Sowing the Seeds of the Future

Though it was taking Paul a bit of time to adapt to his new sleeping arrangements, the days that followed his third round of gacha were filled with fortuitous encounters and occurrences.

The day following their summoning, Paul introduced Ningguang, Ganyu, Barbara, Rosaria, and Diona to his father. Amarant was a little concerned by the presence of even more young girls around his son, but his worries immediately faded when he learned that Ganyu could potentially treat his wife.

Upon meeting her son's new companions, Valentine couldn't help being taken with Diona and Ganyu. The former had a bit of a sharp tongue, but she was actually a very caring and affectionate young girl. As for Ganyu, everything about her was adorable.

In the end, it turned out that Valentine's illness wasn't an illness at all. At the very least, she wasn't sick when Ganyu gave her a check-up. The crux of Valentine's issues was the fact she had been taking so many medicines since she was a child that her immune system had been compromised. As for her constant infirmity, it was a combination of her secretly depressive state of mind and the fact Amarant was constantly bringing home foreign bacteria as a result of his travels.

Fortunately for Amarant, who briefly became depressed upon learning the truth of his wife's illness, Valentine's condition was not incurable. It would take several years for her to make a full recovery, but her condition would steadily improve with a combination of rehabilitation, proper nutrition, and the consumption of natural antibiotics. To that end, Ganyu volunteered to be Valentine's caretaker as it had already been decided that she wouldn't be one of the people attending the Academy with Paul.

Needless to say, Amarant was beyond enthused to find out that his wife would make a slow yet full recovery. Ningguang took advantage of this to reach an agreement with the man. She claimed that she would be able to increase the income of House Notos by at least 40% by the time of Paul's tenth birthday. More importantly, she claimed to be able to do it without raising taxes or embezzling funds from the citizenry.

While Amarant didn't believe Ningguang's claims, he still agreed to her proposal after nearly four hours of discussion. She would only be able to travel with him when Paul was visiting home from the Academy, but she and Ganyu would be allowed to learn how to administer the Estate from Valentine and the current Chamberlain. If her claims proved true, he was willing to act as her Sponsor, guaranteeing her the title of Baroness and promising to consider her marriage with Paul.

Though Ningguang would have preferred something more than a promise, she understood Amarant's unwillingness to trust a complete stranger with the entire Region's finances. She would need to earn his trust with results, so while Paul was away at school, she would be accompanying his mother and gradually increasing her influence within the Notos Estate.

Fortunately for Ningguang, Paul really had been fortunate with the 'pulls' he made through the Intersection of Fate. She could have made do with just Zhongli, but Ganyu possessed more than 3000 years of knowledge and experience as the Liyue Qixing's Secretary. She was an unbelievably capable ally to have from the very beginning, so much so that Ningguang almost felt like she was being handed the means for success rather than having to earn them.

Providing Ningguang with even more options, Diona was a genius when it came to creating cocktails and improving the quality of alcohol. She had a deep disdain for both, but it didn't take much effort to convince her to use her inborn talent to aid their cause.

While Diona's abilities might not have been practical elsewhere, she may as well be the Patron Goddess of House Notos. They had a monopoly on alcohol production and distribution, so Diona's unique talent would allow them to drastically increase their profits by simply improving the quality of their product.

The only thing Ningguang was missing to guarantee the success of her plans was a reliable information network. She could have used people like Kaeya and Rosaria if they were older, but, even then, it would take years, if not decades, to spread her influence throughout the entire Region. At least, that's how it would have been if not for the fact that slavery was 'very' prominent within the world of Mushoku Tensei.

Though Paul had been against the idea at first, it didn't take much effort for Ningguang to convince him that hiring slaves greatly benefitted both them and the slaves themselves. Much like how he had helped Lilia, they could help hundreds, if not thousands, of slaves avoid a far more terrible fate.

At the end of the day, metaphorically speaking, Ningguang had everyone in the Notos Estate dancing in the palm of her hand. She wasn't in control just yet, but she had made a favorable impression on Valentine, convinced Amarant to put his promise into writing, and knew exactly what to say and do to get Paul to agree with her. She also had the confidence and support of everyone from the Intersection of Fate. The only thing she was lacking was an official title and the status that came with it. However, unless Paul reneged on his promise, Ningguang was confident she could convince him to tie the knot. Even if he did, she could be 'very' persuasive...

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"Be safe on the road and diligent in your studies. When you return, we will be waiting for you."

A stark contrast to everyone else in Paul's entourage, Ningguang was wearing the fashionable clothes of a young Noblewoman. Her contract with Amarant had provisionally elevated her to the status of a Baroness, so she was already playing the part of Paul's future wife. This would have been considered a faux pas in any other circumstance, but her unfettered confidence left people questioning whether or not they were the ones in the wrong.

Having gotten used to Ningguang's behavior over the last week and a half, Paul just smiled in response to her words before nodding his head and saying, "Leave it to me."

Nodding her head in approval, Ningguang shifted her attention to Jean, Barbara, Xiangling, and Xinyan. They were the ones chosen to accompany Paul to the Milbots Academy, so Ningguang adopted an authoritative tone as she said, "I am entrusting our Master's safety to you. Ensure he returns to us, no matter the cost."

With Ningguang forcing them to rehearse their response for nearly three hours, Jean, Barbara, Xiangling, and Xinyan all bowed in concert as they chorused, "No matter the cost."

Offering an additional nod, Ningguang gestured for the quartet to rise before raising her left hand. In response, Paul inhaled an audible breath before accepting it and planting a lingering kiss on her ring finger. He felt like he was being ensnared in Ningguang's trap, but things had improved so drastically since her arrival that Paul no longer cared...

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A stark contrast to the other times they had ridden together in a private carriage, Paul was relaxing with his eyes closed while Jean and Barbara used his shoulders and pillows. One of the things that had changed most drastically since the eve of Paul's third round of summoning was how he interacted with the girls who proactively approached him. He refused to take the initiative, but he allowed them to do pretty much whatever they wanted so long as it didn't cross an increasingly obscure line...

Feeling the bumpy carriage slow to a stop, the eyes of everyone within gradually opened, Xinyan being the first to sleepily inquire, "Are we there yet...?". They had only been around 58km away when they set out earlier that morning, so the convoy commander had decided to continue moving forward even after the sun had gone down.

Instead of answering Xinyan's question, a frown developed across Paul's face as he strained his eyes to activate his X-Ray Vision. Milbots Academy was a heavily fortified, wall-off town with numerous security checkpoints and cobblestone roads. If they were nearing their destination, it would be apparent from the sound of hooves on hard stone.

Since bandit and monster attacks weren't exactly silent or discreet, Paul expected to find something like a downed tree or a rockslide blocking the road. Instead, the entire convoy was halted by a single woman with short black hair, a voluptuous figure, and a longsword strapped to her waist.

As if she could sense his gaze, the woman spontaneously ceased talking to the convoy commander, her piercing blue eyes zeroing in on Paul and causing his body to immediately tense.

"What...the...fuck...?"

"Is it the enemy!?"

Unsheathing her sword, Jean was prepared to charge out of the carriage and meet the enemy head-on. Before she could, Paul grabbed her wrist, perspiration condensing on his brow as he said, "Don't...whoever that is, she isn't an opponent we can fight...not yet..."

Though she wanted to protest, Jean immediately quieted down when Paul asserted, "I said no." in a firm, authoritative tone.

Nodding her head, Jean returned to her seat but chose to keep her sword at the ready. She didn't doubt that the person outside was someone she couldn't defeat. However, that wasn't enough to deter her. If push came to shove, she, Xiangling, and Xinyan were prepared to stake everything so that Barbara could pull Paul to safety.

Fortunately, things didn't come to that, as, shortly after she exchanged glances with Paul, the rather heroic-looking woman stepped off the road so that the convoy could pass. As it did, she followed Paul's carried with her piercing blue eyes, a faint smile on her face as she slowly mouthed a few words. Paul wasn't particularly good at reading lips, but due to how slow the woman's mouth was moving, his body tensed as he managed to make out the words, "See. You. Around."

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With no further incidents, the convoy carrying Paul and his companions reached their destination shortly after 11 PM. It took an additional two hours to get everything unloaded and moved up to his room, but once everything had calmed down, Paul was genuinely relieved to be back in his room at the Milbots Academy. He wasn't particularly fond of the idea of having to interact with the children of other Nobles, but he enjoyed the relative freedom that came with living in the dorms.

*tok* *tok* *tok*

"The bath's ready."

Hearing Xinyan's voice through the door to his private quarters, Paul nodded his head towards no one in particular as he said, "Be there in a moment."

Instead of waiting for Paul to come out, Xinyan opened the door to reveal she was already wearing a thin towel. Paul's brows furrowed when he saw this, but he didn't say anything. He had kept the promise they made back in the Intersection of Fate, so, even when she was completely exposed in the bath, he didn't look away or keep his eyes closed. He just didn't stare at anything he shouldn't.

After making her way over to where Paul was seated, Xinyan linked her arms around his shoulders, leaning against him as she asked, "What are you up to?"

Though Xinyan could clearly see what he was doing, Paul explained, "I'm sketching the woman that blocked our convoy. I forgot to ask the convoy commander about her identity, so I intend to ask the Headmistress if she recognizes her."

While bringing her arms up as if to embrace Paul, Xinyan hummed a soft, "Mmm..." before adding, "Don't take too long..." and planting a kiss on his cheek. In response, Paul set aside his piece of charcoal, muttering, "I can finish it later..." before rising to his feet and accompanying the increasingly affectionate rockstar to his private sauna...

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