By the time Frie and I were both finally satisfied, quite thoroughly at that, I had made an entirely new wardrobe exclusively for them. In it was an elective mix of outfits for my doll, all ranging from imitations of far eastern brawler attires to sharp butler uniforms. Yeah, I got carried away.

  Yeah I used up all our hemp cloth for these new clothes. Oops.

  But Frie could now easily go out and get more quickly. Between their new faster form and the manor's outer wall of ward bricks, I could confidently send Kuch out for extended periods of time and trust Frie for handling anything locally. Maybe even a little beyond, as I did want to now explore the deep woods and see whatever I could find in that direction. I also wanted to just circle around in all directions, because their new form could also now find and pick up even finer things I missed the first time around.

  While they gathered and explored, I sat in my workshop and reflected on the information I'd gotten from Gunther the mercenary through Kuch. It was a lot and answered quite a few questions. Sadly, it also raised quite a few more that I was itching to find an answer to one day. But maybe I should start from the beginning, like the man had.

  Long ago, this part of the continent had been made up of several different territories ruled by petty kingdoms who were constantly at odds with not just one another, but themselves too. But that had changed when the ruler of the Kerezim city-state had struck a bargain with dragons from afar. From them, they received the means and resources to produce a superior army that had been able to dominate the area and subjugate other rivals.

  Yet that apparently hadn't been enough for the one who started this off. House Dracht, as they had called themselves, held greater ambitions and turned their gaze further outwards. With supplementary armies drawn from their newly made tributaries, their own forces marched forward to conquer even more. Though apparently, sometimes the warring kingdoms had heard of the coming of this mighty force and bowed their heads without need of further coercion. So thus was born the empire.

  However, this rapid growth soon came to an end when the one who had enabled all this all perished so soon after their very own coronation as the first Emperor, and there was no direct heir. To avoid a bloody power struggle that could have very well shattered this fledgling superpower, grand concessions had been made made in the form of transforming the inheritance into an elected position. Each 'member' of the empire would vote and support whatever member of House Dracht they wished to sit on the throne next, thus all but guaranteeing that only the candidate with the most favor among the territories would lead.

  It wasn't the perfect arrangement and there had been more than a few civil wars still since. But the fact the empire withstood these, the passage of time, and even expanded since into new regions since had been proof it worked. So stood the Kerezim Empire through the rise and fall of many other competitors.

  That had been the quick little brief that apparently everybody born within its borders was taught. I suppose it was at least better than the other empire which had shown up in FLOW- that had been an unapologetic expansionist nation which wished to bring about their perceived world peace by total conquest of all other powers and assimilation into their cultural identity. Something that was so against everything that adventurers stood for, so little wonder why defeating and breaking it apart had been part of the world's storyline.

  It sounded like the Kerezim Empire was a similar institution, but one with a bit more freedoms. For one while they did tote their region's culture as being better, they didn't demand full subjugation and assimilation. Rather, according to Gunther, he had been taught both his local traditions and the declared imperial ones too, the latter of which came most useful when it came to traveling across the lands. That, along with a shared currency used throughout, made it so that people could at least travel across the borders of old and still be able to do business.

  Including, of course, the age-old career of selling one's own sword.

  Because with how vast the empire was, the elite forces of House Dracht couldn't be everywhere. In fact, it is said that the vast majority of the military was now drawn from member-states and often resolving conflicts across territories under different generals. So they couldn't handle the overwhelming demand from the various members and so thus, in addition to the allowance of personal House troops, an entire culture had developed around the existence of mercenary bands.

  I'll admit, I think Kuch was smiling a bit underneath their helmet at the reveal. Because while they certainly weren't adventurers, they were all but successors in spirit. Something which proved Shin would always had those who dared to gamble it all on a journey that could go anywhere and nowhere. I suppose that while I'm harsh on them, I only do so because I want them to become what like adventurers had been back in the day.

  That'd be a nice goal to set one day.

  Unfortunately, Gunther couldn't provide much about the history of this region. The Eber Marauders were from a region farther off, drawn only to this apparent far western frontier of the empire by lucrative contracts being offered by House Cordis. It had taken a little more prodding and the subtle bribe of another health potion for him to disclose what their job had been: reconnaissance for whatever laid beyond the wall, with direct orders to immediately return if there appeared to be another tide coming. And they were being paid handsomely for it, or relatively so at least.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  But I'll want to confirm that by seeing it with my own eyes first. Or at least through that of my doll's. In the meantime, I suppose I'll busy myself another way.

  If mercenaries were going to be exploring out beyond the wall and into the forest, they might just stumble across my abode. While I didn't have much to fear anymore, as I was sure now that Frie could dispatch them non-lethally, sending back bodies with broken bones and bruised egos was only slightly above dead corpses. So the best thing still was to avoid a fight, but I didn't have to run any longer. Rather, I could just hide now.

  Hm, that wasn't quite right. I suppose it was a more appropriate description to say I could hide my entire manor in plain sight. All because thanks to the sheer coincidence that Bedra, Mordred's mother, was an illusion dragon. In their very blood was the element of illusion magic that I could utilize.

  I couldn't do anything big, like transform my section of the woods into an endless labyrinth of the mind. I'd probably need an actual illusion specialist to create a ritual capable of such powerful power. But simple concealment should be possible with what I had first, and a quality one at that. If I could do that, then I could setup like a boundary where it looked like my little clearing in the woods was actually just a grove of trees. Combined with the ward bricks which could give a sense of unease to repel weaker individuals, then that should be enough for me to keep my place as private as possible unless you knew the truth about things. Or were powerful enough to overcome my defenses, at which point Frie would have to directly step in anyway.

  Right, let's get to work to make what I needed for the purpose.

  First of all, ink. Done already! I had made black dye to color the dragonbone armor that Kuch was wearing now. Boiling it down even further intensified the concentration until it was pure pitch black. Just bottle it up and there we go, natural ink. I could now draw my designs with precision yet unseen.

  Charcoal Ink (Item Quality: 139) (Infuse Level: 231)

  Oh, I supposed it did benefit from the fact my charcoal did get a pretty good upgrade when I unlocked iron tools. Neat, but sadly, the parchment I made from hemp was going to be a bit of a downer. It couldn't be helped because I couldn't make any better for the moment- I'd need access to cotton and silk to interweave into the mix. But the dragon blood might offset that, along with my skill.

  I mixed it with the ink now, using [Brew] to make sure it became a homogeneous mix. The addition colored it briefly, but the ink's dark color soon returned afterwards. Now when one peered through the glass into the depths of the ink, it was like a void that stretched on forever.

  Perfect.

  I made an ad-hoc brush using a stick and some freshly woven thread, then prepared the paper by cutting it into thin strips. Once those were laid out, I dipped the brush into the alchemical ink and began to write on the surface. Each stroke was sure, deliberate, creating a mix of symbols and characters that held my intent. Still, it was only a decorative piece of paper until I finished and activated the skill to turn it into a powered talisman. "[Engrave]."

  The ink flared and energy enveloped the talisman, activating the magic briefly. It soon faded but I could feel the ambient potential within my creation now. Even if I wasn't a spellcaster, I should be able to activate it as its 'owner' now.

  Illusion Misdirection Talisman (Final Grade: 411)

  Excellent. Time to see if it works. "Frie? Come over here a moment, I'm testing this."

  "On myself, no less," remarked the doll as they stood before me. "Go ahead."

  I tucked the talisman into their outfit and focused for a brief moment. Frie abruptly vanished and suddenly, in their place, was a great big tree. One that I studied and commented, "That definitely doesn't really fit my workshop aesthetic, does it?"

  "No, it certainly doesn't." Frie experimentally waved their arm about, but all I could see still was the tree. "Oh, this doesn't break no matter what I do. Guess the grade is high enough to make it a more stable illusion."

  "Am I sure about that? Take a step forward please."

  They did and the magic broke, the talisman dissolving. Frie frowned, thinking about the result. "Looks like since I made this to be a static but detailed thing, movement will break it."

  Which means a strong wind could accidentally break it. That's not good, not after I went through the effort of making the branches shake with the breeze while at that." I frowned in thought, trying to plan around bad weather now that it was mentioned. "If it gets wet too, that could still lead to it rotting and decaying. So I should make a structure to keep it safe and protected from the elements."

  "Might I suggest little enclosures, placed about the inside of the outer wall?"

  "Oh, good idea me! I did gather some more materials to make more ward bricks, haven't I? It'll even boost the range of the ward a bit more." I returned my attention back to the ink and papers before me. "I guess this is what I'll be doing for a while."

  "I'll take the chance to gather more materials then. Sounds like I need more clay and alchemy ward mix."

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