They soon arrived in the room, and Lando offered Ina the only chair while he sat down on his bed.

With clear goals in mind, Lando needed someone he could trust to accomplish certain tasks. First and foremost, he needed to communicate his goals to Ina, so she could work towards them. The reason for her employment was not solely about expanding his wealth, although it played a part.

Ina patiently waited for Lando to begin, and he wasted no time. "First things first, I already have a significant amount of money, but I need it to work for me. Not just to make more money, but to achieve my personal goals."

Ina was very interested in what those goals might be, as she knew that money was merely a means to an end. All the riches in the world were useless if not put to good use.

Lando began by explaining his top priority. "My main goal is to free my mother from the space-time council." He let that sink in for a moment, knowing that Ina was already aware of his issues with them due to his alias.

Knowing the reason behind it all made things a lot clearer, but it also brought forth new questions and concerns.

Deciding to hold off on her questions for now, Ina nodded, indicating to Lando to continue. And continue he did. He decided to reveal everything, as holding back anything would be counterproductive, especially since she had already signed a magical contract.

He started by recounting the story his mother had told him—the council's search for his black ring, his father's murder, and his mother's kidnapping. Lando even revealed that he possessed two elements.

Ina was grateful that she was already seated, as all of this was a lot to take in at once.

She sat there with an ever-changing expression, occasionally wanting to ask a question but ultimately deciding against it.

After fifteen minutes of silence, with Ina pacing around the room lost in her thoughts, she finally calmed down a bit and began asking question after question.

Lando initially answered Ina's questions, but he soon grew impatient. "Alright, let's stop here for now and focus on how we can free my mother," he said. Ina had more questions, but she put them on hold and let Lando continue with his explanations.

"I think it's best to lay out the things we need to achieve and then work on a step-by-step solution," Lando suggested. Ina agreed with this approach, and Lando began listing the things they needed to know. "First, we need more information. Why does the council want the ring? Is it possible to make an exchange? If not, where is my mother located? And what do we need to free her?"

Lando's voice started to quiver with emotion as he continued. "Is she still alive?"

After taking a moment to suppress his feelings of fear and uncertainty, he said, "Who has this information? The only ones I can think of are the council members themselves. And for the location, maybe some people from the duke, as I've heard that he made a deal with the council in exchange for my mother. They might know something useful."

Ina wasn't optimistic about getting information from the council members. They were all powerful mages, making it nearly impossible to interrogate them successfully.

"In that case, we'll have to rely on the duke's forces for now," Ina concluded.

However, this posed its own set of problems, as there was currently a civil war happening and it was uncertain how many of the duke's men would survive.

Since they could only wait for the war's outcome, they made plans for both possible scenarios. "Well, it's highly unlikely that the revolutionaries can kill all of the duke's men, as many may switch sides and abandon a sinking ship before they all go down with it. Therefore, there's a good chance that at least some of them will still be around afterward. Hopefully, those are the ones who know about the duke's deal with the council."

Their chances depended on luck, but they were optimistic. High-ranking mages were usually not foolish or loyal enough to blindly follow someone into certain death. They would likely try to seize any opportunity to maintain their power in some way in the new republic.

"In the best case, we can pay someone directly for the information or hire someone who can obtain it for us," Lando suggested. "The second-best scenario would be to hire someone who has the opportunity to ask one of them directly. Forcing the information out of them would be troublesome, as the individuals who know the details about the deal are likely strong mages, like the one I recently fought. And in the worst-case scenario, they are either dead already or have fled to unknown locations."

These options didn't seem too bad, especially if they could find individuals who were not high-ranking mages.

With some hired help and money not being a problem, they could certainly accomplish this in the short term. The challenge lied in finding those who knew about the deal in the first place.

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"Even if we obtain this information, does it really change much? The council would still have taken your mother to another location, which would be inhabited by a group of council mages. We wouldn't stand a chance against them," Ina commented pessimistically.

Lando acknowledged the problem and sighed, feeling the weight of the seemingly impossible task. However, he remained determined. "That's true, but the sooner we acquire the location, the more time we have to prepare. Eventually, it will come down to interrogating a council member and extracting accurate information."

This was the part he disliked the most – the realization that he was currently too weak to take action. He knew there was only one way forward – to become stronger.

Lando desperately wished there was another way, knowing that this wouldn't happen in just a day or two.

He could only hope that his mother would remain strong and not give in to torture, as that was her only chance of survival.

Frustrated with the seeming lack of alternatives, he had to accept that this would take time. Rushing things would only result in his own death and ultimately the demise of his mother.

Though unhappy with the slow approach, he understood that it was the only path he could take. Reluctantly and with anger directed at himself, he continued, "And it all comes back to me being too weak. I must get stronger, quickly. I need elemental cores from both the space and time elements to enhance my own elemental core.

This is where you come in. Figure something out and gather as many as possible. I don't care how you do it, but I'm desperate for them. If you have to pay a thousand gold coins for one, so be it. Just get them, no matter what."

Ina noticed the complex emotions on Lando's face and didn't appreciate the sudden harsh attitude, but she remained silent.

She was working for him, but it wasn't entirely by her own free will. She had made her choice, yes, but he had forced her into a situation where she had to pick between pest or cholera.

Being thrust into a 50-year employment contract, even if the conditions didn't seem terrible, didn't earn much sympathy, no matter how tragic Lando's background story appeared to her.

Her main concern was how all of this would turn out for her. If she had known everything beforehand, she would have never signed that contract.

Nevertheless, she had to work with the situation she was in now and make the best of it.

It wouldn't be in her favor to complicate things further or openly curse him for what he had done.

Her strategy was to earn Lando's favor and hopefully be left alone to handle the business matters she loved and enjoyed.

As Ina pondered the situation, she formulated her own proposition. "I believe we can achieve multiple goals simultaneously.

I will establish a business that serves as an information network. Through the business, we can build connections, potentially even within high society, and accomplish the first part of your plan, which involves finding individuals who know about the duke's deal with the council.

We can cautiously gather information about the resources you need or identify locations where space and time beasts are abundant.

The growing business, over time will open many doors for us. People are often willing to do anything when money is involved.

The information gathering and business aspects complement each other perfectly. If any cores surface in the market and are not being sold to the council, we will have the funds to purchase them.

With a vast array of information at our disposal, we can engage in various activities, including staying ahead of market changes, gathering intel on competitors, and even using blackmail if necessary."

As Ina continued with her proposal, Lando became increasingly drawn to the idea.

It seemed highly promising, especially considering the capabilities of the young woman in front of him, provided she had the necessary resources.

The only remaining issue was deciding on the type of business they would start. They had more than enough money to kickstart virtually any venture.

Lando highlighted this problem to Ina, and she had a ready response. "I already have several ideas in mind, but the crucial factor is which side will emerge victorious in this war.

If I am to believe your words, the rebels have a high likelihood of winning.

Therefore, we must anticipate the changes they will make to the law.

It would be premature for us to make decisions now, as the republic you described would have an entirely new legislation.

The first party to identify lucrative loopholes in the new restrictions will amass great wealth. We are already at a disadvantage, not knowing the laws that will be enacted, while our competitors are likely well-informed and prepared.

With new powers rising and old ones falling, this dynamic will impact both the nobility and businesses alike."

Lando understood the main idea - they would have to wait for the civil war to end before deciding on the business venture.

"In addition to waiting," Ina emphasized, "we will need powerful magicians. Even setting aside my own capabilities, neither you nor I should possess enough wealth to sustain this endeavor.

My father always told me that only those who can defend their wealth have the right to own it.

On top of that we will also need regular staff. While I will handle most of the important tasks, it would be a waste of my time to run errands and do everything on my own."

Lando acknowledged her point. "Flaunting our wealth would be a foolish move. Though the circumstances were in our favor when we stole from the high mage's mansion, we only acquired about 3000 gold coins.

I can only imagine the trouble we would face if people knew I had over ten times that amount. We must keep our resources a secret for as long as possible.

Initially, I'll attempt to hire Anthony and his mercenaries, and then gradually recruit more mages for our protection."

While Lando did not fully trust Anthony and his friends yet, he contemplated his approach. ‘How should I approach them? Ideally, they would agree to a contract similar to Ina's, but that is unlikely as they are not as desperate as she is.

Perhaps I can promise them wealth or something enticing? I still have several artifacts in my possession that I have yet to test. There may be something useful for them. But what if they decide to just snatch them from me?"

In the end, Lando decided to proceed cautiously and take things step by step.

Over the next few days, while they waited for the unrest outside to calm down, he would spend time getting to know Anthony and his friends better, as they would all be staying in the mansion.

"As for the lackeys who would assist you in the day-to-day operations, I already have some people in mind," he reassured Ina.