"Hm?" I scanned the room, pondering quietly.

"Looking for someone?" Teased Clara.

"Where did she go this time?" I asked.

"East. Don't you think she's working her ass off too much, Shepherd~? She's going to break her ankles at this rate." Shrugged Clara.

"To think I'd see a day where you are worried about Renata." I heaved, rolling my eyes.

"She's a pain in the ass most of the time, but damn, did she grow on you." Expressed Clara.

"...Yeah, she kinda did." Landing on the chair, I took the mask off and studied the papers atop the desk. "Let's see here...Well, the revenue is getting better and better. So, Margareth thinks it will be better for her to stay away from Trodin?"

"That's what she said~. We can't separate the merchant guild from the greedy nobles. By placing Paladin's fief in their eyes, we might risk them finding out about the camp. Speaking from my experience, no matter how good someone tries to hide something, there will always be a trace. So, there is some merit in her words." Continued Clara whilst eating a grape.

"And we still don't exactly know the reason why the Phantom Squad had been awfully quiet this past year; it can't hurt us to watch our steps a bit more, won't it?" Suggested her.

"You think the Phantom Squad is unto Trodin?" Tapping my finger.

"We're lucky if they're not, but from speculations come risks. And we can't afford risks as of now. Not yet. Especially when we don't know squat about our enemy's movements."

"...What about moving the camp somewhere?" I fixed my gaze on her.

"This again? You know we don't have the resources for that yet. We're lucky that at least one of us is a viscount with a real land. But if you really want to, then either you find some other noble to join us or ask the Duke of Dawson. If you want neither of those, then stop crying about it. Even the brats down there are not saying a peep..." Grumbled Clara.

"All I'm saying is, it'll do well for our guys to see some sun and touch the grass now and then, don't you think?" I commented.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"I get your point, but believe me, they already have it good. They can eat soup with meat fillings and a warm blanket to weather the night. So you can rest easy and leave them alone. You have more pressing matters to attend to rather than dawdling on this subject, okay~?" Refuted Clara, handing me another batch of the papers.

"Fine..." I conceded.

"Now, as you can see here, with the cash flow from her venture with Doctor, Merchant is trying to cement her image further into our customer base. That business model of that bastard Pearl, in her hands, is like a living rainbow on the hands of a wizard, I'm telling you. And now, she's one step closer to building her business empire." Briefed Clara.

"Holy...are all these people affiliated with her?" My eyes went wide, reading the long list of names.

"It's too soon to be surprised, Shepherd. At first, I thought this brand thing or whatever was going to go down the drain...But that Merchant...She knows what she's doing. All that money she threw had somehow found its way back into her pocket, with freaking interest nonetheless!" Voiced Clara zealously.

"...Because the people trust her..." I commented softly.

"Her exact words were, By spending money on them, they will, in turn, spend their money back on us. Kugh~ She is one sexy lady, that Merchant..." Praised Clara, sounding like an old man.

'Damn...that's a lot of money...' I mused inwardly, ignoring Clara's rambling.

"No wonder your Harpers can afford all those carriages and equipment. Margareth has been spoiling you rotten, it seems." Added me.

"Oho~ Excuse us, but it was a necessary expense, mister." Replied Clara playfully.

'Yea, sure it is...' I rolled my eyes. "I wonder, does Margareth know about that stash of gold you buried...?"

"Hey, not cool! ...Urgh, fine, you win. Don't tell her, Shepherd. I'm begging you! She'd cut us dry if she knew. I need that-. We need that money!" Pleaded her with an over-the-top performance.

"You do realize she could've known about the fact that you are keeping a side stash, don't you?" I lifted my eyebrow skeptically.

"...You think she knows?" Winced Clara uncertain. Long gone was her mischievous nature from before.

"You honestly think she doesn't?" I returned back to her.

We exchanged silent glances in between.

"Well, you can worry about that on your own later. Worst case, come clean with her with your knees on the ground. Knowing Margareth, she won't be too hard on you." I shrugged and said.

"Right...Knees on the ground...Yeah, she likes me, so she won't be too hard..." Muttered Clara lost.

"Now. Tell me about this. Is this the reason why you call me?" I singled a certain paper out and brought it to Clara's attention, moving on with the topic.

And her unfocused eyes regained their sharpness the moment she saw it.

"What do you think about it, Shepherd?" Asked Clara grimly.

"Are they preparing for a war...?" My voice grated low in budding anger.

The winds of upheaval have begun to blow, and nigh was the promised time...