After some time had passed, the sun was already about to set, when one of the maids in the castle had gently approached Souma and spoke into his ear. Nodding at what he said he turned to us,

“It seems that Mr. Jack has gained consciousness again.”

“Bring him here then. It’s already this late and we can enjoy this sunset from here as well.” Said Youlias.

After hearing that, the maid turned around and trotted off quickly. Souma looked around at the setting sun with a wistful expression. Perhaps, he was missing something that I did not know of.

“Missing your homeland, eh?” said Youlias after noticing.

“Sometimes. When I see a sunset like this I tend to remember the day when I went to the beach with my family that one time. The sunset was just as beautiful as it is now. Well, this is another world so not exactly. There are 3 moons here too.”

“Three Moons?!”

This came out rather unexpectedly out of my mouth. It’s understandable because I had a hard time picturing that.

“Yes. There they are, peeking from behind the blanket of the fading orange.” Said Youlias.

We turned to look at it more closely; Lucy already knew this sight but it was a fairly exciting sight to both me and Anikia. There really were three moons. Floating in the sea of fading orange like a cluster. How does that work anyway? Don’t they collide with each other?

“Sir, Mister Jack Ofaltra has arrived.” The maid politely informed Souma.

“Send him in,” he replied.

This time when he entered, his complexion h was a bit better than before and he was wearing much fancier clothes than before. I had seen from the corner of my eye, a figure soaring in the sky somewhere. Perhaps it was Tetia who took her dragon form and rushed to their home to get better clothes. Thoughtful

“May I greet Her Greatness, Lady Velkra, and His Majesty The King Youlias?.”

“You may.” Said Souma.

“I am honored to meet you. As for earlier, please forgive my embarrassing blunder. I was very forcefully brought here and was not aware of the situation. And well… I’ll have to beat a few manners into Tetia’s pea brain as well.”

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“It isn’t a problem, Mr. Merchant. It’s better if you stand up and raise your head to talk to Great Velkra.” Said Youlias.

“Forgive my rudeness.”

After that, he stood up and Youlias ordered a maid who offered a seat to him. He sat down and now it was up to me to deal with him.

“What I brought you here for was to present you with a business opportunity.”

“A business opportunity? May I be rude to inquire about it?”

Now I could easily see the glint in his eyes. He truly was a person of great sense.

“Indeed. I require products for basic needs such as food and clothing. Along with a bulk of lodging resources for people around two thousand.”

“Two Thou-?! Ahem! Two thousand, Your Greatness?”

“Yes. The contents of our deal will remain confidential. Perhaps I will give you my blessing if you succeed in this endeavor. You can do that, am I right?”

“I don’t exactly need the blessing… But- I will do it. Confidentiality is what you require then it is no burden. But it will be hard to mobilize a number of personnel if you want to keep this trade undercover. One would have to transport- Ah, where would we be delivering the goods, Great Velkra?”

“They will be transported to The Great Forest of Alfera. Deep parts of it to be exact.”

“Forest of Alfera…? It will be difficult to transport this much with large personnel if you want to keep it under wraps but it will also be impossible to do this with a small entourage. The forest of Alfera is a hotspot for monster activity and most spawns come from there. If so I cannot guarantee my staff’s security, then this will be impossible.”

“You don’t need to worry that much. My people will protect the entourage and we can also transport the goods in two parts. I will send my people to you for security. Rest assured they will demonstrate their abilities to you when they arrive.”

“I see… If it is you then… Well, I will need a week or so to get this many of these goods. If it is for more than a thousand people then they must be refugees… I think they might need accommodations to sleep and goods for basic needs as well…”

He began muttering to himself. I’m pretty surprised that he can deduce that they are refugees just from some clues. He is going to be useful for my kingdom. I should keep him close. The idea of a blessing doesn’t seem bad after all.

“I understand, Great Velkra. I will make the arrangements. I hope your men will be trustworthy. Can you please define the point where we are transporting the goods to?”

“Of course. Youlias, do you have a map?”

“Of course.” He said.

The maid went out for a bit and then came pacing back with the map.

Now, Twixie. You are up. Tell me where the Gate is on this map.

[Let me see. Hmm… Around here I guess?]

You guess…?

[Yeah. This was the place with the most energy when we were going into the forest for the first time.]

I see.

As she had said, the place with the Gate had been highlighted by a small ball of light floating over it. Jack and everyone seemed taken aback for a moment and both of the kids were toughing with sparkly eyes. What are they, a cat? I would love to see Felia do that though.

“Here. We will be taking it around here. I will station some of my people there to meet you.”

“I see, then we will take the usual route towards Diacis as it will be dangerous to travel in Alfera the whole time. This brings the risk factor down and then we can head in from near Diacis. Great Velkra, I would like you to set up a checkpoint midway through the route for more security then we can complete our planning here.”

“I see, I’ll arrange for that.”

“I look forward to working under you great Velkra.”

“Me as well. May our future be as bright as these moons.”

The three moons were round and shining with their utmost radiance. Bright white.

“Yes. May I excuse myself now? I assume you are tired as well, Great Velkra.”

“Yeah. Go ahead. Youlias, I will be leaving now as I need to make some preparations. I hope you stay in good health.”

“I hope for that as well, Your Greatness. Youlias bowed and Jack along with Souma knelt in respect.

I looked at the maid, she flinched for a bit,

“Call for Caryl, tell her we are going home.”

The maid went trotting and Vejetar came into view looking at the moons.

“Vejetar, I think it’s time to go to your home now. We need to wrap up the exchange quickly.”

“I see. Let’s depart in a few days then. It won’t take us much time but well, you need to do some things right?”

“Yeah.”

After that, we exited the castle and went back to our estate in the carriage, both Anikia and Lucy nodding off. Caryl looked somewhat giddy, I assume she had a hell of a time with her old friend.

Now it was time to meet the others as well. The Elder Dragons of other elements. I hope everything goes well