"You’d only use them for wine," Orion said. "This is cheaper."
"Lies," Magi said gravely, lifting his empty cup. "But I find myself... interested." He set it down, met Orion’s eyes. "We’ll build it."
Edgar glanced to the window, gauged the position of the sun out of habit. "We should drop the veil before attendants start imagining conspiracies."
Orion pressed the cube; the barrier withdrew with a whisper, returning the room’s sound to its normal grain, the faint street noise, the floorboard creaks, the subtle clink of a bottleneck meeting wood as if the space itself exhaled.
"Good," Orion said, standing up. "Draft me a rough plan by tomorrow. We will go and look for some people before sunset tomorrow. And Magi... get some sleep in between the ledgers."
Magi saluted with his quill. "Aye, Boss. I’ll dream of forms." He hesitated, then added with a wry smile, "And, ah—thanks for trusting me with the messy bit."
Orion’s smile turned warmer. "You keep increasing my wallet," he said. "Now you’ll help keep it safe." He clapped Magi’s shoulder once, firm. "I’ll take your protection fees when I need them."
"Unfair," Magi muttered, but he was smiling as he watched them go, already pulling a clean sheet and scrawling a title across the top: Quiet Ledger — Debt Collector Magi’s Beginning. Luna’s ears dipped like quotation marks.
Out in the hall, the shop’s noises drifted up, a merchant’s argument turning into laughter, the murmur of coin made into promise.
Edgar walked a step behind Orion. "A lot to build," he said.
"A lot worth building," Orion answered.
They walked out of the store into the market’s voice; hawkers calling over one another, the sweet-oil smell from a skewer stall already doing brisk sin at noon.
Orion and Edgar walked through the sea of people walking around, stepped into the light like men surfacing from deep water, and found Lucan half-reclined on the driver’s bench, hat in hand for once.
"Where to now, Young Master? Back to the mansion?" Lucan asked, trying to read Orion’s face and failing, because only Lumi could do that reliably.
"No," Orion said, rolling his shoulders. "Property hunt. I need a good-sized courtyard in the Fourth Ring and a few in the Fifth."
Lucan’s grin sharpened, this, at least, seemed interesting. "Aye." He vaulted up, gathered the reins; the horses tossed their heads as if they too approved of errands that weren’t naps.
Edgar climbed in with Orion, the door closed shut as the carriage began rolling on the ground.
They travelled through the Fourth Ring, where various establishments were erected and apprentices ran with all their might to finish their work.
Orion watched the streets, not like a buyer, but like a player checking the board: alleys, sightlines, where the city guard liked to loiter, where they didn’t. Edgar’s eyes did a quieter version of the same.
[Target acquired? ( •̀ ω •́ )✧]
Lumi teased, her tiny window hovering near the carriage roof.
’Soon,’ he murmured.
The broker they used, Master Quell, had the signature smile of a man who’d learned how to sell even his own kind for profit without breaking his smile.
He led them to three courtyards within a few blocks of the Guild District’s outer wake, while smoothly talking to them like a prostitute.
Orion raised an eyebrow, "What? If Apple can exist then can Banana not?" shaking his head, he stamped the paper with his seal.
"Uhh about the funds...." Quell softly asked.
"I will deposit half today," Orion said, and a pouch of CGMC appeared in his hand which he tossed towards Quell. "I want this house ready by tomorrow. I don’t care if you have to hire mages for that or what, you will get the rest of the payment then."
They walked out with a rolled deed sealed in green wax. Orion passed the tube to Lucan without breaking stride. "Send this to Magi when you are free."
Lucan chuckled and saluted. "Sure thing, I also want to have a drink with him."
After heading back to the carriage, the group continued towards the Fifth Ring. As the carriage continued rolling toward the Fifth Ring, the artistic refinement of the Fourth Ring gave way to the lively chaos of common life.
Streets widened and buildings shrunk from marble-fronted grandeur to cozy brick-and-timber dwellings packed close like chicks in rain.
Most of the place was overtaken by residents of workers and farmers while some places had small markets for vegetables or little trinkets. Children ran all over the place while laughing and playing with each other.
Orion watched silently, observing the shifting nature of the city’s mood from Fourth Ring to Fifth Ring. Edgar sat in silence across from him, occasionally glancing out the window to measure the changing surroundings.
Lucan steered them expertly through winding streets, avoiding carts piled with fresh produce, livestock led by farmers, and noisy clusters of laborers.
Finally, they stopped outside a broker’s humble office in the Fifth Ring, marked by a small wooden sign carved with a quill and scroll.
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