Although the witch merchants became obedient and no longer had ill feelings toward Vaan’s party, the same could not be said the other way around, especially for Aeliana.
She definitely planned to milk them for what they were worth.
“I will stay here and deal with Dorothy’s group once they return. You can go ahead and screen these merchants again and ensure we didn’t miss anything from them,” Vaan said to Aeliana.
“Once they are cleared, you can discuss the redevelopment project with Dahlia. She will know what building materials are needed and which location in the central town area to prioritize. Also, there’s no need to fetch common building materials like timber and stones from the merchants. We can acquire plenty of those from the surrounding forest and nearby mountain.”
“Sunpeak Town is bound to undergo expansion to accommodate the increasing population, so there’s no problem with little deforestation,” Vaan added.
Aeliana was a wood and light specialist anyway. Thus, even if they couldn’t collect enough wood from the surroundings for Sunpeak Town’s development, she could just cultivate a new forest to acquire more.
Still, Vaan didn’t want the surrounding forest completely gone. In fact, it would be even better if the forest thrived, becoming taller and denser.
He intended to build a dragon outpost in the Red Goblin Mountains. Thus, the cover of the forest was necessary to keep it hidden.
“Understood, Lord Vahn,” Aeliana complied, taking the witch merchants with her after receiving Vaan’s instructions.
She possessed the power of a Mid-stage High Witch, so she could handle several dozen Peak-stage Senior Witches on her own even if the witch merchants suddenly decided to rebel—not that they would.
“You let them off surprisingly easy. It almost seemed like a reward for them,” Astoria commented.
“It was necessary since we need merchants to develop Sunpeak Town. If we punished them too hard, they would rather fight to the death than let us take advantage of them,” Vaan casually replied. “Furthermore, they have many connections.”
“It’s too troublesome dealing with all of them. I would rather not waste my time with meaningless conflicts or be guarded against their schemes so that I can focus my energy elsewhere.”
“Since it’s more effective to use them than to kill them, this was the best choice if we were to disregard personal feelings. You don’t like me killing too many witches either, no?” Vaan mentioned, glancing at Astoria.
“Mm,” Astoria nodded with a smile.
Nevertheless, she wondered if she was responsible for Vaan’s decision. His reasoning was too logical for her to know if she played a part in it.
She would be happy if she were, but it also wouldn’t matter if she weren’t.
More importantly, as long as Vaan acted within the boundaries that could be tolerated, the chances of conflicting with Her Majesty’s interests would be unlikely.
She would rather hope they could work together than be at odds. After all, even though Vaan would be the ultimate winner in their conflict, the kingdom would be torn apart, and the casualties would be unimaginable.
Nevertheless, Queen Henrietta was never the problem. Being a close friend of Her Majesty, Astoria was familiar with her ideals. Queen Henrietta would wish for a peaceful co-existence.
The real problem was the supremacist faction.
“That would depend on the loyalty of Dorothy’s group members,” Vaan casually replied.
Covering the entire Sunpeak Town with his Omni-Sense allowed him to track all movements and conversations inside.
Besides following the tracks of the four Peak-stage Senior Witches sent to Dorothy’s group, he was also searching for rats and spies.
He had already locked onto many witch merchants in hiding, but none of them appeared to be part of Dorothy’s group.
Fortunately, the four Peak-stage Senior Witches seemed to know where Dorothy’s group was hiding. They headed directly toward a specific destination in mind and did not search randomly.
They eventually reached a newly established five-story building situated on the edge of Sunpeak Town.
When Vaan watched the group of four enter the basement floor, they suddenly vanished from his senses. The basement floor was still there, but the people were gone.
‘A high-rank illusion spell and sound-cancellation spell?’ Vaan guessed as his senses sharpened.
If it was just a high-rank illusion spell overlapping with the original basement, he should still be able to hear the four Peak-stage Senior Witches.
However, their footsteps went silent as soon as they disappeared.
Although the possibility of a hidden spatial portal also existed, Vaan determined its possibility to be on the lower end. He would have sensed the spatial distortion if there had been a spatial portal.
Of course, there was also the possibility of a high-rank anti-sensory spell being used.
But the odds of using so many high-rank spells simultaneously were even lower. Dorothy’s group would need at least a Mid-stage High Witch or the assistance of multiple high-quality magic tools.
That said, the odds might be low, but Vaan couldn’t wait and find out. He had to visit the place in person to grasp the full picture.
Waiting would be too late if Dorothy’s group escaped.
“I’ll be back,” Vaan informed Astoria and Solana.
Shortly after, he headed to the specified building to investigate the basement. Upon his arrival, he confirmed it was indeed just illusion and sound-cancellation spells being used in the area.
There were a total of eleven witches inside, Dorothy Helion included.
Nevertheless, Vaan’s timely arrival shortly after the four Peak-stage Senior Witches returned caused Dorothy’s expression to change abruptly.
“You dare lead the enemy back to our base?! Have you betrayed the kingdom?!” Dorothy roared at the four newly arrived Peak-stage Senior Witches.
At the same time, Vaan narrowed his eyes, noticing the keyword in Dorothy’s sentence. She didn’t refer to herself but mentioned the kingdom instead.
In other words, whatever Dorothy’s group was plotting in Sunpeak Town didn’t represent the will of their small merchant guild but the kingdom behind them.
“We…”
The four Peak-stage Senior Witches didn’t know how to reply to Dorothy’s accusation. After all, they were also surprised by Vaan’s appearance. They did not sense him trailing behind them at all.
“Dorothy Helion, I take it? I have some questions for you. Come back to the lord’s estate with me,” Vaan commanded.
