With Servahi ultimately receiving permission to proceed with the cordon, the Adventurers and Mercenaries native to Bhiran were given three days to rescue as many people as possible before the barrier was repurposed for containment. The true reason for this seventy-two-hour widow was to satisfy the various Nobles and Merchants who demanded an extension to recover their wealth and assets, but the specifics didn't matter so long as more people could be saved.
As the only official A-Rank Party present in the refugee camp, the Silver Cats received multiple requests from people willing to pay a premium to search for missing persons, recover family heirlooms, or retrieve account ledgers and writs of ownership from various vaults. They accepted a few of these requests from people who requested them earnestly, but those who were rude or attempted to use their status to order the group around had their coffers emptied by Ohta.
Unsurprisingly, Ohta wasn't the only person going around looting the homes and vaults of wealthy individuals. Many of the requests the Silver Cats received were from people who had no claim to the articles, objects, and documents they requested to be retrieved. They simply assumed that since the person or persons who owed said articles weren't present within the refugee camp, they were either dead or transformed. As such, no one would notice if a few especially valuable items or deeds went missing.
To the benefit of the refugees and to ensure Servahi's superiors wouldn't make too much of a fuss over the cordon's costs, Will turned over most of the documents and sealed vaults Ohta had recovered to her and her men. If the original owners could be located, she promised the items would be sold back to them at a reasonable cost. Otherwise, the items would be sold off to finance their operation and procure food and other supplies for the refugees. Many had already left, but those who couldn't or refused to do so had started to clear the surrounding forest to construct a new town around the old one. Bhiran was their home, and many had lived within the historic fortress city for generations. Thus, even if the future looked bleak, they were determined to wait things out, assist in its recovery, and rebuild once it was finally reclaimed. Because anyone who abandoned their home and the land their forebears were buried on wasn't a true Deisceartian...
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"To think we were traveling with the Gamma Star of House Oirthear all this time..." remarked Angil, shaking his head with a wry smile. He knew Will was a big shot, but the status of a Gamma Star, even compared to the average Noble, was as far removed from commoners as the ground below their feet and the stars in the night sky.
"You don't behave like a Noble..." remarked Allyson, sporting a conflicted frown as, along with the revelation of his identity, Will had informed them he would be returning to the Capital.
"There are as many types of Nobles as there are people holding the title," contended Will, shrugging. "More importantly, unless you're determined to continue traveling South for some greater purpose, I want to offer the Silver Cats a job. Are you willing to hear it?"
"What's the job...?" asked Aelius, ignoring his usual policy of not getting involved with Nobles. Will had undoubtedly deceived them, but since he had saved Angil's life, shielded them from the Solais Society's scrutiny, and helped to prevent an even greater tragedy from occurring in Bhiran, Aelius chose to believe he could be trusted.
"I still want to investigate the Ancient Labyrinth, but I don't think I'll be able to for at least a few years," explained Will. "In the meantime, I want to hire the Silver Cats to organize, scout, and prepare people for a proper expedition, set to deploy in four years."
"Can you do that...?" asked Allyson, surprised by Will's offer and pointing out, "If it came to light that an Oirthear was financing an expedition into one of Deisceart's most ancient ruins, I'm not sure whoever is in charge at the time will allow it..."
"Just leave that to me," said Will. "As long as I finance the operation and provide the personnel, convincing the Raja of the Thea Ward to back the project shouldn't be too difficult. Most Nobles only care about increasing their status or wealth, so if we turn over any artifacts uncovered and allow them to take credit for any significant findings, they shouldn't make things too difficult for us."
"You want us to hand over any treasure we find?" asked Angil, raising his brows and sardonically appending, "It will be difficult to convince others to risk their lives to line someone else's pockets."
"That depends on the remuneration provided," countered Will. "As long as the base pay is sufficient, you should have no trouble hiring a few capable hands. The alternative is using the funds I provide to buy and train Slaves. If you treat them well and prepare contracts ensuring them a basic salary and emancipation once the expedition has concluded, you should have no shortage of volunteers."
"Fair enough," conceded Angil, crossing his arms and nodding. Had they not encountered Will, their plan had been to purchase a B-Rank Slave to strengthen their formation. If Will were willing to foot the bill for several, it would drastically increase their chances of finding what they were looking for and returning from the expedition alive.
"How much preliminary funding can you provide...?" asked Aelius, feeling there was merit in accepting Will's proposition, even if it was for no other reason than to free a handful of people from slavery.
Holding up his right hand with his fingers spread, Will responded, "I can provide five million as startup capital. For everything else, you can send me an invoice or submit an expense report. I'll trust Allyson to keep an accurate and detailed ledger, but as long as your operational funds don't exceed ten million a year, I can cover them out of pocket."
"Great Nobles don't fool around..." muttered Angil, maintaining his smile but shaking his head in moderate exasperation. He had thought that he and Will might become rivals for Allyson's affections, but the more Angil learned about his would-be competition, the more he realized he was at a disadvantage. Luckily, Will appeared to regard Allyson in a similar light as a younger sibling, irrespective of the fact she was significantly older than him...
"That should be more than sufficient," affirmed Aelius, nodding. "But, just to verify, we'll be allowed to take on extra jobs to supplement our income and train our personnel, correct?"
"Of course," confirmed Will, confessing, "I'm mainly doing this because I feel guilty about pulling out of our arrangement halfway. How you use the funds I provide is ultimately up to the four of you. Forty million Astra isn't a paltry amount, but like the rest of my family, I believe good and talented people are worth taking chances with..."
Though he meant everything he was saying, Will would feel less certain about his decision if Ohta hadn't looted several high-tier Magic Crystals and Artifacts. One Artifact, in particular, was a dagger whose blade was forged from Astralium, the same material used to forge the Pleiades. If deconstructed, the materials alone would be worth hundreds of millions of Astra, so even if he paid out forty million and accounted for the tragic loss of Dazabagh, he was still leaving Deisceart with greater wealth than he had arrived with...
Unaware of the fortune Will was walking away with, though they were well aware of Ohta's plundering, the Silver Cats accepted his proposal and five million Astra, kept safely in an Interspatial Ring he entrusted to Allyson. Afterward, they shared one final meal and a few drinks before Will bid them farewell. Allyson entreated him to stay longer, but since he had other matters to attend before his return to the Royal Acadamy, Will refused but left her with a Letter of Introduction so that when they went to the Capital searching for him, they would be able to enter Eastwarden without too much trouble...
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"Is it just my imagination, or is your shadow dimension a lot colder than it was before...?" asked Will, wiggling his shoulders and flexing his fingers to restore their circulation and warmth. Ohta's Shadow Movement was quick but not instant, so with around five thousand kilometers separating Bhiran from the location of his cave, it took around eight minutes to complete the journey.
Instead of answering Will's question, Ohta, who emerged from his shadow with half-lidded eyes and a clearly unamused expression, asked, "Why are we here? And did you really have to give that Allyson girl a ring before you left? I know you have other objects that can store items..."
"Yes, but rings are simpler to conceal and have a limited capacity due to the quantity of the materials used," explained Will. "That ring, in particular, can only hold coins minted by the Astralis Kingdom, so I didn't really have a use for it. As for why we're here..."
Causing Ohta's expression to slowly transition from annoyance to wide-eyed shock, Will smiled and revealed, "We still have twenty-seven days before a warrant is issued for my arrest. I figured we could hang out and spend some quality time together as you acclimate to having Fionnadh in your body."
"You want to spend time with me...?" asked Ohta, furrowing his brows but not from anger or frustration. He knew Will wasn't the type to take things easy, so rather than hanging out, it was far more likely that he planned to spend the next three to four weeks training...
Seeing through Ohta's thoughts, Will smiled, nodded, and affirmed, "That is precisely what I want to do. And no, I'm not planning to rope you into a hellish training session. I'll be keeping up with my daily training, but other than that, I figured we could just live here together. You know, to give you time to adapt to recent changes and revelations..."
"Ah..."
Understanding that Will was referring to him being a girl, a reality he still hadn't fully come to terms with, Ohta's face and the tips of his ears tinted a maroon hue.
Leaving Ohta to simmer in his embarrassment, Will took a moment to light the magic lantern he kept on a wooden barrel before scanning the cave's walls, ceiling, and floor. As Ohta inferred, he wasn't the type to do nothing for twenty-six days, so he was considering expanding and renovating the cave into a proper hideout.
Witnessing Will enter his own little world, Ohta's frown returned with a vengeance, compelling him to force the former to pay attention to him as he said, "I want to try wearing a skirt..." in a sulky, ill-tempered tone.
"Oh...?" responded Will, turning to Ohta with raised brows. Realization hit him when he noticed the latter's frown, so before Ohta could lash out with anger or annoyance, he smiled and appended, "Good. I can't recommend wearing one if you plan to bound around, kicking things, but you have nice legs. A skirt should suit you."
Not expecting a loaded compliment out of the blue, Ohta's head jerked back slightly as if something had struck his forehead. He knew Will was probably just telling him what he wanted to hear, but that didn't stop his face from heating up when the latter began producing multiple skirts out of thin air, ranging from long, traditional skirts to short, pleated skirts like those worn by girls at the Academy. There was even a frilly one that was so short it didn't even extend past his fingers, making him question if Will wanted him to waltz around with his ass hanging out. On the other hand, as embarrassing as the whole ordeal was, Ohta found it surprisingly fun to try on many different outfits and hear Will's opinion on each...
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