Low-Fantasy Occultist

Chapter 440

The silence in the Staggering Boar stretched for a long moment. Nick let his eyes scan the tavern one last time, making sure the message had firmly taken hold in the minds of the men hiding in the booths.

Once even the most reticent one had lowered their gaze, he slowly retracted the last dredges of his [Territory], pulling the intense spiritual pressure back into his coils.

The air in the room thinned instantly, causing the mercenary captain to fall flat against the floorboards, his chest rising and falling as he desperately gasped for air, his pride completely shattered.

Our work here is done.

They had delivered a message with undeniable clarity, and now that it was over, he suspected everyone in town would know before lunchtime.

He still took a moment to check on the tavern owners, making sure they were doing alright and letting them know they could come to Crowley Manor if they needed more help.

A sizable crowd had gathered in the street. The locals, having heard the sounds of the brief struggle, formed a wide semi-circle around the entrance and murmured among themselves, curious and apprehensive.

As Nick and Devon emerged completely unharmed, the murmurs quieted. Some townspeople recognized the young lords immediately and spread the word just as fast, causing the realization of what just happened to ripple through the crowd.

“Let it be known that no thug can infringe upon the peace of the people of Floria!” Devon shouted, raising his fist, and the crowd roared back in approval.

Clearly, this wasn’t the only time something like this had happened, and Nick made a note to talk to Dorian about it soon.

It was true that the militia was stretched to its limits, but this kind of problem had to take priority over everything, and if needed, they could have gone to Arthur for backup.

After the noise settled down, the crowd naturally parted, making way for them to head back to the main avenue. As they approached the edge of the side street, Nick’s eyes caught a familiar figure leaning casually against a wooden post under an awning.

She wore a new leather coat over her more practical alchemist clothes, and her orange hair was tied back to keep it out of her face, but it was impossible to mistake her signature as anything but Rhea’s, no matter how much she had grown since he last saw her.

Several small, glass vials filled with brightly colored liquids were securely strapped to her belt, catching the sunlight, and he had to raise his eyebrows. Does she really need to go around showing off her arsenal like that?

Rhea watched him approach, her posture relaxed. She didn't look surprised to see him, nor did she seem especially impressed by the whispers of the tavern brawl spreading through the crowd around them. She simply crossed her arms over her chest and raised a single, questioning eyebrow.

The look conveyed a clear message: why had it taken him all morning to find her after coming back to town?

Nick felt a genuine smile spread across his face. He’d nearly forgotten how sassy she could be.

"You took your time," Rhea called out as he closed the distance, with dry amusement.

“Sorry, I had to clean up a bit. It looks like rats got in while I was away,” Nick replied, stopping in front of her. "It's good to see you, Rhea.”

"It's good to have you back, Nick," she said, pushing off the wooden post. She looked at Devon, offering him a respectful nod. "Devon. You look more like an heir now, though I have to say the stretched-beanpole look doesn’t suit you. If you stop by the shop, we might have a tonic or two that you might enjoy.”

“I might take you up on that," Devon replied with an easy grin. He had grown quite a bit taller since his last visit to town, but Nick knew that his clothes concealed corded muscle. It was only a matter of time before he stopped growing and filled out the look of a proper knight.

His brother looked between them, correctly reading the shift in the atmosphere, and bowed out. "I need to head back to the manor and give Mom a full report on the Black Hounds. I'll see you at dinner, Nick.”

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"Tell her the tab was paid in full," Nick said, watching his brother turn and head back toward the center of town.

He refocused on Rhea. She looked older, her features sharpened by the months they’d been apart, but more significantly, her aura now had a hard edge, a clear contrast to the girl who used to nervously gather herbs with him at the shallow edges of the Green Ocean.

"Elia will meet us at the old spot," she said, nodding toward the northern edge of town. "She managed to find a quiet moment for you, which is quite an accomplishment given how busy she is these days.”

Nick nodded, falling into step beside her as they navigated the crowded streets. "How has she been? The town has grown so much; I imagine managing the beastmen integration hasn't been simple.”

"It's been a nightmare," Rhea admitted bluntly, stepping around a heavily laden merchant cart. "But Elia has been incredible. The old residents of Floria are kinda used to the beastmen now, but the northern refugees and the new merchants brought a lot of prejudice with them. They tried to muscle the beastmen out of the lumber trade.”

“She managed to prevent that," Nick guessed.

"Lady Crowley stepped in early before it could become a big problem," Rhea said. "But Elia took the lead. She organized the beastmen into a recognized labor guild and negotiated contracts directly with the town's expansion council. She's being praised as a genius leader by her people, since she protected their interests with a skill that frankly terrified some of the older merchants.”

Nick smiled, a surge of pride warming his chest. He remembered the difficult journey they had taken to secure Elia's position as a Miko. Knowing she thrived as a leader felt like a hard-fought victory.

Soon, they reached the edge of the new development. The dense timber buildings gave way to a line of freshly cut stumps, marking the ever-expanding border between the town and the shallower reaches of the Green Ocean.

Rhea led him down a narrow, winding path away from the well-traveled roads, and a few minutes later, the trees parted to reveal a small, sunlit clearing with a stream crossing through it.

It was the same glade where they used to practice their magic before Nick left for the Tower. Back then, it felt isolated, a secret sanctuary hidden deep in the woods. Now, the sounds of axes chopping wood and the distant shouts of laborers echoed clearly through the trees. The town was less than half a mile away and would likely be reached in a few more months if its growth continued at this pace.

Sitting on a large, moss-covered stone in the center of the glade was Elia.

The foxgirl Miko looked up as they entered, her three tails swaying lazily behind her. She was dressed in the traditional red-and-white robes of her position, and her posture radiated calm strength, but Nick sensed the excitement building within her.

"Nick," Elia said with a genuine smile that lit up her face. She stood up and crossed the glade, pulling him into a tight hug.

"Hey," Nick returned the embrace, comforted that his oldest friend in this world was alright. "Rhea tells me you've been busy terrifying the local merchants.”

Elia chuckled softly, stepping back. "I prefer to say I’ve been negotiating with them, but they respond much better when they realize we won't be bullied. It is wonderful to see you safely returned. The rumors drifting down from the city were incredibly worrying.”

“Some of that was probably exaggerated, but Alluria did go through a lot,” Nick admitted, taking a seat on a fallen log. "But things are safe now. I just needed some time away from the politics to rest.”

Elia tilted her head, her sharp, golden eyes studying him carefully. "Rest, or prepare?”

Nick met her gaze and didn’t bother to lie, knowing she’d see through him. “Both."

"How long do you intend to stay?" Elia asked as she settled back on the mossy stone. From her questions, it was clear she already guessed they planned to head north; the only uncertainty was the timeline.

To answer that, Nick looked at Rhea, who bit her lower lip as she considered how to respond.

"A month, maybe two," she finally said, looking at Nick. "We need time to plan, and I need to finish brewing a specific set of alchemical compounds. Knowing you, you probably could use some time to come up with another insane ability.” She gestured vaguely, reminding Nick that these two had seen enough of his skills to know he wasn’t exactly an average mage. "We can't rush, but we shouldn’t take it too slow,” she finally concluded.

"Two months at the latest," Nick agreed. “It should be more than enough for us to be ready.”

Hopefully. I don’t know exactly what will await us, but compared to when I made that promise, I am much more ready. I guess I will have to make the most of it.

Elia nodded thoughtfully. "Then we will make the most of it. The Green Ocean has grown restless with all the logging, and there are plenty of high-level beasts encroaching on the new borders. It will be good practice.”

With the serious conversation finished, it shifted to lighter topics, and the three of them fell into easy banter. They reminisced about their earlier excursions into the woods, laughing about the time they were almost overrun by a family of very aggressive squirrels.

Nick explained the lengthy process of forging his new focus, watching Elia’s eyes widen as she sensed the Shard through her spiritual sight. Rhea then clarified that Ogden now trusted her enough to create and sell her own brews, which was why she was openly carrying so many vials.

"Speaking of Ogden," Nick said, turning to Rhea. "How is he handling the town's expansion?”

"He grumbles constantly, but that’s not much of a change," Rhea said with a smirk. "The influx of adventurers means he's working twice as much just to keep his shelves stocked with basic healing drafts and mana potions. He complains about the noise and the crowds every day, but he's making a fortune. He refuses to hire another apprentice, though.”

"He has standards," Nick noted dryly. Rhea had been taken in as a favor to her grandmother, a Prestige-tier artificer. Few others could match that, and the old dragon’s standards weren’t likely to be lowered anytime soon.

The afternoon slipped away in a comfortable haze of shared stories and quiet companionship. As the sun started to dip below the tree line, Elia stood up, brushing a few stray leaves from her robes.

"I need to return home," Elia said, offering them both a warm smile. "The guild leaders are meeting to discuss lumber quotas, and I need to get it over with if I want to have the time to train together tomorrow.”

Nick and Rhea bid her farewell, watching the Miko slip gracefully through the trees. Once they were alone, the relaxed mood in the glade changed, and the friendly camaraderie faded, replaced by a subtle tension.

Rhea pushed away from the tree she had been leaning on and moved toward the center of the clearing, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. She fixed her gaze on the moss-covered stone Elia had left, clenching her jaw.

"There's something I need to tell you," Rhea said, lowering her voice to a hush. "Something I didn't want to bring up in front of Elia.”

Nick stood up from the log. He had known this conversation was coming since the moment he sensed the dark magic lingering around Rhea's aura, a faint resonance that didn't belong to her alchemical arts.