Darius greatly respected her feelings though, which was why despite knowing he could not give her his heart and soul - as those had been forever tied with his wife Deia - he still couldn't find it in his heart to outright turn her down.
It was quite a dilemma.
Darius noted that Portia's gaze towards him was even purer than Derek's. There were no forced implications or hidden hints, just pure happiness and joy for being able to see his face and feel his existence near her.
As the Supreme System had aptly divined, this was a mild obsession. Mild because it didn't drive Portia into a craze where she decided that either she had him or no one will.
Though, that could always change. If the future was already set in stone, accidents would never exist.
Darius took in the sight of the Torniam family and chuckled. "I've come here today to take you all under my vassalage. I'm creating a territory around 10,000 kilometers to the west and want you all to become my first few citizens."
The three showed surprise. A new territory? Did that mean Darius had found a dungeon? Upon seeing him nod when the thought passed through their minds, their breathing stopped.
They were denizens of Faust, so they understood the meaning of a territory springing up around a dungeon much better than Darius. Even with excitement bubbling within him, Shanks was still mature enough to inquire further.
"May I please know the element of the dungeon in your new territory, Lord Stone?"
"It's a Wood element Dungeon." Darius answered simply, but it sounded like thunder in the ears of the trio.
Out of all elements to start a budding territory with, wood was undoubtedly the best of them all. With it, the territory was guaranteed to rise to become at least a city, if not a kingdom as long as the dungeon grew.
And they would be the first denizens of this territory, which would make them nobles as it expanded by default! This was a unique chance to change their fates forever!
Usually, it would have taken a lot more to convince such folk to leave their homes for new land that wasn't even fully tamed yet, but their affinity with Darius was at the worship status, making their trust in him and his abilities extremely deep.
Darius then explained. "You can bring everyone within the homestead as well if you want. I'll leave you a map leading to the new territory from here so you can migrate whenever you're ready."
Shanks and Derek nodded before asking some more questions. Darius answered everything he could about the future plans he had, the tasks he had for the fellows when they would get there, as well as the existence of the machines that would do most of the hard work.
Darius made sure to grant Shanks some moderator privileges over the machines with the HoloBrace, allowing him to command them and re-allocate their tasks to optimize development.
Shanks and Derek were incredibly moved when they found that Darius was using Gravitas technology with ease. His means were truly profound and limitless, following such a person would be extremely prudent compared to staying in the Andrato Kingdom which had sent Shanks away after suffering injuries on the Princess' behalf with some rather minor reparations.
Darius turned to Portia who had been silent all this while. "Why so silent, Portia?"
The young lass seemed to want to say something, but was unsure how to put it. Eventually, she took a deep breath and spoke her mind.
"The way you talk… it's as if you don't plan to stay?"
Shanks and Derek also displayed curious expressions. In their excitement, they hadn't noticed that, but now that Portia brought it up, they wondered what Darius was planning.
Darius nodded. "That's right. I need to head to Elysium to fulfill a task urgently. I only have one more stop before I go there, which is to bring a slightly larger workforce to my new territory that shall become my arms and ears in dealing with other kingdoms and empires."
Shank's eyes gleamed. His kids might not understand what this meant, but he certainly did. Somehow, the young man before him had not only found a dungeon to create his own territory, but at some point, he had built a secret faction during his youth and was now planning to assemble them!
This made his impression and hope for the new kingdom soar, because this would directly help stave off external interference during their explosive growth phase.
Portia seemed bothered by his reply, but unlike her younger self, she was aware enough that it wasn't her place to decide his matters, so she simply bowed and bade him luck on his journey.
Shanks and Derek did the same as Darius chuckled, when thinking back about how clingy she had been in the past, and left the homestead with Gunner in tow.
He truly appreciated Portia's personality. As for where they would go, Darius wasn't ready to make a final decision yet. If he survived the next stage-climbing Quest, he might consider settling down properly in Faust.
The location of Foldo's hideout was not far from the homestead, so the duo simply walked their way over. They finally reached their destination by the time night fell, and they saw that the 'village' Foldo had cultivated as a front for his business had remained intact.
In fact, it hadn't even expanded or changed in the slightest, which surprised Darius. Could it be that Foldo had set everything up underground? That would truly be prudent and wise of his first Unofficial Apprentice.
Darius and Gunner shared a look before they walked to the manor at the back of the village where Foldo lived. On their way there, they heard the various 'villagers' sneak around and observe them silently, assessing whether they were a threat or not.
Sensing the power of the duo, many hesitated. Eventually, some were sharp enough to recognize this odd combination and promptly informed those more senior members of their organization.
As such, by the time they reached the manor, there were two dark-skinned women who were standing on either side of the door. They wore all black leather and cloth, looking like a mixture of ninjas and maidens.
"We welcome Lord Darius and Lord Gunner! Please follow us to the location of Master Foldo."
