Inside Darius’s office, Mika sat across from Aurelia and her parents, scrutinizing each other from head to toe, but after a few moments, the man stood up and extended his hand. 

“My name is Darius Emporvas, Guildmaster of the Merchant Guild and head of the Emporvas Family. A pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

Not wanting to be rude, Mika stood up and shook the man’s hand, “Good Afternoon, Mr. Emporvas. My name is Mika Zoller. It’s nice to meet you as well.” Since the man was so courteous from the beginning, then she might as well reciprocate

Both of them stared at each other and greeted but didn’t stop shaking hands. Mika put a bit more pressure into her squeeze, and Darius followed immediately after, matching her strength. This continued until Mika had reached her limit and relaxed her hand.

Sitting down, they both had the same thought:

‘He/She’s stronger than I expected.’

“Zoller, huh?” Katherine muttered with a smile, not bothering to rebuke her husband for testing a child, “I don’t think I’ve heard of that name before.”

Upon hearing that, Mika’s eyes dimmed for a moment before returning to normal, trying to hide the fact that she was a little disappointed they’d never heard of her family, but she wasn’t surprised. 

The only person who could guess her identity was Joralf from the Elven Village, but she assumed it was because he had an information network of an entire race behind his back. While Darius might be a merchant or head of the Merchant Guild-

‘Whatever that means,’ Mika thought.

-she didn’t believe that someone who couldn’t stand toe to toe with Elysium would know about her parents. 

From her information, the Barlton Kingdom was much smaller and weaker compared to her home country. It’d be questionable whether the King himself had even heard of her family, much less a merchant.

“Mmm,” Mika hummed and nodded, “It’s not a very popular name from where I’m from, either.” She said, not wanting to give away too much. 

She didn’t know these people or their intentions, and since her family is a little special even in her home country, Mika felt it would be in her best interest to stay silent on the matter. For now, at least. 

“And where exactly are you from, Ms. Zoller?” Darius asked, curious, as from the report he read, nobody knew of her origins.

Mika paused for a second but decided to tell the truth as there was no point in lying about this, “....Elysium.” 

“Elysium?!” Aurelia jumped up and shouted, “You mean that country that was attacked by strange monsters?!”

Mika nodded with a neutral expression.

“But isn’t that place, like, halfway across the world?! How’d you end up here?” Aurelia asked.

Mika turned and stared at her, amused that the spoiled little girl she met a few days ago was now acting like a normal kid, but she didn’t say anything. Not that she couldn’t, but she just didn’t know how to answer that.

‘I can’t tell them that the System teleported me somewhere random, and I ended up here, now can I?’ Mika thought bitterly and kept her mouth shut.

Fortunately, Darius had enough tact to understand that she wasn’t willing to say anything else and carried the conversation onto another topic, “Alright, moving on. I’ve heard from my butler that you lived in the Noxious Jungle. Why don’t you explain to me what you were doing there and how you ended up in the Black Market?”

Mika frowned for a moment, feeling like he was interrogating her, but answered nonetheless.

“There’s not much to say, really. I was there for around a year, traversing the Jungle, hoping to leave, but as soon as I neared the border, a mercenary found me. I figured they’d take me out of the jungle to civilization, but who would’ve guessed they’d cage me and sell me off? From there on, I just did what I needed to do to survive.”

While she left out most of the details, what she said was the truth.

Darius stared into her eyes, searching for any falsehood, but soon nodded as he understood that she wasn’t lying.

‘Though, she certainly isn’t telling me everything.’ He thought but didn’t mind. 

“I see, but that can’t be all there is, right? With Butcher’s personality and your talent, I’m sure he wouldn’t have put you through those… cage fights without reason.” He asked, but from Bernard’s report, he already understood most of the situation. 

Mika nodded, “Yes. He wanted me to become his disciple, but I refused. Why would I need him as a Master when there’s nothing that man could teach me that I don’t already know?” Mika questioned with a hint of disdain, then muttered, “Though, it seems he didn’t like my answer.” 

Hearing her answer, Darius smiled for the first time since the conversation started. It wasn’t large, but it did show that he found the situation interesting. 

“Yeah, I bet he wasn’t happy about that.” He chuckled as if he was mocking Butcher, but then his expression suddenly turned serious. 

“Alright, I think I understand the situation now,” Darius said and turned to his daughter, “I know the rest of the situation from my butler. It seems like my daughter here did something completely unnecessary by buying you from the black market. Not to mention-” He paused, and his eyes sharpened as his eyes bored into Aurelia’s soul, causing the girl to shiver and turn her head, “We, Emporvas’ don’t use slave labor nor do we force anyone to do anything they don’t want to do just because of our status.”

“I’ve always believed that those who put in the work should be equally compensated for what they’ve done. Both my businesses and the minds of my employees and servants are infused with this philosophy. My wife and child are no different.”

After saying that, Darius got up and bowed slightly toward Mika, “So, for that, I, as the head of the Emporvas family, would like to apologize for my daughter’s misconduct. I will be sure to educate her properly so she will never forget this creed.”

“DAD!” Aurelia’s eyes widened, and she shot up from her chair, frightened and confused. She’d never seen her father act like that before! However, she knew that after this meeting, she was in for a world of trouble!

“I-I just thought she was talented and cute and wanted her as my maid. I wasn’t going to ensla-” She hurriedly tried to explain but was cut off by the intense look in her father’s eyes, which said, “Quiet. I’ll deal with you later.”

How could she dare to continue after that? 

Shutting her mouth, Aurelia sat back in her chair with her head down, unwilling to look anyone in the eye. 

Katherine smiled gently and began rubbing her daughter’s head but stayed silent. It would be best if she left this matter to her husband, as Aurelia broke numerous rules he had put in place while they were gone. She understood that he needed to hold her accountable for their daughter’s actions.

Mika’s eyes also widened at Darius’ actions, and she was a bit uncomfortable that he was bowing to her. 

“It’s fine, Mr. Emporvas. There’s no need to bow. Your daughter had no ill will behind her actions. Plus, I’d already gotten back at her for trying to force me to become her maid.” Mika tried to ease the situation but ended up saying that last part by accident. 

“Hmm. That’s right,” Darius stopped bowing and stared down into Mika’s eyes, “Bernard did say you two got in a little scuffle. Mind telling me what that was all about?”

Mika’s expression became a bit awkward after realizing her tongue had slipped, but as a woman with an adult mind, her skin was thicker than a child’s.

“Ahem! Well, I just got a little… agitated when she said that personal strength doesn’t matter as long as she has money. I believe her exact words were, ‘Why would I need to fight when I can pay someone to do it for me?’ So, I decided to show her why it’s necessary to know how to protect yourself,” Mika said without stuttering.

Darius’ eyes narrowed at her response, not liking that answer, but before he said anything, he turned to Aurelia to hear her side of the story. But when his daughter continued to say nothing, he understood that everything Mika said was true!

Knowing this, he became conflicted!

‘On the one hand, she did hurt my daughter, but on the other hand, she’s not wrong. In this world, strength is above everything. Money is important, but one has to have the strength to protect that wealth.’ 

Darius understood that the world revolved around strength. Anyone could obtain anything they wanted as long as they were strong enough. Even he, one of the best merchants in the Kingdom and in many other countries, could only reach his status and wealth because he could protect himself. 

Now, he wasn’t an expert by any means and would much rather fight with his brain rather than his muscles, but he could survive against most people who wish him harm. Things are a bit different now since his status, connections, money, and bodyguards are enough to keep most snakes in human clothing away, but his strength is the foundation of all that. 

If he, himself, weren’t hard to kill even with his bodyguards, he’d never make it to where he is today.

In the end, he could only sigh. From the look in Mika’s eyes, he could tell that she came from a completely different world compared to Aurelia. While his daughter grew up having everything at her fingertips, Mika had to bleed and kill just to survive. Aurelia could sit inside, enjoying the life he’d paved for her, while Mika had to face the hell that is reality head-on. The two were not the same.

“...You’re right, Ms. Zoller. The world is a dangerous place, and Aurelia should know how to defend herself.” Mika almost smiled, figuring she’d met someone who understood her actions, but his next words caused her to falter.

“However, I believe you and my Butler were out of line by trying to teach my daughter that. As a father, it is my job to teach my daughter about the world and protect her from harm until she is ready to handle it herself!”

“...”

Mika turned silent, his message well-received. ‘Thinking back on it now, I was probably a little out of line by doing that to the little girl, but I don’t necessarily believe I was wrong. This world requires one to be strong because if you aren’t, then you can only exist under the whims of the powerful. The sooner she understands this, the better her future will be.’ 

The reason for these beliefs was that every significant event in her life occurred because someone stronger decided to do something, and she was too weak to do anything about it.

While Darius’ thoughts were admirable, and Mika respected him greatly for it, they weren’t realistic in her eyes. What would happen to Aurelia should her father die or disappear? Can she take on the world by herself?

No, not with how she is right now. 

Maybe Bernard could help keep her safe, but what if something happens to him? 

What if Elysium, or a country similar to it, decides to invade the Barlton Kingdom? Is there anything she can do other than die or become a slave? Can her father save her in that scenario?

Probably not.

No matter how strong her father is or what his connections are, they would all be useless in the face of overwhelming power. If Aurelia doesn’t have power equal to that or a strong will to live, she can only be fodder in those scenarios.

However…

“You’re right, Mr. Emporvas. It was wrong of me to step into matters concerning your family, but what if… it was my job to help her prepare for the real world?” Mika asked, finally getting to the topic she wanted to discuss with him. 

“Hmm?” Darius raised an eyebrow but stayed silent, indicating for her to continue. 

“You see, I’m new to this Kingdom. I don’t have a place to stay. I barely know where I am or the areas around us. I have no money. And, well, from what I’ve seen, this Kingdom isn’t safe for lone little girls like me. If I leave your villa today, then probably within the week, I’d be back in a cage at the black market.”

Darius nodded, not denying that possibility, and continued to listen. 

Seeing his interest, Mika got to the crux of the issue, “So, what if, in exchange for a place to stay, a salary, information, and temporary status to protect myself with, I train your daughter in both Body Cultivation and swordsmanship?”

Katherine, Darius, and Aurelia’s eyes all widened in disbelief upon hearing Mika’s request!

“What?!”