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As the situation in the Frozen Kingdom was slowly approaching its end, the Saint Heaven Kingdom already passed the setback that it suffered from the previous calamity. They already recovered everything with the help of NPCs organizations.
As for the player's organizations, the group that lend the kingdom the most was the Hand of Midas Trading Firm. And due to that, their influence and reputation with the NPCs reached an unreachable height. They became saviors of the kingdom.
With this kind of reputation, the trades that they could make to the NPCs groups and organizations would be very good. Moreover, the members of the trading firm would also get quests from the NPCs would be much easier.
Even though the Hand of Midas was a lifestyle guild filled with players who focused on production class, there were still some members who had combat class, especially the ones who were assigned to jobs that needed to have combat players such as expedition teams that were looking for rare resources and escorts responsible for guard the guilds caravans.
Such players would benefit a lot from the quests that the NPCs would give them.
On the other hand, the biggest reward that the Trading Firm would get was a huge reduction in their taxes from different NPC cities within the kingdom. Some cities were even exempting them from taxes.
This result alone made Shiella overjoyed. All of the investment that she poured into helping the kingdom was starting to bear fruit. It might take them quite some time before they recovered some of the losses that they had suffered but the interest that they would receive in the long run would be very fruitful.
At the same time, the crusade that the churches of the Saint Heaven Kingdom launched on the Corrupted Cult to reclaim the land that the cult had occupied was slowly progressing without a hitch. And with the help of the players that joined the fun due to the quests released by those churches, it would only need some time before they could take back those lands.
Aside from those two events, there was also the Underground Open Dungeon that they had discovered under Maple Cloud City. It was a place full of unique and rare resources, if they processed it properly, the benefits that they would get would be much bigger than the initial investment that they poured in to conquer it.
With all of this, the entire Saint Heaven Kingdom would be no different from being the territory of the Hand of Midas Trading Firm. Not only they would dominate the market in this place, but they could monopolize it if they utilized the connections that they built with the NPCs residents of the kingdom.
Shiella could even set the headquarters of the trading firm in this place. With everything that they had alongside the current influence that they had in the kingdom, it shouldn't be impossible to achieve.
Shiella was currently in a good mood due to the smooth sailing of the plans that they had. Everything was going according to the plan, so she only needed to wait for Shin and the others to clear their quests before proceeding to the other arrangements that they had.
She stretched her body on her seat after reading all of the reports sent to her. "Finally, I've got the time to relax."
She leaned her back on the chair and was about to close her eyes when she heard that someone was calling her. She turned her eyes and saw that the caller was one of her subordinates whom she sent to the Frozen Kingdom alongside the other chiefs to fix the teleportation formation that Shin and the others had found.
"How is it?" asked Shiella right after answering the call.
The person on the other side respectfully greeted Shiella before reporting. "Guild Leader, Chief Balle said that the teleportation formation is already prepared. We can now open a portal and connect it anywhere we want."
Shiella was already expecting that, so she didn't show any kind of reaction. She just fell into deep thought before waving her hand. "It is fine. Tell them to delay it for the time being. We have other plans for it."
"For now, guard it properly until everything is over. I will be sending additional people and some supplies to build a temporary settlement in that place. Make sure to fortify the defenses in the area, you can use the excess materials that you haven't used."
"If that is all, then I will be hanging up," she added with a quite impatient tone. She was eager to rest right now.
Busying herself both inside the game and in the real world was slowly taking a toll on her body and mental health, especially when she was personally supervising everything. She really needed rest right now.
She just ended the call and was about to rest when someone knocked on the door and called for her.
"Young Miss, it is me, Delusive Smile," said the other person from the other side.
"Ugh!" Shiella furrowed her brows and grunted when she heard Delusive Smile before saying to the latter. "Come it."
Delusive Smile opened the door and entered before carefully closing it when she saw the annoyed look from Shiella. She then walked toward her boss before cautiously saying. "Young Miss, the Madam said that you have to attend the gathering tomorrow night at the Grand Sunshine Hotel."
The corner of Shiella's eyes suddenly twitched when she heard those words. Why was every time she found that she could finally rest, additional work was pouring it?
She fell silent for a moment and thought of the gather that Delusive Smile was saying. It was a party organized by her mother because some of the important clients from overseas were planning to make a visit.
At least, that was what it was supposed to be on the surface. But she knew that those old foxes were definitely plotting something. But since this would affect the businesses that they had overseas, her mother had to hear them learn more about the situation before making her move.
Shiella normally did not have to attend those gatherings if she did not want to. But she heard that there were some young masters and misses accompanying their parents and her mother was planning to let her handle them, so he had to attend even if she was unwilling to attend.
As if giving her more headache, Delusive Smile even added. "And the Madam also said that you have to bring an escort. Anyone is fine as long as someone is accompanying you. She says that it is to avoid some unnecessary trouble."
The expression on Shiella's face immediately turned dark as she knew what her mother was trying to say. It meant that some of her persistent suitors were attending the gathering.
She had already beaten some of them so badly that they had to spend a couple of months in a hospital bed until they recover, but they were so blinded that they continued to pursue her regardless of the consequences.
Shiella could only think of two people that she could bring as her escort but those two were also a headache for her.
Arthur was one, but given his personality, he would definitely cause a scene if those guys annoyed him or if they try making a move on her.
Even though she knew that Shiella could handle the situation herself, he still would not sit idly on the side when he saw them annoying his sister. Their relationship might not be the best, but she was still his sister regardless.
The other candidate was Shin. In fact, he was the best choice that Shiella had. Given his temperament and character, he would be able to handle any annoying situations properly, without causing a scene, unlike Arthur. Shiella could even see him sending those annoying guys away with shame if ever they tried to bother her.
The problem was that guy hated attending any kind of gathering or party to the core. He would rather sleep at home than attend one.
Shiella was caught in a difficult dilemma before shooing Delusive Smile and saying that she understood.
After Delusive Smile left, Shiella collapsed back on her chair and thought to herself. 'This is really tiring. But regardless of anything, it is my choice, so I have to stick to it.'
Sometimes she envied Arthur for having an amazing sister such as herself and enjoying a life full of leisure.
Throwing all of her thoughts at the back of her head before sending a message to Delusive Smile that she would be logging out for a moment to rest. She said to directly contact her if something unexpected happens.
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In the meantime, David, who diligently guarded the portal behind, suddenly felt an intense shiver. It was a premonition when something bothersome was going to happen. He didn't know what it was, but he was sure that it would be very annoying.
"Tsk! What is this? The last time I felt this, Sir Adam hangs me upside-down at the center of the Forbidden Valley. I hope it is not something like that," he muttered as his body trembled when he recalled that experience.
That time was really a hellish experience even for someone like him.
He then closed his eyes, put his hands together, and started praying, calling every god that he could, to save him from whatever disaster was about to fall on him. "Please have mercy on this poor soul."
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The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l