A pleasant summer wind blew across the grounds of the von Hohenheim estate. It had been two months since the day of the conference. Yet, the once customary hustle and bustle was still absent. Despite having regained a portion of the lost staff, the estate was still far from being back to its full capacity.
The empire's threat had made it hard to hire anybody. Any normal person would not even consider a job in the estate. Most people would never consider falling out with the empire of Arkanheim for something as trivial as an employment opportunity, no matter how good the pay was. This was especially true for mundane positions such as maids and servants.
Still, that didn't bother Zeke much. He had just climbed out of bed and was in the process of straightening his silken bedsheet before neatly folding the blanket. As somebody who had grown up in a farming village, he had never gotten used to the idea of people taking care of his daily chores. Luckily, the chef they had hired had unexpectedly decided to stay. Therefore, not much changed in his day-to-day life.
All in all, it could be said that the most significant blow to the estate had been the one to morale. Losing the prestigious von Hohenheim name had wounded the very heart holding everyone together and Zeke had no idea how to mend such an injury.
Of course, it wasn't like the empire could forbid them from calling themselves 'von Hohenheim'. The only thing that had changed in reality was the fact that the name was no longer recognized as a noble family. In Tradespire, that had not counted for much to begin with, so there was no apparent change on the surface.
The letters above their gate now read: Von Hohenheim Company. It was a subtle shift. Yet, Zeke could feel that something had changed in the minds of his followers.
Tradespire's companies were the equivalent of the empire's noble families, but it wasn't quite the same. While a family had strict rules for accepting new members, a company hired and fired them freely. In typical Tradespire fashion, it was a lot more commercialized and impersonal. Unlike with the family system, it was very rare to have a member of a company take pride in their employer.
Most Feuerkranz, Wellenrufer, or Steiner would challenge you to a duel upon hearing a bad word about their family. On the other hand, a member of a company would most likely shrug off any insult as if it had nothing to do with them.
The requirements for creating a family were also very different from those for forming a company. In the empire, only Mages who had successfully graduated from the Elementium had the right to create their own family name. This limited the family heads to a small circle of accomplished combatants.
Compared to that, anybody could register a company. The only requirement was a yearly income of at least 1000 gold. It was not a large hurdle. Even less so when taking into account how the sons and daughters of the merchant lords would only have to sign their name on a contract, and everything else could be taken care of by their parents. It was no wonder the people wouldn't take pride in something like that.
Zeke sighed. This was not what he wanted. He was keenly aware that their current situation was anything but ideal. Even so, he had no clear picture of how to structure his organization. For all the company's shortcomings, he didn't much care for the family model either. He would have to create something new — what that was, he didn't yet know.
After Zeke got dressed, he stepped into his office. As usual, David was already waiting for him. Every morning, the man would brief him on any important developments, before Zeke headed into his workshop. However, today the man seemed unusually excited for some reason. "Any news?"
"Indeed, young lord. Margret returned yesterday. She found three more."
Zeke's eyes lit up. "What did she get?"
"Shadowglass, Bloodfire, and Ebonite."
Zeke walked over to his desk and scanned the document at the very top of the stack. He traced the various items listed one by one, marking the three entries David had named with a cross. Only two items left now. However, instead of proper names, only question marks were written there.
Zeke sighed, his earlier mood dampening slightly. Unbidden, his thoughts drifted back to the day he had made the pact. The Dragon had held up its end of the deal and provided detailed instructions for the Mana purifying device. At first, he had been elated, eager to build it right away. From looking at the blueprints, he was confident he would be able to build it.
However, his excitement soon turned to puzzlement as he examined the list of required materials. Not only did he not recognize any of them, he didn't even know what language this was. Upon asking the Dragon, it said that it didn't know what they were called in common either, as that language didn't even exist when this device was invented.
Subsequently, Zeke hed endeavored to discover the modern names of all 77 required materials. With the help of the Dragon, recounting each of their properties and functions, Zeke had been able to find most of them quite easily. Now, two months later, he had deciphered 75 of them.
After Margret's recent success, he only needed those remaining two in order to construct the device. However, that was easier said than done.
The first of the two was a pitch-black metal. The curious thing was that it was in a liquid state even at room temperature. According to the Dragon, the translation of its name meant something along the lines of 'Light eater'.
The second material came from a plant with a slender, graceful stem that had a silvery-white hue. Its leaves were a vibrant emerald green, creating a stark and captivating contrast. It was exactly those leaves that they needed. According to the blueprint, they would act as something of a filter and had to be replaced every so often — almost like a fuel source.
Both of the remaining materials were remarkable in appearance, yet completely unknown. No matter where they turned, none of the merchants had ever heard of either of them. In any other city, that would have not been strange. But this was Tradespire — the merchant city.
Every merchant lord, every Caravaner, even the Black market leaders, everyone had a branch in this city. It was not only because of its location but also as a matter of prestige. There was nothing that could not be bought in this city, or so the rumors claimed. However, it was exactly in this city that Zeke struggled to find those two remaining materials.
Lately, he often considered the possibility of the plant having gone extinct in the past centuries. However, the Dragon assured him that wasn't the case. Despite being locked underground, it was absolutely certain the plant still existed. Zeke suspected there was something the Dragon was hiding, but it didn't matter much as long as the information was reliable.
Even so, he was at a loss, having no idea how to proceed from here. Zeke averted his gaze from the list and looked back at David, smiling faintly. "Almost there."
"Will you tell me now? What do you need those materials for, young lord?"
Zeke smirked. "No."
David rolled his eyes. "Then, what about your plans for the day?"
"I am going back to the workshop for now."
"Very well, though I don't know why you keep pushing yourself. Our current stockpile of Enchantments is substantial. It will last for months, maybe longer."
David was right. Over the past two months, Zeke had created hundreds of Enchantments. It was enough to create dozens of Gondolas. Especially now that their production speed had been lowered. It was all in preparation for when Zeke would finally manage to get the device. He wanted to spend as much time using it as possible. Therefore he wanted to get any distraction out of the way as soon as possible.
"Money has become more important than ever," he said in a grave tone. "The moment we refuse to pay a single one of our bounties, the trust will be lost. I don't want that to happen. Therefore, we have to keep the production going at all costs."
"Very well, young lord," David said. "However, so far, there haven't been many people claiming them."
Zeke nodded. "That's only natural."
"How so?"
"Many of the bigger players are still watching us. They won't be convinced to move against the empire until we prove our sincerity. Just imagine the fallout of them killing a key member of the empire only to not get paid in the end."
David frowned. "Then how do we 'prove our sincerity?"
Zeke considered the question. "I don't think we'll have to do much. As long as we keep paying the ones that come, trust will naturally increase. The moment the first mercenary, assassin, or traitor cashes in one of the big rewards, people will take notice."
David nodded slowly, considering Zeke's words.
"Alright, I'll be off. See you later, David."
With those words, he left his study and headed down to his underground workshop. At the corridor that led to it, Zeke found the usual guards. At their feet, was a tightly sealed crate. Those had to be the materials Margret managed to procure.
The reason they were here and not in his workshop was that nobody aside from him was allowed to enter. The same was true even for the guards. Those rules were in place to protect against another incident such as the one with the spy.
As he approached, the guards eyed him warily. Zeke activated his Core, releasing a burst of Blood, Space, and Mind Mana. At the display, they immediately relaxed and greeted him politely. This had become his way of identifying himself and it was almost foolproof. There was probably not a single person aside from him with the same three affinities.
Zeke picked up the crate and entered his workshop. Once inside, he opened it and placed the three new materials in their designated spot on his shelf. Now, only two spots remained empty. Sighing again, he took a seat at his workbench.
"Akasha, are you ready?"
[Answer] Affirmative.
"Then start."
Immediately, the tools in front of him began to move on their own. The sight of the flying chisels had become a daily occurrence as of late. Zeke immediately felt the strain to his core as Akasha used his Mana to cast [Telekinesis]. Not long after, the first of the Enchantments already done, Zeke started applying the finishing touches.
Like that, hours passed, and soon, it was already time for lunch. Zeke stretched languidly as he got up. Despite most of the work having been done by Akasha, he was still stiff from sitting still for so long. He went for a quick bite before resuming his work for another five hours.
This was how Zeke spent most of his days. After dinner, he would either talk to the Dragon or Akasha in hopes of identifying the remaining materials. It was no different today.
"There are only two remaining now."
"…"
"Did you hear me?"
"Yes, fleshling. Don't bother me with unnecessary drivel."
Zeke grumbled a bit but ultimately decided to let it go. "Anything else you can tell me about the-"
"No. The description I provided should be enough to identify the materials easily. The only logical conclusion is that the people here don't know of them. No additional information will change that fact."
Zeke sighed. He had come to the same conclusion. Who wouldn't be able to remember a liquid metal as black as night if they had come across it before? Certainly not the wily merchants of Tradespire. The only explanation was that they had never seen its like before.
[Notice] I might have found something.
"What is it, Akasha?" Zeke asked with sleepy eyes.
It wasn't rare for her to come across something during her research. She had been given the task of cataloging all books dealing with rare materials and plants in his Mind's Library. However, so far, none of her hunches had led anywhere.
[Answer] I have finished cataloging every book on materials and plants and have moved on to the reports regarding rare treasures and strange sightings.
"Smart," Zeke praised. "What did you find?"
[Answer] I've found a record of a family in the northeastern province of the kingdom of Korrovan. They used to be a notable producer of ores, owning more than 23 mines during their prime.
Zeke listened intently. If they had been prominent miners, then it was conceivable that they knew about this metal. "What about them caught your attention?"
[Answer] I've found their record in a book about rare treasures. They owned a unique water fountain that amazed anybody who laid eyes upon it. According to their testimony, the black liquid coursing through it was not water, but metal.
Zeke considered those words. It sounded promising, but could just as easily be nothing. Who could say how trustworthy those reports were? People liked to exaggerate, after all. "Anything else?"
[Answer] Yes, the name of the liquid was supposedly 'light devouring water' because of its property of dimming the light in a radius of several steps around the fountain.
Zeke's eyes shot open.