Reborn as the Failed Lord with my Resource Gathering System.

"Mmm~"

"Uhmm~"

"Aaahmmm~"

A soft, pleased moan echoed through the small room.

Despite the fact she was wearing her elegant yellow gown, Ishtar had wasted no time.

She had managed to seat herself directly on Dorian's lap, her arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders as she kissed him with a possessive, almost desperate hunger.

Dorian, kissing her back, grabbed one of her breasts with his left hand, his right hand securing her thigh to keep her from falling. Ishtar was kissing him so hard that, at one point, he felt he genuinely couldn't breathe.

Then, after a long time satisfying herself, Ishtar finally pulled away from the kiss, her breathy pants warming his face.

She looked at him directly, her eyes sparkling with undisguised love.

"Mhmm~" She licked her lips, her words following right after.

"Did you miss me? I know I did. My kiss portrayed that well, no?"

Dorian replied, his own breathing a little unsteady.

"I can't believe you actually followed them here. You do understand it's quite dangerous to be here in the first place."

"Oh, I am well aware of this. But you wouldn't let anything happen to me now, would you?" Ishtar rubbed her fingers along Dorian's chest.

With her teasing question, a serious look returned to Dorian's face. The mention of danger immediately brought the image of Seraphina back to his mind.

"I don't know about that. I would rather not take any risks. After what happened to Seraphina, I don't want any of you getting hurt because of me."

"Aww, and you were even getting a boner, too. What a letdown." Ishtar had a downcast look on her face before getting right off Dorian so she could sit on the bed beside him.

And when she was seated, she still placed one of her legs on his, staring at him with a loving smile, the kind of expression a wife would make to her husband.

"I don't understand what exactly happened to Seraphina, but the fact she is not dead is a good sign that you are doing your best. Dorian Aurelian might be outstanding, but even he has his limits."

Dorian looked at her, knowing she was right, and yet he couldn't, with good conscience, accept that fact.

"Who is taking care of the barony if you are here?" he asked, a way to throw off the heavy discussion.

"Father agreed to look after the place in my absence," Ishtar wiggled her leg as she spoke. "In his own words, he wanted me to make sure you don't end up doing something stupid."

Dorian had a deadpan look on his face. "I am not exactly a child, but sure." He continued, "If you are here, then I assume you want to help me?"

"You know me so well. You called for the project team, which means you intend to build something as soon as you are done with your military tasks. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious about what this is, but in any case, I would like to be a part of it."

True, Dorian did intend to build something as soon as he finished wiping out the entirety of the Yaima group. But of course, Ishtar would figure that out without him having to say a single word.

"You speak as though you are certain of my victory. Who knows, I might actually lose and be sent running with my tail between my legs," Dorian tried to tease.

"And who knows, my husband would emerge victorious, as expected, and once again prove to me why he is the best of all men that walked. A gamble for a gamble?" Ishtar didn't miss the opportunity to pull closer to Dorian, her hand already rubbing on his body.

"Can't let me have this one win, can you?"

"No, I cannot, haah!" Ishtar giggled before standing to her feet. She walked towards the door and held the doorknob. "I know you need time to yourself to finish off your planning, so I'll leave you to it in the meantime. Don't hesitate to call me if your dick starts to... raise... again, hehe!"

And with that, she was gone.

Dorian could not help but sigh, a small smile playing on his lips.

Ishtar was truly something else.

He had been feeling down about Seraphina's situation, burdened by the heavy atmosphere of the capital.

And now, just from Ishtar showing up, it felt like that dark cloud had been temporarily pushed aside, his worries fading.

Right after, Lili showed up in her bat form, fluttering in through the open window and then transforming into her human form so she could kneel in front of her master, her head bowed.

"Master, I have come with the report."

'Eh, she is back; that was rather quick.'

Dorian acknowledged her presence, seating himself more comfortably as he allowed her to deliver the news he had sent her for.

"It's just as you said. There is a natural resource in this city. It's further north, close to where I assume is the base of the enemy. Oh, it's not something I recognize, but it looks similar to the dragon ores we used to mine back at home."

Dorian sighed as soon as Lili reported, a heavy, frustrated sound. Lili's eyes turned white in panic, wondering why her master was suddenly feeling frustrated at her, even though that wasn't the case.

'I knew it had to be something like this, but I still hoped it wasn't. Just like in my former world, powerful people will do whatever it takes to get their hands on a valuable raw material.'

His mind instantly connected the dots. The "lawless" Red District. The Yaima vs. the Yins. Revina sending him here to "clean it up" but not doing it herself.

'It all makes sense now. Since the resource itself is in this city, then there's a reason people are fighting to the death to control it. People who are powerful enough to get away with it.'

Dorian could now clearly imagine that Revina had no knowledge about these natural resources.

The nobles who did know were keeping it a secret, fanning the flames of the "lawless district" rumor to keep the Crown's eyes away while they used the gangs to mine it for them.

Two names came to mind immediately.

First was the Governor, who was in charge of this very city's affairs and other works related to the kingdom's internal operations.

The second was Duke Valerie, since this place was at the outskirts of the main capital, right inside his territory.

'They must be working hand in hand to cover this entire thing up, using the Yaima group as their private army and the Yins as a fake "resistance" to justify the chaos. What could be so special about this natural resource that would lead them to go this far? To let an entire district rot just for profit?'

Dorian could not keep it in any longer; he truly wanted to know what it could be.

[The skill Resource Gathering has been activated.]

...

[A/N]

Thank you all for the support and thank you for reading as well. i would like to introduce some kinddom for a while, and then the romance.