"It will draw a lot of attention if you are spotted with the Blood Guards in the City of the Sin," Rebecca said, seated with her sisters at the table, her voice calm as she addressed Kiara, who nodded in agreement.
"I know. Which is why we are leaving for the Crystal City," Kiara revealed, activating her Omni Watch to display a holographic map for her sisters, its faint glow casting soft shadows on the table.
The Crystal City was an Independent City, perched on the border of the Northern Wilderness in Westesia. This place was called Paradise by the Adventurers and Mercenaries of the continent, and there was a good reason for that.
Surrounded on two sides by the Grimgrove, one of the largest and most perilous forests in the world, its shadowed boughs heavy with secrets, on one side by the Zamzerian Ocean, and on the last by the Northern Grassland, which separated it from the Vulcan Kingdom, the Crystal City was as dangerous as it was beautiful.
Since the City was always swarming with Adventurers and Mercenaries, it was a place where no one would question their sudden appearance or the size of their group. After all, many flocked there to try their luck in the Grimgrove, seeking wealth and a chance to change their lives.
"It's a One-Way Transportation Channel," Avirel reminded her sister, recalling the detail. "You cannot return to the City of the Sin directly. You will first have to head to the Vulcan Kingdom."
"We don't plan on coming back anytime soon," Kiara told them. "We will live in the Grimgrove, complete some Quests, hunt for some treasures, and work on improving our strengths for the next few months. Our goal is to reach the Martial General Realm as soon as possible."
Ingrid, Ingvild, and Alana nodded their heads, and both Rebecca and Avirel smiled at them.
"I see. But you must prepare well for this journey," Avriel cautioned.
"We will," they assured the White Princess.
"What's your plan?" Ingvild asked curiously. "Once you enter the Aventine Academy, you won't be allowed to leave until you pass the First Year Assessment."
"We will try to visit you in the Grimgrove," Rebecca said with a giggle. "The Students of the Academy are taken to the Forest for Trials. And yes, we will be staying at the Academy for the next year. It shouldn't be that boring..."
The blonde then shared the information she had purchased at the Tower of Loki, all about the Aventine Academy, and they all excitedly chatted over it and their plans for a good few hours.
Keith, who had slept soundly for nearly sixteen hours, woke up in the afternoon, and after a light breakfast, he took Rebecca with him to the Cirian Gallery.
The City was bustling as always, and they took their time as they walked to their destination.
Qingyue was still working on refining the last couple of megagrams of Agaurum, which all belonged to Rebecca, who had gathered the gold for it from Purgatory Island, but the ten megagrams of it that they planned to sell today were ready.
Ziar and his Appraisers and Alchemists were already waiting for them in the office, and then they all walked to the back room, which was the Prince's Training Room.
They found a pair of Skyians there, wearing the uniforms of the Edithmont, the Bank of Ariel, and they were there to oversee this Official Trade.
Under the curious eyes of the people of the Cirian Gallery, Keith waved his hand, and then bricks of Agaurum started layering up to form large blocks, ten in total, their surfaces gleaming faintly.
The group of Alchemists spent nearly an hour inspecting all of the Agaurum, and after they gave their assessment that every brick was of the purest quality, a Skyian handed a file to Ziar, and he signed it with the Magical Pen.
Keith read through the Declaration of Trade and asked Rebecca to sign it.
The moment she did, the paper lit up in light, and then divided into two separate papers, holding the basic information of the two sides who were involved in the trade.
One paper flew towards Ziar, who caught it, and his eyes briefly widened in surprise when he saw the Aventine Academy written as the address.
However, he soon composed himself and did not ask any questions.
Once both sides had their receipts, the second Skyian then stepped forward to make the payment, which Ziar had entrusted them with.
Under everyone's eyes, the Skyian took out a bowl and placed it on the floor. The next second, the small bowl expanded in size, becoming large enough to hold ten thousand litres of water inside it.
The Skyian then chanted a spell, and from the two pouches that he wore on his waist, rivers of beautiful Spirit Stones started flowing out, piling up in a massive bowl with a soft clink.
There was a counter on the bowl, which showed the number of Spirit Stones inside it, and when the last Spirit Stone fell into the pile, it stopped at 125,000,000 Spirit Stones.
Keith accepted the Stones, storing them inside the Storage Ring he was wearing, and Rebecca signed the clause which stated that the first half of the payment had been received.
Next, the Skyian asked for her Card, and she handed it to him.
All the Skyian did was take out a transparent Crystal and insert the Card into it. He also inserted the Card that Ziar handed over to him and then worked on a panel that appeared in the air. Within three seconds, the transfer of 125,000,000 Spirit Stones was ready.
Ziar then stepped forward to pour his Aura and Mana into the Crystal to approve the transaction, and it only took a second to complete.
Their Cards were returned to them, and Rebecca poured her Aura and Mana into hers, which showed her the balance of her account.
After confirming it, she signed the document for the final time. The paper lit up, along with the receipt that Ziar held in his hand, marking the completion of the trade, and then the Martial Prince paid the two Skyians for their service.
Today, Ziar did not insist that they have a drink with him, but he brought them a gift.
"This is the Cirian Wine, created from the special grapes that are only found in our Empire."
There were twelve bottles of it in the crate, and Keith accepted the man's goodwill with a smile.
"We appreciate your thoughtfulness, Lord Ziar," he said. "If it isn't too much, we would like to ask for a favour."
"Please say." Ziar was elated in his heart when he heard those words, but he kept a calm smile on his lips.
"I want to take Safa with me to the Aventine Academy, and she informed me that she is under a Contract at the Gallery. We can pay the price to free her from her contractual obligations..."
"No, no. This isn't much at all. It's her good fortune that she has such an opportunity," Ziar said, shaking his head with a smile, hiding the shock in his heart. "There's nothing to worry about, and she can leave any time she wishes to." He instructed his servant to bring Safa's contract to him.
A few minutes later, Ziar personally signed the contract, freeing the Azvir from all contractual obligations, and he handed the document over to Rebecca.
"Thank you," the blonde said politely and then stood up to take her leave. "We have an auction to attend later with our family, so we will take our leave now. It was nice doing business with you, Lord Ziar."
Keith stood up to shake the Prince's hand, and the latter personally came downstairs to see them off.
"An auction?" Keith asked curiously.
"Yes! There is an auction in the Luminos Chamber of Commerce at 24:30. We have decided to attend it for fun. Hopefully, we will see something interesting."
"Whose idea was it?" he asked curiously, and her grin told him that it was her idea.
Keith smiled in his heart, already sure that they were going to come across something interesting in the auction.
His dear wife was, after all, blessed by Destiny. And he had seen it firsthand the moment they entered the City of Azensday and came across Daim.
Rebecca would never take any interest in ordinary people, and for her to have a good feeling about Safa and Daim meant that something was in play there.
When they reached home, everyone was ready, dressed in new sets of clothes, waiting for the two of them.
"Here," Rebecca said, smiling as she handed the contract to Safa, who looked at it in surprise and thanked her for the help.
There was still an hour until the start of the Auction, so the first thing the girls did was to visit the Bank.
Counting a little more than two megagrams of Agaurum that was still being refined by Qingyue, their total wealth amounted to 310,000,000 Stones, which was going to be divided into six portions.
Rebecca transferred 50,000,000 Stones to Kiara's account, which belonged to her and her sisters who were going along with her, and she kept 70,000,000 for herself, equal to the value of the Agaurum that belonged to her.
The remaining 5,000,000 Stones were transferred to their Family Account.
Keith did not bother keeping all the Stones on him. He only transferred 5,000,000 into his Personal Account, kept another 5,000,000 with him in his Ring, and then the rest of the 115,000,000 Stones were deposited into the Family Account.
Making money was one of the easiest things for him, and so he would rather leave these Stones for the use of his Family Members who might need them.
Keeping Amelia and Qingyue's shares in the count, which were 50,000,000 each, the Family Account would be left with 80,000,000 Stones for emergency use.
"Don't even think about it," he said, seeing the grins on Rebecca and Kiara's faces, and he tapped their heads, making them wince.
"What?" the blonde complained.
"I was only thinking about buying an Airship," Kiara pouted, and her words prompted everyone to laugh at her antics.
Of course, Keith knew that they were just playing around.
Kiara was very sensible with money, even if she appeared extravagant at times, and Rebecca was likely never going to need to withdraw money from the Family Account.
If he were to make a bet, her personal fortune would one day dwarf their Family Fortune. And this was because when it came to making money, she was just as good as him, if not better.
Before they left the Bank, Kiara met Beena, the charming Dwarven girl, and completed the payment that she owed.
She pouted a little at seeing more than 20,000,000 Stones leave her account, but her smile was back when they left for the Auction.