"Oh, so that's what happened. She was probably looking out for you and didn't want to disturb you while you were asleep," Lucy said with a gentle voice.

Jared was resting his head on her lap while she patted his head.

It was something she insisted on, thus Jared had to entertain her request even if it was just for a little while.

He owed that to her after lying to her that he fell asleep on the road and woke up to Kaira near him.

If he told her he had sex with her, she would definitely go and confront Kaira. And that must definitely not happen.

"Lord Jared... can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Are the Cat people going to be part of our village?"

Jared paused.

"Yeah. The more people we have, the closer we are to rivaling the other bigger villages."

"So we'll expand even bigger than this?"

"We won't exactly be growing if we remain the same number. We need civilians, workers, and soldiers for military power. To accomplish all these, we need manpower," he replied.

Though he was confused as to where Lucy was going with the conversation.

"You always say the right thing, Lord Jared," she uttered, her fingers that were once moving seemed to stand still. "I guess I'm just worried about how we would cope when we increase in numbers. What if everyone starts drifting apart and makes new companions? Will Sikone still be Sikone?"

Jared stayed quiet.

Her reasoning wasn't entirely wrong.

Back in his former world as a student, though he was a loner, he does remember many students panicking anytime the school decided to merge two classes.

Everyone would be worried the class would drift apart and make new friends.

People tend to go for newer options if they get the chance; it's how humans are.

Girls look for new boyfriends to entertain them. And guys do the same.

But was that always the case?

Of course not.

There are guys like him, people who would stick with their friends no matter what. Talk about the newest anime, and how they'd like to go on a date with that one v-tuber.

In truth, a bond isn't something that can easily be broken just because something new entered the picture.

Jared suddenly stood up from Lucy's soft lap.

Raising his finger, he uttered -

"Come here..."

Lucy already knew what was coming.

Her eyes bubbled up before she closed them and moved closer.

Taaa!

Jared smacked her on the forehead with his finger.

"Ugguuu~"

She immediately touched it with both her hands.

"If the village can get broken because of something like that, then we were never a family to begin with. Might as well forget about them now while you can."

"I... I can't do that. I care about them. Lord Hunter always said, if any one of us loses their arm, then it's our responsibility to give them one of ours."

Jared sighed.

"My old man says a lot of things and yet you didn't understand a single one."

"Eh?"

"If any one of our own loses an arm, firstly, we'll hunt down the person that did it, take their arm, and use it as a replacement. That way, everyone has an arm."

Lucy didn't even try to hide her perplexed look.

"In other words, we can have each other's back without having to sacrifice anything. What my father was trying to say is, our bond as a family is strong enough for us to sacrifice for one another. Can something like that really be broken just because some new people entered our circle?"

Lucy shook her head as if trying to hold back her tears.

"Besides, if the time ever comes to sacrifice anything, I will be the one to carry out that responsibility."

"Sorry?"

"Nothing. Now, let's clean this place up. We have guests coming in the next two days."

Lucy stood up.

"Hai. I will assist you as many times as you want."

...

Three days after -

Jared sat down at the very front of the room, on a small pillow with wine in front of him.

He was on the altar, two bowls of flames burning at the very back, making it seem like he was some evil lord ruling over a dark land.

Kneeling at both sides were Kiara, Lucy, and Ria.

William wasn't present since he was the one in charge of looking after the village.

The construction never ended as they were still building furniture and other household items.

Inside the room with them were Olsen, a man who was said to be a merchant, and his bodyguard Orlando.

They sat down on the left side, their faces hitched with what seemed to be shock.

That expression had remained on their faces ever since they stepped into the village.

Seeing the buildings was the first thing that caught their eyes, but now after entering to see the design of the place, they could barely believe they were in Sikone village.

There were even Cat people standing at the entrance of the room like guards.

"Are you okay? Do you need water or something? You three look like you've seen a ghost," Jared uttered all the way from where he was seated.

Olsen flinched.

"No - yes... no, sorry, I don't need any. Do you need anything?" He turned to the merchant.

The man was fat with a huge tummy and wore a hat with a scarf around his neck.

"M... maybe some wine?"

Hearing his response, Olsen looked at Jared.

"Please get him some wine," said Jared to Ria.

"Yes, brother."

Ria stood up from where she was seated and walked outside the room.

Once she was gone, Olsen finally spoke-

"I see... you did some work around the place."

"You like it? Far better than the buildings in your village, right?"

Olsen flinched at the direct insult. It didn't seem like Jared was trying to hide it either.

"I... I guess you can say that."

"So, who is the other guy next to you? Is he the merchant from the outside?"

"Sorry, I should have introduced myself. My name is Sir Simon Elliot, I am a merchant from the Kingdom Fiona." The merchant bowed his head slightly.

Jared wasn't the least bit impressed.

'People from the outside don't exactly respect northerners, at least not to the point where they'd show this much respect. They view us as pigs and nothing more. Well, that goes for the people from the royal bloodline; that stupidity has been passed down from parent to child.

As for the commoners, they don't view us that way, but at the same time, they also don't think we are anything more than existing. We are simply lesser in their eyes. So for the merchant, he is probably either doing all this to get my approval, or he genuinely doesn't follow the ways of the outsiders. So which is it?'

Ria suddenly walked in, going to her knees to pour the tea into a cup for the merchant.

The merchant sat there, waiting for the cup to fill up, and once it was done, he uttered -

"Thank you for your service."

Jared's opinion of the man was cemented.

"Simon, was it?"

The man looked at him.

"Tell me, what do you think of the north?"

"Excuse me?"

"I asked what do you think of the north? All I know of you is you are a common trader for Olsen. If I am to work with you, I need to be sure you are not out to get me."

Of course, Jared already knew the answer.

[Loyalty - 89%]

They haven't even spoken for too long, and the man already has this much loyalty towards him.

Or perhaps he was just loyal towards anyone he works with. A true merchant's principle.

Even the god of Loyalty doesn't seem to find anything wrong with the man.

"Uhn... I think... it's a fine place, I suppose? I don't know much about the north. I only come here to trade, even I am trying to raise awareness of what happened here all those years ago. I know how the war affected the people that lived here.

If I can trade as many things from the north to bigger cities, I'm sure people will start to see the north for more than just a place that was ruined from the great war."

Jared's eyes lit up a bit.

It wasn't just him; even the women were surprised to hear something like that come out of the mouth of an outsider.

Olsen sighed.

"Amongst all the merchants I work with, he is the only one that is stupid enough to say something like this. That's why I brought him here. So you can be stupid together."

"Is that so?" Jared laughed for a while, "Yeah, I like him. He will work just fine. Alright then, Lucy, please bring out the product we have for sale."

"Right away, my lord."

Lucy stood up to attend to her duties.

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