Strongest Incubus System

The interior of the mansion had changed as well.

Damon noticed it before he had even fully crossed the entrance. The old hall still had the same columns, dark floor, and central staircase, but the sides had been reorganized to receive people during the day. Smaller tables occupied the space where there had once been only decorative furniture, employees moved around carrying documents, and a sign near the corridor displayed schedules for audiences, payments, property registrations, and commercial requests.

Elizabeth stopped in the center of the hall.

"You turned my house into an administrative building."

The subordinate walking beside her did not seem offended.

"The old headquarters became too small."

"This is my residence."

"You were not using it."

Damon turned his face away to hide his smile.

Elizabeth noticed.

"Do not say anything."

"I did not."

"You were going to."

"But I controlled myself. That demonstrates growth."

Aria walked past them carrying one of the three report books.

"The entire city grew. Damon should try it too."

"I am recovering."

"Physically, perhaps."

Ester held the strap of her medical bag and examined the number of employees in the hall.

"Where is the infirmary?"

The subordinate pointed toward the right wing.

"The main one is near the market, but we kept a treatment room inside the mansion. There are also two doctors on duty during the day."

Ester nodded with subtle approval.

"Finally, someone competent."

Damon looked at her.

"You just arrived."

"And I already found someone who opened an infirmary without nearly dying in the process."

"I never opened an infirmary."

"Exactly."

Elizabeth continued walking, but looked at every alteration as though calculating how much money had been spent without her authorization. The subordinate noticed and finally introduced herself to the others with the formality their chaotic arrival had not allowed.

"My name is Celina Arworth. I managed the internal finances and commercial records before the Baroness departed."

Damon examined the assistants following her.

"Now you manage everything."

"Temporarily."

Elizabeth looked toward the new wings.

"Temporarily?"

Celina maintained a serious expression.

"Until your return."

"I have returned."

"Then we can begin transferring the duties after you review the reports."

Damon looked at the three books.

"That may take several years."

Elizabeth ignored the comment.

"I want to begin with the reason Mirath received so many people."

Celina gestured, and one of the assistants opened the door to the former meeting room. The chamber had also been expanded. A long table occupied the center, surrounded by chairs, maps, and boards displaying updated numbers. A complete map of Mirath had been fastened to the wall, showing the old city at the center and four new districts built around it.

Damon entered last and immediately chose the chair farthest from the table.

Ester grabbed the backrest before he could sit.

"No."

He looked at her.

"What?"

"Your room is ready."

"We just arrived."

"You spent the entire journey complaining that you needed a bed."

"Now I want to know why the city doubled in size."

"You can find out after resting."

Damon looked toward Elizabeth.

"Say something."

"Go rest."

"Immediate betrayal."

Aria placed the book on the table.

"I will tell you later."

"You will forget half of it."

"Then you will get a shorter version."

Damon did not leave. He sat before Ester could stop him and crossed his arms.

"I am comfortable."

Ester examined his posture, his still-pale face, and the bandage around his arm.

"If you faint, I will leave you on the floor."

"Fair."

Celina waited until everyone had taken their seats. Then she opened the first report and began explaining.

The growth had begun shortly after Elizabeth’s departure. The villages to the north suffered a series of poor harvests, and small landowners began abandoning their properties. At the same time, merchants avoided two roads controlled by nobles who had increased their passage fees. Mirath possessed an alternative route, but lacked the infrastructure to receive the new flow.

Celina decided to build temporary warehouses.

The warehouses attracted merchants.

The merchants needed workers.

The workers brought families.

The families demanded houses, water, doctors, and security.

"So you built a new city because you opened a few warehouses," Damon summarized.

Celina looked at him.

"In extremely simplified terms, yes."

"I am beginning to understand why Elizabeth left you in charge."

Elizabeth kept her eyes on the numbers.

"I left her in charge to prevent losses."

"We did not lose money," Celina replied.

"How much did you spend?"

"Almost everything that was available."

Elizabeth slowly raised her eyes.

Damon leaned forward in his chair.

Aria opened the second book.

Ester appeared interested for the first time.

Celina continued before Elizabeth could speak.

"But the returns have already exceeded the initial investment. Commercial revenue tripled. Entry, storage, and registration fees paid for the second wall. The school is maintained by the merchant associations, and the medical house receives a portion of the taxes collected from dangerous workshops."

Elizabeth remained silent.

Damon looked at her.

"She spent all your money and made you richer."

"I am listening."

"You look irritated."

"I am processing."

Celina turned several pages.

"We also purchased the land between the old wall and the river."

"Purchased it from whom?" Elizabeth asked.

"The owners."

"With whose authorization?"

"With the emergency authority you left me to prevent strategic properties from being acquired by outside agents."

Elizabeth closed her eyes.

Damon smiled.

"She used your own orders."

"I am aware."

"It is beautiful when decisions come back."

Aria pushed a small plate of dried fruit toward Damon, perhaps to keep him occupied. He took a piece and continued listening.

Celina explained that the land purchases had prevented two companies connected to western nobles from controlling access to the river. One of them had offered twice the value, but could not provide clear documents regarding its investors. After Seraphine’s arrest, Celina compared the seals and discovered that part of the funding came from administrators connected to Valcair.

Elizabeth rested her fingers on the table.

"They tried to enter Mirath while we were in Arven."

"Yes."

"Why did you not mention that in the letters?"

"I mentioned it in the fourteenth."

"I did not receive the fourteenth."

Celina looked at Damon.

He stopped chewing.

"Why are you looking at me?"

"Some messages were sent through the entourage."

Damon thought for several seconds.

"I was in a coma."

"You woke up afterward."

"I was busy."

Elizabeth turned toward him.

"Did you receive letters from Mirath?"

"I received many things in Arven."

"Did you open them?"

"Some."

Aria watched Damon carefully.

"How many?"

"I do not remember."

"That means none," Ester said.

"It does not."

"How many did you open?"

Damon remained silent.

Elizabeth breathed slowly.

"We will continue this conversation later."

"I would prefer not to."

Celina resumed the report before the atmosphere worsened. In addition to Valcair’s commercial attempts, Mirath had received residents from smaller territories, mercenaries seeking stable contracts, and artisans attracted by temporary tax reductions. Celina had created a six-month period of reduced fees for any workshop that hired local residents and kept its records open.

"That explains the workshops," Aria said.

"We also established monthly inspections," Celina replied. "Three were closed for illegal labor, two for insufficient safety measures, and one because the owner stored explosive material beneath an inn."

Damon raised his eyebrows.

"Did he have a reason?"

"He said the rent was cheaper."

"That is a reason."

"It is not an acceptable reason."

"That depends on the price."

Ester looked at him.

"You are forbidden from visiting that workshop."

"It was closed."

"You are still forbidden."

Elizabeth returned her attention to the map.

"And the circular structure on the western side?"

Celina hesitated just long enough to draw attention.

"An arena."

Damon stopped eating.

Aria closed the book.

Ester looked toward Elizabeth.

The Baroness remained completely still.

"An arena."

"A small one."

"It looked large from the hill."

"It became larger during construction."

"How does a building become larger without someone deciding?"

"We received more registrations than expected."

Damon rested his arms on the table.

"Registrations for what?"

Celina opened the third book.

"The Founding Tournament."

Elizabeth looked at the cover as though expecting to find a less absurd explanation.

"Mirath was already founded."

"The expansion needed an official event."

"So you organized a tournament."

"The merchants wanted to attract visitors."

"And you built an arena."

"It also serves as a training ground for the guard."

Damon looked through the window, trying to see the distant structure.

"When is the tournament?"

"It begins in five days."

Ester immediately noticed his interest.

"No."

"I did not say anything."

"Your face did."

"I am merely curious."

"You still cannot fight."

"I can watch."

"You do not know how to watch."

Damon turned toward Elizabeth.

"That accusation has no basis."

Elizabeth continued reading the report.

"You entered three fights when you were only supposed to observe during our time in Arven."

"All of them were necessary."

"One began because you insulted an agent."

"He deserved it."

Aria took a piece of dried fruit.

"He is going to participate."

"I am not," Damon said.

Ester pointed toward him.

"Repeat that."

"I am not going to participate."

"Without adding a condition afterward."

Damon leaned back.

"I am not going to participate unless something interesting happens."

"That is a condition."

"I warned you."

Celina observed the discussion with a controlled expression, but Damon noticed she was hiding some concern. She was not merely explaining Mirath’s growth. There was something connected to the tournament she had not yet mentioned.

"Who registered?" he asked.

Celina looked back at the book.

"Local fighters, guards employed by merchant companies, a few adventurers, and representatives from two academies."

"And?"

She took a little longer.

"A group arrived yesterday wearing symbols we did not recognize."

Elizabeth raised her eyes.

"What symbols?"

Celina signaled to an assistant. The man placed a small wooden plaque on the table with a copied design. It depicted a mountain crossed by three white lines, with an open circle at the summit.

Damon no longer looked tired.

The mark beneath the bandage reacted with a cold movement.

Ester noticed immediately and grabbed his wrist.

"What is it?"

He did not answer at once. Xue Lian’s memory did not open, and the Heart of Arven remained distant. Even so, the symbol provoked a familiar sensation. It was not identical to the fortress, but close enough that it could not be coincidence.

"Have you seen that before?" Elizabeth asked.

Damon studied the three lines.

"Not exactly."

"But you recognize it."

"I recognize the intention."

Aria pulled the plaque closer.

"What does it mean?"

Damon indicated the incomplete circle.

"An open door."

Celina became serious.

"The leader of the group asked about you."

The silence in the room changed.

Ester tightened her grip on Damon’s wrist.

"How did they know he would return?"

"They did not," Celina replied. "They arrived four days ago and said they would wait."

"How many?" Elizabeth asked.

"Seven. They are staying in a house near the arena. They paid in advance, caused no problems, and registered for the tournament using only personal names."

"What names?" Damon asked.

Celina opened a marked page.

"The leader introduced himself as Jian Yue."

This time, the reaction came from the root.

A cold pulse crossed Damon’s chest and reached the bandage around his arm. He did not lose control, but everyone at the table noticed the temperature change.

Ester stood.

"You are going to your room."

Damon kept his eyes on the name.

"That name was in the memories."

Elizabeth closed the report.

"Connected to Xue Lian?"

"I do not know yet."

"Damon."

"I am not going to search now," he replied before Ester could insist. "But someone left a region connected to the Tomb of the First Snow, came to Mirath, and decided to wait for me."

Aria looked at the plaque again.

"Perhaps the map is not the only way to reach the fortress."

Elizabeth remained silent for several seconds, immediately reorganizing their return. Mirath’s growth, the new arena, the tournament, and that group were not problems created during her absence.

At least, not yet.

But the presence of people connected to Xue Lian’s memory meant the next move had already begun before Damon even crossed the gates.

"You are not meeting them today," Elizabeth decided.

Damon opened his mouth.

"Today," she repeated. "You are going to bathe, eat, sleep, and allow Ester to examine the mark. Tomorrow, we will speak with this Jian Yue inside the mansion, under our conditions."

Damon looked toward Ester.

"Do you agree?"

"With the part where you sleep."

"And tomorrow?"

"I will decide after the examination."

Celina watched the four of them, trying to understand how much of that discussion was normal. Damon slowly stood and picked up the small plaque from the table.

"Welcome back," Aria said.

He looked at the symbol.

"Mirath seems to have missed me."

Elizabeth closed the three report books.

"Mirath was perfectly fine without you."

Damon placed the plaque inside his coat.

"Then why did my problems arrive first?"

No one answered.

Outside, the city bells rang again, this time announcing the closing of the commercial gates at nightfall. Mirath continued functioning, larger and more organized than Elizabeth had left it.

And somewhere near the arena, seven strangers had been waiting for Damon since before his return.

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