Hamadryad.

—

[1250 - Evening - East Side of Tukaj Mountains - 4 Months and 0 Weeks.]

Gazing at the relatively large camp below the hill, Zefron then looked at the sky, as this was the first time Nappy was undertaking a covert operation without constant control, because he wanted the big kitty to grasp his intentions with just a simple word, similar to how he ordered Keira and Triss to sell the 100% Beverage Enhancer.

Seeing the big kitty circling the camp with a ball in his left paw, filled with a smoke-producing agent he created using potassium nitrate, sugar, wax, and a small amount of Triss' sleeping potion, he was initially confused about how to make potassium nitrate.

However, after touching Saltpeter and sensing the elemental combination through his modified magical flow identification spell, which he learned from Triss, he realized it was the exact same thing, just under a different name.

While he isn't too worried about his smoke grenade being faulty since he was the one who concocted the item, he is concerned that Nappy might struggle to light the fuse due to his paw being too large to cast an Igni sign.

With Talent Sharing Fate that he did to Nappy, the big kitty now is essentially walking into the path of the mage and becoming the first Manticore that learns magic, with the primary talent of Earth essentially making Zefron have talent to control all four elements with much ease.

In turn, this enables him to produce a somewhat strong, lighter yellow flame by manipulating the carbon atoms in the air, binding chemical bonds together to create butane gas, which is achieved by attuning to the Air element everywhere and learning about its properties, the very first lessons taught to him by Keira inside the tent when fucking with her.

"I hope he doesn't forget the Igni gesture. How many times does it take? A hundred? Two hundred?"

Mumbling to himself while looking into the distance sky where the big kitty is trying his hardest to replicate the strange manling gesture that his master taught him with his right paw, Zefron just sighs and waits for a while, knowing it will take some time for him to perfect Igni gesture.

But his pupils suddenly snap wide open as he sees Nappy blow through the fuse of the smoke grenade, producing sparks of Igni fire reminiscent of when he first learned how to perform that sign while fighting a group of Nekkers.

Although it cannot cause any harm at all, unlike when Triss does it, which produces a constant burst of pyro that can melt everything it focuses on, like a forge of fiery sparks, Nappy's Igni is enough to light the fuse after a couple of tries.

Laughing with a shake of his head, Zefron said aloud with a hint of genuine pride, "That's my boy, modifying everything that already exists into something different like his papa."

With that, after one final burst of Igni from his mouth, Nappy managed to ignite the smoke grenade that was mixed with Triss' sleeping potion, capable of sending any human-like race into a dreamland with just a whiff of it.

Taking the scarf from his satchel, which had already been attuned with his magical flow to act like a BVM mask and reduce the effects of the poison entering his lungs, even though the amount was not significant and he had to complete the operation within an hour, Zefron waited for the smoke grenade to envelop the entire camp.

—

[15 minutes later.]

Looking at the baby lifeless body in front of him, Zefron sighing in fine-tune regret, "My reading is fallacious again. I thought the baby was brought with his father to Mortara village this morning."

Upon learning that the leader of the scout party was Gimpy Gerwin's mother that attacked him this morning, who is currently the bandit lord responsible for raiding any caravan passing through Brugge, Zefron immediately donned his Cintrian armor and set out to track their hideout location in the Tukaj mountainous region.

Understanding that he would be achieving two goals at once – not only acquiring the money accumulated from their raids but also claiming the bounty on their heads, which he could use as a strong justification for the Lilvani knight-errant's desire to establish a temple in the area – Zefron proceeded with the plan like he had executed in Ivalo and Vorune without a second thought.

Knowing that every child of the camp is currently being trained by teenager Gimpy's to raid nearby villagers in preparation for future generations, and that the lad always takes his baby son—whom Zefron is currently holding—with him for such tasks, Zefron proceeds to knock everyone in the camp unconscious with sleeping gas, fully aware that the parameter triggering Triss's reverse scale is no longer in the area.

But…

Sighing once more, Zefron takes the lifeless baby into his arms and walks out of the tent with a regretful mumble with his gaze fixed on the two open eyes of Hugo Gerwin, "At least let me bury you. Perhaps that way my best investment won't crumble down like the other one."

Stepping out of the tent, Zefron observed Nappy sweating profusely as he focused on the 30 to 40 detached heads, while 80 others were still sleeping soundly on the ground, and spoke to the big kitty, gripping the saddle to establish a mental connection, "Close your eyes, boy. And then take a deep breath of that enchanting scent. Get your mind accustomed to that hunger."

With that, he searched the area for a shovel and walked into the distance forest while holding gently the enchanting red hue.

—

[30 minutes later.]

Passing through one of the tents holding a big chest of coins, jewelry, and gems, Zefron looks to his right and is stunned.

"Are you the one who is responsible for all of this?"

Looking and hearing the dryad with two dryads children locked up in the wooden cage voice her question, which is drawn out due to the poison, but she still manages to keep her eyes open with constant steady breathing, Zefron immediately lets go of the things he is holding and quickly picks the lock of the latch.

Because it's now a similar scenario to the weakness of Future Fate, like with the Bleinheim twins' boy, where the person doesn't do anything but silently stares and watches without interacting with him at all.

Opening the bolt, Zefron dashed into the cage and went directly behind her body to chop her neck, but…

Stopping his karate hand millimeters apart from her neck, Zefron asked in puzzlement, "Why are you not resisting?"

Turning her green face to face the black-haired man, the dryad wearing a dimeritium shackle asked back in return, "Why should I?"

Looking at her straight into her eyes and allowing his two remaining Fate Strings to wrap around the three of them, Zefron asked again, "Because I might kill you?"

Observing the silver string enveloping her body and the two dryad children she had pledged to protect, the dryad returned the gaze to the man with a unmotivated expression in her eyes and uttered, "Spare the two of them, as you spared some of the dh'oine."

Looking back into her eyes, as she seemed to be another potential subordinate worthy of his remaining Fate String, Zefron used the question that she had posed to him earlier, "Why should I?"

Gazing back into the man's eyes, with an unambitious oozing out from her body, the dryad explained her worth, "I am a Hamadryad. I can heal serious injuries, call upon the earth, command beasts or monsters, and I am well-versed in various kinds of herbs."

"How about being a toy?"

Finally eliciting a response from the green lady, who was slightly clenching her fist in a way he might not have noticed, the hamadryad replied to him still with a unmotivated tone, "Yes."

Nodding, he then extended his hand producing seven Fate Strings to directly Fate Bind the green lady, making her his subordinate.

—

[4 days later - Edge of Tukaj Mountain.]

"You've already seen all of my memories, like Triss and Keira. After a month, you must come here to this exact location and embark on a journey to be by my side for the rest of your life."

Looking at the retreating figure of Aglaïs, who was walking down the mountain to enter Brokilon while holding two dryad children and giving a slight nod with her unmotivated response, Zefron knew that she was far from lacking any passion at all.

Because after the Fate Binding and unclipping of the dimeritium shackles from both of her hands, the old lady immediately tried to kill him without a second thought, using her fingernails that went straight into his eyes.

But luckily, the misfortune that comes packaged with Fate Binding causes her to slip and fall to the ground in the wooden cage due to her own sweaty feet, promptly making him raise his guard once more to directly detain her.

After completing the operation of stealing anything that he can carry in Nappy's saddle, he immediately fully utilizes his Past Fate to learn about her behavior, characteristics, and her reverse scale.

Because he wants to fine-tune his character to maximize Aglaïs's loyalty, similar to what he did with his first two subordinates, aiming to become a changed man for Triss and a dependable person for Keira, if he wants his betting chances not to decrease further.

For if he continues to view human beings as mere tools rather than treating them differently, he will only revert to exploring the bloodlust that originated from the Instita, now without the motivation of seeking revenge for his little sister.

That's why he decided to invest heavily in the two ladies he had once again given in silver platter, wanting to find another purpose to move forward, rather than being driven solely by the emotions of bloodlust that were diminishing his chances of winning a bet. Which, he did find the purpose.

Finally discovering a goal to counter his bloodlust, which involves finding a way to manage the irritation he experiences when investing in something, Zefron now has a reason to move forward, thanks to Triss's perceptive understanding of people and her insight into his character.

But now there's a chance that a slip-up from a week ago could directly reverse the scale of Triss's loyalty into a raging fire of hatred because he accidentally killed a baby, knowing that he is too impassive to think of another plan, and potentially canceling their plan to travel together.

He has no choice but to force Aglaïs to stay by his side if he wants to gain a different perspective to change his mindset, realizing that his current outlook focused solely on destruction is detrimental and will ultimately lead him to a lack of success in his investments.

Because the reason is that even though Aglaïs has already lived through 70 years and witnessed a variety of situations, her pacifism vow to not harm anything remains unbroken. This makes her the perfect replacement if Triss decides not to join him on his journey scouting for location bases.

However, Zefron knows that Aglaïs acknowledges that under compelling circumstances, she will break her pacifism vow without hesitation, such as wanting to kill him immediately, falsely deducing that he will rape the two childern when hearing the word 'toy' coming out of his mouth.

But unlike Triss and Keira, who only came out of Aretuza and haven't seen the outside world much, just a bit during their time at the academy, and wanted to help him change his mindset with around three months plus one week of living together, Aglaïs isn't in the same situation.

Zefron deduces that under no circumstances will Aglaïs help him out of her own free will unless he threatens or 'compels' her with his memory of making a nuclear bomb that touches Aglaïs's reverse scale, which includes her seventeen years old daughter, her dryad family, and nature of this world.

Which he willingly shares his memory with anyone if it benefits him the most, such as revealing his perspective to Triss to make her want to stay by his side, and helping Aglaïs understand his perspective that he will resort to making the nuclear bomb if he has no other choice.

Coming out of contemplation and looking at the side where Nappy is currently licking his paw, Zefron then said to the big kitty, "Come, let's resume our journey and take Triss' future mount."

—