A grand feast was held in the great tribe's village.
Aktun and I sat at a huge round table. The crew and his warriors were seated separately.
All around the plaza, whole wild boars were being roasted.
It wasn't just for us—everyone in the tribe was enjoying as much at as they wanted.
The Tak children played, running about.
"You must have spent a lot of gold coins, huh?"
"Today is a joyful day for us."
"Try farming and raising livestock, too."
"We'll do that."
As Aktun lifted his cup, everyone present did the sa.
I thought he might say a word or two, but he just drank boldly and set down his glass.
Unlike humans, their leader didn't give any words of celebration.
They also seed to hold back on drinking, perhaps so no conflicts would arise between us while tipsy.
Next to , Wundbark was getting nagged by Makshim.
Still, since they were each other's only family, Wundbark didn't look too bothered.
"Uncle, why don't you co live with
instead?"
"You're the one who should co; why should I go?"
"How long have you lived here, elder?"
"It's almost been twenty years now. So, how is Dran in the west doing?"
"Everyone in the west is doing well. Our Dran has declined quite a bit, but things will change now."
"They should. Well then, have a drink on ."
Makshim poured a drink for Urald.
Urald said, "What would've happened if Allen had co?"
"No kidding. That rascal would've gotten drunk and picked a fight with the warriors."
"Who's Allen?"
"He's a guy who ca with us from the main tribe."
Wundbark whispered to Makshim.
Makshim chuckled and laughed.
"He's the great elder's great-grandson. Hahaha."
"A hopeless case, that one."
"Just wait. Even that rascal will pull his weight."
"He will."
All three from Dran smiled brightly and toasted.
I could more or less guess why they were laughing.
Though I wasn't fully certain.
Aktun and I silently emptied our glasses.
Even without words, we understood each other.
Like very old friends.
/ / /
We left the very next day.
No matter how close we've beco, humans are still uneasy guests to the Tak.
So we traveled for days, crossed the eastern mountains, and finally arrived at Mouk.
After entering the city, I parted with my group and headed to the rchant guild building.
The rest all flocked to the tavern.
There's nothing better after a long journey than a cold glass of beer.
There's no place as comfortable as ho.
In front of the guild building, Goose and Lord Urke were waiting and ran up when they saw .
Their faces were blooming with smiles.
"Oh my! Our young lord!"
"You've arrived! Hahahaha!"
Goose tried to hug and kiss , so I gently pushed him away.
I shook hands with Lord Urke and gave him a hearty hug.
None of them could hide their joy.
"I was just so surprised! Who would've dread you'd show up with a generator? And that's not all! Now we can sell large amounts of copper and all kinds of minerals, and we got ten ships! Hahaha!"
"Thanks to this, our stock price has been hitting its upper limit every day."
"It's gone up a lot?"
"It's gone up at least tenfold."
"It's crazy. The demand to issue more shares is pouring in."
"We need to issue about twice as many. The branch needs expansion, and there are new places to develop, too."
"Well, it's good for us, since the money keeps coming in. And I hear you wiped out the pirates in the volcanic archipelago?"
"Yes. There are so resources there."
"Kya! As expected, you're amazing, young lord!"
"Anyway, let's quit chatting in the street. I've prepared a feast for your arrival."
"Then I'll gladly accept it."
"That's right! Hahaha!"
The three of us laughed heartily and headed for the restaurant.
Then I noticed a luxury inn being built in the busy part of town.
There were also so new buildings going up.
"Business must be booming lately."
"Of course! There's more than a handful of rchants who want to open branches of our bank. Many are interested in the share-based rchant guild, too. Plenty want to invest."
"How are things in the capital?"
"The capital? Wahahahaha!"
Goose laughed so hard you could see his uvula.
"They must be furious. Capital nobles' rchants just suck their thumbs, too scared of the nobles to do business. There's so much investnt demand, we may have to split up the guild into affiliates."
"We should start by separating the bank. The more shares to trade, the better for investors."
Goose looked at
quietly and laughed.
"Do you rember what you said to
the very first ti you ca here?"
"What did I say?"
"You told —if I didn't lend you money, it would go down as the greatest mistake in Goose's entire life."
"Did I really say that?"
"I'll admit now—back then, my heart nearly stopped! If I hadn't truly seen you for what you were, we wouldn't be where we are now."
"You said you could see the future of the house?"
"I did. And I ant every word then. Hah! Thinking about it now, it's terrifying. I almost made a huge mistake over just a hundred gold coins."
I laughed at the mory.
Just then, we passed by the exchange, and it was in an uproar. It seed like the number of people had doubled.
"Co to think of it, there are so many outsiders."
"So rchants are here to invest. Others are just visiting the exchange. So are here on business inquiries. There are more nobles, too."
As we walked, johnny started following us.
He couldn't join the adults' conversation and hadn't even greeted us, just trailed behind.
"You go in first. Johnny's here now."
"All right, take your ti."
Goose and Lord Urke went into the restaurant.
Only then did Johnny run up and bow his head, greeting .
"Young lord, you've arrived."
"How have you been?"
"Very well. Russell sent , thinking you'd be too busy when you got to Mouk."
"Good. Join us for a al."
"? How could I dine with the lord? I just want to report and eat with my friends."
"Go ahead, give
a quick report."
Johnny glanced at his note and spoke.
"First, the ships are being refitted. The fishern and their families are staying at the inn. The family head ordered support as soon as they heard the news."
"Fine. And then?"
"The new territory has started its basic construction. Supplies are coming in steadily. Except for a few items you brought, everything's been moved to the fortress."
"Goose knows?"
"He figured it out. When we were moving things in secret under Russell's orders, he noticed. But once he learned it was magic equipnt, he pretended not to know."
That was the part ant for Russell.
If it's revealed to be magic equipnt, Goose won't bother himself.
That's how much magic is considered a field one shouldn't touch. Especially rchants.
"Nothing happened after that?"
"No. I told him you made so money, and he laughed, saying he figured as much. Thanks to that, Red Beard's treasure was safely sent to the fortress. The family head fainted when they saw it."
Johnny grinned like a child.
The treasure was enormous. It was only about 5% of the hoard in the Guardian's lair, though.
"Nothing happened at the fortress?"
"No. The Syren family is quiet in the capital, too. But they seem to have noticed our intelligence squad, so orders ca to halt activity for now."
"Well done. I should send the intelligence squad so money for their hard work. What about the Urada territory?"
"No incidents or anything, but... three houses haven't repaid the second round of compensation. That said, there's loads of money in the territory."
"You sold the transparent gems."
"Yes, all of them."
Now, the current steward at Urada territory is waiting for
to arrive.
She's a bit confused about where to start the rebuilding.
"How are elder brother and elder sister?"
"They're doing well. The wolves are good, too. The workers were startled when they suddenly showed up at the new territory."
"All right. Good job."
I took out two gold coins from my pocket.
"Go eat sothing nice with your friends."
"I have money now, though."
"Your friends at the exchange will be working for us one day. Go treat them."
"Yes, young lord."
Johnny accepted the coins and bowed deeply.
I patted Johnny's shoulder and entered the restaurant.
As I sat down, the finest dishes began to appear.
Over the al, I talked with the two about all sorts of things—the state of the southern Tak tribes and the goods we acquired this ti, along with what happened in the Robe Republic and volcanic archipelago.
We discussed various business plans, too—trade with Robe, the electricity business, volcanic archipelago developnt, and so on.
We also talked about splitting up affiliates.
After finishing the discussion, we went to Goose's tavern for drinks.
For the first ti in ages, I enjoyed a comfortable night out, just like when I'd drink with friends in a previous life.
/ / /
I returned to the fortress.
Ross and Rozie were waiting in front of the castle.
It was no surprise that Russell was standing next to Rozie, but next to Ross was soone unexpected.
"Well done."
"You've worked hard."
I embraced my elder brother and elder sister deeply.
Then I shook hands with Russell as firmly as I could.
"I'm glad you made it back safely."
"It seems a lot has happened while I was gone."
Rozie and Ross just laughed at my comnt.
Russell answered, "I'll explain everything in ti."
"I can pretty much guess already."
"It's a bit embarrassing."
The person standing next to Ross was a young lady.
She had changed a little, so I didn't recognize her at first.
She used to be just a pretty girl, but now she was truly beautiful.
She took her skirt with both hands and gave
a polite bow.
She was the very picture of elegance.
But I wondered if this was really okay.
If sothing went wrong, we could end up like Roo and Juliet.
"It's been a while, young master."
"It's good to see you. You've beco even more beautiful."
"Thank you."
She took a step back with her head lowered.
Ross said, "Let's go in."
Everyone headed inside the castle.
We went straight to the elevator platform, and the atmosphere was awkward.
The two won were shy, and the two n pretended not to notice.
I stared at Ross.
He was avoiding my gaze at first, then, as if to ask what I was looking at, suddenly whirled his head and looked right at .
"What?"
"Did you fall in love at first sight?"
"Yeah."
The young lady turned away, flustered at Ross's answer.
Rozie covered her mouth and laughed.
Russell cleared his throat and stared at the wall.
"You're a real thief."
"What? If you put it that way, Russell's a bandit chief. He's eight years older than elder sister."
This ti, Rozie blushed.
Russell smiled awkwardly.
Watching what happened while I was away was as funny as it was heartwarming.
We got off the elevator platform and went to the lounge.
The cooks were bringing out food.
Everyone sat at the table. For several days now, it's been nothing but feasts.
I took a sip of tea first.
No one knew where to begin, so everyone just watched each other.
I couldn't say anything to Ross for falling for a woman.
The young lady was Urada Count's granddaughter.
She was the shy girl whom Russell and I first t when we went to Urada castle, now sitting here with us.
Her father is the boss of Tris, which is hostile to us, and her eldest uncle is the Grand Duke of Syren.
But their ties have been cut. It shouldn't affect our house at all.
"Since when?"
"? Or elder sister?"
"Both of you."
Ross grinned and said, "A little after you left, lady Urada and Jena ca. They stayed ten days, and I got along with them well. The lady saw
favorably, too. So, this ti I invited Jena for her second visit."
"Did you formally tell the lady?"
"Of course I did."
"What did you say?"
"That, I can't tell you."
Did he propose?
Ross and Jena's feelings co first, but it also seed the lady's strategic decision played a part.
Otherwise, she couldn't have sent her only daughter to this fortress.
The lady and her daughter have to rely on us.
Just for that, there's no better groom for Jena than Ross.
The feelings matched up, too.
Ross continued, "Turns out everyone but
already knew about elder sister and Russell. So, I told them they shouldn't hide it and should just date openly. At first, they were awkward, but now they even hold hands."
Rozie simply glanced at Russell instead of replying.
Even just watching the two of them, you could see their affection.
I wondered if they'd hidden their feelings for each other for a long ti.
Jena was beautiful enough for any man to fall for, so Ross's feelings made sense.
I'd hoped Rozie and Russell would get together, so it worked out well.
"Are you both going to do it within the year?"
Both Ross and Rozie nodded.
It's a joyous event for the house, which pleased .
If Father had been alive, he would have been happier than anyone.
We all laughed and dined together.
Seeing my happy family, a corner of my heart grew hollow.
I rarely felt this way, even in my previous life.
Eilin, waving from the pier.
I realized why that image wouldn't leave my mind.
She was already in my heart.
I hadn't even noticed—sohow, over the long night,
Like pure white snow had fallen.
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