He stared at the cup beneath her foot, his smile gradually fading away.

The cup neither moved nor was pushed aside, yet the Infernal Arachne simply walked out through it.

First emerged its cephalothorax, then its round abdomen, followed by eight legs stepping out of the cup wall in orderly pairs. The spider stood arrogantly outside the cup, raising its two front legs at him, spreading its feather-fan-like palps to display its venomous fangs.

It was clearly making a show of force to the one who had provoked it.

If Troy hadn't kept his eyes wide open without blinking, he would have thought his vision was playing tricks on him.

Luo Wei moved her foot away with mixed feelings. "Did you see that? It has this ability."

Troy spoke with difficulty, "But Infernal Arachne definitely can't pass through walls. Only..."

He suddenly glanced at Bella while speaking.

Luo Wei understood his look and ordered, "Bella, take the cup back and wash it."

"Yes, Master."

Bella picked up the cup and ran to the kitchen.

"Only what can pass through walls?" Luo Wei then asked.

Troy stared intently at the spider on the ground: "Apart from some smoke-form magical creatures, only Souls can."

Souls?

Luo Wei asked curiously, "Can spiders have Souls too?"

"Any living creature can have a Soul, though beast Souls are rare. Without a necromancer's summoning, Soul beasts don't appear randomly."

"Are you saying this spider was summoned by a necromancer?"

Troy wasn't quite sure: "But who would summon such a useless spider? Besides, Soul beasts usually stay close to their summoners because they'll dissipate if they're too far from their source of magical power."

Luo Wei's eyes flickered - could it be that she had summoned this Infernal Arachne herself?

But she hadn't even learned summoning runes yet...

Wait, could this be an ability granted by the Dark God?

"Let's not dwell on this. What you said applies to normal situations, but there can be exceptions."

Luo Wei pointed at the spider on the ground: "This is just a wandering Soul spider, just like human souls after death. It found me simply because it needed someone to rely on."

"But—"

"No more buts. We killed it, didn't we? What goes around comes around - naturally it found us after death."

"What goes around comes around..." Troy felt chills down his spine at these words.

Luo Wei took out her money pouch and coaxed the spider into it, then looked up to find him still standing there in a daze.

"Why are you still standing there? Aren't you going to eat?"

"Eat, oh, yes."

Troy rubbed his arms and drifted away like a wandering ghost.

After lunch, Luo Wei returned to her room, wrote two small booklets, and tossed them to Troy.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"What are these?" Troy puzzled as he opened the parchment booklets.

"Study schedules for Roman and Rosie."

"From now on, you'll teach Roman swordsmanship for an hour every morning, and body training for two hours every evening. Also, teach him knight etiquette according to your previous standards."

"Give Rosie's schedule to Roman, and have him teach her what he learns at school before bedtime every night."

Making full use of resources - Troy was better suited as a friend than a subordinate, so she had to train her own people.

Though Roman and Rosie were young, there was no concept of "childhood" in this era. Children their age were already main laborers in many poor families.

Besides, children were easier to train and wouldn't be as rebellious as Troy.

"By the way, check if Roman and Rosie have any magical talent. If they do, I'll arrange magic lessons for them too."

Troy admired her ability to maximize resources but wasn't optimistic about arranging magic lessons for Roman and Rosie.

"People with magical talent are just a small fraction of the population, less than one in a thousand. And among that tiny fraction, very few have talent strong enough to be detected at such a young age."

"How would you know if you don't try?" Luo Wei said seriously. "Don't underestimate anyone."

"I'm not underestimating them," Troy said helplessly, "it's just that it's hard to tell if children this young have magical talent. Only magic stones can sense it."

Luo Wei: "Then let's buy a magic stone. You should have ways to get one, right?"

"Magic stones are hard to buy, but I actually have one."

"Then why didn't you bring it out earlier?"

Troy looked up at the sky, feeling guilty: "It's in the griffin's stomach."

Luo Wei: ??

"Why do you put everything in its stomach? What do we do now?"

"We just wait for it to pass naturally."

Luo Wei gave him an indescribable look: "Troy, are you going to dig through excrement for the magic stone?"

Troy defended: "It's droppings, not excrement."

"Heh, what's the difference?"

Troy lowered his head.

Luo Wei closed her eyes in frustration.

She couldn't look at Troy the same way anymore. Just thinking about those hands that had dug through waste having held her—

"Ugh!"

Luo Wei retched, tears welling up in her eyes.

Troy's head drooped lower: "I had no choice. When I was fleeing, it wasn't convenient to carry valuables, so I discussed with it to put them in its stomach. I didn't expect it would refuse to pass them."

Luo Wei: ...

"Wait, you've been on the run for a year or two, and it still hasn't passed them?"

"Never has. I've checked all its droppings."

"Could they be stuck in its stomach?"

"No, the griffin just doesn't want to pass them," Troy said worriedly. "It thinks I can't afford to feed it properly now, so it's keeping those treasures to give to a female griffin it fancies in the future."

Luo Wei's mouth twitched: "You're talking about a person named Griffin, not your mount, right?"

"It is my mount. Griffins are ancient creatures that existed when the gods descended. They're highly intelligent and long-lived."

"This griffin actively sought me out during my war days. As long as I fed it meat daily, it would be my mount. We don't have a contract relationship."

Luo Wei thought for a moment: "Call it over, I'll talk to it. How much meat could it eat?"

"When hungry, it can eat a whole cow in one meal."

Luo Wei: ...

"Now it needs two fat sheep just to come once."

Luo Wei covered her forehead.

After a while, she lowered her hand and called Bella over.

"Go to the market and buy ten sheep, fat ones."

An hour later, ten bleating sheep crowded into her courtyard.

Luo Wei looked at Troy: "Blow the whistle, call the griffin over. I'm treating it to a meal."

Troy blew the bone whistle, and soon a large bird flew down from the sky.

The griffin slowly landed in the courtyard, its golden eyes fixed on the trembling fat sheep huddled in the corner.

Luo Wei had no experience communicating with griffins, so she asked Troy to relay: "Tell the griffin these ten sheep are all for it to eat, and I can provide one sheep daily from now on, as long as it gives me a few magic stones."

Before Troy could speak, the griffin's head swiftly turned toward her, and it took small steps forward on its four powerful legs.

"Chirp—"

The griffin made a melodious cry toward Luo Wei, while Troy's expression instantly cracked.

"""