The trio, consisting of Ramia, Jack and Izumi talked for a few dozen minutes longer regarding their immediate plans and the benefits to all involved, starting from Jack's group all the way to Anastiela and Ramia and their respective forces. Thanks to the mutual contract both sides had in effect, there was no actual reason to fear betrayal and so, jack shared just a tad more with Ramia, going so far as to allowing him to have a look at the weapons he had crafted for both himself and Izumi, there were no others from their party present at the moment after all.

  "They are well made, particularly so for new gifted. Good stats and quality. Should last up to level twenty or so, unless of course you are willing to sink untold amounts of money for level ten epic or higher quality items." Ramia spoke as he appraised the two weapons.

  "And there are many of those floating around the markets?" Jack snorted as he asked.

  "No, that's why I said 'untold amounts of money'." Ramia laughed as he handed back the weapons.

  "And how much would you value these at?" Jack asked with a slight smirk.

  "From a few dozen to few hundred gold coins, depending on the popularity of the weapon."

  "And what about this one?" Jack asked as he suppressed the hidden enchantment and presented Izumi's katana to Ramia.

  "Hmm, but it's the same wea..." Ramia spoke, freezing in half word as he saw the experience boosting line. His expression, while anticipated by Jack, nonetheless caused Izumi to giggle. It was not often the old and experienced merchant was caught so much off guard.

  A minute or so later, his operating system finally restarted, as the older gentleman sighed and rubbed his temples, muttering something along the lines of 'Fuck, I am too old for this shit.', though unlike the words spoken that implied he was not at all happy, his voice was crisp and there was renewed vigor in his gaze as he looked up at Jack.

  "You are no mere Virtuoso, are you? There is no way a rare class can pull of something like this. Do you know what these are worth?"

  "I can begin to imagine, assuming the value rises exponentially with each percent earned increase, no?" Jack replied in a calm tone. He had shared the same secret with his combat party, regarding the hidden experience boost, though not giving them the precise values. What they did not know, they could not expose accidentally.

  "Correct and not. While the general idea is correct, items like these don't get sold. Wars are waged for them, or at least large scale armored conflicts at the very least. I suggest you hide and never use them."

  "Don't worry about that. Those hidden enchants are of unique quality, entirely undetectable." noticing Ramias skeptical gaze, he added "Yes, even for legendary tier methods. System never lies."

  "A unique class then? Boy, did I strike a gold mine." he almost giggled maniacally. "Erhem." he then cleared his throat a few moments later, forcibly calming himself down somewhat. "Not the reason I asked you here for, though I welcome the faith and trust you are placing im my capabilities. We will have plenty of time to fool around during another meeting. The property."

  As he spoke, he turned his gaze towards the table and the stacks of papers that were still waiting there, slowly reaching towards them.

  "It's called Raven's roost." he explained, handing them a rather large scroll that was occupied by a rather beautiful and impressive painting of a mansion, surrounded by a large green area filled with all manner of flowerbeds and small decorative bushes. "There is a large garden all around it and quite the impressive wall around the garden as well. And yes, it is the best I, or anyone else could ever hope to manage within the city limits." The main residence was made of what seemed like white marble, the brown monotone of the city nowhere in sight, giving it additional beauty and charm, elevating the place above the rest of the city.

  He continued, explaining all about the property and its added buildings, of which there were four. The main residence obviously, then a separate building to house servants and rather large stables as well. Fourth was personal warehouse of sorts, combined with a large basement and various runic engravements to ensure whatever was kept inside would last and not spoil.

  "Right, and then there are slave pens here." Ramia pointed towards a relatively small doors in one corner of the property plan, right besides servants building. "Though it can also be used as a personal dungeon." he quickly added, having learned a while ago of the groups general distaste for slavery and wasn't that a conversation to have. The kids were quite clear cut with their stance- slavery was pure evil and could never be permitted to exist. Jack was more open minded, if one could call that- his reasoning being that it was somewhat permittable to have slaves, though in name only, treating them more like valuable and cherished servants. Indentured servants as he had put it. Masters job was to ensure they could use his name and might as a shield from would be oppressors or greedy beings and to make sure they would be clothed, fed and in good health. The 'slaves' would in turn work for said master, doing whatever tasks were decided to be within their skill sets, earning their living and protection.

  And while Ramia had to admit, begrudgingly so, that such benevolent masters were rare, with most considering their slaves as nothing more than livestock to be used until all life was drained from them, he was also of the opinion that nearly every person forced into slavery for any reason whatsoever, with extreme case exceptions of course, could be made into valuable assets who were much more useful if well taken care of and more than happy to serve. He himself was a shining example of Jack's belief in action, as the girl who was serving as shopkeeper was indeed his slave. She herself had explained how she found herself as Ramia's 'property', though she also defended her master as a great person and much, much better than she deserved.

  What calmed the kids the best however was not the girls story and words of assurance that she would not even dream of ever leaving Ramia's 'hands', though nightmares of such a day had visited her at times, but Jack's open ended question. "Tell me kids, what is a better choice to make? To leave someone weak and vulnerable to be preyed upon by callous and detestable men like the group we took care of a while back, or take them under your wing to ensure they could live decent lives, even if most of the word would believe said people are now your property, just as they would have been someone else's?"

  Kaede did ask how many people Jack would be willing to take in to prove his point, only to shut up and glare at him with a half assed pout when he answered with "As many as our properties needed workers and I was sure I could ensure their living standards, though I would also have to judge each potential person on their compatibility with my values and willingness to work."

  "Arhem." Ramia cleared his throat once again, bringing himself out of his short reminiscence of the event some time past and continued on as if he had not zoned of in his own thoughts a short moment ago. "That's about all as far as buildings go. Though, of course, there is also the surrounding garden that is, if you ask for my humble opinion, quite large for a mansion within what is essentially a trade hub city. The relatively high wall around it should also provide a decent amount of privacy, though there is no way to keep all eyes out no matter how hard one tries."

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  "It's a decent side and will be enough for now." Jack hummed as he went over the property plans, making his own calculation in his mind "Though I will solve that particular issue on my side at a later point. This will do. Thank you Ramia. You have done a great job in acquiring it. How much time would you say we will need to sign it to my name?" he then asked, a slight smile on his face.

  "Already ahead of you. The city has your record ever since your ID cards were issued so I pulled your info from there and used it to finalize the deal." the merchant grinned with a knowing smirk as Jack's eyes widened slightly with surprise, clearly quite pleased at the turn of the events. "With me handing over these documents you are now the legal owner of 'Raven's roost'. Congratulations."

  "Right, do you need someone to lead you there or will you manage on your own? The property is already furnished, so there is no need for you to think about acquiring all the necessary furniture, unless of course you want a new set entirely regardless."

  "Kids will likely want to change their rooms some, but that's a problem for another day, and no, I think we will manage on our own this time. Plenty of info is already in my hands." Jack smiled as he replied, already pointed at the stack of documents that Izumi was right now collecting and separating into several piles that he then took and stored in his storage ring.

  "Right, there is a family of three that serves as housekeepers for the place. Do be a decent person towards them and if possible, employ them. They have kept the property in good condition so far." Ramia added, gesturing that the pair of younger people were free to head out now, everything he needed being already said. With a simple nod of their heads, the duo did as instructed, leaving the older man all in his own.

  With the two of them gone, a larger smirk spread on Ramias face as the older gentleman laughed heartily.

  "HA ha ha ha. And here I thought it was about time to start anew, but to think I would encounter something this interesting? Ha ha ha ha." he laughed on, contemplating whether or not it was time to drink the two vitality elixirs he had acquired over the duration of his long life. 'Not just yet, but soon enough.' he decided at the end as he calmed down and slid back into his cushy chair, closing his eyes and musing on what would come next.

  ----------------

  "So, let's go and grab the rest of the team and head over towards our new home then?" Jack asked once he and Izumi were outside Ramia's shop and, receiving a nod of agreement from her, the two turned towards the inn their team awaited. As they walked back, they also talked about a few other tasks that were to be taken care of sooner rather than later, though none of said tasks was of too great an importance- they, like anyone else, would not discuss sensitive topics out in the open after all.

  Once again, their return back was quite uneventful, just like Jack preferred and once back, they quickly set to gathering their team. Once all together and their rooms now empty of any of their belongings, they headed out from this particular inn for the last time, exchanging a few words of thanks with their hosts and wishing them all the best. And so, a group of people with various degrees of smiles and excitement on their faces, a few amongst them not including, they headed out, their next destination their new home- Raven's roost.

  As their relatively large group walked down the paths of the city, both main roads and smaller alleys, they inadvertently drew more than a few pairs of eyes, a side effect of walking said paths with a group larger than the general party, thus no doubt plenty assumed they were some smaller guild that had gone recruiting and managed to arrive to the city with greater speed than the rest, though at the same time there was plenty of confusion as well, for the welcoming party had yet to start. And so, to remain on the cautious side, Jack's group was observed but otherwise left alone, so much so that Jack could not sense anyone actually trailing their group, no doubt the possible culprits too worried about the consequences should anyone be caught doing so.

  Approximately an hour later, the party stood in front of a decently sized inner wall, reaching as high as two and a half meters. It was a simple, yet quite pleasant looking stone wall, formed by using some sort of cement to keep rather large sized stones in their place, though at the same time Jack could also tell said walls were more decorative than to stop actual armed attackers- something he would work on to change quite soon. There would be plenty of stuff soon enough that would need plenty of protection and obscuration from the rest of local populace.

  Walking over to the front gate that was made of simple metal bars that were inhabited by a rather lush couple of plants that obscured even more of the inner garden, Jack fished out the key chain he had acquired alongside the documents of ownership. He fiddled with said key chain for a short while as he searched for the correct key and once done, proceeded to unlock the gates and push them open. And, as evidenced by the creaking of the gate, it was clear that not many, if any at all, were using said gates to come and go from the property- something that would soon change.

  Past the gate, a whole different sight came into their view, replacing the mostly monotonous brown of the city with plenty of space and greenery all around. A relatively wide space, though occupied in places by the buildings Jack and Izumi instantly recognized from the plans they were introduced to. And of course there were also plenty of flower beds all across the remaining garden and the party even noticed a small area closer to the walls on the far end of the property that seemed to house a fair few smaller trees, ones that reminded Jack of apple trees in particular, though he could not tell if it was precisely so.

  As a host of sorts, he gestured for the rest of the party to head on further in, encouraging them to explore their new home grounds to hearts contents and then meet up at the entrance of the main mansion where they could then decide on their rooms and any necessary change to be made should it be needed. As the excited group of 'kids' and the group of farmers headed further in, with Chiyo, Fumiko, Kaede and Izumi protectively surrounding the two PTSD girls, Jack himself stood back a bit, taking in the scene, yet again slight smile creeping on his face. There was something to becoming a parent/guardian of sorts and seeing your children/wards smiling and enjoying themselves in an otherwise hostile and cruel new and foreign world.

  Carla stood next to him, seemingly feeling similar, the same light smile on her face. The two just stood there for a few minutes in silence, their eyes following behind the group of 'kids' and observing how the two traumatised girls started to show the slightest signs of opening up. Then, Carla spoke.

  "I was actually quite prepared mentally to fail with those two. My skill set- both from our world and here- allows me to glimpse at the hurt my patients have experienced and soothe it, though through it I also a feel strongly dampened version of the very same events, and I have to tell you, I would not have had the will and heart to live on after what they went through. But they do, and I cannot allow myself to fail them. Doubly so now that they are showing the first real signs of recovery."

  Their gazes still remained on the group of girls who were followed by Kenji at a notable distance who acted like a proper protector- ready to rush ahead and intercept any danger that might appear out of nowhere. And, either through the trust they had developed towards Carla, or the warmth and safety they felt among the rest of the girls, they did not seem all that worried about his relative closeness.

  "Do tell me if you need anything else. Now that we have our own little corner, I can start and stretch out my hands and do more." Jack hummed, clearly expressing his desire to assist as necessary to facilitate the recovery of the two girls.

  "Well, now that you mention, there is something you could help with." Carla spoke up, as if having just remembered it upon Jack's prodding.

  "Go ahead?"

  "Mika and Kate, my two girls, have expressed their desire to talk with you. Everyone here knows that you played a major role in taking out the bastards that harmed them. I doubt anyone besides me and the two in question know just how far you went to do that much."

  "I am fine Carla. There is nothing hard about doing what I did when your 'victim' is a monster, especially so when on the other side of the scale are lives of innocent girls. Though I doubt me spending time with them right now would be for the best. No matter how you look at it, if you think about it, I am somewhat similar to the bastards that victimised them. You know what I am capable of doing after all. Let them get used to and open up to the rest of the group first and then bring them over. If need be, compare me to the large and mean looking pack leader that can be a real monster to protect it's own and that I want to consider them my own."

  "They trust you at the very least." she replied "But I can see where you are coming from and can appreciate the sentiment. Even if their image of you gets somewhat distorted to resemble reality, they will have the rest of the group to depend and rely on." she added as she headed out to catch up with the kids, more than one set of eyes searching for her every now and then.

  Jack Raja(?)

  Age- 27

  Species- human(?)

  Level- 15

  Class- Twin aspect of Creation and Destruction(EX)

  Stats unassigned: +11

  Attributes:

  Strength- 24 (14+7+3)

  Vitality- 23 (12+8+3)

  Dexterity- 21 (15+6)

  Intelligence-7

  Spirit- 25 (20+5)

  Skills- Wisdom of Creation and destruction(EX), Choice of the creator(EX), Eyes of procurer(EX), Matter storage(EX), Arukain language(C), Spark of inspiration(EX).

  Spells- none.

  Titles(unlocked): The real Monster, Big Game Hunter, The brilliant rookie, The insane Solo. The actor. Executioner. Survivor. Pioneer, Record breaker.The new champion supreme.

  Gear: amulet +2 vit: weapon- Gundao+3 str. Rings- spatial storage, vit +1.