Deep within the mountains of the Northern Philippines a large manor stood quietly amidst the thick pine forests.

While it looked like the standard millionaires mansion hidden deep in the words, a striking abnormality it has is the lack of roads.

There was no path that would allow anyone to drive or walk to and from the manor. All it had was the lavish building, a pool and a dense forest surrounding it.

Normally, one would think that such a manor was uninhabited, abandoned and forgotten by its owners. Maybe due to financial reasons or other problems but the lights were on- yet there was not a single line connecting the manor to the grid.

The pool was clean yet no trace of pipes for water could be found.

Moreover, by the pool, a beautiful woman with long silver hair and a seductive body was sunbathing wearing only a micro bikini.

From the forest a couple of men observed the mysterious structure.

"When the fuck did that thing appear?"

One of them asked, as he focused his eyes on the woman by the pool.

"Brother, you know that people are talking about witches and magic right? That should be a witches house"

The other man answered, as he too used his binoculars to stare at the sunbathing woman.

"So that babe is a witch?"

"Yeah"

"Heard they could live for centuries... practically immortal"

"So?"

"Would you f*ck an old hag?"

"If they have no wrinkles, they aint a hag"

"... fair point"

The two men had such a conversation, unaware of the eyes that were staring down at them.

Within the manor, Richard observed the men through the projection which was not made by Cindy but instead something he personally projected after making a pact with the witch.

After all was said and done, Cindy had literally nowhere else to go at this point. All she could do was rely on Richard and then- one thing led to another and Richard ended up enjoying a night of fun with the asian witch.

What was particularly interesting about the whole ordeal was that Richard did not need to initiate anything.

Yuna who had ended up living with them became the trigger that forced Cindy to make her move.

Moreover, Richard was willing to "play" with Yuna but he didn’t want to get too deep into their relationship.

Additionally, the events that transpired made Richard a bit more... paranoid.

His stint with Cindy was less about romance and more of a way to bind her.

Richard did not trust any magical contract that he did not initiate and that used methods he was unfamiliar with.

Unfortunately, the only contract method he knew came from Merlin and that resulted in him having to sleep around with most of the women in the manor.

Some were against it and he didn’t force them but that also meant that they were under constant surveillance and had to deal with Richard’s distrust.

"If this wasn’t the middle of nowhere, I would have taken those two for peeping toms"

Cindy said as she walked in, dressed casually in dolphin shorts and an oversized hoodie.

Her hair was tied up in a bun and she wore glasses that gave her a rather smart and sexy appeal.

She brought with her some drinks and offered Richard some before sitting next to him as if it was the most normal thing in the world for her to do.

"They technically are, their camp has 534 people, the military is looking for them and while they have some semblance of training in combat, they’re ultimately just a bunch of college dropouts"

Richard answered Cindy with a smile.

"I didn’t drop out because I wanted to, also, unlike them, I know what I’m fighting for, what I’m doing and what the consequences of my actions would bring me"

"You think they don’t?"

"They have the funds, people and support to create a paramilitary organization that is able to contend with their nation’s military. If they used that power and influence to take public office and try to change the government, they would be doing better than dying a dog’s death in the woods"

Cindy answered Richard full of confidence but Richard answered with a "matter of fact" tone.

"They could, but they would end up having to fight fire with fire, politics- no matter how democratic they try to make it out to be, would still end in corruption. Winning against people who actively bribe for votes and even manipulate ballots- you’d have to use the same tactics to win and ideologues are unwilling to make that move"

Hearing Richard’s response, Cindy rolled her eyes and did not answer.

They continued to watch the two men silently stare at Morgana from the thicket.

"Other men would have crashed out if their woman was being spied on" 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Cindy said randomly as Richard manipulated other displays that show various people around the forest.

Some were just sitting and doing nothing while others were waiting patiently for something.

Their actions didn’t look anything but random but their positions showed that they were up to something.

Scattered all around their manor, the people being shown on display were young men and women who came from a nearby base.

Richard identified them as one of the many separatist factions within the nation.

Much like any movement like theirs, living in uninhabited jungle or forest areas was their way of escaping authorities and evading capture while at the same time continuing their battle against the government which they did not acknowledge.

Richard would have preferred if they weren’t around but there was nothing he could do.

The land was private but was abandoned for quite some time.

Officially, the government didn’t bother about it but this is what these insurgents took advantage of.

While the military forces were searching uninhabited forests and jungles, these insurgents were hiding out near or in private property that had been abandoned for some time.

It was a dangerous act but one that was safer than hiding out in area where they were actively getting hunted.

At least, if the owner ever does decide to visit his land, the insurgents had methods to deal with them. At best, the owner would be held hostage while the group relocates and freed after they escape.

At worst, if the insurgents find the owner to be related to their enemies such as political families or the government- the owner might be used to increase their funding. Hostage and ransom tactics would not be used, they have the egg laying goose, all they need to do is have it lay eggs.

Richard believed that this group of insurgents was slowly and carefully planning how to deal with them.

"How about you listen to their conversation? I’ve gotten a good bit of information from them"

Cindy said with a smile, Richard could tell that she was plotting something. The men were likely talking about things that would rile Richard up.

Unfortunately for Cindy, Richard already heard some of their conversations so he didn’t really mind listening in.

"Sure"

A small insect crawled up to the two men watching Morgana. The two men were just talking about random things unaware that their entire conversation was being broadcast to the people they were observing.

"How did the captain want to split the women?"

"There are quite a lot of them, only two men, one is old and the rest are hot babes. The girls said they want the cutie. Honestly I want to cut his balls off but that would make the girls mad"

"Dude, the girls won’t allow us to do shit if we don’t cut them some rewards"

"Why can’t they be tomboys?"

"Why can’t you be gay?"

"Fuck- shut up man... anyway, who do you think the captain wants?"

"He called first dibs on the teenage looking chick, since she’s a witch, she’s probably a hundred years old or something right? That’s perfectly legal"

"Talking about legal when you’re planning an assault- brother are you high?"

"I may be a r*pist but I’m no pedo- that’s what the captain would say"

"Bullshit, why would he go for an underage looking bitch if he was normal? Damn it... if that guy wasn’t the son of commander I would have shot his ass long ago"

"Come one man, we’re all criminals at this point, no use talking about good or bad. We already have blood on our hands, calling each other out is just being a fucking hypocrit right? Ain’t no way I’m going to act like those stuck up bastards in Manila"

Hearing the conversation between the two, Richard smirked, he turned to Cindy and said.

"It seems you’re a highly prized woman. A high ranking officer with connections wants you huh?"

"..."

Cindy was expressionless and calm but Richard could see the fury that was boiling behind her eyes.

"Come on now, don’t get to riled up, we’re still waiting for them to make their move"

"I’m fine"

Cindy said "calmly" as she stood up and walked out of the room.

Seeing her slowly departing back, Richard let out a sigh, "Well, I guess another soul is lined up for torture".

As he prayed for the unfortunate soul that would soon be turned into a new pet, Richard’s eye caught sight of a certain individual.

A distance away from the camp of the insurgents, a young woman sat alone staring at the distance. She had a gun on her lap but her expression did not show the same look as her companions.

Richard manipulated a few of the monitoring bugs to get near her and the things he heard caught his attention-

"Interesting..."