Stroke Their Pride.

—

[1250 - Early Night - Hovel Village, Temeria - 1 Month and 3 Weeks.]

In the White Orchard region, a hut with a thatched roof stood, recently built, emitting the scent of fresh wood and resin.

Outside the village, near the hut occupied by the Wise Ones, lay charred grass in the shape of a circle, evidence of a recent fire.

On the village's side, numerous cut logs were stacked, signifying the villagers' diligent efforts to construct their new home.

Though only eleven houses had been erected for the time being, it was certain that the settlement would expand due to the residents' awareness that this place was superior to their previous dwelling, filled with cruelty.

Inside the hut where the Wise Ones currently resided, three women and a man with the natural gait of a woman were present.

Adorning a long table was a bag piled with coins, that probably representing the kings and queens of the land spending if put together, setting aside funds for their indulgences in the coming month.

In the back of the room, directly behind a large tree incorporated into the house's structure, gleamed the glistening golden armor of a Cintrian knight, the helmet adorned with the feathers of a beautiful peacock.

How the armor from the faraway land ended up in this little shabby hut, no one knows.

In the room opposite to where the four women and the man were chatting, a Portable Alchemic Station had been set up. It featured numerous bottles filled with clear liquid syrup, with barely one or two bottles showing a hint of red and blue color.

Notably, on the other side of the station, a wooden bowl was placed, filled with white sugar cubes, some of which bore streaks of red or blue color.

—

Taking the soup from Claer's hands, who was wearing a beautifully crafted bracelet, Zefron, using a feminine voice and wearing Triss' bra stuffed with clothes, addressed the village chief's wife.

"Thanks for everything, dear. As I mentioned earlier, my two friends here will present a petition to the court in Vizima once more, to ensure that Ignatius and his men will no longer harm you or your husband."

Wearing an apron, a peasant dress, and a crown of flowers on top of her head, the beautiful young adult who had recently given birth said between tears to the three Wise Ones and expressed a desire to kneel before them.

"No, milady, thank you, thank you. Thank you for helping simple folks like us. Had it not been for milady bringing forth fire from the heavens, we all would be buried at the bottom of the well."

Stopping Claer from kneeling by holding her shoulder, Zefron placed the soup on the long table in the guest hut where they were staying and responded to the newly established Hovel village chief's wife.

"Stop. You just gave birth last week, and you are not supposed to be walking around like this. So go, tend to your baby girl. We will manage our own hospitality, dear."

Seeing Claer nodding while still expressing gratitude to them as she exited the thatched house that was lent to them, Triss asked in a worried tone, directed to no one in particular.

"Will the baron and his men really stop harassing them, even knowing that the two couples are acquainted with mages?"

Writing their ledger of traveling expenses and adding 90,000 crowns to the bottom of the pages, Keira took 18 large bags of coins beside a rustic Temerian Poniard, and proceeded to put them in their specially reserved valuable trunk, while addressing Triss' question.

"Of course, Triss, I assure you, he won't stop merely due to our assistance. Especially since Volker was formerly Ignatius' steward. For him, it's like an insult to his pride. Additionally, with the establishment of Hovel village, the baron's mood will plummet even worse. Sooner or later, the pair and this whole village will find themselves in dire straits."

Twirling the food with her spoon, Triss asked Keira and then Zefron, "Is there nothing we can do to lend a hand? Perhaps confront the baron to buy this land from him or use our money to appease him and drop the matter entirely, Zefron? Or we could even buy this house we're using, to make the baron's men think twice before attacking?"

Standing up, Keira immediately denied, her body slightly leaning to guard the trunk, "No! This is our money for our research expenses for the next two years."

"With Zefron's Fate Binding that hasn't changed, my monthly allowance from becoming Mage Advisor will be solely for my living expenses. And because of you, Triss, who doesn't allow Zefron to steal anymore, we must be frugal about our spending."

"So no, I won't allow a single coin to come out from our pocket just to help some random folks who thought they could manage by themselves, just because they got a decree from Vizima that waived all bounds and duties."

Frowning at Keira's words because they are true, although Volker's intention to build another village away from White Orchard seemed noble due to their baron's cruelty and unjust killings, the Hovel village chief itself wasn't doing this purely out of righteousness.

Furthermore, from the exchange earlier this afternoon with Ignatius's men, where Volker didn't back down and even displayed the decree he got from Vizima on Ignatius' faces, it became clear to them that he built Hovel for his own benefit as well.

Adding to that, Zefron's deduction about the new chief wanting to become a noble by establishing his own land but lacking the capability to defend it, Triss felt unsure about what to do.

Finishing his meal, Zefron said to Triss and Keira while taking off his feminine attire, "We can certainly help them."

Turning to the two of them, who were looking intently at his naked, unnaturally muscular body due to genetic modification by Instita, Zefron instructed.

"Keira, go talk to Volker now or tomorrow to buy this thatched house and make it public so everyone in the village will know what is happening. And Triss, make this house your teleportation hub so that you can come to this village every day or so to check how they are doing."

With a puzzled look, unlike Triss, who is motivated by pure care and selflessness, Zefron had no thoughts of such things. From Keira's conclusion, living and bedding together with him, all of his actions are driven by benefit only.

There is no way he will help just for the sake of helping. Even if there were any intentions, they would likely be to make them feel at ease and, in turn, to use his words to 'achieve absolute loyalty' from both herself and Triss.

Keira asked, "Why? Weren't you leaving this morning to resume your journey? The two of us will be living in Vizima, and there won't be anyone occupying this place if that happens. It will just be a waste of our money for no reason whatsoever."

Walking toward his clothes bag where he kept all of his attire, Zefron answered while putting on the shirt, "It is an investment, Keira. I've already decided that my business will not be confined to just a single place. Because I realize that if by any chance one of them is destroyed, I could still have a backup plan of money coming in."

"In addition to that, having factories to build what I have dreamed of is not feasible in this day and age that is determined by their dick and pussy. It will just start a war across the entire continent the moment I do that. And I don't possess a superhuman brain to think of all the possibilities and balance everything out so that I come out as the most profitable person among them."

"So, I have decided to start things slowly, like creating inns or restaurants that will be managed by my creations or someone that Triss finds reliable. Because my motivation now is not to destroy anymore."

"Imagine, then, an inn managed by a wizard who can teleport a barrel of Fiorano Wine from Toussaint to the edge of the continent, like Pont Vanis, in the blink of an eye. Or a menu that offers different kinds of dishes and refreshments not native to the locale. Wouldn't that be a good business idea?"

Before Keira could say anything further, probably thinking that he wanted them to be couriers for the rest of their lives, Zefron quickly explained to help them understand his point of view about the two of them more clearly.

"Of course, Keira, I would be the biggest idiot if I made you run around like some sort of porter. Well, I am. Not fathoming that using you guys as a means of transportation is essentially the same thing, bringing you around with me."

Pausing, he continued, "Both you, Keira, and you, Triss, possess the brightest and most beautiful minds anyone could hope to achieve."

Seeing them blushing, with Triss hyperventilating due to her extreme loving emotions that she didn't intend to suppress, Zefron proceeded to stroke their pride even further.

"You, Keira, with your meticulousness in managing our money these past four weeks, I can be assured that whatever business we build will not incur any losses."

"Not only that, with your parsimonious nature, yet not wanting to spend any of our coin to achieve the highest comfort, I am sure that whatever product we sell will be a big hit in the future."

"And I trust you with my money completely, Keira. Everything. From your actions when I was still an enemy in your eyes, back when I gave you the gemstone and coins from Dorian."

"Back then, you decided to use 2000 crowns from your own pocket to buy the Magiscope, even though I gave you permission to use my money for whatever you wanted. That's enough reason for me to trust you completely, knowing you will never tamper with our shared coins."

"You, Triss, with your selflessness and righteous morals, yet still manage to do what needs to be done during these past four weeks while we concocted the plan to bring down the Wiley family."

"I am one hundred percent sure that you can find a trustworthy individual to manage our business with your charisma that everyone finds irresistible because you genuinely care for their well-being."

"Because there is something that makes people gravitate toward you, Triss. When you helped the Hovel Villagers this afternoon with genuine care, many of them looked at you with admiration and respect. Even though it's tiring to deal with those who still scorn you despite you saving their lives, you're still happy to help those people."

"And that's a quality that the priestesses of Melitele are very skilled at. You can guess the reason why many people will go out of their way to help them with anything. Because of that, I am also sure that many folks around here will flock to you if you ask for their help, just like the priestesses."

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