Invitation

"Oops! Sorry! I was looking for you!" The new arrival was named Joey whose lanky, boyish face tried to hold a burst of laughter from coming out or he might offend his friend.

Instead, he grinned as he spoke. "Master was asking for you."

"Hey Joey! Is it true that those slavers are here?" One of the kitchen ladies annoyingly asked.

"I noticed them but they seem not to recognize any of us. If they still do, then they might be hiding it." Joey nonchalantly replied.

"Aren't you afraid? I was serving them!" Mina yelled, clearly exasperated.

"Hold your horses, dear! We can't be in any sort of danger. Just look at what our masters are capable of. Can those slave traders even beat them?" Another kitchen lady spoke as her voice started from shouting to eventually reassuring.

Mina suddenly had a realization while she gently muttered her reply, "No…"

"Then, we don't have to worry about them," Joey assured her. "Let's go! Master is waiting for you."

Since the opening of the tea shop, the number of customers had been multiplying several folds day after day from the beginning of its operation. Because of the number of customers visiting the tea shop, Sigmund went to the extent of converting a segment of the second floor of the building to be part of the tea shop.

Rocco and Mortino had their first visit to the tea shop on that day, mildly surprised at the number of customers. But they still managed to get a table inside.

They were observing the servers, who were all young and attractive. They even noticed the energy fluctuation of these servers, a factor they could not help but be astonished by. Most of the taverns in Greston Village employed mortals as most mages were adventurers. But in this tea shop, these servers who they believed were mages allowed themselves to be relegated to that kind of job.

"What do you think we should do now?" Mortino asked, still undecided about their current situation. He wanted to escape from his job and migrate to another village where he could not be found by that employer. He did not even recognize the face of his employer so he was not sure how he would deal with the time he might encounter the people working under that employer coincidentally.

"You're a mage level 3 while I am at level 4, is it something that we should be worried about? Let's find another village to explore and then we can set a plan from there. But we need to escape first. If they ever search, then we must make haste to conquer a low-class village to capture a few thousand people to…" Rocco suddenly halted when he felt his head throbbing in pain. "Urgh!"

"Hey, what happened to you?" Mortino asked with concern though it was with less sincerity as he was already thinking of splitting from his friend.

"Let's get out of here," Rocco muttered as he stood from his chair. Mortino left two silver coins to pay for their bills.

Joey watched the two guests walk out of the tea shop. He eyed the silver coins from the table and took them to relay to the manager.

From that moment, the servers of the Chua tea shop never saw the faces of the two personalities they recognized as slave traders.

Rocco and Mortino fled from the village the next day, bringing with them their personal guards. As to their whereabouts, this was noted by one of the guards under General Markito Lora.

Jiro was the name mentioned in the conversation between Rocco and Mortino. He was also assigned to monitor the slave traders. His involvement, however, was limited as he did not want to be recognized as part of the same party scorned by the people of Greston.

When he reported this matter to his superior, Jiro was flabbergasted at the general's response.

"So they fled. Hmmm…" General Markito Lora sensed another headache coming.

"Continue to monitor the shops of Sigmund Chua and his sons. We received a tip that they hired people in their shops. But there was no evidence pointing that incident to them yet. If they are capable of erecting that large building, then they can bring people from other territories here."

The general spoke with uncertainty but he remained tactful as he did not wish to instigate a conspiracy that would make him an enemy of the Chuas. What he is fearful of would be the moment when Lord Rainier found out about that incident.

"Are you sure their direction is far from that city?"

"Yes, I am certain of it. I also brought with me a scout as we trailed them outside the territory up to certain routes in the primeval forest. They seem to be moving southward."

"Southward, eh? I guess, they will be met with surprise unless they change their direction. It's not anymore a matter of concern to us." The general closed his eyes as he was pondering the matter. "Anything else?"

"We will continue to observe the facility if people are lurking in it," Jiro replied.

"Observe the facility for ten days. It's likely that somebody will arrive at the teleportation formation. When you reported about Rocco and Mortino departing from the village and not using the teleportation formation, then fleeing from their employer was their true intention. I am just concerned that someone will come by and ask for them." He paused as he eyed his subordinate whose features were similar to one of his nephews, only with a younger appearance. "Okay, you may go."

"Thank you, General!"

Jiro momentarily bowed before departing from the site of the general's residence.

_______________________

In another area within Greston Village, an attractive woman whose features resembled that of an aristocrat whose auburn hair had gentle curls on the end, while most of her hair was wrapped in a bun, arranged meticulously to augment one's beauty. She was seated in a semi-lotus position beside a purple-flowered tree that was emitting gentle purple light and orbs of white, violet, and purple could be seen, floating around it.

"This Mystical Jacaranda is a wonderful tree. Sigmund is indeed magnanimous. But he did not even ask for anything yet. Hmm… A cunning man like him should not be underestimated."

Sildora Zenia was meditating for five hours that day. Two days ago, she received a surprise visitor. They talked for a few minutes. And then she was astonished when a tree immediately sprouted in her garden midway through their conversation.

She asked him about what the other had in mind. Instead, she was handed a thin gold plate, which was the invitation card for the grand opening of Chua, Sons, and Company.

"I expect you to be there and grace my banquet." It was the last statement she heard when her guest suddenly rose and announced his departure.

"I guess, I will learn more about what he really wanted."

The deputy chief of Greston Village, despite her age, still managed to retain her youthfulness. Her alluring eyes began to close as she decided to prolong her meditation that day.