The Herb King

"I have the list here with me. Give me a second." Aethelwolf grabbed a piece of paper inside his storage space. It contains the list of materials he needed to make Kerrin and Alba's necklace. He also added some surplus materials that he would need in the future.

"I listed everything I need in this paper." Aethelwolf muttered as he handed it to Brian.

"Let me see..." Brian took the paper from his hand and scanned the list in silence. Some of the materials were rare, but with his connections, he could find everything on the list in just a few hours. "These are rare smithing materials and you actually need more Soul Jade?" Brian couldn't help but stare at Aethelwolf in surprise. If he remembered correctly, Aethelwolf asked him for a Soul Jade before so why is he asking for another one?

Aethelwolf chuckled awkwardly. Soul Jade is a very valuable item and it could be used for multiple purposes. In fact, after Aethelwolf was promoted to Level 4 Engraver, he learned of a method that could create an artificial soul for a Divine-Rated weapon. The only issue was that it requires a fist-size Soul Jade and the soul of a Level 5 magical beast. Even if he knew the method, it was almost impossible to have these two materials. Just looking for a fist-size Soul Jade alone was already difficult. As for the soul of a Level 5 magical beast, it was even more outrageous. Creatures at this level are so terrifying that they could decimate an entire empire on their own!

"Well, I just find Soul Jades fascinating and they are great materials for making jewelry and artifacts." Aethelwolf answered vaguely. He didn't want to disclose anything to Brian since this man was so hard to predict.

Brian's eyes narrowed for a moment but they returned to normal right away. He then smiled at Aethelwolf as he said. "It looks like Sir Aethelwolf also loves jewelry. You can rest assured. I'll gather all the materials and send them to your estate before midnight."

"That's great! I've already prepared the payment for all the items. I added a small amount as thanks for helping me. You can check it." Aethelwolf grabbed a box filled with gold cards from his storage space and placed it on an empty spot on the table.

"There is no need for that. I trust you, Sir Aethelwolf." Brian said with a face full of smiles, but he secretly sent a stream of world essence to check the contents of the box.

His action was very discreet, but Aethelwolf was able to notice it immediately. 'This guy is really a two-faced bastard. He says he trusts me, but he still checked the contents of the box.' Aethelwolf sneered in his mind after seeing Brian's hidden action.

Brian was still unaware that Aethelwolf had already noticed what he did. His mind was occupied by the contents of the box. Aethelwolf said that he only added a small amount, but the gold coins inside the box were almost twice the value of the materials he listed in the paper. 'How generous!' He thought to himself.

Brian happily kept the box inside his storage ring. "By the way, Sir Aethelwolf. I heard that the elven woman you got from our auction house can now speak our language. Is this matter true? I heard it from the soldiers." He said as he looked at Aethelwolf's reaction.

'Heard my ass! I bet you investigated this! You think I'm an idiot?!' Aethelwolf was now certain that Brian has an ulterior motive when he auctioned Aenwyn in the Golden Dragon Auction House.

Aethelwolf didn't reveal his true feelings to Brian as he put on a smiling facade. "It's true. At first, I was having trouble trying to communicate with her so I decided to teach her the basics of our language. Who would have thought that she would actually learn them in such a short period of time? She is a very smart girl. I really have to thank you, Sir Brian. Now, I have another capable subordinate under me. I'm even planning to remove the Slave Rune from her to make her feel more comfortable." He replied. This was his way of probing for more information from Brian. He wanted to know what the guy was up to.

After hearing Aethelwolf's words, Brian was shocked. "No, you can't do that! I mean... it would be difficult for you to do that, Sir Aethelwolf. You would need the help of a Level 4 Engraver to remove the Slave Rune. The Engraver who placed the rune on her has already left and his whereabouts are unknown. He could have helped you remove it." Brian said as he sighed.

'Dammit! If this guy removes the Slave Rune, that elf might say something about the Holy Spring! No! It should be impossible for him to remove it... What should I do?' Brian was racking his brain on how to prevent Aethelwolf from removing the Slave Rune, but he didn't know that Aethelwolf had long since removed it.

The Holy Spring is the ultimate treasure of the elves and it has many names. The Fountain of Youth, the Spring of Eternity, and so on.

Aethelwolf felt contempt in his heart. This guy couldn't even control his emotions. Aethelwolf wanted to beat him up, but he had to postpone that until he gets the items he needed.

"Sir Brian, it's almost past noon so we'll take our leave first. Goodbye." Aethelwolf stood up and put on an amiable expression while extending his right arm.

Brian stared at his outstretched arm and shook it reluctantly as he forced out a smile. "Have a safe trip back home, Sir Aethelwolf."

Aethelwolf nodded his head. "Thanks." He muttered before he lifted Olivia into his arms. He then calmly left the room with his daughter.

They saw Einar waiting for them outside the mansion.

"Let's go back home."

Einar nodded his head before he jumped into the coachman's seat. He then waited for Aethelwolf and Olivia to enter the carriage before urging the Equuses to move.

Meanwhile, inside Brian's study, Brian had a dark expression on his face as he recalled his interaction with Aethelwolf. For some reason, he felt that Aethelwolf was probing him earlier, but he couldn't accurately tell if that was really Aethelwolf's intention.

After a short time of thinking, Brian crossed his fingers as he muttered in a cold voice. "You've really done me a huge favor Aethelwolf. Now that the elven woman knows how to speak our language, I just have to ask her the whereabouts of the Holy Spring! Hmm... How should I do this?"

He entered into deep silence as he pondered. Suddenly, his eyes flashed with radiance as he smiled coldly. "I'll see you again tonight, Aethelwolf..."

***

Aethelwolf's group soon arrived at the Lassiter Household's estate.

When Aethelwolf and Olivia entered their room, they noticed that Aenwyn was already waiting for them. She was seated on a chair with a serious look on her face. "Did you meet him?" She asked in a calm voice.

Aethelwolf put down Olivia before nodding his head at Aenwyn. "Brian is in his mansion. I needed his help to look for some items so we had a short discussion."

"Did he say anything else?"

Aethelwolf grabbed a chair and pulled it beside Aenwyn's seat. "The guy was asking about you. It looks like our initial guess was right. Brian is indeed interested in the Holy Spring of your Aracan Kingdom. Perhaps that guy is already scheming on how to get the details from you since he already knows that you can speak the human language. If my guess is right, he will personally deliver the items I requested earlier." He said as he leaned on his chair.

Aenwyn still looked calm on the surface, but a towering rage was brewing in her heart.

She absolutely despised Brian to his core and she even wanted to eliminate him for good, but that guy is a peak stage Level 4. She was only a late stage Level 4 Esper so her chances of winning against that man were small. However, if Aethelwolf offers assistance, that would be different... The only issue was if Aethelwolf would agree to this.

"I want to kill him!" She muttered coldly while looking at Aethelwolf.

Aethelwolf narrowed his eyes into slits when he saw her expression. Eliminating Brian would cause a major commotion in the Leone Empire especially now that it just went through a tough war against two neighboring empires.

Aethelwolf massaged his temples as he entered into deep thinking.

Not long later, his eyes brightened as he thought of the best solution for this matter. "We can't kill him at this moment since his death would cause turmoil in the Leone Empire. However, we can place a Slave Rune on him. Something a lot stronger than the one he made for you. That way, we can control him and turn him into our puppet! I guarantee that he wouldn't be able to escape our grasp!"