Derek continued to stare at his property for a moment. I think the Time Prison should be able to hold a bunch of it, he thought to himself and nodded. Yeah... if it can hold all those dragonkin, surely a building or two will be fine. As long as I can figure out a way to move it. With that decided, Derek went back inside with Malorie.

    “Great job,” he said when he saw her in what would soon be her complete office.

    “This should make things more streamlined,” Malorie replied.

    “Yup,” Derek said with a nod. “By the way, where is Brandi? I didn’t see her when I went to the basement.”

    “Thomas has a bit of free time this morning, and since we’re doing all these renovations, I suggested that Brandi head to the capital to spend time with him and the other kids,” Malorie answered. “Thomas is building quite the little friend group over there and spending a lot of time at the Crown’s training grounds when he’s not in school.”

    “How did his dungeon running go?” Derek asked. Last time that he spoke with the kid, he was preparing to go with his classmates to complete some dungeons and get some experience.

    “He did well,” Malorie answered. “His team had the fastest times and the best scores. None of them came back injured or even scratched up.”

    “That’s great!” Derek said. “I’m going to have to go celebrate with him and his team.”

    “I’m sure they will appreciate that,” Malorie said.

    “Yeah... it’s not like I have much else to do...” Derek muttered. “Anyway, what about the rest of their class? Did you hear about any of them?”

    “I think he mentioned that there were two teams who had to use escape scrolls, and three people came back critically injured,” Malorie answered. “Fortunately, there weren’t any casualties.”

    “That’s good,” Derek said. He also had a guess about which team may have failed. There was that kid who, despite having a great class, just had no willpower at all, he thought.

    “You’ll have to wait to celebrate with Thomas and his team, though,” Malorie said, breaking Derek out of his thoughts.

    “Why is that?”

    “The reason that Brandi went there this early is that, here shortly, the academy students will be going out again for more experience,” Malorie said. “In fact, Brandi will probably be back very soon.”

    “Speaking of...” Derek said. “Did she go to the capital by herself? I guess she is stronger than most people already, so I probably shouldn’t worry.”

    “Yes and no,” Malorie said with a slight smile. “She’s fifteen now, so she is old enough to go alone. And like you said, she is very strong for her age.”

    “But?” Derek asked, knowing that there was one.

    “But... I did send Bones to keep an eye on her from a distance,” Malorie said.

    “Of course you did,” Derek chuckled. “I would have, too,” Derek replied. “He’s kind of perfect for that sort of thing.”

    “He is.” Malorie nodded. “He is doing very well as a butler, too. He takes on many tasks that a butler usually doesn’t. Actually... on top of those duties, he has become a bit of an assistant to me. Having him around has made my life much easier.” R?Α?

    “That’s good to hear,” Derek said. “And Silvi really loves having Ogre around, it seems.”

    “Yes... she does,” Malorie said. “And Ogre really loves being around Silvi... and her food.”

    “I’m glad things are working out with the two of them.”

    “Me too,” Malorie replied. “But... I think you need to go have a talk with the Assassin’s Guild. I don’t believe they are still after the two... especially after knowing that they work for you—we haven’t exactly been quiet about it lately. Still, Bones is on edge about going out with Ogre and training. On one hand, he wants to get stronger so he can be more helpful to you, but on the other, he is still scared that the Assassin’s Guild may retaliate.”

    “So, the two of them haven’t gone out and completed any dungeons?” Derek asked.

    “They have,” Malorie said. “But only a couple. And they have been very, very careful when doing so. They went to Indria to do so. I had a chat with Olivar over there, and he was helpful in making everything go smoothly for them.”

    “Olivar?” Derek asked. The name sounded familiar... Was that one of Ryven’s kids? Or maybe Osian’s?

    “The prince. King Osian’s son,” Malorie explained.

    “Oh, yeah,” Derek said. “I remember him a bit. How did you end up talking with a prince of Indria?”

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    “Well...” Malorie looked at the ground for a second. “Your name goes a long way over there.”

    “Not really,” Vanessa replied. “But with you, it’s never anything good, is it?”

    “That depends on your definition of ‘good,’” Derek replied with a smile.

    “That’s a no...”

    “Maybe...” Derek said. “I need to speak with the Assassin’s Guild Leader.”

    “What?” Vanessa’s eyes opened wide, and she said, “What the hell do you want with him?”

    “Just a little meeting,” Derek said. “How about you tell me where the guild is located?”

    “I... can’t,” Vanessa said. “I have oaths that don’t allow me to do anything detrimental to the guild unless it acts against me first.”

    “This isn’t detrimental,” Derek said. “I’m a nice guy.”

    “Sure you are,” Vanessa snorted. “And I’m the Queen of Cydaria.”

    “I’m sure Edward is looking for a wife,” Derek said. “I could probably make that happen. What do you think? Ya’ll could have a litter of shadow lightning users... is that a thing?”

    “I would rather not joke about something like that...” Vanessa muttered.

    “Fine...” Derek said. “But about the guild leader. I need to talk to him.”

    “I can’t take you to him without his knowledge, but I may be able to get him to allow it,” the Shadow Witch said. “If he does, then there will be no problem.”

    “Then what are you waiting for?”

    “Fine...” Vanessa then flicked her wrist, causing a red crystal to appear. Derek watched as she channeled some of her mana into it, and it began glowing.

    The woman’s face went through a myriad of expressions as she spoke with whoever was on the other side—presumably the Assassin’s Guild Leader. She even winced a couple of times at the very beginning. I wonder what caused that. The conversation lasted longer than Derek had expected it to, but after a while, she stored the communication crystal and sighed.

    “He’ll meet with you,” she said.

    “Great!” Derek replied. “Where do I need to go?”

    “The condition is that I come with you,” Vanessa replied.

    “So?” Derek asked. “That’s fine by me.”

    “He’s probably going to try to have me killed once I’m in his territory,” Vanessa replied. “He wouldn’t dare try to do so out in the open, but in his territory, where he controls everything and everyone, while it wouldn’t be easy, it may be possible.”

    “No, it won’t,” Derek said. “I’ll be there.”

    “And you will protect me?” Vanessa asked.

    “Of course,” Derek said. “You’re doing me a favor. What kind of person would I be if I just allowed you to be killed after that? Plus, we go way back. We fought that big cat together, remember?”

    “Big... cat...” the Shadow Witch muttered. “Yeah... I remember that big cat... the one that almost killed me and everyone else.”

    “That’s the one,” Derek laughed. “Also, you work for the Kingdom of Cydaria now. That’s the better side.”

    “The better side?”

    “Yeah... I mean... it’s not necessarily the good side,” Derek said. “I don’t doubt for a second that Edward would use your skills to assassinate someone if needed. But Edward is a decent person, and you work for him now, so... it’s the better side. Much better than killing for money and protecting scum, don’t you think?”

    “I... never thought about it like that,” Vanessa said. “But... I guess.” She shrugged. “So, what is it that is so important that you need to talk to the Assassin’s Guild Leader?”

    “Oh. I just want to make it clear to him that Bones and Ogre are off limits and that if the Assassin’s Guild touches them, it will cease to exist within an hour.”

    “You... are going to tell him that?” Vanessa asked. “I’m not sure you should be meeting with him. And how would you destroy a guild within an hour?”

    “Well... if I meet him, I’ll always be able to find him,” Derek said with a big grin. “Now, how about we go pay him a visit?”