Chapter 129: A Growing Settlement

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This took way too long to rewrite, but hey, its a longer chapter!

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Mid Morning - Mid Winter (Hemisphere change) : Northeastern Space Rune

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*Poof-FWOOOSH* A huge surge of air blasted past the group of knights as I suddenly appeared right in front of them. "Would you guys happen to know where Captain Lassar is?"

The knights immediately froze in place and went pale-faced.

"Hmm.. I'll take that as a no." Ignoring them, I effortlessly walked by and headed toward the forest.

But the big guy I stopped in front of snapped out of it immediately. "Oi!" *Shing* He immediately pulled out his sword and pointed it at my back. "Who told you that you could just walk in here?"

"Uh, me?" I glanced back at him as I shrugged my shoulders. "As far as I know, I own this place."

"For a kid, you really have some audacity!" Finally lowering his sword, he stormed over to me and tried to grab my shoulder. "It seems like you weren't taught the rules around here!"

But as his hand approached me, my smile disappeared. *CRACKLE* His forearm instantly twisted with a crack as I wrung his wrist with my aura. "And you said I have audacity?"

"AGGH!" He immediately let out a yell as he gritted his teeth and raised his sword with his other hand. "You cocky BRAT!"

Moving just to the side of his blade, I watched it pass in front of my face before moving my hand over and giving it a good flick. *TINK-SHATTER* It exploded the moment my nail hit it, sending a shotgun blast of metal shrapnel into the forest. *fw-w-w-ip-CRACK* -What a poorly made blade…-

Looking over at the other knights with a look of indifference, I noticed them all staring into the forest with looks of awe as several trees started collapsing. *crackle* "So are you guys going to continue to be difficult?"

*Thump* They finally turned back to me as the big knight fell unconscious at my feet. "N-NO SIR!"

-Man.. I thought they'd be a bit more entertaining…- "Alright, in that case, do you know where Abbie Lassar is?"

The smaller of the three knights vigorously nodded. "She is in the tavern, sir!"

-Hoh? Did they really build a tavern already?- "I'm guessing it's easy to find?"

All three remaining knights nodded in unison.

"Alright." As I turned back to the trail leading into the woods, I casually pointed at the unconscious man on the ground. "He can save his arm and hand if he is careful about not moving it for a few months. Do what you wish with that information."

Finally walking into the forest down the widened sandy trail, I passed by what looked to be a guard post and eventually found my way to a large clearing where there was a stilted town leading out over a lake.

The town was honestly quite small, only consisting of around a dozen mid-sized buildings, but they were all very well built, enough so that I didn't feel too nervous about walking up the ramp to the level the buildings were on.

-I just need to find the tavern…- But just as I thought that, I noticed a sign hanging off a building with a crude wooden mug and fork carving. -Well, they were right about it being easy to find…-

Finally making my way into the clearing, I was immediately met with the confused looks of many of the villagers, but somehow continued all the way up the ramp without being pestered, even by the handful of half-armored knights. -Do they assume I'm just a new face?-

Quickly continuing along the risen walkway, I eventually made it to the tavern and pushed open the western-style doors.

*Creak* The chatter inside instantly ceased as the creaky door swung open.

The tavern was essentially full, but there was one person who had empty seats next to her.

"What's a kid doing here?" One of the guys at the table next to me spoke up almost immediately.

But as I walked up behind the slouched woman at the bar, everyone stiffened up and broke into a cold sweat.

"Hm?" Abbie wore a confused look as she glanced up at the tense bartender. "What's going on-"

"How have you been?" My voice ripped through the silence of the tavern like the echo of an explosion.

The instant she heard me, she froze and went pale-faced, before turning to see me casually sitting on the stool next to her.

"Barkeep, give me a cup of whatever is the best." Sliding a gold coin over to him, I turned back to Abbie with a slightly playful look. "The settlement has truly come a long way, but on my way in I was greeted with a knight's sword. Have you forgotten about me already?"

*Crack* Immediately throwing down her drink, she got up from her seat and gave me an extremely deep bow. "I'm very sorry, Sir Whyte! I will have those men killed this instant! I can guarantee that you will always be welcome here!"

Everyone in the tavern, men and women alike, watched the scene with a mix of fear and awe.

The only one who was still acting somewhat normal was the half-breed barkeep, who stared at me with wide eyes. -I wonder how a half-breed got involved with this group…- "It's fine, you don't need to kill them. You should have as many usable workers as possible in a young settlement like this."

"Thank you very much for your forgiveness and gracious generosity!" Her voice shook slightly with anxiety.

*tap* As the barkeep set a mug in front of me, I reached over and took a sip.

It was alcohol, something between bourbon and beer, with a nice sour fruit flavor. -Not bad…- Looking back at Abbie, I stayed silent to let her hold the bow for a moment before releasing her. "Alright, you can straighten up, I just came by to check on how you were doing. If you want, we can speak privately."

She immediately turned her head toward the dozen people still watching and used magic to amplify her voice. "ALL OF YOU BAST*RDS GET OUT OF HERE!"

*sip* -That's one way to do it…- *clamoring* The tavern cleared within seconds, quickly leaving Abbie, the bartender, and I alone.

*silence* But she still didn't come up from her bow or say a word.

"You can stand up and look at me. I'm not here to kill you or anything, so there is no need to be tense." -She's clearly stuck to the deal…-

She slowly came up from her bow but continued staring at the floor, completely unable to meet eyes with me.

"So how have things been going? You seem to have made a lot of progress."

"Y-yes.. the settlement's development has been progressing smoothly, but we are struggling with a lack of labor."

"Hm? There are three new ships at the dock, it seems like you've expanded quite a bit."

"Well, yes.. but those are just the smaller, local pirate crews. We could technically bring our families here, but I was hoping to absorb some of the bigger pirate groups up north and expand our fleet before taking such a risk."

-Smart decision…- "So what do you need to take over those groups? Are you lacking in strength?"

"N-not exactly, sir…" She paused before reluctantly continuing. "We need better gear or management… Our current gear is far from good, and since I must stay here to manage the settlement, I need to send out my crew alone to take over more ships."

-So, she needs someone to manage the settlement in her stead, or get new gear for her crew…- Both options were a bit troublesome, but one was something I could fix extremely easily. "Alright, so how much money would be needed for new gear or equipment?"

But instead of just giving me a number, she sighed. "Haah… Far too much to acquire in any timely manner."

-She's not even considering asking me for it…- I was honestly a bit impressed. "How does 10 platinum sound? Would it be enough?"

She gave me an odd glance before lowering her gaze again. "With a single platinum, we could outfit the whole crew in new equipment and repair the ship, but that's way more than we could imagine getting unless I went with them to hit a big merchant group." Her nervousness slowly faded as she fell into thought.

Taking a moment while she was distracted, I grabbed an empty sack off a nearby table with my aura and dropped some coins into it.

"The only way we could acquire enough money is to-" *clink-cl-cli-ching* The noise of coins falling into the bag immediately snapped her out of her thoughts.

*cling* The coins rattled as I finished up and tossed the bag to Abbie. "Think of this as an investment." It was exactly 10 platinum, a massive sum of money, but far from enough to cause any economic issues even if she spent it all in the same town. "Be sure to spend it wisely."

As she opened up the bag, her eyes went wide. "Th-this…" She stared at the glimmering metallic coins with a look of awe.

It made a smile come to my face, but I had to stay somewhat serious. "Before you do anything though, I would like to hear some specifics of what you plan to spend it on."

She immediately nodded before reluctantly sitting back down.

Our conversation continued for about an hour after that, and by the end, she stopped looking at me with fear, and instead wore a look of reverence, something I truly didn't mind.

"Thank you very much, sir Whyte!" She gave a joyful bow as she tightly gripped the bag of coins.

Even the bartender had come to like me. "Food and drinks are always on the house for you here! Be sure to stop by in the future!" Although I wasn't sure if he knew I was a dragon, he acted like he owed me, or was simply trying to curry favor.

-I can't blame him though…- Finishing the last sip of my drink, I finally set down the mug and gently woke up Ilios. "I will try to come by in a few months. I'll look forward to your progress then."

"I will not disappoint you!" She gave one last deep bow before looking up to see me picking up Ilios.

"Oh, and don't forget to guard the temple!" *Vwoom*

Instantly being surrounded by darkness, I let go of Ilios and changed to my dragon form. -What a good visit…- Quickly getting Ilios situated on my back, I dissipated the gate and found myself once again in the nebulous space of the void.

-Alright…- "Time to head back and get ready to meet Grandmother!"

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Bonus:

- Abbie Lassar ~

"I will try to come by in a few months. I'll look forward to your progress then."

To my ears, his voice sounded like a saint's. "I will not disappoint you!" Although it would normally hurt my pride, I threw myself into a bow without the slightest hesitation.

But after a moment of silence, I looked up to see him holding his Fenrir. "Oh, and don't forget to guard the temple!" *Vwoom*

With a quick reminder about the temple, a mysterious black sphere suddenly appeared around him before instantaneously vanishing, leaving no trace of him at all.

I felt as if my brain had short-circuited for a moment. -Uh.. what?-