"Umm... excuse me. What language are you speaking in?" Beena could not help herself after listening to the discussion the Demiliore girls were having with each other.
She had been trying very hard, but she failed to decipher anything that made sense.
Hearing her question, Ingvild smiled at her.
"It is called Eldeimior, a high-level Aerzarian. These languages belong to our family and our people." She informed the girl, whose eyes shone brightly at her words.
"You belong to a Hidden Family?" she asked excitedly, but as soon as the words left her mouth, she felt a little embarrassed and lowered her head.
"Yes." The Carmilla Princess giggled, nodding. "It sounds nice, right?"
"It does." The dwarven girl vigorously nodded. "I know all the official languages in the world and even some languages that are unique to certain Hidden Families. However, I have never heard anything as refined and beautiful. It is also impossible for me to decipher it."
"You know all the languages in the world?"
"Official ones, yes." She nodded again, feeling a little shy. "All guides at the Tower of Loki must learn all the Official Languages."
"I thought you used some device or magical spell for all the known languages," Ingvild said honestly, and Beena shook her head.
"The other workers do use translation devices and spells, but we, the guides of the Tower of Loki, sometimes have to lead people into places where those things do not work. In some premises, you are not allowed to use magic and magical devices for security reasons. So, we are taught the Art of Deciphering Languages..."
She proceeded to give them a detailed explanation about her job and how important the Guides of the Tower of Loki were.
"That is a very admirable job. Do you earn well?"
"We are paid in the form of Spirit Stones, special accommodations that have the best cultivation environments, Magical Arts, and other cultivation resources. My family has served the Tower of Loki for tens of thousands of years, so we also get loyalty bonuses and live under the organisation's protection." She grinned. "I am one of the richest people in the city!" she proudly said, and again, as soon as the words left her mouth, she became a little shy and lowered her head. "You know... being rich is not just about having Spirit Stones..." she explained softly.
"We understand." Kiara smiled gently at her. "Shall we start with the process? Also, I would like to hire you as the Guild's Official Agent in the Tower of Loki."
Hearing her words, Beena's eyes lit up.
All the dwarven tribes were inherently a little greedy, and they loved accumulating personal wealth.
"Thank you!" she said gratefully, and then took a breath to slip back into her professional persona. "I will first take you to a Rune Master who will help you design your Guild's emblem and official badges."
"There is no need for that." Alana shook her head and then took out a few sheets from her storage ring. "We already have the emblems and the badges drawn here," she said, and then spread the sheets on the table.
Beena was a little sceptical after hearing her words, but as soon as she laid eyes on the sheets of paper and the runic emblem and badges that were drawn on them, her eyes widened in surprise.
Only a glance was enough to tell that these had been drawn by an extremely talented Rune Master. They were all beautiful works.
The emblem of the Guild was a magical tree, whose crown seemed to cover the horizon, and under its shade were a collection of beasts. There were cubs, fox pups, birds, kittens, dragon hatchlings, and even a serpent. On the side, away from the young beasts who were playing around, a majestic wolf was peacefully sleeping, and on its head lay a baby fae-dragon.
More than an emblem, it was an enchanting painting that seemed to convey a myriad of emotions, all of which left the witnesses in awe of its beauty.
As for the badges, these were in the form of crowns surrounded by flames, which represented the Guild Masters, swords and a shield, which represented the senior members, swords, which represented the regular members, and another badge with swords and a shield surrounded by flames.
All these badges were etched on the trunk of the tree that was in the emblem, but the beasts were missing from them.
"We want these flames animated," Ingvild told Beena, pointing at the badges with the crown, and swords and shield which were surrounded by flames, representing the Guild's Commanders.
On the sheets, the specifications of the badges and other details were also written, and Beena carefully read through them.
All the badges for the Commanders and the senior members were supposed to have a number on their badge, etched on the shield holding the crossed swords.
"You already have all these members?" the dwarven girl asked as she looked at the quantity of badges that the girls wanted.
"Yes." Kiara nodded honestly. "We also need the cloaks with the emblem and the badges on them." She handed over another list.
"Which cloth do you have in mind?" the dwarven girl asked.
"Tell us about the best one."
"The best ones work as defensive artifacts and can hold up to seven different magical runes in them. Each cloak will count as a Nine-Star Great Grade Defensive Artifact and will cost 100,000 Spirit Stones on average. This does not include the price of runes and the quality of the cloth," Beena informed them. "As for the cloth, I suggest the Arcadian Silk for the Guild Masters, because it has a regal shine to it, the Elden Silk for the Commanders, because it holds a certain charm that suits them. As for the senior members and regular members, we can go with the more common but better quality silk, which comes from the Vulcan Kingdom."
The dwarven girl showed them the images of cloaks made out of these three types of silk, and all of them agreed to go with her suggestions.
"The four cloaks for the Guild Masters will cost you 200,000 Spirit Stones each. The three cloaks for the Commanders will cost you 140,000 each, and the rest of the 200 cloaks, including the 20 cloaks for senior members, will cost you 110,000 Stones each," she informed them. "That will be a total of 23,220,000 Stones. After the discount, it will be 23,200,000 Stones."
The girls could not help their giggles at Beena's generous discount, but on the side, Daim was just stunned after hearing the sky-high price.
"Your family will work on our cloaks?" Alana guessed, and Beena honestly nodded.
"You can rest assured about the quality. We have the best tailors and ateliers in our family."
"Fine." Kiara did not negotiate the price, knowing well that though dwarves were a bit greedy, they would never charge an unfair amount.
Besides, all these cloaks were going to be defensive treasures, so it was all worth it.
On the side, Rebecca rolled her eyes when she saw that her sister was just going to accept the price without negotiating it. However, she stayed silent and did not say anything.
Beena happily got up to consult with a Rune Master about their emblem and badges, and when she returned she gave them the total price, including the registration fee and everything else, amounting to just over twenty-five million Stones.
Of course, it was all because the girls refused to settle for anything less.
After depositing an advance payment of a million Spirit Stones, which left Keith's pockets empty, they stayed in the Tower of Loki for two hours and left with their Guild Heart, which was the symbol of their Guild.
The Rune Master had done a brilliant job, and the girls were gushing over it all the way to a restaurant.
Thankfully, Rebecca had a decent amount of Spirit Stones on her which she had gathered from the rings of the army that they had annihilated after their arrival in this world.
All of them helped themselves to a sumptuous meal, and then they decided to find a hotel to spend the night.
"We could live in the Tower of Loki," Ingvild suggested, and just when they were contemplating the matter, Safa spoke.
"You can stay at our home."
"Will it be okay?" Avriel asked, and the siblings happily nodded.
"No problem!" Daim was quite excited, and so they all agreed to stay at their home.
When they finally reached their destination, Rebecca could not help her giggles.
It was not a simple home, but a mansion.
"You are rich."
"Our mother was rich," Daim corrected her, but he seemed pleased that they liked his place.
"How much is such a place worth in the city of Azensday?" Kiara asked curiously, looking around the neighbourhood.
"Someone offered us thirty million Stones," Safa informed her.
"What?" The younger girls looked at her in shock, but both Keith and Rebecca smiled.
"There is no land for sale in the city anymore, right?" he asked.
"Yes." The green-haired girl nodded. "Since there is no land for sale, the prices of the existing properties here are sky-high."
"We do not want to sell it." Daim immediately said, as if fearing that they would show interest in buying their home. "It is precious to us."
"Understandable. It is quite a beautiful place," the blonde said, easing his nerves.
Late at night, she knocked on the door of the room where her husband was staying, and she found him playing a game of chess against the Carmilla Princesses.
Alana and Kiara were also present in the room, chatting with each other, and Avriel was sitting on the side, meditating.
"They have druidic blood in their veins," she said lightly as she took her seat on the couch, and her sisters looked at her in surprise.
"Daim and Safa?" Alana asked, and Rebecca nodded.
"Probably around 12 per cent, but it is there."
"How did you figure it out?"
"I sat down with Safa and showed her some spells that she took a fancy to. One of the spells belonged to druidic magic, and an ordinary Ashaya can never grasp it." She smiled, and Kiara rolled her eyes at her cleverness.
"Well, that makes sense why their hair is that beautiful green shade, exuding a flowery fragrance." Avriel nodded. "But 12 per cent is too low."
"Yes, but the fact that it is still there after mingling with lesser bloodlines means that the druidic family they descend from is, at least, a noble heavenly family." She meaningfully looked at Keith, wearing a smile on her face. "They cannot become pureblood druids, but reaching 50 per cent purity is still possible for them."
Keith read through her intentions and smiled.
"That is a talk for the future." He did not deny what she was suggesting, and it made her smile.
Kiara too understood her intentions, and now had a playful smile on her face.
"You want to convince them to go to the Aventine Academy with you?"
"Or you can convince them to become part of your Guild." She shrugged. "Safa is a Rank 8 Martial Warrior and Daim is already a Rank 1 Martial Warrior even though neither of them has focused on their cultivation."
"He wants to stay in the city, lead a carefree life, and just make money." Alana sighed, remembering the conversation they had over dinner.
The boy had stated that he had no ambitions.
"That was a lie," Avriel said, keeping a smile on her face. "He just wants to stay with his sister, and fears separation."
"Correct." Rebecca smiled at her words and nodded. "As long as Safa agrees, Daim would agree as well."