Amber Xiu hurried around his territory, his feet barely touching the ground, and found that everything was in order.
The humans who had come to seek refuge had built their own houses, and their land-clearing efforts had already begun to pay off. With the help of magic potions, they would be able to harvest their first crops in just a few days, and it looked like it would be a bumper crop.
The humans calculated how much grain they would need to hand over, then realized that life really was much better than before. As they looked at the wheat that was nearly ripe, much of their unease faded.
After the last battle, the Porcupine Knight and the other lords had suffered heavy losses. They no longer dared to target Amber Xiu, and instead turned their attention to their peers. Three lords had died on the battlefield, and after returning home, the Porcupine Knight and the others must have hatched some sort of plan. They were rapidly devouring the territories of those three lords.
Amber Xiu had no idea what excuse the Porcupine Knight was using, or whether he could recoup his losses. All he knew was that many more Freemen had fled in recent days, heading straight for this lich's territory.
The territory's population had now exceeded three hundred, which was quite a number.
The sudden increase in population hadn't troubled Amber Xiu, because Raul had become a capable administrator.
Amber Xiu couldn't help but marvel. Hardship really was the best way to temper a person. Raul, who had once been illiterate and had stumbled into Amber Xiu's territory in a panic, now had the bearing of a human governor, managing these hundreds of people with admirable efficiency.
The territory's development was on track, and Amber Xiu didn't need to worry about it at all.
As for the three prisoners, they hadn't given Amber Xiu any trouble either.
Harvey quietly read books in his cell, treating the place like home and making Amber Xiu wonder if he ought to charge him rent. Allen and his fellow Cleric kept to their regular prayers and prisoner workouts, living quite disciplined lives. After all, the Paladin kept his word. He'd said he would settle down and be a prisoner, and he wasn't going to try any tricks on Amber Xiu.
Amber Xiu admired that. Not many people did what they said they would.
Amber Xiu then went to Isabelle's laboratory and found that the girl's alchemical skills had improved noticeably. She could now prepare many more difficult potions, so Amber Xiu rewarded her with an Enchanted Ring.
It was equipment he'd swiped from a Light Cleric, but unfortunately it had a racial restriction and could only be used by humans. It was perfect for Isabelle. The ring had a healing spell enchanted into it that could be used once a day to heal external injuries and treat common illnesses. Isabelle was now helping her brother manage the Freemen, so a healing spell was more useful to her than other offensive magic.
After inspecting the territory, Amber Xiu took out his Phylactery and gave it a careful maintenance.
Then, much to his surprise, he realized he had nothing to do.
He'd once been so busy he could barely keep his feet on the ground, with an endless stream of experiments to conduct and never enough gold coins to go around. But after striking a deal with Withering Rose, the first payment had already arrived, and Amber Xiu's storeroom was finally well stocked.
However, he still couldn't begin the second phase of cultivating Living Mercury. It would require a large quantity of metal ore, and he would have to wait for Withering Rose to get things moving before he could buy out the bankrupt mines.
That left Amber Xiu with unexpected free time.
For a lich, that wasn't a good thing.
Without the constraints of a body, he also lacked mundane desires. Amber Xiu had to find something to do, or he would feel a boredom and emptiness a hundred times worse than what mortals experienced.
"How about counting my gold coins?"
Amber Xiu thought about it, then decided that would be foolish.
No matter how many times he counted his coins, they wouldn't multiply. As a rational lich, he ought to enjoy both the process of making money and the process of spending it.
Amber Xiu considered his options, then decided to go have a drink with Headless Bro.
After all, Headless Bro had given him a gift of hundreds of thousands of gold coins when they met. As the host, Amber Xiu couldn't leave him entertaining himself alone outside every day. He ought to show some hospitality.
Amber Xiu cast a Transformation Spell on himself, left the Ancient Castle, and flew toward Alchemy City.
It had been a while since his last visit, and Amber Xiu had the vague feeling that Alchemy City had fallen into even greater decline. More shops had gone out of business, fewer people walked the streets, and their expressions were graver. Now and then, he saw people standing by the road with signs, looking for work and explaining that their families could no longer afford food or that they had elderly relatives and children to support.
"This doesn't look right. Have those Alchemists still not reached an agreement with Silver Moon High Court?"
Amber Xiu had expected that no matter how wildly Alchemy City behaved, it couldn't keep these insane prices up forever. This was trade between nations. Sometimes it wasn't just about the economy, but a contest of national strength. Alchemy City couldn't simply watch its economy collapse without doing anything. Why spend so much money maintaining the golem army if they weren't going to use it? Were they planning to sell it for scrap once they ran out of money to maintain it?
The right move would be to march the golem army straight to Silver Moon High Court, apply some military pressure, and force them to the negotiating table. So why hadn't there been a peep about anything like that?
"The Alchemist Council is usually crazy, but they aren't stupid. I really don't get it."
Full of questions, Amber Xiu made his way to Southern Cross Street, where adventurers gathered, and headed to the Iron Dregs tavern.
As soon as he walked in, he spotted the person he'd come to find: Headless Bro.
Disguised as a human adventurer, Headless Bro was drinking against a two-meter-tall Orc. The two of them poured huge mugs of flaming liquor down their throats. The Orc was grimacing from the burn, but kept forcing the drink down. Headless Bro, on the other hand, seemed completely at ease. Without changing his expression, he emptied the giant mug without spilling a drop.
After one mug, the Orc was already swaying, while Headless Bro had picked up a second and downed it in one go. With the crowd cheering, the Orc grabbed another mug, but collapsed halfway through. Flames spread from the liquor and engulfed him, making him howl in pain.
The onlookers were thrilled, whooping and cheering for Headless Bro.
Amber Xiu watched in disbelief. Wasn't it a bit unfair for an undead to enter a drinking contest with someone else?
Headless Bro grinned like a child, slammed his mug onto the table, and declared, "I won! Drinks are on me today!"
"Long live!"
"Praise you, my friend!"
"Gareth! Gareth!"
While all the patrons shouted Headless Bro's name, Amber Xiu chose a quiet corner and said to the familiar Orc bartender, "A mug of ale, please."
"Master Ultraman, it's been a while. Please wait a moment; I'll have it ready soon."
The Orc bartender was as elegant as ever, pouring the drink with a delicacy that seemed out of place for an Orc.
"What's going on?" Amber Xiu asked, pointing at Headless Bro, who was surrounded by the others.
The Orc bartender glanced at Headless Bro and said with a sigh, "You mean Gareth? That fellow's a real character. I haven't seen a customer with such a strong stomach and such a generous nature in years."
"No, I mean the part about treating everyone. I've never heard of the winner paying for the drinks," Amber Xiu said enviously.
"That's what makes him so generous. Well, technically, our boss is paying." The Orc bartender gestured with his eyes.
The boss?
Amber Xiu followed the Orc bartender's gaze toward another corner of the tavern.
A red-skinned female Orc sat there, as brawny as a lion, but the way she gazed at Headless Bro could only be described as sultry.
Was... was Headless Bro being kept by this female Orc? Was his Legendary Boon some kind of charm that made rich women keep him?
For a moment, Amber Xiu could almost see the tragic scene of a Bone Dragon breathing Dragon Breath and reducing the tavern to ashes.
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