Chapter 14: Port of Nemer


    When Desmond opened his eyes, he found his wife nudging him with her toes while his bodyy sprawled on the grass in their garden.


    "Huh what? What?"


    And as his groggy mind recalled the words he had previously heard, the handsome young father''s face quickly went pale and mmy with nervous sweat as he shot up in shock.


    "We have to inform the patriarch that our daughter might be in danger, quickly!"


    Isabe smacked his head gently. "Calm the hell down, Desmond! You''re reacting as if Evelyn was kidnapped or something! Didn''t you see Bree take her yourself? Even if I don''t know exactly how strong she is, I can guarantee that she will never put my baby girl in danger!"


    Desmond''s tone was filled with disbelief. "Are you crazy?! I don''t care if your sister is with her or not, or how fucking strong you think she is! Have you forgotten what kind of ce the exile''s market is?! Can anyone just walk in and walk out alive from there? Even if your sister wants to take the risk, I can''t let our daughter go there!"


    Isabe''s tone contained some genuine anger now. "How can you even say that? You mean to say that I don''t care about her? I''ll have you know, my little puppy is very, very strong! There''s no way anything bad"


    "Screw your little puppy! Get serious for once in your life, Be!"


    And without giving her a chance to get another word in, Desmond bolted towards the patriarch''s mansion, his bellow still echoing in Isabe''s ears as her face flushed with anger and shame.


    With some luck, Osmond just happened to be leaving the ce, and ran into him on the way. The old man was shocked to see Evelyn''s father panting like he had just escaped some primordial beast on foot, with hair stered to his face with sweat and eyes red in terror. "What''s got into you Desmond? Everything alright?"


    He barely managed to get a few words out betweenrge gulps of air. "T-The exile''s market!"


    The Knox patriarch tilted his head, not understanding what he meant. Is something happening so far away not just from them, but even the empire, be worth panicking about?


    "What? What happened there?"


    "Evelyn went there!"


    A powerful aura burst forth from the Knox patriarch as soon as he heard these words, instantly knocking rity into Desmond''s previously panicked brain.


    "WHAT?! Who took her?! What audacity!"


    "S-She''s with Isabe''s sister, and the two Gilmore girls"


    Osmond stared at him nkly for a moment, and then smacked his head in anger.


    "Idiot! Speak the important things first! You almost gave me a heart attack! Do you want this old man to die already?!"


    Confusion was written clearly on Desmond''s face now. "Eh eh?"


    The old man sighed. Sometimes he really wondered who among his two remaining sons was more of an idiot. It was a toughpetition, after all.


    "Well, looking at your stupid face, I guess it''s not your fault But just know that Bree is strong enough to keep them safe in a ce like that, you don''t need to worry."


    "S-She is?"


    The image she had established in front of him today really didn''t paint her as reliable, so his doubts weren''t unfounded.


    "Of course, have you already forgotten how we even got little Evelyn her egg?"


    Desmond''s face still looked like a fish out of water. "B-But isn''t that just because she used up most of her inheritance from the Devaughn family?"


    "Tsk tsk, don''t be so nave, you brat. Suppose all three of us elders died today, can any of you actually hold on to the Knox family inheritance? There are too many vultures ready to tear us apart the moment we show weakness, could the Devaughn family have had less?"


    "That makes sense"


    The Knox patriarch snorted. "Humph. Besides, just amassing enough wealth is far from enough to get your hands on a blessed spirit egg. The primary requirement is strength!"


    "You mean"


    The old man gave a curt nod. He never liked mentioning things like this, but he wouldn''t avoid it if needed to be said. "That''s right To put it simply, the reason she could do what I couldn''t, is because she simply grew stronger than me. I dare say that when she''s with Bree, your daughter is even safer than she is within the Knox mansions!"


    "Oh I understand, father. I-I''m sorry for making you worried."


    The old man smiled. Well, unlike his first son''s family, his third son at least had it slightly better. Thepetition for stupidity was still ongoing, but he clearly won thepetition for luck by marrying Isabe.


    "Hoh, anyway, looks like your wife is here, I shall leave you two youngsters alone."


    And as Osmond continued on his way, Desmond turned around in terror to face Isabe''s condescending face.


    "Hoho, I could have sworn some ignorant fool was just scolding me earlier, but I don''t see anyone apologizing?"


    Desmond''s face looked awkward and embarrassed. "B-Be, you"


    She gave him an expression of ''what is this piece of dirt in my path?''.


    "Save it, I don''t wanna hear it."


    Desmond felt aggrieved, can''t he even apologize if he made a mistake out of worry and panic?


    "I-I just wanna say I''m sor"


    His wife had other ns, however, and waved her hand as if shooing away a fly. "Don''t wanna hear it! All I wanna hear from you for the next seven days is ''oink''! And I shall call you little piggy during that time!"


    Desmond wondered if his hearing had gone bad. "You WHAT?!"


    Isabe made a face of fake distress. "Hoh Did I just hear my little piggy speak? Ah, even if I can stay married to a little pig, I can''t stay married to a disobedient little pig! Ah, whatever shall I do?"


    " O-oink?"


    ------------


    At the same time, Bree and the three children had alreadynded on the entry checkpoint leading to the trading port of Nemer. On the way, Evelyn had seen many ships both flying and sailing towards this port, and it was really a sight worth seeing, especially the flying ships!


    She felt that the trip alone would be a good enough gift, like a ticket to an amusement park!


    The happiest of them was Vivian, who kept pping with joy as she floated freely in the air behind them. Her disappointment from stepping back onnd was too obvious, but looking at Amara''s almost green face, it was a good thing that the trip went by so fast.


    Hoards of people could be seen heading towards the same gate as them, and there was already a long line waiting for inspection. Fortunately, it seemed like Bree had no intention to follow the line, or they would be here till tomorrow just waiting for entry!


    The people seeking to get in seemed to not care about someone cutting the line. Evelyn didn''t hear even a single grumble of dissatisfaction, which felt strange to her. If it was her waiting for hours in a line and someone cut in from the front haughtily for no reason, she would be quite pissed!


    Evelyn saw Bree show the guards at the gate a silver badge with the symbol of a deer, and they allowed their group to pass by directly without checking anything while continuing to perform the regr procedures for the next in line.


    "Eh? We got in just like that?"


    Bree looked a little embarrassed as she put her down on the ground and allowed Evelyn to stand on her own while she tried to fix the two redheads with hair that seemed to increase their height by almost two feet each. Having never carried anyone with her like this, she felt it was definitely her oversight. Hopefully the children wouldn''t feel too embarrassed.


    She forgot that without her direct support, even if they were supported by her energy it would be like floating in a bubble. There''s no way they would stay upright for the entire journey. If not for their special constitution that did not require consuming food, they definitely would have thrown up multiple times on the way!


    Well, they don''t look too bad afterbing their hair with her fingers a few times. Evelyn pulled her skirt a few times once she was done.


    "Aunty, what is this ce?"


    "Ahem, well, this is the trading port of Nemer. It''s quite far from your Knox family''s Moreen city. And we''re here to get you a gift from the exile''s market!"


    Amara looked at Bree with both curiosity and confusion. "What kind of thing do we want to get for us to have toe all the way here? Isn''t Moreen city''s market the biggest one in the Lavinian empire?"


    Bree nodded, not surprised that they didn''t know much. Even if their age wasn''t an issue, it required a certain degree of influence just to have heard of this ce.


    She decided that now that they were here, she might as well teach these children a little. "Of course, as the capital of the empire, the market in Moreen is quite grand. You can get most things there easily, but you cannotpare the two at all. Aquavahn is apletely neutral country, and the port closest to its capital can be called the greatest trading hub of the old world! And the exile''s market here is famous for holding everything that it should and everything that it shouldn''t!"


    "Ooooh!"


    Looking at the children''s glittering eyes, Bree giggled. "Alright, let''s just go see if you''ll find something you like. Today, your aunt Bree shall fulfill all your wishes!"


    Their excited giggling didn''tst for long, however, because as they moved deeper into the city, the atmosphere seemed to keep getting darker. The malevolent gazes that they could never catch actually looking at them deeply unsettled the three children.


    Bree had already told the two redheads to firmly hold her skirt with their hands, and Evelyn was held securely in her embrace.


    Thankfully, they reached the ce Bree was looking for soon enough.


    The suspicious shops and gloomy crowds have long since been left behind, and they stood in front of what looked like a cave closed off with an iron door. Bree''s dainty fist made a heavy knock on the unmarked door.


    "Open the door!"


    Surprisingly, the door opened enough to let them in almost immediately, and was mmed close once they were inside.


    Instead of the gloomy darkness they were expecting, it was actually quite brightly lit inside. The luxurious hall they had ended up entering was filled with ss shelves full of items, and dozens of customers and attendants seemed to be busy in discussion over them. Not far from them, an old man with a long white beard looked bored sitting behind what appeared to be a checkout counter.


    The attendant that greeted them was a middle-aged man with greasy hair and an even greasier smile. Curiously, the door actually had two armored guards from the inside, even though there was no one outside.


    The middle-aged man gave Bree a courteous bow. "Wee, customer may I have the privilege of knowing your purpose?"


    Evelyn did not know what exactly happened, but the guards dutifully standing by the door suddenly copsed on their knees, and the attendant looked as if he was having some trouble breathing. The customers and attendants further away had to use the shelves close to them for support to keep standing. The bearded old man lookedpletely unconcerned, however.


    He gazed lightly at Bree''s face once before nodding towards the attendants. After his nod, everyone seemed to return to normalcy, and continued as if nothing happened.


    "Lead them to the dungeons. Our distinguished guests wish to gaze upon our prized offerings."


    The middle-aged man nodded, as if not bothered at all by what Bree had done. "Certainly, milord."


    He nodded towards their group and started leading them with a smile, going through a door at the back of the hall and into a long corridor filled with dozens of doors.


    The so called shop seemed far too big, because as the attendant led them through door after door, they seemed to keep descending deeper into the ground. After almost fifteen minutes, they finally arrived in front of a pair of ornate doors guarded by four men in scaly armor.


    They opened the door without a word, and mmed it close it after they entered. Bree seemed unconcerned, making the children let go of some of their anxiety as well.


    And excitement reced the rest of the anxiety as they gazed upon rows upon rows of cages filled with small beasts and eggs.