On his way back, Draven was already thinking about how to recreate the cold weapons from his memory.

  With his metal-manipulation ability, this should've been easy enough.

  But the problem remained: the lack of quality materials. The weapons he managed to forge were, at best, metallic prototypes. When it came to actual battlefield use, they still weren't durable enough—just like the trident spikes he'd crafted for the serpentfolk.

  Those weapons relied more on the agility and technique of the users than on the weapon's own sturdiness. In a real clash, breakage and wear were almost guaranteed.

  As a leader, Draven couldn't afford to follow his warriors around just to patch up weapons. He needed a reliable blacksmith.

  Naturally, he thought of Rurik back in Selene City and wondered how things were progressing.

  Unfortunately, things weren't looking good for Rurik.

  The ratman blacksmith he had been searching for had indeed been found—but the bad news was, the ratmen had become slaves of the minotaurs. And all of this had been Bronan's doing.

  Back when the ratman blacksmith Pick first arrived in Selene City, he had come full of ambition and hope. But ratman-forged weapons had a hard time breaking into the local market, and the dream of opening his own forge seemed more and more distant.

  Still, Pick didn't give up. Ratmen were small, but clever. He poured everything into forging a special kind of bloodline weapon. His plan was to use this unique weapon to earn favor with a major tribe, build up enough capital, and then eventually open his own shop.

  Unfortunately, that's when he ran into Bronan.

  The minotaur, a bully who always picked on the weak, immediately mocked the little ratman. Things quickly went downhill—Pick's carefully forged weapon was violently stolen by Bronan, and worse, Pick was falsely accused of theft and ended up enslaved by the minotaurs.

  All of this, Rurik learned through backchannels.

  The ratman blacksmith he had searched for so long had become a slave. As for his current location—or even whether he was still alive—that remained a complete mystery.

  Rurik couldn't help but feel frustrated. Were the minotaurs some kind of natural counter to the Black Flag Territory? Why were they everywhere?

  Draven had always said that, during the early phase of Black Flag's rise, they had to keep a low profile—avoid provoking any major clans unless absolutely necessary.

  Rurik had always followed this rule. Even when he found out about Pick's fate, he never abused his patrol team authority to launch a personal investigation.

  He just recorded what he'd learned and, as usual, left the hard decisions to the chief.

  Following Angelica's suggestion, Rurik had started planning for a second tavern.

  The second Black Flag Tavern had already opened in Selene City, though its location wasn't as prime as the first one by the plaza. It was just enough to feed the two bunny girls working there, but making a real profit was still out of reach.

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  So Angelica, ever sharp when it came to business ideas, proposed something new: opening a Public House.

  Rurik was tempted. Every night, after finishing his duties, he'd wrap his arms around the bunny girls and talk about the future. A public house was a big undertaking, and funds were tight.

  Angelica advised him to think it through and wait until Draven came back to Selene City—then they could present a solid proposal together.

  Angelica might not know much about formal business plans, but her smarts had already gotten Rurik thinking ahead.

  Lately, Rurik had been busy—besides digging for info about the ratman blacksmith, he'd also been scouting for possible Public House locations.

  He'd already picked out a few promising spots. His home map was covered in scribbles. The only question now was—could he convince Draven?

  Opening a new tavern would cost quite a bit of coin.

  What Rurik didn't know was that Draven had just stumbled upon a small fortune.

  The magic cores left behind by the Violet Carpenter Bee and the Gold-Devouring Demon Ant were enough to fund the opening of dozens of Public Houses.

  By the time Draven returned from Village No. 3, night had already fallen completely. As he approached the stone house, he noticed a strange yet familiar glow seeping out from under the door.

  When he pushed it open, he saw that the room was filled with flowerpots—each holding one of the plants he had previously dug out from the cracks along the cliff face.

  These plants emitted a soft blue light, looking quite beautiful. Unlike beast-oil lamps, they had no pungent odor.

  Still, when it came time to sleep, he couldn't very well leave them glowing all night.

  Draven slipped his arms around Viola from behind and gently voiced his concern.

  "It's fine," Viola said softly."I'll move them outside at night."

  Draven thought to himself—that sounded like a hassle. He released Viola, who was preparing dinner, and crouched down to take a closer look at the flowerpots.

  He began to think about how best to make use of them. They'd make convenient lanterns along walkways—although not especially bright, they still provided a steady light source.

  Given the beastkin's natural night vision, this level of light was more than enough. But having over a dozen of them glowing inside the house at night? That was a bit much.

  He scratched his head. Even covering them with animal hide would be awkward and inconvenient.

  Just then, Liliana returned from who-knows-where.

  She spotted Draven crouched on the ground and silently gestured to Viola before sneaking up behind him.

  Just as she was about to leap onto his back, Draven suddenly turned his head—and Liliana ended up falling right into his arms.

  Draven caught her and continued inspecting the glowing plants. After hearing what was bothering him, Liliana giggled and snapped her fingers.

  Instantly, the soft blue glow vanished.

  Another snap, and the light returned—flooding the stone house like someone had flipped a switch.

  Draven stared at the smug look on Liliana's face, astonished. He hadn't expected her to have such a handy ability.

  Liliana raised her nose proudly and pointed to her cheek.

  After receiving a loud smooch from Draven, she grinned and explained that she had made a lot of progress recently. The wood-spirit energy inside her had grown stronger.

  Now, she could connect more deeply with plants—and even communicate with them on a basic level.

  Draven praised her profusely, then shamelessly took credit for her improvement.

  Loudly, he declared that if he hadn't trained Liliana every night, she'd never have made such progress!

  To his surprise, Liliana actually believed him. She immediately climbed onto him, tugging at his clothes, eager to gain even more power.

  Viola walked over with the final dish in hand and set it down on the table. Watching the two of them fooling around, she couldn't help but smile faintly.

  She had thought that with Martha moving to Village No. 1, the house would finally be peaceful. But with Draven around, peace was clearly out of the question.

  She tried to pull the two apart, but instead, they ganged up on her and dragged her onto the bed.

  Breathless and tangled with Draven and Liliana in their playful chaos...

  A bit of exercise before dinner certainly did wonders for the appetite.

  Draven tore into a piece of beast meat with a satisfied grin.

  Viola rolled her eyes at him but couldn't resist reaching out and giving Liliana a light knock on the head."You've really gone off the rails, following Draven like this."

  Liliana giggled and exchanged a mischievous glance with Draven—clearly ready for another round once the meal was over.