It had been over a month since Ivan moved in and the place was far livelier than it was before. Janet was having fun while Abigail wasn’t in fear for her life anymore. With the Brittoli Family gone, most of the people in the area started calming down. However, they just attributed everything being thanks to Ivan.

People were applying to join his troop, but they would have to undergo a strict examination. Those who were too old to fight were given the basic training so as to teach the kids who didn’t go off to the academies. This way, they wouldn’t have to travel just to try and become a soldier without knowing what they needed.

Two Unions were created within this time. The Veteran’s Union and the Scholar’s Union. The Veterans helped all elderly either find suitable jobs or helped provide aid for those that needed it. The Scholar’s Union was a group that shared information, so they were a very close association that focused on organizing that information. They would pay for new knowledge and get paid for accurately studying the knowledge and proving its worth.

By taking the information from all over, comparing ideas, and seeing which one works best, or if both could be used, the expansion of techniques spread throughout the region. Farmers combined the best methods to produce the maximum amount as possible. The blacksmiths, chefs, alchemists, and other such concoction-ers shared recipes in order to find the best ratio and make specialty items.

These would become the region’s exports and make them money.

However, the system was just being implemented, so the amazing results wouldn’t be seen for nearly another two or three years.

But Ivan and Janet didn’t have to worry about these. Instead, they were rock climbing.

“Feel the ground through your hands. Use the magic you developed as a sort of sense.”

Ivan was teaching Janet more about magic while carrying her up the mundane way. She looked a little annoyed, as she probably wanted to head towards the forest, but she complied with Ivan’s words. Only when they stopped to rest for lunch did Janet get a good look at the forest below.

“Wow…so deep.”

“Yep, don’t fall.”

And then, while smiling evilly, Ivan nudged her slightly, causing her to unfortunately tip over the edge. She became flustered, waving her arms and widening her eyes at the absurdity of the situation. However, no matter how much she waved her hands or bobbed about like a mad duck, she didn’t move. She stopped and looked around to see nothing holding her in the air, but could feel something underneath her.

“A platform made of wind. Eventually, you can do something like this, too. Now get back here.”

He tugged on her tunic, which looked more like boy’s clothes, since she was liable to become dirty. She fell down next to Ivan with a plop and sat up with a dazed expression.

“Hahaha! Alright, tell me if you see anything strange over there.”

He generalized the direction of the forest as he went back to the little alcove and began cooking lunch, which was two boxes of soup. However, when he opened his, a small red box much different in appearance to the regular white box, Janet looked over and sniffed.

“What’s that?”

“Something from the east. They call it noodles. Personally, I think grain needs to become bread, but it doesn’t taste so bad. Plus, it cooks in a similar way to the soup, so it’s efficient.”

Janet’s eyes sparkled as she waited for Ivan to cook it. He smirked at her childish expression and let her have a bite as he began cooking hers. However, when he looked over, Janet had already eaten half the contents!

“Hey! You brat! Whatever. I can just get some more back home.”

He looked a little hurt, but he ignored it. How many times had he been forced to eat this food? A lot. It was fine since he could just get it later. It wasn’t like the food was a person.

However, Janet had slurped up all of the food and sprawled out on the ground. She patted her slightly swollen belly and grinned at Ivan.

“Thanks!”

For the most part, Janet’s words were without passion or movement. They were monotone and boring, even though her expressions have gotten more lively and fun to watch. But now there was joy in her words, which caused Ivan to be surprised. He played the scene over and over in his head before realizing where he was. He shook his head and replied.

“Yeah. You owe me one, though, brat.”

He gave his own grin before draining the soup in one go.