Chapter 47: Preparation

"So that’s why you made that bizarre request when we first met," Elysia noted, her tone laced with realization as she adjusted her stride to match his. "You insisted on visiting the scrap yards and armor dumpsters because you needed to feed that creation power of yours."

Ren let out a short, quiet chuckle. "Took you long enough to put it together."

Elysia crossed her arms, turning her head away with a subtle huff. "I knew all along. I was just testing you."

Ren halted abruptly. His eyes locked onto an open-air market stall set back against a stone wall, where a merchant had laid out rows of woven sacks filled with agricultural grains, wheat seeds, and dried fruit pits.

Elysia overshot him by two steps before stopping and looking back over her shoulder. "What is it now?"

Ren stared at the grain sacks, his mind already mapping out the long-term logistics of his new territory. Establishing a defensive wall was useless if the residents inside starved during a siege. If Starlight Kingdom suffered a supply chain disruption or an Aberrant blockade, his settlement needed to be entirely self-sustaining. Building automated farms and high-yield crop fields using his system blueprints was the most logical failsafe.

He turned his boots toward the stall. Elysia trailed close behind, her curiosity piqued.

"Looking for something, kid?" the stall owner asked. He was a broad-shouldered, middle-aged man with weathered hands and a stained leather apron. Sacks of raw wheat, barley, and various fruit seeds were stacked neatly across his wooden display counter.

"I need four full sacks," Ren said, pointing directly at the raw wheat and fruit seeds. "One of each variety you have laid out here."

The merchant’s brow furrowed, his eyes narrowing as he swept his gaze over Ren’s plain attire. "Listen here, brat. I don’t have time for games. If you’re here to mess around, move along before I drag you out of my sight."

He reached beneath his wooden counter, pulling out a heavy oak club and brandishing it defensively. "I’m sick and tired of street punks making fake orders!"

"Hold on, I’m buying them for real," Ren said, raising a hand to de-escalate the man’s rising temper.

The merchant waved the wooden stick through the air with a rough, sweeping arc. "I said beat it! Get lost before I crack your skull!"

’Does this guy get pranked by customers every single day?’ Ren thought, taking a half-step back.

Elysia stepped up from behind his shoulder, her posture perfectly erect as her shadow fell across the counter. "Lower the club and fill the order," she commanded, her voice dropping into a flat, icy register. "I will handle the payment."

The merchant froze mid-swing, his eyes darting to her face. The color drained from his weathered cheeks instantly. "L-Lady Elysia?!"

He nearly dropped the wooden stick, fumbling as he slammed it back under the counter before bowing so low his forehead nearly brushed the grain sacks. "My deepest apologies, my lady! I... I had no idea you were accompanying this young man!"

To the common citizens of Starlight Kingdom, a high-ranking noble—let alone a member of the royal house—stepping directly into the lower-district trade stalls without a full parade of servants was unheard of.

"Stop wasting time," Elysia said coldly. "Prepare the four sacks immediately."

"Right away, Lady Elysia! Right away!" The merchant scrambled into action, his hands moving in a blur as he dragged four heavy canvas bags from his backdrop storage, tying the hemp ropes tight and setting them aside on a wooden pallet.

"Wait, let me handle this," Ren said, reaching into the inner pocket of his dark shirt to pull out his coin purse.

His fingers met empty fabric.

Ren’s chest tightened slightly. He patted his sides frantically, checking every seam of his shirt. ’Where the hell is my coin purse?’

"Looking for your money?" Elysia asked, watching his panic with an amused smirk. "You were unconscious in the medical ward for six full days, Ren. Did you really think the guards left your personal belongings sitting in your pockets?"

Ren’s eye twitched. "You raided my clothes?"

"We secured your property," she corrected smoothly, placing her hands behind her back. "There’s a difference."

’Taking a man’s money while he’s unconscious isn’t ’securing property,’ Ren thought, suppressing the urge to sigh.

Elysia reached into a small leather pouch stitched into the side of her green dress. She caught Ren’s wrist, turning his palm upward, and dumped a heavy, clinking pile of bronze and silver coins directly into his hand.

The coins stacked high, spilling over his fingers until he had to quickly cup his other hand beneath to keep them from scattering across the dirt.

"There. Every single coin returned," she said, turning her head away with a quiet scoff.

Ren looked down at the pile in his hands. "This is way more than I had on me."

"Consider it an advance," Elysia replied flatly. "Take it and shut up."

Ren stared at her. Back on Earth as Elian, he had lived by a strict, uncompromising code of personal accountability. He despised men who leeched off women or weaponized weakness to live off someone else’s coin. Taking handouts from a young noblewoman—even if she was royalty—chafed against his core pride.

He sorted through the stack, separating his original balance and holding out the excess coins toward her. "Lady Elysia, I don’t accept charity. Take back the surplus."

Elysia’s eyes snapped to his face, her tone sharpening. "It isn’t charity, you idiot! It’s compensation for the sub-space expedition! You nearly lost your mind holding off NYX inside Vora’s domain!"

Ren paused, his fingers tightening over the bronze rims. ’Right... the expedition pay.’

Considering he had nearly been consumed by an ancient dark entity while securing their escape, the extra coin was well within the boundaries of earned wages.

"Fair enough," Ren muttered, sweeping the coins back into his pocket.

"Unbelievable," Elysia muttered under her breath, crossing her arms as she gave him a cold, sweeping glance from head to toe.

"Lady Elysia, the grain is secured," the merchant called out timidly, bowing again. "I can arrange for a horse-drawn cart to transport the sacks to your estate immediately."

Elysia gave a brief nod. "Do so."

"Wait, how much for the total?" Ren asked, stepping forward to pull out his payment.

"One hundred copper coins," the merchant replied.

Ren began counting out the coppers from his hand, but Elysia stepped between them, waving her hand dismissively at the vendor. "Send the invoice directly to the royal treasury. My personal quartermaster will clear it by evening."

"Understood, my lady!" The merchant didn’t hesitate for a second, bowing swiftly before dashing off into the alleyway to retrieve the transport cart with surprising speed for a man his age.

"Hey, wait!" Ren called out, waving his hand at the retreating merchant. He deflated slightly as the man vanished around the corner. "He ran off way too fast..."

He glanced sideways at Elysia. "Was he terrified of me, or terrified of you?"

"Stop complaining," Elysia said, taking the counted coins from his open palm and shoving them back into his shirt pocket herself. "I said I’m paying for it."

Ren stared at her in sheer disbelief. "Elysia, what is wrong with you? I have the coin right here. I don’t need you paying my bills."

Before he could finish his sentence, Elysia reached out, grabbed the collar of his black shirt, and yanked him down until they were eye-to-eye.

Ren’s jaw locked. ’So much for her refined, pristine royal persona...’

"What is your problem with a woman paying for your grain?!" Elysia barked, her green eyes flashing with genuine irritation. "Do you think I’m some helpless noble girl who can’t afford a few sacks of seeds? This isn’t about pride, you arrogant fool! I am a princess of House Grace, and you are currently acting as an operative under my authority!"

Her grip on his collar tightened slightly. "Do you think just because you possess that absurd, reality-bending creation power, I’m going to bow down and let you handle everything yourself?!"

Ren raised both hands in a quiet gesture of surrender, placing his palms gently against her wrists and pushing her grip back with measured force.

"Okay, okay," Ren said, letting out a forced, cringing laugh to diffuse the tension. "You win. You’re a powerful, wealthy princess, and I’m just a commoner taking your orders. My mistake."

He stepped back, smoothing down the crumpled collar of his shirt with a heavy sigh.

’It’s not worth arguing over a hundred copper coins,’ he told himself, resolving to let the matter drop. ’As long as the seeds get delivered to the settlement, it doesn’t matter whose pocket it came from.’