It doesn't bother me, it isn't the first time people have been scared of me and it won't be the last. I just ignore them and head over to where Lin is chatting with Zachariah. I leave Stillwater and the others to deal with the new elves, I would just make them nervous.

Zachariah says "Thank you for saving one of our caravans."

"No problem. Did you figure out who was attacking them?"

Zachariah says "Just some criminals that were hired by a competitor."

"So, probably nothing to do with our deals then?"

Zachariah says "Maybe, maybe not. The caravan was carrying weapons for you to disenchant and materials for you as well."

"So, it could be a coincidence or a targeted attack."

Zachariah says "Yes. There is no real way to tell which one it is. Although, the fact that there was no follow up attack suggests that it is a coincidence."

"Unless it was meant to keep me busy while the real caravan was under attack by the demonic beasts."

Zachariah says "That would mean that the merchant group is in league with the demons?!"

Lin says "There was already one, why couldn't there be two?"

Zachariah says "I suppose that it is possible. The problem is how to prove it?"

"Well, the chances of there being any demons in the city is really low. Unless someone is hiding and protecting them. Unfortunately, the detection spell won't help if the demon is out of sight already."

Lin says "Could you make something that actually detects demons instead of revealing them?"

"I would have to do some experimenting and I would need a live demon to experiment with."

Zachariah says "That would be a tall order. It would also be hard to explain. If you make the request to the association and explain why, the council might allow it."

Lin says "Even if they allow it, do you think they can capture a live demon?"

Zachariah says "I don't know. As far as I know they have never tried."

"Considering the demons convinced the association that they were almost extinct and how bad the infiltration was, I won't be getting my hopes up. The demons have outsmarted the association several times already."

Zachariah says "That is true, but the council now knows that they got played. They will be much more vigilant now. I would give them a chance, it's not like it will cost you anything if they fail."

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"Good point. Alright, I will make the request through Almort when I see him. Speaking of, did they request the item again yet?"

Zachariah says "Yes, they did. In fact, the special wood for the staff was in the caravan that you helped out. It should already be at your castle by the time you return."

Lin says "What item?"

"The council wants an item that can cast the detection spell over an entire city. Like we did the other day."

Lin says "That makes sense. They can use it to get rid of the demons that have infiltrated the empires. That might actually be a good time to try and capture one alive."

"Good point. I will mention it to Almort."

Zachariah says "You are not planning on leaving immediately, are you?"

"No. I still have to wait for the elves that the empire is gathering for me."

Zachariah says "Okay, good. To be honest, I am not looking forward to things going back to normal when you leave. It's not just about the profits I am making thanks to you, but life was boring before you arrived."

Lin says "Yes, trouble does follow Ash around. It is almost like trouble is his mistress."

"I want to argue that, but I don't feel like I can. However, I doubt that things will quiet down the instant I leave."

Zachariah says "That's true. It will probably take a while before the city gets back to normal. However, I doubt it will go back to normal while you are still in the city."

"Well, I can't stay forever. I will probably be leaving in a week at most, probably sooner. I have to get back to my kingdom, I have already been gone for far too long."

Zachariah says "I understand. Is there anything you need from me?"

"It is not urgent, but I will be needing various magical metals for some experiments."

Zachariah says "Sure, I can do that. What are you working on now?"

"I am going to try my hand at making a golem."

Zachariah says "Are you going to be selling this golem?"

"No, probably not."

Zachariah says "That is wise. That kind of thing wouldn't really sell well here. It would need to be sent to one of the major auctions for it to sell at full value."

"No worries. This is more for self-education than anything."

Zachariah says "Alright. Let me know if you need anything else. I need to go take care of a few things."

By the time we are done talking with Zachariah, the elves have all returned to the ship. Lin and I return to the castle to find a huge stack of crates waiting inside the gate. However, we ignore the crates for now and head inside to have a late lunch.

Once we are done eating I go outside and take a look through all of the crates. There are a ton of weapons for me to disenchant and re-enchant. Most of them seem to be defective weapons, which I am guessing Zachariah imported.

Even with the cost of bringing them to the city, the defective weapons would still be dirt cheap. However, once they are re-enchanted the weapons will be worth a lot. Zachariah will make a lot of profit off of them, probably even more than I know about.

However, the problem is that it is going to take me a lot of time to work on this many weapons. There are almost five hundred normal weapons, plus about twenty high quality weapons. In one of the crates is a branch, but as soon as I open the crate I feel a wave of mana spill out.

The branch looks really old, but I can feel that it is still alive even without touching it. From how it feels I can tell that it is from a special tree, almost as special as the elven tree. When I scan the branch with my mana I can almost feel the spirit of the tree in the branch.

I can't explain it, but I get the feeling that the tree this branch came from is still alive. It makes me very curious about where this tree might be, but I don't know how to find it. I will have to ask Zachariah and see if he knows where the branch came from.

I am assuming that he bought it from somewhere and then shipped it here. Hopefully, he will know where it came from, or at least some clues to its origin. I will have to ask him later, for now I need to get to work on these weapons.