The Herb King

Samira alighted the carriage with a flustered look on her face. She promised Aethelwolf that she would be back quickly, but the matches were so exciting that she had lost track of time. They were also invited by the emperor to his mansion after the match and she was delayed even further.

"Aethelwolf, it's me!" Samira anxiously shouted outside the clinic. She nervously fiddled the hem of her clothes as she waited.

A few moments later, the door was finally opened and Samira saw Leric and the other employees preparing to leave the clinic.

"How were the matches in the competition?" Leric asked with a smile.

Samira thought that he was angry so she immediately apologized. "Sorry. I lost track of time and His Majesty also invited us to his mansion after the matches so I was delayed.

Leric saw her worried look. He patted her shoulder and shook his head as he said. "It's fine. Don't think too much about it. Besides, Skylar and the others handled the interview flawlessly."

Samira was still worried, but Aethelwolf reassured her.

"Follow us to the mansion. The new employees will be staying with us. I told them to bring their families so the mansion will be lively tonight. I also asked the girls to purchase magical beast meat and other ingredients. We will be having a feast later!" Leric no longer wanted to eat the food in other places since he can make better delicacies than them.

Samira nodded her head. She was excited at the thought of eating Aethelwolf's food again. His dishes are even more delicious than the ones cooked by their chefs! "I won't miss it!" She smiled radiantly, showing her pearly white teeth.

"Let's go to our house, everyone! We will be living there in the future." Leric said to the ladies with a beaming smile.

"Yey!"

***

Rendell patiently waited for Aethelwolf's arrival. He wanted to know more about his new boss. He almost knew nothing about Aethelwolf other than knowing that he is a Level 4 Esper.

"He seems to have a close relationship with Samira. I wonder what is going on between them..." While he was muttering to himself, he saw a group of people walking towards the gate of the mansion.

Rendell furrowed his eyebrows and immediately headed to them. "Stop! This mansion is a property of Sir Aethelwolf." He warned them. These guys looked like commoners based on the clothes they are wearing. He was wondering what these people were up to.

Suddenly, Rendell frowned when sensed a strong aura among the commoners. It came from a young girl who has beautiful facial features. From the aura she was exuding, she should be a mid stage Level 1 Esper. She was quite strong for someone at her age. Even Rendell wasn't as talented as her.

Janeth hurriedly stepped forward to avoid matters from escalating. "We are newly hired employees of Sir Aethelwolf's clinic. He said that we can live in the mansion with our families. We can show you the contract we signed earlier to prove this." She urged everyone to show their signed contracts to the young guard.

Rendell carefully read their contracts and when he saw Aethelwolf's signature, his face eased up. "I apologize. I didn't know that you guys are Sir Aethelwolf's employees. I hope that you'll forgive me."

Janeth and the others smiled at the young guard. He was merely doing his job so they didn't take it too seriously.

"Follow me inside. I'll take you to the mansion. Sir Aethelwolf isn't here yet so you guys can wait in the guest hall." Rendell opened the gate for them.

Janeth and the others were stunned when they saw the mansion at a close distance. It was so big that their old houses looked like kennels in comparison.

"Are we really going to live in this mansion starting tonight?"

"What a big house!"

"This is like a castle! Wow!"

The children excitedly ran around while exclaiming with cute voices.

Even Janrose who wasn't in a good mood felt at peace at the sight of the children's smiling faces.

"Come inside, everyone. I'll prepare tea for you and hot chocolate for the kids." Rendell said as he led them to the guest hall. He has been working in this mansion for several months so he knew his way around.

Looking at the spacious guest hall, everyone was overwhelmed by the sheer luxury of the mansion. They didn't even dare sit on the sofas since they looked very expensive.

"Take your seats, everyone. I'll be back with your drinks." Rendell said before leaving them.

Janeth took the initiative and sat carefully on the sofa. It was very soft and smooth and it felt as if she was sitting on pure cotton.

The others soon followed, but they were still nervous.

"You guys should be careful. Those vases look very expensive." Janeth said as she looked at the precious-looking vases in the guest hall.

The others became even more nervous when they heard that and they didn't even dare to breathe loudly.

Soon, Rendell returned pushing a tray with a pot of tea and a container filled with hot chocolate. There were also tea cups and glasses for everyone.

"I don't know how to make tea so they might taste terrible, but you can rest assured that the kids will like the hot chocolate." Rendell joked as he poured tea into the tea cups.

"Thanks."

Suddenly, both Rendell and Janrose stared in the same direction.

"It must be Sir Aethelwolf. Other than me, only Sir Aethelwolf has the key to open the gates." Rendell excitedly said. He then turned his head to everyone and said. "Please wait here. I'll go out to greet Sir Aethelwolf." He then jogged to the entrance of the mansion.

Rendell saw Aethelwolf with a group of beautiful women surrounding him. They were chatting happily as they walked to the mansion.

"Sir Aethelwolf is living the best life..." He muttered to himself as he looked at Leric with unconcealed admiration.