"My name is Horus Naka. I am the second son of Count Naka, the lord of the Golden Blade Territory in the Kingdom of Durant..."

In the Misty Forest, Horus, dressed in a dark grey robe and looking frail, leaned against a tree and spoke:

"Half a month ago, my father passed away due to illness. Before his death, he named me as the successor to the Golden Blade Territory, to inherit the title of count.

"But my older brother disagreed. Together with the captain of the knights, they staged a rebellion, took the title of count, and tried to kill me.

"I escaped with all my strength from the Golden Blade Territory. I originally planned to go to the royal capital to report this to the king and ask for help.

"However, I didn't expect that along the way, I was hunted by a mercenary group hired by my brother and had no choice but to flee here."

After briefly explaining his situation, Horus hesitated for a few seconds before pleading:

"I beg you, Mr. Sixteen, to help me reclaim my title as count. If I can regain control of the Golden Blade Territory, I will give you whatever you need, to the best of my ability!"

Standing about ten meters away, Karien remained silent. His face was cold, but internally, he was thinking about how to manipulate this guy.

After a few seconds of quiet, Karien finally spoke:

"I never get involved in the affairs of the outside world. Whether it's the Golden Blade count or the King of Durant, neither of them has anything to do with me.

"If it weren't for the scroll you gave me last time, which had some use, I wouldn't bother with your problem at all."

Upon hearing Mr. Sixteen's response, Horus showed some disappointment. However, he also understood that he was just a stranger, and it was unreasonable to expect someone else to get involved in a dispute over a title.

It was already generous of Mr. Sixteen not to drive him away immediately.

"Your injuries are serious. You probably won't make it out of the Misty Forest alive," Karien said, taking two steps closer and pointing to a spot on his right. "There's a cave over there. Rest there for a few days."

When Karien had been scouting the area earlier, he had noticed the cave and even marked it with a stone. The entrance was small, overgrown with weeds, and there were no signs of beasts nesting, so it seemed suitable for temporary shelter.

Horus, hearing Karien's words, was pleasantly surprised. "Really? Can I?"

He had expected Mr. Sixteen to chase him away like last time, but it seemed like giving him the scroll was the right decision! If he could stay here, the Hurricane Mercenary Group wouldn't dare approach. At least for a while, he would be safe.

"I'll bring you some medicine," Karien said calmly. "Of course, it's not for free. I've been wandering the Misty Forest for half a month, and I plan to develop this area. Once your injuries are better, help me clear the weeds here."

As he spoke, Karien pointed to a spot in the distance where the weeds had been pulled out.

Horus looked over and saw a small area had been cleared. However, those weeds... weren't they White Leaf Orchids, Focus Grass, and Blood Flame Flowers?

Those weren't ordinary weeds!

"Impressive as always, Mr. Sixteen!"

Karien tossed Horus the remaining seven burlap sacks. "Pack them up. These weeds can still have some use, don't waste them."

Horus nodded in understanding.

"Go rest first. I'll bring you the medicine," Karien added before disappearing.

Horus let out a sigh of relief as he watched Mr. Sixteen vanish, muttering to himself, "Looks like I'm not destined to die. Twice I've been in a life-threatening situation, and both times, Mr. Sixteen has saved me."

Carrying the sacks, Horus made his way to the cave, silently vowing to repay Mr. Sixteen's kindness.

Red Leaf Academy.

After teleporting back to his room, Karien breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Although he had remained calm on the outside, his heart had been pounding, fearing he might be killed by those people at any moment.

After all, both Horus and the members of the Hurricane Mercenary Group were mid-to-high-level magic tutors. In front of them, Karien would have been no match.

Thankfully, in the end, he not only managed to stay safe but also gained a laborer.

"Although with Horus's injuries, he’ll need at least ten days to half a month to recover," Karien thought, not immediately dealing with the herbs in his room. Instead, he went to fetch some medicine for external wounds and wrote a letter.

He placed the medicine and letter in a marked cloth bag, which he teleported back to the marked cave.

Inside the cave, Horus had just lain down to rest when suddenly a cloth bag appeared beside him.

He froze for a moment, then quickly realized it was the bag Mr. Sixteen had sent.

He hurriedly opened the bag to find several types of wound medicine, food, and water. In addition, there were several sheets of paper wrapped in silver-gray mist.

Seven sheets of paper had numbered footnotes, but only one contained writing:

"Use these medicines for now. After some time, I will prepare better medicine for you. I will be going to the royal capital soon to make some preparations for land development, so I won’t be visiting the Misty Forest for a while. If you need anything or if something happens around the cave, write it down on the paper. I’ll collect one each day in order."

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

After reading it, Horus was moved by Mr. Sixteen's kindness. He picked up a pen and began writing the first letter.

Since Mr. Sixteen mentioned going to the royal capital, Horus thought to ask him to contact someone for him.

Red Leaf Academy.

After taking care of Horus's situation, Karien didn't immediately pay any more attention to it. He planned to wait until tonight to send the first letter back to see what Horus had written.

He arranged this so that he could gradually set things up for Horus. He would send medicine or do some small favors and then later use those as an excuse to get Horus to help him develop and guard the "territory."

But everything had to be done step by step; nothing could be rushed.

Now... it was time to turn the herbs into money first!

As he thought about it, Karien turned to look at the ten sacks of herbs in his room, his eyes gleaming brighter than gold coins.

After making some rough plans, Karien marked the sacks again and, just like last time, teleported to the outskirts of the royal capital. From there, he would take a carriage into the city of Adelry.

Once in the city, Karien didn't immediately go to buy more herbs. Instead, he planned to first find a house.

He couldn't keep teleporting to the outskirts of the royal capital every time he came to the city, so he planned to rent a place in the city, mark it, and be able to teleport directly there next time.

Having lived in the royal capital for three years, Karien knew the real estate market. He spent five gold coins to rent a nice house.

Wearing a black, round-topped soft hat to cover his grayish-white curly hair and round-frame glasses to hide his deep-set eyes, Karien walked into a herb acquisition shop.

It was the same one as before.

At first, the shopkeeper didn’t recognize Karien and thought he was just another customer. But when Karien casually placed his backpack on the counter and pulled out a handful of Whiteleaf Grass, the shopkeeper instantly remembered him.

“Mr. Sixteen! Welcome, welcome!”

The shopkeeper greeted him with a broad smile, walking out from behind the counter and slightly bowing to invite Karien into the back room.

Karien waved his hand dismissively, signaling that he didn’t need to go inside. He nudged the backpack on the counter forward slightly and said in his dull voice, “Three hundred Whiteleaf Grass.”

The shopkeeper’s heart skipped a beat. He stared at the cloth bag, speechless for a moment. Was it only a few days ago?

Mr. Sixteen had brought him another batch of Whiteleaf Grass, and this time, it was double the amount from last time. A round trip to the Shadow Forest would take at least ten days, right? How had he managed this?

Seeing the shopkeeper still frozen, Karien asked, puzzled, “Not accepting it? Then I’ll go somewhere else.”

As Karien reached to take the bag back, the shopkeeper quickly rushed to grab it before his hand could touch it, forcing a smile as he said, “Of course, we’ll accept it! No matter how many Whiteleaf Grass you bring, our little shop will gladly take it!”

Since selling the previous batch, the shopkeeper had made quite a profit. He had bought it from Mr. Sixteen for 18 gold coins per plant and resold it for an average of 23 gold coins. He had earned over 700 gold coins in pure profit, which he considered a windfall!

Moreover, after testing the plants, he was certain that the Whiteleaf Grass came from the wild Shadow Forest and was of excellent quality. Now, just a few days later, another batch had arrived, proving that Mr. Sixteen must have a steady source.

The shopkeeper suspected that Mr. Sixteen might just be a representative for someone larger, possibly working with a strong team. At least two mercenary squads could freely enter and exit the depths of the Shadow Forest. There might even be more!

But the shopkeeper didn't want to think too deeply about it. All he needed to focus on was the transaction—someone came to sell goods, and he just needed to pay for them.

Not waiting for Karien to speak, the shopkeeper eagerly offered, “Mr. Sixteen, as I promised last time, if you continue providing the same quality of Whiteleaf Grass, our shop will buy it for 20 gold coins each. I won’t go back on my word. Please wait a moment while I quickly check the goods…”

“Help yourself,” Karien responded indifferently.

It took the shopkeeper only a few minutes to quickly inspect the 300 plants. Although about twenty had their roots damaged due to Karien's rough handling, the shopkeeper decided to offer 20 gold coins per plant anyway, eager to please Karien.

“6,000 gold coins in total. Is there anything else, Mr. Sixteen?”

Noticing that Karien didn’t seem to want to stay long, the shopkeeper didn’t try to engage in unnecessary conversation and went straight to the price.

Sitting on a tall stool in front of the counter, Karien drummed his fingers rhythmically on the table and nodded, saying, “That’s fine. We’ll settle with Dark, Light, Wind, Earth, and Fire Elemental Coins.”

The Wind Elemental Coins were for Mia, and the Earth Elemental Coins were for Jack. Karien also remembered that a few other students had a slight affinity for Fire Elements, so it wouldn’t hurt to prepare some for them.

Of course, he didn’t need to worry too much about the other three, but Dark Elemental Coins were essential for circulation and practicality. Most students would find them useful.

He needed Light Elemental Coins for experiments, and that was why he had to keep some of those too.

After handing over the bags of Elemental Coins, the shopkeeper took the opportunity to ask, “By the way, Mr. Sixteen, besides Whiteleaf Grass, do you have any other herbs you wish to sell?”

The shopkeeper knew that anyone harvesting herbs from the Shadow Forest wouldn’t just collect Whiteleaf Grass; they’d likely have other valuable herbs as well. So, he hoped to expand the types of herbs he could purchase from Mr. Sixteen.

Karien glanced at the shopkeeper and coldly replied, “Just keep track of the Whiteleaf Grass. As for the rest... you can’t handle it.”

With that, Karien turned and left.

The shopkeeper broke into a cold sweat, realizing he might have overstepped. Upon reflection, he realized that Mr. Sixteen had been so casual when selling Whiteleaf Grass, simply using crude wooden boxes or cloth bags, like he was selling junk. This meant that Whiteleaf Grass was probably just a trivial commodity for him or his team.

The really valuable herbs they collected in the Shadow Forest? The shopkeeper didn’t even dare imagine what they could be. But he was certain that if such herbs were ever sold, it wouldn’t be in a small shop like his.

The shopkeeper slapped himself, muttering, “Damn my big mouth. I was thinking of expanding into other herbs when the Whiteleaf Grass supply wasn’t even stable yet. If Mr. Sixteen gets annoyed and switches suppliers, we’ll be in big trouble. Klaus, Klaus, greed is a big mistake!”

...

After leaving the herb shop, Karien returned to his rented house and sat at his desk, deep in thought.

For Karien now, gathering herbs wasn’t difficult at all. The real issue was selling them.

Yes, selling them was a huge challenge.

This time, he had filled ten bags with herbs. Half were low-grade, but the rest were either mid-tier or high-tier.

The Whiteleaf Grass alone amounted to nearly two thousand plants, but he couldn’t sell it all at once, as it would draw too much attention.

The herbal trade in the capital was dominated by noble families and big merchants. If Karien kept selling large amounts of herbs at one location—especially fresh Whiteleaf Grass—it would quickly disrupt the market for nobles and merchants. They’d soon trace him back to his source, which Karien definitely didn’t want.

He preferred to make a fortune quietly.

So, he had to be cautious, selling in multiple locations and batches. But even with this caution, over time, he would still be exposed. He needed to reduce his appearances and find agents in the capital to sell his herbs, even running the herbal business for him.

Just as Karien was thinking this through, a noisy sound came from outside the window.

Karien stood up and looked out of the window next to his desk.

His rented house was two stories, small in size, and located on the edge of the capital. However, it was conveniently close to the street, making it easy for Karien to come and go. From the second-floor window, he could observe the street.

He saw that two carriages had collided on the street below. One was a luxury carriage, while the other appeared to be a simple public carriage.

The driver of the simple carriage was apologizing profusely and quickly tried to move his carriage away. But the owner of the luxurious carriage seemed unwilling to let it go.

Although he was dressed in black formalwear, looking like a noble gentleman, his behavior was rude. He walked over, dragged the driver off the carriage, and slapped him twice. Then, pointing at the luxury carriage, he continued to yell at the driver, demanding compensation.

Karien frowned slightly as he watched the scene. While he didn’t like the behavior of the man in formalwear, it wasn’t a matter he wanted to interfere with. However, he suddenly had an idea.

Wasn’t he looking for an agent? Maybe he could make use of this driver and try something out.