Miracle Card Shop: All My Cards Can Be Actualize

— 2 Days Later —

Two days later, Daniel returned from Long Xing Island to The Stora Kronan Hotel in Sweden. In front of his room, he encountered a group of people forming a long line through the hallway, as if queuing to buy the newest U-Phone.

"What's with this long line?" Daniel asked the hotel attendant overseeing the queue.

"Huh? Oh! Mr. Emberweave, welcome back," the attendant bowed politely to Daniel.

But the moment the people in line heard the name "Emberweave," they quickly turned toward Daniel as if looking at a treasure.

"Oh! Lord Emberweave!" "Lord Emberweave, it's an honor to meet you! My name is..." "Lord Emberweave, please accept my allegiance!" The people in line competed with each other, declaring their allegiance more humbly than the last towards Daniel.

As they approached Daniel, Michaela quickly stepped forward and brandished her flaming sword, immediately revealing her angelic origin.

"Whoa whoa whoa!" The people approaching Daniel were startled and retreated from the flaming sword that had suddenly materialized in Michaela's hand.

The moment the sword was out in the open, they knew that Michaela was not just a normal bodyguard, as all of the people queuing here were mages and very perceptive to the nature of magic. Right now, they felt like they were in the middle of the Vatican Cathedral during a ritual to bless a personal holy armament for a Grand Paladin.

They felt the searing holy flame that could cleanse the soul of sinners and demonic entities emanating from the sword in Michaela's hand, and the feeling was even more intense than the holy armaments they had witnessed in the hands of Vatican paladins.

The hotel attendant was startled by Michaela's movement but remained calm in the face of magic. This hotel was owned by a mage family, and the staff who worked on this floor and attended to the guests in this suite knew that their guests were mages or had supernatural abilities.

"Ma'am, please calm down. These gentlemen have been here for several days because they want to meet your lord. Of course, we tried our best to manage the number with strict regulations, and all of the gentlemen here have passed the hotel's regulations to wait for your arrival," the attendant explained to Michaela.

"What are your regulations?" Daniel asked.

"A contribution towards magical advancement and the hotel, and most importantly, the willingness to take a soulbind oath not to act violently in any way within the hotel grounds," answered the attendant.

[Contribution towards magical advancement and the hotel? You mean… fame and how much they bribed you?] Daniel thought, smiling wryly at the hotel's opportunistic approach.

Daniel quickly kept the thought to himself, as it wasn't his money, so he didn't mind as long as these people couldn't act violently.

"So... Why are you all queuing here like you're waiting for a U-Phone sale?" Daniel asked, frowning at the people in line.

"We have come to pay homage to you, my lord," one of the mages said humbly.

"Pay homage to me?" Daniel frowned, still confused by the notion. "Why is that?" he asked.

"Lord Emberweave, your ring," the same mage pointed at the ring Daniel wore on the middle finger of his right hand. It was the Dominus Omnium Signet ring that Albert had given him.

"That ring is the mark of leadership over the Guilds, the organization that the old lord Albert Worseley built a long time ago. We are here to pay homage to the lord who inherited the legacy of the Guilds, to show our obeisance and allegiance," explained the mage.

Hearing this, Daniel could only sigh, seeing this as a troublesome matter, but one that couldn't be helped. He also needed people to manage and be under the rule of his new organization.

"Okay... Let's continue our talk in the lounge inside. You come with me, and tell me what this is all about, what you all want to achieve, and what you are looking for from me," Daniel said, gesturing to the mage who had explained the situation to follow him.

After everyone was settled in a lounge within the suite, Daniel sat at a long desk at the head of the table. He listened to the stories of why these people had come to meet him.

It turned out they were either descendants of the Guilds' loyalists who wanted a share of what the Guilds could offer, or old veterans who wanted to be a part of something greater than what they used to be when the Guilds were still operating.

They either wanted the knowledge the Guilds could offer, such as shared magic research, or benefits in the form of material wealth like magic ingredients, ore, or even just a discount when buying products from Astral Workshop.

Daniel knew that his Astral Workshop had sold many artifacts to mages, even those closely associated with Hightower. His workshop's products seemed to be number one in terms of quality, and no other workshop could compete with him in that regard.

But the thing that kept those workshops from complaining was the very high price of his artifacts. He deliberately increased the price several times higher than the average market price because he didn't want those workshops that couldn't compete in quality to make a fuss and cause trouble for him.

That must be why these people had come to him on this occasion, even for a basic benefit like a discount from his workshop.

Listening to this, Daniel nodded. It seemed that the Guilds that Albert had founded had a lot of influence in the Curtained World. Their allies were as numerous as their enemies, and these people were just the minority who saw that it was better for them to ally with Daniel rather than steal the ring and claim the heritage for themselves.

"So, if what you said is true, then does this mean you all want to join my organization that I'm going to build to oversee the areas where Hightower has withdrawn its influence?" asked Daniel.

"Yes! Lord Emberweave, please let us help you!" one of the mages said enthusiastically. Overseeing the vast areas where Hightower had withdrawn its influence?!

That meant they would be able to oversee the vast areas where Hightower had left behind a lot of resources. This meant a lot of magical resources that used to be under Hightower's management would be theirs for the overseeing—and potentially pocketing some small change for themselves.

"That's okay. If you want to join, I'll let you join. Let me finish my business here first. After I go back, you'll need to visit me at Sector Alpha City so I can introduce you all to Envy. Most of the time, she will oversee this organization instead of me," said Daniel.

Hearing this, the people cheered and looked at each other with smiles. They knew that since they were the first batch to join, the benefits they would receive would be much better than those who joined later.

"So... what about the name of the organization, Lord Emberweave?" asked one of the mages.

"Hm... the name? I never thought about it," Daniel went silent as he tried to think of a cool name. "Hmmm... I'm not good at thinking up names for organizations. What about you, Michaela?

I don't have a good name in mind right now," Daniel asked the archangel who stood guard beside him.

Thinking of a good name wasn't his forte, and he knew it too. That's why when it came to coming up with a cool and meaningful name for an organization, he would let others do it for him.

Hearing this, Michaela thought about it for a moment, then said, "How about… The Order of Ember?"

The name that Michaela spoke resonated with Daniel and many of the mages present. Seeing the stunned look of her lord and the mages, Michaela blushed a little before explaining.

"Since this is my lord's organization, it should have your name on it. And our main goal at the start is to bring order where Hightower has withdrawn its influence, so 'The Order of Ember' sounds fitting to our goal… and… the word 'ember' also means a small fire glow that helps others light their fires in the winter.

I hope that one day this organization will be the ember of humanity that will lead them to greatness," explained Michaela.

Hearing what Michaela said, both Daniel and the mages clapped their hands and applauded Michaela's idea, making her blush even more.

"My lord… please… don't embarrass me too much," Michaela stuttered, flustered by the attention she was receiving from the group.

"I like the name, Michaela. Then from now on, we are The Order of Ember. I hope I can do justice to the name that you have given to the organization," said Daniel, making Michaela smile and nod at him.

"It's a very good name, my lord! Now we are the Order of Ember!" one of the mages exclaimed, quickly licking to Daniel.

"Okay, okay, less licking, more working. You guys wait for me at Sector Alpha City. Tell the receptionist at Astral Corporation that you are all my guests. She will prepare a place for you to rest and enjoy while waiting for me. After I finish my business here, I'll go back and kick start this thing," said Daniel.