HMJ - Chapter 70 (Patreon)

Nico Robin POV

‘Just where are you?’ She sighed while she read through the next stack of reports on their current levels of grain.

They were almost exhausted, and they needed to keep an eye on how much they were selling. While fresh vegetables were popular amongst their buyers in the North, their biggest interest was unexpectedly in fresh grain.

While planning their future harvest, they hadn’t calculated the past experiences of the Northern Lords.

The seasons in this strange world were completely different from the ones in the regular Blues; it was more like this world was in the Grand Line, with their summers and winters going on for years.

Fresh vegetables were nourishing and healthy, but they wouldn’t normally last for the whole winter. Meanwhile, properly stored grains would last for a very long time and were the kind of food that would allow the people in the North to survive in the later years of winter.

And this was also reflected in their purchasing behavior; while they wanted to buy fresh vegetables, only enough to cover a bit more than their current consumption Grain, on the other hand, was something they were buying as much as possible, especially since it was so cheap.

This caused the small problem Skagos was having just now: their grain stores were running out.

It was caused by a small miscalculation on their side, based on their different experiences with seasons.

Of course, they had already adjusted what they planted on their fields, but their next harvest was still a few weeks away.

Knock, Knock

“Come in!” Robin said, and the door to her office opened as Monet entered it.

Monet was the same age as her, a beautiful green-haired girl wearing glasses. She was currently working as a kind of main secretary, acting as an intermediary between the people under their employ and Lust and her.

With the rise of trade, she had become very busy.

“And what did they say?” Robin asked as she put down the stack of files she had been working on.

“They were understanding and agreed to buy more vegetables this month for a reduced rate. Although Ser Wendel Manderly wished to talk to Harry personally, he still accepted my excuse that he is currently on an expedition to Yi Ti.” Monet explained as she adjusted her glasses.

Behind her eyes, she had the same worries about Harry as herself. But Tiamat said she could still feel Harry with her bond. At first, it felt to her as if he were gone, but then she slightly felt him again, then he was gone again, and then it was there again.

It was extremely confusing. She was so confused that she had gone to visit other older dragons in a place called the Vault of Souls for their guidance.

They neither did have an idea of what was going on with Harry and the Bond. But of one thing, they were certain: Harry was still alive. The bond never lies.

This fact was what kept Skagos running; while they thought Harry had died, it had hit Robin hard. But he was still alive, and she would make sure that he had a place he could return to.

After all, he gave her a safe home, and she would do the same for him. All of them would.

Another problem was Tiamat; while Skagos was isolated, this had been no problem. But now, a living dragon would gain unwanted attention.

At the same time, they didn’t wish to hide Tiamat in a cave the whole time.

A solution had offered itself.

The store was still working, but they hadn’t gained any new connections. Already-existing ones were still working.

A few days ago, an elvish woman called Arya, just like the daughter of Lord Stark, came through the door. She was from the same world as Tiamat and was looking for Harry.

She told them they were under the attack of creatures called Urgals under the lead of a dark being, a so-called shadow, by the name of Durza.

While Harry wasn’t here, Tiamat knew what was going on. They came to the decision that she would go to Farthen Dur, the home of the Dwarfes, and assist another dragonrider and his dragon during their battle.

She also decided she would stay with them and visit the City of the Elves to get trained as a dragon. Harry apparently told her that there were a ton of things she could learn from a teacher there, even without him.

It was a good solution for their immediate problems about hiding her. The woman, Arya, to their shock, swore in the ancient language that she would look after Tiamat with her life.

“At this rate, we will have to focus on expanding Ohara’s port." Monet pointed out, “We already are under our current limit, and trade will become only bigger during the next months.”

Being brought back from her tough times, Robin replied, “Lust has already instructed the builders to focus more on additional landing places, piers, and other necessary structures to house and entertain the seamen at the port. Other parts of Ohara have become secondary. Please make sure that there are always guards around the Tree of Knowledge.”

One of the last decisions Harry made before he left was the name of their port city. Ohara, in memory of her birthplace.

In memory of all the lives lost.

Robin had planted the sappling of the Tree of Wisdom they found at the ruins of Ohara, right in the spot where the center of the New City would be one day.

It was still small right now, and it had to be guarded so nobody would destroy it.

Having heard from Harry about the elvish magic and their connection to nature, she had asked Arya if she was able to grow the tree.

Unfortunately, based on her description and the sheer size of the Original Tree of Knowledge, Arya was too weak to do it alone.

She still agreed to help her once she was back with the elves. After hearing her tale, there was no way the elves would leave such a tree unattended.

It gave Robin hope. Maybe she could restore the legacy of Ohara in the future.

Harry would help her with that in the future; he had mentioned the books were on Elbaf.

Monet’s face formed a frown. “Other necessary structures... do we really need whorehouses?”

“It’s common in this world. Seafarers are expecting it. Which is beneficial for our trade. We already own all the businesses in Ohara, including such, which is a massive investment. Under us, the girls get at least treated properly. If we didn’t offer it, it would still happen, just in worse condition. This way, we can make it safe and legal and profit from it.” Robin reasoned.

Monet nodded; she already had that discussion with Lust, who was in charge of that part of business. “Do you think he will really return? It's already been a month.”

“Yes, he will. He is alive, and he promised it!”

———

“Ah, tasty.” Harry muttered as he bit into a skewer of freshly grilled hare with some wild vegetables that he had gathered in his surroundings.

He was a few days away from Greystone City. By only traveling by horse, he was much quicker and had used the opportunity to explore as much of the area as he could.

After all, the region around Grey Stone City was still close to the Abysall Bone Forest Academy, and scrying with Draum Copa could allow him to gain a lot of useful information.

Exploring as much land as possible had been something the Dragon Riders of Alagaësia put much value in. After all, one could only scratch something with the spell a person had seen before.

By exploring, he would gain an advantage if he ever needed to scry on someone in the Poolfiled Kingdom. It also gave him the opportunity to collect more materials, like some interesting plants there, a rare animal here, and so on.

Suddenly there were voices: "Over there, get him!"

The bushes in front of him split apart while he was still enjoying his food. ‘Fate is a strange thing. I am pretty sure I took a different route.’

In front of him rushed a large, muscular guy protecting a young lady.

A situation he was certain Leylin had encountered originally. Why were they even here?

Moments later, the man spotted Harry, giving him a bitter smile. "I'm afraid this will implicate you as well."

It didn’t take long, and a group of armed soldiers wearing leather armor appeared from the very same direction, shouting, “Over there! Don’t let them escape.”

Only their leader was wearing decently crafted chainmail. But compared to the work he knew from Lisbeth with the SAO System, this was nothing.

They clearly were not a military group or outlaws, but soldiers belonging to some noble house. Even in Westeros, it was common that the regular soldier wore leater armor, or chainmail, rather than castle-forged plate armor.

Such armor was ridiculously expensive to craft and to maintain. Many successless hedge knights in Westeros went bankrupt on their armor.

But for them to be outlaws or mercenaries, these armories were to be uniforms. These kinds of unorganized groups usually wore a wide array of armor pieces from different craftsmen and materials.

Here they were all similar, with a coat of arms on them.

Their level of strength was nothing noteworthy; none of them even reached the level of an actual knight with a knight training method. They were all at most at the level a bit above Human to Preparatory Knight; compared to his Grand Knight Strength, they were nothing.

“Who are you?” The leader asked, looking at him with suspicion.

“Probably your death, but right now you are an innocent bystander.” Harry chuckled as he took another bite from his Skewer, just based on his look, he wasn’t intimidating. Nothing more than a very pretty boy with slightly pointed ears.

His casual reply had thrown the leader off guard.

This triggered the noble girl to ask him for help. Something about some poisoning or another plot for some land and riches It was basically an inheritance dispute where that girl got swindled out of her inheritance by another lord who wanted to take care of loose ends.

The girl was a pretty blue-eyed blonde, about 18–19 years old, and that has been making him have nice eyes.

He didn’t really need land or a noble title; it was pretty meaningless to him right now, but having her as a subordinate with her land could generate more useful resources for him.

Harry simply had no idea how he should get home and was building a power base for himself to increase his chances but also enhance his future power afterwards.

Having access to more troops and lands wouldn’t hurt.

But Harry wouldn’t be a nice guy. That noble girl was trying to use him by involving him in the matter. Honestly, at this point, he was a bit frustrated and spiteful. Living amongst Dark Magi for the last few months has changed his temper.

His previous experiences with his system did so too. He was sure that he had been used and manipulated by some powerful being; it pissed him off. Existence was a place where the weak got eaten or used by the strong. And he wouldn’t be weak anymore.

The troops had already overpowered and taken care of the Noble Ladies Guard and were now approaching her to capture her.

During the whole time, their leader didn’t let Harry out of his eyes.

“So you want my help? What are you willing to give me for it?” Harry asked the girl casually, ignoring the drawn swords now pointing at him as soon as he had spoken.

“Everything! Even I will belong to you!” She cried out.

A contract appeared in his hands, and he suddenly appeared at her side and said, "Well, then sign this. It’s based on your words. Or I will just leave now.”

For some reason, the soldiers weren’t moving anymore; they stood still as if frozen. But the girl didn’t notice this yet.

She looked at him, a crafty look in her eyes, before taking the pen that Harry had in his hand and saying, “Yes, I will sign anything.”

As soon as she had placed her name on it, her eyes widened, and it glowed up.

Harry put it in his inventory, along with his many other contracts: “It is binding. The fact that you wanted to trick me doesn’t matter. The contract makes you my property, and there is nothing you can do about it now.”

“You are a magus! What are you planning with me?” She asked fearfully, as she had realized what she probably just did, until she noticed the strange behavior of the soldiers around her: “Why are they not moving?”

“Oh, they have been paralyzed. Like you, they were plotting against me and planning to kill me as soon as they took care of you. No witnesses, you know.” Harry said it was a modified Rank 1 Spell Model based on ‘Petrificus Totalus’ just with an AOE effect. Even though stronger foes can resist it, someone on their level has no chance.

“They will dearly regret it.” Harry said, as he transfigured all 23 of them into pebbles and stored them in his inventory, “I need some experimental subjects soon. You, on the other hand, are the lucky one. Sure, you are now my property and have to obey me, but you will become more powerful than you ever dreamed. You will even get your revenge yourself in the future.”

“Will I? Won’t you treat me just as a slave?" She asked nervously.

“Oh, you will be my maid." A Noble Maid, a Viscount as my Maid! I need someone who takes care of my household soon.” Harry chuckled as he remembered her noble rank, which was actually funny and a bit arousing. It was just the way such a world worked: “But you will also become a Magus, and as long as you behave and are loyal, you will get a very good life. What was your name again?”

“Celeste. Celeste Lenning.” Celeste answered downcast, as she felt the compulsion to answer.

“Don’t worry so much! It won’t be so bad. You will get your revenge and more.” Harry placated her, still having a bit of his old softness.

He needed to harden himself, or others would always trample over him. Especially the Multiverse is a place were the strong eat the weak…