"Something that belongs to someone else?"
Ashveil looked at the cloaked woman standing before him. Her pale golden eyes were fixed on the pouch at his waist, making it rather obvious what she was referring to.
He had picked up two wooden tokens during his travels, neither of which had revealed anything useful when examined through the Lord System.
The first had been recovered from the destroyed Grade B territory, while the second had belonged to the unfortunate Lord killed by the Grimfang Riders.
"Are you talking about the wooden token?" Ashveil asked.
The woman smiled faintly beneath her hood.
"So you do have it."
"Well, I have a few things lying around. You’ll have to be more specific."
"There’s no need to be so cautious. I’m not here to take anything from you."
"That’s exactly what someone trying to take something from me would say."
His response appeared to amuse her. However, instead of explaining herself, the woman glanced toward the equipment displayed on his cart.
"Those shields. Did you make them yourself?"
"No. My villagers did."
"Interesting. They’re rather crude, but the materials are unusual. How many do you have left?"
"Two."
"I’ll take both."
Ashveil hadn’t expected the conversation to turn toward business so suddenly, but he certainly wasn’t going to complain about another customer.
He named his price, and the woman handed him a leather pouch without attempting to bargain.
Upon opening it, however, Ashveil discovered that she had paid considerably more than the amount he requested.
"Hold on. This is too much."
"Consider the remainder an advance payment. If your territory produces more equipment in the future, bring it here. I’m particularly interested in weapons and armor made from monster materials."
Ashveil raised an eyebrow. "You’re planning to buy that much equipment from me?"
"Provided the quality improves. I would also be willing to pay with Source Stones for particularly valuable products."
Source Stones?
Ashveil immediately became more interested. Gold Coins were useful for ordinary purchases, but Source Stones were far more difficult to obtain.
He had already used one to transfer Seraphina’s contract, and several important functions of the Lord System required them.
Someone who could casually offer Source Stones as payment was clearly no ordinary merchant.
"I can’t promise how quickly we’ll be able to manufacture anything better. Our workshop is still getting started."
"That’s perfectly fine. I can wait."
With the transaction complete, Ashveil handed over the remaining shields. The woman examined them briefly before turning to leave, apparently satisfied with her purchase.
"Wait. You still haven’t told me what you meant earlier."
She paused.
"About the token?"
"Obviously."
"Then here’s a piece of advice. Don’t show it to anyone you don’t trust."
Before Ashveil could question her further, she disappeared into the passing crowd.
He stared after her for a moment before looking down at the pouch in his hand.
"What a strange woman."
"Perhaps she’s simply taken an interest in you, little lord," Ria suggested.
"Then she has a terrible way of showing it."
Nevertheless, Ashveil was satisfied with the transaction.
All four carapace-reinforced shields he had brought to the market had now been sold, and he had secured a potential customer for future equipment production.
If Rowan and the villagers could improve their manufacturing capabilities, selling equipment might eventually become one of Ashen Hollow’s primary sources of income.
For now, however, he still needed to purchase construction materials.
Ashveil returned to the nearby stalls with Ria and Seraphina accompanying him. The four spearmen remained close to the carts, keeping watch over the supplies they had already purchased.
The Western Valley Lord’s Market was considerably larger than he had expected.
Aside from ordinary merchants selling food and construction materials, there were stalls displaying weapons, magical equipment, monster materials, and various items whose purposes he couldn’t even begin to understand.
However, what interested Ashveil most was the difference between the customers.
Some Lords arrived with only a handful of soldiers wearing mismatched equipment, while others were accompanied by entire groups of well-armed troops.
He even spotted a few unusual creatures that appeared considerably stronger than anything he had encountered in the wilderness.
It was difficult to believe that all these people had been summoned to Eryndor under the same Lord System.
"Excuse me. How much for the stone?"
The merchant behind the stall looked up from his ledger.
"Depends on how much you’re buying. Are you transporting it yourself?"
"Yeah. I’ve got two carts."
"Then I can give you a better price, but I wouldn’t recommend loading them too heavily. The road outside the valley isn’t particularly safe."
Ashveil nodded and began negotiating. He had already purchased a modest quantity of stone earlier, but the additional money from the mysterious woman allowed him to secure more materials for Ashen Hollow’s defensive construction.
While the merchant prepared his order, Ashveil noticed a group of soldiers passing through the marketplace.
Unlike the ordinary troops he had seen earlier, these men wore matching armor and carried identical weapons.
Their formation was orderly, and the surrounding merchants instinctively moved aside to let them pass.
At the center of the group walked a man wearing polished silver plate armor.
His long black hair was tied behind his head, and his sharp facial features gave him a rather imposing appearance.
However, Ashveil barely paid attention to him after noticing the woman following a short distance behind.
She had enormous white wings.
An angel?
Ashveil stared at the unfamiliar creature before instinctively focusing his attention on her.
[Unknown Divine Unit Detected!]
[Race: Angel | Tier: 7]
[Additional Information Unavailable.]
His expression immediately changed.
Tier 7?
What the hell?
He had spent the past several days struggling to develop a territory defended by ten Tier 1 spearmen.
Even the Tier 3 Grimfang Riders had been terrifying enough to make him avoid a direct confrontation.
Yet someone was casually walking around the marketplace with a Tier 7 angel?
"Ria," Ashveil whispered. "How strong is that woman?"
The succubus followed his gaze and examined the angel.
"Way stronger than the creatures you’ve encountered so far."
"Could you beat her?"