Chapter 9: Plans to Build a Fortress
“Big Brother, this stuff tastes so good,” Gray said, holding up a bar of chocolate.
Illya nodded and replied, “Mm.” It’s not just tasty—it restores energy too. Good stuff.
When going out on missions, having a few bars of this would save them the trouble of bringing other rations.
“Big Brother, where did that guy actually come from?”
Illya shook his head. “Not sure. Maybe from the other side of the sea.”
“Does he have space-travel powers?” Gray asked.
“Maybe.”
In this world, ability users existed, and their powers varied wildly—many of them pretty useless.
Illya’s ability was mist. He could use it to turn invisible, making him a natural-born assassin—silent in the dark, striking with deadly force.
However, abilities could be countered by something called “magic suppression stones.” Once someone encountered one, their powers would stop working entirely.
“The place he comes from must be heaven—so much good food,” Gray slurped at his instant noodles as he spoke.
Illya nodded. “Maybe.”
The noodles had been snatched from Chu Feng. Gray had smelled the rich aroma while Chu Feng was cooking and ended up trading a bunch of wild fruit for the bowl.
“Big bro, do you want a bite?” Gray asked sheepishly.
Illya shook his head. “No, you eat it.”
Gray blinked. “Then I’ll eat it all!”
“This stuff is delicious. It must be super expensive, right? I wonder how many stones it would take to trade for this. I could pick up stones for him every day,” Gray said excitedly.
Back in the cabin, Chu Feng munched on fruit and rolled his eyes.
He had worked hard to boil water and cook the noodles, and in the end, someone else got to enjoy them. What a waste of effort.
Illya commented with concern, “These stones probably aren’t worth much.”
The nobility liked gold and gems. He’d never heard of them caring about stones. Chu Feng seemed to like gold too, but unfortunately, Illya didn’t have any.
Illya had taken quite a few things from Chu Feng recently and felt somewhat guilty about not having anything of equal value to give in return.
He walked into the cabin and saw Chu Feng flipping through his notebook, reviewing newly learned vocabulary.
When Chu Feng saw Illya, he smiled and asked, “Is there anything you need here? If so, I can check if I have it on my side.”
If Illya had just told me sooner that they needed salt, I could’ve brought more… Chu Feng thought. He had only learned about it from Gray, who revealed that Illya had bartered away his clothes for crude salt rocks—bitter, harsh, and clearly full of impurities.
Illya frowned. “Bring more salt next time.”
He thought to himself: There are a lot of things we need, but salt is the most urgent. With salt, we can trade for everything else—no rush.
Chu Feng nodded. “Alright. I want to find a place and get someone to build a fortress. I can pay with salt—what do you think?”
Illya nodded. “That’s fine.”
Chu Feng thought: The treehouse is nice, but climbing up and down is a hassle. It’s also too small. If I’m going to be traveling back and forth often, I’ll need a stable and safe place to live.
Illya gave a casual “Oh.”
He thought: Chu Feng is probably a noble from the other side. As expected, nobles prefer castles—they’re not used to roughing it in a treehouse.
