The following day, as Nolan woke up, he immediately got dressed in his suit—his battle suit—and came out of his room. As he stepped out, he saw Celia and Linda, who, as usual, grabbed his hands.
"Master, good morning," both of them said in unison.
"Good morning to you," Nolan replied with a smile.
He looked around and asked, "Where are the fourteen ladies? It’s about time they left. I bought a new house for them."
"Wow, that’s amazing, Master!" Celia exclaimed.
"Well, let’s go downstairs and meet them," Nolan said.
As they descended, the ladies were standing in the hall, waiting.
"Good morning, Sir," they greeted him.
"No, no, no, there’s no need to be so formal," Nolan said, smiling.
"But you are so good to us. You take care of us, and we are truly grateful," one of them said.
"That’s not all. I bought a house for you all," Nolan announced.
Murmurs of surprise spread across the room.
"Wait, Sir! You bought a house for us? What did we do to deserve this kindness?" another asked.
"Nothing," Nolan said.
"You’re too good to us," one of the women whispered.
"Don’t worry about it. I’m only doing this out of kindness. And take this," Nolan said, moving among them with a pouch. He took out seven thousand gold coins for each, going around to all fourteen women.
"Wow! This is so much money!" one of them exclaimed.
"I’ve been adventuring, fighting slimes, and I’ve never earned this much!" another added.
Tears welled up in their eyes. "We don’t know how to thank you. What can we do to repay you?"
"There’s no need to repay me. But if you truly want to, help someone in need whenever you can," Nolan replied.
"We will. We promise. Thank you!" they said in unison.
"Again, I said, there’s no need to be so formal. A thousand coins is enough to start a good business here. I want to see you grow and succeed," Nolan added.
"Thank you. We truly appreciate it," they said gratefully.
Nolan smiled at them, then retrieved the sword he intended to use. Raising it from its stand, he stepped outside. There, he saw Lucan sitting by the doorway.
"Hey, I’ve been waiting for you. Come on out," Lucan said.
"Good morning, Guild Master. What brings you out so early?" Nolan asked.
"Well, I came because I don’t want you to stress yourself. Take the ladies to their new house. It’s ready," Lucan said.
"The house is already ready? You’ve already taken care of it?" Nolan asked in surprise.
"I didn’t just come here to take the ladies but to also give you this letter," Lucan said as Nolan took it from him.
"What is it about?" Nolan asked.
" Is it for me,’ Nolan said.
"No," Lucan replied. "When you reach the Empire, give this to the Guild Master. He’s a friend of mine."
"Well, what does the letter say? And why am I the messenger?" Nolan asked.
"It’s not that you’re the messenger exactly," Lucan said. "They’re going to prepare a house for you—food, clothing, everything you’ll need, even training materials if you want to train."
" I really appreciate it " Nolan said.
Just then, Lyra came out of the house.
"Master, good morning," she greeted.
"Good morning, Lyra," Nolan replied.
"Now we should go. We haven’t eaten a thing," Lyra said.
"Well, when we get there, we’ll eat," Nolan assured her.
Lucan glanced around and said, "Quite some fine ladies you have around here."
Nolan gave a tolerant smile. "Just been going already," he said.
Lucan laughed and waved. "Please, ladies, follow me," he instructed the fourteen women.
They turned to Nolan and bowed respectfully. "Thank you for everything," Lucan said.
"Now that’s done, I think we should get going," Nolan said. "Each of us is going to ride the wyvern, though I admit, I don’t even know the direction of the Empire."
"Don’t worry. I’ll communicate with the wyvern," Lyra said. She moved closer to them and touched their forehead, and the wyvern made a sound, like an echo. They understood perfectly.
"How are the other two going to know? Also communicate with them," Nolan said.
"Well, there’s no need for that. The two I touched on their heads—they understood. They’re going to lead the way," Lyra said.
"Good. Well, let’s go. It’s time to head to the Empire and see about the tournament," Nolan said with a smile.
Lyra moved close to Nolan and whispered in his ear, "Hey, have you forgotten I’m a behemoth? We have a large appetite. I haven’t eaten."
"Why do you keep talking about food?" Nolan asked.
"Because you can’t tell me when you were in the dungeon—you usually eat steady?" Nolan said.
"Well, the truth is... human food is actually really delicious. I always want to eat it," Lyra
"Then just get on your wyvern—or you can fly there yourself, because you are capable
Of flights," Nolan said as she walked toward the wyverns.
Nolan approached the biggest one, the king wyvern, and climbed onto its back. Celia and Linda each mounted their own wyverns, and then Lyra climbed hers.
"Up we go!" Nolan shouted.
As the wyverns took flight, Nolan leaned closer to Linda. "Wow, this is really good," he said.
"Yes, it is. It’s actually really fun," Linda replied.
"Have you been to the Empire before?" Nolan shouted.
"Yes, I have. When I was still a slave... back then, it actually takes about three days to get there," Linda said.
"Three days? Then how long will it take with flight , as we are going now?" Nolan asked.
"It’ll actually take just a few hours," Lyra said.
"A few hours? That would be great. See, it means the wyverns are actually really helpful," Nolan said.
"Yeah, they are," Lyra replied.
"Master, I’m also having fun," Celia said as she held onto her wyvern.
"Well, I wonder how the tournament is going to play out. How is it going to be? Would there be someone as strong as me? With a list of skills and abilities?" Nolan thought. "But I don’t think that’s possible. I just have to get stronger—to be able to protect my loved ones and also myself."
Nolan then looked at Celia, Linda, and Lyra, and smiled.