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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“That Danian guy… is a bit off.”
“…Creepy.”
“He was excessively ogling. It would be better to get used to it. There are plenty of guys like that among mercenaries.”
Kayla said that it ended at this level only because she and I were confident, and if it weren’t for us, he would have made advances.
“Especially that Danian’s character is a bit bad. He used to subtly make advances towards me in the past too.”
“…To Teacher?”
At Kayla’s words, the eyes of the sisters slightly frowned. Danian’s image was hitting rock bottom.
After finishing a light meal, I asked my companions.
“I’m thinking of going to Kuman’s mansion. What will you do? Will you come with me this time too?”
At my words, all three women fell silent.
“If that’s what you want, Master, I don’t mind.”
“I’m a bit reluctant, but I’ll go if Thea goes.”
Our gazes focused on Thea, and when the attention was on her, she asked me.
“Will it be helpful if I go?”
“It won’t be bad. Even if we combine the influence of all the people we’ve met so far, it doesn’t even come close to Kuman’s toes. But if you don’t want to go, you don’t have to. You saw their reactions, right? Were there any worries?”
Thea shook her head at my question.
They treated us well if we treated them well, and there wasn’t a single rude person.
They even knew their identities because rumors about my comrades had already spread, but they still treated us well.
“Then… I don’t really want to go.”
Thea carefully expressed her refusal.
“Okay. Then Kayla, stay at home with Athena.”
“Sure. I’ll go first. Ah, can I buy some dinner ingredients in advance?”
“Go ahead.”
I handed money to Athena, and she thanked me with a smile.
So I parted ways with my companions and headed to Kuman’s mansion, handing Albert the list I had written and additionally ordering some clothes for myself and a few sets of women’s clothes.
I judged that I would need a few spare clothes if we were going to stay inside the pioneer castle, so I ordered additional clothes.
‘A neat appearance also reduces being looked down upon.’
Since they were all women, I thought they would be somewhat interested in clothes.
Unfortunately, clothing stores were rare. In the first place, commoners in this world usually made their own clothes rather than buying them.
Therefore, in a frontier like this, the only way to buy clothes was to find a skilled housewife and place a separate order or ask Kuman to procure them from a larger territory.
Considering the procurement of cotton fabric, it was better to ask Kuman.
As a result of ordering the necessary items, as expected, I ended up using up all the gold I had.
Moreover, most of the items had to be bought from the Siglen County, so I couldn’t receive the goods right away.
“You’re making a large order again this time.”
“Ahaha. You never know when and what kind of request will come, so. There was also a request from the lord this time. But thanks to that, my money is almost gone.”
When I lightly joked about whether there were any capture requests, Albert said something unexpected.
“Hmm, we might end up making a request to you, Sir Jimnis.”
“Oh, a request from Sir Kuman. It’s been a while.”
Honestly, I didn’t really want to receive it. I was already in a situation where I had too many things to do.
I didn’t expect such an answer to come from a light joke.
I was thinking of politely refusing depending on the content, but unexpectedly, Albert showed a somewhat troubled expression instead of giving a definite answer.
“…Could it be a request from the lord?”
Then it would be difficult to refuse.
“No. Hmm… It’s not an official request yet, so I’m hesitant to tell you…”
Albert took a breath for a moment and soon revealed who the client was.
“It’s… Banis Owalan.”
‘Banis Owalan?’
Banis Owalan. He was the son of Baron Owalan and the successor of this territory.
“What kind of request did he make…”
“That, I don’t know exactly either. It seems to be a request that needs to be done secretly, so only Sir Kuman knows the exact details.”
“Hmm…”
‘A request where even the content is a secret?’
A request that only the party involved can know.
It’s not that it doesn’t exist. It occasionally comes to the mercenary guild, but unless there’s a very high level of trust, such requests can never be accepted.
‘Albert is highly trusted by Kuman. Yet he doesn’t know the content at all… But even for such a request, the client is not the lord but his successor?’
There must be something.
“But why would such a task come to me?”
“As I said, it’s not certain yet. However, judging by the fact that Sir Kuman asked if there was an urgent request that he couldn’t handle and had to entrust to you, Sir Jimnis, after receiving a request…”
In other words, although he didn’t specify it exactly, there was a possibility that it would fall on me due to the circumstances.
I had a track record of successfully completing the previous request, was appointed as an honorary soldier, and had also settled in the Baron Owalan’s territory.
‘Albert is quick-witted. Him saying this in itself is almost equivalent to Kuman subtly asking.’
Honestly, I am curious. However, I was currently in a situation where I was busy in many ways.
Therefore, I tried to refuse Albert’s question in a roundabout way.
“Well, I don’t know. I have to coordinate with my newly recruited comrades, and I’m currently working on getting them settled here first.”
Albert showed a troubled expression at my words.
“If it’s an order from the young master, it can’t be helped, but honestly, it’s very troubling.”
“…Is that so? Indeed, that would be the case. You mentioned that you recently freed Thea and recruited a comrade.”
It seemed he had checked Thea’s name again.
‘Well, if the story of that slave or being sold comes up in front of my new comrades, it would be quite uncomfortable.’
Perhaps that consideration wasn’t for Athena or Thea.
That consideration was most likely for me.
Because I had proven my usefulness in various ways, they were respecting me and making such small preparations.
‘This is also a kind of treatment.’
It could be seen as saving my reputation.
“Hmm… I understand. I will convey the situation to Sir Kuman.”
‘Revealing Athena was helpful here.’
It could be considered killing two birds with one stone, even though I intended to use it for a different purpose.
“For now, I will try to procure the items you ordered as much as possible at the next trade.”
“Please do.”
The short meeting with Albert ended like that.
I couldn’t meet Kuman, but since it was a situation where I had indirectly refused the successor’s request and there was no reason to meet Kuman, it was better for me this way.
When I arrived home, the three who had gone to buy ingredients hadn’t returned yet, so it was quiet.
‘Hmm… Then…’
Since I had time, I started thinking about the basement.
‘Is it difficult to dig it myself after all?’
If I used the skeleton, it wouldn’t be impossible, but it seemed like it would take quite some time, and above all, there were doubts about safety.
‘Seeing that the part connected to the lord’s castle is about to collapse, if we make it that way, it could be really dangerous.’
In times like these…
‘Magic is the most convenient, but…’
Among the elemental magic, there was an earth-type magic called Dig.
It was a magic used to dig holes and create traps, but it could be used for this purpose as well.
The problem was that I was a Warlock, so I wasn’t very friendly with elemental magic.
‘There are ways, though…’
I knew the arrangement of mana since it was close to living magic.
Although I didn’t have mana, I could make a mana accumulation magic circle and engrave the Dig magic to use it for now.
‘This will also take quite some time, though.’
At times like these, it’s convenient to have gems…
‘It’s really too expensive to be an answer.’
Even a small one costs gold coins. In this world, gems are called the epitome of luxury because they all contain pure mana.
And at a very high density too.
That’s why gems are mainly used as materials for artifacts. Due to their beautiful appearance and expensive value, accessories made of gems are bound to be expensive even without any functions, and that’s why they are called the epitome of luxury.
‘Hmm… It would be faster to engrave a magic circle on the floor that uses Dig when mana is charged and ask Kayla and Athena to constantly charge mana.’
It’s not something that lasts permanently and needs to be fixed almost every day, and it has almost no practicality, but it’s sufficiently useful in a situation like this.
I immediately started creating the magic circle.
If I used reagents or relatively inexpensive gem powder, the effect would be much better, but I had used up all my money, so it was difficult to go that far.
After installing a magic circle for the backdoor on one side of the house…
‘Hmm… I should also conceal the mana.’
This makes it more complicated, but it’s not a level I can’t handle.
While I was drawing the magic circle, the three women returned home.
“Huh? Jimnis, you’re already here?”
Athena seemed to have decided to call me Jimnis even inside the pioneer castle, as she called me that even at home.
“Yeah. It wasn’t a long task anyway.”
“But what are you doing?”
“Trying to make a basement.”
“…Gosh, you’re like a training addict.”
“Well, this one is a bit different.”
“Huh?”
“Hmm… I’ll explain later.”
It was about time to let them know. The house had also become a bit cramped, and we had been together for a long time, so I couldn’t hide it forever.
Of course, I had no intention of revealing all my information.
‘Should I roughly reveal the story about the secret passage and the reason for investigating our forces?’
At times like these, the excuse of me being a Warlock comes in handy.
If I say that the reason for investigating our forces and installing a backdoor in the secret passage is to prepare for any contingencies, it can all be understood.
By the time I finished the magic circle by using my brain, no mana could be felt at all.
‘Now if we cover the surroundings appropriately…’
It had reached a point where no one could notice that there was a magic circle here.
While I was finishing up the work, the three women who had been wandering around the house and chatting had somehow started cooking.
‘It’s already like this?’
The sun had almost set before I knew it.
Even though it was a low-level magic close to living magic, I hadn’t dealt with elemental magic in a long time, so I seemed to have focused excessively.
‘I didn’t even notice the time passing.’
When focusing on magic, this often happened, so it wasn’t unusual.
“Master, dinner is ready.”
Just then, Kayla approached to call me, and I said okay and got up.
As I was about to go to the living room…
Knock knock!
“Hmm…?”
Someone was knocking on the front door.
“Who could it be at this hour… I will go and see.”
“I’ll go with you.”
Kayla and I went outside and were greeted by an unexpected visitor.
“…Young Master?”
Surprisingly, the person who had come to see me was Banis Owalan, the successor of the territory.
Next to him was a man wearing armor, who looked like a squire at a glance.
I immediately bowed to Banis.
“Greetings to the successor of the territory.”
“Hmm, sorry for the late hour.”
Although he was still young, he was imitating Baron Owalan’s way of speaking as a noble.
‘This is troublesome.’
“Ahem.”
Just then, the squire subtly signaled me, and I had no choice but to say to Banis,
“Please come in for now. It’s quite shabby, but…”
“Let’s do that.”
I couldn’t leave a noble outside, so I had no choice but to let him inside the house.
The sisters were startled to see that a guest had come.
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