The ear-splitting racket of shattering rock reverberated throughout the cave as my Force Drill ate away at the cavern walls as if they were made of soft butter. Thick plumes of dust flew everywhere as the drill spun, although they stopped short from reaching me thanks to the Force Shields I surrounded myself with. It wouldn't do to dirty my clothes with dust and debris.

Unfortunately for my puppets, they didn't have the same protection to keep the dust off their bodies. Their clothes were already caked with a thick layer of dust, but they made no complaint as they hauled large rocks out of the room. Mr. Marion and Taloress split their arms into numerous tentacles that each carried a large rock while Spider stuffed the smaller debris inside his gaping maw. With their strength and unlimited stamina, my puppets were able to move several tons of rocks every day, speeding up the renovations.

Only Tedd wasn't helping with the renovations since his body wasn't built for extraneous work, so I had him watching over the new tenants in my territory. He was to report any suspicious activity from the goblins and the dryads, but so far, the new tenants hadn't caused any problems yet.

As I continued drilling through hard rock, my mind wandered to the vast progress we made over the past week. After the goblins and dryads' arrival, no other disturbances happened, which allowed me to continue my work on the cave uninterrupted. I initially thought taking care of more than thirty people would multiply my work several-fold, but so far, my new tenants seemed capable of taking care of themselves.

Despite their numbers, the goblins consumed little food, which allowed my stock to last longer than I assumed. I thought my vast supply of meat under Preservation spells would last only a few days with thirty-two new mouths to feed, but it turned out goblins had efficient metabolisms, only requiring a little amount of food to sustain themselves. Coupled with the fact that they constantly hunted and foraged food like madmen, my supply would last for a long time even if I didn't send my puppets to hunt for more meat.

As for the dryads, they didn't require food at all, only needing water and sunlight to sustain themselves. When Wennena and Disserla came here, they brought their Hometrees as well, which were living trees that could move on their own, albeit slowly. It was the reason why they only came last week, long after I visited their Sanctuary, since they had to escort their slow-moving Hometrees through the Wild Woods.

When I asked more about it, it turned out the Hometrees were separate entities from the dryads. The dryads lived in a symbiotic relationship with their Hometrees since birth, although after a thorough observation by spying through Tedd's eyes, I realized their relationships with each other were more complicated than simple commensalism. From the few snippets of conversations I heard between the dryads, I learned that they treated their Hometrees as family.

Contrary to my expectations, the new tenants were well-behaved throughout the week. Aside from the single instance that I had to de-escalate an intense staring contest between Wennena and Zerza, the two groups kept to themselves. The goblins continued with their lives, foraging and building their camp in front of my cave, while the dryads stuck to their duties. Wennena, despite her hot temperament, obeyed my orders and kept constant guard on my territory, while Disserla…

Well, let's just say Disserla does what Stewards supposedly do. She wanders around the forest surrounding my home daily, tending to the trees and speaking to the small animals sweetly. It might be a charming scene to some, but to me, Disserla looked like a deranged lunatic speaking to imaginary friends. I didn't even know if that's what Stewards were supposed to do, although I didn't bother finding out. To each their own.

After a few more minutes, I finished the room I was working on and deactivated the Force Drill, assessing my work in the sudden silence. Despite the violent and imprecise nature of a drill, the walls of the new room were smoothly cut, thanks to my ability to fine-tune my spells. If I wanted to dig through rock quickly, I enlarged the drill and added numerous teeth on its surface to easily shatter stone. But when I was doing the finishing touches, I transformed the drill into a smaller one without teeth that was easier to manipulate, using the swiftly-rotating cone to smooth down the rock walls.

My ability to fine-tune spells wasn't limited to Force Drills but applied to my other spells as well. The constant use of my spells to renovate my cave over the past weeks, as well as my constant battles with all sorts of enemies, resulted in a significant increase in my magical control and spell-casting ability, which was a big boon. Spells felt easier to cast now, and my body didn't overheat that fast anymore, which meant my efficiency in casting spells improved.

But the best part was my mana pool. Since I was practically emptying my mana pool every day casting spells, my maximum mana increased significantly. I couldn't tell the exact numbers like a Mana Analyzer could, but nowadays, I had to exert serious effort if I wanted to empty my mana pool. I initially attributed the slow consumption of my mana to my much more efficient spellcasting, but when the difficulty in cloaking my aura started increasing, I realized my mana pool was increasing at a rapid rate.

Back when I was studying under Mother Betha in Erfeld, Liz and I constantly trained to cloak our aura by limiting the amount of mana that escaped our bodies. During those days, I could only cloak my aura for a few hours before I got tired, but over the weeks after leaving Erfeld, cloaking my aura became an unconscious task that I did at all times, just like breathing. But nowadays, limiting my aura was starting to get difficult. Proof that my mana pool was getting too large. Should I use that method of cloaking, then?

When Mother Betha first taught me how to limit the mana that my body emitted, I discovered that a mage's mana channels had thousands of tiny holes that constantly opened and closed, and a further discovery revealed to me that as an Ascendant, I could close those holes at will, neutralizing my aura and rendering me invisible from another person's mana sense. It was a surefire way to keep my steadily growing mana pool hidden, but I remembered Mother Betha's warning. Concealing my mana completely was basically announcing to everyone with mana sense that I was a mage. But what if I only close some of the holes?

I immediately began testing my theory, closing my eyes as I honed my focus on my mana circuit. I became more conscious of the mana flowing inside my channels as they made their journey throughout my body, accumulating in the three reservoirs located in my brain, heart, and bladder. They moved at a calm pace now that I wasn't casting magic.

I focused on the surface of my mana channels, examining the small holes that constantly opened and closed. There were thousands of them, leaking small amounts of mana that ended up forming my aura. With my enormous mana pool, the holes should have been gushing out mana like leaks from a high-pressure pipe, but thanks to my constant effort, they leaked just the right amount for a normal person.

I slowly exerted my will on the holes, closing them hundreds at a time. I expected a challenge since I was doing this for the first time, but I easily closed the holes I wanted without extra effort on my part. All I had to do was will it and the holes closed. After a few seconds, half of the holes were already closed, dimming the aura of mana around me.

I laughed like an idiot as my puppets hauled rocks out of the newly-carved room, pointedly ignoring me. All this time, I was limiting my aura with mana manipulation when I could have used this method instead! Granted, I didn't know back then that I could close only a portion instead of all of them, but I still couldn't help but grumble at the extra effort I had to do for the same result. Well, at least I got to train my mana manipulation skills to a fine point.

As I waited for my puppets to finish cleaning the room of rubble, I released my control over my mana to test the results of my discovery. Immediately, I felt the best sensation of my entire life as a constant burden on my mind lifted itself. Constantly limiting my aura was like wearing weights all over my body. I got used to them over time, but now that they were off, the relief I felt was almost incomparable to any other sensation I've ever felt.

But my relief was cut short when I suddenly felt my aura balloon quickly into an enormous sphere around me. I saw myself as a blazing fire in my mana sense, and if things went on as they were, even the goblins and dryads outside the cave would feel my aura even though they weren't mages.

I ignored my puppets who were staring at me in awe and quickly closed more of the holes on my mana circuit. By the time I closed more than seventy percent of them, my aura's growth slowed significantly, although it was still growing. I had to close about eighty percent of the holes just to stop my aura's growth completely, and ninety percent to make it shrink back to normal size.

When my aura finally returned to the same size as a normal human's, I breathed a sigh of relief. “It seems I may have underestimated my growth.”

That was the most glorious scene I've ever witnessed, Mr. Marion whispered as he looked at me in awe. Taloress and Spider were gawking as well, and I felt a fierce sense of worship in their emotions. It was pretty disturbing.

“Who knew my aura was actually that powerful? Good thing I didn't accidentally lapse in my mana manipulation while I traveled in the cities, or else we'd be neck-deep in trouble,” I said with a dry laugh.

People will look in awe when they see Your true power, Master, Taloress said excitedly. If they try to hurt Master, then that's because of jealousy.

If anybody triesss to hurt Massster, then they shall meet their end in my jawsss, Spider hissed as his tentacles wriggled.

“Enough of that nonsense, we still have some chores to do,” I said, although the corners of my lips quirked upwards at the recent events. I didn't realize that my power had actually grown this much, but the surprise was welcome.

As I entered Mr. Marion's body, my mind wandered to the things I could do with my growing power.

●●●

With our cave excavation activities done for the day, my puppets and I made our way outside. I assessed the status of the cave as we walked and nodded in satisfaction. After days of continuous renovation, the filthy den of the Grisly Bear was now a decent underground complex with smooth walls and multiple rooms ready to house the equipment I needed to start producing fabric en masse.

The former cave was now a straight hallway with a high ceiling. There were ten large rooms so far, all of them lined up on either side of the hallway at equal intervals, five on the right and five on the left. The farthest room on the left contained my supply of fabric while the farthest on the right served as my temporary bedroom. The rest sat empty, ready to receive the equipment that Rella would be delivering today.

But despite the massive progress, there were still a few issues I had to take care of, one of which was lighting. Without any windows to let the sunlight in, the deeper rooms of the cave were pitch-black. I had a magic lantern that I bought from the city of Vont long ago, but it was already starting to flicker as the magic crystal powering it slowly ran out of magic. If I wanted to be able to see in my own home, I'd have to handle the issue of lighting.

Another issue was the lacking water drainage. If the rainy days were to come, my cave could become flooded without proper measures. The mouth of the cave was elevated a few centimeters above ground level, which should prevent water from seeping inside, but that was only if the forest outside doesn't flood. I have no idea whether this area is susceptible to floods, so I'll have to install preventive measures just in case.

There were probably more issues in the cave's construction that I still wasn't aware of, but these were the ones I managed to think of so far. I'm going to have to handle the rest when they show up.

When we finally arrived outside, the first person that greeted us was Zerza, the female hobgoblin. She was holding something that was bundled in large leaves, and when she saw us, she quickly approached. My puppets tensed, but I calmed them before Taloress could smack the poor goblin.

“Merciful One!” Zerza cried as she approached. “I prepared this simple breakfast for you. You've been working all morning inside your abode, so I thought you must be hungry.”

I eyed the bundle of leaves suspiciously, but I thanked Zerza with a cheerful voice. “That's very thoughtful of you. Thanks for making me this…”

I opened the bundle of leaves to reveal a generous pile of nuts and berries. They looked fresh, although I can't help but grimace. Nuts were fine, but when I looked at the berries, I remembered my days in the forest near Erfeld when I was desperately foraging for food. I had no idea which berries were edible back then, so I had my fair share of itchy rashes and swollen lips from eating the poisonous ones. Since then, I tried my best to avoid the damn fruits.

“Wonderful breakfast,” I finished with a bland tone.

Zerza didn't seem to notice my dissatisfaction and nodded eagerly. “The children were all too happy to collect food for Gammilu Abratu. You gave us succor in our time of need, after all.”

“I'm grateful,” I said as I closed the bundle of leaves and tucked it into my arm. Zerza eyed the action. “As excited as I am to partake of your offering, I'm afraid I'm in a rush. I need to go to the nearby village,” I explained. It wasn't entirely an excuse since Rella was arriving in Wildpost with my equipment today, but I was still glad I had a reason to not eat the damn berries right now. My skin itched at the sight of them.

“I understand, Merciful One. We will make sure you're home remains free of interlopers while you are away,” Zerza replied.

“You don't need to worry about that. Spider will take care of any intruder foolish enough to trespass into my territory.” At my words, Spider wiggled his tentacles and blocked the cave's entrance with his huge body. Zerza eyed him warily. “Alright, I'll be on my way now.”

I left Zerza and began making my way to my wagon, glancing at the goblins' camp as I did. Over the week, the goblins had erected tents made of animal skin all over the clearing. They were organized in neat concentric circles, with a bonfire in the middle of the camp where they cooked their food.

Most of the goblins were wandering around the camp, doing menial chores and poking their noses idly. My wagon was parked near the edge of the goblins' camp, so when I passed by some of them, the little critters lowered their heads as if I was a noble. Instead of satisfaction, all I felt was an annoyance when I saw the pitiful rags that served as their clothes. Gonna have to give them some decent clothing if they're going to stay in the long run.

Disserla was squatting by the horses when I arrived at my wagon. She was cooing happily at Clip and Clop as they munched on some wet food she'd given them, oblivious of my arrival.

“Eat well so both of you will grow bigger and healthier!” Disserla said as she caressed their necks. My horses seemed happy, although I couldn't tell whether it was because of Disserla's presence or because of the food she gave them. Probably the latter.

“Good morning, Disserla. Up to your usual weird antics again?” I greeted as I climbed onto the driver's seat.

“I'm not weird!” Disserla exclaimed angrily as she faced me. “There's nothing weird about speaking to animals.”

“It is when you do it for hours on end. I bet Wennena thinks the same.”

Disserla pouted but did not contradict my words. It was true, then.

“By the way, how's your grumpy Sentinel companion doing?” I asked as Taloress attached the harnesses to Clip and Clop.

“She's doing fine, although she constantly complains about your decision to take in the goblins,” Disserla replied. “She thinks it's stupid.”

“Do you think so too?”

“I'm not sure since this is the first time I've seen goblins myself,” Disserla said hesitantly. “But I do think it's not such a great idea to let a whole tribe of them to just live in front of your home like that all of a sudden.”

Huh, Disserla had a point there. I may have been too trusting with the goblins. But even if the goblins suddenly turned on me, which I thought was very improbable given that they depended on me for protection, I could easily handle them with my power. Even with their numbers, goblins were still goblins. Spider alone could handle all of them easily.

“Thanks for your concern, Disserla, but you don't have to worry too much. If any problem crops up, I'll be able to handle it,” I said confidently as Taloress finally finished the preparations for our journey and sat beside me on the driver's seat. Before we left, my eyes inadvertently landed on Disserla's naked body. “By the way, tell Wennena to come to the cave when I get back later so I can take your measurements. I won't have the both of you walking around the place in your birthday suits.”

Before Disserla could complain, I signaled Clip and Clop to start moving towards Wildpost.

Watch over the place while we're out, I told Tedd, who was hidden among the branches of a tree that lined the clearing.

Nothing shall go wrong under my watchful eye, Master, Tedd assured me as I felt his salute in my fabric sense. Coming from the stuffed bear, his words didn't assure me.

●●●

As we steadily neared Wildpost, my fabric sense detected large clusters of people by the village walls. It wouldn't have been strange if not for the fact that most of the clothes I detected felt foreign. I've spent enough time in Wildpost to memorize the clothes of each person in the village, and the clothes I was detecting weren't familiar.

When the village finally came into view, I saw the reason why. Groups of men were laboring by the village walls, carrying tools and equipment as they slowly deconstructed the huge logs that served as Wildpost's walls for years. I initially thought the village was being invaded until I saw that some of the villagers were assisting the workers.

I looked in confusion at the sight as Clip and Clop slowly made their way through the throng of workers passing through the gates. Most of the workers looked at us funny when they saw my and Taloress' fabulous outfits, but I paid them no heed as a familiar girl entered my sight.

“Selise!” I called out as I signaled Clip and Clop to stop. Selise was standing near the gate, keeping a watchful eye on the workers moving about. When she saw us, her features brightened and she approached us excitedly.

“Loress!” Selise said as she arrived beside the wagon, ignoring me completely. “I'm sorry we didn't get to spend time together last week. Dalton can be very uptight when it comes to the rules.”

Taloress shook her head to tell her it wasn't a big deal and hopped down the wagon to stand beside Selise.

“What, no greetings for your favorite merchant?” I asked while faking a hurt tone.

Selise rolled her eyes at me. “Hello to you too, Mr. Marion. Finally came out of your cave?”

“You say it as if I live in a dirty den.”

Selise gave me a blank stare.

“It's not a dirty den anymore!” I snapped. “I'll have you know that my cave is now a better version of what it was. If you saw it, I bet you'd want to live there as well.”

“Sure, Mr. Marion,” Selise said with a bland look.

“Anyway, what the hell is happening around here? Why are you removing your walls?” I asked as I gestured to the village's walls being dismantled. “Last I checked, Wildpost is in the middle of a monster-infested forest and depended on its walls to stay safe.”

“It's only temporary, Mr. Marion. They're tearing down the old wall and will be replacing it with a new and better one,” Selise explained. “The Chief had proposed the idea a few weeks ago when he held a meeting with the Village Heads. All of them agreed and helped fund the project with their own money. All the workers you're seeing were hired from Halros.”

As Selise spoke, I scanned the scene before me. There were dozens of workers working on dismantling the walls, tying ropes around the top portions of the huge logs and pulling them down. The workers on top of the walls would shout a signal when a log was about to fall and the men below would scatter.

The area where the wall was already dismantled was busy as well. Workers were digging a shallow trench on the ground and setting up what I assumed must be the foundations of the new wall to be constructed. Unlike the old village walls that simply consisted of huge logs driven into the ground, the new walls looked like they would be constructed with proper engineering.

“I see the merits of a sturdier wall, but I don't see the huge necessity for it. Except for that troll we fought a long time ago, no other monster in the Wild Woods could breach the old walls. Did the Chief say why he wanted bigger and better walls?” I asked Selise.

“According to the Village Heads, the Chief didn't want a repeat of what happened during the last monster attack when the gate was breached. Although the gate was already reinforced, it would be pointless if the walls that held it is fragile. Additionally, the new wall would be acting as a preemptive measure in response to the Wild Wood's increasing monster populations.”

I nodded in understanding, although a corner of my mind was still unconvinced. Even if they upgraded the wall, I doubted it would withstand another troll attack. Judging from the construction materials the workers were using, the new wall would be built of timber. In the face of a troll's wrath, the walls might as well be built out of sticks.

Since I wasn't really a true member of Wildpost, it wasn't my place to criticize them for their decisions, so I kept my thoughts to myself. Besides, the Chief was the one who decided it, and the old man had a sharper mind than me. I'm sure he had his reasons for upgrading the walls.

“If you're done asking all your annoying questions, Loress and I have a lot of catching up to do,” Selise said as she started pulling Taloress away. Taloress gave me a questioning look.

“Fine, fine, you can go ahead and stay with your rude friend. Just remember to avoid imitating her bad habits,” I grumbled as Selise stuck out her tongue at me as she led Taloress away. Despite my grumblings, I felt happy for Taloress to have found such a good friend.

I left Selise and Taloress behind and proceeded to the village center. The place was sparser than usual, probably because a lot of the villagers were helping with the wall's construction. Except for the Bitter Philter.

Numerous wagons were lined up neatly in front of the alchemy shop with their syrons still harnessed to them, the huge beasts of burden munching on food set before them. The place bustled with activity as large and gruff-looking men emptied the wagons of large crates and set them down beside the building, where a woman was overseeing everything with a small smile. Upon seeing my arrival, her smile grew wider.

“Well, if it isn't my favorite gentleman,” Rella said as I parked my wagon. She was leaning with her back against the shop's wall, her features as radiant as when I first met her. Her arms were crossed underneath her chest, emphasizing their size. I bet she did that on purpose.

“Nice to see you too, Miss Rella,” I said as I hopped down from the driver's seat and gave an elegant bow. “I'm always glad to see a lady who makes my day brighter with her radiance.”

Rella laughed merrily at that. “I do hope it's my presence that brightened your day and not because your order has finally arrived.”

Rella pushed herself off the wall and approached the crates. “As per our deal, I've procured a variety of equipment you'll need in fabric production. First, we have the flax breaks.”

Rella opened one of the crates to reveal a pile of wooden parts. The most notable of them was a long wooden block that could open and close like a box with a hinged lid. But instead of a storage compartment, the inside consisted of blunt V-shaped wooden blades that ran along the flax break's length. There were three blades that faced upwards and two that faced downwards so that when the wooden block was closed, the blades would fit perfectly with each other.

“Am I right in assuming that you do not know how to operate a flax break?” Rella asked with a wry smile.

“I, uh, may have a lapse in my knowledge regarding these tools,” I replied sheepishly.

“Not to worry, I'll teach you how to use them,” Rella said with a giggle. “Normally, equipment like these are delivered whole to the buyer, but since the journey from Halros to Wildpost is pretty far, not to mention the large order, we disassembled the equipment for ease of transportation. I'll be teaching you how to assemble and operate them.”

Rella proceeded to assemble the flax break in front of me, explaining the important points expertly. The flax break, as its name suggested, was used for breaking flax stems after they had been retted and dried, although it wasn't limited to just flax stems and could be used for other types of plants. The intersecting blades inside the wooden block were primarily used for breaking the flax stems so the fibers inside could be harvested.

When she was finished assembling the flax break, the end result was a waist-high structure, with the wooden block propped on both ends with wooden legs.

“There, all done,” Rella said with a satisfied smile. “To operate it, all you'll have to do is to insert the plant stems inside the flax break and close it. The blades inside would force the stems to bend in a W shape, breaking the outer layers of the stem. Do that repeatedly until most of the outer layers are removed.”

After explaining the flax break, Rella guided me to another crate, which contained vertical wooden boards and small knives. These, she said, were the scutching boards and scutching knives. After undergoing a beating from the flax breaks, the plant fibers would then be laid on top of the boards so that they hung vertically, and the scutching knives would be used to scrape off the remaining bits of the stem from the fibers.

After the scutching boards and knives were the hackling combs, which consisted of long wooden boards with nails lined up on one end with their points facing upwards. The fibers would be pulled through the nails to comb them, removing shives and short fibers until all that's left are the long and smooth fibers.

Lastly were the spinning wheels and looms. Rella only needed to give me some brief explanations regarding their use since I was already familiar with their functions. The spinning wheels would be used for spinning fibers into thread, while the looms would be used for weaving thread into usable cloth.

“I'm glad you were able to fulfill my orders, Miss Rella. With these, I'll soon be able to begin mass production of my products,” I said with a jubilant tone once Rella finished teaching me everything I needed to know.

“I'm glad to be of help,” Rella replied with a grin. “Speaking of mass production, do you mean to say that you'll soon be establishing your own company, Mr. Marion?”

I glanced at Rella and saw a familiar glint in her eyes. It was the look of a merchant hungrily eyeing an opportunity. Despite her beauty, seeing her eyeing me hungrily like that was disturbing. Do I look like that as well when I see a good opportunity..?

I pondered whether I should tell her the truth, and after a short deliberation, I decided that I might as well tell her. My plan to establish a company was already obvious anyway, what with the dozens of equipment I just purchased. Being honest would improve my relations with Rella and might even net me some benefits if we ever made business deals in the future.

“It is just a dream for now, Miss Rella. Whether I successfully do so is yet to be seen,” I replied.

“Coming from a man like you, I'm already certain that you'll be successful in that endeavor,” Rella said. “By the way, the total cost of all the equipment you see here along with the delivery fee only adds up to about two hundred and fifty gold, which is only half of the five hundred gold you've given. That's why I took the liberty to purchase some advanced type of equipment.”

Rella led me to one of her wagons where some of her men were waiting.

“I know you only ordered equipment for textile production, but since there was plenty of gold left, I purchased some special equipment for sewing clothes,” Rella said as she gestured to one of her men. Seconds later, one of them approached with a more luxurious-looking crate. The gruff-looking man opened the top of the crate with a crowbar to reveal a device within.

“Behold, one of the most recent advancements of magitech. A device that could easily multiply sewing speed hundreds of times!” Rella boasted excitedly. “A sewing machine!”

There was silence for a few seconds. Rella was shooting an expectant smile at me, while the rest of her men looked on awkwardly.

“Oh wow, I did not expect to see something like that,” I said with interest. The existence of sewing machines in this world meant that mass-producing clothes would be way easier as compared to hand sewing.

“You don't look surprised,” Rella muttered with a pout.

“Perish the thought. I am surprised with the existence of such a device!”

I wasn't technically lying since I was surprised with the sewing machine, although I was surprised more by the fact that it existed in this world rather than the device itself.

“I expected a more sophisticated reaction from you, Mr. Marion. All the other tailors and seamstresses in Halros practically went manic when it first came out.”

People being excited over a sewing machine was understandable given the level of technology in this world, but for me, seeing a sewing machine wasn't that shocking since I was already familiar with it. But that didn't mean I wasn't excited about it. Instead of the hours required to create a single garment through hand sewing, sewing machines would be able to speed up the process dozens, maybe even hundreds of times. This would help my company tremendously.

Rella proceeded to explain how the sewing machine operated, which was fairly similar to how sewing machines back on Earth worked. The only difference was that the sewing machines here used mana crystals as a source of energy instead of electricity.

“Due to its magical nature, the sewing machines cost a small fortune,” Rella said by the end of her explanation. “Each one costs fifty gold, so I was only able to acquire five of them.”

“I think that is plenty enough for now. Once again, thank you for your impeccable service, Miss Rella,” I said as I gave a shallow bow in her direction.

“Always happy to serve,” Rella said with a smile. “Just remember that my services are always available for you, Mr. Marion.”

“I won't be requiring your services for now, Miss Rella, although I may need them soon,” I said as I planned out a schedule. “Say, do you happen to offer touring services? I plan to personally visit Halros sometime soon when I finally establish my company.”

Rella's eyes glinted again, but this time, her anticipation was palpable. She gave me one of her brightest smiles yet. “It would be my pleasure to personally show you around Halros, Mr. Marion.”

I felt a bit of discomfort when she said that, but I made sure to hide it. “I'm glad.”

With our business finally finished, Rella signaled to her men that it was time for them to depart.

I watched quietly as Rella's convoy trundled down the dirt road, my mind occupied with a lot of things. A small corner of my mind felt like I had misjudged Rella's character, although that thought was soon overwhelmed by more important things. Such as the fact that the day I established my company was fast approaching.

I looked at the huge pile of crates before me and felt rising anticipation. I had been looking forward to establishing my company since I arrived in Wildpost, and now that the time was fast approaching, the anticipation that had been slowly rising since I buried Mom was now at a fever pitch. My time to strike back at this wretched world is coming. I'll show it that it won't be able to keep me down forever.

I breathed in deeply to clear my mind. The coming days are about to become hectic, and I have to be prepared for them. For now though…

“How the hell am I going to transport all these crates back to my cave?”