The next morning, Linde was sound asleep when he was awakened by a strange sound. After Linde got up, the strange sound disappeared, making the half-awake Linde think that he was hallucinating.
"That's strange, I remember closing the window last night?"
Seeing the open window instantly woke Linde from his sleepiness.
"Damn it, someone's been here?"
Lin De broke out in a cold sweat, grabbed the short sword he kept by the bedside for self-defense, and thoroughly searched the entire room inside and out.
"That's strange, there's no trace at all. Could it just be from the wind?"
Linde activated his active vision and looked around, but couldn't find anything unusual; the whole room was empty.
Apart from his own bright, active radiance, nothing else was visible.
Indeed, Linde felt that he had been too stressed these past few days. He felt that everything on the road was plotting against him until he reached his own territory.
Ever since the cultists appeared in the team, Linde has felt that the world is still too dangerous in some ways and not friendly to normal people at all.
"We should set off quickly and get to our territory to start developing, otherwise we won't be able to eat or sleep in peace."
With that, Lind dressed himself and went to find Astaire next door.
Little did he know that, out of Linde's sight, an eye quietly opened in Linde's shadow. That eye was incredibly beautiful, its amber color resembling a gemstone.
The eye looked at Lind, revealing a multitude of emotions including satisfaction, excitement, and curiosity, before reluctantly closing quickly before Lind could even notice.
Looking back at the empty room, Linde quickly closed the door. He made up his mind that he would return to the camp after finishing his business today and would not stay in Fortified City.
He summoned Astaire and Alice, explained the situation to them, and then in the morning found the fat clerk Herman, asking him to help procure various supplies, including topographical maps of the area and maps of the noble territories.
When Hermann learned that Linde planned to leave today, after a moment of surprise, he did not ask any further questions and assured Linde that he would complete all the orders by the afternoon.
Lind was happy to be free and returned to his room. He called Alice and Aster into the room, intending to consolidate the existing information on the territory.
The territory that Linde was granted was originally called Green Plains, which belonged to a former viscount of the Sass Empire. Because of its remote location and vast territory, the viscount quickly built a small fortress that was larger than usual.
Unfortunately, the viscount did not live to see the completion of his fortress. Just as the central main castle was finished, the unfortunate viscount was already hung on the flag.
So, in other words, Linde's territory now has no proper castle, only an unfinished "rough castle".
On the bright side, it is highly adaptable. Linde can modify the fortress according to his own ideas, or even demolish it and rebuild it, which would be much more convenient.
At least that's how Lind convinced himself.
“We don’t know what resources the territory has yet, and we’ll need to conduct an on-site investigation before we can make any specific arrangements,” Alice said.
"And we must also prepare for the worst. After the war, there will be many homeless people who will gradually turn into bandits and outlaws in order to survive, especially in territories that have been without a lord for a long time," Astaire added.
"Indeed, monsters and beasts will also take advantage of the situation and invade parts of the territory."
Listening to their analysis, Linde felt increasingly urgent. If they worked hard, they could still catch the first wave of planting, but there wasn't much time left.
…………
As evening approached, Linde and the others who had entered the city returned to the camp with a batch of livestock and farm tools they had purchased. On the way, the fat clerk Herman tried his best to persuade Linde to stay for dinner, but Linde declined, saying he had things to take care of.
Linde felt like he was fleeing the Fortified City. All day long, Linde felt like he had a thorn in his side, as if something was constantly watching him.
It wasn't until evening, after we left the city, that I felt much better.
"Before leaving, we should go to the church of the Holy Light Church here and ask for some exorcism supplies."
Today's various feelings have made Linde, a materialist college student, suspicious and paranoid.
Lin De cast two cleansing spells on himself to comfort himself, then fell asleep with his head on his short sword.
As Linde's snoring began to rise, a lithe figure leaped out from Linde's shadow, landing on the ground as lightly as a feather without making a sound.
The shadowy figure gazed at Lind, who was fast asleep on the bed, licked its lips, shook its head vigorously, and then vanished into the shadows in an instant.
The agile figure darted swiftly among the shadows in the camp, and strange noises occasionally escaped from the rapidly moving shadows in the night.
"Gurgle~ gurgle".
The shadowy figure slowed down, but ran towards the kitchen with unwavering determination.
Clearly, the little one was hungry. She rushed into the kitchen and searched for her favorite ingredient among the various kinds of food.
Finally, before she starved to death, she found the sweetest thing in the kitchen: a jar of honey.
She reached out and swished her hand around the jar, leaving a ring of all-natural, pollution-free honey stuck to her hand.
As the glistening honey entered her mouth, her cat tail swayed merrily, and her petite body trembled with excitement.
Just then, a night patrol soldier happened to pass by, and the bright firelight and heavy footsteps startled the dark spirit.
In an instant, the shadowy figure disappeared into the shadows with the entire jar of honey, leaving only an empty space where the jar had once stood.
The night remained peaceful...
————
At this moment, in the lord's bedroom of the fortified city's lord's castle.
"My lord, that Baron Linde left the city this afternoon, and we couldn't stop him."
The portly clerk, Herman, was reporting everything that had happened that day to his lord.
"That kid got away quickly, but never mind, we don't have time to deal with him now. After all, it's a bit too much to handle to offend an earl right now."
"Not to mention that black-clad Fritz."
At this moment, Viscount Swift was lying on his enormous bed, enjoying the service of his many lovers and maids.
After eating a piece of fruit that the maid had offered to her, Swift asked:
"How's things going with the Murray I asked you to contact?" His tone was filled with anticipation.
When the Viscount asked this question, Hermann, who was kneeling, looked visibly displeased.
"Sir, I sent someone to the vicinity of the rendezvous point to make contact using coded signals, but I received no response..."
"Could something have happened on the way that caused the delay..."
Viscount Swift's brows were furrowed, and he was no longer as relaxed as he had been when he spoke.
"That shouldn't be the case. With his abilities, it's unlikely he could have been captured..."
At this moment, Viscount Swift was unaware that the person he had been hoping to take charge of, Murray, had already been killed by Lind and his men and was beyond dead.
"Alright, you don't need to worry about this anymore. You can go now."
"yes……"
As Hermann left, the sounds of decadent music returned to the room.
The night is still long, and it can hold many secrets.
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