The remaining days were relatively simple.
Aria Hamilton left the day after. On the day of her departure, Sean personally brought Luke, Danti, and a group of guards to escort her far beyond the town's outskirts. He hadn't specifically instructed the townsfolk, but they still joined him in seeing off the countess. In truth, the townspeople had little to do during winter anyway. If not for the disaster that struck Creek Village, you'd rarely see anyone walking around town all season. Their long-standing habits had fostered a laid-back temperament.
So when Aria decided to steadily introduce various businesses, Sean initially refused—it was too fast! The townspeople might develop resentment. Disrupting long-established lifestyles could easily breed xenophobia, so Sean tried to curb the influx of foreign merchants while simultaneously selecting open-minded individuals from among the local traders to drive the townsfolk's momentum.
These past few days had been fine, at least. The townspeople's overall demeanor was good... With Kojak City's support, Sean was confident he could elevate the living standards of these fewer than ten thousand locals. But beyond that, they'd have to rely on themselves. Once a simple life steps into prosperity, it's hard to step back out. That's why Sean worried that if Kojak City ever stopped funding Taylemian, all these carefully laid plans might fall apart within a year.
After all, the town was nestled in the mountains. Without patronage from a powerful family like Count Hamilton's, developing on its own would be incredibly difficult—especially building roads. That kind of expense wasn't something a mere baron could bear.
So... He had to venture out. Go farther. Since he could see the attributes of most things in this world, he should make good use of it. He couldn't stay trapped in a small mountain village forever.
Because of inconvenient delivery from the town, Creek Village's reconstruction took nearly a month to complete. As for the town's market and mercenary guild, they had basic frameworks in place. The mercenary guild in Kojak City had even sent two permanent staff members, reportedly relocating their entire families. This showed the guild's sincerity, so Sean had Luke arrange proper housing for both families. From then on—and for many years to come—they would manage the guild's daily operations.
Sean went to see the guild on its opening day... Since it was a small-town guild, it wasn't fancy—about the size of his own living room. Taylemian's mercenary guild leader was named Andermaine, a middle-aged man in his forties with a fixed health pool of 4,000—double Danti's. Yet he spoke humbly, with none of a strongman's arrogance. He had that kind of... how to put it? A demeanor that was unassuming, polite, and genuinely warm. But every time he talked with Sean, Sean could see the 【Thinking!】 status on him.
A capable person wouldn't be such a pushover, so Sean categorized him as "wise like a fool." Besides being a warrior, Andermaine was also something of a polymath—familiar with herbs, minerals, alchemy, mechanical engineering, and even archaeology. So another reason he was here was to catalog the resources around Taylemian.
Sean had never encountered this approach before—at least not in this world. Besides regular bounty commissions, the mercenary guild also operated through a sales model. Take the herbs in Taylemian's mountains, for example. If a northern city needed them, they could buy directly through the guild. Herbs weren't that expensive, but hiring a team to gather them would cost too much, and the distance made it unappealing. As for traveling merchants, you had to rely on luck—unless they happened to have stock or were actively sourcing, it was hard to find what you needed, and the prices were exorbitant for ordinary families unless it was urgent.
But with the mercenary guild, it was different. The guild typically cataloged local resources for sale. Rare herbs might cost a dozen gold coins, while cheaper ones could be just a few. If needed, townsfolk could gather them from the mountains and sell them to the local guild, which would pay about thirty percent of the price upfront, covering the rest as transport and delivery fees. This method replaced the randomness of traveling merchants—a clever business tactic. But it required a certain scale, and probably only the mercenary guild could pull it off.
A month and a half after Aria left, the town's temperature gradually rose. Residents began stepping out to prepare for fieldwork. The impact of Creek Village still lingered. Even after rebuilding, the villagers occasionally brought it up in idle chat... The town had few topics—besides the new market, Count Hamilton's daughter, and the mercenary guild, this was the most memorable and heartbreaking event. Sean couldn't completely erase their grief; he could only let time slowly wear it away...
Meanwhile, he had to prepare for his next move.
"Milord, I heard some rumors today from Andermaine the warrior at the mercenary guild. They say Lady Aria recently gained public support from Viscount Isaac. What we feared has come to pass," Luke reported the intelligence he'd gathered.
"Oh, is that so."
Sean, who was tidying up his workbench, suddenly stopped.
"But I figured as much. We can't rely on others' support forever. This is good enough!"
In fact, after Aria left, Sean had replayed the whole sequence of events and realized this was the end. When the avalanche struck, the town's lack of resources forced him to send Danti to seek help from the city's nobles. Back then, he'd only hoped for some material aid at best. He never expected to stumble upon an heir seeking noble backing, which brought even more benefits. That was already an unexpected blessing. After Aria returned home, fewer and fewer people came to town—the numbers kept dwindling.
No matter what she thought now, Taylemian had made it through that period, and that was good enough. Willingness to help was kindness; refusal was only natural. Getting so much all at once had instead made the town accustomed to taking, which wasn't good for future development.
"Hmm, so milord still intends to stick with the original plan?" Luke asked.
"Of course. Why else would I be packing now?" Sean said with a smile.
After clearing the workbench, Sean went to his room. There wasn't much to take—just money and a few changes of clothes, which Kalibo had already prepared for him. He walked to the bed, opened the cabinet door beneath it, and pulled out a thick book—the grimoire Lucille had given him.
"Milord... should Knight Danti accompany you?" Luke asked from the doorway.