Hearing the word “dragon knights” had set off a button within Undine because, almost immediately, her lips curled into a coy grin. She looked at Baiyi with a pair of knowing eyes, and then, she lowered her lips to Tisdale’s ear and whispered…
“Huh? No!… I mean, it was a misunderstanding, really. That was what it was…?” Tisdale replied in a bemused tone. “Sir isn’t that sort of person! It’s all just gossip and rumors from bored aristocrats. It’s just hogwash.”
Although the girl was clearly trying to defend her teacher, Tisdale herself did not sound too convinced…
“Hee hee! What were you thinking, Dale? Your favorite Sir almost belonged to someone else!” Undine maintained her grin. “Besides, you’ve seen Aya, right? Damn; she was so gorgeous, and she had a little girl beside her, too! Not that she needed her to win him over; I heard that if Aya’s age is converted to human age, it will be equivalent to yours, which would explain why your teacher here likes her so mu — accck!!!”
Her voice was hushed, but Baiyi could still hear her pretty clearly. Just like that, with a flick of the Soul Armature’s finger, an ice bullet in the size of a small chalk was flung right at Undine’s head; the same thing Baiyi did to any student who was not paying attention in class. Attie was quite an expert at that.
“Real business, Undine,” Baiyi said, feeling a little impatient. “Or, I’m not listening anymore!”
“Oh, I know. I know!” Undine stuck her tongue out, with a grievance. “Your mistress’ dragon knights — owww! Stop that! It was just a slip of the tongue! So, your girl, who is a friend, and her dragon knights demanded a price so high for their service, I seriously wondered if they had ever seen money in their sad, sad lives befo — ohhh! Why are you still doing that?!?!”
“I got bonked in the head by your evil icicle as soon as I came here, and now, you’re bullying me with your ice bullets?! I shall duel with you!” Undine hissed out a thread, rubbing her red, swollen forehead as she hid behind Tisdale.
“Sure,” Baiyi replied, impassioned. His hands were still onto tying the silky ribbon on Mia’s hair.
“Hee hee hee! As if I would ever dare to do that, aye?” Undine’s sly smile returned to her face again.
“Right, back to business. The dragon knights’ price was too hefty, and they refused to work for a long term. We talked to them for a long time, but they only agreed to protect our travel once a month. And, well, anyone with a business acumen like you would know that if one travels through a trade route only once a year — can it still be called a trade route? So, we can’t just shorten that route; we gotta expand it, too!”
“Hmph. Making multiple trips within a month, and then utilizing the aerial route every few days? That’s money-making, alright. No wonder you wanted Attie’s territory turned into a warehouse,” Baiyi muttered under his breath.
Meanwhile, Baiyi’s hands had just deftly finished tying up the purple ribbons onto Mia’s braids, turning them into beautiful bows.
The little girl had assumed her adorable form once again. Baiyi carried the girl down from his lap and pinched her cheeks. “Thank you, Mr. Hope!” She exclaimed happily, grabbing the silver plate and looking at herself on it. “Wow! Mr. Hope is better in this than I ever can be! As a reward, I’m gonna wipe your armor clean!”
She dashed to the kitchen after making up her own suggestion. Vidomina, understanding the implication, took off after her, shouting, “Lemme help too, Mia!”
Undine watched the scene unfold, then she gave him a skeptical gaze. “You can now weave patterns with hair ribbons, too? Where did you even learn that? You did better than any girl I know, even…”
‘Ha! Well, there is a Great Sage in the Void who would like to remain anonymous; she would always use the free time she had after studying and training to make new weaving patterns. Not only was she skillful at them, but she was also inventive! With her studious nature and her magic, she created so many styles; such as, “Blooming Flower”, “Lazy Cat”, “Big Bear”, “Runic”, and even ” Tortoise shell “…’
‘Of course, the poor woman had no one other than herself to admire her handicraft.’
Baiyi quickly returned to their original topic before the protagonist of his tale realized that he had been talking about her. “So, not only are you here to purchase more setpiece formations for the gliders, but you’re also here to convince Attie to help your business? Wait… how is the situation with the Steppe Barbarians?”
“Thanks to you, it’s in total chaos!” Undine chuckled lightly. “Their mightiest clans were dealt a damaging blow by you and the Alpine Barbarians, while the rest are too weak and uncharismatic to unite the others. Hence, now, everyone is basically fighting for their own clan’s benefit now. Today, they are allies; tomorrow, they defeat other unions, and then the day after tomorrow, they betray each other. Oh man, there’s no way they could form a unified power now!”
“Attie’s clan is a different story, though. Thanks to your direct order, their territory was turned into an asylum in the steppe. Their lives are so relatively peaceful, some other clansmen would come seeking sanctuary and join them. Hence, after a while, they got pretty strong, too. As for those smaller, weaker tribes? They have all joined Attie’s tribe. They even purchase weapons and resources from us using their herbs, minerals, and animal hides!” Undine was very excited as she recounted. “Three towns are on the way of being established! Ooh, that is why my trip to your place today is also about a negotiation with Miss Attie!”
‘No wonder the girl had been excited to draw in as many partners as possible into this; the Northern Land and the Steppe together. This is a massive market right here, and one family can’t possibly maximize it on their own. One would need help from others; nevertheless, the Doles just had to use their advantage as the pioneer to grab the juiciest part of the deal…’
“She’s more suited to be a businesswoman than some Sword Saint, isn’t she?” Baiyi said out loud in the Void. “Look at the speed at which her demeanor is changing! Previously, she desired to strip, hang, and whip ‘Miss Attie’, didn’t she?”
“Hahaha! That’s my girl! Our Dole gene is strong in this one!” The Merchant beamed proudly by his side. “Of course, Sir Hope, need I remind you that we probably should engage in money-making — a noble venture, shouldn’t we?”
“That’s debatable, but we can all discuss it later,” Baiyi replied. The, he raised his voice, calling out to Attie. The Kitty Cat Maid had been preparing breakfast for everyone since she woke up early in the morning, and she had Nota the fairy by her side.
Attie obediently returned to Baiyi’s side. She gave the Dole’s heiress an anxious glance, and then she proceeded to give Baiyi a pleading look as he shook his elbow lightly. ‘You’re not selling me to her for her vengeance, right?’
“It goes like this,” Baiyi said as he readjusted the girl’s tilting cat-ear headband; it had been messed up because of her busy work in the kitchen. Afterward, Baiyi gave her a quick summary of the situation.
Attie was visibly relieved when she realized that she had not been sold; however, when she heard that the trading route and Baiyi’s old command turning her territory into a haven that kept growing stronger in the steppe, she looked positively gratified.
‘I knew it! Joining him was the right choice!’ Attie thought to herself happily, with a sweet smile etched on her lips.
Undine picked up where Baiyi had left and started, “And, that is more or less everything about it, Miss Attie — or should I say, Your Highness. We still your help by…”
Although she said the sort of words one would use when asking for help, Undine’s tone did not make her request sound as sincere and forgiving as one would hope. Instead, she sounded distant and almost skeptically chilly; a strong hint that Undine was still sore about the way she had been treated back in the steppe when the unified tribe was still under Attie’s rule. It seemed that the only real reason why Undine was on her best behavior was because of the pragmatism of a businesswoman.
Attie did not seem to mind her, though. She nodded politely, replying calmly, “Miss Undine, I’m no longer the King of the Steppe, you know. I’m now only a mere servant girl for my Master. For your matter, you should probably ask our current chief.”
‘Oh, look at that loyalty!’ Baiyi was moved by her words. ‘Check out this amazing gift the War God had given me!’
Then again, Attie’s tribe had become more powerful than they were when Baiyi last left them, while the other tribes were slowly destroying themselves or each other. With the skirmishes going on between other tribes, the establishment of the warehouse, and the aid and resources which the merchants were bound to supply in order to maintain the peace of their goods — will Attie’s clan, the Chandra Clan, not grow more majestic in their bearing?
When that time comes, all Attie would have to do is to be a little coquettish and ask Baiyi for permission to play around with the War God’s Sword — which Baiyi might just allow her to — wave the sword and return back to her people, and behold, the King will have returned! In fact, this time it would be different because she had been trained well by Baiyi himself; thus, her foundation would have become solid enough to really rule as a King…
Baiyi was startled at his own train of thought. ‘Doesn’t this just mean I’ve gotten nothing in the end? That it was just a big, big roundabout setup so that I can run errands for the War God on manners like Attie’s education and the fortification of her rule?’
He could not help but try to verify that possibility. “Attie, your clan is getting stronger, huh? Do you wanna return to them? You can probably become King again!”
The girl’s body jerked at the suggestion. Then, her gaze locked onto Baiyi’s mask, and her eyes started to tear up and redden. The Soul Armature could see tears building up in them.
“M-Master? Y-y-you’re kicking me out already?” Attie’s voice was filled with the onset of a sob. “B-b-but, who’s gonna make meals for Mia and the others? A-and who’s gonna clean the house and the yard?”
“Naturally, it won’t be easy on me, too,” Baiyi pinched her cheeks lightly. “But, don’t you wanna go home?”
“N-no I don’t! I don’t want to at all!” The girl bawled and buried her head into his embrace. Sobbing, she added, “I don’t want to go anywhere, Master. This is my home, right by your side…”
She looked up at him, with her puffy cheeks and red eyes. Very quietly, and with a pleading tone, she said, “P-please don’t kick me out, Master?”
Baiyi’s heart melted at her action. As long as the girl was still by his side, he was sure everything was going to be fine.