Five or six minutes later, Kellan was the first to reach the finish line. He braced his hands on his knees and gasped for breath. Ike, from the same village as him, followed close behind.
Melly's brows furrowed with distress, and her little hands nearly tore the hem of her clothes apart.
"Rest for a while," Claire said softly.
Hant immediately ordered those who had reached the finish line to rest.
Claire gave Melly a gentle push and whispered, "Go find your brother."
"Okay!" Only then did Melly realize it. She ran over, spreading her chubby little arms to hug Kellan, but he pressed a hand against her little head.
"Don't hug me. I'm covered in mud right now."
"Hmph! Bad brother, you won't even let Melly hug you." Melly put her hands on her hips in displeasure.
Kellan poked her forehead. "Why did you come here? And with Lord Baron, no less."
At that, Melly's eyes lit up. She grabbed Kellan's hand excitedly. "Melly didn't know Big Brother was Lord Baron! He brought Melly here on the way."
Kellan poked Melly's head again. "You still haven't said how you got here."
Melly closed her mouth, lowered her head, and stared at her toes without saying a word.
"You sneaked out of the house? Without telling Mom?"
Melly panicked. "I came to bring Brother something tasty!" As she spoke, she opened her bamboo basket and took out the wheat bread and charred roasted meat inside.
Kellan took a look and smiled before picking them up and putting them into his mouth. They could not compare to the delicacies he had eaten that morning, but for his family, they were indeed good food.
After taking a few bites of bread, Kellan put the food back into the basket. "Brother doesn't lack food here. Don't bring things over again, understand?"
"But... but Melly misses Brother!" Melly was nearly in tears. She had not seen her brother for just one day, yet it felt as though she were about to die.
Kellan rubbed Melly's head and comforted her. "Brother can go home twice a month. Be good and wait for Brother at home, okay? I'll bring you candy then."
"Okay!" At the mention of candy, Melly suddenly remembered something. She took out the two rainbow candies Claire had given her from her clothes, then held one out. "Here, this is the candy Melly asked Big Brother for. This one is for you."
Kellan accepted it from Melly, then saw her put the other candy back into her clothes. Confused, he asked, "You're not eating it?"
Melly continued hiding the candy more deeply and replied distractedly, "Melly already ate one. This one is for Mom. Melly thinks candy is super tasty, but Mom always says candy isn't tasty. She gives all the brown sugar she buys to Melly and never tries any herself. This candy will definitely change her mind!"
As she spoke, Melly's eyes seemed to savor the wonderful taste of the candy she had eaten earlier. She said excitedly to Kellan, "Brother, hurry up and eat it! It's sweet and sour and really delicious, even better than brown sugar."
Kellan froze, glancing at the candy in his hand as he was about to speak.
Melly added, "Hurry and eat it, or Melly will get mad. It really is delicious!"
Kellan tucked the candy into his clothes and rubbed her little head. "Brother just finished training, so I can't eat anything. I'll eat it tonight."
Melly's little face fell, but she quickly recovered and reminded him, "Then Brother has to eat it."
"Mm-hm."
The two chatted for a while longer, but rest time was always brief.
"You little brats, get up! You've rested long enough!" Hant's imposing voice rang out.
At that moment, Claire walked over as well. Taking Melly's hand, he said to Kellan, "Don't worry. I'll have someone take her home safely."
Kellan immediately stood and performed a knight's salute. "Thank you, Lord Baron!"
Claire nodded lightly, then brought Melly onto the carriage with him.
Melly was very obedient too. Knowing she would interfere with her brother's training here, she dutifully followed Claire into the carriage.
Inside the Baronial Manor.
"You can play wherever you like. I need to do some experiments. After lunch, I'll send you home," Claire said to Melly.
Melly looked around the enormous castle, appearing somewhat uneasy. Any random room here was larger than her home, and countless times more magnificent.
However, after Claire left, Melly sat on the sofa for a while and secretly ate several pieces of fruit. She no longer felt so nervous, especially since one of the maids was an older sister from their village. Melly relaxed even more.
Moreover, she was a guest Claire had invited back. Though Regan still did not think highly of commoners like her, he would not treat her with the harshness he used for maids. After telling her not to go to the basement or the sixth floor, he let Melly play around the Baronial Manor as she pleased.
After wandering through the Baronial Manor, Melly followed a delicious scent into the kitchen and met Yuna, who was preparing lunch. No one knew what the two talked about, but they soon became good friends.
It was only at night, when the moon hung from the treetops, that Claire emerged from the laboratory in the basement.
He flicked the blood from his hands, found a washbasin, and cleaned them, but his brows remained tightly furrowed.
"It seems developing a potion that can quickly cultivate Battle Aura isn't so easy after all. I've already killed dozens of lab mice, yet I still have no clue." Claire sighed.
He looked at the books he had brought back from the royal capital. He had carefully studied those concerning Battle Aura. There were potions for restoring Battle Aura and stimulating potential, and their effects were excellent. There were even potions that could advance an ordinary person to Bronze Battle Aura within a few months, but they were fucking expensive. Even selling Claire himself would not be enough to support those fifty-seven knights.
Seeing his young master emerge, Regan immediately approached him.
"Young Master, dinner is ready. Would you like to dine?"
Only then did Claire realize that it was already evening. He asked, "Has Melly been sent home?"
"After inviting Miss Melly to lunch, I had the coachman take her back. She arrived safely."
"Mm." Claire nodded and headed toward the dining room.
Not long after he sat down at the table, a steak drizzled with honey sauce was placed before him.
Casually cutting off a piece of meat with his knife and fork, Claire looked at Yuna beside him and thought, When I have time someday, I should teach her some Chinese dishes. If I keep eating this stuff every day, I'll get depression sooner or later.
Seeing Claire looking at her, Yuna blushed and lowered her head, though no one knew what she was thinking.
Dinner ended quickly. After wiping his mouth with a napkin, Claire asked, "What time is it?"
"In reply to Young Master, it's ten-thirty."
"Mm." Claire stood and walked toward the stairs, reminding him, "Don't let anyone go up to the sixth floor."
Today was a trading opportunity he had waited an entire week for. He had originally hesitated over whether to save it until the next trade and make a friend, but now it seemed better to use it first.
"As you command!" Regan did not follow him upstairs. Instead, he remained below and directed the maids to clean up the dining room.
The moon hung directly above the spire on the top floor. Through the huge transparent glass window, Claire could see its full form.
He also stopped turning the pages of the book in his hands. "It's midnight..."
With a thought from Claire, a crude data panel appeared in his field of vision. When he looked toward the upper-right corner, the Trade Points had indeed become 1!
Claire did not waste words. "Start Trade!"
The familiar vortex-like ripples appeared once more, giving off an uncanny aura.
Even Claire, who had now completely mastered the original owner's magical knowledge, could not understand how his cross-world trade worked.
Claire stared at the vortex before him and waited patiently.
"Hopefully, I'll be matched with a better trader this time..."
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