Eric closed his eyes, and his consciousness went inside Mind Space.

  He breathed a sigh of relief looking at the normal figure of Riya, instead of her disastrous, disfigured, mutated form.

  Eric ignored Riya’s dressing sense and went closer to the Ringwood Town’s map, which was laid on an 'empty space' that seemed to be working as a table.

  This map was gathered from the library’s upper floors. Upper floors were only available to nobles and wealthy people of the town. So, old Paul allowing Eric was quite amazing.

  Hannah’s continuous threats of ruining Paul’s wives worked amazingly. Eric wondered if he could master her arts before leaving the town in the future.

  Riya pointed at the orphanage on the map, which was located at the southernmost part of the town, practically at the border.

  Ringwood Town has a wall surrounding it, but the walls were not complete. They were mainly built to prevent random wild animals from the nearby forest from entering by mistake. Those walls have many places that were not properly built or guarded, so they cannot truly stop humans from entering or leaving the town.

  Riya pointed at a location on the map with a makeshift stick. "Since our location is the southern area, that powerful butler might have headed towards the southern field, but the chance of heading in other directions is also possible. If I can roughly narrow it down, it’s either directly south, southeast, or north."

  Eric suddenly recalled hearing there was an ocean cliff somewhere southeast of the town. If possible, he definitely wanted to visit that place—just to admire the scenery, though according to rumors, it was fairly far from town.

  Riya then pulled out a huge map of the entire Silvia Kingdom.

  Eric was absolutely amazed. Riya had rendered the 'screenshot' of the map in 8K quality! Riya was the best AI—accidental intelligence—he had ever used!

  Though some parts of the map were still a little blurry, it was inevitable, as the map they had couldn’t be enlarged any further without losing accuracy. So, Riya had 'censored' those places.

  Riya had a new blush on her cheeks. She coughed and continued her explanation.

  "Straight north of our town is Batley City—not exactly straight, but more or less the same direction. Normally, anyone wishing to travel there from here would take the northwest route, where quite a few smaller towns and villages are located. The eastern and northeastern parts of this town are desolate—dry lands with a smaller chance of finding trees or anything. We lack details and information in this direction. Honestly, I don’t think he would leave his body in such a place."

  Eric nodded in agreement. No one would want to leave their body where it was in clear view, with no forest or cover. Well, he and Riya could also be wrong, but they were currently just guessing.

  "To the northwest, the chances are still low as human habitations are a lot more and forests are fewer. The area further west from the northwest is similarly desolate and has sparse forests or some small hills. It was mentioned that it has chances of having some bandits or criminals, but they are of low strength—in other words, mortal criminals. Their main interest lies further west or in their northern location where towns and villages are located. Those criminals won't come to Ringwood Town because of an extremely dangerous forest in between, which contains some life-threatening animals. This forest stretches far to the southwestern area of our town. It is said some really dangerous animals can exist there, and some strange insects as well. We don't have a clear understanding, but it says rank 1 Mana Beast till young stage could exist there. So, people rarely go there."

  Eric was amazed by Riya's work. She was truly diligent!

  Indeed, having a beautiful secretary is every man's dream and a complete blessing from every angle!

  Riya smiled at Eric's praise and continued, "Towards the direct south, dangers are fairly low, and most of our town's resources also come from this direction. There are a good number of fruit trees, farmlands, easily killable and collectable animals, and some small mines further down the south, which provide us with some basic metals. We also trade those materials with the nearby villages and towns to the northwest."

  Stolen novel; please report.

  Eric could only nod and sum it up for Riya, "So, what you're saying is the chance of that ‘heart-less’ butler traveling that far due to his injury was low, and he could only choose to leave his body at the direct south or its eastern or western sides. But since the southwest is too dangerous for a mortal, we can only try our luck towards the south and southeast?"

  Riya nodded. "That's right; the southwest is something we should avoid. It is said to be so dangerous that even a Rank 2 Mana Wielder might not survive. How it can be so dangerous or what those beasts are, I have no idea. So let's forget that area."

  "The direct south is possible to check, but the chance of that legendary butler leaving his body is still low, as the human activities of our town are reasonably high in that direction. Summing it all up, the only direction he could have left his body is the place you want to visit—the southeast forest or direct north."

  "North?"

  "Yes, direct north is also fairly dangerous. It contains forests, plains, mountains, and so on. It is called the Northern Plains by our Ringwood Town. It is mentioned that there are quite a few isolated villages there, but no specific data or maps are available, mainly because almost no one takes that route to travel. It is marked dangerous, but I think it's not as dangerous as the southwest forest, as otherwise, those isolated villages couldn't have existed."

  Eric stared at the location where Riya was pointing. "North, huh... Maybe if I can become a Mana Wielder before leaving the town, then I can take that route to the mainland."

  "I am also thinking so," Riya agreed. "It may be difficult for a merchant to travel, but that makes it the perfect place to train, as it has lower human activities and a perfect balance of danger and places to stop and rest—it has rivers, caves, and all that. But it won't be too easy either, so you should be prepared not just in strength but in supplies as well."

  "So, before leaving, I should try my luck in the south and southeast. By the way, what's there in the southeast?"

  "The southeast contains a normal forest with some predators such as bears, wolves, and so on. Normal people don't travel there because of these predators, but the danger doesn't exceed that, and skilled mortals can still travel if they are careful. Other than that, there might be small hills, caves, ponds, lakes, and so on. And, as you have heard, a little further, there’s an ocean. We can also reach the ocean through further south or east, but they are really far, and the terrains are not really good for human survival and travel. From the southeast forest, as you have also heard, it's not a beach but a huge cliff that separates land from the ocean. So if you're thinking of taking a swim, then you should give up on that."

  Eric was fine with that. Just gazing at the endless horizon of an ocean from higher ground was always pleasant. He still hoped to swim if possible, but for now, there was no point thinking about that. He wondered if there were any maps of the southeast forest.

  Riya shook her head. "There’s no map, as the one who reached the ocean was a Mana Wielder of our town. Most mortals would die, as there are crocodiles, alligators in ponds, and even other dangerous animals on land—but not the so-called Mana Beasts."

  Eric nodded and then sighed with praise. "Whoever built this town really founded a great place. Protected from all sides, kept an open channel for trade, and at the same time provided enough fertile lands for farming and other things."

  Eric was quite impressed by the guy. That person had really thought it through and found a perfect place where mortals could live and thrive without excessively worrying about dangerous things.

  Riya nodded, completely approving of that individual and his planning. "I read it's the town mayor's ancestor—Chris Laroche—who built it. Due to his excellent planning, not only did he create a safe place for mortals, but he also gave them a future for further growth, as they can expand in any direction little by little—except the west and east. Expansion in the north is also possible up to a wide river that separates the town from the Northern Plains. The southeast is a little troublesome but possible. Ringwood Town has long been slowly expanding towards the south, as previously it was just a harmless forest and empty plains combined. Only due to all this has Ringwood Town steadily managed to grow this big in coverage area and population; otherwise, with how few Mana Wielders there are in this town compared to other villages—and their low Ranks—this town would have long run down by bandits or wild beasts."

  Eric nodded. He didn't say anything more and came out of his Mind Space.

  "So, when do you plan to begin searching?" Riya asked. "At least the south and southeast are totally fine, even for the current you. The south should be lower in our priority, as it is likely to be just a waste of time."

  Eric thought a little, then soon shook his head. "There's no hurry. I can't leave the town right now, as I am far from being an adult or a Mana Wielder. So, maybe after I turn 13 or 14. If we can manage to find that 'spine-less' butler's body and possibly wealth, then it may be a good start—but it also might not be much helpful either. After all, just how much can a man carry on his ruined suit and body?"

  "True," Riya agreed. "But if we find enough wealth, then it will really be a good head start for you, as you can purchase necessary things in Batley City. I don't know how 'Mana Wielder' works as a whole, but I believe you will be able to buy those potions and elixirs as Grandma once talked about."

  Eric completely agreed with that, and he also had a goal in his past life: to collect trillions of cash and burn them all up while laughing crazily—ahem, ahem. Wishful dreaming aside, he wanted to try purchasing a cure for Bella Noll even if she rejected it—he at least wanted to try, and also for Lyria and Livy if possible.

  Hm... Just how long does it take to journey to Batley City?

  "Riya, how long do you think it will take if I go straight north towards Batley City?"