Volume 9 : INTERLUDE – SIERRA UNION

After coming out of the guild office, princess Arya Stark, Caige, and Maia swiftly entered the awaiting carriage, evading any potential attention.

“We finally succeeded in establishing ‘Sierra Union’ with the merchant guild under the clan. Thank you princess Arya, it was only possible because of you.” Caige said with a sense of relief.

Caige found herself exhausted after enduring lengthy discussions and negotiation meetings with the guild master and other guild executives.

“All I did was just sit there because I am a part of this too. Don’t forget I am the company’s guarantor and patron as well. In fact, I thought that you were quite enjoying yourself inside as well.” Princess Arya said.

“Caige never backs down when she gets in negotiating a deal.” Maia said, explaining her friend's long-standing habit.

Maia and Arya could easily remember the tensed expressions on the faces of the guild executives who were unable to persuade Caige. Ultimately they found themselves conceding to her every demand.

Caige was ruthlessly persistent when it came to negotiating and selling her product. It was her rule to leave no room for any compromise or concession.

“Yes, we did come out of there with a good deal. Earlier I had thought that we would have to work to our bones doing more auctions to spread the word of our potions. But now that we are backed by a princess and also Alicia has established a clan inside the guild. Everything has become so organized and easy to handle.”

Caige could recall that everything she had heard from the pirate’s incident down to helping the princess. Alicia using her potions on the ship was a great way to make the word of the potions reach faraway places.

There is soon going to be a time when every person will be after this potion’s power.

“I think it’s time we look for a place for you to set up a shop.” Arya was going to help out to find a big place for establishing the main branch and shop for the clan.

“Yes, I don’t want to be clobbered inside a huge crowd again.” Maia said with a fearful face remembering how the entire hall was flooded with people who wanted to get their hands on the rare potions that could instantly heal them.

This only went to show how important and rare the healing potions were in the eyes of people. Until now a normal healing potion was characterized by slow healing effects, and limited capacity to address all diseases and ailments.

However, Alicia's crafted healing potion redefined the entire product, challenging previous perceptions.

“For now I am sure the guild will only be keeping a close eye on the movement of the items. So, I don’t think they will be of any trouble and will never find out where the potions are coming from.” Arya said thinking how the guild planned to handle all of this.

“I think it’s better that way. Because if we succeed, the adventurers from other places might force their own guild centers asking us to establish a shop in their own native towns.” Caige had already been devising different strategies to expand the business.

“Well as long as we receive positive and kind attention that is good for our interest as well.” Since the potion was still not available for distribution at large. People will only look at it as a rare item that can vanish anytime from the market.

“Currently we don’t have a huge stock to distribute it in other cities. But the capital should be a large enough market for us to learn and see how everything plays out. For now, let’s wait for the people whom I have recruited to come here from the demon continent and hire some more.” Caige said analyzing the current situation.

“I too am excited about all of this. But I'm also curious to learn more about you, Caige. How did you and Maia meet Alicia? And I am quite interested to know despite being a commoner you have extensive knowledge and the way you carried yourself inside the meeting which is not easy to come by.” Arya looked at Caige waiting for her answer.

“Princess, Caige is never comfortable talking about her past. She hasn’t even mentioned about it to me in detail before.” Maia was worried about Caige as she had never seen her happy when thinking about her past.

“It’s alright, Maia. If we do want to do business together, it's only right I explain a bit about myself.”

“I think you have me wrong. I just wanted us to be business partners on equal footing and especially I wanted to know more about Caige as a friend.” Princess Arya who never had many friends because of her status couldn’t help but be more curious and couldn’t wait.

Arya was completely taken aback and impressed by the dexterity Caige showed when dealing with those executives without backing down. It made Arya feel that they had so much common in between them and could work together as equals.

“When I was only a kid, I was kidnapped and was about to be sold in the demon continent. And I somehow managed to escape. It was then, by chance, that I met Maia. Before that, all I remember is I was in a lone place and I was never allowed to leave. Beyond this, I do not know anything about my origin or where I came from.” Caige bore an expression as if trying to conceal the pain that lingered within her.

"I see," Arya said. She continued to gaze intently at Caige, patiently waiting for the other half of her question to be addressed. While she appeared somewhat concerned about Caige's vague response, she accepted it without pressing further.

Caige was shocked to see the princess be so accepting. In all her life she had come to hate nobles, especially those who misused their powers and hurt others intentionally.

But princess Arya especially showed appreciation for Caige’s talents and didn’t allow herself to be trapped by obnoxious notions pertaining to the differences between the noble and the commoners.

And Caige really thought that she could learn more by coming into contact with princess Arya.

“As for us meeting with miss Alicia. I think we were never going to meet them again after I tried to rip them off that night in the cart. But instead, she helped us out. And then she also saved Maia’s life and the kids at the orphanage.”

“You tried to do what?” Princess Arya was in shock.

“Its not that bad how Caige makes it sounds. It was only to the extent for us to earn and survive.” Maia looked at Caige and asked her to support her.

“So, what was your wish? Was it to become the richest person in the world?” Arya asked making a guess based on Caige’s intention.

“Alicia made clear to me that what she was offering me was not a wish. It was more of a contract.” Remembering the day when Caige saw Alicia's true appearance without the mask and witnessed her magic still sent shivers down her spine and ignited a sense of excitement.

“Really. Tell me.” Arya was so intrigued that she really lost her cool as a princess.

“I wanted to become the person who could earn the most money in this world. In the end, I didn’t care who the money belongs to. So, once I accepted the offer, since then everything happening in my life looks like it is a part of my contract now. And that’s why it will be my life’s best ever deal.” Caige made herself clear that she had come to terms with the situation and was more than happy with it.

“Since you told your wish. I will tell you mine. My wish was for the happiness of my family and whoever I hold dear to myself.”

Arya could have asked anything about getting her throne back or becoming a queen herself. But Arya held her family more dear than anything.

“Princess Arya, were you trying to learn about Alicia through us? Unfortunately, we too don’t know much about her.” Caige understood what Arya was trying to do even though she did not have to go through such a roundabout way.

“I tried to search a lot about Alicia, but nothing turned up except her first appearance could be traced back to a big incident that itself got resolved in the elf kingdom of Ascalon. And I think then she finally met you and came to the human continent.” Arya concluded herself with the little information she could have gained.

But it still did not answer who was Alicia and where she actually came from.

“Is miss Alicia in need of money? Isn’t she a friend of miss Regis already who is of elf royalty!” Maia asked Caige with little thought.

“Of course, that can’t be.  Remember we were for an instant transported to what she called her pocket space, and it had more than enough Big Gold coins to outweigh the treasury of an entire nation’s wealth.” Caige recalled.

“Yes I remember now. And she had more of those room pockets. But according to miss Alicia, it belonged to her parents and she wanted to earn her own money. Her parents must be rich.” Maia said rubbing her hands on her fluffy ears.

“Eh…!”

“….Eh!”

Caige and Arya had the same paused and surprised reaction.

“…Her parents.” Arya tried to think hard about the new piece of information she received.

“Why have I never thought of it?” Caige was in full meditation trying to come up with anything she could have used.

“But its useless. I do not recall any renowned person, royalty or noble or knight with characteristics features like Alicia. Silver-white long hairs. Even her white colored suit does not resemble of any specific culture or tradition. And I am not even sure what her choice of weapon is apart from being a magical genius and possessing a godly beauty.”

“The White Queen is truly a mysterious figure at this moment.” Caige said in an old man’s tired voice as if to amuse herself.

“It would have been one thing if she was an elf then we could have connected her to princess Regis.”

“I too was shocked to see an elven princess outside of her kingdom. At least I am sure the two must be related somehow even though they appear to have met not long ago.”

Both Caige and Arya knew it was difficult to gain any particular information from a secluded kingdom like Ascalon. But Caige’s deduction could not have been far from the mark.

“But I do have one hint. The white face mask Alicia uses resembles a lot to the one the True Hero wore during her adventure days. A die-hard fan of the True Hero like me can never miss such a detail.” Arya said proudly holding her head high.

A sudden silence fell on the two girl’s lips who until then were engaged in a furious race of deduction.

“The true Hero, as far as I have heard she disappeared about two hundred years ago. And I am pretty sure miss Alicia wouldn’t like that kind of attention.” Caige pushed her forehead hard.

“And I think Miss Alicia could have been using it to mask her identity even if it only makes her stand out a bit more.” Arya laughed in an awkward manner.

“Why are you two acting strangely? Miss Alicia too must be a big fan of the True Hero then.” Maia gave her opinion.

“Yes. Maia is right.” Caige quickly abandoned all her thoughts.

“That must be it. Miss Alicia is also a fan of the True Hero even though not a bigger fan than me. Maybe I should start wearing a mask as well.” Princess Arya started laughing loudly as she lost her element.

“Please don’t do that.” Caige chuckled.

Arya and Maia could not stop laughing as well.

“But I hope Alicia finds that person soon or at least the Hartland princess is able to help her out.” Arya hoped.

“So, what kind of princess is she? I have heard she has successfully established good political relations with everyone despite being a small kingdom.” Caige asked.

“Yes, until the first princess came around, no one even had heard of the name of the Hartland kingdom before. It was just a small kingdom in the southern part of the human continent. But she has so many great achievements and futuristic ideas that she became my role model as a princess as well. She abolished slavery in her kingdom, introduced new trading policies, and brought advanced farming methods. And she is also rumored to have a secret spy network whose extent no one has been able to measure now.”

“She seems reliable.” Caige did well to remember that name hoping she could get a chance to do business with her.

“Do you think they would have reached their destination by now?” Maia asked wondering when she would again get a chance to play with Hana.

“Right now, I think she must be halfway on her road to Hartland Kingdom. And would be staying in Count Viktor’s mansion. Since it’s a borderland highway it's owned by all the kingdoms sharing the borders and under Count Viktor’s authority. He is a good friend and a subordinate of our family and just as I have asked him in the letter, Alicia and others are free to make a rest stop there.”

***

Princess Alice Hart, the reincarnation of Goddess Athena herself and the contract partner of Sachi. Was having dinner with her family but her thoughts were lingering somewhere far away.

Recently her heart had been behaving strangely and starts beating faster. She could suddenly at times feel her soul core resonating as well.

She could not really understand the meaning behind these signs but be anxious.

The king and the queen looked worriedly at her. Knowing full well that their daughter had shouldered a lot of responsibilities and was trying to do everything alone. Her big brother the first prince, was also away busy governing the southern bay ports.

So, she found herself under even more pressure handling all the capital city’s administrative work.

“Drawing on the plate again, seems like something is really odd. Alice.” Alice’s mother tried to catch her daughter’s attention who was trying to paint something on her plate with the food.

“Is something bothering you Alice, then tell us?” the king asked.

Alice came back to reality and found a name she had unconsciously tried to scribble on the plate.

"It's nothing, really. I'm perfectly fine." Alice says hastily as she swiftly erases the mark on the plate with sauce.

She had a family now and she loved them as well. Seeing them sad because of her odd behavior made Alice reconsider her attitude towards the current situation.

Just then a shadow appears behind her and a woman in black garments covered from head to toe appears behind Alice’s back.

The King and the Queen did not seem surprised by this sudden intrusion. In fact, they had gotten accustomed to them of suddenly appearing, taking orders from their daughter, and leaving.

They could have been hiding and listening in the shadows right beside anyone and no one would even notice.

“Cystell,” Alice called out the name of her shadow spy. “So, did you gain any information about the pirate incident?”

“Nothing except that it has become more of a legend. There are rumors everywhere going around about an individual named the White Queen who defeated the entire pirate army.”

“So, how was the pirate army defeated?” Alice asked just in case.

“According to the talks going around. They said only one thing. Everything became ⸺white. The sea became ice land. The ships turned into giant frozen stones. And the pirates. All of them died after becoming ice dust.” The spy Cystell described the incident in a very odd way.

She had previously tried to think that it could have been the work of a reincarnate. But then, Alice did not remember any God whose signature magic was ice magic, and that too at a level to turn the entire sea into ice.

“Also from other member spies, I have heard the miraculous potion which was in auction in the Demon Continent not long ago. Its presence has also been confirmed on the ship.”

“I see.” Alice realized there was nothing solid to go on here as well.

“Remember you told me that the coupdeta at the Stark palace was also resolved almost immediately and the missing princess came back as well.”

“I am afraid this individual the White Queen is already here on the Human Continent and could have made contact with the Stark Kingdom royal’s family. Though it's all just speculation. I want you to keep a close eye on the situation in the Stark kingdom.” Alice informed the spy of their next steps.

Alice could not risk being uninformed of someone so powerful in this world after all.

“Princess. I have come here to inform you of a more pressing issue.”

Cystell pointed to Alice in the direction of the King and the Queen.

Alice immediately understood that it was news regarding the Hartland kingdom and the king and the queen needed to be informed as well.

Alice lifted the sound barrier she had cast and now the King and the Queen also paid their full attention.

“Princess, there have been sightings of high orcs in the western borders of the Hartland Kingdom.” Cystell immediately stopped.

“⸺And.” It would have been one thing if they had just been monsters or a small group of high orcs that got stranded and happened to come here.

Normally they would just sprawl around the forest, hunt for food, and leave.

But this time something was fishy, otherwise Cystell would not seem so distressed. Alice thought to herself.

"The high orcs were observed wearing armor and carrying military weapons as they attempted to assess the area."

“The high orcs were scouting the place. But for what reason…” the King quickly understood the seriousness of the matter.

“It can’t be. With the pirates gone, the sea trade routes are now much safer for anyone to travel stealthy and without coming on anyone’s radar.”

“We have still not confirmed what they are here for and we are keeping our distance and avoiding any engagement.” Cystell informed the situation of other shadow spies active on the ground.

“Good call. I order you to keep doing that and avoid any kind of conflict. Keep informing me of any changes as well. You can go back now.” Alice quickly dismissed her spy.

With her orders, Cystell disappeared into oblivion back into her shadow and left.

“Father, I need you to issue me five battalions of the army.”

“No, there’s no need for you to go. Either I will go. Or, we will send word for your brother to come.” The King objected and tried to think calmly.

“Alice it’s too dangerous. We don’t know what the demons would want with our kingdom.” The queen tried to stop Alice before making any rash decisions.

No one even mentioned it on their lips, but the three were more than capable enough to understand that all of this pointed to one future. ⸺War.

And they still didn’t know who their enemy was. Whether it was just a stray group of high orcs, a small militarized group of demons, or even a demon lord coming for them.

“Don’t worry father. I am not trying to do anything dangerous. And it won’t be a first for me. I will just assess the situation and come back. I have protected these lands before and I will do it again and again. No matter what I have to do.”

***

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