Cale moved faster than the others with Raon and Choi Han with him.

He was currently meeting with his father in his office in the Henituse castle. He had not been here in a while.

"Father."

"Yes." Count Deruth could not stop smiling after seeing his son for the first time in a long time.

The Count believed that Cale had been living like a hermit at the villa in Harris Village until he traveled to another kingdom to do the crown prince's bidding.

"You see, I-"

"Speak at ease."

There was a reason Cale came back here before the others. "I plan to bring some people I know to our territory."

He was naturally talking about the Tiger tribe. It would be difficult and annoying to hide them because of their number and size.

Count Deruth saw the seriousness in his son's face and started to speak. "How many people?"

"Approximately twenty. They are poor and pitiful people who lost their home."

"Are they a family?"

"Yes sir."

"Hmm." Count Deruth started to think.

It would be winter soon. People wandering around without a home. He was sure that these people were wandering without having been able to harvest anything in the fall.

"There are some adults, as well as children and the elderly."

Count Deruth's frown became deeper after hearing Cale's words. He was thinking about how these pitiful people were shivering while looking for a new home.

Count Deruth took a sip of tea to calm himself. He looked toward his son Cale after the tea warmed him up a bit. He understood why his son would want to bring them here. His son was always a kind-hearted young man.

Cale observed Deruth's response and said in the most pitiful tone as possible. "Father, that is why I hope to let them immigrate to Harris Village. Will that be okay?"

It was the Lord of the territory's decision whether new residents could move into the territory. Cale was being cautious because he was not bringing just a few guests, instead, he was giving them a residence in their territory.

'But I'm sure he will allow it.' Cale thought that Deruth would not object based on his personality and furthermore, it was his request.

The Count slowly started to speak. "That is a bit difficult."

Cale flinched. "Oh"

He did not expect his father to say no. He did not expect it at all.

Count Deruth continued to speak at that moment. "Harris Village is the most northern part of our territory. The Northern Alliance is expected to head down in the spring."

Count Deruth considered himself to be a selfish person, however, he still showed warmth to the people in his territory.

"That is why I plan to move the current residents of the north prior to the spring as well. We can't leave the residents in a dangerous location."

Clack. Deruth put down his teacup on the table and continued to speak. "Bring those people to the castle. I will give them a place to stay."

Cale observed his misunderstood father without being able to say anything.

The Count started to speak again after seeing Cale's condition. "You do not need to worry about anything else. Our territory has a lot of mines and is developed in the arts, so we have never been wary of foreigners. The castle has also gotten bigger since we reinforced the castle walls. I can even help them with their monetary needs."

"Father." Cale cautiously cut off Count Deruth, who sounded like he would continue to speak, and responded back. "They are the Tiger tribe."

"Hmm?"

"They are Tiger tribe Beast people."

Count Deruth looked toward his son while wondering why he was suddenly talking about the Tiger tribe.

"Father, the people I am bringing are from the Tiger tribe." Cale generously explained to Count Deruth, who seemed to be confused. "They are very strong. They are a great addition as we prepare for war. I am thinking of bringing them over because they are wandering without a home."

Count Deruth started speaking after a long time. "You did well."

"Yes, Father." Cale happily accepted the praise. "Father. The restoration of Harris Village is completed, but we do not have any residents living there."

"The Tiger tribe wants to be around a forest as well. I think it would be great if we gave them the village as a new home."

"You're right, you're right." The Count nodded his head multiple time as he answered. 'Yes, whatever my son says is right.'

There was a different kind of smile on his face now. Raon, who was watching the father-son duo chat while remaining invisible, started to speak into Cale's mind.

– Human, your father is smiling like you do when you are scamming people! It is amazing! It is very similar!

Cale paid no attention to Raon's words and acted as if it's a given.

The Count gave his son an order as the Lord of the territory. "I will leave that to you."

"Yes sir." Cale chatted with the Count about some other things as well before getting up.

Count Deruth started to speak again as Cale headed for the door.

"Show your face every so often, even if you are busy. Violan and your siblings are waiting for you."

"I understand. I will try to spend the beginning of the year here."

"Good."

Cale walked out of the office. He missed this. But as someone who had avoid having close relationship with his family for a long time, these kind of conversations made him feel a bit awkward.

However, he did not have time to continue to feel this type of awkwardness.

Cale visited the tea shop in the city for the first time in a while.

[The Fragrance of Tea with Poetry]

It was the tea shop run by the Flynn Merchant Guild's Billos. A worker had been running it ever since Billos left for the capital, but it still remained in the same location.

And today, the owner had returned to the shop for the first time in a while.

"Long time no see."

"Have you been well, young master-nim?"

Billos's piggy bank-like face was full of joy. He was currently using the magic devices Cale had handed to him, as well as the benefits he got from the Whipper Kingdom's Civil War, to increase his influence in the Flynn Merchant Guild.

"So-so. I didn't expect you to come right away after I contacted you."

"I happened to be in the area. I should come right away when you call for me anyway, young master-nim." Billos shared his honest sentiments.

The reason he had no choice but to come was because Cale never wasted his time. His intuition as a merchant was telling him something.

It was telling him that something always happens whenever Cale called him. He had rushed over right away because he was curious what it would be this time.

Cale slowly started to speak. "Let's go to the Empire."

"... The Empire?" Billos was not shocked. It was because he had prepared himself for anything Cale might say.

Cale casually added on. "Yeah. But do you know any Alchemists?"

"...Excuse me?"

Tap. Tap. Cale tapped on the table as he continued.

He was speaking in a contemplating tone. "I'm sure that there are some Alchemists who were pushed aside by the Empire without having been able to be a part of the Alchemists' Bell Tower. Just like in the Whipper Kingdom."

Just like in the Whipper Kingdom.

During the time when the Magic Tower ruled the land, there were mages who had walked away from the Magic Tower after seeing the cruel experiments and oppression of the people, as well as some who were kicked out after asking the Magic Tower to change their methods.

Although the Alchemists' Bell Tower was pretty quiet right now, they were also conducting cruel experiments. There were bound to be people who could not stand such experiments and acted out or walked out on their own accord.

Cale watched as Billos slowly opened his mouth. Billos started to speak. "Although I do not know of anybody, I will find someone."

"Yes. That's the type of response I like."

It was easy to talk to Billos.

Billos cautiously asked Cale, who seemed to be satisfied. "But what do you plan to do if you find such an Alchemist?"

"Put them to work."

"...Excuse me?"

Cale ignored Billos's question and said what he needed to say. "Do you know where to buy ingredients for Alchemy?"

"... There are a lot in the Empire."

"Then buy a lot of the things I tell you to buy."

"... Uhh, mm. Yes sir."

Raon started to speak in Cale's mind.

–Human! Are we making that pillar of fire too?

The thousand-year-old ancient Dragon had a significant amount of knowledge in Alchemy as well. Eruhaben looked at the liquid that created the pillar of fire and started to speak. "Hoo, the humans made something quite entertaining."

Eruhaben was currently researching in his lair after getting intrigued.

Cale planned to get everything he needed while he was in the Empire.

– Human, this sounds fun!

There was no reason they couldn't make it when the Empire could.

"Then should I head to the Empire first?"

"Yes. My plans will correspond with his highness, so you can move accordingly as well."

The crown prince was advertising his visit to the Empire to everyone. There was no reason to hide it since his actions would make the citizens of the Roan Kingdom believe that he was a just prince.

"I understand."

Cale ended this short meeting after seeing Billos nod his head without asking anything else.

The two planned on having a long conversation in the Empire's capital over drinks. This was because they each had a lot of things to do.

Cale started to move quickly. First of all, he needed to take care of all of the documents related to Harris Village before the Tiger tribe arrived.

"Basen, long time no see."

"Yes, Hyung-nim!"

His younger brother Basen, whom he had not seen for a while, was now very involved in the territory's administration. Although his father had said that Cale was in charge of this Harris Village situation, he still put Basen by Cale's side.

'I can report things to Basen like this once he becomes the lord.'

Cale was planning on not doing much within the territory, but should there be a reason for him to report something, he felt relaxed that he could report to Basen like this.

That was why Cale's expression was calm as he handed Basen the documents. "Here, these are the documents I created."

"Thank you, Hyung-nim. I'm happy to be able to support you like this."

"Support? Father did not tell you to support me. He told us to work together."

Cale sighed at Basen's statement.

He was thinking that his father had stuck Basen with him because he was worried that Cale would not take care of things properly, since he abandoned his lessons long ago.

'It also means that Basen is that trustworthy when it comes to administrative tasks.' It should mean that Basen's status as the successor was further solidified.

Basen looked at his brother, who was casually drinking tea after handing him the documents, and started to speak.

"Hyung-nim."

"Yes?"

Basen was touching the papers Cale had prepared.

People who had lost their home. Furthermore, they were the strong Tiger tribe. Cale Henituse had brought them to their territory.

Basen was amazed by his brother's level of sympathy and resourcefulness.

"Hyung-nim, I am currently working hard to learn about the workings of the territory. I believe that our territory has much more to offer than just marble, and so I plan to make the territory wealthier and sturdier."

Cale liked Basen's mindset to become the lord and make money. "Great. I will continue to cheer you on."

"Thank you, Hyung-nim! I really hope to show that to you in the future." Basen's stoic face seemed quite passionate.

"Well, okay, I can't wait to see that."

"Yes, Hyung-nim, I will show you that I can be a useful person for the territory."

Cale looked toward Basen with shock. Basen stopped talking after seeing Cale's expression.

'...I guess I am quite lacking compared to the people around Hyung-nim.' That thought made Basen's expression stiffen up.

He then heard Cale's voice. "What the heck are you talking about? Basen Henituse, you are already a vital part of this territory. Do not have such thoughts!"

Cale was flabbergasted. Cale waved at Basen in order to say that he did not want to hear anything else as Basen clenched the papers in his hands.

"Yes sir! I will work very hard!" He gave an energetic response before leaving Cale's study.

Cale watched Basen's back with a little worries before standing up. "This kid..."

Raon slowly appeared and asked him a question. "Human."

"What?" Cale snapped. "Ah, sorry. What is it?"

"Umm, do you plan on becoming the lord?"

"...sigh... What nonsense are you saying now? The lord will be Basen."

Raon tilted his head in confusion, but Cale decided not to think about it right now.

However, Raon, who was invisible, asked him internally once more as Cale headed to meet Countess Violan.

– Human, what does a lord of a territory do? Can you travel a lot?

"I don't know, I abandoned all my lessons due to some reasons, ah, don't be like me and abandoned your lessons with Eruhaben-nim. What I know is that a lord has a lot of work, so he can't travel a lot."

– Then Human, let's not be a lord, like you said, let your brother do it. So you can travel a lot with us.

Cale smiled at where he thought Raon was and knocked on the door. Once he had the permission, he opened the door and looked toward the Countess.

Violan, who still did not have even a single hair out of place, started to speak to Cale. "Your face seems so skinny. Did you eat well? I've heard that you're heading to the Empire with his highness?"

"Yes. He seems to need my help for the investigation of the magic bomb incident." Cale flinched a bit at Violan's gaze that seemed to be looking right through him.

Countess Violan casually asked. "Does his highness often give you difficult tasks?"

"Mm, they are not too hard. It's quite fun to do actually." Cale smiled at the thought of hitting his enemies in the back.

"Is that so?" Countess Violan started to smile. "Then I am relieved."

"Mo— um, is Mueller currently resting?" Cale avoided her knowing gaze.

Mueller, the Dwarf and Rat tribe mix-blood. Cale had heard that he was resting in the castle after completing the ship.

The Countess, who was responsible for the sculptures and construction in the territory, looked at her son's face before starting to speak. "I will send him to Harris Village."

She easily see though that awkwardness when he stopped himself from calling her mother, she also understood his intentions for asking about Mueller.

"Thank you for your help."

"Sure."

"Then I'm leaving now."

Cale finished the short conversation and headed back toward his study when he ran into Lily. His youngest sister Lily was standing in front of his study.

– Human! Your sister has gotten strong!

'Yes. She does seem that way.' The sword on Lily's back was even larger now. She had a medium length sword on her waist and a greatsword on her back.

"Orabuni."

Cale caressed Lily's head as she slowly approached him. "You've improved quite a bit."

Lily scratched her cheeks as if she was embarrassed about the compliment. Cale was genuinely impressed.

Compared to Cale, whose skin was just slightly tanned, Lily was dark and tanned as if she had trained a lot underneath the sun. She was also tall for her age. He could feel the effort that she had put in.

"Lily, it looks like you will become the strongest of us siblings."

Lily energetically nodded her head. "I will get stronger and protect the territory!"

"Splendid." Cale shared his true feelings. "I know that you will do well. I think twin blades would suit you well."

"Yes. My master told me that defense is more difficult than offense. I will become a knight who knows how to protect."

Lily was young but had heard about everything her older brothers had done. The majority of the stories were about her oldest brother Cale. Her master had told her this when she shared those stories with him.

"Lily, When I was the Knight Captain of a small territory, there was one important thing I learned."

"Master, what was it?"

"The door needs to be sturdy."

"The door?"

"Yes, the door. If a sturdy door protects the entrance of the territory so that nobody can be tempted to take it, the people inside will have no fear."

"...So I should become a knight that is like that door?"

"Yes. You must become a door that is even sturdier than the castle wall."

Lily shared that with her oldest brother.

"I will become a knight that is like a sturdy door!"

Cale flinched while wondering what she was talking about but nodded his head while thinking that a young child should have a vivid imagination.

"Alright, work hard. Just don't try to rush anything."

"Yes sir!"

Cale watched as Lily headed back to train with excitement on her face before opening the door to the study.

The smile on his face quickly disappeared.

"Freesia, long time no see."

The assassin who is pretending to be a sculptor. The woman who had sculpted the devil-like rabbit bowed her head at Cale's greeting.

Cale picked up the rare cup of sweet tea Ron offered him as soon as he sat down on his chair. "Freesia."

"Yes sir."

"Did you say you are from the Southwest region?"

You needed to cross the border from the Roan Kingdom's Southwest region in order to get into the Empire. The crown prince was planning on teleporting to the Southwest district and then crossing the border with the envoy.

"Yes sir. I am from the Southwest."

The territory that was at the southwest border. The Gyerre Territory. It was Duchess Gyerre's territory.

Cale quietly observed Freesia. The people who were a part of Cale's information network along with Freesia were all originally assassins. They used to roam the southwest while taking jobs from the nobles.

Cale started to speak. "The reason all of you ran away from the Southwest district was because of your attempted assassination of a noble after killing your leader?"

"Yes sir. That is correct."

The assassins' guild had only killed nobles. However, the leader had accepted a job to kidnap a young child. Freesia, who disagreed with it, killed the leader and attempted to assassinate the noble who ordered the job.

"And that noble was a vassal of the Southwest territory's lord?"

"...Yes sir."

One of Duke Gyerre's vassals had done such a terrible thing. He ordered the kidnapping of a child in the Roan Kingdom where slaves were outlawed.

Freesia cautiously started to speak after seeing Cale starting to smile. "Young master-nim, may I ask the reason you asked about it?"

A reason. Cale answered without any hesitation. "To grasp their weakness."

He seemed to now realize what Lily might have talked about a moment ago.

The Southwest's Gyerre Territory. That was the door to the Empire. They could not allow such a door to be weak.

Since he did not know what would happen in the future, he needed to make it so that they would be able to defend it with their lives.

Cale casually continued to speak to Freesia, who seemed very concerned about Duke Gyerre's territory. "I have a very sturdy backing."