CHAPTER 376: MAKING PLANS

Magi pushed back his chair so fast Luna had to hop to the table to keep her footing. Papers slithered like startled fish. He walked around the desk, palms placed firmly on the edge, and peered at Orion as if measuring the size of the storm about to hit him.

"What more work, Boss? Aren’t I busy enough?" He swept a hand over the table, inkpots, tied contracts, a scattering of seal stamps like sleepy beetles. "These are not decorative."

Orion’s mouth curved into a wicked half-smile. "I notice you still have time for booze, so clearly you have time for more work. And relax, I won’t dump everything on you."

Magi’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. "At least tell me what you planned this time."

Orion’s gaze flicked to the right side, two low sofas facing each other over a tea table, cushions worn-in by too many negotiations over the months. "First sit. This’ll make more sense and keep you from fainting."

"By all means," Magi said, resigned and curious in equal measure. He led them over. Orion took the left sofa; Edgar stood at his shoulder like a carved helmsman.

Magi sat opposite him, Luna reclaiming her throne on his shoulder, whiskers flapping up and down.

"Won’t offer me wine?" Orion said teasingly as he settled, one brow up. "We’ve known each other for years."

Magi’s lips twitched. "Years? Boss, it hasn’t even been one. It has, however, aged me at least three."

Still, he flicked his ring and produced a pear-bellied gourd, pouring three small cups. "This is Starfall Eastern Beauty. If this doesn’t make you weep, you’re dehydrated."

Orion lifted his cup, peering at the liquid’s faint glow. "My first alcoholic drink in this world," he murmured, mostly to himself.

"Huh? You say something?" Magi turned his head to look at him while handing Edgar the second cup.

"Nothing," Orion said, amused, and took a small sip.

After a single sip, heat unfolded like moonlight on still water. There was the breath of starflower, and a small hint of frost-apple. It lingered softly, leaving the sense of night air perfumed with distant blossoms.

"Damn," he said, eyes brightening. "I must commend you. This is the best drink I’ve had yet."

Magi’s lips curled up with satisfaction, clinking his cup against Orion’s with a flourish. "Of course. Who do you take me for? I am Magi Alzareth. Bad wine refuses to follow me home on principle."

Edgar sniffed his cup before taking a small sip to savor it. His face formed a smile of satisfaction as the wine passed his old standards.

They let the first cups be cups, idle talk of the capital’s mood, a new banner on the shop, which pastry maker had started a war by claiming to have invented a new better pastry.

Orion set his empty cup down, it made a quiet click on the wood. His gaze turning serious. "Now," he said, "let’s start the serious talks."

He reached into his ring, drew out the Silent Hall Cube, and set it on the table between them. With a thumb press, the cube made a quiet noise.

A soft, clear barrier rolled out, reaching the walls, the windows, the door, the floorboards, and then vanishing to the eye, as if the room had inhaled and decided to hold its breath forever.

Edgar leaned in, looking at the cube with surprise. "A very nice treasure, Young Master. It can hide from most eyes and its grade is rather high as well."

Magi rubbed his hands like a raccoon who’d found a jewelry drawer. "We could auction that and make every noble in the inner rings fight theirs—"

Orion cut him a look. "Bit- cough, it’s for my own use."

Magi coughed into his cup, grinning despite himself. "Ahem. Proceed please."

Orion raised his fingers. "I want a second structure under Limitless Heaven," he said. "Not to earn a fortune. But people who will have eyes and ears throughout the kingdom and beyond. A hidden force no one sees."

He tapped the tabletop. "We’re expanding across the kingdom. That’s a good start. I want to string thread through it."

Magi’s smile vanished, he went still in that particular way that meant the wine had been placed at the back of his head. "Information."

"Not just gossip," Orion said. "Movement of nobles and commoners. Prices of goods and other treasures. The refugees running from the destroyed cities. Shortage of grains at various cities and towns."

"Demons sniffing at borders. Which magistrate suddenly has funds. Which caravan masters switch routes without stating why. I want all the details in as much clarity as you can get."

Edgar folded his arms and nodded his head. "Hmm, Young Master seems to be preparing his own force. That’s good, Master Eldric never did things like this."

Magi blew out a breath and leaned back, head tilting until Luna had to hop to the other shoulder. "All right. What about their covers?"

"Of course there will be multiple," Orion said. "We merge them into the business, ’appraisal interns’ who visit branches to standardize pricing, ’route auditors’ who ride caravans to time each leg, ’warehouse clerks’ who can count, write, and listen. A courier subsidiary to move letters for our partner merchants, with a premium lane for nobility."

He went on, "Half will be honest workers, the other half our people. Others will be placed in different businesses."

Magi’s eyes lit despite himself. "A courier service gives us an excuse to head everywhere in the kingdom. And they can also gather intelligence during this time."

"Exactly." Orion’s tone became soft. "Recruit from orphans and slaves. Those the world doesn’t watch, train them well, pay them better than the alleys, make reading a way of life for them instead of restricting them with it. Give them enough things to make them loyal: stipends to their caretakers, medics who know their names, promotions that mean something. We bind them with future, not with fear."

Selene’s earlier warning flickered through his head; he did not ignore it. "And we must build the infrastructure right," he added. "No single person should know more than their level. Middle-level people will gather the data from all over the place and there will only be 3-4 of them per city. And then they will send it back to here and you can get some more people to sort out all the information."

Edgar’s voice was quiet, approving. "That’s a nice arrangement. This reduces risk of information spreading to other factions and also helps to streamline the work."

"Safehouses?" Magi asked.

"I’ll acquire a courtyard in the Fourth Ring as academy ’study housing,’" Orion said. "Another in the Fifth as a ’textile sorter.’ Get me a property list by noon tomorrow, Magi. Keep the deeds in someone else’s name, not Helstorm."

Magi nodded, already building lists in his head. "Staff instructors?"

"Grandpa Eldric is loaning us two veterans from the old border network for a month," Orion said. "They’ll teach the core and build your first layer. We own it after."

"Good," Edgar said simply.

The talks continued for a while as they fine-tuned the details some more...

"Boss," Magi said after a moment, tone lighter again as if he’d pulled a different drawer open. "You realize this will devour my evenings."