Upon arriving, I met with the old man and the young guy who was with Miss Lily.
Seeing them made me wonder if Miss Lily would also be here.
"Big brother!"
As I was thinking, a child came running to me and hugged me. And to my surprise, it was little Litia.
"Hey there, long time no see. How are you?"
"Litiiiaaaa! Don't run!"
Then Miss Lily came running. Calling for Litia to not run.
"Sorry about her; she might have thought of you as someone else."
"No big brother helped me."
"Oh, did you?"
"Yeah, I met her at a restaurant once and prevented an argument between a noble
and them."
"Oh, I see. That's so kind of you-..." But then she paused and thought for a moment, then asked.
"Eh? When was that?"
"It was a week or two before the Attack to this City, I think."
"Oh, at that time."
"Yeah, I met her there. Oh, now that I think about it, do you remember the girls with me before?"
"Mm? Those three?"
"Yes, they said that they wanted to play with you. Do you want to play with them?"
"Really? Hearing that the triplets wanted to play with her, she showed a very bright expression."
"Yeah, that would be fun."
"Mm! Okay."
"Good, well, meet until then."
"Mr. Anglos, are you not done yet?"
"Yeah, we're going already. So get yourself moving here."
"Oh, I guess I'm going now. See you later, Litia."
"Yeah, I see you too, big brother."
It didn't take long, and a carriage arrived, and we got in it.
"So where are we going, and who are we going to meet?"
"We are going to meet one of the most influential person in the continent, and it is best if you behave."
"And the person we are meeting is Mr. Cobalt."
"Cobalt?" I suddenly remembered Mrs. Cobalt. I wonder how she and her son are doing right now.
We made plans and talked about ideas to persuade our possible partner.
'Wait, I kind of forgot something; what is that?'
"Thank you for working with us, Mr. Anglos. We hope for long-lasting cooperation."
"Ah sure." I was a bit in a daze as I thought about what I had forgotten. Lady Alicia held out her hand for a handshake, and out of reflex, I accepted it.
Then I remembered I hadn't fully accepted being their partner, and my action just now sealed it.
Looking at Lady Alicia, I felt a sudden chill. 'How did this happen? She is really cunning, huh?' Either way, I gave up.
We then Arrived at the Mansion of the Cobalt family.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Arriving at the mansion of the Cobalt family, Alissa then spoke to her sister.
"Sis, You really are cunning."
"Hmm? What do you mean?"
"Oh playing dumb now are we."
"I will get mad, you know. Tell me what it is?"
"You really didn't notice what you did?"
"What is it?" Alicia gave an annoyed tone, knowing her sister wasn't getting to the point.
"Okay, okay, fine. You just sealed his faith."
"What do yo-. Wait, that handshake. No wonder he seemed to look a bit sad." Confused at first, she instantly realized what she had done.
"You really didn't notice, huh? Anyway, thanks to you, we could finally have a chance to market those inventions with a bit of an advantage, not to mention any future ideas he might bring."
"You're evil; you know that."
"Look at the pot calling the kettle black."
"That was an accident; I didn't mean to, plus it was a verbal agreement; it might not be official."
"Maybe, but that seals his faith already since he is the type who doesn't go back on his word."
"Like what he did when he gave us that potion, right?"
"Precisely."
"Oh no." Alicia then became concerned about the sudden events.
"Heh, stop worrying; it might even help him, so he should be thankful."
"I thought you hated him."
"Yeah, but for now, I will take it as a truce."
"And here, I thought you would have accepted it already."
"Welcome, Miss Alissa Lakewood And Saint Alicia Lakewood."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Arriving at the mansion, We got off and walked towards the gate after the Lakewood sisters maids gave their papers for entry.
When we got in, the two were talking to each other and only stopped when they were called.
"Hello to you as well."
"Please don't call me a saint; I haven't received approval from the church yet."
"Even so, you are already considered a saint by many. Well, then let me guide you to the grand master's office."
"Thank you."
Hearing that we were going directly to the office surprised me. Because that place should not be a place to be entered by anyone.
Just getting invited into a room should suffice to establish a meeting. It might be because of Dustin's memory that I just feel this way, but I also see the reason for holding a meeting in a secluded place.
So getting invited to a place filled with important business secrets is a dangerous stance for the Cobalt family if they do.
Not long after we arrived at the office, there was an old gentleman sitting as he looked over a few papers on his table.
"Oh, hello there, youngsters! Please take a seat."
"Hello, Mr. Cobalt, And thank you."
"It seems that you wanted some cooperation on something when you sent this letter to me."
He said this as he took out an envelope for us to see.
"Yes, just as you say, Mr. Cobat, we would like to form a cooperation with you."
"Okay, please tell me what it is, but remember, I cannot give as much support as I can give compared to what I did before. Since the previous incident blocked resources from coming here."
"We understand, and what we may be asking is too much for us to ask. We would appreciate it if you could find a way to support us."
Following that, they told them what they wanted to do.
"We would like to get the prices in the market back to their usual price it had. If not lower than it is now."
"That's impossible."
"We know, but we could still push through, plus it is not entirely impossible. It won't be long until the repairs are done. We just need to find a way to avoid starvation among the masses."
"I see where you are going, but there is something that I want to know."
"What is it?"
"What do you guys gain from helping those people? Is it because you're a saint? or just because you want others to admire you."
"Neither of those. You do remember how Father became the merchant king, right?"
"Oh, how could I forget? The Strength and wit of that person are something many can't achieve, and they are also the reason why he was able to prevent the church of light from gaining custody of the saint."
"Yes, I am grateful for my father's actions, and I know he wasn't alone in doing that."
"He is our role model, even if he doesn't know about it. He started from nothing. A place that meant nothing to this continent."
"And now, with the help of those who were with him, he started to build a business that became the heart of the masses, connecting all nations."
"Hmm, Lakewood City, right? The place is a mountainous one that was once hard to traverse. And it was your father who opened that place to the world."
"A place with hidden abundance, and he was the one who created the passage to the world."
Listening to this, Dustin remembered a story about a hidden place filled with danger that was only open to the world until recently.
It is said that with the use of the river, it was possible to open it to the world. And a lone man holds that power to spread those resources around the world.
'So that means the person who opened is the merchant king, the father of the Lakewood sisters.'
'Alec Lakewood. A young man full of ambitions and someone who repays kindness with kindness and vice versa.'
"Hmph, that child is such a bad influence, even on his children. Even though his adventure didn't mention his name, it was also well known to many."
"That is how he does things, after all."
As the talk was about to progress, a knock came from the door, disturbing them.
"What is it?"
"Master, a new visitor came."
"Oh, Miss Lily, right? Let her in."
"Yes master."
"As you can see, you are not the only visitor I have."
"I see."
"But funny enough, the two of you have the same agenda but are focused on different paths."
""Really?"" The Lakewood sisters were surprised by this, as they don't know much
about the Principal's daughter.
"Yes, so you can consider your offer done."
"Yes."
"Thank you."
The two were filled with gratitude and excitement, knowing their plan was set in motion.