Eis led Nestor, Delila, Maliq and Amadeus through the Wonderous Forest Dwelling. Each showing varying degrees of interest and curiosity towards the Fragment Of Manor while walking through it. Although Harcourt did possess internal window shutters, abilities were capable of bypassing or even shattering said shutters altogether given enough time or force.

The rear entrance to the Fragment Of Manor was quite similar to the front entrance, although devoid of the porte-cochere. An enormous, arched stone-wood door which could manifest beams that stretched across its length, preventing unwanted entry.

Schwarz Eis gestured towards the grand-looking staircase placed behind the first sitting room on the right.

"Jon is expecting you on the third floor strategy room. He is accompanied by both the Wisdom Of The Myriad Lands and the Adeptus Sanctus Medicus. Although you might know them as Wilheim and Sariel."

"Also forgive the lack of fresh beverages. Wilheim is… still working on transforming the inner structure of Harcourt into something more habitable." Eis said, allowing Delila and the others to walk up the stairs first before following behind them, much to Maliq's discomfort.

His eyes glancing between Amadeus in front of him and the White Devil Of The Ninth Circle behind him. The perpetual, sultry smile on the face of the ice devil spirit put him on edge, knowing that this woman was more than just a random humanoid-looking alien.

She was a summoned companion.

And a Knight Ranked one at that.

Not to mention one that possessed a Memento Source Item.

Despite knowing what type of Traits Schwarz Eis Seir possessed and as such the form that her Memento Source Fragment would assume, he still felt on guard around her, knowing that she would be able to put up more of a fight than any Dungeon Guardian that the System could throw at him.

The stairs within Harcourt were wide enough for the four of them to walk side-by-side up them and still have enough room for a fifth. Despite this, Delila assumed the role of a vanguard, Nestor at her side with Amadeus and Maliq taking up the rear. The human woman raising an eyebrow at the number of feline-esque ornaments and detailing into the stone-wood, before banishing such details to the depths of her Fragment Of Mind.

With Eis behind them, they reached the third floor strategy room before getting a chance to explore the rest of Harcourt. Given the sheer amount of land that the Wonderous Forest Dwelling took up, while the external appearance was closer to that of a fortified medieval-mansion, the internal details of Harcourt were more reminiscent of an actual forest manor.

Delila, through her Mind Mana Core and Fragment Of Thought, expected there to be more than thirty bedroom-sized rooms with Harcourt, and at least half-a-dozen sitting rooms throughout the entire manor.

Before Delila even realized it Eis had led them to the third-floor strategy room, gesturing for them to enter. The door opening without any prompt or physical reaction, an indication that someone had reached a certain level of mastery over their building-type spiritual constructs.

Entering the room, Maliq, Amadeus and Delila all noticed the presence of several couch-type and chair-type spiritual items, scattered in an odd-looking circle.

Three of them occupied by a floresiensis, satanas and human placed in between the two.

"Ah! Thank you all for coming! I hope Song and Eis did not scare you all too much outside." Jon stood up, alongside Wilheim and Sariel, extending his hand towards Amadeus.

"I was going to greet you myself but was told that summoned companions often serve as representatives for their summoners, performing tasks on their behalf. Song can be a tad dramatic when he wants to be and Eis well…" Jon heard the ice devil spirit let out a small "humph" sound, before closing the door to the strategy room, dissipating into motes of ice natured spiritual energy.

He shook Maliq's hand next, noticing the appaloscian return the gesture warily before doing the same for Delila, knowing that she would not mind him greeting her last. The seven of them, Nestor included all sat down on their respective chairs, gaining various different buffs from each of the spiritual items.

Maliq raising an eyebrow at the craftmanship of the spiritual item beneath him, humming thoughtfully for half-a-second before noticing Jon open his mouth to speak.

"First of all, allow me to preface this meeting with a greeting before anything else."

"I am Jonathan. Although I prefer Jon more than anything else."

Gesturing towards his Wilheim on his left and Sariel on his right, he continued.

"This is Wilheim. He is the owner of Harcourt and someone whom I have grown to consider a friend since the beginning of the System Introduction. He is the second-in-command of the Guild I plan on establishing within Springtown and part of the reason why I wanted to meet the three of you."

Delila and Nestor appeared unfazed at his words, while Amadeus merely raised an eyebrow. Maliq on the other hand, tapped his fingers against the Mortal Ranked spiritual item beneath him, waiting for Jon to announce the role of the other individual beside him.

"And this is Sariel. I invited Sariel here today because she plans on ascending to Knighthood without having integrated a Memento Source Fragment. As in, over the span of the next few hours, there will be an additional Knight within Springtown."

"Something that as the leaders of Springtown, I thought you should be aware about."

The sound of Maliq's rhythmic tapping came to a halt, eyes widening in response to Jon's words. Although Nestor did not move even a single inch from his position beside Delila the older human woman furrowed her brows at Jon's declaration, trying to "read-between-the-lines" and grasp his true intent.

This did… not align with her initial impression of Jon at all.

'Was he lying to me?' Delila thought to herself.

Amadeus shifted his posture, allowing his scales to brush against the polished wooden exterior of the couch-shaped spiritual item beneath him. Flashing something that was in-between a grin and snarl.

"Threatening us with the strength of Knights? Regardless of what abilities you possess, I guarantee that the three of us have faced far greater challenges and exceeded them, against all odds." Amadeus declared, tilting his head back while narrowing his eyes at Jon, Wilheim and Sariel.

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"You mean like Theodore?" The Wisdom Of The Myriad Lands chimed in, his words causing Maliq to let out a small tsk and for Delila to further furrow her brows at Jon.

Amadeus did not seem pleased in the slightest at the mere mention of his name, tightening his grip around the armrest.

Jon just gave Wilheim a sharp glance, gesturing for him to stop. The hazelnut-skinned man shrugged his shoulders before leaning back in his form-fitting chair, enjoying the growing looks of annoyance and irritation sent towards him.

The arrangement that the two of them had seemed to be working even better than expected.

"It is not my intention to undermine the organizational structure that you three have established within Springtown. Delila possesses a far greater grasp over logistics and the management of Springtown than I ever will. While Maliq on the other hand is able to create spiritual items, something which I am incapable of."

"Amadeus is the one who has formed the Explorers Guild and organized volunteers to participate within shift-based guard duties. The three of you, alongside the lutin, drus and satanas representatives have created a society within Springtown, one that is admirable and one that I have no intention of breaking."

Delila, Maliq and Amadeus all peered at Jon, half-glancing towards Wilheim, seeing him still lean back lazily into his chair. The floresiensis could not resist the urge to wink at them, before Jon continued on with his explanation.

"As such, I wanted to propose something with the three of you." Jon said, smiling before reaching his hand into the [Red Archives Of Mars Quirinus] and retrieving several small sheets of paper. Ones that had been created through someone within Springtown using a Paper Mana Core.

Handing the pieces of paper towards Delila, the woman passed them around to both Amadeus and Maliq.

Her brows furrowing for a moment before her expression eased, growing into one of interest. Of the three of them she was the most experienced in regard to logistical management, having formed the basis for her own business back on Earth.

Maliq too raised an eyebrow.

"Is this… what I think it is?" He asked.

Jon nodded.

"It is the basis for a Merchant Guild within Springtown. Alongside what would form the basis for a central bank and a standardized currency within the Safe Zone… Oh, and a few other things about exploring the rest of the small realm, although I would have to refer to the rest of our team in that regard."

Jon paused for a moment.

"The two of them possess an abnormal number of summoned companions. Several are even capable of flight, which would both speed up our rate of exploration and allow us to discover even more Dungeons, Wonders and other Safe Zones in return."

"The Merchant Guild would also be responsible for trading with other Safe Zones. So long as they do not prove discriminatory towards certain Races."

Delila handed her sheets of paper towards Nestor, staring at Jon with an expression of wary curiosity on her face.

"Then what do you need from the three of us, other than our support for your endeavour? Your abilities as a Knight alone would draw many towards your cause, even if most have less honourable intentions behind them." Delila asked, watching as the Strategos Of Eyes And Words evaluated the proposal within his hands.

Jon merely gesturing towards Sariel and allowing the Adeptus Sanctus Medicus to explain.

"It is because our arrangements here are temporary that we desire to seek additional support in regard to our exploration of this small realm. Upon the completion of the System Introduction timer each of us should return back to our respective home worlds, alongside the tens of millions of other humans, appaloscians, vermitons and floresiensis that were also chosen to participate."

"Make no mistake. There will be conflict. Perhaps on a global scale."

Neither Maliq nor Amadeus could retort her words.

There was no way that the three of them had not discussed their eventual plans upon returning to Earth, Naargi and Pthelom. It was the reason each of them pushed themselves harder and harder to obtain fragments, Mana Cores, spiritual items and Memento Source Fragments.

One percent of each of their populations had been brought into the System Introduction.

That was more than eighty million human beings.

And roughly the same amount in terms of vermitons and appaloscians.

Amadeus, Maliq and Delila knew that individual strength would be capable of growing beyond the strength of entire nations and armies. Laws could not be applied to those capable of resisting bullets and shattering armoured personal vehicles with a single punch.

What would happen to the world if individuals could grow into nuclear deterrents?

How could one even fight back without a certain level of strength?

Not a single person in this room had not asked themselves these questions at least once before. Wilheim had done so since he first integrated his Fragment Of Hearth, while Sariel had thought about it after escaping from the Malum Hobgoblin.

Perhaps it was the paranoia talking, but the fact of the matter was that this was not a potential future outcome.

This was the future, as evidenced by the memories of Eis, Nestor, Vritrium and Celadonis. Each of whom had read countless stories and tales about various System Introductions and the birth of empires that spanned tens of thousands of worlds, across over a dozen different galaxies.

"Personnel is what you each need after returning back to your home worlds."

"Personnel to create spiritual items. Personnel to craft and manage Dungeons. Personnel to train those who desire the chance to transcend their Mortal limitations. Personnel to manage finances, logistics and the establishment of key pieces of infrastructure. Personnel to even try and keep up with you, so that you can refine your mastery over specific abilities or effects."

"There are a million people within the Safe Zone. Although I would be willing to guess that at least ten thousand have died over the past six months. Although there are risks, there are several hundred thousand individuals that you can form connections with now, that might carry over into the world after the System Introduction."

Jon took a deep breath, standing up and addressing the four of them.

"The name "Merchant Guild" is inapt, but a preferable cover all things considered."

"What I need, is your support in the creation of a network. Spanning seven different Races, stretched across seven different worlds. Although ideally one built on trust and faith, one that can still be built using the power of Fragments Of Contract."

Delila and Maliq shared a glance, Nestor still scrolling through the information packet that Jon had given him. Wilheim and Sariel at his side staring at the group of Sixth Initiated Mortals, before landing on Amadeus who was still reading said packet.

The Tribune Of Dusk And Destruction lowered his gaze towards the bottom of the second page, lifting his head towards Jon after discovering a specific line obscured through paragraphs of handwritten text.

"You mention offering the locations of Dungeons?" Amadeus could not help but ask.

Jon nodded his head.

"One now. And one more if you accept the offer." He replied.

He thought it best to conceal the existence of the Burning Desert Of Kel, if only to prevent others from discovering the Inferno-Sunlit Lagoon. Or rather, the existence that dwelled within it.

The room grew quiet after that, Amadeus turning his head towards Delila and Maliq turning his head towards Amadeus. On the surface the offer seemed tempting, especially knowing that Jon and Sariel would help defend Springtown in the event that Theodore tried to return. Two Knights, even Veinless Knights would be something difficult to resist.

Although Jon had revealed the existence of his Ice Mana Core and Weave Mana Core, the green-skinned satanas beside him had not shown a single one of her abilities. Through her Title, Delila guessed that it had something to do with concepts relating to "life" or "medicine" but still was nothing more than an educated guess.

And this was ignoring the other Sixth Initiated Mortal in the room.

Alongside the two other ones somewhere within Harcourt.

The tension in the room lessened the moment the Strategos Of Eyes And Words stood up, extending his hand towards Jon.

"We appreciate the offer and will take it under consideration. We should inform all the relevant parties of this proposal before making any decisions." Nestor said, prompting Delila to stand up, nodding her head in agreement.

Wilheim glancing towards Jon, seeing him shake the clockwork rune golem's hand.

"Thank you. I hope you enjoy reading the proposal further," Jon said with a smile.

Nestor turned towards Maliq and Amadeus, seeing the two shake Jon's hand before swiftly moving towards the door. Delila stood behind him, always prepared to assist her summoned companion in any way shape or form.

"I think I will. Although I did, if I am being perfectly honest, fing this discussion far more interesting that I originally anticipated. When you mentioned studying further and desiring freedom, I suspected that you were the type of person that did not want to be constrained by laws and bureaucracy."

"Was that a lie?" Nestor asked.

Jon furrowed his brows before pausing, chuckling softly while shaking his head.

"No… nothing that I said previously was a lie. Although it did just occur to me that I never told you what it is I wanted to study after returning to Earth."

Straightening his back Jon grinned, golden-green eyes staring into the mechanical eyeballs of the Strategos Of Eyes And Words.

"I'm going to study law."

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