Two days after his initial survey of the Grand Beast Exchange, Erian traveled to the eastern edge of the capital where one of the kingdom’s major breeding centers operated. The facility, known as Silvergrove Haven, had long been praised for producing healthy work creatures. Official reports described it as compliant and reputable. Yet its recent output numbers did not align with ecological expectations. The discrepancy was subtle but persistent. Erian needed answers.

He arrived before dawn when the sky still held a faint gray. The guard at the front gate recognized his insignia and stepped aside quickly. The breeding center sprawled across a wide area with wooden barns, open grazing fields, and small enchanted enclosures designed to mimic natural habitats. At a glance Silvergrove looked peaceful, almost idyllic. But Erian had learned that danger often hid behind a veneer of serenity.

A senior caretaker named Lysa greeted him. She wore a calm expression but her voice carried tension when she confirmed that the center had been preparing for inspection. Erian walked beside her as she led him to the administrative hall. As they passed by several holding enclosures he noticed subtle inconsistencies. A pen meant for young riverbeasts contained older individuals. A habitat for nesting sky-wings was arranged without adequate height. A training ring showed signs of recent, intense use that did not match the reported schedules.

He made mental notes and continued walking. The administrative hall smelled of parchment and mana ink. Lysa retrieved a stack of breeding reports from the past year and placed them on the inspection table. Erian read through the documents. Many of the forms seemed correct, but the numbers felt too smooth, too consistent, as if they were structured to avoid scrutiny rather than reflect reality. Healthy breeding cycles always included irregularities. These reports had none.

He asked to see the lineage records for the Stonehide line. Lysa hesitated for a moment before retrieving them. That hesitation mattered. Erian flipped through the pages slowly. He traced the parentage lists and the dates. Several listed offspring overlapped in ways that suggested impossible gestation timelines. A Stonehide pair that had produced a calf three months earlier supposedly produced another only weeks later. That alone made the record suspicious.

Erian placed the documents on the table and asked Lysa if she personally managed these records. Her eyes lowered. She admitted that some entries came from external suppliers who brought in beasts they claimed were part of Silvergrove’s breeding stock. The center accepted them because the demand for work creatures had surged. They feared losing contracts if they could not meet quotas.

He asked her to take him to the storage barns where incoming beasts were kept before formal registration. Lysa led him down a dirt path bordered by tall hedges. The barns were large structures reinforced with rune-carved beams. As they approached he heard faint sounds from inside. Not the sounds of typical juvenile beasts but heavy shuffling and low growls that did not match the age categories listed in the center’s roster.

Inside the barn Erian found several cages draped with cloth covers. He lifted one. A young Warden Bear sat curled inside with chains around its front limbs. Warden Bears were not native to the region and certainly not bred at Silvergrove. They were also listed as restricted species due to their slow reproduction cycles. The presence of even one indicated that the center was receiving beasts captured illegally. The cloth drapes told him they wanted to hide the creatures until they could fabricate lineage papers.

Lysa froze when she saw it. She whispered that she had no idea such creatures were held here. Erian believed her. The deception went deeper than the caretakers. Someone at a higher level was feeding the center illegal beasts to inflate supply numbers. He examined the bear more carefully. Its mana aura wavered and pulsed with stress. He could detect traces of suppression spells used by poachers to subdue captured creatures.

He covered the cage again and asked Lysa to show him the ledger for incoming transfers. She pointed to a smaller room near the back of the barn. Erian opened the ledger and scanned the entries. Each transfer was documented by a supplier code. Several codes repeated in patterns that aligned with seizure reports from other regions. It meant the same supplier likely handled multiple illegal shipments across the kingdom.

The ledger also revealed something else. Transfers often occurred at dawn or late at night, times when official inspectors were unlikely to visit. Those patterns were deliberate. He noted each suspicious supplier code and memorized them.

After leaving the barn he asked Lysa to gather the senior staff. When they arrived he questioned them one by one. Some answered directly. Others deflected or disguised their uncertainty. Through their responses he pieced together a timeline. The breeding center once operated honestly but struggled to meet market demand as the black market expanded. Instead of resisting pressure they accepted beasts from unofficial channels. They hoped to quietly reclassify the creatures through fabricated lineage records.

Erian understood how desperation could push institutions into unethical choices. But excuses did not prevent ecological collapse. Every illegal creature funneled through this center contributed to the growing void in natural habitats. Every falsified lineage paper helped the black market flourish. He explained this calmly to the staff. He told them the consequences extended far beyond their contracts. The kingdom’s stability depended on responsible beast management.

He informed them that Silvergrove would undergo full audit procedures. Until the investigation finished they could not register new litters or send beasts to market. The staff reacted with shock. They feared economic ruin. But Erian was not here to appease fears. He was here to establish truth.

He returned to the barn and examined the Warden Bear again. Instead of fear he sensed something else beneath its stress aura. A faint trace of protective instinct. Warden Bears formed strong bonds with their territory. Removing one from its region caused imbalance. He placed a hand near the bars and let the bear feel a calm mana flow. The creature’s breathing slowed.

He whispered that he would find out where it came from and that he would return it to its rightful habitat if possible. The beast could not understand his words but recognized the intent within his mana. Its stressed aura softened.

Erian stepped outside and looked across the fields of Silvergrove Haven. Sunlight rose behind the hills. He felt the weight of the work ahead. If even a reputable center had fallen into these practices then other centers were likely in worse condition.

He tightened his grip on his notes. The black market had pushed its influence deep into the kingdom’s legitimate systems. If he wanted to rebuild the industry he had to strike at the roots. That meant tracking the supplier codes found in the ledger. It meant following the trail into places where oversight had long been absent.

He would not be able to confront the black market head on yet. But he could begin by exposing every compromised link in the supply chain. The process would be slow and difficult but necessary.

The beasts of the kingdom deserved a system that protected them rather than exploited them. And Erian Vale intended to build that system even if he had to dismantle the old one piece by piece.