As soon as Cabrera arrived in Kingsmere, his head shook as memories popped in place.
Five minutes later, he came to his senses.
"Nathan…" he muttered.
He recovered a lot of his memories, and they told him what to do next.
He turned to see the boys having gone through the same thing.
Paying the entrance fee, Cabrera separated from the rest of the group and headed to the Missionary.
The boys head to their residence, having gotten its location from their recovered memories.
In the Missionary, Cabrera found it exactly as his memory depicted.
Only, there were far less people around as most had journeyed to Avilla.
He approached a desk attendant, a short female with green hair.
"Hello, what would you like to do?"
Without replying, he commanded his space ring to release its contents.
A pile of bodies appeared out of thin air, pulling the attention of all those close by as it was too big not to see.
"Huh?!"
"T-those are beasts, right?!"
"They are at least C-rank!"
With the affirmation, a few eyes turned greedy.
But just a few, most of those who stayed did so because they were weak, and for them, someone like Cabrera was clearly not to be trifled with.
"Who is he? Does anyone know what guild he's from?"
"I think he's from one of those guilds in Traxford"
"Then, what's he doing here?"
*Shrug*
From there, they started muttering to one another while eyeing the corpses.
Cabrera nodded to their reaction with a light smile on his lips, but he wasn't done yet.
A moment later, another pile of bodies appeared at his right.
Bystanders were dumbfounded. Those of higher intellect made sure to burn Cabrera's face into their minds, along with other things most would miss.
Guilds would pay money for such information, especially on the eve of war.
One in particular had his eye go cold as it pervaded the corpses.
'How did he kill these beasts?' he wondered.
The corpses were too clean, too intact, to the point that some seemed to be sleeping, and he would believe it if not for the fact that he couldn't discern a heartbeat.
Normally, you'd expect signs of battle, and if not, then its head would've been separated or its legs cut off. But none of that was present. All he discerned were smooth sword slashes along the bodies not deep enough to kill it, or so he believed.
'This guy..!' the man became apprehensive.
It was possible if he studied the way of the sword since childbirth.
'Or is it something else?'
No matter, he would begin investigating him as soon as he got back.
By now, the floor was painted with blood, but Cabrera paid it no heed.
"Well? How much will this sell for?"
The attendant was shaken out of her stupor.
Embarrassed by her display, she spoke quickly.
"Ah, yes! I'll have to check it to confirm the price"
As she fidgeted, a voice rang out.
"Good then, I'll be back in a few minutes. Make sure my money is ready by then'
With that, Cabrera excused himself, heading up the stairs.
Five minutes later, he was brought to the sentinel's chambers.
Entering, he found the sentinel walking about with files in hand.
Pleasantries were voided as the sentinel spoke succinctly.
"I see you have returned. How was the expedition?"
"A success surpassing expectations, and it is the reason for my visit"
That had the sentinel turning his gaze to Cabrera.
"Well?"
"I believe such discussion should be had while we sit"
After seating, the Sentinel prompted Cabrera to start talking…
"Now you have my full attention"
Cabrera leaned forward and whispered into the sentinel's ear.
"Mithril mine"
The sentinel's pupils shrank.
"What of it?"
"We stumbled upon one while hunting"
The sentinel had his eyes darting over Cabrera's figure over and over again.
Then he asked…
"You're being serious?"
It was Cabrera's turn to frown.
"You think I'm lying? I came here because I thought of you as my benefactor. Without your generosity, the expedition would not have been possible"
Of course, he didn't forget to chip in more convincing facts.
The sentinel tilted his head.
Honestly, what were the odds? He had given the loan because Cabrera seemed desperate enough. Also, to him, 25000 platinum wasn't much in the grand scheme of things, and the loss of such an amount could be easily covered up.
After all, he knew how much the royal family stashed away.
He expected Cabrera to come begging for more money or dissolution of the contract, as that's what most do.
Yet…
'A mithril mine!'
He was so ecstatic he could fly, but he kept it all in, masked behind a face of skepticism.
Calming his beating heart, the sentinel spoke…
"So, where is this Mithril mine?"
Cabrera gave him a long stare.
"Let's sign a contract"
"Hmm-"
The sentinel's gaze narrowed.
'He's not stupid'
Such a quality pleased him, for he disliked associating with idiots-
"State your price"
-and it allowed the process to go smoothly.
Cabrera rubbed the back of his neck.
"Sir is my benefactor, so I will take what is given"
The sentinel brows creased.
'Is he smart or stupid?'
On one hand, the lack of an actual price meant the Sentinel would have to give an adequate amount.
On the other, where was the greed? Most would have stated astronomical amounts. So, what was this?
The Sentinel decided to go with the first reason, and besides, the Empire had too much money lying around.
"Did you really see a mithril mine? How many ores were there?"
That didn't mean he would tolerate a loss.
Cabrera explained what the mine looked like, along with the amount of ore in it.
"It's more than enough to forge a weapon or a piece of armor"
The Sentinel nodded and gave a price.
"I'll give you 300,000 platinum for it"
Cabrera's mind went blank as he subconsciously gasped…
"Ah…"
The sentinel raised a brow.
"Fine…500,000"
Cabrera, still in his daze, had the sentinel continue.
"700,000"
"800,000"
"850,000"
"900,000"
"950-"
Cabrera broke out of his stupor and spoke aloud with a surprised face…
"Sir, sir, stop, that's more than enough!"
The sentinel stopped, then asked…
"Is that all?"
"Give me a few minutes"
The sentinel nodded. He could afford to wait that much.
Cabrera still had the shock lingering within, so he couldn't think straight, hence the few minutes.
He threw the number to the back of his mind and concentrated.
"What about the loan?"
Waving his palm, the sentinel dismissed it.
"Take it as a gift. Then?"
"I'll be buying the slums"
Cabrera didn't dilly dally either.
"The slums?"
Things were just getting weirder and weirder with this guy.
"Yes-"
He suddenly stopped.
'Maybe?'
On a hunch, he decides to be a little greedy.
Staring at the sentinel, he asked…
"The slums in Traxford, I'd like to buy those too"
Not sure what anyone would want with the slums, he nodded regardless.
"If that's all-"
He rushes to end things, but Cabrera wasn't done.
"I'd like a zero tax on all my things"
The sentinel was annoyed.
"I'll give you a five year tax exemption. Is that all?"
"Ten. And I'd like a supply of cultivation reagent for me and my men…that's all"
The sentinel gave a sigh, and brought forth a soul contract.
"All that happened stays between us"
Cabrera nodded, thereafter, the contract was quickly written.
Cabrera revealed the mine's location and left with a few combat manuals and two more space rings.
His actions had prompted other pieces to move, with many things soon happening.
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