Minos, Ruth, and the accompanying soldiers began riding along the beautiful streets of Stone Island's capital and at the same time, they were heading towards the western part of Old Stone, where the headquarters of the Nash family was located.
Minos' carriage soon arrived at the doors of a grand palace which was situated at the entrance to one of the city's numerous mountains. Its facade was entirely visible to anyone approaching from the street.
In comparison, this palace was just as big as the one that the royal family of the Brown Kingdom royal had, and from its external appearance, one could argue that it was more valuable than the royal family's palace.
In it, one could notice dozens of windows spread throughout the four floors, with the first two floors being the same size, and the next two were smaller than the other, which resembled a staircase.
Other than that, there was a large garden in front of the palace, with numerous spiritual plants of varying colors and a stunningly beautiful fountain at the center that one could just not keep their eyes off.
Surrounding the entire inner region outside the property was a massive wall, and the entrance was a beautiful green gate with a silver ship emblem in the middle which would normally serve as a hallmark.
That was the hallmark of the Nash family!
'Incredible, this Nash family must be very wealthy and perhaps the only family that can compare to them in the Brown Kingdom would be the Miller family,' Minos thought as he was awestruck by the magnificent Nash family's palace in front of him.
The Miller family he thought was a significant economic influence in the Brown Kingdom, being one of the two great noble families in the kingdom, excluding the royal family itself.
The Miller family was responsible for most of the business related to the marketing of products made by array masters and alchemists within the Brown Kingdom. They also had a hand in the spiritual weapons business, but they were surpassed by the royal family in this regard.
And along with that, they also have some deep relations with the Kingdom of Waves, the largest kingdom in the northern region of the Central Continent!
As they were approaching the gate, a tall man dressed in great silver armor and a long war hammer on his back stopped the carriage and stopped them authoritatively.
"Standing there! This is the Nash family's property. What do you intend to do here?"
Minos just replied with a gentle smile, "Hello, friend of the Nash family, my name is Minos Stuart, I made a commercial partnership with Ms. Elen some time ago, and I am here to discuss this matter."
The man then gave Minos a strange look and then said, "Wait next to the gate while I confirm if Ms. Elen will receive you."
'Hmph, I hope that's right, it wouldn't be the first time that any suitor of Ms. Elen pretended to be a business partner to try to see her. If that is the case, the young master will not be happy to know about it...
Hehe, this young man better be careful…' the guard thought to himself as he headed towards a building next to the entrance gate.
After a while, the man sent a servant to inform the young Elen about an unexpected visit of this 'alleged' business partner, named Minos Stuart.
…
Elen Nash sat in her apartment in one part of the palace while sipping on a cup of spiritual tea with a friend and business partner.
"Elen, we should better send some guards to find out what happened on the borders between the Kingdom of Waves and the Black Plain. You don't have to go there yourself just for that," suggested the beautiful young woman with blond hair and sensual curves.
"No, I will go myself. During my journey, I can take the opportunity to see how much the Black Plain has improved in the meantime. Even if it is not yet time to start negotiating, it's good to monitor the development of that place closely," Elen replied to the beautiful young woman in front of her.
This was Elena Neel, a friend, and also a business partner of Elen, for a few years. Elena was also the daughter of one of the great noble families on Stone Island, the Neel family.
"Ah! So, you want to know about it…
But I don't think this Black Plain is worth it, so you don't have to worry about going there. Even if they might have managed to plant something in that dead soil there, I doubt that the crops raised are better than those of the Cromwell Kingdom, and considering how weak the spiritual energy of that region is," Elena said with a frown on her face.
"Well, it's not easy to begin planting anything in a place like the Black Plain, which has such a low spiritual density.
However, this is being done by the very person who made the planting possible. And no one before him has ever achieved such a feat.
That's why I'm giving him this chance," Elen said with a solemn look as if she not only hoped, but also believed in that person's abilities.
Elena could only nod quietly, "That's true…"
They continued to chat, but soon a servant entered the room and went to Elen's side, "Ms. Elen, a man named Minos Stuart says that he is here to speak with you. What do we say to him?"
When she heard this name, Elen's pupils contracted, and a slight smile appeared on her face, "Oh! What a coincidence that he came here the moment right when we were talking about him! Okay, Halia, bring him over here."
After that, the servant named Halia hurriedly left, heading for the palace gate where Minos was waiting for approval to enter the property.
"Hehe, I didn't expect to meet this young man today. I want to see what someone who did a 'miracle' looks like… Haha," Elena said curiously with a smile on her face.
"You said that his cultivation was very weak, right?" Elena asked.
"Mnn, it's true, but it's not that simple. I ordered Eduard to make a survey of his past, and from what I heard, Minos almost died when he was 9-years-old. He had only recovered over a year ago, just a few days before I met him."
"Oh, so he went through such a tragedy, what a pity for him. If he was stronger, maybe he could meet this older sister here…" Elena said with an ambiguous expression on her face.
"Stop it. You are too shameless." Elen's face flushed red as she slapped her friend's arm.
In fact, in the Spiritual World, sexuality was quite liberal and it was pretty standard for people to have casual relationships and even have a sex friend.
It was pretty common for some people to have a certain amount of 'experience' before getting married.
Of course, some people tried to maintain their 'purity' for someone 'special.' Still, not everyone thought similarly or was simply unwilling to wait that long until they stumbled upon someone suitable.
…
A while later, young Ruth was watching the view of the palace, while Minos was sitting next to her with a stoic expression.
Not long after, the servant who had gone to speak to young Elen returned. "Ms. Elen said that I must take the guests to her residence."
Upon hearing the message, the guard went to Minos' carriage with a strange look on his face and said, "Okay, Ms. Elen is going to see you now. Just follow Halia to Ms. Elen's residence."
After the guard said that, the large gate was opened, allowing Minos' group to enter the property.
They arrived at an ample open space where other carriages were parked with their respective spiritual beasts. Getting out of the carriage, Minos, Ruth, and the soldiers accompanying them followed the servant Halia towards the palace's interior.
Elen Nash's apartment was not far. It was situated on the south side of the building, on the 2nd floor. On their way, Minos and his group passed through some large halls and offices while admiring the beautiful decoration of the place.
There were numerous pictures and sculptures throughout the building's corridors, which made anyone take a look at it for a second to admire, before going back to their business. The decoration also included some spiritual plants that were also present in the places where the group passed by.
It wasn't long before the group finally arrived at Elen's residence.
At first glance, it looked more like one of the many rooms they had passed by, but the servant made sure to explain to them how good this part of the building was.
According to Halia, the Nash family palace's spiritual gathering array was on the south side of the complex, making this part of the palace more valuable.
Of course, the entire building was affected by the presence of an array. However, the regions closest to it had a much more significant amount of spiritual energy concentration than other parts.
When asked why Elen received such treatment, Halia explained that Elen is the only daughter of the supreme elder of the Nash family, who was second in both strength and influence only to the family's patriarch.
This way, Elen had great importance within the family, which is also why she had received such residency.
'Oh! So, she is the daughter of the supreme elder,' Minos nodded while thinking.
Shortly after that, Minos and his group entered Elen Nash's residence where they saw two beautiful blond women sitting on a sofa, conversing and drinking spiritual tea.