Apolo swiftly emerged from the mansion and observed a long line of carriages. This time, the line was so long that it extended into the street in front of his estate. With immense joy, Apolo approached the first carriage driver in the procession and asked while singing:

—Pleased to meet you, young sir, pleased to meet you, lad, what brings you to my lands, young one?

—...—The young driver didn't respond, instead he looked bewilderedly at Apolo, somewhat uncomfortable being attended to by a noble singing—Uh... well... yes, I've come to deliver these goods...

—Oh, well, you seem quite new at this, lad—Apolo said, noting the young man's inexperience from just a few words coming out of his mouth. Generally, the lead driver of the caravan was somewhat important and experienced, used to dealing with these situations.

—No, I mean, yes. I'm new to this... It's my first time negotiating: I'm sorry—the young driver commented, not hiding his nervousness, and he looked somewhat worried at Apolo's abnormally large body—I have this message for you. I was only told to give it to the mansion's owner and that he would understand everything after reading the message. I hope you can understand a bit; it's my first time working for a noble, and I didn't mean to offend you. I swear!

—Yes, yes, no problem at all. As long as the message's content matches what I have in mind, you don't need to worry so much about your safety, lad—Apolo replied, making the young driver even more nervous. He took the message from the young man's hand and unrolled it to read:

> "Dear Magician, Apolo of the Black Forest:

>

> From the Ministry of Urban Affairs, we would like to make another substantial donation to your magical research. Therefore, we are delighted to donate 'all' the contents of the caravan sent to your property for your investigation. From my personal fortune, I would also like to add 2000 crystals; you will find them attached to this letter beneath the ministry's seal.

>

> I hope that the sent objects and crystals will be useful to you. Never forget that the empire will remember all the assistance your research is providing to its citizens.

>

> Sincerely, Minister of Urban Affairs, Macario of Deep Mines"

After finishing reading the message, Apolo used his nails to remove the wax seal at the top of the parchment, revealing a small black coin. The young noble put the coin in his pocket and curiously looked at the long caravan. He noticed that all the drivers were young and practically dressed in rags, quite different from the drivers sent by the minister the last time.

—Lad, by any chance, are you from the inner neighborhoods of the Ring City?—Apolo asked while lifting the sheets that concealed the contents of the carriage, revealing a large number of coffins stacked on top of each other. With just one glance, Apolo noticed that these coffins seemed much newer than the ones from the previous delivery, and he also sensed a faint unpleasant odor constantly emanating from inside.

—Yes, yes, I'm from there. How did you find out?—The young man exclaimed, quite happy that the noble knew his place of origin.

—Intuition, simple intuition...—Apolo responded while checking the young man's patched clothing again. As he answered, Apolo proceeded to open one of the coffins to see the contents inside. However, before he finished opening the coffin, a horrendous smell came out, and a few insects fled from inside. Sensing the putrid odor, Apolo changed his mind, pinched his nose, and closed the coffin again.

—Where did you get these coffins? Judging by their condition, it's too obvious that they were never buried—Apolo asked, noticing the anomaly. Not only were they in excellent condition, but some coffins even showcased the shine of their wood. The lack of decay was quite noticeable.

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—Yes, some of us had to unearth them, and others had to take them out of some vaults—the driver responded.

—You work at the cemetery construction site?!—Apolo asked, astonished by the information.

—Yes, sure, I was taught to drive not long ago, and since I was the best at it, they let me go first—the young man proudly replied.

—Impressive, lad—Apolo strangely praised with a cheerful smile. Deep down, he just wanted to gather information from the young driver—Now tell me, why did you take some coffins out of their vaults? Wasn't the purpose to make space for the construction?

—Uh... I don't know... The new cemetery warden just told us they needed a bit more space and instructed us to take some coffins out of their vaults—the young man replied, not entirely sure how to answer the question.

—Well, so they changed the cemetery warden?—Apolo asked, showing some surprise—What's this new warden like? Did he let you remove all the coffins from the construction without any issues?

—He's an old... special man—the young driver quickly corrected himself upon realizing his insult.

—So the new warden isn't a good boss. Well, that happens sometimes. What matters is that he pays at the end of the day—Apolo commented with the demeanor of a reliable old man—By the way, do you know if there will be another shipment like this?

—Yes, I can't complain about that. The pay is good and on time—the young driver honestly exclaimed—In theory, these are all the coffins from the construction, but maybe the old man will decide to keep taking coffins out of some vaults. I really hope this is the only transfer we have to make to the capital.

—Why? Isn't the capital beautiful? Don't you enjoy visiting it?—Apolo asked, trying to get more information. There was something he didn't like about this request. It was already strange enough that the lead driver was changed, and even more peculiar that the workers from the construction site were the ones sending the coffins.

—Yes, yes, I mean, it's very nice. But the guards treated us with awful disdain. They directly beat one of the guys to death with clubs just because he coughed a bit while they inspected the carriage—the young man commented without hiding any detail—I really hope we can return without any problems. We were quite scared seeing so much hatred from the guards toward us.

—They killed him for coughing?!—Apolo exclaimed incredulously at the words he was hearing. But noticing the despondent looks on the faces of the other drivers who eavesdropped on their conversation, it seemed that the young man wasn't lying.

—Yes, they beat him to death. That's why we couldn't bring his carriage, and it's still held at the city's entrance—the young driver responded with sadness—Poor Manuel had just become a father and joined the construction site at only 14 years old. But those heartless guards destroyed his life and that of his family.

—By my ancestors, who becomes a father at 14?—Apolo asked incredulously, shocked that something like that could happen. At that age, he could barely understand a bit about the topic, and he was more interested in exploring the forest than even thinking about having a family.

Meanwhile, Orrin, who had been attentively listening to the conversation between his lord and the driver, approached and whispered some things to Apolo. Apolo nodded as if understanding his idea, and then he said to the driver:

—I can see that your journey here was complicated, but you managed to arrive: Congratulations! Our servants will prepare something delicious for you to eat while you leave the coffins near the dungeon. You'll see if you're lucky for coming here; you'll get to experience eating like a noble!

—Thank you, noble sir, thank you very much—the driver responded with a smile, joining the gratitude expressed by the other drivers who were eavesdropping on the conversation.

—No, thank you for bringing these coffins. They are truly important for my magical research—Apolo replied, turning around to look at Orrin—Make sure my word is fulfilled; have the servants start transporting the coffins: we have a dungeon to fill! Then send some servants to retrieve the carriage that was retained at the capital's entrance.

After saying that, Apolo proceeded to reenter the mansion to continue arranging its "infinite" rooms. Meanwhile, Mateo, who had been listening to the conversation from a distance, wanted to approach the driver to show him how to access the dungeon, but he was abruptly interrupted by his father:

—Take some servants and prepare a hearty meal for the drivers. I'll take care of getting the coffins into the dungeon.

—It's a bit chilly out here. Wouldn't it be better for you to stay inside the mansion?—Mateo responded, somewhat worried. Waiting outside at his age wasn't the best idea.

—Don't worry about me; take care of the food—Orrin replied curtly.