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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“Count Lineta’s territory… has the authority, and if the royal family recommends you, you should be able to easily obtain authorization as an authorized warlock. However, the state of the territory is quite poor, so you won’t receive much support, and you’ll likely be caught up in various troublesome matters.”
“It’s a place with complicated circumstances.”
I pretended to contemplate Kriang’s words for a moment.
‘How can I steer the conversation towards Count Lineta’s territory?’
My contemplation didn’t last long.
“Which place offers the fastest path to becoming an authorized warlock?”
“…Count Lineta’s territory.”
It was inevitable.
Queishah and Kevry required the process of granting them the authority first, and Rophek, despite being close to the royal family, was a high-ranking noble, so they would need to prepare convincing achievements for me.
On the other hand, Lineta, with its poor circumstances, already had the authority and wasn’t in a good situation, so they were likely to accept me even with insufficient achievements.
‘Honestly, no sane person would choose that place.’
If I chose Lineta, they would likely be apprehensive, yet welcoming.
“Hmm, is Count Lineta’s territory in such a dire state?”
“Yes. Well… to be honest, I wouldn’t recommend Count Lineta’s territory personally, but I believe the royal family would welcome it.”
‘The royal family would welcome it?’
That was a bit unexpected.
When I inquired about it, Kriang gave me an awkward smile and spoke.
“It’s a simple story. The Lineta family was a founding noble family and once very close to the royal family. They served the royal family faithfully for generations, but due to various reasons, their current situation is very unfavorable. We tried to provide them with various forms of support, but the situation only worsened.”
It was a story I was vaguely aware of.
The royal family had given them opportunities, but the Lineta family failed to capitalize on them.
They squandered everything and were on the verge of collapse.
‘They’ll end up collapsing eventually.’
And after their collapse, the dragon’s corpse would be discovered.
It was a story that took place after the territory was returned to the royal family.
“Due to opposition from various parties, we can no longer provide them with proper support, but His Majesty still feels a sense of regret. If you choose Lineta, I believe he will use this as an excuse to provide them with one last financial support.”
‘Me, as an excuse…’
In a way, it could be better than my original plan.
Count Lineta’s territory was currently in a critical state.
The size of the territory itself was barely worthy of being called a county, and economically, they were being manipulated by neighboring territories.
Militarily, they were barely able to defend themselves.
The only reason they hadn’t been invaded by neighboring territories was because they were a former founding noble family under the protection of the royal family, but there were those who were trying to annex their territory indirectly, so they couldn’t let their guard down.
‘Well, you can’t let your guard down when both the economy and military are in shambles anyway.’
The current lord had also inherited the territory hastily after the previous lord’s death, so he hadn’t been able to handle the situation properly.
It wasn’t for nothing that they were on the verge of collapse.
However, they managed to avoid being annexed by neighboring territories in the end.
They gave up their family name and handed over everything, including the territory, to the royal family.
Well, no matter how you sugarcoat it, they still collapsed in the end.
I planned to exploit that gap, help them maintain their family name, and secure my own interests.
But if the royal family’s intervention was added to the mix…
‘And it’s not like the king doesn’t care about the Lineta family either…’
With the royal family’s support and my help, it would be possible to delay the collapse of the territory.
Perhaps they might even avoid collapse altogether.
“Hmm, a good relationship with the royal family…”
I glanced at Kriang, but he showed no change in expression.
He appeared indifferent, as if he didn’t care where I chose.
However, considering what he had said, he must have been secretly hoping for it.
‘Or maybe he did it on purpose.’
He was from the royal intelligence agency.
That meant he would be skilled at dealing with people and concealing his emotions, yet he hadn’t shown any such signs throughout our conversation.
He acted as if he was being completely honest with me, and I had indeed read those signs.
Even though I was living my second life, Kriang’s actions were transparent enough for anyone with a little experience to see through.
Therefore, I wondered if his behavior was intentional, as I suspected, or if he was trying to guide me towards a choice that benefited the royal family.
‘Well, since I had already decided on the answer and was leading the conversation, it wouldn’t be a problem even if it was the latter…’
But there was a slight sense of unease.
However, I wasn’t foolish enough to show it.
“That’s good. Personally, I like the fact that it’s the fastest way to become an authorized warlock.”
“We’ll proceed with Lineta then. However, you can’t go there immediately…”
“The royal family will actively assist you. At the earliest, within three months. We’ll provide you with support so that you can become an authorized warlock within that time.”
It was likely related to designated requests.
I had to adjust my schedule accordingly to take care of other things in the meantime.
‘Three months…’
It was incredibly fast.
My plans had been shortened by several times.
Just then, Baldur returned, and I could tell that he was no longer a slave.
“Master Finbelm…”
“He said he had no reason to stay here after finishing his task and left.”
Kriang sighed at Baldur’s answer.
However, he didn’t say anything further about it.
“We’ll inform the Lineta family first. In the meantime, we’ll provide you with designated requests once a month.”
A total of three times.
I assumed they would be decent requests.
Considering the things I had to take care of from the map I obtained, it would be a busy schedule, but…
‘I have to do it.’
I wasn’t foolish enough to miss this opportunity.
Especially since I had accepted the penalty of temporarily protecting Annelise.
I nodded at Kriang’s words, and then Colmail spoke.
“Now that the procedures are complete, I’ll exchange your mercenary badges for new ones. And since Mr. Baldur is no longer a slave, you can use your new badge as identification.”
As it was a status guaranteed by the Mercenary Guild, it had more credibility than most identification cards.
Baldur bowed his head towards Colmail.
He was no longer my slave, so he had to learn to be responsible for his own life.
Of course, just because he was freed from slavery didn’t mean he could leave me.
It meant that he could now act as a free citizen in the open, not a slave.
‘Just like Kayla and Athena.’
“Miss Annelise.”
“I hope you’ll behave yourself. If there are any more problems, it will be difficult for us to protect you any further.”
Annelise must have understood that “us” referred to the royal family.
Kriang ended with those words, bid us farewell, and left the Mercenary Guild.
“Requests will come through me.”
I nodded at Colmail’s words.
“I believe the designated requests won’t be too difficult. Mostly errands or monster subjugation.”
Simple tasks that wouldn’t take long.
However, the clients wouldn’t be ordinary.
“They can’t just give you difficult and demanding requests out of the blue.”
They were paving the way for me, but I hadn’t shown them much yet.
We had only proven our combat capabilities, so it was natural that most of the requests would involve using force.
And with the three-month time limit they had set, long-term requests were out of the question.
“You’ll have to take care of personal requests in the meantime.”
Of course, I couldn’t just accept everything they offered.
I had no intention of doing so anyway.
“Then I’ll see you at the first designated request.”
After saying goodbye to Colmail, we returned to the inn, and Athena asked,
“With the three-month deadline and designated requests, our schedule is tight. Are we going to move right away?”
“Of course.”
I turned to look at Annelise.
“Annelise.”
“You’ll be burdened with all sorts of chores while you’re with us. Don’t even think about picking up a weapon.”
No funny business would be tolerated.
As a former party member who had once handled rear support, she seemed to find it humiliating to be reduced to a chore-taker, as she bit her lip.
“Your abilities are of no use to us. So don’t do anything unnecessary and just stay quiet. Your life won’t be in danger.”
She seemed to have something to say, but perhaps she thought it wasn’t the right time, as she chose to remain silent.
As soon as the day changed, we headed to the Mercenary Guild.
News of our guild guarantee must have spread, as many mercenaries were whispering among themselves while looking at us.
Among them were high-ranking mercenaries and those belonging to established mercenary groups.
‘Some of them must be protesting.’
It must have been a tough time for Colmail.
With the guild’s guarantee, I could accept any request I wanted, even as a warlock.
Although I lacked experience, it wouldn’t be a problem since my party included a 5th class mage and high-ranking Experts.
‘One nearby, two a bit farther away…’
Naturally, I planned to choose requests based on the potential side income.
The one nearby was something I already knew about, not marked on the map, while the ones farther away were both on the map and in my memories of ruins.
‘It’s a shame that the dimensional rift appears a bit later.’
I knew where it would appear, and the rewards were too good to miss.
I had to secure them secretly.
However, I couldn’t go there yet.
“I’ll take this monster subjugation request.”
I took a request form and brought it to Servisso.
As he was the staff member assigned to me, he seemed to have heard the news and accepted the form politely.
However, he was soon taken aback.
Orc tribe subjugation.
It was a large-scale request.
It was a request that usually required the cooperation of at least two large mercenary groups, so he couldn’t help but be surprised that a group of only four, now five, had taken it on.
“…I urge you to reconsider. This one could be quite troublesome if it fails…”
The risk of failure was too great.
Orcs were known for their vindictiveness, so if the mission failed, it would inevitably have a negative impact on the territory.
Therefore, the request had been left unresolved for quite some time.
If we failed, the backlash would be so severe that Colmail might have to revoke the guarantee he had given us, despite his relationship with the royal family.
It seemed Servisso had a favorable opinion of the branch manager, or maybe he had a good impression of me.
‘Or maybe the branch manager gave him a heads-up.’
Normally, the Mercenary Guild would want to resolve neglected requests like this as soon as possible.
“According to recent reconnaissance, there are at least over 700 orcs. It’s too much for just five of you to handle… And Annelise lacks the skills.”
Since she was known as a slave, Servisso didn’t address her formally.
“It’s alright. Please process it.”
However, I was confident.
After all, I had already destroyed several orc tribes in my previous life.
Moreover…
‘There’s a dungeon beneath this orc tribe.’
It was an opportunity to prove my strength and qualifications, and at the same time, naturally acquire a dungeon.
Servisso seemed hesitant, but he eventually nodded, realizing that he couldn’t stop someone with the guild’s guarantee.
“Alright. The deadline is…”
“Fifteen days. That should be enough.”
“…That short?”
It was actually quite generous.
Honestly, I could wipe out the orc tribe in a day, excluding travel time.
I planned to crush them head-on.
‘But I don’t know how long the dungeon will take.’
I had heard it wasn’t too difficult, but you never knew.
So I gave myself ample time.
“In return, please give us a good price.”
As it was a large-scale subjugation request, the reward was determined based on the ranks of the participating mercenaries.
“The allocated budget is currently only 5 gold…”
It was a request that had to be dealt with due to its location, but it wasn’t urgent, so the budget wasn’t very large.
“That’s quite low for a large-scale request.”
It was a request where the difficulty decreased with more participants, but with such a small budget and a high risk of failure, it was no wonder it had been neglected for so long.
However, there was something the Mercenary Guild didn’t know, there were a few true warrior orcs within this tribe who could manipulate mana.
‘That’s why it becomes a big problem later on.’
The orc tribe, neglected for two years, had rapidly grown in size and expanded their territory, leading to conflicts with humans.
In fact, they were still expanding their territory slowly.
But they were no match for us now.
“…Alright. We’ll take it.”
“The down payment is…”
“Not necessary. Let’s settle it all at once.”
We didn’t need much preparation.
So I would take it all at once.
Servisso registered the request without a word.
“Then I’ll see you in fifteen days.”
Of course, it was much more likely that we would be back sooner.
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