Chapter 29. Emotions (Patreon)

'Silicon dioxide, feldspar, kaolinite, illite, montmorillonite, calcite, mica, dolomite, gypsum, iron oxide,' I thought, touching the ground beneath Archwizard Roman's feet. 'Separate.'

A massive ripple shot from my hands, creating a wave through the ground. The dirt came alive as it shifted like a gold pan, pushing the silicon dioxide—the sand—to the top.

"What are you doing?!" Archwizard Roman yelled from above, feeling the ground shifting beneath him. As he sank into the sand, I activated a defense barrier, illuminating the hole with orange light. A split second later, a vicious blast of blue fire cut across the sky, melting the sand Archwizard Roman was standing in into molten glass.

I was right—Zenith was above, and I only needed to reduce the man's pressure and allow her to fly down.

I used Molecular Separation to push aside dirt as I moved backward, separating myself from the heat. After getting far enough away, I lifted my hand, and the ground separated above me, parting like the Red Sea in a 20-foot radius. I manipulated the clay with my power to support the ground under my feet and built it up like a staircase, enabling me to jump out of the hole.

"I'm going to kill you, you pest!" Archwizard Roman screamed at Zenith. A barrier surrounded him, but his calves had sunk into molten glass, and he was shaking from the heat. He released the barrier. "Enckinu VIK—!"

'Omnipotent tool,' I silently declared before yelling to capture his attention. "20-foot Mythril pike!"

Archwizard Roman stopped talking when a massive Mythril pike appeared out of nowhere, aimed at his head. It was very heavy, so my thrust was slow, and he promptly dodged, grabbing the pike at the center to halt my advance. However, I dropped it and continued running. "Omnipotent tool," I thought, invoking the second power I had just earned. "Mythril spear!"

A Mythril spear materialized abruptly, mere inches in front of his eye. As a result, it impaled him, sending the spear crashing into the back of his skull.

"Hydrogen, oxygen!" I internally commanded. "Separate upon contact with Mythril!" Archwizard's head and body promptly exploded as the water in his body instantaneously turned into gas. It was a truly gruesome spectacle.

'Calcium, collagen, plasma, hemoglobin, keratin, actin, myosin!' I internally declared, unwilling to take chances with immortality. 'Separate upon contact with Mythril!' Archwizard Roman's bony, ruptured balloon of a corpse, relying upon my spear to hold him together, dissolved into dust as the last traces of liquid in his body vanished. His skin, muscles, and bones dissolved, leaving only trace elements behind.

Then I closed my eyes with a vicious expression. "Reap." A wisp of Archwizard Roman's golden soul mana sucked into my chest like a vortex until my soul core stopped accepting more.

I felt no thrill in absorbing his energy. It was merely a precaution in case he could rebuild himself using immortality magic. This way, even if he were to return, he would lose half of his power while I would become exponentially stronger.

Practical.

As soon as I finished, I ran to my father. Thea was tending to him with a panicked expression that sent chills crawling down my spine. "How is he?!" I panicked, ignoring the strange urgency in my voice.

"I'm trying to heal him, but we need a real medic!" Thea cried, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I-I'm sorry for not tending to him sooner. It's just that I was waiting to jump in to help you, and then you didn't need it, and then I—"

I fell to the ground before my father's twisted body, which had a collapsed lung from the kick and a massive indent from where his rib cage smashed. He was wheezing, barely holding on because of the healing magic that closed his wounds. However, I didn't look at him. I wrapped my arms around Thea in an emotional hold. "Please, Thea," I pleaded. "You're far better at healing magic. So stop worrying about me and concentrate."

Thea swallowed hard, trying to control her trembling body, and looked back at my father, shakily reciting a C-rank multi-tiered spell, the highest we had.

"What are you doing?!" General Thimes screamed, far from our walls and unable to see what had just happened. From his perspective, there was a large hole in the wall, an archwizard, and a large force that hadn't done anything. "Attack!"

The soldiers who saw what happened didn't move. However, a wall of soldiers, thousands in number, ran across the Solsa River, moving onto our shores and into our ditches.

"Phalanx!" I yelled.

"HAROOH!" The soldiers yelled in unison, surrounding Thea, my father, and me with shields.

"Give the light-up order once my barrier is up!" I yelled, seeing Thea having difficulty chanting with the screaming. 'Tolle ab inimico meis oculos, nasum, vocem et vim; tolle a me corpore, odorem, verba et facultatem pugnandi; Pono corpus meum pro tua protectione. Occultans!'

The chant erected a black-tinted masking barrier, allowing us to see what was on the other side but not being able to hear or smell. We also disappeared from view. We were ready.

As the Goldenspire warriors ran through the ditches, my soldiers threw a highly reflective prism 100 feet into the air. A split second later, flaming ballista arrows struck the ditches wired with countless pounds of dynamite, causing a cataclysmic chain reaction that sent dirt, blood, and armor crashing into our hoplite formation, making their feet dig into the earth.

Thea gritted her teeth with the ground rumbling, trying to ignore the chaos outside as she worked through a sixteen-line chant that she had restarted a dozen times. However, she took a deep breath and finished.

Golden light radiated in the barrier while Goldenspire troops crashed into my soldiers' shields, pushing them closer toward us in dead silence.

"Guh…." Leon coughed up blood as bone fragments from his left lung separated, floating through the air along with dirt and other impurities. Healing magic couldn't make foreign objects disappear; it required a multi-step process to clean, purify, and mend.

Suddenly, a massive wave of fire crashed down from the sky, engulfing people beyond the shields. The flames burned fiercely, casting a hellish glow that surrounded my troops as they thrust spears into the gaps between the shields, impaling their enemies.

Large arrows, cannonballs, and heavenly arrows rained down, causing further explosions in the infernal fire pits beyond the shields. However, the Goldenspire troops pressed on, likely fueled by a zealous battle cry from General Thimes.

I glanced back at my father, and a twisted wave of panic and pain washed over me. In comparison to what others might feel, it may have seemed minor. However, for me, someone who had buried such emotions, they were unbearable and agonizing. Moreover, hearing Thea cry out in panic wrenched my heart in ways I hadn't thought possible.

This was my fault.

My father's injury. Ajax dying. Thousands getting murdered outside. It was my fault. All of it. It was my fault!

"The world is cruel, and people are the worst!" Thea said, snapping me out of my haze. "My people didn't fight back because they wanted peace. Then they ended up as pets."

I turned to her with a sharp breath, confused why she was comforting me. However, I understood when I saw blood from where I had dug my fingernails into my palm.

"You and Priest Aelius paid soldiers to do whatever you ordered," Thea said. "Your father wants to be here alongside your troops. This is what they signed up for, so don't think about it."

Leon wheezed, but his breathing was stabilizing. So long as nothing terrible happened, he'd live. I calmed down after noting that.

"Can you get him to a real healing mage?" I asked.

Thea turned to me with bloodshot eyes. "Please don't ask me to do that unless you come with me!" she snapped, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I almost lost you once today!"

I winced, finding her tears unbearable. "I need to capture General Thimes, or thousands more will die. However, I will go with Zenith and return as soon as we get him. But for now, I need you to protect my father. Can you do that?"

She bit her lip, nodded, and wrapped her hands under his chest and knees. "Okay…." With an effortless lift, she got up and began walking as I got rid of the barrier, and an explosion of sound filled our ears. Explosions. Shrieks from the wounded. Clashing against shields.

As Thea walked away, I turned to my troops and spoke with amplification magic. "Once Lady Lockheart gets through the wall, I want to see you massacre the people threatening our home!"

"HAROOH!" A few hundred soldiers grunted in unison.

As soon as I entered through the wall with Thea, I locked eyes with her. "With an archwizard gone—who can stop us?" I smiled, wiping tears from her eyes. She smiled but started crying again. "No one. I'll clean up and be back in ten minutes, so take care of my dad. I'm counting on you."

"I will," Thea said, swallowing her tears and running off.

I turned and used a minor enhancement spell I learned from the tome Seraphin gave me, giving my soldiers energy. "If they crossed the Solsa, leave no prisoners!" I commanded. "Attack!"

"HAROOH!" A thousand elite soldiers launched their shields into the enemy troops, sending them crashing backward. In the opening, the soldiers threw their spears, impaling four troops each before drawing their swords and mowing people down in a devastating show of force.

It was a massacre.

"SOLARA WELCOMES ALL WHO FIGHT INTO THE AFTERLIFE, GIVING THEM WOMEN AND TREASURES! PRIEST AELIUS WELCOMES YOU INTO THE ANNALS OF HISTORY!" General Thimes screamed in the background.

I scoffed at General Thimes’ rhetoric because it was effective. Envious even.

Peeved, I threw a red prism into the air. Zenith, perched on a wall to restore her mana, flew down and created a powerful gust of wind that blew dust into the eyes of the enemy troops, blinding them moments before my soldiers cut them down. This woman was ruthless.

As soon as she descended, I jumped onto her back, climbing up her scales to reach her neck as she flew across the battlefield.

"THERE IS NO DEATH IN BATTLE FOR SOLARA!" General Thimes yelled as we flew over the sea of disoriented troops. Thousands of weaponless troops to the west had surrendered. Ten thousand had died, and five thousand were either running around on the battlefield or heading towards their deaths in the Solsa River.

I also noticed that Ironfall's forces on the south side didn't fare much better. Our cannons had destroyed their siege equipment, rendering it impossible for them to breach the walls. Consequently, without their wyverns, they wisely retreated to the Tomald Mountains.

"ONLY GLORY AWAITS YOU IN THE AFTERLIFE!" General Thimes screamed. "WE MUST—AH! STAY AWAY!"

Zenith and I pursued the fleeing general across the battlefield until we intercepted him. After she shook off a few petty arrows, I leaped off her back and descended to the ground in front of the man, kicking up dirt around me.

"K-Kill that man!" General Thimes shouted to his terrified soldiers, panicking over the azure wyvern hovering over them. However, three complied, rushing at me. A split second later, their bodies separated at different angles, their chests separating from their legs and spurting blood.

Only then did General Thimes notice the sword that had magically appeared in my hands. "W-Wait!" he stammered, dropping his sword.

"Say you surrender, or I'll castrate you and make you swallow your own testicles," I warned. "I just killed your archwizard—don't tempt me."

"L-Lies!" General Thimes yelled. "He's an ancient!"

“He was an ancient,” I corrected. “Now, he’s dead, and I’m here. Now declare your surrender, or you’ll swallow your testicles moments before I cut off your tongue, arms, and legs, making it impossible for you to commit suicide for the next 87 years as I keep you alive with soul meat. I guarantee you one thing, General Thimes—you’ll lose faith in your god.”

My wrath and overbearing pressure made him collapse on the spot. "O-Okay…."

I initiated the amplification circle on my gauntlet and thrust it in front of his face.

"L-Lay down your weapons!" General Thimes stuttered, holding back his shame. "Goldenspire surrenders! Lay down your weapons!"

His words shocked the troops he had told to sacrifice themselves. However, they complied, grateful they didn't have to run into the human blender in front of the cracked concrete wall.

The fight was finally over.

After seeding command to General Nisan, I flew to my father, who was in a medic tent right inside the wall. It was bustling with medics yelling orders as I rushed in.

The first thing I saw was Thea crying over Leon's body, making my stomach sink and filling my heart with emotions I had never felt before. It was excruciating.

"RYKER!" Thea cried, weaving through the tent to hug me. I embraced her and took a pained glance at my father—and found him breathing. That meant...

"YOU'RE OKAY!" Thea cried, beating my chest with her fists as she sobbed. Overwhelmed by everything happening, I held her tight, finding that it was also what I needed.

I looked down and saw her sobbing, giving me a sharp pang in my heart. This... feeling. Did it match hers? While I felt slightly numb, it felt like the dreadful emotions twisting my heart matched hers, and we shared the same comfort. Perhaps… this is unrepressed emotion.

I’m not sure. Whatever it is, it fucking sucks.

And yet… as I held Thea, I realized I got something in exchange for the pain. I'm not sure what it was, but I'd figure it out after this was all over.

***

Following the Battle of Sundell, 8,123 Goldenspire soldiers surrendered. 4,789 laid down their weapons outright, and the remainder were on the battlefield during the surrender. Ironfall retreated but left behind 441 troops that we promptly interrogated.

The representatives emerged from their bunkers in disbelief. Only 73 of our soldiers had died, most of whom had died during the Wyvern attack or in one of Archwizard Roman's meteor strikes. Very few died fighting, as one thousand took turns in a phalanx, protecting a small breach in the wall like King Leonidas’ Spartans at the Battle of Thermopylae.

Well, if the Spartans were supercharged with magic, trained in a deadly forest, and exponentially stronger than the Persians.

And had better metal.

And had supporting fire from modern weapons.

Look, it wasn’t a fair fight.

The representatives didn't know that. They just surveyed the corpse-riddled battlefield, filled with Goldenspire troops burning their dead on pyres, and concluded that our technology wasn't to be messed with.

As for our own troops, my father lived but was left bedridden for healing. We held a full memorial pyre for Ajax and the other soldiers, immortalizing them in history by etching their names on a stone monument as people told stories of them. It was a point of honor for our budding nation.

As planned, the Battle of Sundell solved our international issues. Having representatives witness the consequences of attacking the Everwood Empire warned kingdoms not to impede our conquest of Goldenspire, and no one doubted we could conquer them.

Those on the fence immediately took sides. King Emeric of the Aurelian Empire sent an A-class healer to heal my father's wounds. The first thing Leon said post-healing was, "See, son?" he mused, looking at my mother and other worried people. "That's how you show off." Scarlet promptly beat him until the A-class healer intervened again. I love my mom.

King Thrain sent me booze for the victory celebration, and we got messages from other kingdoms stating that they accepted the battle's legitimacy. However, they warned they wouldn't hesitate to go to war if I threatened their food supply.

That wasn't a problem because I planned to secure their food supply from the start.

So long as I took over and sold grain cheaper and faster than before, no one would attack me. That's why I waited until their wheat harvest instead of hitting them in the fall when they were unprepared. Goldenspire just filed the legal paperwork by attacking. It was a boon!

The territorial gains were immense. Sundell was the size of Anaheim, California, and had 25,000 acres of farmland. Goldenspire was a large territory, roughly expanding the size of California, Nevada, and Oregon put together—and 50,000,000 acres was farmland.

We immediately claimed five million acres of wheatfields and used mechanical reapers to reap it with comical efficiency. The serfs were terrified they'd have nothing to do, but we shared income with them as long as they took in secondary work, like those from Sundell. The effects were immediate, and everyone enjoyed a higher standard of living.

I promptly sold higher-quality flour to every country that wanted it at 33% less cost, shocking every merchant and economic trade official we met.

The countries took notice and, given their desire for cheaper grain and steel—and to not go to war with us—sent joint letters to Goldenspire declaring that if Priest Aelius declared me a heretic, they would declare him a rogue priest and would go to war.

Priest Aelius protested, but leaders promptly disregarded his words because General Thimes had attacked their representatives during a pre-war conference. General Thimes truthfully denied it, but the representatives instantly objected.

Flawless victory.

Next year we'd expand the territory we took. However, for now, we had to protect our gains and didn't have enough people. So we focused on winning over the serfs and nobles in the annexed areas. If we converted them, we'd gain another million subjects to our territory.

With enough money and a charismatic new puppet priest, we should be able to accomplish that by next year. There's much to look forward to!

I learned from General Thimes that the archwizard's name was Titus Roman, a former general of Goldenspire. Since I promptly executed General Thimes and his commanders thereafter, there was no evidence that Titus participated, and we didn't disclose it. That way, Priest Aelius would know I either killed or recruited him but couldn't confirm it, allowing his imagination to magnify his fears.

Compounding that terror, the soldiers who saw the battle spread ghost stories and rumors about Titus' participation, fueling the fire with exaggerated stories. World leaders who believed the rumors would be more wary of me. Those who denied it would be blindsided when they learned I had quadrupled my strength by absorbing half of Titus' soul mana.

Most importantly, I didn't want other "ancients" to know I killed one of them. They might panic and come to kill me if they found out, and I knew I didn't stand a chance.

Surviving Titus' attack turned out to be a miraculous mixture of blind luck and irony.

Titus didn't bring a crystal ball, confirming his statement that he planned to leave my people alive. It also explains why he practiced lightning to ensure it didn't kill the wrong people.

With that in mind, that tunic likely wasn't for show. He probably was a farmer who got roped into the battle because Priest Aelius blackmailed his orphanage or something else ironically heroic.

Yep, Titus Roman was a good-natured man whose moral injury and survivor's guilt—after slaughtering millions—overcame his common sense and allowed me to win. But the other ancients? They're probably still living Titus' irredeemable backstory, and I'd be toast.

I didn't want to test fate.

Unfortunately, my A-rank soul core is full, and improving something this complex has proved worthless. Therefore, I can't obtain any more raw force unless I acquire an S-rank soul cultivation technique. That's now a top priority.

As for my power, the requirements are… frustrating.

—

Skills:

Molecular Separation

Description: Magic that separates and isolates molecules.

Usage: Silent cast by touching what you want to separate, internally declaring what you’re separating, and then thinking “separate.”

Stage: 4

Requirements for the next stage:

- Unique minerals mined: (73/100)

- Minerals quantity [lbs] (87,521/5,000)

- Magical minerals mined: (0/100)

- Magical mineral quantity [lbs] (0/100)

- Unique magical crystals (83/1,000)

- Magical crystals accumulated (1,231/5,000)

- Unique magical creations (3/100)

- Gold accumulated (73,283,183/100,000)

- Become a political or military leader (2/1)

- Prevent a catastrophe (82/1)

- Lead and win group battle (199/1)

Rewards:

- Molecular Fusion - Synthesize compounds directly

- 20% Memory Reduction (for memories post-reduction)

- Minor Forgiveness Spell

- Two omnipotent tools

- Scribe spell (self-writes from your memory)

- ???

- ???

-

Omnipotent Tool [Stage 1]

Description: Summon a tool of magic that morphs into rudimentary tools. It can be destroyed but will regenerate over time. The more damage, the longer the regeneration time.

Usage: Silent cast by calling Omnipotent Tool and thinking about what you're looking for.

Stage: 1

Requirements for the next stage:

Unique usages: (87/100)

Rewards:

- Use more complex compounds in the tool.

—

'I can't wait until the next stage requires me to join a church and start an orphanage,' I internally grumbled. 'At least she gave me a hint about winning the magical war.'

In addition to her requirements to enter politics and scale up my operations, she required me to obtain magical stones, crystals, and minerals. That might be a hint that conventional weapons may not harm our enemy, so we may need to make bullets from Mythril or Thunderstone or imbue rockets with self-activating magic circles. It's unclear.

'Still… the rewards for completing her path are as good as the costs,' I lamented, weighing the forgiveness and memory spells against Scribe and Molecular Fusion. 'What a pain.'

"Why did you stop?" Thea pouted, tilting her head backward to look at my face. We were sitting on the couch, and she was between my legs as I absentmindedly kneaded her ears. However, I had stopped and just wrapped my arms around her in a backward hug.

"There's just a lot on my mind," I replied. "I'll start again."

Thea grabbed my arms, clearly unwilling to let me end the hug. "No, don't stop hugging me."

"Ear kneading or hugging? Which do you want?" I frowned.

"Both," Thea declared, rubbing her ears against my neck while tightening her grip on my arms.

My eyes glazed over, blinking as she did it. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because you're letting me," she giggled. "You never would've let me do this before, so I'm making the most of it."

I furrowed my brow. "I keep hearing the word ‘before,’ but it doesn't make sense. Even the maids have used it, and I haven't said anything new to them since I was a child."

Thea giggled at my expression but remained silent. After coaxing her into elaborating, she grabbed the back of my neck and tilted her head back to look at me. "Here, I'll show you," she said. "Kiss me."

I blinked twice. There wasn’t some wild spark between us like the few other times we had kissed. Is this okay? Like, not morally. I didn’t have a problem with it. It just seemed strange—kissing whenever just because?

Public displays of affection are strictly forbidden in aristocratic society, so my knowledge comes from books and movies, and both depict kissing as romantic or passionate.

"Just kiss me, silly," Thea grinned, seeing me trying to crack the code on kissing.

I sighed, pressed my lips against hers, and then pulled back again. The kiss felt good and made my heart flutter a bit, but I was too overwhelmed by embarrassment and confusion to truly enjoy it.

"You would have had a panic attack if I had even asked you to do that before the Battle of Sundell," Thea grinned. "And you definitely wouldn't have done it. Change isn't about what you say, but what you do and how you do it."

My face relaxed into a slight frown. "Couldn't you have found a dozen other ways to point that out?" I sassed.

“I~could’ve,” Thea sang, putting her finger on her lips. “But I wanted a kiss.”

I'm not sure why I felt swindled, but I did. "Then why didn’t you just ask outright?" I pressed.

Thea puffed out her cheeks and moved her mouth to the side. "It's because I never knew if you wanted a kiss."

My eyes deadened, and I sighed, realizing I was emotionally and relationally behind most teenagers. I'm so pathetic. "That's because I never knew if you wanted a kiss."

Thea nuzzled into my shoulder to get comfortable. "I always want a kiss."

My heart contorted with a complex mixture of emotions. "You know me, Thea," I sighed. "I'll give you just about anything. But if you don't tell me things straightforwardly, I won't know what to do."

Thea blinked at me. "But it's true. I always want to kiss you. Morning, noon, night... and even in my drea...." She turned bright red, realizing she was confessing, and promptly turned her body to hide her face in my chest.

A twisting feeling of pleasant anxiety stirred in my stomach as I looked at her, hiding her flushed face. Pleasant anxiety? What a strange and subtle feeling.

I brushed her teal hair off her cheek. "Okay," I gently said, kissing it. "I'll figure it out. Just don't blame me if I kiss you when you're in the middle of slaying a guardian-class beast."

Thea turned to me and puffed out her cheeks, pouting because I was teasing her. I seized the opportunity and pecked her on the lips with a cheeky smile. She giggled and pulled me into a real, passionate kiss.

This is what I'm fighting for. I have less than a year before I turn eighteen and have to contend for Princess Redfield's hand in marriage. To ensure this playfulness can last and I can love Thea exclusively, I need to do whatever it takes to wed Valeria and Everwood economically and leave the political marriage behind.

***

The next day, I set to work doing just that. Now that I had secured economic alliances by skillfully stealing Goldenspire's alliances, spread reading materials far and wide, and showcased my military supremacy, I needed to marry the Everwood Empire to Valeria without a political marriage.

Imagine if a country that imported all its coal, natural gas, and oil suddenly couldn't import any. Their lights, phones, stovetops, hot water heaters, and computers would shut down. After the backup generators gave out, streetlights, hospitals, airports—everything—would grind to a halt. It would be a disaster.

That’s the meaning behind an economic marriage.

But then the benevolent Ryker Everwood swoops in, selling them fuel at 50% of the cost. Then, once they’re economically dependent—they’ll do whatever the fuck I tell them to.

It’s perfect. A tried and true strategy for diplomacy and colonialism.

Kinda. King Redfield won't just get hooked on my products like an opium addict and become my puppet; I need something from Valeria that only they have. That way, a war would be more mutually detrimental.

Thankfully, Aphrodite gave me a good idea as to what King Redfield had that I couldn't get from other countries. So I met with Thea the next day to dictate a letter to the man.

"Let me know when you're ready," I requested, pacing back and forth before Thea as she sat at my desk with an inkwell and quill, writing on letterhead parchment.

"I'm ready," Thea replied, completely focused.

I cleared my throat and took a deep breath. "Dear King Redfield," I began. "King Everwood is requesting the following trade:"

Thea scratched down my words with beautiful writing that I'd never trust to a scribe. She was the best. Once she was done, she gave me the thumbs up.

"One cannon for every ten unique magical flowers and minerals that Valeria provides," I said, widening her eyes.

"Negotiations for building materials that can withstand siege equipment and modern technology are available if we establish a substantial trade relationship for these goods," I continued. "Sincerely, King Everwood."

Thea transcribed my words carefully and then looked up in shock. "You're giving him cannons?"

"Of course." There wasn't the slightest bit of equity or benevolence etched on my grinning face. "What's better than selling people the weapons they need to protect themselves from you with—"

Thea giggled.

"—when they can't make the ammo?" I mused, stopping my pacing. "It's a bait-and-switch where the bait is a requirement, and the switch is a bitter upfront condition."

She shot me an amused expression. "Is that even a bait-and-switch at that point?"

"Of course it is," I replied, waving my hand. "You and I both know politicians will never use the words 'successful extortion.'"

Thea giggled playfully and pulled out wax and my seal's stamp to close the envelope. "You're mean."

"I prefer the term 'situationally benevolent,'" I shrugged. "This is just setting the stage for the real deal I'll be offering him."

The magical plants, minerals, and research will be integral to completing my system's requirements for obtaining Molecular Fusion and Scribe. It's also the one thing I can get in Novena that I can't get anywhere else, as the Green Sea, the largest producer, is closed for business. Therefore, trade relationships are good.

As for what I'm really offering... well, he'll find out if he agrees and trades with me instead of putting things off until next summer. I don't mind going to war with him if he didn't learn his lesson. But if he did, I'm sure he'll be willing to marry off his daughter to a second-hand merchant with what I'll offer him.

"It's that significant?" Thea asked, intrigued.

I returned a mischievous smile. King Redfield can prepare for years, and he won't be prepared for what I will offer him. I look forward to seeing his face.

—

[A/N: Finally made it past brutal Patreon hell. You're officially five chapters ahead and caught up with that four-chapter streak. I hope that you're enjoying the story. Oh, and shout out to Jett. There are a thousand ways Molecular Separation can kill a person, but he gave a creative one!]