At night, Maximus booked the largest suite at the Oakheaven Hotel.
As he ate, a knock echoed through the room.
"Come in,"
The door opened, revealing the merchant from the Westle Caravan.
"Sir, the products you purchased have arrived."
Maximus nodded as he watched 31 men enter one by one.
"This is the payment," Maximus said, tossing over a storage bag.
"Pleasure doing business with you, sir." The merchant inspected the contents and smiled.
"Hmm."
Handing over stacks of magic contracts, the merchant took his leave.
Continuing his meal, Maximus paid attention to the 31 men standing before him.
Seeing them standing neatly without a word of complaint, he couldn't help but nod.
Soon after he finished his meal, he took out another set of contracts.
"Sign this,"
A standard contract was binding but wasn't secure enough for his purposes.
Though puzzled, the men obeyed, each stepping forward to sign.
Once the last signature was in place, Maximus nodded in satisfaction.
"Now, let's talk about your task."
Hearing this, they slightly stiffened.
"Here it comes..."
"I bought you to form an intelligence organization," Maximus stated bluntly.
Seeing no reaction, he continued.
"Your mission is to gather information across the Faerie Kingdom—and, if possible, the entire Sunburnt Plateau."
"Can you do it?"
The leading man, a Tier 3 Earth Knight, stepped forward.
"We can do it,"
"Good."
"What's your name?" Maximus leaned back, studying him.
"I have no name, master. From now on, my past no longer matters."
"Decisive. I chose well." Maximus smirked.
"Then, from this day forward, you will be known as Phantom, the leader of the Phantom Organization."
"Understood, master."
Suddenly, Maximus tossed him a storage bag.
"There's one million gold inside. Use it to develop the organization."
He then handed over a jade scroll.
"This is a higher-grade training manual suited for assassin knights."
"This—" Phantom and his men were momentarily stunned.
Receiving one million gold so easily felt unreal.
But after recalling the soul contract they had signed, they understood.
"How do we contact you, master?" Phantom asked.
"Oh, right. Almost forgot." Maximus blinked.
"This is a Jade of Contact. Each one is linked to the others." Maximus said, handing him a box.
"There are 100 of them inside. That should be enough for now."
"Master… may we also request weapons?" Phantom hesitated before asking.
"It's natural."
With four million gold remaining from his earlier sales, buying equipment was a minor expense.
A short while later, he provided one Tier 3 equipment set for Phantom and thirty Tier 2 sets for the rest.
The total cost, including their contracts and materials, amounted to one million gold.
Even after all that, he still had four million left.
Maximus could only sigh at how cheap the items in the system were.
"Thank you, master," Phantom bowed.
"Thank you, master!" the other 30 followed in unison.
"At ease." Maximus smiled, removing the alchemy mask, revealing his true identity.
"I am Maximus Shadowcrest, the Lord of Moonshadow City."
"We greet the master!"
"I expect that the next time we meet, you will have full control over the intelligence network in the Faerie Kingdom…"
---
A day later, Maximus returned to Moonshadow City.
With gold, training manuals, and weapons, the Phantom Organization should be able to establish its intelligence network in the Faerie Kingdom in no time.
As he stepped into the castle, Hazel greeted him while tending to Lily.
"You're back, husband,"
"Hmm, I'm back," Maximus smiled, kissing both of them.
"Where are the others?"
"They're in the garden."
"They were being too noisy, and Lily got uncomfortable, so I brought her here," Hazel explained.
"Baby Lily is very sensitive." Maximus chuckled as he took Lily in his arms.
"Did Lily behave badly while I was away?"
"Ba… Ba…" Lily playfully smacked his face and then giggled.
"Oh no! So bad! Daddy is going to cry…" Maximus pouted dramatically.
Seeing that he was about to cry, Lily panicked and kissed him.
"Oh! Daddy is healed! Come, give me another kiss."
Lily, now giggling, kissed him again—over and over.
"Hmm, I really missed the little princess of the family,"
Watching their interaction, Hazel couldn't help but smile.
"Come, let's go see the others."
---
Soon, they arrived at the back garden, where Erica and the rest were busy arranging flowers.
The moment Erica spotted him, she perked up.
"Husband! You're back!" she called, rushing toward him.
"Hmm."
"What are you all doing?" Maximus asked curiously.
"We're competing to see who can arrange the most beautiful flowers!"
"Then I'll be the judge," Maximus smirked.
"What about the reward, husband?" Erica asked with a teasing glint in her eye.
"Hehe, I'll give it to you tonight," Maximus winked.
"Hmph, the scumbag is being naughty again," Luna, who overheard, couldn't help but think wildly.
"Hey, how do you know?"
"It's written all over your face! How could we not know?" Luna crossed her arms.
"Really?" Maximus feigned ignorance and pinched his cheek.
Lily, seeing this, giggled and joined in, pinching his face as well.
"Or… is it because when you saw this handsome face, you started thinking naughty things?" Maximus chuckled.
"Hmph!" Luna turned away, refusing to answer.
"What about you, Livia?"
"I-I-I think you look h-h-handsome," Livia stuttered, turning red.
"See? Hahaha!" Maximus laughed in satisfaction.
"Whatever." Luna rolled her eyes.
"Go on, the winner can ask me for anything," Maximus promised, sitting next to Liam, who was playing over the grass.
"You said it. Don't take it back." Luna narrowed her eyes.
"Good luck to all of you."
As Maximus watched Liam struggle to stand, he couldn't help but smile.
"Hey there, little guy."
"Ba… ba…" Liam crawled toward him, reaching out for support.
Before Maximus could help, Lily noticed Liam approaching and quickly patted his face as if telling him to keep her brother away.
"Oh? What did your brother do?" Maximus asked, amused.
"Ba… ba…" Lily didn't know how to explain but kept patting him insistently.
"Hahaha, it's because Lily pushed Liam earlier when he was trying to stand," Hazel explained, watching them with a smile.
"She must be scared that he'll get revenge."
"Lily, you're a bad girl." He playfully pinched her chubby cheeks.
"Ba… ba…" Lily swatted his hand in protest as if declaring she wasn't a bad girl.
"Hmm, you're Daddy's bad girl," Maximus said, unable to resist hugging her tightly.
Just then, Liam finally reached him and patted his thigh.
"What is it, little guy?"
Liam didn't respond. Instead, he used Maximus as support and tried to stand.
Unfortunately for him, Lily wasn't having it.
Without hesitation, she pushed Liam down again.
As Liam fell, Lily giggled in victory.
But Liam wasn't one to give up. He stood up once more.
This time, however, seeing that Lily was about to push him again, he grabbed her tiny arm, using her as support instead.
Giggle.
Liam giggled triumphantly as if declaring his win.
While the siblings played, the three women finally finished arranging their flowers.
"We're done!" they announced happily.
"Come, let me see," Maximus said, carrying both children as he walked over.
"This is mine, husband!" Erica was the first to step forward.
"Hmm, beautiful, with a good sense of balance and orientation."
"Originally, I'd give it 82 points, but since you're my loving wife… I'll make it 92," he declared with a smirk.
"That's not fair!" Luna immediately protested.
"Hey, who told her to be my wife?" Maximus sighed dramatically as if saying, You two can be my wives, too.
"Hmph, fine! Look at mine next!" Luna huffed.
"Oh, this is intricate. It looks as if nature itself arranged it."
"I give you 85 points."
"Hmph, it's still unfair!" Luna pouted.
"I can add ten points if you call me husband," Maximus smirked.
"No way!" she snapped, turning her face away.
"Your choice," Maximus shrugged playfully.
"Next!"
"Um… here's mine," Livia said shyly.
"Hmm, the design is lovely, with a hint of purity. Very nice."
"I give you 83 points."
"T-Then… can I also add points?" Livia fidgeted.
"Of course!"
Livia's face flushed, but she mustered her courage.
"H-Husband…" she whispered.
"Wife…" Maximus grinned, replying smoothly.
Hearing this, Livia's face turned even redder.
"And now, the winner of the competition is—"
"Wait!" Luna interrupted.
"What now?"
"I-I'm not finished yet…" Luna stammered, avoiding his gaze.
"Oh? What's not finished?"
"T-That… H-Husband…"
The moment the word left her lips, she turned completely red and ran off before he could respond.
"Oh? Your sister is too embarrassed," Maximus blinked, turning to Livia, who was still blushing.
"Sigh, how can I reward her now if she's not here?"
"You should reward Livia first since Luna forfeited before you could announce her score." Erica chuckled mischievously.
"And as for Luna… you can reward her later," she added with a devious glint in her eyes.
"Hmm, that sounds reasonable." Maximus smiled, liking her idea.
"Have you thought of your wish yet?" He turned to Livia.
"U-Um… can I think about it a little more?"
"Of course. You can tell me anytime,"
Suddenly, Maximus's stomach growled.
"Ahem. Should we eat first?"
"Then let's eat!" Erica smiled, leading the way.