Wait, Who Is the Druid Here Anyway?

Before becoming Isha's maid, Lena had been a mercenary, her footsteps traversing the wilderness and ruins of the Empire's borders.

She had seen many things that should never have been awakened, especially necromancers.

A terrifying chill always clung to them, and they exuded an aura of decay and rot.

Just like the man walking behind Elon.

Thus, at that very instant, Lena had almost instinctively shielded Isha behind her, her hand tightening around the hilt of her rapier once more.

At the same time, she whispered a warning to her mistress.

Immediately, she felt a change in her mistress's body. The petite girl pressed close against her back, trembling slightly.

The anxiety radiating from Isha made Lena grit her teeth as she began mapping out an escape route in her mind.

But after only two breaths, she felt her mistress stop trembling.

A gentle tug came from her sleeve, followed by Isha's voice in her ear, sounding remarkably steady: “Lena, don't act rashly.”

This surprised Lena. She glanced back at Isha, meeting her resolute gaze.

She could sense the determination in those eyes, like someone calmly accepting their fate on the way to the scaffold.

Lena felt her chest tighten. She pursed her lips tightly but said nothing, quietly stepping aside.

Isha took a step forward, smoothed her robes, and stood waiting for the pale young man to approach.

Shane followed Elon to the princess and bowed slightly. He then heard the princess look toward the girl at the front of the caravan and introduce them: “Isha Val, the head of the Val Merchant Guild. Miss Val, this is my mentor, the druid Elon Windrunner. As for the one behind him...”

The princess glanced at Shane, a playful curve gracing her lips. “He is my partner, Shane Leynas. You two should have crossed paths on the road.”

Isha struggled to keep her expression neutral. How could she not know what the princess meant by “crossed paths”?

But she dared not show her inner turmoil. Forcing a calm facade, she curtsied and said, “Greetings, Lord Windrunner. Greetings... Mr. Leynas.”

The moment the words left her mouth, Isha felt Shane's gaze fall upon her.

In an instant, Isha felt entirely cold, her heart pounding wildly.

The necromancer's eyes held absolutely no emotion. They were terrifyingly flat, as though he were merely looking at an inanimate object.

Behind her, Lena kept her eyes locked onto Shane, not daring to miss a single movement or change in his expression.

Fortunately, this tense atmosphere did not last long. Elon glanced at Isha. Perhaps due to his recent breakthrough, his senses were highly acute, allowing him to perceive the tightly suppressed wariness in her eyes.

He found this slightly odd, but quickly dismissed it, attributing it to her young age. Instead, he spoke warmly, “Miss Val, what kind of goods does your caravan carry? If it is convenient, could you give us a brief overview?”

Elon's words pulled Isha out of her fixation on Shane. She quickly took a deep breath to steady herself. “Y-yes. We are carrying basic supplies, including durable rations, clean water skins, high-quality tent fabrics, and various tools.”

She looked at Elon with earnest eyes. “They are common goods, but their quality has been strictly vetted. We are ready to trade if you are interested.”

Elon had no objections. He simply nodded and asked, “May we inspect the goods?”

“Of course. Please follow me.”

Isha turned immediately, deliberately trying to escape Shane's line of sight. Seeing that Shane remained where he was and did not follow, she let out a quiet sigh of relief.

She not that she had never thought of fleeing, but the burdens on her shoulders were too heavy. The merchant guild, her family, and that colossal debt had all become shackles from which she could not escape.

Therefore, she would rather take a gamble, as long as she could sell the goods she had brought.

Isha walked over to the first camel and signaled her companion to untie the cargo pack.

A hand-sized opening was left on the side of the pack, sealed with a fabric flap tied by a leather cord.

Once untied, the goods inside could be directly touched and inspected without having to unpack the entire bundle. This prevented damage to the goods while improving inspection efficiency.

Elon peered closely inside, leaned in to sniff it, and showed a hint of approval. “The design of this packaging is quite clever. Did you come up with it yourself?”

Isha nodded and replied, “Yes. It saves the caravan a lot of time during inspections and makes it easier for buyers to check the quality.”

Upon hearing this, Elon turned to look at her, the admiration in his eyes deepening. He was fond of her not only for her attention to detail, but also for her sincerity.

The group then continued to move slowly among the camels, carefully inspecting the goods, while Shane remained standing in place, watching quietly.

His passive behavior eased Isha's mind slightly, until they reached the very last camel.

Isha looked at the final camel. The cargo on this one was different from the rest, wrapped in light green fabric embroidered with intricate leaf patterns.

It was a meeting gift she had specially prepared for the princess.

But now, with a necromancer standing not far away, she was unsure if presenting this item would offend him.

After all, no necromancer would ever like...

“What's inside this?”

A male voice suddenly sounded from behind, causing Isha's body to stiffen.

She did not need to turn around to know who it was, as Lena's jaw had already tensed up beside her once more.

“I... I...”

Isha took two deep breaths before turning around to face Shane.

Struggling to control her facial expression, she forced a smile that looked almost like a grimace. “This is... a specialty product of the Val Merchant Guild. They are drought-resistant plants suitable for desert cultivation, along with matching drip irrigation tools.”

It was not that she did not want to hide it, but she knew that lying would be pointless and might instead anger him.

Thus, after speaking, she held her breath and quietly awaited his reaction.

She had even prepared herself to be scolded or attacked, silently praying that Lena would be able to protect her.

However, to her surprise, the necromancer's eyes suddenly lit up. His face, which had previously looked no different from a corpse's, showed a spark of life, and he quickly asked, “What kind of plants?”

“What plants did you bring? What species? How drought-resistant are they? What is their growth cycle?”

Shane took a step forward, causing Isha to shrink back instinctively, but he paid no attention. With glowing eyes, he pressed on, “What are the drip irrigation tools like? What are they made of? Can the water seepage rate be controlled?”

Isha's mouth hung slightly open, unable to utter a single word.

Her mind was in utter chaos. She stared blankly at the druid standing nearby.

Meanwhile, the corner of the druid's mouth twitched slightly. With an expression that said “I knew this would happen,” he couldn't help but speak up: “Shane, you're scaring her. Let her speak first.”

Shane paused and looked at Isha. Only then did he notice her state and realize his own gaffe. Composing himself, he nodded. “Right, you go first.”

Seeing that the necromancer had actually calmed down under the druid's advice, Isha's lips parted, and she squeezed out a single word: “...Okay.”

She turned to open the pack, while a single thought swirled frantically in her mind: