When I woke up the next day, I was shocked to see all my puppets crowded inside my cave. Usually, there was only one of them waiting by my side every morning, which I always assumed was the one responsible for watching over me while I slept. My puppets were overprotective like that, especially Taloress. I recalled the time when I woke up to find her face inches from mine and I ended up accidentally slapping her on the cheek. It didn't really do any physical damage, although Taloress ended up sulking throughout the day after that one.

“What's wrong? Why're you guys all here?” I asked groggily as I sat up from my bed. I didn't detect any suspicious movements in my fabric sense, so I wasn't worried that much.

We saw the panther last night, Mr. Marion said.

I immediately froze. “In our territory?”

Just outside of it, Master. In the southeast.

“We haven't scouted that area yet, have we? I think it would be prudent if we start mapping out that part of the forest soon. I don't want that damn panther skulking around my territory,” I grumbled. “And stop calling me Master, it sounds cringy. Just call me Brogen or something.”

All my puppets gasped at me after I said that last sentence, much to my confusion. I felt waves of discomfort and incredulity coming off from my puppets. What the hell is wrong with them..?

There's no way we can call Master by His first name! Taloress exclaimed. We do not deserve such honor!

I almost chuckled at Taloress' overdramatic response, but when I felt their genuine discomfort, I realized she wasn't joking.

“What do you mean you can't?! I don't like being called ‘Master!’ It's embarrassing!”

Master is Master, Taloress said with a deep nod of her head as if she just uncovered a truth of the universe. The rest of my puppets nodded as well, much to my disbelief.

I spent the next few minutes trying to convince my puppets to call me by my first name, but in the end, they proved too stubborn.

“You all call me Master but still have the galls to be disobedient,” I grumbled underneath my breath. “Fine, if that's what you want to call me, then go ahead. Nobody can hear you anyway, so at least I won't get embarrassed in front of other people.”

Massster is too huuumble, Spider said.

“Yeah, yeah, let's just get a move on. We have a busy day ahead of us.”

My plan for today was to visit Wildpost again so I could sell my clothes, as well as buy the leather I needed from Luth so I could start making Belka's armors. The latter was a bit iffy since I didn't have much cash on hand right now, so I'll have to make sure I get to sell some of my clothes. If I end up short on money, then I'll have no choice but to go to the Chief and ask him for his first installment. I didn't want to act like a loan shark, but if I'm left with no choice, I'd have to do it.

Since Spider wouldn't be able to come with us, what with his scary appearance, I delegated him with the task of guarding our home while the rest of us were away. His tentacles wriggled in joy when I gave him the important task.

When I finished packing my wagon with the goods, I bid goodbye to Spider and left with the rest of my puppets for Wildpost.

●●●

When I arrived in Wildpost, the first thing that greeted me was the new gate that replaced the one that got ruined by the monster attack. Unlike the previous gate that was built simply of wood, the new one was reinforced with cast iron, improving its defensive capability by several-fold. Not only that, the front gate was currently swarming with workers as they worked on a construction project. When I asked one of them, they said they were turning the regular bridge into a drawbridge. Now that's impressive.

“Good morning Mr. Marion! Long time no see!” a familiar voice called out. With my body encased inside Mr. Marion, I looked up at the girl waving at me from the watchtower.

“Morning, Selise! I missed you too!” I called back to the cheerful girl as I guided Clip and Clop towards the entrance. Much to my surprise, some of the villagers greeted me warmly as I passed by them. Most of them simply nodded in my direction, but there were a few who shot me radiant smiles. That's when I realized that they were the ones who I healed when they were still injured. Looks like my plan to develop a positive relationship with the villagers is a success.

The trip through the village this time was the complete opposite of when I first arrived here. The villagers would nod at my passing, their stares no longer cold and in reproof. It was a big improvement that made my spirits soar and would have kept me in a good mood all day if not for the two people I saw when I arrived in the village center.

In front of Mr. Bersk's smithery, Kazimir and Samantia stood patiently as they knocked on the door, although judging from the constant hammering noises inside, Mr. Bersk didn't hear it. What the fuck are they doing here?!

As I readied myself in the event that they tried to kill me again, I realized that the other villagers shopping around were staring at the Night Wardens coldly, just like how they did when I first arrived here. In any other circumstance, I would have rejoiced in seeing my two enemies being ostracized, but I had to sell my clothes today if I wanted to buy leather from the old bastard Luth. The problem was, my spot was right beside Mr. Bersk's smithery. If I went there, Kazimir and Samantia would immediately recognize me. Should I postpone it for another day..?

Before I could make a decision, Samantia looked around warily at the crowd of villagers staring at them coldly when her gaze landed on me. I saw her body immediately freeze, moving only a second later to tap Kazimir on the shoulder before pointing at me. The man looked over, a brief expression of pure fear passing over his face when he saw me, but for some inexplicable reason that I did not and will never understand, he forced a smile and waved at me. “Mr. Marion!”

I don't fucking know you! Stop acting like we're close friends! I cried mentally as the crowd of villagers looked at me with their assessing gazes. I don't know this man, I swear!

“You know them, Mr. Marion?” a man standing beside my wagon asked. I forgot his name, but I remembered him as one of the people I treated. He was the one with three ingrown toenails.

I considered lying, but with how Kazimir was waving at me repeatedly with a forced smile that looked more like he was baring his teeth, I decided to tell a part of the truth. The last thing I wanted was to lose the trust of the villagers that I worked so hard to build. “They gave me a visit last week, asking around about a ‘necromancer.’ They must have suspected me, but no worries! The misunderstanding is already cleared up.”

Some of the villagers around me had guilty looks on their faces after they heard what I said, probably because they were the ones that propagated the rumors in the first place. Yeah, that's right, have some shame! Because of you, I had to fight off two goddamn Night Wardens!

“I'm glad it's all cleared up then,” the man said before leaning in to whisper something. “Just be careful around them, Mr. Marion. Night Wardens are radical pieces of shit. You're lucky they're newbies. If it was some older Night Warden, they would have cut you down right there and then, no questions asked.”

I wanted to tell him that they did, in fact, attack my home the moment they arrived at my cave with no questions asked. They didn't even bother waiting for me to come back before they started defiling Mom's grave. “Thanks for the advice. Don't worry, I'll be able to handle them.”

The man's eyes brightened before he started whispering to the other villagers. “Hey, Mr. Marion says he'll handle the Night Freaks! There's no need to worry!”

What the hell is this dude going on about?!

“Thanks, Mr. Marion. We didn't know how to handle those two when they came to the village claiming they were here for an investigation,” the man said as he turned back to me. “Nobody wants a Night Fre— I mean, a Night Warden around. We're glad you offered to get them out of here.”

I stared at the man with a stupefied expression. Since when did I say that I was going to drive them out of the village?! When I said ‘I'll be able to handle them,’ I meant that in terms of combat!

My spirits fell when I saw the crowd of villagers slowly disperse as they nodded at me, thanking me for offering to handle the two new outsiders in their village. I even heard an old woman mutter that her worries were laid to rest now that the “funny-looking mage” was going to handle the situation. How the hell did I end up with this responsibility..?

I glared at the back of the man who spread the misunderstanding, but he didn't notice it. I sighed in exasperation. Why does this village have to distort everything they hear?

I grumbled underneath my breath as I parked my wagon in my spot. When I arrived, Kazimir hesitantly approached me, Samantia trailing behind him while glaring at me with suspicion. “Er, is your Master with you?” Kazimir asked me. He probably thought he was only talking to my puppet.

“Yes, I'm here,” I answered in my own voice, startling the two, before adding with a low voice, “I'm inside my puppet.”

“O-Oh, that makes sense,” Kazimir muttered.

“So, what the hell are you two doing here? I told you to go, but why are you staying in this village so close to my home? Do you still intend to kill me?” I asked coldly.

“What? No!” Kazimir exclaimed. “We're just staying here because I still need to recover.”

Kazimir explained the rest of his plan to me, which admittedly made sense. I would have been touched by the man's sincerity when he kept his promise, but I was still bitter about everything that happened between us. “Couldn't you just stay somewhere else? Nobody wants you here, and the villagers think I'm here to drive the both of you out of the village.”

“Where do you expect us to stay?” Samantia said bitterly, although she didn't look at my face. “This is the Wild Woods. Nowhere is safe except for the walled villages. You can't expect us to just camp out there in the forest for weeks.”

I was about to say that I camped out in the Wild Woods for weeks during my travels and that it wasn't so bad when I heard Taloress' voice in my mind. Heh, that's because they don't have loyal servants that would protect them during the night!

Wait a minute, that was the reason why no monster attacked me during the latter half of my journey?! I asked mentally.

At first, Tedd and I were the only ones present to guard you, Master, so some monsters still managed to disturb your sleep, Mr. Marion replied. But when you created Spider and Taloress, they were able to guard you all night.

So that's what they've been doing while I was asleep! Wow. Thanks, everybody. You guys are the best.

I felt immense joy radiating from my puppets, but my reverie was interrupted when Samantia cleared her throat after I went silent all of a sudden.

“Fine, if you want to stay here, then go ahead,” I said with a wave of my hand. “It's not like I get to dictate what you do. But don't come asking for my help when the villagers cause you trouble. Blame that on the Night Wardens' reputation.”

Kazimir chuckled sheepishly. “Actually, we were hoping you could help us with something…”

I sighed. I knew it was coming.

In the end, I decided to help Kazimir and Samantia with their problem since their presence was affecting my business. Nobody would come anywhere near my wagon if those two loitered nearby.

When I asked what their problem was, it turned out they wanted to avail of Mr. Bersk's services to get Kazimir's sword repaired, which had been damaged severely during our battle. When he showed me the nicks and chips on the blade, I was surprised. It seems that my overloaded fabrics were enough to chip even metal.

“So what do you need my help for?” I asked in confusion. “Do you need me to hold your hand while you ask the blacksmith to fix your sword?”

“Our problem is that the blacksmith is giving us the cold shoulder,” Kazimir replied. “We've been knocking on his door for several minutes now and he's not coming out to entertain us.”

“Have you tried opening the door?” I asked flatly.

“Er, can we just go in without permission?” Kazimir asked sheepishly.

I sighed, strode over to Mr. Bersk's smithery, and opened the door before calling out to the large man and his apprentice inside. “Mr. Bersk! You've got a customer!”

The large man nodded at me and gestured at his apprentice to go handle it as he continued hammering away.

“There, that wasn't so hard now, was it?” I said as Kazimir peeked in through the door shyly. “Mr. Bersk wasn't giving you the cold shoulder, he just can't hear you through the loud noises.”

“Thanks, Mr. Marion. Say, can we speak after this?”

“I think I've already had my fair share of conversations with Night Wardens that tried to kill me,” I responded before walking back to my wagon. “I'd appreciate it if the both of you left me alone. I just want my peace, and your presence is ruining it.”

I felt Samantia's glare at my back as I walked away, but I didn't pay it any heed.

●●●

“Why do you even bother trying to speak with that boy?” Samantia grumbled at her partner.

“Just because we set off on the wrong foot doesn't mean we can no longer befriend him, Samantia,” Kazimir said as he handed his sword to the blacksmith's apprentice. “Good day, sir. I'd like to have my sword repaired. Do you guys work with silver?”

“Ah, a sword for taking down werewolves and vampires, I take it?” the apprentice asked as he received the sword. “I only have experience in working steel, but Master should be able to do it, although that would mean you'd have to wait several days for it. We're swamped with orders, you see.”

“That'll be fine. How much would it cost?” Kazimir asked.

“That'll depend on how much silver Master would need to use to repair your weapon, but it shouldn't be too expensive. It shouldn't exceed fifteen silvers, although that's just a rough estimate.”

“Alright, then we'll come back in a few days,” Kazimir said before leaving the smithery, Samantia following behind him as they walked towards the guesthouse that the Chief had lent them.

“It's not like we need to befriend that little monster,” Samantia said in a low voice, continuing their earlier conversation. “I say we just cut off all ties with him and forget everything that's happened.”

“I don't see any harm in making friends with that boy. Sure, he looks like an evil doll come to life, but he seems like a good boy.”

“That's pretty rich coming from the person who was hellbent on killing him when we first arrived at that blasted cave,” Samantia muttered.

“Er, that's because we assumed that he was a necromancer, but it turns out he's just a young boy,” Kazimir said before his expression darkened. “But if he really was a necromancer, I wouldn't have even entertained the idea of talking to him.”

Samantia bristled uncomfortably at her partner's swift change in demeanor and decided to change the subject. “So what are we going to do in this village in the meantime?”

“Since we don't have much to do, I was thinking we could help around,” Kazimir replied. “That way, we can spend our time productively and help the villagers at the same time.”

“I doubt they would allow us to involve ourselves in their cute little community,” Samantia said bitterly as she recalled all the glares and scowls she received over the past week they'd been staying here. “Even the Chief is extremely wary of us, so I doubt he'll give us the opportunity to help.”

“That's why I've been adamant about befriending the boy,” Kazimir said. “Based on what I've seen so far, the villagers seem to love him. If we become friends with him, maybe the villagers would become more welcoming?”

Samantia snorted. “I didn't know you can be so manipulative.”

Kazimir glared at her. “What I'm trying to say is that there is legitimately no drawback in befriending the boy, but what confuses me more is why you're so adamant in refusing.”

Samantia scowled but did not reply. Kazimir sighed as they walked back to their guesthouse in silence.

●●●

Business wasn't doing so great. It wasn't like the first day when the villagers just stared at me from the distance. In fact, it was the complete opposite. From time to time, someone would come to my wagon to assess my products, their eyes widening in wonder when I explained to them the quirks of my clothes. Unfortunately, it always ended up with the same outcome: they would retreat in the face of my prices.

Unlike the clothes I used to sell back in Erfeld, everything I had now was made purely of monster materials, which was unavoidable since monsters were the only sources of fiber I had access to. Unfortunately, that resulted in a sharp increase in my prices which the villagers cannot match, and that was considering the fact that I already lowered them as much as possible. I gotta start rethinking my strategy.

If this trend goes on, my business would sink before it could even take off. I had to find a solution to my problem, and I thought of three ways I could solve it.

One, I could drop my prices to rock-bottom, matching them with the prices of clothes made of normal materials. It would drastically reduce my earnings, but at least I didn't spend anything to acquire the materials I needed. Although the issue I had with this idea was that it would take way too much effort to make so little money. It was too inefficient.

Two, I could try to find a new source of fibers that doesn't come from monsters. That would reduce the prices, but the problem was that we were in the middle of a forest. There are no cotton farms I could buy fibers from, and even if I could harvest fibers from the leaves of trees, they were more fitting as rope material rather than clothing.

That took me to my last solution: make regular trips to the nearest city and sell my products there. I would be able to sell my clothes there at full price, maybe even higher since the people there are bound to be richer. But I didn't intend to go to the city until I developed a stable base of operations here. A company needed a headquarters, and if I wanted to start one, I would have to establish my base first instead of going around like a traveling merchant. This is quite a dilemma.

As I pondered my options, a wagon even larger than mine drove into the village center, pulled not by horses, but by two large furry animals that looked like bisons, only double the size. On the driver's seat was a cheerful-looking little man who guided the oversized bisons over to the smithery.

As the large mammals passed me by, the little man gave me a cheerful wave and stopped his wagon in front of mine. “Well, hello there! This is the first time I've seen you 'round here. The name's Kane Swiller, traveling merchant. Nice to meet you!”

“Oh, nice to meet you as well,” I greeted awkwardly. I didn't expect him to stop right in front of me and greet me directly. “My name's Mr. Marion, Clothes Master and Aficionado, and also a former traveling merchant.”

“A fellow traveler, eh?” Kane said. “Then I guess you decided to retire out here in Wildpost? If you did, then I assure you that you made the right choice!”

I highly doubted his latter sentence after everything I've been through after getting here, but I opted to stay silent about that. “That reminds me… Your surname sounds quite familiar. Are you perhaps related to Ms. Kath?”

“Ah! So you've already met my Ma!” Kane exclaimed with an awkward chuckle. “I may not look like it, but I'm her son through and through! I never had any interest in alchemy though, so I didn't follow in her footsteps. Instead, I became a traveling merchant, although I don't do much ‘traveling’ anymore. These days, I just make regular round-trips between Wildpost and Halros. I sell Ma's potions in the city and then buy things there that I could sell back here in Wildpost, usually ore for the Head Blacksmith. It's a pretty calm but lucrative business.”

After hearing Kane's words, a great idea that could solve my problem suddenly popped into my mind. “Say, are you interested in making a deal with me? You see, I'm having a bit of a problem…”

I explained my dilemma to Kane and made my offer.

“So you want me to buy your products, which I can then sell in the city for a higher price?” Kane asked doubtfully. “No offense, Mr. Marion, but there are plenty of clothing stores in the city already with established reputations. I don't mean to disparage your work, but I don't see a possibility where people would prefer to buy your products when there are other well-known stores available.”

I chuckled merrily. “Ah, but that's because you haven't seen any of my products yet, Mr. Kane. Here, come take a look.”

My stock of clothes was mostly for practical uses, but I did make some that focused more on style rather than practicality. With a flourish, I picked a hanger from the rack behind me without bothering to look since I knew which clothing was which with my fabric sense anyway.

Kane eyed the grayish-brown tweed coat I presented to him with a hint of amazement, but he tried to suppress it. Heh, you can't hide that expression from me. Everybody marvels at my works of art!

“So, what do you think?” I asked smugly.

“It's very good, yes, maybe even on par with the famous retail stores in Halros,” Kane admitted. “But I don't see how this would stand out among the large sea of fabulous clothing in the city.”

“Oh, I assure you it will stand out, Mr. Kane. You see, that tweed coat you're holding is made purely from a warg's fur.”

Kane's eyes widened like dinner plates as he gasped. “This is made of monster material?! But how?!”

“It's simple, really. I just had to spin the damnable wolves' fur into thread, weave them into fabrics, and sew away!” I said confidently.

“How much do you sell this coat for?” Kane suddenly asked with what I recognized as greed in his eyes. Despite the nice and friendly exterior, you're a true merchant deep inside, eh?

“That coat is actually worth at least a gold coin, but since nobody really has that kind of money around here, I've been selling it for twenty silvers.”

Kane laughed loudly. “Haha! That was a good one, Mr. Marion, but really, how much were you selling it for?”

“I wasn't joking, though,” I replied.

Kane's expression slowly turned horrified. “You're serious?”

“Yup.”

The greed in his eyes suddenly flared, and no matter how much he tried to hide it, it was as visible as daylight. “I'd like to take you up on your offer, Mr. Marion. A gold coin for every apparel made of monster material. Sounds good, yes?”

“Woah woah woah, take it easy, Mr. Kane, I'm not stupid,” I said as I snatched the tweed coat from his greedy hands which reflexively tried to hold on to it. “I know the worth of my own products, and I know they're worth more than a gold piece.”

In truth, I didn't actually know the real worth of my clothes, but he didn't need to know that.

“But you just said that coat was worth a gold coin earlier!” Kane exclaimed.

“I said they were at least worth a gold coin, but they're much more valuable than that and you know it.”

Kane grumbled under his breath. “So how much are you going to sell them for?”

“I'll sell you clothes made of monster materials for ten gold apiece,” I said while hoping that my blind guess wasn't too high a price.

“It's a reasonable price,” Kane said as he nodded. “But I'm afraid I can't agree on that. Please understand, Mr. Marion. Transporting all those products all the way to Halros have its own costs, and with merchandise this valuable, I'd need to hire professional guards who wouldn't backstab me for profits, and guards like those are expensive.”

“That's a fair point,” I said calmly, but deep inside, I was flabbergasted at the value of the clothes I've been churning out. I thought Kane would react dramatically to ten gold per clothing, but I didn't expect him to find it reasonable! “Alright, how about this? I have a hundred pieces of clothing with me right now, all of them made of monster materials, and if you buy all of them in bulk, I'll sell them to you with a ten percent discount.”

Kane's eyes widened again, and I swear he was cursing himself for failing to hide his emotions. “A hundred?! Where did you get all that from?!”

“That's a trade secret,” I said mysteriously.

“I-I'll need to inspect them first to see if they're the real deal,” Kane said in a fluster as he involuntarily rubbed his hands together like a moneygrubbing merchant. You're showing your true nature too much, little guy.

I agreed with Kane's request and let him inside my wagon to inspect my products. Every time he assessed one, he would never fail to gasp and caress my clothes like a creep. It was a disturbing sight to see, but the thought of selling all my clothes at once with a chunky profit was making me light-headed. Holy shit, am I going to get rich in one fell swoop?

After assessing my clothes, Kane requested that he bring one of my products over to his mother's lab so he could verify with alchemy that my clothes were the real deal, to which I agreed. Several minutes later, he came back with the brightest smile I'd ever seen. “Well, should we shake hands on it, Mr. Marion?”

“I'm glad you accepted my offer,” I said with the same level of enthusiasm as I offered my hand, which he shook so vigorously I thought he was going to pull Mr. Marion's arm off.

I'm not that fragile, Master, Mr. Marion muttered in my mind. Although I'll admit the little man is a bit too aggressive…

“So how are we going to handle the payment?” I asked.

“I will be paying you upfront, of course,” Kane said as he lifted the large, clinking bag of coins he had been carrying after he exited his mother's shop earlier. “I had to borrow from my Ma just so I could pay you in full, but here, nine hundred gold coins for a hundred clothes made of D-rank monster materials!”

My eyebrows rose. Nine hundred gold was a freaking fortune and this little guy just managed to borrow it from his mother? “Wow, you're mother must be quite rich to have that amount of money on hand.”

“It may not seem like it, but alchemy is one of the most lucrative businesses around,” Kane replied as he handed me the money.

My hands would have shaken in uncontrollable glee when I reached for the literal bag of gold, but thankfully, it wasn't my hands but Mr. Marion's. “Thank you for your patronage, Mr. Kane. I assume you'll want to take up my offer again next time?”

“How soon will you be able to procure this many clothes?” Kane asked enthusiastically. “My round trips usually take about five days. One day of travel to Halros, three days of selling in the city, then one day to go back to Wildpost. Sometimes, there are delays, so I would put my average round trips to take a week.”

“That's plenty of time for me to replenish my stocks by then,” I said confidently. Heck, I could multiply my stock several-fold during that time, but that would probably raise suspicions. “By the time you come back, you can expect another batch of clothing for you to buy, Mr. Kane.”

“I don't even know how to react at this point,” Kane muttered while shooting me a disbelieving look, although his lips twitched in anticipation.

With our deal settled, Kane bid me goodbye as he parked his wagon beside the smithery and called Mr. Bersk from within. They spoke for a bit before the large blacksmith opened Kane's wagon and began unloading crates of ore.

I left them to their own business as I closed the counter of my wagon. When I was sure that my puppets and I had some privacy, I hooted and hugged Taloress tightly. “We're rich! I can't believe it, but we're finally rich! Holy shit!”

Woohoo! Taloress cheered as well as we hugged and spun around.

I couldn't suppress the large smile that bloomed on my face. Now that I had this much money, it was time to establish my company.