As Cale was getting ready for bed, someone come knocking the door.

"Come in."

The person to come in was a little unexpected. "Ron?"

Ron bowed to Cale and greeted him."Young master, this Ron would like to make a request if possible."

"Another request? Go ahead."

Ron lifted his head up and started to speak. "Please take care of my son."

Cale's expression turned blank for a while. "Son? You mean Beacrox?"

"Yes." Ron answered calmly.

"Why? Are you thinking of leaving again?" Cale frowned a little and sighed. "How long?"

Cale could see the benign smile disappear from Ron's face. This was the first time Cale had ever seen the assassin side of Ron instead of the one he grew up knowing.

Ron started to speak with the assassin's expression on his face. "I need to go hunt some foxes."

Although he was old, Ron was still an assassin. Ron fixed his expression once more and started to speak. His expression was serious, with only his eyes that ease a little. "Young master, this old man wishes to do something I could do for the family I have right now"

Ron was looking straight at Cale when he mentioned family. "I want to at least not being a burden to you by staying stubbornly beside you."

"Y-You were never a burden. I..." Cale bit his lips after seeing Ron's determined eyes. "You won't reconsider no matter what, right?"

"Yes, young master" Ron could see that Cale stood there biting his lips without saying anything for a while.

His dear young master finally started to speak after sighing numerous times. "... Go and come back. You have to come back."

The smile disappeared from Ron's face.

Cale, who was already in his pajamas, laid down on the bed and continued to speak. "I'll tell Hans that you are taking a leave of absence. Report to me every so often. You can receive money from the Flynn Merchant Guild with your ID plaque."

Cale clenched his fist. "You need to come back safely in a year time, or I won't forgive you."

"Don't get hurt while you are out there." Cale said softly, burying his face in the pillow. He knew Ron could hear it.

Ron could only looked at the back of the young man he considered as his son. He had decided already, and he wasn't going to change his mind.

He wanted to stay and served Cale but he was more useful out there. That punk Choi Han and Raon-nim would be much stronger than him, they could protect Cale.

"Young master, I will report to you once a month." Ron didn't dare to approach Cale, it would wavering his determined to leave.

"Do as you please." The muffled voice sound a little angry.

Like an assassin, Ron opened the door and left the room without making a single noise. He then said one last thing before closing the door. "I will return to your side in a year, young master."

Without waiting Cale's answer, Ron closed the door.

Cale was having a little tear at the corner of his eyes that refused to fall. "Stupid Ron."

*************************************

Dawn arrived, and seven people were standing in front of Cale. There were some that he had personally called, and some that he gathered through Choi Han.

Cale could only close his eyes for an hour to rest, after Ron left. Even with Vitality of heart, he looked a little fatigued.

Beacrox couldn't help getting a little worried. 'Is it because father left? Will he be okay at all?'

Cale acted as he normally do. He looked toward Rosalyn, and started to speak. "Miss Rosalyn, the brown hair looks good on you."

Rosalyn was not aware of exactly what would happen today, but understood the severity after hearing the words 'magic bomb' and decided to help.

Cale had also promised her something in return for her help. However, she seemed to be the only one beside Beacrox to notice the slight fatigue on Cale's face.

She replied as if she didn't noticed because Cale seemed to act normal to not worry other people. "Ah, you think so? I thought it will make it easier for me to run wild."

Rosalyn had dyed her hair and pupils brown with magic. On and Hong were standing next to her.

"Lock, you should be able to use the physical strength of a wolf without transforming right?"

"Yes sir. It is possible." Lock was standing there nervously as well. Next to him were Raon and Choi Han.

Cale divided them into two teams. The Black Orb was already positioned by Choi Han yesterday, so the two teams each needed to locate and take care of the four bombs.

"Miss Rosalyn, Lock and Beacrox will be one team. Choi Han, Raon, On, and Hong will be the other team."

Choi Han flinched at the name 'Raon', he stared at Cale silently. Rosalyn smiled in relief after hearing how Cale divided up the teams.

However, Lock had a confused expression on his face. "What about you, young master?"

Choi Han, Raon, Hong and On all responded to the question. Even Beacrox couldn't help adding his opinion.

"Cale-nim is, a bit, uhm, his physical strength is..."

"Weak. Human is weak. So he doesn't have to do anything."

"We don't need him to do any work."

"He is useless for this kind of work, he should enjoy the celebration by being still."

"His job is to stay still and not getting involved in dangerous situations."

Ah. Rosalyn let out a gasp at the merciless answers and looked toward Cale. Lock seemed to be quite surprised as well.

However, Cale handed the items he borrowed from Billos to Choi Han, and confidently answered. "Yes, I am weak and will only be a baggage. I also need to prepare for the celebration as soon as the sun comes up, so it will be difficult for me to go with you."

They were going to use the short opening when the guards for the night shift switched with the day shift to enter the areas where the bombs were located and start to dismantle them.

After that, while the Black Orb activates and causes a mana disturbance, they will all need to wait at their determined stations to observe the secret organization's members and the situation at the plaza.

The birthday celebration was set to start at 9 am. Cale looked at his watch before speaking to the seven of them again.

"Alright then, please head to work." He then added on. "Don't forget to bring back the dismantled magic bombs."

Rosalyn smiled and responded to Cale's statement. "You promised to give me one of them."

"Of course. I always stay true to my promises."

"Should be enough to pay for my services."

It was definitely enough. Cale looked toward the terrace, that was now being used more as a door than as a terrace, and opened the window.

A cool night breeze filled the room as the seven individuals quickly rushed out of Cale's room through the terrace.

Some left with invisibility magic while others left with very fast speed. Cale watched them leave and thought to himself that they were all very strong.

He was now left alone in the room.

Ooooooooong- Cale slowly stroked the large shield that appeared in front of him.

Even if something unexpected happened at the celebration, he would not die as long as he had the Indestructible Shield and Vitality of Heart.

"Glutton, will there be any side effects from using your shield?" Cale needed to make sure of every card he had in his hand.

• Side effects? Hmm, is being super hungry counts? As long as it isn't too big of an impact, and my shield doesn't break, you'll be fine. And you have Vitality of Heart, he will heal you up, so no worries.

• Don't go and injured yourself just because I help you heal.

This is the first time he heard the Crybaby talk after he got the Vitality of Heart. He sounded younger... it wasn't an old man's voice anymore.

"It's not like I like getting hurt for no reason."

• Right, our Cale is sensible.

• If my Noona says so. I will heal all your injuries regardless, so go forth and don't be a coward like me.

"Thanks, you two." Cale said. "...I'll just use a tiny bit of the shield's strength if I need to do so."

Cale patted the shield that have the heart crest engraved in it, and decided to try and use it without being noticed if there came the need to do so.

Cale sat down on the couch and practiced using just a small amount of the shield's power, before noticing his reflection in the mirror. 'It should be fine. Being hungry after using it is also fine. It's not like I never starved before.'

The blood-crazed mage. It was said that this person went into a frenzy by the color red. That was why, in the novel, the mage went crazy after seeing Rosalyn for the first time, saying that they needed to cut Rosalyn's head off to take her red hair and pupils.

Cale brushed back his hair, that was an even brighter red than Rosalyn's hair, and started to think. 'What are the chances that I'll be in close proximity to that lunatic?'

Even if something like that happened, he would protect himself and tell Choi Han to kill the mage. Cale was not worried that his own head would get cut off. Cale relaxed and waited until Hans came to wake him up.

Hans seemed glad that Cale was awake. "Young master, Mr. Ron had informed me to help you getting ready for today. It seems like Mr. Beacrox also had somewhere to go today, but he had made some breakfast for you, young master."

'Ron....' Cale sighed. "Let's get ready."

After a fast and light breakfast, Cale made all the preparations and headed for the palace. All the participating nobles were scheduled to move together.

Raon was going to come to the palace to report on the progress.

After all of the preparations were completed, Cale got on a carriage in front of the residence's main gate. It was not the Henituse carriage, instead, he was going to be riding with someone else today.

"Why do you want to go together?"

Amiru responded with a calm smile, as Cale asked the question while getting onto the carriage. Amiru had reached out and asked Cale to go with her today.

She got right to the point, since Cale did the same without even greeting her first. "Young master Cale, what do you think about our territory building a naval base?"

Cale started to smile.

He had already received a letter from Eric letting him know that the tourism investment discussion did not go well.

Eric said both Gilbert and Amiru were very disappointed. However, Amiru did not seem to be very disappointed. In fact, she seemed to have made up her mind about something else, something big.

Cale looked toward her and started to speak. "Didn't you already make up your mind, young lady Amiru?"

Amiru lightly nodded her head. "Yes. I didn't think it was a decision I could make on my own, so I contacted my mother. I plan to discuss it with young master Gilbert today as well."

The creation of a new military base. Something like that was not easy to accomplish. The money wasn't the issue, it was more about the relationship between powers within the territory that complicated things. Especially in times of peace, like right now.

That was why the crown would have their eyes on the Northeast. The east was the only side with access to the ocean, but, most importantly, there was a balance of power in the East. It would also be difficult for the high-ranking nobles in the other regions to influence such a base as well.

"Then young lady Amiru's concern is that the crown's influence in your territory will get stronger because of this?"

"Yes." Amiru gave a short answer, before continuing on. "That is why I asked for this time with you today."

It meant that she had something to discuss with him. Cale leaned on the back of the seat, and asked while in a comfortable position, as if he was in his own carriage. "I am curious to know what your question is, but I think I need to tell you something first."

He knew why Amiru was here.

"Any decision regarding the funds of the Henituse family is made solely by my father. A trash like me has no decision-making powers."

'Even though I feels like my father would consider it as soon as I mentioned it to him.' Cale chuckled at that thought.

The royal family would grant permission to build a naval base and invest huge sums of money. Naturally, the ownership of that naval base would then be passed on to the royal family.

When building a military base in a territory that is outside the capital, there are a lot of different contracts between the crown and the nobility for ownership and other logistics involving the military base.

There was a significant difference in manpower and funds between using the location as a military base than using the cliffs and the ocean for just tourism.

Amiru and Gilbert's families were, honestly speaking, just average in wealth, lacking both the funds and the manpower to complete such a project.

That was what Amiru wanted to prevent. That meant that there was only one method. Borrowing money from someone with a lot of money.

Amiru was curious about why Cale suddenly laughed but she still asked with a smile that seemed very intelligent. "Is that really the case?"

She had entered the crown prince's room during the wine party with Eric and Gilbert once Cale had left.

It was then that she learned that the crown prince was interested in the shoreline, even though he was not interested in tourism.

When she returned to her residence that night, she thought about Cale's words, and figured out his intentions. "His Highness the crown prince was wary of the Whipper Kingdom and the kingdoms to the north. I could tell based on our conversation with him, so I sought out some information from the information guild."

'I knew it.' Cale could tell from Amiru's words that the crown prince and the royal family were aware of the fact that the Whipper Kingdom would soon face a civil war, and that the North was gathering their forces.

'But this was unexpected.' Amiru's decision-making was on point. Amiru's family was not doing very well right now, relying a lot on Eric's family for help.

It would have cost a lot to get information on foreign kingdoms through the information guild, but her willingness to spend that money to verify a single piece of information showed her personality.

Amiru looked toward Cale, who was quietly listening, before continuing. "I heard the Henituse territory is currently fortifying its walls. I believe the Henituse family will be interested in the military, since it is a territory that does not allow any kind of invasions."

'Since father started to fortify the territory wall on his own, I didn't have to risk being suspicious on yet. Even if father trusts me...' Cale nodded his head at her statement and responded. "I will speak to my father about it."

"We will also send an official request as well."

Cale and Amiru looked at each other and smiled.

If this naval base was to be created, the balance of power in the Northeast will shift to Cale, Eric, Amiru, and Gilbert's four families. If the Henituse family provided the funds to have a steady influence in the base, the Henituse family would receive multiple facets of support from the base.

Amiru hesitated for a while, before continuing to speak. "I am a bit worried because of the whirlpools, but there are paths that have been used for ages, and the whirlpool will actually serve as a defense to prevent foreign nations from invading. That is why I want to give it a go."

Whirlpools. Cale prevented himself from smiling as soon as she mentioned the whirlpools. That whirlpools will soon be Cale's to utilize as he wishes. 'Wouldn't it be great to build a house on one of those cliffs and enjoy the sunset in the future?'

It would be good for him to have other places to stay once he handed the control to Basen. Cale's plan was to then head to Amiru or Gilbert's territory after everything was over to build a house on a cliff to relax while looking out at the sea.

It would be a good location, since it was pretty close to the Henituse territory as well.

"Thank you for your help, young master Cale."

"Hahaha, to ask a trash for support. I have no power whatsoever, I am just delivering your message to my father." Cale waved it off, and started to laugh.

However, Amiru did not believe his words at all anymore.

"Amiru, you need to be cautious when you don't have power. However, you need to be bold if you want to earn power." That was what her mother, the head of the Ubarr territory, had said as she agreed on the naval base.

Amiru was similar to her mother. That was why she worked to be bold, even while remaining cautious. This was her philosophy for dealing with people as well. "It is enough for you to deliver our message for us."

Amiru reached her hand out to Cale, and Cale shook it. She then let go, before adding on. "Please come visit the Ubarr territory next time. There are actually a lot of interesting places to see."

"I will definitely go if I have the chance to do so."

The Sound of the Wind. It would become Cale's fast feet, and at the same time, give him control over a whirlwind that can be used for both offense and defense.

Cale thought about the Ubarr coast, where that ancient power was located. "I hope that the opportunity comes soon."

***********************************

Tsuki: I tried very hard this chapter. So please enjoy!