Ashbastion looked different from how it had six months ago.
Ashen walked through the main market district, taking in the repaired walls and reconstructed buildings. The siege damage had been extensive… with entire sections of the wall reduced to rubble and residential districts flattened.
The infrastructure was barely functional by the time the fighting stopped. Now, half a year later, the city had already recovered.
It was impressive, even if it made him feel that his own settlement's progress felt less remarkable by comparison.
But even as he admired the fixed bastion, he wasn't truly here for sightseeing.
Ashen had come to sell his territory's accumulated monster hunt resources. The bulk of the valuable materials came from Sabrina's hunts since she was the one who brought back the truly worthwhile corpses,
The ones from great beasts and high-tier monsters fetched high prices in Ashbastion's markets. His ranger corps contributed the rest, but their yields were modest in comparison.
The trade route wasn't ready yet, nor was its escort, so here he was, stuck playing merchant despite technically being a count. The irony wasn't lost on him.
The only saving grace was his Hourvault skill. It had expanded massively during the three months he'd spent in a coma, and the territorial management didn't give him much time to exert physical effort and regress the Vault's progress.
The internal space was now large enough to host a football match if it manifested in reality. Transporting tons of monster parts without a wagon train made the merchant's work tolerable.
'Actually… me travelling back and forth is much more efficient if I think about it…'
This was only his second time doing this. Every other visit to Ashbastion had been for the portal to Esperra. Now that he was a count, the restriction of returning once per year no longer applied. The problem was that his responsibilities in the Northwest Territory were the new shackles keeping him from visiting as often as he'd like.
Still, this arrangement was better than the last. At least he had more leeway now.
Speaking of Esperra, he'd made good use of his visits.
He met with Dorian each time, updating his uncle on the territory's progress and listening to whatever observations the old man had about Seravelle's political movements. He also spent time with his family…
Lapis's training was progressing well. That little monster was nearly at his level in pure swordplay, making him almost curious how far she could go if she came to Seravelle… almost.
He also checked in on his organization through the app, and one of the reports had surprised him. AI was booming in Esperra, becoming a genuine industry rather than experimental technology. No… it was practically taking over other industries, sparking many debates and many wild theories.
Ashen and Alice were using AI from before it became this famous, but he never thought that introducing it on a more global scale would make this much noise.
…
After finishing his business in Ashbastion, Ashen made his way to Alice's villa.
He wasn't there to visit her. He knew she was at one of the Bloodwall outposts updating their defensive systems. He just wanted a place to stay the night, and Alice's villa was more comfortable than any inn, including his old place.
The maids welcomed him enthusiastically and catered to his needs with the attentivenes; that was to be expected since the household staff knew exactly his relation to their mistress. He ate well, bathed, and retired to one of the guest rooms as the sun set.
When night came, instead of sleep, what greeted was another Absentia.
⁂
The dreamscape council hall materialized around him.
White walls rose. Pillars followed. Clouds gathered overhead and let sunlight through in shifting columns. The table appeared with its tall-backed chairs, and Ashen took his seat at the head.
ἀκηδία.
He pulled.
Lucia appeared to his left, already composed.
Alice came next to his right, her eyes moving to the space above the table out of habit.
Seraphine appeared beside Lucia last, seeming to have been wide awake despite the late hour.
Alice asked, studying him. "Did something happen?"
"Yes."Ashen kept his expression neutral. "Something indeed happened."
"We're now the richest people on this continent."
The three women looked at each other.
Then they looked back at him with distinctly sympathetic expressions.
"Ash..." Seraphine leaned forward slightly, her voice concerned, but everyone could see the teasing look dancing in her eyes. "Have you been working too hard? Is the stress getting to you?"
Ashen's eye twitched. "I'm completely serious."
"Of course you are," Lucia said, rolling her eyes.
"I'm fine," he insisted. "I'm not stressed. I'm not hallucinating. We are actually rich now."
Alice and Lucia exchanged a glance, then looked back at him. It seemed that he didn't go crazy just yet.
"If we're suddenly rich," Alice said slowly, "the only explanation is that you stumbled upon something."
"An inheritance?" Lucia suggested.
"Did someone donate merit points?" Alice added.
"An ancient relic?"
"A mine?"
Ashen's expression shifted fractionally at the last suggestion.
Both women latched onto it immediately.
"A mine," Lucia repeated. "What kind?"
"Gold wouldn't make us the richest on the continent," Alice mused. "Not even close."
"Adamantium?" Lucia tried.
"Mithril," Alice said.
Ashen nodded, suddenly feeling sulky for having his surprise guessed so easily by those overly intelligent women. Can't they let him have some fun for once?
The women in question were too engrossed in the guessing game to cater to his childish impulses.
"Did you find a chunk of mithril?" Alice's tone brightened considerably. "That would make a lot of things easier. Good job, love."
Lucia's faint smile appeared, the one she used when genuinely pleased.
"It's not a chunk," Ashen said, his smile coming back. Just the mention of mithril seemed to be always enough to put him in a good mood these days.
Seraphine's butterfly pupils practically sparkled. "Oh! A big chunk then?"
"Nope."
"So…?" she tilted her head.
"An entire vein."
Alice's expression froze mid-smile.
Lucia's eyes widened.
Seraphine's mouth opened slightly but produced no sound.
"..."
"..."
"..."
For several seconds, no one moved or spoke. The three women stared at Ashen with identical expressions of complete incomprehension.
Then Seraphine's voice emerged slightly dazed.
"Daddy... we're rich."
⛧ ⛧ ⛧