Meanwhile, in a stone house in Selene City, Rurik was playing a similar role—only his persuasion target was Draven.

  He was trying to convince Draven to do two things: rescue the imprisoned ratman blacksmith, and approve the opening of a new Public House.

  The Public House matter was easy. Even if Rurik hadn't mentioned it, Draven already had similar plans.

  But the ratman blacksmith made him hesitate. Was it worth offending the Tauren tribe for a mediocre craftsman? Given their current situation, they weren't strong enough yet to risk angering all their powerful enemies without caution.

  Still, as Rurik recalled the ratmen, Draven remembered them too. Their faces were vague in his memory, but he vaguely recalled their desperate whispers for survival in a corner of Selene City's walls.

  Rurik's proposal wasn't without reason—just too costly. Black Flag Territory now was no longer the fringe tribe relying on favors and goodwill to get by.

  If they wanted craftsmen, it would be better to directly target Selene rather than risk provoking the Tauren.

  Draven rejected Rurik's proposal and openly shared his own ideas. Rurik, having stayed in Selene City for years, clearly hadn't kept pace with the current situation and pace of development in Black Flag Territory.

  His thinking was still stuck in the old days when survival depended on connections and humble attitudes.

  But that wasn't his fault. Draven had come this time precisely to solve that problem.

  Rurik introduced several preselected locations for the Public House and neatly handed over the intelligence he had gathered recently.

  Draven didn't make a quick decision. He planned to personally visit the city, bring along Viola and Liliana for a walk, and see for himself if those places were worth investing in.

  No sooner had they left than Angelica peeked in. She was holding the letter Viola had just brought and nudged Rurik's side with her elbow, whispering urgently:

  "How is it? Did the leader agree?"

  Her tone was full of eager anticipation, like a little girl waiting for a gift.

  Rurik glanced at her and nodded slightly but sighed,"He said we can open the Public House, but he's not very satisfied with the locations I picked."

  "That's great!" Angelica jumped up excitedly, leaving Rurik behind and hopping off to share the good news with the other sisters.

  Watching her joyful departure, Rurik couldn't help but smile and shake his head. This bunny girl had practically become a legend in Selene City.

  At night, when she held him and talked, her words were full of ideals and fighting spirit. She said she wanted to change the fate of the bunny people, just like Selene.

  But she didn't know that even Selene herself couldn't break free from the shackles of fate. Selene sat in her room, looking at the intelligence delivered by the shadow guards, feeling quite unsettled.

  The werewolf leader had already entered the city.

  Although it was her own order that had caused the notification, now she thought the shadow guards were meddlesome. She irritably glanced at the beast-skin scroll on the table, feeling no desire to read it.

  The third attempt at planting and breeding had failed again. Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind: should she just call Draven over and ask him to help figure out a solution?

  But as soon as the idea appeared, she immediately dismissed it. She didn't want to appear too dependent on him, especially in this city that belonged to her.

  She took a deep breath and forced herself to refocus on state affairs. A slight tug at the back of her neck made her pause—she suddenly realized her Women's Suspenders were on backwards.

  She immediately summoned her personal maid, Anne, to get a new one. She didn't want Draven to see her like this; that guy would surely give one of his sly grins.

  Just outside the door, another maid, Valeria, stood in the shadows, her eyes full of envy and a little bitterness.

  She watched Anne go into the room, licked her lips, and the news she had just eavesdropped on flashed through her mind:

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Does the werewolf leader still remember her?

  ......

  Draven knew the streets of Selene City like the back of his hand. He led Viola and Liliana strolling through the city, aiming to visit the recently opened succubus trading house.

  That trading house was almost a direct copy of his design. Seeing the building that resembled an earth building, Draven couldn't help but smile.

  It was starting to take the shape of a marketplace. At least each shop had a signboard now, no longer needing to knock door to door to inquire.

  The ground floor layout looked more like a market, selling mostly common goods like beast meat, hides, and cassava. But Draven noticed a few shops had started selling mushrooms and fish, which made him nod slightly in approval.

  Seeing his efforts begin to change the city's lifestyle gave him a genuine sense of satisfaction.

  Viola seemed especially interested in the shops; her eyes scanned the various goods back and forth.

  They almost went through the entire first floor of the trading hall, asking about the prices of goods one by one—from leather products to dried cassava, nothing was left unchecked.

  Viola walked in front, her steps light and quick, her eyes always shining with excitement. Draven and Liliana followed behind.

  It turned out that, no matter which world, shopping is an instinctive behavior for women.

  Draven had long given up trying to understand their logic in choosing things; now he just silently accompanied them, occasionally offering a suggestion, but more often playing the role of a walking wallet who never complains.

  He noticed that when Viola's eyes lit up, she always focused on certain items—especially those novel decorations and goods that looked like they could make a good profit.

  He could roughly guess what she was thinking. Most likely, she was pondering whether to bring goods from the Black Flag Territory to sell here—things like cassava flour, dried meat, or mushrooms, even some new crops she had tried planting there.

  The idea sounded good, but in practice it wasn't realistic. The staple food in Black Flag Territory was still cassava; although some wheat and corn had been trial-planted, they were far from being able to replace cassava on a large scale.

  Draven had never planned to export agricultural products from Black Flag Territory. No matter how much food they had, he insisted on prioritizing storage.

  He knew very well that security did not come from how many jewels were in the storeroom, but whether the granary could last through a harsh winter.

  He didn't say these things out loud and didn't want to dampen Viola's enthusiasm. She was willing to shop, so he accompanied her, as he had no other plans anyway. Besides, Liliana had also been pulled along to keep company.

  When Viola finally finished browsing most of the shops, Draven led them up the central staircase to the second floor of the trading hall.

  Unlike the bustling first floor, there were noticeably fewer customers upstairs. This floor sold extraordinary items related to magical beasts and potions. For non-awakened demi-humans, these things were useless, and with high prices, they had no appeal at all.

  Viola looked somewhat nervous upon coming upstairs. She wasn't used to this quiet and oppressive atmosphere, which was completely different from the noisy, bustling market downstairs with vendors shouting.

  Draven noticed her restraint, smiled slightly, and took her hand proactively.

  Speaking softly, he led her from one shop to another, carefully explaining the uses and origins of various potions. The potions displayed in transparent magic crystal containers ranged in color—some amber, some glowing blue, others with smoke drifting from their bottle necks—just looking at them gave a mysterious feeling.

  They even found several new potion formulas in a rather hidden apothecary. Although the prices were much higher than expected, Draven still readily paid for them.

  Viola looked at the completed transaction with a pained expression, her brow furrowed.

  "Feeling the pinch?" Draven asked with a smile.

  "A little," Viola pouted.

  Draven laughed even more happily:"Don't worry, the stuff downstairs isn't worth much, but if the potions can be successfully cultivated, it'll be a big money-maker in the future."

  His words were like a fuse being lit—Viola's eyes instantly brightened, sparkling as if little stars appeared inside. She turned to look at Liliana, wanting to pull her into planning the cultivation together.

  Unfortunately, before she could speak, she noticed Liliana muttering under her breath:"Potions... gold coins... so much money..."

  She was already lost in her own fantasy world, her eyes reflecting the gleam of gold coins.

  Viola chuckled softly. It seemed her money-making plan could only rely on Liliana.

  She opened her arms and gently hugged the daydreaming Liliana, looking as if she were holding a golden statue.

  Draven then turned and led them up to the third floor.

  The third floor was even more spacious but had even fewer people. This floor was actually the focus of Draven's visit. He walked into the dedicated exchange counter and exchanged the prepared magic cores for gold coins. A whole bag of shining gold was poured out, making Liliana's eyes go wide.

  Draven moved quickly, putting the gold coins into his wristband, avoiding Liliana's outstretched hand.

  "Damn, almost got it!" Liliana's lips almost pouted up to the sky.

  Draven shook his head helplessly, casually pulling out a gold coin to dangle in front of her mouth as consolation. Liliana immediately brightened up, happily playing with the coin, waving her arms and legs.

  On the other side of the third floor was the section selling magic scrolls. Draven spent most of a gold coin buying several scrolls—some for combat, some auxiliary—that would greatly help Black Flag Territory's defense system.

  The fourth floor of the trading hall was for office work and business management, guarded and off-limits to ordinary customers. Draven wasn't interested anyway, so after a brief introduction to Viola and Liliana, he skipped it.

  This trip to the trading hall accomplished the main goal. He led the two girls out and was next going to check out the tavern locations Rurik had picked.

  To be honest, Draven wasn't satisfied with those locations. He knew Selene City's terrain and foot traffic too well; those places looked lively but actually had limited profit potential.

  But out of respect for Rurik's efforts and to give Viola a complete inspection experience, he still planned to personally take them to visit each site.

  Along the way, he talked as they walked, occasionally stopping to point at some buildings or old streets, recounting stories he had experienced in this city.