The Dreamer's POV

5[01 Months: 10 Days: 04 Hours]

Agriculture. Trade. Politics. Education.

There were many factors to consider when managing an entire region. The sheer mass of the Lyma Family's territory made it even more cumbersome to draft an effective, all-encompassing plan.

Fortunately, I didn't have to do it alone.

'When the time comes, I can always employ experts to assist me. The important thing right now is having the base idea and means to achieve it.'

I needed more money and power, which meant I needed certain commodities that were guaranteed to make swift and huge loads of money, while also spreading the influence of the Lyma Region.

'A monopoly would be nice to have. I guess we'll figure it out as we go forward.' My thoughts finally settled and I sighed.

'When did I become such a worrywart?'

I was a simple online freelance just two months ago, and now so many things about my life had changed.

Surprisingly, it didn't feel too bad. I didn't know how to properly describe it, but the fact that I could fly above a city and watch my supernatural subordinates perform the duties I told them to, while experiencing all I had… it gave a different feeling of satisfaction.

… Something I had never felt before.

"What are you doing, Mikey? Getting sentimental or wha—?" My words were suddenly cut short as I noticed something approach the city.

The smile I donned, and the flippant attitude I depicted quickly evaporated into thin air, replaced by a shrewd sense of suspicion.

'What is that?' Narrowing my gaze, I easily spotted the the 'thing' that neared the Lyma Capital.

It was… a bird?

The bird was pure white, having silver-like wings, flying gracefully like a dove, but it looked more like a luxurious kind of animal—the one rich people often had.

The bird flew overhead the Capital, and it approached the barrier that shrouded it.

'Is that…?' My thoughts were caught between two distinct thoughts, and while my suspicion began to evaporate, my caution remained intact.

The pure white bird entered the barrier, like a pebble breaking the surface tension of water as it sank inside. Rather intriguingly, it remained unaffected by the barrier.

That would mean one of two things:

Either it was a powerful force, one that could bypass the barrier—like the Dark Spawn—or a friendly force which was an exception placed on the barrier.

Friendly forces were recognized by the barrier as those who had the Lyma Family approval, or had been to the city at least once and had some sort of inprint from Theo. To be honest, it was a complicated thing that even I wasn't certain of.

It wasn't like I was the one who single-handedly made the barrier. I paid for it to be made, and experts assisted in constructing it.

I was only aware of its basic functions.

In any case, after observing the bird for barely a second, I could tell that it belonged to the latter classification; a friendly force recognized by the barrier.

The bird had the crest of the Lyma Family embedded on its chest, a golden display that tainted its purity. It also had a that it carried on its beak that unsurprisingly had the same crest sealed on it.

'Hm. I see. A delivery, huh?' I thought, my eyes still following the bird as it made its way to the Lyma Estate.

So it was a delivery bird, after all.

I trailed behind it, watching from a moderately far distance. The bird also easily passed through the Estate Barrier, and landed in the courtyard.

I watched as the Gatekeeper rushed towards the bird and took the package from its beak. Once the package was received, the bird flew off, and before long, it was out of the Lyma Capital.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

'So we have a package. Could it be what I think it is?' I asked myself, descending slowly to the Estate Grounds.

"A-ah, good day, Sir Luke. I just received a package from—"

"I understand. Let me take care of that, okay?" I interrupted the gatekeeper with a smile, stretching my hand for the package.

If this was what I thought it was, there was no time to waste on pleasantries with the gatekeeper. The sooner I took action, the better.

"Y-yes, right away!"

The moment I received the letter, I activated [Grand Teleportation], causing energy to swirl around me in a flash.

And before the man could even blink his eyes… I was gone.

*****

[Moments Later]

~VWUUSSSHH!~

In a swirl of light, I appeared in the same training hall I had been in just early this morning. The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was the determined face of Theo as he pushed himself up with his arms.

"F-fifty… two… f-f-fifty… three…"

He was doing pushups as part of his training regiment, and from the pool of sweat forming underneath him, I could tell that this wasn't his first go at it.

Drius stood behind him, his expression stern. For a man who usually would usually be so formal and respectful to Theo, he was being too heartless.

The little kid even seemed to be running out of breath, yet he didn't care.

His bare skin glistened with perspiration, and his teeth could clearly be seen with him gritting them as he numbered his pushups.

'Ah… isn't this a little extreme?' In the end, Theo was just 8 years old.

I couldn't imagine any 8 year old on Earth going through so much intense training. Then again, just how much did I know about the world before coming here?

'Well, if it's for progress… then it's fine.'

Besides, there was another reason I was here, so empathizing with Theo for his current hellish state was the least of my worries.

"You two, a letter just arrived."

They both looked at me as I approached them, the package from earlier dangling at my fingertips as I drew closer.

"It's addressed to you, Theo…" I paused, my gaze resting on the huffing kid.

"... And it's from your relatives."

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[A/N]

The Arc has been slow for a reason, but don't you worry. It builds up exponentially as the story goes on.

Thanks for reading.

Cheers!