Saga of Astral Mysteries (LOTMxASOIAF)

Nevertheless, he went to the front gates of the manor of the Tenebraenys Family to open the gates for the Ashe. Valkorion was still a debtor to her, as he owed her something for the Healing Potion that she used on him, something that he still repaid her for.

During the last time he was in the merchant district of the Cartharys, he also bought some Healing Potions for a relatively reasonable price, so he planned to give one to Ashe to repay his debt to her.

He always paid his debts; Valkorion hated the feeling of owning something to someone because it could have unforeseen repercussions in the future. 

However, in regards to Ashe, he was somewhat at ease because he was aware of the fact that she wouldn't ask for anything in return aside from the Healing Potion. When he looked at Ashe, he noticed that she seemed different; the entire area around Ashe was like the frost that was creeping around the place.

But soon enough, this frosty aura disappeared into nothingness, even faster than it came to existence, as Ashe realized that Valkorion was already coming to her. When Valkorion saw her, he immediately thought that Ashe must have advanced to the next Sequence of her Pathway.

Previously, he didn't really feel the frost aura around Ashe, meaning that something must have changed, and it was clear that she managed to obtain the thing that she searched for within the Painted Mountains.

He knew that Ashe was at least Sequence 6 when he met her, but her strength was most probably at the Low Sequence Beyonder, though right now, his senses were warning him that she was for sure someone very powerful, far more than him right now.

It was clear that she had advanced to the Mid Sequence Beyonder. 

"Lady Ashe, what a pleasant surprise..."

Valkorion stated rather happily when he came to open the manor gates for the Ashe, who looked around the place in wonder as her trained eyes scoured the entire area, because, for her, it was clear that this place was something vastly above anything that adventurer could afford.

"I told you that I would come to visit you... though I didn't expect you to be living in the manor like the nobles of the Freehold."

She quietly stated his provocations and whatever Valkorion was playing at in her eyes as she looked at the manor that he was using. It was clear that Valkorion was certainly living above the standards, something that many and many adventures would be jealous to death for.

She was a rather experienced person and veteran Beyonder. She could see that this manor had some sort of defenses, and if she saw correctly, then it was most probably high-level spells, something that powerful Mid Sequence Beyonders or, most probably, High Sequence Beyonders could lay down.

This wasn't the first time she had seen something like this because, in her home, there were many things like this, carefully laid down defenses in the runic spells and wards that were all around the manor.

Ashe already saw a fair share of them back home, so she was able to discern them easily.

'Certainly not an ordinary person... maybe someone from the Dragonlord Families? The wards around here are perhaps even a tad weaker than back at the Tribe laid down by the Saints, so the one who created these defenses was most probably Saints. Though, if he is really someone from the Dragonlord Families, then he wouldn't be living here for his entire life... maybe the son of someone powerful born out of wedlock?'

In Ashe's mind, many thoughts were swirling one after another when she noticed the defenses around Valkorion's manor and also the manor itself.

She saw her fair share of rich people within the Cartharys. The manor of Valkorion, while looking rather modest from the outside, was made from top-quality materials, and she could see the opulence and richness of the thing.

Ashe suspected that Valkorion was most probably someone important, but there were also some things that were not really getting together. She knew that Valkorion was someone who had lived in the Cartharys for his entire life, with a few people who seemed to be his servants before they died. 

But nowadays, there were only a few people that remembered such a thing... so she knew that something was behind the scenes.

"Okey, okey... come, I already have prepared the Healing Potion that you gave me the last time."

Valkorion motioned for Ashe to follow him into the manor itself, as he then closed the gates and activated the wards around the manor to the maximum. Ashe looked around the manor as he led her to the drawing room, which only affirmed Ashe's suspicion that Valkorion wasn't a simple adventurer that he was playing at.

Obviously, she was totally unaware that the Valkorion was leading her to the drawing room, which was indeed more opulent than it really should be. Even though this place wasn't used by the Tenebraenys Family at all, it still contained a lot of luxury to accommodate any member of the Tenebraenys Family that would decide to come here.

Something that Valkorion learned to appreciate after he had spent a lot of time at home because it was nice to be living in such an opulent and luxurious manner. In his past life, that would be very far from his social standing and financial capabilities. 

"Sit where you like. Do you want something to eat? Note on the side: aside from roasted meat, I can't really make anything."

Vallkorion muttered as he wasn't really a skilled cook, but fortunately enough, he was rich enough to buy something constantly, and he was rather surprised that the Valyrian Freehold wasn't really foreign to the concept of fast foods, even though it was not called that.

There were many vendors that were selling some really fast-made foods and eats in the streets; there were inns where you can order food and take it with you back home, or some richer people could even hire professional chefs to cook for them.

"That's fine."

Ashe herself wasn't really a picky eater like Valkorion was, as he enjoyed fine foods and drinks, something of only high quality. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't really a skilled cook, and aside from roasting meat above the fire, he didn't know how to make anything else at this age.

He was evidently at a loss with this because this age lacked even modern cooking utensils.

"Then I shall bring you something to drink from my personal collection of tea if you would like, and then head toward the kitchen to start roasting the meat. I have a nice piece of the top-tier Iron-Headed Bull."

That was already one of the best pieces of meats out there as the meat of the Iron-Headed Bull was rather pricy. This was one and probably something that he was spending a lot of money on.

He loved good food, and good food cost a lot, so he needed to invest some money into it, aside from buying various teas from the Golden Empire of Yi Ti, which was famous for cultivating the tea and exporting it to all corners of the world.