“Lovely”

Edrick muttered to himself as he relaxed in a small hole he had dug into the ground. He had turned it into some sort of artificial body of water for him to enjoy. Of course, its purpose wasn’t just that. There were plenty of natural bodies of water to go around otherwise.

He had filled this one with beast blood for the purpose of satisfying the demands of his beast-taming technique. It wasn’t much different from when he had been cultivating Guardian Hippopotamus Physique first thing in the morning.

This time, however, he wasn’t just surrounded by a herd of Grass Buffaloes, but also a herd of Wood-Antler Deers, which he had cornered with the assistance of the bovines, then dominated and branded with servant crests.

In the Great Plains, these two beasts were by far the most common. They moved in large groups and greatly benefited from the endless greenery. The large open spaces allowed them to see danger coming from far away.

Alas, it had not been enough for the cervids to avoid Anoteros.

Outside the realm, both of these beast species were less common and also tended to move in much smaller herds–Which was a shame…

Grass Buffaloes–As the name spelt out–Had an affinity for the grass element. It was indeed a real element, and them being in proximity to any kind of grass would promote its growth and empower it.

Herb farmers would absolutely love to have herds of them, but the problem was that the bovids also fed on grass, and they ate incredibly large amounts of it… So it wasn’t actually cost-effective for most people to employ the assistance of Grass Buffaloes. Not to mention that to get the best result, money had to be invested into the herd, or into a single individual in particular.

Therefore, even the richest herb farmers weren’t interested in them. However, Edrick had a business idea to change this.

The concept was simple: Rear one herd of them at first, use his wealth to make them into absolute herb-growing machines, and then basically offer them–At a cheap price–For people to basically rent them for a while. This way, herb farmers would be able to enjoy the benefits of an entire herd that had been trained with dedication.

All that at an attractive price.

Now, Anoteros would have to see the results to actually know if it was a worthy business opportunity, but the theory itself was sound… Now, all he needed to see was whether people would be stubborn about employing a beast they had probably already marked as useless in their minds.

As for Wood-Antler Deers… They didn’t have a strong utility like the Grass Buffaloes, that was for certain.

They were actually more suited as either a combat companion or for craftsmen. Their elemental affinity obviously lay with wood. Moreover, they actually never shed their antlers, which were made of wood themselves.

The antlers could regrow, but there was a catch.

The thing was that Wood-Antler Deers increased the strength of their antlers based on what kind of bark they fed upon. Theoretically, a well-fed member of this cervid species would grow to possess incredibly powerful and resilient antlers, accompanied by various abilities associated with them due to special barks that were consumed.

However, the catch was that once the antlers were cut, they would regrow as they originally were, losing all progress. Therefore, it was a risky gamble to invest in one as a combat companion. As such, only a craftsman who sought to gather a specific kind of material using the antlers might be interested.

Even then, the interest was low due to the trouble and investment it required.

Once again, though, Edrick’s business-brain came up with an idea. Namely, to simply sell pre-made types of antlers en masse. This particular business already existed, actually, but the competitors weren’t large. The antler production was still niche and only considered a secondary or tertiary method of revenue to those who practised it.

The scion envisioned auctions where very precise and refined antlers would be sold, with the promise that they could be used in the creation of a powerful tool, weapon, or charm. He could already imagine all that sweet, sweet money… 

“It is the third time, is it not? I am starting to think that you are too shy to speak to me first…”

The Red Guardian grunted at the remark as he stepped out from behind a tree.

“Have you gone to the village?”

“You mean the one that literally popped out of thin air a few days ago? Of course I did. That place was as empty as it could get. Any ideas what’s up with that? I figured that the realm had just decided to put that there”

The Blutgar stayed silent for a moment, crossing his arms as he stood on the opposite side from the noble who was bathing in fresh blood.

“It is not a willful action from the realm. Certain old structures that should have been gone can sometimes re-emerge. Some of them can be dangerous. Did you really find nothing?”

“I only ran into dust, cobwebs, and very distinctly empty containers. There was one slightly suspicious house with a nice axe in it, but I still found absolutely nothing in there–And the few items of interest were rusty. Not exactly my greatest haul, I must admit”

Faced with Edrick’s barrage of intertwined truths, lies, half-truths, and half-lies, the Red Guardian was simply unable to find any fault in the noble’s words… Especially since the guardian had checked the village himself before coming here, and had also found nothing of interest or traces that something had been taken.

Anoteros had covered his tracks exceptionally well. Everything that had once indicated the existence of the small basement had been altered or simply removed entirely. Unless the Blutgar already knew all about what Edrick had seen, there was no way for him to suspect a thing.

The orcish protector audibly exhaled from his nose, his eyes and most of his face concealed beneath his abundantly long black hair.

“It does happen frequently for them to be completely empty. They are more like hollow recreations than anything else…”

‘Did he believe me, or is he a very good actor? I’d better just keep acting non-suspiciously’

Edrick formed a smile, raising one hand.

“Why don’t you jump in with me? There is enough space for two”

“No. Also, it just seems like you are going to try and convince me to drink that liquid from your ring”

“Please, I understood well the first time… We should spend some time between men. Is there nothing here that gets your red stick interested?”

Anoteros gestured at the two herds that filled the area.

“I do not partake in such activities with anything not as intelligent as me. And certainly not quadrupeds”

“You’re missing out, My Friend. The sensations are completely different…”

“It is still a no for me”

“A shame. Say, while you are here… Would you mind telling me which ruins aren’t off-limits? I know the old monument is under your strict defence, but what about the rest?”

The Red Guardian shrugged.

“I only care for the place of worship. Everything else, I do not mind what anyone does with them as long as it isn’t needlessly destructive. Do be careful, some of them might be trapped or be the territory of particularly powerful beasts. They quite like settling down inside abandoned structures”

“Splendid. It’s always a pleasure to discuss with you… It makes me look forward to the little event I talked about last time”

“You looking forward to it puts me in a state of unease. You and I are on completely different wavelengths”

Edrick shook his head.

“You’ll love it, trust me…”

The Red Guardian stared for a few moments, seemingly not quite convinced.

Eventually, he turned around, asking one last question:

“May I know what that crimson-eyed young man took from the monument last time? I was never able to figure out what he was after”

“He took some sort of puppet. Apparently, one capable of teaching various skills depending on what you put inside of it”

“…I have never heard or seen such a thing inside the monument”

“That’s what he told and showed me”

“I see. I bid you goodbye, then”

The Red Guardian left without another word.

‘Damn… He didn’t even know that thing existed? I would have brought the puppet with me had I known this’

It would seem that Xiao’s script was so powerful that it had literally willed something into existence. 

Quite interesting.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep