Luke woke up the next morning with his dream of owning the biggest beast shop in the world alive.
Owning a business like that would make him invincible as much as it would make him wealthy because he can control the economy, since hunters all over the world and from the Confederacy needed his resources.
Money buys comfort, but leverage gives him power.
No one would mess with him or look down on him if they needed his shop to get them and their summons stronger.
However, he remembered the hurdle he and Lin Moon had run into recently regarding capital.
Yes, they started with 235 million, but running a shop of this standard would drain funds beyond all solvent measure once taxes, security, maintenance, and staff gnawed their fortune to the bone.
When this problem came up, Luke’s plan was to sell the items he got from the Insect World to generate revenue.
He opened his inventory to see them:
〖Insect Metal x1 (Size 1)〗〖Insect Leather x5 (Size 1)〗〖Insect Thread x2 (Length 1)〗〖Insect Rune x2〗
Luke scanned and realized he wasn’t confident about how much each of these items should cost.
In the Insect World, they must have their own prices, but this wasn’t the Insect World.
The prices here on Earth would depend on supply and demand, and the only way to know that was to get into the market or talk to people who knew the worth of goods.
But there was a problem—
"I’m not sure I can trust going to a hunter market," Luke muttered. "Everyone there is in a political mess, so it could compromise my security."
He was right, because the hunter market is a web of guild merchants loyal to Orders, so just one careless word could deliver him into the hands of a bounty hunter.
"Maybe you don’t have to go to the hunter market," Seraphina said. "Yesterday, while I was cultivating my Path, I overheard two hunters talking about a carnival today. You should go there."
"What will I do in a carnival?" Luke asked.
Seraphina placed her hands on her hips and snorted at his question and the way he asked it, as if she didn’t know what she was saying.
Surely, the point of a carnival hasn’t changed over millenniums, has it?
"At a carnival, there is always a market, albeit temporary," she said. "Vendors, merchants, and the like. Plus, the festive atmosphere will lessen any threat to you."
"Wow, Seraphina, that’s actually an awesome call," Luke said, smiling and nodding in agreement. "You’re getting really good at keeping an ear out for useful info. A carnival in public truly is the perfect cover."
Seraphina rolled her eyes, but she was happy to help.
A carnival was a good place to be because Luke could look around and see what people were charging for items without walking into the main market that was nothing less than a nest of snakes.
The festivity also gives good camouflage and reduces the tension around everyone.
But the best part was his allies. The crowd was a safe spot he could think of to meet up with Scarlett and his sisters, so he could see them with his own eyes and make sure they were doing fine.
*********
The Night Before
Fog in the night sky, and neon reflects off wet concrete. This city was dystopian.
The only reason these buildings stood, and these cars ran, was because hunters were out there fighting the apocalypse for anything left to salvage.
The time was also 10 PM.
At one of the city’s airports, a plane landed and rolled to its terminal, where it came to a stop.
The door opened after a while, introducing hot air into the cold night as the occupants of the plane disembarked. Scarlett was the head passenger, followed by servants whom she brought along for the journey because traveling without support was never an option for someone in her position.
These servants carried her luggage, handled her logistics, and also maintained her security.
"Lady Scarlett! Lady Scarlett!"
Scarlett’s attention was stolen by some reporters who had been waiting in the terminal for her, now shouting and flashing their cameras.
"Lady Scarlett, where have you been for the past two days, and what was the purpose of your trip?"
"How is your progress with your Mythic Beast, the Phoenix?"
"Is it true that you’re currently one of the leading candidates for Summa?"
"Lady Scarlett, have you decided who your future husband will be?"
"Has your father, the President, agreed to refute the new tariffs?"
Scarlett wanted to answer a few of their questions to set the record straight, but her servants advised the opposite. They took her to a convoy of SUVs because it was too late for a press conference.
She entered one of the SUVs, and the convoy left the airport.
"Lady Scarlett, are there any other stops you would like us to make tonight?" her driver asked.
Scarlett shook her head.
"No. Just straight home," she replied.
The driver nodded and focused on the road to make sure not one bump disturbs the noblewoman.
During the long drive through the city, Scarlett checked her phone, which now had a network connection after being out of range for two days.
There were so many messages, but Luke’s was more important.
His texts were similar to Vivian’s, both warning her that Adrian had returned to the academy. However, Luke also asked her to meet up with him at the city carnival so they could talk in person.
Scarlett didn’t like the sound of what was happening behind the scenes.
She leaned her head against the window of her seat, pondering over how Adrian, of all people, was allowed back into the academy grounds. He was supposed to be serving an indefinite suspension for his heinous actions, so his return meant someone powerful pushed his paperwork through.
This was going to cause many problems for everyone, regardless of which side you’re on.
"I’m not going to let him ruin everything we’ve built," Scarlett muttered to herself, then looked down at her palm.
In her palm was an estranged object. It looked like a compass from a steampunk world.
Scarlett dismissed it into her inventory because it had too much Aeon radiation to be a nuisance.
She hadn’t told anyone about this yet, but she was going to tell Luke as soon as they met up: she found the location of the Origin Realm of the Black Sun.
Origin Realms are very difficult to find. Hunters always depend on the Confederacy’s resources to find them.
Against all odds, Scarlett found one. A Hell-Level Manifestation, for that matter.
It took her two days of traveling and getting information from the right people. That’s why she travelled out of the country.
Scarlett knowingly avoided doing her investigations in Country 1 because this place reeked of backstabbers, making secrecy an impossible task.
Too many powerful families and organizations were watching one another, and revealing that the heir of the Trump family was searching for an Origin Realm could attract the wrong attention.
So, she took the risky trip to Country 3 because Country 3 was a thousand times safer for sensitive research.
While she was there, Scarlett consulted experts known as alchemic cartographers.
And she met a respected old woman who welcomed her with open arms.
The woman and her disciples taught Scarlett how they cultivate to track anomalies spawned by the apocalypse, and locating zones, dungeons, and realms was among their skills.
Finally, their tried-and-true methods got them the Origin Realm Scarlett was looking for.
Scarlett was given this compass later. The compass interprets the glyphs for her, so she would not lose her way when going to or returning from the realm.
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