RISE OF EROS

While Andrew had been regularly sending messenger hawks to share some of his adventures during the journey, the amount of detail he could provide with it was limited. Now that he was back, he decided to tell them everything they had experienced over the past few months.

He recounted everything, starting from the moment they were attacked after leaving the city, the encounter with the Limares family, how they were observed while passing through the kingdom of Catarea, rescuing the water elves, Elidyr's visit, and finally their arrival at the duchy of Cannes.

He also detailed what they had learned from Elidyr, Zaros, and Lugia regarding the fallen god, the war from a thousand years ago, and the dragon Carcom, along with the organization it had allied with.

By the time Andrew finished his account, almost an hour had passed, as he went into great detail. He didn't leave anything out, and Oliver occasionally chimed in when Andrew missed something important.

Everyone in the room listened intently, and when the story ended, they were all left in shock. Some even looked pale and worried, as they hadn't realized how severe the situation was.

Andrew had already mentioned before their departure that the fallen god was a potential threat they'd have to face, but everyone had assumed it was something far off in the future and hadn't understood the full scope of the problem.

However, now that they had heard everything, they realized the threat was not as distant as they'd thought and far more dangerous than it seemed. The revelation that legendary-level demigods had survived the war from a thousand years ago drastically altered their perception of the world.

Castor, true to his character, made a joke that wasn't entirely a joke but managed to make everyone laugh, "And here I was worried about being a father." The laughter helped ease the tense atmosphere.

After a brief moment of levity, seriousness returned to the room, and Gaston was the first to ask the question everyone had on their minds, "The situation seems more critical than we thought. What's the plan going forward?".

All eyes turned to Andrew, awaiting his response. Instead of answering directly, he asked, "What do you think we should do?" Surprised that Andrew was turning the question back on them, everyone fell into deep thought, but it was futile.

They could barely grasp the magnitude of what they were discussing, so finding a solution was impossible. Andrew understood this well and hadn't asked with the intention of getting an answer.

He simply wanted his close ones and family to think about the situation and stay alert. Lately, everything had been going too smoothly. In Dunnas, they had the royal family's support, and no enemies had shown up. Additionally, their strength was considerable within this country, but Andrew wanted them to understand they were far from being truly safe.

He didn't want them to become complacent, he wanted them to keep training, gaining strength, and gathering resources because they would need them. Seeing that he'd achieved his goal, Andrew smiled and began explaining his plan.

"Right now, we're too weak. Although at some point we'll need to step forward, our immediate goal remains the same. First, you must continue strengthening yourselves and conducting business to gather resources."

After a brief pause, Andrew added, "For now, we'll leave the issue of Carcom and the strange organization he's with to the dragons and the other survivors of the war from a thousand years ago."

"In short, we're going to keep doing what we've been doing?" Gaston asked, a little concerned about this course of action. He wasn't the only one who thought Andrew was being too passive and calm in the face of such a large problem.

Andrew understood their concerns, but at the moment, there wasn't a better course of action. While he had decided to be more proactive with the women to strengthen himself, that wasn't a conversation he needed to have with all of them.

He would wait until nightfall to discuss it with his wives since they were the ones who would be affected. Nonetheless, he answered Gaston's question, "Yes, we'll continue as we are, but we need to expand more quickly."

"How?" Candice asked, and Andrew, smiling, replied, "The Heavenly Palace in Cannes is key. It's in the middle of many countries, making it perfect for extending our reach."

"I see, you want me to start new businesses there, right?" Candice said, seemingly understanding Andrew's intentions, and he answered without hesitation, "Yes. You acquired a caravan, didn't you? It's time to expand it and move it everywhere."

Everyone in the room with a business mindset quickly grasped Andrew's intention and wanted to get to work immediately. However, Gaston, always thinking about what others overlooked, asked, "How exactly do you plan to expand?"

The question furrowed everyone's brows, as they didn't quite understand. Even Andrew was confused, and Gaston, noticing this, began to explain, "If we only use food products and general utility items that Candice trades, we won't make much progress."

After a brief pause, Gaston continued, "On the other hand, exclusive items like clothing, rejuvenating creams, and the like—if we start trading them, won't we hurt the royal family of Dunnas?"

With that said, everyone understood the point. If they traded these products, it would be easy to expand and make a lot of money, but those items would no longer be as exclusive, even in faraway places.

This made everyone fall back into deep thought, but Andrew quickly resolved the issue saying, "We just need to introduce new products. We'll release the new items here first, giving the impression that they're a priority, while what's normal here will become a novelty elsewhere."

All the merchants in the room lit up with excitement, but their enthusiasm dimmed when Carolina asked, "But do we have new products?" And once again, they all looked to Andrew for answers.

Before Andrew could respond, Carolina continued, "My project has yielded results, and I've created a powerful new healing potion that I believe will be incredibly useful, but it's just one product."

Everyone stared at Carolina in surprise. They knew she had been working on something big but hadn't realized she had finished, nor did they have any details about the scope of her research.

"How powerful are we talking?" Oliver asked, intrigued, and all eyes focused on Carolina, making her feel a bit shy. Nevertheless, she responded, "Powerful enough to stop the bleeding from an amputated limb."

The sound of everyone inhaling sharply was audible. This wasn't just any potion—it was a strategic asset for any nation. Potions of this level would be coveted by all.

"How high is the production?" Gaston immediately asked, recognizing the great opportunity, to which Carolina replied, "I can create about five per day." While that may seem small, it was actually quite a lot.

Andrew stood up and hugged Carolina in front of everyone, giving her an audible kiss that made her blush, though she didn't refuse her husband's show of affection.

The children, unaware of the conversation, started laughing and teasing, saying things like, "Mom and Dad are indecent," and similar comments that made everyone laugh and embarrassed Carolina even more, so she chased them playfully.

It was all in good fun, but it helped ease the atmosphere. Andrew sat back down and, returning to the conversation, said, "Well, Carolina's potion is a great asset, but it won't work on its own."

"However, there's no need to worry, I'll provide the other products," Andrew said, causing admiration. Immediately, everyone began asking what products he was referring to, but Andrew simply smiled mysteriously and said, "You'll know soon enough."

Annoyed by his secrecy, they didn't press the matter. The truth was, Andrew didn't know yet. His intention was to purchase some items from the system, but he needed to see what would be good and also earn enough points to buy them.

Although he had been having sex with Aki and Zany endlessly these past few days, his points weren't enough—not for the best products they needed.

So he planned to earn points in the coming days with his wives and then see what products were good in the system. They discussed for another couple of hours, and then the meeting ended.

Everyone returned to their duties, but Andrew, his wives, and children didn't leave. They hadn't seen each other in a long time, so they wanted to spend some time together.

Andrew and his wives talked about unimportant matters and relaxed, playing with their children until lunchtime. For the first time in a while, they had a private family meal and continued spending quality time together throughout the afternoon.

When night came, Dunnas Palace came alive with the arrival of clients. The children were tired from playing with their father all day and went to bed. Then Andrew seized the moment to discuss the important matter with his wives.

Since it had been so long, the women wanted to have a wild night, but Andrew held them back and curbed their enthusiasm. They needed to talk about serious matters first before enjoying the pleasures of the bedroom.

Although reluctant, the women understood the importance of the conversation due to Andrew's serious demeanor. Thus, the eventful night began with a serious discussion about the future.