Friday, November 23rd, 2030...

At long last, everything has been arranged.

Just two days ago, I was making the final preparations regarding some of my old documents.

I stumbled across a rather interesting portrait, one that has still not left my mind. I would be lying if I said the thought of Hassan and the drawing doesn’t terrify me even now.

After all, this implies many things.

’Hassan may have been acting on the behest of Lady Anastasia. That means... she was the one who practically led me to the Lerois Cathedral and ensured our team formed in the end. If she could influence my life to this extent, then I can only wonder what was her arrangement and what wasn’t.’ I can’t help but deeply consider this matter.

Most importantly, I keep wondering if Lady Anastasia is the one responsible for my regression.

It would make complete sense if she were the one.

But why wouldn’t she tell me?

No, why would she?

From what I can tell, she’s a high-ranking Leviathan, and although she has helped me on multiple occasions, she is still an enigma whom I cannot understand.

Her motives are a complete mystery to me.

’She called herself a Demigod. That is higher than the five ranks I know about. Just how high up is she? Is she in the so-called Forbidden Territory?’ I can only raise these questions, which I have no answers for.

So, rather than dwell on things I cannot influence, it’s best not to focus on them at all.

Instead, I should direct my attention to the present.

The world as it is.

Right now, Ciel, Seth, Leon, and Uncle Damon have moved to my premises. They’ve also brought all their luggage with them, which means we can move at any time.

As you would expect, the one with the least possessions is Ciel.

Almost everything she had has been left behind for her successor, Sarah. Since I also promised to take care of her basic Leviathan necessities, and I will likely compensate her for any additional labor or expense she is to undertake, there’s very little she needs to take to Dustinville.

As for Leon and Uncle Damon, their situation is slightly different.

For Leon, although he doesn’t have a lot of possessions, he still possesses far more than Ciel.

His family had long served as stewards for the Aditi Household when it still existed. However, after the Royal Family removed our Knight title, the entire family abandoned ship. Only he remained, so he inherited quite a few possessions as a result.

Although most of these are antiques that hold very little value, he refuses to part with them for sentimental reasons. Thus, he holds onto them very tightly.

Other than these things, he has a few Potions and Armaments he is taking with him.

Thanks to the strict border control of the Great Kingdom of Dustinville, we have to limit the dangerous items in our possessions. Honestly, if not for my preparations ahead of time, I wouldn’t be able to enter Dustinville so easily while wielding Golden Dawn.

It’s also not like Sarvosia, where I can just sneak in undetected.

This is a large-sized Kingdom that is well known among all the others in the land.

It’s best to be careful.

Thankfully, Regulus and I have worked on the documentation.

With the cooperation of the Royal Family, everything went smoothly.

Ah, by the way... I managed to complete one of the favors that I promised the Royal Family so long ago.

It involved the investigation of a potential Special Resource Point in a rather dangerous region.

I managed to confirm that it wasn’t a Special Resource Point. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

However, in the process, I found another place that could qualify as a Special Resource Point in another five to ten years, so if it is properly nurtured, it will give the Randalorion Kingdom a third Special Resource Point.

This contribution is enough to satisfy the Royal Family for now.

Though they don’t realize that I helped save the entire Kingdom from destruction, I have decided to let things remain that way.

Besides, I’ll be in Dustinville, so it’s not like they’ll be bothering me for some time.

I’ll use this chance to consolidate my strength.

Back to the topic at hand, Uncle Damon has a number of possessions, but most of them contain his research materials.

I have to say, it surprised me a little.

I’ll admit, I haven’t been too involved in Uncle Damon’s life beyond that of business and the Dark Guild operations, but I always assumed he had long abandoned the path of studying Leviathans.

That’s why it’s a bit surprising that he still clings tightly to these studies.

Has he not stopped?

’With Zarius dead and his suspicions confirmed, what more is he trying to accomplish?’

Although I have these thoughts, I keep them to myself.

Since this is what my uncle wishes to do, I will not discourage him or disrupt his efforts. He is free to do whatever he wishes, just as I am also free to pursue my own dreams.

Apart from those documents, he has brought along a good number of business ledgers and many documents which will be required for starting a business in Dustinville. I have also made many arrangements of my own on this front.

Since we’re essentially uprooting our lives by moving to Dustinville, we currently have no means to earn money.

All our businesses were sold, and our cooperation with the Dark Guild has been suspended.

I have intentionally handed things over to Gabriel in the meantime.

I still owe him a bit of debt, and it’s not like I’ll be working for the Dark Guild, so I am not entitled to any form of compensation through its channels.

I have no complaints, though.

After all, the Dark Guild was the one who bought most of my businesses, and it did so at a premium. Perhaps it recognizes the potential of those trades, especially when they are sprinkled with illegality.

This isn’t really a problem I should worry about, so I have no problems with their purchase.

In fact, it has benefited me a great deal.

Although none of us have any means to make money, we aren’t financially struggling or stranded. Thanks to liquidating our assets, Leon, Uncle Damon, and I have our hands on considerable wealth.

Starting with Leon, he has about two hundred and fifty thousand Ecliptics as his total savings.

That is 250,000 Clips!

You may not understand the significance of that now, but you will soon.

I’ll explain later.

Uncle Damon is even more impressive, with a total of 950,000 Clips.

He handled a lot of the business side of things, so I’m not very surprised by his wealth. As for Leon, he mainly served as a liaison officer and coordinated the members of the Dark Guild under my instructions. He also communicated with me on many affairs of the Dark Guild.

Judging by that alone, he possesses a great deal of wealth for his troubles.

Honestly, he should have a lot more.

However, as someone who is so fixated on being my loyal aide, he chose not to receive any additional fees for his troubles and instead directed everything to my account.

That’s why, even though I barely got involved with the Dark Guild and mostly made administrative choices, my savings dwarf both of theirs.

I have a total of 17.6 million Clips.

It was significantly higher, but I have spent a good deal of money on certain expenses already, and as a result, my wealth has reduced.

I imagine it will go down even further once we reach Dustinville and have to sort out many other things. Due to this reason, I have to be careful with how I spend my money.

I can’t be too carried away with my level of wealth... even though it is so ridiculous.

I have never handled so much money in my life.

My past life was nothing like this at all.

Even a High-Rank Knight Household only earns about 350–700 Ecliptics in a month. As someone in a Mid-Rank Household, my earnings—even as Head of Household—were significantly less.

After the Civil War and the war with Sarvosia, the Kingdom entered a recession, so the figure decreased even further. In fact, it fell to lower than half of its previous estimate, and it was during this period that I ruled the Aditi Knight Household.

Looking at all of these factors, you can tell how poor I was in my past life compared to the present.

I don’t think I was even as rich as Leon.

No, I couldn’t have been!

Leon’s wealth is already much higher than what normal High-Rank Knight Households possess.

To be honest, he is already comparable to a Noble in terms of wealth, though he is lacking in both status and stable assets. He has no way to continuously earn money, which means his money could eventually run out.

But this is only in theory.

Leon has enough money to live without working a day in his life. If he invests in a business and sits back to enjoy the dividends, he will even have a passive stream of income.

The same applies to Uncle Damon and me.

I don’t think we’ll ever be poor in our lives again!

The exceptions are Ciel and Seth.

The two of them have no money to their name.

It’s not a surprise, considering how isolated the Vey’lithar Sanctuary is and how Seth has always relied on the church for most of his life.

Even when I paid Ciel in the past, she rejected monetary compensation.

As such, I gave her Special Resources and the like.

Because of this, even though our cooperation has lasted some time, she does not have any money.

This isn’t a problem, though.

Since both Ciel and Seth are coming to Dustinville, I will take care of their expenses.

Naturally, I’ll have them pay back their debts when the time comes.

What are friends for?

Just so we’re clear, I wanted to do this free of charge for Seth especially, but he refused to be a liability.

He specifically wanted to pay me back.

So, there’s that.

It’s a shame we had to let go of most of our Armaments, Potions, and Special Resources, but since it would cause complications when crossing the border, it was absolutely necessary.

Right now, I only have two Armaments with me.

One is Golden Dawn, which is currently a B-Grade Armament.

If it were any higher, I’d imagine that I would have gone through more of a hassle to take it with me.

I doubt it would even be allowed through ordinary means.

’Well, Gabriel could use his channels to smuggle it into the city, but the cost is so staggering. It’s better that we simply buy Armaments from the Dark Guild in Dustinville after we settle there.’ I sigh deeply, many thoughts flashing in my mind at once.

That’s right!

Dustinville also has a Dark Guild branch!

Gabriel provided me with the appropriate information, so I intend to visit once I have my bearings all sorted out within the Great Kingdom.

I’ll purchase new Armaments for myself, among other things.

I’m sure the others will also do the same.

’But these things aren’t cheap. Even an F-Grade Armament is about 200 to 600 Ecliptics. As for A-Grade Armaments, they can go for as high as 500,000 Clips.’ I shudder at the thought, feeling the heavy burden on my wallet even though I haven’t spent any amount yet.

That’s right... I can’t be too confident in my 17 million.

Compared to the Royal Family, or those Great High Noble Households with deep foundations, I can be considered quite poor.

But, well, I have my connections.

That matters.

"We’ll be leaving first thing tomorrow morning." I declare to everyone in front of me, and they nod their heads in affirmation.

Tomorrow is a Saturday, which is perfect for travel.

"I believe we—"

DING!

Before I can finish my statement, I hear the doorbell ring.

’Someone is here? Who?’ My brows crease for a moment, since neither I nor my present guests are expecting anyone to visit today.

Using Clairvoyance to check on the door, I immediately uncover the visitor’s identity.

"Klein...?"