With HomeBase now fully hidden from view, I was finally happy to move it around. It still had that… furniture problem, so inviting a rge number of people wasn’t something I could do.

  But we have an app for that. It is called mass spending. I took Alice, as well as Einar and Eline, with me on a mass shopping spree in Sawyer city, Burch city and even the Hill town of Yuva, buying and a ton of stuff. I put my address in the orders, other than the Sawyer city order, as the local adventurer’s guild. Then I paid the guilds to hold one of my letter exgers and just put aers ing to my o that box. They at first asked about it, but I paid for the service, and I think they assumed it was just something they were supposed to hold the letters in, so I didn’t have much trouble with it. Then I’ll just recover the boxes ter, after I’m done pig up all the orders.

  As for what we ordered, well the short answer is furniture. Beds, dressers, closets. Chairs and tables. As well as some basic tableware. The tableware wasn’t going to be in use for things like the big dining rooms, as I wanted all of that stuff to be the same stuff, but small things like tea sets and dispy trays for the guest rooms. Ea have a differe, as long as all the dishes match. At least that is my opinion.

  The shopping ‘rampage’ came with a nice bonus. Because we were ‘big spenders’, we got some attention. Including the attention of Brading pany. Even if we avoided their stores, or stores they are ected with, like the pgue.

  “Excuse me. Would you happen to be Lord Brian Wood?” A person wearing a … well the local equivalent of a suit, with a medal pin that had the Brading pany’s logo on it, came up to us, when we were between stores.

  “Yes, I am.” I firmed for him. “... and you are?” I asked, after a bit, as the person was not introdug himself.

  “Yes. I apologize.” He quickly said. “My name is Robert and I’m from the Bnken pany.”

  “Okay. Hello Robert. As you already know, my name is Brian Wood. And this is…”

  “Alice Wat.” Alice tinued after my prompt.

  “Was there something you needed?” I then asked.

  “Yes. It is a pleasure, Miss Wat, Sir Wood.” Robert said, trying to sound overly friendly. “It has been brought to my attention that you have been shopping around town, and I wished to offer some of the Bnken pany products to you.”

  “Oh?” I began trying to sound at least a bit ied. “No thanks. We have what we came for.” I then instantly attempted to burst his bubble, in an attempt to make him speak up.

  “Are you sure, Sir? I’ve heard that you have pced multiple furniture orders across the city. I help you void those orders a you somethier.” Robert offered.

  I silently looked at Alice, while also unig with her through our System Link.

  (Do you think he knows anything about the sve marks?)

  (He might. If we get him alone, I try to get some info from him. But he clearly doesn’t know Einar or Eline, so I wouldn’t t on it. But we give him a bit of time.) Alice reasoned.

  I then turned back to Robert.

  “Well, I suppose we share a bit of time. I hope you really do have something good.”

  We were led to a big warehouse holding tons of furniture. It robably something like this, as an actual, orefront holding all of this stuff would be too expensive. Maybe.

  Robert then began showing us some of the stuff they had, and while I’ll admit it was wasn’t … amazing. Like the people who made this stuff clearly aren’t the type of people I’d hand aire treant carcass to, so they could use it to make bed frames. Which I may or may not have done. What I say? Treant wood is just good, high quality wood. And I have tons of it, even outside of the world treant. … and while it might be a bit grim, I also use HomeBase to ‘spawn’ treants. Then just kill them, purify the excess miasma with Ste, and I’ll have even more treant materials.

  Because I clearly didn’t care about the big furniture items, Robert began to show us things like tableware and he was especially fog on the most expensive products.

  But like with the beds and couches, it was so mid. It didn’t have any of the cool features that some of the other stuff came with, like teapots that kept the tea warm, or teapots with a built-in tea ihey were just … pots. Sure they look nice, but I prefer it to both look nid have utility. Why not add some extra teology into beautiful objects? And sidering HomeBase, I think having cool teological things like that will make it more memorable for the guests.

  While all of this was going on, Alice was using her unique-racial skill to read the mind of Robert, unig with me what she was getting. Alice wasn’t that good at it yet, but she could still get some info. And if this guy did know something, we could put him under heavy mind trol and have him tell us everything.

  “Is nothing really catg your eyes, Sir?” Robert eventually asked.

  “They are all nice, yes. But I’ve fouer things from other stores and workshops, so I don’t think I really need anything from you.”

  “Better things you say? Are you saying our pany doesn’t hold the highest quality of product?” Robert asked, sounding almost annoyed.

  “They might be, but they e of the love others put into their product.” I simply said. “Perhaps if you allowed workshop owo really show their love, instead of oppressing them, you would get something of the quality they really make.” I added as a not at all subtle hint.

  “What are y to imply? That our pany doesn’t treat our workshops well?”

  “No. That’s not what I’m saying. I’m saying it doesn’t treat the workshops outside of your own well. And I visited your workshops as well. They have no love. People just make what you want, like they worked in a factory.”

  “Factory? Why would you pare our workshops to factories?”

  “Because they both make mass produced garbage. Sure it might be good garbage, but it is still just garbage.”

  “Excuse me? Garbage? Our master-css product that even Duke Burch praises. And you call that Garbage?”

  “Well that is what it is.” I just said. “If you don’t like it, maybe visit some of the other workshops and try to be an ho er to them. Then you’d see just h you are. The indepe workshops make the best stuff. Sure they might not be able to keep up with your impossible demands in terms of volume, but at least they make better stuff than your workshops. Now if you would, we are leaving.” I ended my statement with a small lie, to hopefully get some info from Robert.

  Holy speaking, even if we mind trol this guy, I don’t think we are getting anything. He just doesn’t seem to know about how their workshops are run, or how they treat rivaling workshops. So getting him riled up to the point where we get someone slightly higher up the is probably the best we do.

  To get to that end, I added one more line.

  “If you have product beyond what we have seeoday, I might be ied. But only if it is better than what is shown here.” I told him. “I’m staying in the Babblebrook Inn while iy, but you also get in tact with me if you take a letter to the adventurer’s guild.”

  “Shame he didn’t know much.” Alice said.

  “But he knew something?” I asked to firm.

  “He did seem to have some knowledge about Wilma, but as far as I got, he only knew her as some stubborn workshop owner. No knowledge about the attacks, or anything like that. Not to speak of the other thing.” Alice expined.

  “Well, hopefully he takes the bait as us a meeting with some higher-up.”

  “You and your traps.” Alice said, as she let out a small chuckle.

  “And I don’t everap cards for them.” I joked.

  It didn’t take long for the Bnken pany to send me a letter, because just a day ter, the adventurer’s guild in Burch city had pced one in my letter transfer box, and I got my hands on it in HomeBase.

  They had invited us to visit the ‘secret’ warehouse, that is invite only, at our venience. I wrote a respoter to them, saying I’d like to visit as soon as possible. It was a bit of a pain to deliver the letter, but HomeBase is now somewhat closer to Burch city than it used to be, so the flight over with Gradius only takes some mihen I just dropped the letter off at the adventurer’s guild, told them where it was going and paid a small fee.

  For that letter, I got a respohe very same day, invitio tour the secret warehouse the following day, at a time I pick myself. I have to say, at least the Bnken pany knows how to pull in ers.

  The day, I took Alid Ria with me to visit the ‘secret’ warehouse. I didn’t bring the catfolk or Wilma, as I don’t want whoever we are meeting reizing them.

  Alice was dressed in a somewhat casual, but still high quality dress, while Ria was in her maid outfit. I also put on slightly better clothing than my usual jeans and t-shirt, but I’m not sure the straight pants and high quality long sleeved shirt is that much better than the abnormal clothing that is my tricot t-shirt and jeans.

  We had been asked to meet in front of the main store of the Bnken pany, and we arrived there in my carriage. Ria was driving the carriage in magic, I mean golem carriage mode. Maybe I should make a meical horse that pull the carriage? It should be easy. All I have to do is make a smaller Trojan Horse.

  Spoiler

  [colpse]

  After Ria opehe door for us, Alid I stepped out. The building we were o was basically a mansion. A small one, but still a mansion. It wasn’t unon f trading pao have one as their headquarters, so I didn’t really bat a that fact.

  We were quickly weled in by a well dressed male, possibly some kind of a butler. He then ordered someoo take our carriage, but I don’t trust them with it, so I instead quickly took the carriage into Ste, causing some strange looks, but no ents.

  We followed the butler inside. While we were walking through the manor, he said that anything we see is up for sale, if we saw something we were ied in. That did get me thinking, does that mean he is up for sale? I see him, so if what he said is accurate, he should be.

  We soon arrived at the door leading to some room. At first the butler was trying to have Ria stay in a separate room from where the … person we were meeting would be, but I was going to turn away and walk out, so he had no choice but to let Ria in.

  In the room, an older male was sitting on what I only assume to be a super expensive couch. Other than him, the room had two males, dressed up in fine looking pted leather armor, each with a sword on their hip. As well as four barely clothed women, each with a visible sve seal on them. So I guess everything I see really is for sale here.

  “Wele, Lord Wood, Lady Wat.” The older man sitting on the chair weled us. But really, calling us Lord and Lady? How much are y to kiss our asses? Alice’s ass is mio kiss. … That sounded wrong. “I am Troy Bhe assistant chairman of the Brading pany.”

  Well there is a little surprise. I know some trading panies are able to buy les, and by extension the right to have a surname. I didn’t know the Bnken pany had dohat, but apparently I’m wrong.

  “It is o meet you, sir Troy Bnken.” I decided to call this guy sir, as he does have a surname. He very well might be an honorary noble like I am, so better not to ce it too much. Or at the very least, he is ected to someohat is an honorary noble.

  We talked for a while, about nothing in particur. I was leading the versation into things I thought might distract Troy while Alice was reading his mind. I kept it up for a while, until Alie with the System Link that this guy knows about the illegal sve mark, as well as the harassment that was targeting Wilma. That means that he is at least partially guilty.

  Now, how t him into further questioning? We could just do it here by overp the guards, using binding spells on everyone and Mind trolling Troy, but that could lead to us being the bad guys. So maybe a different way?

  As I kept stalling for time, I came up with a perfe. This guy is a criminal. I mind fuck him all I want, right? And all I have to do is bring him to an isoted pce. And I think I know the world’s most difficult to get to pce. And there, no one will say if I do something slightly evil. Now, let’s just set the trap that will get him there.

  “Sir Troy. Perhaps you would be willing to visit my Home? That way, you could really offer what is o make it better?” I asked of him.

  “Your home, Lord Wood? I wasn’t aware you had bought a mansion.”

  “Well, it is in a somewhat strange pce, so most don’t know of it. In fact, you’d be the first huma, outside of my family and servants.” I egged him on. And teically that is the truth, as Lady Janina isn’t a human.

  “Of course. It would be my honor.” Tray quickly accepted my offer, as he fell head first into my trap.