The meeting went fairly well, but it was clear that the Underwood Elves had been raised with horror stories about the beings who would come to hunt them down like they were mere beasts. They did not even know that the creatures who hunted them every fifty years were called humans…

Anoteros could tell that they were not yet convinced. The chief, in particular, remained wary. It was understandable, but not conducive to what the noble scion desired. So he hatched another plan to shift public opinion.

And what could be better than fabricating said public opinion? The governments of his old worlds spent every living second of their existence doing that to their population, so Edrick could surely do the same to a village of Underwood Elves. Not to mention, he had access to something that would make the old governments salivate with envy.

Indeed, his idea was to brand more Underwood Elves with servant crests. Naturally, he couldn’t just brand any of them. For example, branding the chief might sound good on paper, but everyone knew him extremely well and would grow suspicious if his stance changed. Not to mention that he had a wife who would surely notice the addition to her husband’s back sooner than later.

So instead, Edrick had Daklaiel select elves who had no close companions and were somewhat of loners. That way, most of the elves would not be incredibly familiar with them, making it so that if those elves voiced favourable opinions about Edrick, it was unlikely to be overtly suspicious.

Once the order was given, his elven servant lured those elves outside under the premise of needing some help with a hunt, during which he would offer them to have a taste of a certain stew that still bore traces of the slumbering dust, and would proceed to extend the trip until night to have them fall asleep outside the village, thus allowing Edrick to brand them whilst they were asleep and vulnerable.

After repeating this cycle a few times, and also having Daklaiel invite elves that were not branded so as not to make it too obvious that those who would voice support for Edrick all had something in common... Then, it was time to wait. Anoteros left all of his long-eared servants in the village and headed back toward the hollow hill.

He left his followers with a set of instructions, ensuring that they wouldn’t be too hasty. They needed to let some time pass before slowly beginning to show support... Not all at once, but little by little, to create the impression that a new narrative was organically rising amongst the village. It should sweep in some unbranded elves as well, and eventually, even if there was a divide, the chief should decide to give cooperation a go.

That was all that Anoteros needed. He didn’t want to exploit them like slaves or to harvest their flesh and organs. He had far more refined ideas than that. Underwood Elves were an elven species that only existed within the confines of this realm, as far as he was aware.

Their mastery of invisibility cultivation and such was extensive.

If he could foster this population into one that not only agreed to trade but one that trusted and respected him, it would be no different than having his own personal army, which he could flex in front of anyone.

After all, who wouldn’t be worried if someone you were trying to cross had access to hundreds--If not more--Of assassins that were incredibly skilled in invisibility techniques?

Furthermore, he would have a monopoly all year round on their special craftsmanship talents. The price of those goods would be decided by him, and he would be able to sell them at a price that was far lower than all competitors.

But that was only the tip of the iceberg. He would also have access to all the resources this realm had to offer. The Lodestone was the key to starting his very own business, and one that was already set to be extremely successful.

Indeed, Anoteros was not content with just riding on his family’s coattails. Although being associated with the Elt family was an advantage he was not planning on ever giving up, he still wanted to have an empire to his name.

It was by making a lot of money annually that one could start to grow not just in economic power, but also in political power. Especially here in Leynlornd. This country was built on being economically efficient, on the circulation of money.

Places like the town Edrick ruled over as lord on his arrival were becoming rarities in this kingdom, and would cease to exist in a few years at most.

The crown wanted money and riches to bleed all over the land... The more wealthy the people were, the more wealthy the country and the royals were in return.

Soon enough, jobs that were once paid a miserable salary would be enough for one to support a family…

In any case, this desire for the whole kingdom to be filthy rich was why the crown had banned slavery. Having a whole bunch of people with no purchasing power was not conducive to their goal.

In a place where the wellness of the economy was such a focus, there was no doubt that anyone who managed to set up a business worth a lot of money would attract the attention of the crown. Subsequently, they would receive further benefits to ensure that they remained rooted in Leynlornd.

The secret realm was filled with goods that people wanted to buy in bulk, as well as unique items that people were willing to pay hefty sums for. It was perfect for Edrick to begin his success story.

But for now, this project was still in a state of infancy, so he didn’t get his hopes up. Instead, he returned to the hollow hill like nothing had happened.

He pretended to have been hunting only beasts and just sat down in meditation.

The list of goods had been gathered in large quantities, to the point that he had enough for his family, the sect, and himself.

Strangely, the guardian had still not shown his face.

Anoteros wondered why that was. He had heard from his servants sourced from other sects that some of their fellows had had to leave the realm as they had attracted the attention of the guardian. Yet, they had gathered far less than Edrick.

Either there were criteria that he had no clue about, or for some reason, the realm had a soft spot for him.

The second option sounded ridiculous and didn’t make much sense anyway. He guessed that there was something about how he did things, or the reasons why he did them, that made it so the realm did not consider his actions as over-gathering.

Quickly upon his arrival, however, he was approached by Xiao.

‘Seems like the protagonist is preparing for something, huh?’