133 -) Homecoming (2)
Han was continuously buying slaves with various dispositions, recruiting necessary personnel, and bringing children from slums into education for future employment. The Questers Guild’s main building was also finished, and some of the accommodations had already started functioning. Even though the training facility was only partially completed, the personnel—with the children being the priority—had already begun their training.
When some personnel started to show potential and reached some acceptable levels, Han started to open small branches to take basic quests at the towns around Yargan. This caravan also aims for both reconnaissance and trading.
A few days ago, he asked the girls whether they missed their parents, as he already knew where they were from. The girls were surprised by the sudden mention of their parents, but they answered anyway since it was coming from their master.
“Of course, master. I am worried whether they are okay after we left.” Woya replied with a worried expression.
“Master, may I question why you ask?” Wyn courteously asked.
“You see, I am opening branches of Questers Guild around Yargan. Your hometown is not that far from the next optimum town to open a branch. In addition, your hometown is located to the south, close to the main trade route. So I was thinking of sending a trade caravan filled with various goods that are surplus toward that direction and making them inspect the town at the same time.” Han explained and changed his posture a bit as if about to enter the main topic, “Coincidentally, I am in need of trustworthy people to complete the job, and you can also visit your parents and hometown that you could not see for more than a year. What do you say?” He finished with a soft smile, knowing that he touched a sensitive topic.
“... I-I don’t want to neglect my duty here, master, so it is okay to-” After thinking for a few seconds, Woya tried to reject with a regretful expression, but she was cut off by Han.
“You don’t have to worry about me or your duties here. I have many people to make things done now.” Han said with consideration and continued with a warning, “And things are about to get much busier in the future, so I want you to use this potentially last chance to meet the people you miss and make them know your situation… Is there something wrong with that?”
“...” Both the girls looked at him without saying anything as they were in thought. Elaris also listened from the side, as this had nothing to do with her. “No, master. You are right. Thank you for trusting us with such a duty. We will make sure to protect the caravan and use this chance you gave us to meet our parents.” Wyn answered in the end.
“Okay, then. Start your preparations. You will be leaving after 3 days at dawn. The caravan has already started to collect its goods. There will be 50 people accompanying you. All of them from the Questers Guild, either one of my slaves or employees. It may seem a bit much, but it is better to be safe, and it would be good for them to gain some experience… Oh!” Han informed them about the caravan and paused as if he remembered something. “It would be good if you took Elaris with you. She will be lonely otherwise. And I am planning to visit the capital for a few days, so the home will be empty anyway.”
The girls had no reason to refuse since they got along well with Elaris. Elaris also looked happy since she would be traveling with the girls to their hometown. So they began to prepare their stuff.
On the day of the departure, 10 carriages were ready to depart close to the southern gate of the city. 4 of the carriages were for the goods, and the remaining ones were mostly for the transportation of personnel. Han repeatedly instructed them to be careful and never drop their guard. He also ordered other personnel who joined the caravan to listen to the twins whenever it was about a fight.
Both of them are reliable now since Wyn is a level 10 beast champion and Woya is a level 10 swordmaster. Wyn can fight furiously with her two swords as if they were her natural claws. As for Woya, Han had given her his previous two-handed bastion sword. She could wield it much better thanks to her continuous practice and insights she gained from leveling up as a swordsman and swordmaster.
Han tried to make it as safe as possible because he did not want to see them lost. He would be quite sad if he were to lose them after bonding with them. So he worried despite preparing for it. In the end, they had to leave, so Han said goodbye to the three of them before they departed.
The girls were talking about their hometown as Elaris listened to them. She asked about it just to change the topic, but she gradually started to listen earnestly. She could see how twins had missed as they talked about their hometown, friends, and parents longingly.
“Excuse me!” Just as they continued, a woman's voice was heard from outside the carriage.
The three girls stopped chatting and turned toward where the sound came from. “What is it?” Wyn asked after straightening her posture as she took on her identity as a leader.
“The merchant head is asking for you, Ma'am. We are close to a town, so he wants to discuss the lodging plans with you.” The girl asked courteously as if speaking to her superior.
“... Okay, tell him that I am coming,” Wyn said after contemplating for just a moment.
The girl left after saying that she understood. Then Wyn turned toward the girls. “It is sad that we will not be able to see the master for a while, and I am glad that we will see Mom and Father after a while. However, it is enough chit-chat. The master entrusted the safety of the caravan to us. So let’s not fuss around and do our duty.” She said to the girls, or to herself.
The girls also nodded with determined faces, and three of them left the stopped carriage. They could see the town ahead already. The sun was already going down, so if the discussion didn’t drag on, they could reach the town before sunset.
The girls walked among the carriages, which had stopped and were waiting for the next instructions. The people were crowded beside each carriage and chatting among themselves. The ones who were riding horses dismounted, and the ones inside the carriage got out.
When they saw Wyn and others, their reaction varied. Guards, especially trained at the Guild facilities, showed respect, while civil staff, generally responsible for merchandise, just showed minimal courtesy.
The caravan is fully owned by Han. Including the girls, the caravan consisted of 53 people: 40 of them were guards, while the remaining 13 included the chief merchant, his aide, and 11 staff members tasked with managing the goods. More than 30 of the guards were slaves Han bought, but only the merchant’s aide and a few of the staff were slaves of Han.
The merchant and other staff were not slaves, but they were all personnel of the Questers Guild. Han simply paid their wage based on their skills and performance. He also made them gain experience for the future, focusing more on slaves, as they are permanent workers, as the guild would continue to expand further in the future.
The people who had trained for some time at the guild facilities must have seen the girls alongside Han, so they were naturally aware that they were close to their owner and boss. It is just that the personnel were mostly hired as they already know what to do, so they are not aware of this.
Therefore, despite participating from the same side, opinions and attitudes can change. Wyn noticed this fact, but did not bother, as Han had already left the trading and negotiations to the merchant. Their only job was to protect the caravan and ensure the merchant didn’t do something overly suspicious.
The merchant must also know this, as he smiled warmly and welcomed them as he reached out his hand toward Wyn, who seemed to lead the others. “Ah! Nice to see you, Madam Wyn. The boss already introduced us to each other, but I believe it won’t hurt to introduce each other again, personally, this time. I am merchant Silas Vane. It is a pleasure to meet you.” He said while his hand was still hanging in the air.
“I am sorry. My master doesn't like us to touch any man. So please forgive my discourtesy.” Wyn apologized as she squinted her eyes and bowed her head slightly. “I am Wyn; this is my sister, Woya, and this is our companion, Elaris. It is nice to meet you.” Although she did not shake hands with Silas, she still accepted his greeting.
“O-oh, is that so?” Silas said while pulling back his hand reluctantly. “I am sorry for putting you in a tough situation. I did not know the boss was thinking that way.” He said with half surprised and half unsure tone.
“It is okay. The master can be a bit possessive sometimes. However, I am obliged to follow his desires.” She said and closed the topic. “Anyway, I heard that you were looking for us.” She asked.
“Ah, yes. Since we are close to the town where we are supposed to spend the night, I wanted to discuss the security and deployment of the carriages, as well as the goods.” The moment the work was spoken, he donned his professional demeanor and said.
“I understand.” Wyn nodded. “You should place the carriages close to each other beside the lodging where we will stay, place the ones with goods in the middle, and take care of the horses. I will manage the guards and make them encircle the carriages in turns.” She explained the positioning to him.
“That sounds good.” Silas nodded. “I will take care of my part.” He said with a satisfied smile and started to inform the staff about what they would do when they reached town, as Wyn and Woya did the same with the guards.
When they arrived in the town, the sun was barely visible. It was fortunate that they managed to reach before the darkness fell. They went toward the lodging place they were designated beforehand and sent a guard to inform the Questers Guild branch about their arrival.
Since the town is less than one day's travel distance away from Yargan, this was one of the earliest branches that Han decided to build. Despite that, it is still in the process of being built.
Most of the people present there are for construction, just a few personnel to oversee whether the development is going according to Han’s instructions. The guard also went to inform one of those overseers, as they must have already reserved a place for the incoming caravan.
The branch manager came in less than a minute after they arrived at the lodgings. He was a human and a slave that Han bought. He had already had some business experience, so seeing him excel in most of his literacy training, Han decided to appoint him as a branch manager.
He met with Silas and Wyn’s group. He was already familiar with them, so after a few pleasantries, they discussed the arrangement. He waited to see if any issues would arise, but seeing that most of the issues were solved, he left after saying goodbye.
The girls also gave strict instructions to the guards. They could not easily sleep as they had not slept in a foreign place for a while. However, after checking on the guards a few times to ensure they weren't slacking off, exhaustion finally caught up with them. In the end, they closed their eyes away from their master for the first time since they were bought.