"The boys are not happy,

" Irea muttered silently, even going as far as to lower her head to stop others from noticing this small remark.

"I know,

" Layn nodded his head as he replied with a whisper.

"It would be strange if they weren't worried,

" he added with a small smile.

Right now, every last person in the camp venturer for the lands of the neighboring Overlord of Origin yet again. But this time, there were no archers from the far north that could help them out.

And little to say, even if their belongings were quite limited, not to say worthless, the thought of leaving them all to fate didn't sit well with most of the mercenaries.

"Sir! What if someone comes and wreaks havoc in the factory?!

" One of the mercenaries protested strongly. According to the rumors Layn heard at that time, the man was even willing to strap himself to the brick-producing plant in an attempt to stay back and protect it from harm.

'I didn't expect that everyone would take this journey that heavily,' Layn thought with worry, casting a stealthy glance at his followers.

Outside of Irea, whose loyalty Layn didn't dare to question, he could only fully trust two other mercenaries.

First was Antion, the former prefect of the Military camp. Starting with how much he abandoned to follow after Layn and how likely he was a pretty valuable commodity to sell in the nearest prison, Layn didn't expect any form of betrayal from him.

The situation with the other guy was quite the opposite. According to his nature, Pavrien should be the person most susceptible to attempts at taking advantage of the situation, whatever that situation might be. But his scheming nature and wit also meant that he was too intelligent to harbor any hopes of ever standing against Layn.

There was also the factor of possible rewards and punishment that those two would receive in plenty for whatever service or disservice they would provide.

Then there was the matter of Al. While Layn didn't expect any sort of open and bloody betrayal from him, he could also understand the man's unwillingness to go.

At first, Layn thought that convincing Al to the plan would be the easiest part of the entire task. After all, this mission harbored a huge chance of falling out with the monsters, which would result in a fight that Al clearly craved for. But that man wasn't as stupid as one would think one's ancestors were.

While initially interested, Al's enthusiasm quickly vanished when he realized that the actual mission wasn't about fighting with the monsters but making a mutually beneficial pact with them. That's why, now that the man reluctantly agreed to participate out of the sheer hope for a nice fight, Layn didn't expect any direct betrayal.

After all, he would settle the business with this man once everyone's forces would assemble on the camp, provoking the debate of who should lead everyone towards the brighter future.

But right now, it was the mercenaries that remained that Layn was worried about.

Given the difference in strenght that he was always sure to show up, Layn didn't expect any of the mercenaries to openly go against him... Which meant they were likely to try something sneaky. And given how delicate the situation they were putting themselves to be in, that gave those discontent mercenaries the best possible way to stir up trouble without directly opposing Layn's orders.

"I guess they have yet to realize the limitations to our growth,

" Layn said, slightly clenching his teeth.

"They are too eager for their own good,

" he added in a normal voice, not carrying for the people in question eavesdropping on his words.

"Isn't this mission aimed for the future?

" Irea asked, quickly realizing how broken her question was.

"I mean, we can somehow make do by ourselves. I thought expansion into the forest was for the sake of the people that will start arriving soon,

" Irea explained her earlier question, looking up at Layn's face.

"That's not the case at all.

" Layn shook his head.

"In fact, I'm not really bothered with the manpower. It's just that...

" Layn started speaking, only to turn silent a moment later.

"No, let me put it in other words. Tell me, what would you do if there was no source of light in this world besides the sun, but you could produce light with magic?

" Layn asked a strange question out of the blue, putting Irea in a spot.

'Is this another of the tricky questions of his?' Reminded by the previous instances when Layn attempted to lead her to some kind of answer, the girl almost panicked. Only a few deep breaths allowed her to keep her mind sane as she finally stirred it into action.

"I guess I would use my magic to produce light unless it would be absolutely necessary not to do this?

" Irea answered her question, although the shaky voice was a great giveaway of how much of a guess her answer actually was.

"That's exactly the point,

" Layn nodded his head. He then put a thoughtful expression on his face.

"People use magic when it's convenient. But they are not likely to use magic to light their way to toilet if they are candles always within one's reach and ready to use, right?

" Layn smiled as he brought out this random example.

"I guess?

" Irea replied, not really sure how she was supposed to react.

"There are powers are mighty if not greater than magic in this world. Those powers can turn stuff that we use magic to deal with today into something that will happen in the background, without our involvement whatsoever,

" Layn said as he raised his eyes towards the distance. Right at its edge, the green tops of the forest slowly started to appear.

"What kind of stuff do you mean?

" Irea asked. The gears in her brain continued to spin as she processed everything that Layn said.

"Let's bring the topic of the bricks again,

" Layn proposed before sinking in his thoughts for a moment.

"With proper automation, we could make a plant that produces the bricks... all on its own,

" Layn revealed, already coming up with a blueprint for the plant and all the necessary machinery needed to set it up.

"Humans would only need to make sure the plant has the necessary resources for it to keep going,

" Layn explained, as his eyes finally moved down, indicating that he left the land of his dreams and thoughts.

"That's...

" For a moment, Irea looked at Layn as if he suddenly turned into a comedian. But as she continued to look at his face, she slowly began to realize that he wasn't joking.

"Is this really possible?

" she asked, more herself rather than anyone else.

"It's pretty easy, in fact,

" Layn added, making the truth even harder to accept for the girl.

"The problem is,

" Layn started, looking towards the trees in the distance,

" we are likely to be completely out of resources necessary to kickstart the process,

" he said, squinting his eyes.

Far in the distance, a small cloud of fog started to rise.

"And that's why we are desperate to get a part of the forest?

" Irea asked, proving that she was at least capable of guessing that much.

"Exactly,

" Layn smiled before patting himself on the chest, where the small pyramid with magical coins was hidden.

"We are going to give them an offer that only an idiot would refuse. If they do, then we will fight to conquer a small part of the forest,

" Layn announced something that was already well agreed upon, even if no one ever said a word about it.

"But in the off chance that they will understand my intentions, I'm more than willing to just exchange territory with them so that both parties are happy!

" Layn shouted, hoping that the message would reach the ears of those stubborn enough to harbor any thoughts of opposing not only him but his plans as well.

"I guess we will learn what those monsters will make out of your intentions soon,

" Irea said, glancing towards the rising cloud of dust in the distance.

"Yeah,

" Layn said, standing down and raising his hand up. In a flash, the entire group came to a stop. Once everyone stopped moving, Layn started to walk forward.

The horde of the monsters that created the duststorm was getting closer with every passing second. But Layn continued to walk forward as if he was going to meet a friend, not encounter a horde of maddened monsters.

"I wonder if it will work,

" Layn thought, pulling out the artifact from underneath his robe. With this pyramidical item in his hands, he continued to walk towards the wave of the monsters.

A hundred meters.

Fifty meters

Ten meters...

The monsters never stopped. They crashed right into the barrier that Layn created roughly a meter ahead of himself.

"I wish to speak to one of your representatives,

" he said as he approached the invisible wall and stared right into the eyes of the first monster that caught his eye.

Then, the monster's pupils suddenly turned black, as the wolf-like beast suddenly ceased to struggle.

In an instant, all the monsters calmed down before retreating.

All the monstres outside of the one that Layn looked in the eye.

"I guess we can finally have some mature talk,

" Layn said with a small smile, looking at the wolf-like monster.

But no matter how long he waited, there was no response. Not a word. Not even a single bark.

"Well, I guess I will start, then,

" Layn smiled before placing the pyramidical item right in front of himself.

"This is the price I'm willing to pay for a part of the forest.

"