Things had become quite awkward, far more complicated than Draven had initially imagined. As the leader of the Black Wolf clan, he had never expected that the young man under his command, Rurik, could get involved in such a variety of schemes.

  Who would have thought that just a few days after Draven left, Rurik had already hooked up with that rabbit girl? Moreover, the two of them had started running a tavern together, and business was booming enough to attract the attention of Selene?

  Selene herself had personally allowed them to move the tavern to the square beside the lord's main hall. Just hearing this news made Draven's expression extremely complicated.

  He rubbed his nose, trying to hide the embarrassment and surprise he felt inside. The stone house before him was quiet, the atmosphere a bit heavy. Draven turned around and gave Bran a hard kick, scolding him for attacking Rurik without knowing the full story.

  Draven even spat on Bran, which made him feel a bit relieved inside. Then he told Bran to go have some fun at the tavern, seemingly to vent his anger.

  Draven looked at the situation and realized even he had nowhere to stay. Fortunately, Rurik still had some conscience and arranged for the two little rabbit-people kids to take him to Angelica's house to crash for the night.

  So Draven curled up against the cold stone wall. In front of him, two little rabbit-people were curled up together, already asleep.

  Speaking of which, the stone house was pitifully small—even Draven, a man over two meters tall, couldn't lie down flat. He had to lean against the wall, keeping his legs tightly folded, just to squeeze out a bit of space for the two little ones to sleep.

  Draven felt a bitter pang in his heart. Rurik had a hot-bodied rabbit girl to comfort him, Bran had gone off to have fun at the tavern, and this clan leader of theirs didn't even have a comfortable bed.

  He couldn't help but wonder if this was Rurik's deliberate way of making things difficult for him, some kind of spiteful revenge?

  Outside, the rain started to fall, the raindrops striking the stone roof with a dense and cold sound. Draven was too lazy to go out again and simply settled down.

  Meanwhile, inside the stone house, the atmosphere was completely different. Angelica's fair hands gently massaged the bruises on Rurik's body, left by Bran's beating. Her face was full of worry, tears nearly spilling over.

  "They hit too hard. Aren't you supposed to be brothers?" Angelica's voice was choked with emotion, almost accusatory.

  Rurik gave a bitter smile and shook his head."If we weren't brothers, who would hit so hard?"

  They chatted, trying to ease the mood. Suddenly, a noise came from the clay jar resting against the wall.

  Angelica jumped in surprise, walked over, and opened the lid, grimacing."What's the use of bringing this? You can't eat it."

  "You can eat it, you just don't know…" Rurik suddenly pulled Angelica into his arms and began telling stories about the three of them, his voice low and warm.

  The rain stopped. Early the next morning, before dawn was fully broken, Draven sensed the rain had ceased outside. He moved out of the tiniest stone house he'd ever stayed in and stretched his body. He twisted his waist, feeling more exhausted than after a night of making love with the little fox girl.

  Standing at the door, he eased the soreness in his back and waist. When daylight came, he woke the two still-sleeping rabbit-people kids. Tibbit and Riven, clearly a bit intimidated by the tall werewolf leader, obediently got up and held hands as they followed behind him.

  They walked to Rurik's stone house, where Rurik and Angelica were already waiting at the door. The two little rabbits ran quickly to their sister Angelica.

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  The tavern only opened at night. Draven told Rurik to carry his backpack and the clay jar. This visit wasn't just to check on Rurik and deliver supplies—he had a more important mission.

  As Rurik lifted his backpack, suddenly a snake's head popped out from a pile of mushrooms, startling him. Upon closer inspection, it was the Eyebrow-Patterned King Serpent. Apparently, he had spent the previous night in the same room as this snake.

  Seeing this, Draven reached into the backpack, pulled out the Eyebrow-Patterned King Serpent, and after a moment's thought, tossed it into the stone house. After all, he was now heading to the lord's manor, and carrying a mid-level magical beast would easily cause misunderstandings.

  Heading toward the lord's manor, the scenery along the way gradually changed from the shabby slums to more orderly streets. As they walked, Rurik kept telling Draven about the fresh sights and changes in Selene City.

  Draven listened with a smile—this was one of the reasons he had sent Rurik to stay here: to gain firsthand information about the city's developments.

  Rurik's voice was clear and strong, each detail painting a vivid picture in Draven's mind.

  When they arrived in front of the city lord's residence, Rurik led Draven to visit the Black Flag Tavern, which was set up by the square.

  The tavern's exterior was simple but neat. A wooden canopy stood beside the path leading to the square, in a very conspicuous spot that passersby couldn't easily ignore.

  Rurik himself couldn't quite explain why their little tavern from the slums had earned the lord's attention and favor.

  Even more surprising was that the lord had summoned both Rurik and Angelica and sent people to specially set up this small canopy by the square. Such treatment was extremely rare in Selene City and could definitely be considered a privilege.

  Although the canopy was not large, it was sturdy and solid, with thin stone slabs on the roof to protect against rain and sun. Inside, the counter was built by Rurik and the others using stone blocks and wood, neatly arranged with several wine jars and horn-made cups.

  Rurik proudly pointed at the items on the counter and said,"Being close to the square, no one dares to steal from us here."

  Draven nodded. Since Selene City was governed by the succubus clan, security was strict—this was something they didn't need to worry about. Otherwise, Rurik would have been beaten even more last night.

  Draven looked around the tavern. The name"Black Flag Tavern," spelled out in colored stone blocks on the counter, stood out clearly, pleasing him greatly.

  The only regret was that the demi-humans didn't know how to make lanterns. If they could hang lanterns on both sides of the canopy, the tavern would definitely be even more eye-catching at night.

  He couldn't help but share this idea with Rurik, reminding him to try it if there was a chance. Draven vaguely remembered that lanterns could even be made from pig bladders. Although they didn't raise pigs, there were a few wild boars around. It was worth a try and wouldn't hurt.

  It was daytime now, and the tavern hadn't opened yet. The surroundings weren't very lively, so Draven couldn't immediately verify Rurik's claim about the booming business.

  But Draven was full of hope for the small tavern's future, feeling that they had indeed chosen the right path.

  After looking around for a while, Draven led Rurik toward the city lord's guard post. He took a silver coin from his pocket and secretly slipped it to the guard, instructing,"Please be sure to tell the lord that the leader of Black Flag Territory has brought delicious offerings."

  The guard accepted the silver coin and nodded in agreement. Though his movements were slow, Draven still watched him leave.

  To be honest, when Draven first heard from Rurik that Lord Selene was implementing a unified currency and measurement system, he was very surprised.

  He had to admire the lord's decisiveness. The silver coin he held, obtained from Rurik, was exquisitely made and marked Draven's first encounter with currency issued by the demi-humans themselves.

  In fact, Draven had long disliked the demi-humans' barter system. To get something he wanted, it often required passing through many hands, going round and round—it was very troublesome.

  Now, with the currency promoted by the lord, this problem was greatly eased.

  Of course, such a change required time to adapt and wasn't achieved overnight. Fortunately, the demi-humans didn't have to worry about inflation or currency wars, or else promoting currency could have become a disaster.

  From what Rurik described, the currency promotion in Selene City had been quite successful. The city lord's enterprises had all started to use currency for settlements, making the market operate more smoothly.

  Draven guessed that Selene controlled the initial price settings and was making a fortune. Once the market adjusted itself, that advantage would disappear.

  The Black Flag Territory Tavern had obviously caught this favorable wave. Draven suspected that Rurik might have been one of the earliest merchants to adopt currency settlement, which earned them the lord's attention.

  Draven now clearly understood his own position. He no longer related everything back to himself and handled his external relations more cautiously.

  As they walked and talked, after quite some time, they finally received the message granting them an audience.

  Draven's heart began to race. Whether Black Flag Territory could accelerate its development seemed to hinge on this very moment.