Four kilometres was just too far for Orakha to detect his existence, even if he weren't in disguise and hiding his presence to the utmost level. Inala was simply being cautious, since Orakha had more time to develop in the Brimgan Empire.
After they met at the entrance to Guna Caves, Orakha made a beeline to the Brimgan Empire. In contrast, Inala went to the Dralh Sea and spent a lot of time there for his plans.
Therefore, it wouldn't be surprising if Orakha had a large team working for him already.
Inala had Orakha's memories, through which he knew that the latter was talented in the way of commerce. The Brimgan Empire was the perfect place for his strengths to shine. So, even a few months of lead would be enough for Orakha to make significant preparations.
It was why Inala exercised ample caution. From a distance of four kilometres away, he observed the figures of Orakha and the woman he was conversing with, focusing on their lips. As he focused, he was able to see their facial features better, making a guess based on their lip movements.
Since he had all of Orakha's memories, he could make out what the latter was saying by referencing it. As a result, he could make a solid prediction of what the woman said based on the sentences.
The restaurant was a two-storey building, with its top floor resembling an open dining area for the people to socialise while basking in the ambience of the place. It was situated in the same street as Arlfarah Mansion, one where the wealthy in the city stayed.
Hence, the fact that Orakha dined here meant he had enough financial muscle already. Moreover, from his seated spot, he had a clear view of the street and Arlfarah Mansion.
"I will send you the list of materials necessary for this week." The woman opposite to him spoke, her tone calm, her speech eloquent, and her mannerisms refined. Her eyes oozed intelligence as she observed Orakha's face and continued, "I plan to set up another branch in a month."
"Isn't that too soon, Maroppa?" Orakha expressed mild concern, "You faced a loss last week because of your rival's scheme. Wouldn't it be better to wait until you recover some funds to make the expansion?"
"They'll be ready if I were to delay it for too long." The graceful lady was the Mudropper in human form, Maroppa. She and Orakha arrived at the Brimgan Empire as refugees around the same time.
And since the both of them entered the field of commerce, they naturally became acquainted with each other and decided to collaborate as their strengths complimented each other.
Maroppa was in the business of creating Spirit Weapons out of a variety of materials, each designed with unique functions. A cultivator only needs to purchase a Spirit Weapon made out of the same mineral as his Human Avatar, seep his Prana into it, and refine it into his Spirit Weapon.
This was common in the Brimgan Empire, as Spirit Weapons progressively got more complex, creating an industry for it. With her powers, she was able to seamlessly integrate various minerals into top-notch Spirit Weapons with exceptional quality. Hence, she stuck out as a sore thumb for her competitors, especially since she came as a refugee and rapidly made a name for herself in a bit over a year.
Both Maroppa's and Orakha's companies functioned similarly. In Maroppa's company, she was the sole refiner of Spirit Weapons, keeping her abilities a secret. The rest of her staff were simply involved in logistics, sales and services.
Orakha's business was in raw material supply. There were three ways in which one could gather minerals in the Brimgan Empire. First was to own a Misty Bamboo farm, harvest them and extract the minerals from them in large refineries.
Second was to collect water from the Northern Lakes and refine them. This was more expensive, since the mineral concentration was lower as compared to that in the Misty Bamboo. Secondly, the concentration was less pure, leading to longer, more complex and expensive refining procedures.
Finally, the last option was to head out of the Brimgan Empire and raid the Pranic Beast territories. This was only done for minerals that were too rare or weren't available in the Brimgan Empire. This part was done by the large companies conducting raids every few months.
Each such company was owned by a Royal and had an expansive network of finance, manpower, and tech to undertake such an operation. Even the Misty Bamboo farms were owned by the wealthy for generations, with those families related to central powers established in the Capital.
After all, a Misty Bamboo farm was an endless money generator that required minimal effort. Therefore, it would obviously be hoarded by those in power, leaving Orakha with the final option, which was to look for resources in the Northern Lakes.
Thankfully, with his skill set, this was easy. Using his Tertiary Nature of Mystic Eater, Orakha gathered large amounts of resources and segregated them naturally through his Primary Nature of Human Avatar.
Following that, he simply ejected the respective minerals that he didn't wish to keep in his Human Avatar. Thereby, he was able to gather minerals at a hundred percent purity, the best of the best in the market while consuming the minimum most effort.
With the pure minerals he supplied, Maroppa was able to create high-quality Spirit Weapons and managed to grasp a share of the Spirit Weapon market. As a result, she made a lot of enemies that targeted her business and even dispatched goons to hinder Orakha's resource collection.
His company basically existed as labour to carry the minerals he had gathered. They were in charge of transporting them from the Northern Lakes to Fentan City.
"My options are limited." Maroppa explained herself, "They would never expect me to make such a bold purchase in such a situation. This is the only way to outmanoeuvre their pace."
"Send me a list of the companies that are hindering your work." Orakha said as his eyes gleamed coldly, "I'll have a word with them."
"Don't use force. We don't have any backing to survive in such a situation." Maroppa warned him, "The courts will rule in favour of our rivals."
"I know what I'm doing." Orakha smirked, "As companies manufacturing Spirit Weapons that form the livelihood of cultivators, trust is important. Once that's shattered, it'll take forever to make a recovery."
"You mean…?" Maroppa's eyes widened as she asked, "Is your ability effective even on Spirit Weapons?"
"Obviously," Orakha only smiled in response and didn't explain himself. He then got up, shook hands with her, and made his exit, "I'll be careful, so stop showing me that face of worry."
"Wait for the good news. I'll be done in a day."
"Okay…" Maroppa sighed and sipped a cold drink, lost in thoughts as she tallied her financial accounts, thinking of ways to outwit her shrewd enemies. She usually spent most of her time in this restaurant, for the ambience was calming to her nerves, as this place wasn't recorded in her memories.
So, she wasn't assaulted by the voices of her ancestors while remaining here. Time passed in such a fashion as a couple of hours later, Maroppa noticed that at some point in time, a needle appeared on her table, awfully familiar in appearance.
A faint presence emanated from it, stemming from her power, causing her to recognise it instantly, 'This is the Inhibition Needle I refined!'
Her eyes widened as for a moment, she shuddered. Goosebumps formed on her skin as she turned her head to the side and noticed a woman seated a short distance away on another table, casually munching on an expensive platter of food.
In response to Maroppa's gaze, the woman raised her drink to offer a toast. "It has been a while."
"Bro."