will was odd. However, Will would eventually show them the power of economics. The power that came with a surplus of money. His unmatched funds would soon be able to direct or change civil policy.

Will knew Fermion's constant warring had to take a toll on its treasury. Surely, his father's barony wasn't the only one suffering. I'm sure the crown was feeling pressure to focus on other civil policies, but war hawks always seem to squawk the loudest.

Will opened the letters from Mei, there were a little over 10 letters. The letters read like a diary, about her time in the capital, details about the businesses, profits, new house, and peerage. Mei discussed her arrival to the capital, her meeting with the capital's land office, who was not happy to deal with an intermediary but complied all the same. Mr. Murphy's letter seems to smooth over the perceived insult. Will learned that the king was happy to receive the injection of money, and discounted the price of some property held in ownership by the crown. Mei was only able to buy property owned by the royal family. The royal family owned the majority of property in the capital. Mei purchased several properties outside the noble district. Unlike the City of Guidon which is shaped like a four-point star, the Fermion's capital is shaped like a circle, similar to Rijilr. Shops, crafters are sprinkled all over the capital.

Based on Will's reading, he knew Fermion's capital Yorkshire, is split in half by a river running north to south. The castle sits atop a plateau in the middle of the city. Outside the castle walls, is the noble district. The noble district is a walled area where noble residences and businesses are located. Only the noble district and the castle are encased by tall, thick walls. Most of the city is open roads line through, and zigzag around the capital. The poor live the furthest from the castle, and rental prices increase the closer to the castle. Only the royal family and nobles may purchase land.

In her letters, Mei was able to purchase two blocks of the property leading to the noble district and capital. As did as Will instructed and bought the property from other shop owners and renters. People were happy to accept the coin and run, allowing Will to purchase those buildings. The letters detail the progress of demolishing buildings and constructing the café, casino, and theatre. There was even land available for other ventures, which pleaded Will. Mei was certainly worth her contract price; Will could see why the Merchant Guild considered her the best.

In Mei's letter, she sent copies of the contracts with the crafters and staff. She even mailed Will blueprints and construction documents, so he could see how each building was designed. Will approved everything, the theatre and casino were more ornate than the one in Guidon. Gold inlets were used excessively in both buildings, but considering the discounted property price, was within the budget. Mei's letters also detail the discount she received from the crafter's guild who saw this as an opportunity to build a relationship with Will.

Usually, property in the capital is more expensive than anywhere else in the country. But according to Mei's letter she only needed the 100,000-gold promissory note from the king to purchase the buildings, construction, crafters, and staff contracts. It was obvious the king was happy Will used the promissory note in the capital. Not only did the king save money, but he was also able to unload some abandoned unsightly properties close to the capital.

To express his gratitude, when he heard Mei was looking at purchasing an estate for Will, he gifted Will a mansion in the noble district. Moreover, considering Will's growing sums of gold, the king proclaimed him a baronet, with his instillation ceremony set for during the fall harvest festival. Traditionally, most successful merchants were given the minor peerage baronet. Most successful merchants were the second or third sons of lords.

Mei's last letter arrived just before he returned to Guidon. The letter stated that the café was operational and doing well, but the casino and theatre were still under construction. She finished her last letter saying she gifted the Church of Gaia 100,000 in gold, which was leftover after property, the construction cost, and staff contracts. Will spit out his tea, 100,000 gold! He thought she donates a most 10,000 gold or less. Wasn't that too much?! Didn't she think that donation was too excessive, why would she donate that much? For a second Will thought about firing her, but then he realized she followed Will's instruction to the letter. It was his fault, next time he would but a spending limit. The letter went on to say, the Church of Gaia was thrilled, that was the single largest donation. Moreover, Cardinal Slyvia vont Gaius invited Will to tea after his peerage ceremony. For believers to meet a cardinal was a high honor. Cardinals were considered a god's oracle. For Will to have earned this, not easily attainable honor, is something the king and high nobles would take note of. Will's fame in the capital was creating a backlash, some thought his rise was a little too sudden.

Will put down Mei's letters. He wrote back that she had done a phenomenal job, and he would visit the capital during the fall harvest. He looked forward to touring the businesses and meeting the staff. Then he laid out his plans for new bank business and stressed all the profit should be stored in this building. He also asked her to line up any potential bank tellers and money lenders for his fall visit. He folded the paper into an envelope and sent it off to the side.

Next, he opened the letter from his parents, he read his father's letter first. James vont Ballard wrote the barony and his treasury was in better shape. He thanked his son for his assistance. His father wrote the soybean experts from the empire had arrived, were extremely fussy. Although, the experts were happy with the warehouse, and the coin Will left behind to construct the machinery and facilities needed for production.

The soybean farms and farmhouses were finished, and the families moved in. James wrote whenever he toured the town, he received lots of gratitude. The farmers were particularly happy, the crops this year looked larger, healthier, and more plentiful. Overall, the barony was doing well. His father swore to send another letter once the experts had finished construction, and he promised to pay for any additional coin. He ended, by encouraging Will to focus on his schoolwork and leave the merchanting for the weekends.

Letter from Will's mother, Helen vont Ballard, addressed his lack of a fiancée. As promised, her letter contained the names of five women, who met her approval. Their fathers and James had spoken and agreed to introduce their children. Will would be required to meet each woman this year. Of the women Will was expected to meet, one was a mage, two were cadets, two were a merchant's daughter. However, Kathryn's requested Will date her fiancée's sister. Which meant Will was scheduled to go on six dates not five.

The mage, was regretfully Elizabeth vont Whitby, the strange daughter of the duke. The two cadets were the second year like Will but in different classes, he met them in Death Valley. One was Guardian's Guild, and the other was in Valkyrie. The two merchant's daughters lived in the capital, guessed he would meet them this fall. The last was Katheryn's fiancée sister, the daughter of a count. After Elizabeth, the count's daughter had the highest rank. Both merchants were baronets, Will would certainly look into their business holdings. The last two women one was the daughter of a viscount, and the other was a baron.

Will put marriage on the back burner, he secretly wondered how long he could hold his mom off. Helen was adamant that Will start courting before he left the academy. Will wondered how this would change once she found out about his upcoming peerage installation ceremony?

The next letter was from Jason. Based on the cumulation of dust, it looked like this letter arrived the earliest. The letter mostly talked about his time as captain, and as the Death Valley commander. Jason's also complimented Will on his decisiveness during the beat tide and success as quartermaster. Jason told Will; he received several compliments from the soldiers stationed at Death Valley fort. Jason also thanked Will for reinforcing the fort's walls.

Will noticed there wasn't any information about the upcoming war. Will wondered by Jason did not send any information, but he worried about him. Will wrote back congratulating Jason on his promotion to captain, their mother's nagging about Will getting an engaged, and asked if there was any information on the upcoming war.

Rebecca's letter was about how much she missed Will and couldn't wait until she returned, then they could hug for as long as he wanted. Rebecca talked about her baptism, and her sun goddess tattoo of Aether's favorite daughter something or other. Will breezed through Rebecca's letter, not paying too much attention. Rebecca spoke vaguely about her training as a Sacred Temple disciple. Her letter didn't describe the temple, rather her emotions seeing and being in the temple. From what Will gathered from the library, the temple was a ruin from the past. The Church of Aether built its cathedral on top of the temple ruin.

Rebeca would return to campus soon, so there was no point to respond.

The letter from Marcus was the second smallest. Marcus said he was recruited to join the army as a scout after Will left the barony. Several adventures were taking jobs as scouts, and his effort during the beast wave served as a good reference apparently to get them recruited. He mentioned that Fermion and Albania stopped sending troops to the border, mostly due to the harvest season being two months away. During harvest season, infantry soldiers from rural families would leave to help gather the crops. Best guess the war would start after spring planting season ended. He told Will to pay close attention to the news, and not to reply to the letter because it would never reach him.

The smallest letter came from Kathryn, his prissy sister he saw the least. He was amazed she sent him a letter. Of course, all the talking about was his courting and engagement. Why was she acting like his mother? She sent him instructions on how to court, where to go, what questions to ask, and faux pas. She especially asked him to be respectful toward to soon to be sister-in-law. Will replied with a generic thank you letter.

Will left the cottage with letters in tow headed to the courier station, and then off to the Merchant Guild to see his favorite person Mr. Murphy.