Renard the Wandering Merchant didn't walk into the farmhouse; he sauntered.
He left his massive wooden crate outside in the snow ("It gets grumpy indoors," he claimed), carrying only a small, velvet-lined satchel.
The atmosphere in the kitchen was tight enough to snap a bowstring. Kael stood by the door, blocking the exit, his arms crossed and muscles coiled. Silas crouched by the hearth, a low growl rumbling in his chest every time Renard moved. Ignis polished his monocle, staring at the guest as if trying to dissect him with his eyes.
Renard, ignoring the hostility, sat at the head of the table. He pulled out a tin of aromatic tea leaves and set it down.
" Moon-Sugar Tea," Renard announced. "Grown on the peaks of the Floating Isles. Excellent for mana regeneration and reducing murderous impulses. Shall we brew a pot?"
Valeria sat opposite him. She didn't touch the tin.
"You said you have a System," Valeria said, her voice flat. "Explain."
Renard smiled. His eyes behind the round spectacles were slit-pupiled, shifting like liquid gold.
"Oh, not your System, my dear," Renard chuckled. "I don't have a Library in my head. I have the [Merchant's Ledger]. It tells me the value of things. And people."
He looked at Kael.
"Golden Tiger Hybrid. Value: Priceless to the Guild, dangerous to the health."
He looked at Ignis.
"Dragon Strategist. Value: A kingdom's ransom in tactical knowledge."
He looked at Valeria.
"Valeria. Value: [Error]."
Renard leaned forward. "When the Ledger gives me an error, it means I've found a singularity. A player who changes the rules. And I love rule-changers. They are such good customers."
Valeria relaxed slightly. He wasn't a Transmigrator. He was a Native with a Unique Class. A "Special NPC," in gaming terms.
"If you know what we are," Valeria said, "then you know we have no gold. We spent it all in the city."
"Gold is boring," Renard waved a hand. "I trade in barter. You have something I want. I have things you need."
"And what do we have?" Ignis asked suspiciously. "Besides snow and enemies?"
Renard pointed a gloved finger toward the greenhouse window.
"You have a World Tree Sapling," Renard whispered. "Do you have any idea how rare that is? The last known World Tree died three thousand years ago. It is the source of all pure mana. It is life itself."
"And you want to steal it?" Kael growled, stepping forward.
"Heavens, no!" Renard feigned shock. "It would die if I moved it! It has bonded to this land. No, I want to invest."
Renard opened his satchel. It was obviously a spatial artifact, as he pulled out items far larger than the bag itself.
He placed three items on the table.
1. [The Shroud of Mist (Artifact)]
A crystal orb filled with swirling grey smoke.
Effect: Generates a permanent illusion barrier over a 1-mile radius. Hides magical signatures from long-range scrying.
2. [Sky-Dancer's Flight Goggles]
A pair of leather goggles with blue lenses.
Effect: Allows the user to see wind currents and thermal updrafts. Enhances projectile accuracy by 50% while airborne.
3. [Seed of the Iron-Bark Oak]
A heavy, metallic acorn.
Effect: Grows into a tree with wood as hard as steel. Fireproof.
"The Shroud," Renard explained, tapping the orb, "will hide your tree's mana signature. The spirits will still come, but the Temple Paladins won't be able to sense the pulse from the city. Essential for privacy."
He slid the goggles toward Lucian. The Phoenix boy perked up, staring at them with longing.
"And the Iron-Bark," Renard finished. "Perfect for reinforcing your walls. Or building ballistae that don't warp."
Valeria looked at the items. They were exactly what she needed. The mana pulse from the greenhouse was becoming a beacon; hiding it was priority number one.
"What is the price?" Valeria asked.
Renard smiled. "One leaf."
The room went silent.
"One leaf from the World Tree," Renard clarified. "Plucked fresh. A single leaf contains enough concentrated life essence to heal a dying king, or... in my case... restore a lost memory."
Valeria hesitated. "Just a leaf? Not a branch? Not the sap?"
"Just a leaf," Renard promised. "I am a sustainable capitalist. Killing the goose that lays the golden eggs is bad business."
Valeria looked at Ignis. The Dragon gave a subtle nod. It's a fair trade.
"Deal," Valeria said.
The Transaction
They walked to the greenhouse.
The air inside was thick and humid, smelling of ozone and rich earth. The World Tree Sapling was now waist-high, its silver bark glowing softly. The leaves were emerald green with veins of pulsing silver light.
Renard stood at the doorway, respectful. He didn't enter the Sacred Ground.
"You do the honors, Gardener," Renard said.
Valeria approached the sapling. She felt the tree's consciousness—a warm, curious hum in the back of her mind.
Can I take a leaf? she asked mentally.
The tree hummed. A single leaf on a lower branch turned gold and detached, floating gently to the ground.
Gift, the tree seemed to say.
Valeria picked it up. It felt warm and heavy, like a coin.
She walked back and handed it to Renard.
The Fox Merchant took it with trembling hands. He placed it in a jeweled box lined with silk.
"Beautiful," Renard whispered. "The trade is concluded."
He handed Valeria the Shroud of Mist, the Goggles, and the Iron-Bark Seed.
[System Notification: Trade Complete.]
[Reputation with "Wandering Black Market": Friendly.]
"Now," Renard said, adjusting his coat. "A word of free advice, as a bonus."
He looked at Valeria, his expression serious for the first time.
"The Duke of Ironclad is a powerful ally. But he is a hammer. And hammers see every problem as a nail."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning he intends to use you," Renard said. "He hates the Guild, yes. But he fears the 'Beast King' prophecy more. If he realizes your husbands are not just strong, but Royal... he will turn that hammer on you."
Valeria nodded. "I figured as much. That's why we have the mines."
Renard laughed, his fox-grin returning. "I like you, Madame V. I'll be back in the spring. Try not to die."
He turned and walked out to his crate. He strapped it on, waved, and continued up the snowy road, disappearing into the whiteout as if he had never been there.
The Upgrades
With Renard gone, the team wasted no time.
Valeria installed the Shroud of Mist on the roof of the farmhouse.
"Ignis, activate it."
Ignis channeled mana into the orb.
Whoosh.
A ripple of grey energy washed over the valley. To the naked eye, nothing changed. But when Valeria looked through her Monocle, the blinding beacon of the World Tree's mana was gone, replaced by a dull, background hum that looked like normal forest magic.
"Stealth mode active," Valeria said. "Now the Paladins won't come knocking unless they have a map."
Down in the yard, Lucian was testing the goggles.
He strapped them on over his eyes.
"Whoa," Lucian gasped. "I can see... the air. It looks like rivers."
He looked up at the roof. "I can see the heat rising from the chimney. I can see the wind shear over the wall."
"Can you fly in this weather?" Valeria asked.
Lucian spread his velvet cloak/wings. He watched the "rivers" of wind. He spotted a thermal updraft coming from the heated greenhouse.
He jumped.
Instead of flapping frantically, he caught the thermal. He soared up, circling the house with effortless grace, banking off the wind currents like a hawk.
Thwip.
He drew his new crossbow (which Silas had grudgingly allowed him to borrow for testing) and fired a bolt while upside down.
It hit the target dummy's head dead center.
"Aerial superiority achieved," Kael grunted, watching from the ground. " The bird is dangerous now."
Three Days Later - The Counter-Attack
The peace bought by the storm and the trade didn't last long.
The blizzard cleared on the third morning, revealing a world buried in white. And with the clear skies came the response from the Beast Taming Guild.
They didn't send an army. They sent a message.
Valeria was in the greenhouse, harvesting the second batch of Spirit Wheat, when a shadow fell over the glass.
She looked up.
Stuck into the ground outside the greenhouse wall was a pike.
And on the pike was a head.
It wasn't a human head. It was the head of a Bear Beastman.
Valeria dropped her basket. She ran outside.
Kael and the others were already there. Kael was staring at the head, his fists clenched so hard his knuckles were white.
"Do you know him?" Valeria asked quietly.
"Rorn," Kael said, his voice a low rumble of grief. "He was... a pit fighter in the capital. We shared a cage once."
Ignis stepped forward. There was a note nailed to the pike.
He pulled it off and read it.
"To the thief hiding in Oakhaven. We know you have the Tiger. We know you have the Wolf. The Duke cannot protect you forever. Return our property within three days, or we will hang every beastman in the Northern District. One for every day you delay."
It was signed with the bloody imprint of a whip.
Valeria took the note. She read it. Then she crushed it in her hand.
"They're taking hostages," she said coldly. "Innocent slaves."
"They are trying to draw us out," Ignis said, his eyes burning. "If we leave the fort to save them, we lose our defensive advantage. They will ambush us on the road."
"But if we stay," Silas whispered, looking at the Bear's head, "they die."
The five husbands looked at Valeria.
This was the test. A Villainess would stay safe behind her walls. A Heroine would rush out and get killed.
Valeria looked at the pike. Then she looked at her fortress. Her ballistae. Her mines. Her well-fed, armed, and evolved family.
"Ignis," Valeria said.
"Yes?"
"How many Beastmen are held in the Northern District slave pens?"
"About fifty," Ignis estimated. "Mostly old, or young. Used for labor in the mines."
"Fifty," Valeria repeated.
She turned to the house.
"Kael, heat the forge. We need more arrowheads. Caspian, prepare the water tanks. Lucian, I need eyes on the road."
"What are we doing?" Kael asked, hope rising in his voice.
Valeria turned back, her violet eyes glowing with a terrifying resolve.
"The Guild wants us to come out? Fine. But we aren't going to negotiate."
She pointed to the map of the region Ignis had drawn.
"We're going to stage a prison break."
[Mission Alert: The Chains That Bind.]
[Objective: Liberate the Northern District Slave Pens.]
[Time Limit: 72 Hours.]
[Difficulty: S-Rank.]
[Reward: The Loyalty of an Army.]
"Pack the sleigh," Valeria ordered. "We're going to war."