It was a nerve-wracking 5 days, but somehow or another, Redwood Town weathered through them and it was now finally time for the Roth Family group to enter the Great Western Forest.
At the western edge of town, Charles, Sasha, Anna, and several others stood by to see off Young Lord Madison. None of them particularly wanted to be there, but even if the other party was rude and condescending towards them, the leadership of Redwood Town couldn't afford to treat the Roths with the same level of disrespect.
"Baron Charles, Lady Sasha, your hospitality these past few days has been… not unpleasant," Madison Roth declared in a clearly disinterested tone.
Bowing politely, in accordance with noble etiquette, Charles and Sasha both thanked the arrogant young man for his compliment, their faces remaining flat and inexpressive the whole time.
Had this been a few days ago, Charles, with his normal hot temper, might have gotten angry, but after 5 days of constantly being derided like this, he had eventually grown numb to it and just wished for the whole experience to be over. The quickest way to achieve that was to just nod along while letting such comments flow in one ear and out the other.
While this approach was still frustrating, it seemed to be effective, as after exchanging the requisite formalities, Madison Roth turned to leave with his subordinates in tow.
However, just as the young lord was about to walk off, he seemed to remember something and turned back to say, "Ah yes, about that soap of yours. We can discuss my Roth Family cooperating with your quaint little town on its production when I return."
It took great discipline for Sasha, Charles, and Anna to hold their expressions steady when they heard this.
Ultimately, it had proven impossible to keep the existence of soap hidden from the Roth Family over their 5 days stay in Redwood Town, which was hardly surprising as almost half of the townsfolk used soap on a regular basis.
When some of the Roth Family guards discovered soap being used in the inn they were staying at and reported it to their Young Lord, Madison Roth hadn't thought much of it. As a wealthy descendant of the Roth Family, Madison had never had to worry about money, so he naturally didn't understand the value of this cleaning product.
Unfortunately for Redwood Town, not everyone around Madison Roth was a fool, and some of the young lord's more cunning subordinates soon pointed out the commercial potential of this Bathing Cream substitute.
After understanding the real value of soap, not just commercially but also as a merit he could use to gain some favour in his family, Madison had immediately sought out Sasha and proposed 'cooperating' with Redwood Town to produce it.
While on its face, there didn't seem to be anything nefarious about this proposal, it didn't take a genius to understand that given the severe disparity in wealth and resources between Redwood Town and the Roth Family, any partnership would swing heavily in favour of the latter party.
Essentially, Madison Roth was trying to poach the soap business from Redwood Town, making only the flimsiest attempt to disguise his intentions.
When Sasha first heard this proposal, she had been livid and wanted to smash in Madison's smug looking face, but she forced herself to hold back, deciding to play for time instead, saying she would need to consult with her business partners, including the Rising Sun Merchant Guild.
Sasha had hoped that by mentioning Redwood Town already had a contract with this famous chamber of commerce, she could somewhat deter the naïve young lord; and, in the moment, it seemed to work. No matter how flippant and ill-informed Madison Roth was, he knew just what the Rising Sun Merchant Guild was and how much power it wielded.
Once again, though, the young lord's aides spoiled things for Redwood Town, quickly informing Madison that the Rising Sun Merchant Guild always prioritized profits, so as long as they didn't violate any of the Guild's own rules, they wouldn't raise any complaints.
After that little talk with his advisors, Madison was absolutely confident he had won, so he simply declared that the formal partnership would be drawn up at a later date and no longer mentioned the issue, as if the matter was settled.
For a time, Sasha was furious, and it was only after discussing it with Lucas, who told her not to pay it any mind, that she finally calmed down.
That wasn't to say that anyone from Redwood Town was happy about this arrangement, especially Lucas who felt like he was being robbed, but they all knew they were helpless to resist, so dwelling on the subject didn't serve any purpose.
On top of that, Lucas wasn't lacking for ideas about how to make money, so he wasn't overly concerned about soap not being one of them anymore.
Perhaps in a good mood, or perhaps just not caring, Madison Roth didn't pay the silent treatment he received from Charles and Sasha any mind and continued on his way, taking his guards and subordinates with him.
…..
Once the last member of Madison Roth's team disappeared into the Great Western Forest, Sasha, Charles, and the rest of the Redwood Town delegation broke up and made their way back home.
Upon arriving back at the Town Lord's Manor, Sasha was greeted by the sight of a great many carriages, wagons, and horses which had been left behind by the Roth Family group, something which got her blood pumping again.
Even after leaving, the Roths were creating problems for Redwood Town.
Although the outskirts of the Great Western Forest weren't too dense or rough, the terrain deeper inside was much less forgiving, making it difficult to use horses, much less wagons. As such, most of the mounts and all the carriages of Young Lord Roth were left in the care of Redwood Town.
The wagons and carriages weren't too big a deal as they just needed to be parked somewhere and then ignored; but feeding, water, sheltering, and exercising nearly 150 horses, even if they were all just ordinary Mid-Rank First Order Wild Beasts, was no small burden.
For the next 50 days, the length of time Madison Roth's trial was supposed to take, Redwood Town had to care for these horses essentially for free. The lead steward of the Roth Family group had promised them some compensation for their efforts, but also said it would only be paid once they returned and ensured their mounts were in good condition.
Needless to say, Charles and Sasha weren't happy about this arrangement. They had considered possibly using these horses around town to provide some extra labour, extracting some value from them, but they quickly discarded the idea.
If even one of the Roth Family horses suffered some kind of injury or disease, they could kiss any idea of being compensated goodbye. It simply wasn't worth the risk.
Still, despite all the lingering frustrations, just having the Roths leave brought a sense of relief to the citizens of Redwood Town, and after a couple of days, things began to get back to normal.
The bathhouse was reopened, the inns cleared up, and the Central Square became lively again. While the people of Redwood Town might not be very strong, that didn't mean they weren't resilient, so it didn't take long for them to settle back into their regular routines.
…..
At sunrise 5 days after Madison Roth's group departed, Lucas found himself at the eastern edge of town to see off his parents. Drake's furnace had been damaged by the Roth Family blacksmith, so he needed to purchase a replacement for it, which meant taking a 3-day carriage trip to Herald City.
The only reason Drake hadn't departed sooner was because he had too many simple repair jobs lined up that he had to finish first.
Knowing Drake would likely be gone for an entire month, Anna had decided to accompany her husband on this little trip while leaving Lucas in Charles and Sasha's care. This wasn't the first time Lucas had stayed over at the Town Lord's Manor, so the young boy had no objections to his parents taking a bit of a vacation.
"I won't tell you to be on your best behaviour, as I'm sure you will be, but do try to not stir up trouble, Son," Drake ruffled Lucas' hair.
Nodding, Lucas replied with a grin, "Don't worry, Dad, I'll be good. Just go and enjoy your alone time with Mom in the city!"
The boy's comments earned him an even rougher tousle of his hair as well as an embarrassed smack on the back of his head from his father and mother respectively.
After saying their goodbyes, Anna and Drake both boarded a carriage which was bound for Herald City, together with several other travelers who were headed that way. It was always safer to travel in a group than on your own, and there were always people who needed to head to the local city for various reasons, so putting together a carriage or two with a couple dozen people aboard once every 10 to 15 days wasn't difficult.
Lucas continued waving to the receding carriage for some time before he finally turned around and headed back home to get his things.
Tying a pre-packed sack of clothes and a few other items onto his wooden training sword, Lucas slung everything over his shoulder and walked out of the house. There really wasn't much else for the young boy to bring along, as everything he needed would be available at his Uncle Charles' place.
When he reached the main entrance to the Town Lord's Manor, Lucas found his Big Sister Eris there waiting for him, a big smile on her face.
Thanks to the early start to harvest season, the uninvited guests from the Roth Family, and a flurry of other activities, it had actually been quite a few days since Lucas was able to meet up with Eris, so the two were naturally quite happy to see one another.
Seemingly unable to wait, Eris actually dashed out and ran up to Lucas, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him along, "Come on! I'll show you to your room!"
Seeing no reason to refuse, Lucas allowed Eris to drag him wherever she pleased and soon arrived at a certain guest room in the Manor where the 13-years-old girl practically ripped the young boy's belongings out of his arms before again dragging him off again.
It was only after training together for 2 hours that Eris finally relented and allowed Lucas a moment to rest. It was also at that point that Sasha and Charles appeared, both of them welcoming Lucas to their home for the next month while the latter asked, "Lucas my boy, how are you settling in?"
"Everything is perfect, Uncle," Lucas replied as he tried to catch his breath.
"Hahaha, good boy! If only my Eris could learn some of your politeness. Honestly, where does that tom-boy get her crude attitude from," Charles laughed raucously.
Lucas had the urge to say that his Big Sister must take after her father, but he wisely kept such thoughts to himself, "Is there anything I can do to help out while I'm staying here?"
"Hmm," Charles, knowing what kind of boy Lucas was, didn't immediately say there was no need for him to do anything and instead gave the request some serious thought.
"Dear, why don't you take Eris and Lucas along with you on your field inspection," Sasha suggested.
If Anna or Drake had been around, this suggestion might have raised a few eyebrows as the field inspection was solely the duty of the Town Lord, not something an unrelated boy would normally participate in.
As Charles' current successor, taking Eris along to learn about this annual tradition made perfect sense, but it had nothing to do with Lucas… yet.
The 4 adults who had adventured together for many years before settling in Redwood Town had basically decided that their kids would eventually become a couple, and Lucas and Eris didn't seem to have any objections to this plan, so the arrangement was all but set in stone. As such, Sasha didn't see any problem with introducing her son-in-law to some of his future responsibilities.
"En, why not," Charles, being a carefree spirit, also didn't have any issue with his wife's suggestion, so he immediately agreed to it.
As for Lucas, he simply tilted his head and asked curiously, "What's a field inspection?"