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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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At first, I tried to resolve it through conversation.
After all, he came all the way here himself.
It didn’t erase his past wrongdoings, but if by any chance he sincerely repented, I had intended to at least provide a place for him.
However, from the start, he sat in his seat with an arrogant attitude, looking at me in a way that didn’t seem at all like the attitude of someone who regretted his wrongdoings.
Still, I thought it would be good to at least listen to what he had to say.
I tried to think positively.
Precisely, I tried to think positively until that guy opened his mouth.
“I’d like you to return my daughter.”
“I never took her. She came here on her own.”
“Didn’t you lure a young child who knows nothing?”
“…”
His attitude didn’t consider the other party at all.
He was only showing an attitude of trampling on them.
So much so that even Viral, who was next to him, was directly giving him a look.
But he didn’t care even a little.
I tilted my head.
No matter what, can he be this rude?
Even if his position is high, this is clearly the headquarters of the Royal Knights.
If he has a high position, he should know that acting like this won’t do him any good, right?
But why?
“I don’t know the details, but it seems Ruby left home at a young age and came all the way here.”
“Well, that’s right. Was it when she was about 7 years old? Or was it 8 years old?”
“How desperate must that young child have been to come all this way?”
“Are you trying to provoke me now?”
With those words, I clearly realized.
That man didn’t think of Ruby as his daughter at all.
Otherwise, there was no way he wouldn’t know when his own daughter ran away from home.
In other words, it meant that man was looking for Ruby again out of necessity. And he was the man who inflicted domestic violence on her in the past.
Then, what I should do is clear.
“I refuse. Ruby is a proper member of the Royal Knights. She’s not some object I can hand over as I please.”
“Hey, let’s not be like that. I’m saying there’s a way we can all be happy.”
“A way to be happy?”
“Yes, for example… an anonymous sponsorship?”
“…”
I wondered what he was talking about, but it was such a cheap and common proposal that I couldn’t help but chuckle.
No matter how desperate we were for money, we wouldn’t sell our members.
“I’ll give you 50,000 gold upfront. And if you succeed in handing over Ruby, an additional 100,000 gold. How about it?”
…It was too much money to reprimand him.
Whoa!
No, no way.
Just for a very brief moment, I almost fell for it.
Exchanging money for a member, such a thing could never happen.
If I did that, our trust would completely fly away.
“No matter what conditions you offer, I can’t accept it.”
“I don’t understand! It must be a huge amount of money?!”
“Indeed, we need money to rebuild the Royal Knights.”
In the first place, what was the reason I was going through all this hardship?
My ultimate goal was to return to my original body.
The problem was that there was too much work to do before I returned to my original body.
Surely, somewhere in this world, there must be a clue to returning to my original body.
But the biggest problem was that more than half of the continent was currently occupied by demons.
In other words, even to find a way for me to return safely, rebuilding the Royal Knights was the right thing to do for now.
That way, the alliance of races wouldn’t crumble like in the original story.
And that would make it easier for me to find a way to return safely.
Like Comprachico who I saw before, demons basically used a lot of bizarre abilities.
Among them, there were demons who used powers as cheat-like as time stop.
Against such demons, there was no 100% guarantee of safety.
So…
“But there are definitely things that money can’t buy.”
“What’s that?”
“Trust.”
As a result, I was trying to rebuild the Royal Knights for my own purpose. And it was true that money was needed for that.
But was money all it took?
No, it was not.
Let’s say I sold Ruby and got 150,000 gold right now.
Then what would happen after that?
Could I rebuild the Royal Knights with that money?
There was no way that was possible.
Because in exchange, I would lose their trust.
A commander who sells members for money?
No matter how you look at it, he only looks like a common third-rate villain.
My top priority was rebuilding the Royal Knights.
Of course, money would be needed for that too.
But if that money didn’t help at all in rebuilding the Royal Knights, I didn’t need it either.
At my firm will, the man began to pour out his anger.
“What the hell are you talking about?! That’s mine!”
“Wait, calm down and…”
“I can’t hand it over to anyone!!”
“…”
I was wrong.
He had completely lost his mind.
Viral was trying to stop him from the side, but he was completely ignoring even Viral’s words.
Anyway, I could tell that man was out of his mind.
An eye for an eye.
A tooth for a tooth.
To a man who’s not in his right mind, I’ll respond in kind with a method that’s not in its right mind.
I picked up the cup Cluna had brought.
It had a handle like a mug and was quite thick.
I raised the cup high into the sky.
And like a hammer, I smashed it directly onto the man’s head.
With a loud, noisy sound, the man collapsed on the floor, bleeding.
“Oops! My hand slipped and I smashed his head!”
Of course, it was an excuse that wouldn’t be believable at all.
But I tried to make an excuse anyway.
After all, asking me to sell a member for money and the excuse I was making now were all the same.
“Commander…?”
“Uh…”
And Ruby ended up catching me in the act.
Why did you come out there…?
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Dwarves blindly follow technology.
They believe that the skills they possess represent their worth and love their masterpieces like their own children.
Of course, there are cases where they go too far.
Other races criticize or condemn that, but no dwarf has ever cared about that.
However, right now, a single dwarf sensed something strange.
Of course, dwarves do blindly follow technology.
But they haven’t gone so crazy as to tolerate sacrificing family or colleagues for the sake of technological advancement.
It was not that such cases had never happened, but it was rare enough to count on one hand for all of dwarf society to proudly regard it or simply tolerate it.
But such crazy things were happening quite frequently now.
No matter how technology-crazed lunatics were gathered, there were still laws that must be followed to maintain a nation.
But now, an unbelievable crack had appeared in that law.
It started with one of the four jewels that supported the Dwarf Republic.
It started with Ruby.
That man unveiled an unbelievable sword in front of everyone.
[The material for this sword is my loved one. The more I love that person, the more powerful the weapon becomes.]
With that single unbelievable statement, the dwarf craftsmen began to go berserk one by one.
The entire situation was very contrived.
The dwarves took pride in their skills, and that also meant they weren’t easily swayed by others’ words.
But at that man’s single statement, everyone was enchanted and honed their skills using their loved ones as sacrifices. And that had a negative impact on the republic as well.
No matter how crazy the Dwarf Republic was, they weren’t so brain-dead as to engage in territorial disputes with the alliance even in this situation.
Their brains weren’t made of scrap metal.
‘As expected, choosing the commander of the Royal Knights was the right answer!’
Viral, who had been trying to stop the man beside him, had his eyes lit up.
He thought that man, who would never hand over his members, who was like steel, would definitely not let this slide.
“Commander, I have a request for you.”
“You want to make a request in a situation like this?”
“Yes, Commander. You already know, don’t you?”
“…”
“The fact that the Dwarf Republic has not been normal lately.”
In Viral’s eyes, the current commander was no ordinary man.
He single-handedly defeated Comprachico, who had thrown the Dwarf Republic into chaos, and maintained his upper hand in negotiations.
On the surface, it may seem like the Dwarf Republic, which overcharged, had won.
But in the end, it was the Royal Knights who gained more than just money.
Not the Dwarf Republic.
However, that didn’t mean he liked the commander.
He acknowledged his abilities, but considering the previous private matter as well, he couldn’t have good feelings.
So, he knelt down.
After ordering his attendant to restrain the man who was hit with a cup and collapsed, he sat on the floor and knelt down.
Moreover, he even touched his forehead to the ground and said,
“Commander, please. You’re the only one we can trust and rely on.”
“I accept. The details?”
“…Pardon?”
“Commander!! Have you forgotten what they did to us?!”
“Even I was disgusted by it!!”
Naturally, there was tremendous opposition to the commander’s swift acceptance.
So much so that even Viral, the party involved, looked at him blankly.
That was how odd it was.
They had just finished a request, but not only did they cut the money, but they even acted out like this today.
Naturally, Viral was prepared to even risk his life if necessary.
Because he could do anything for the sake of his homeland.
But he accepted it so readily.
Even the others who had been listening silently on the side were so startled that they opposed…
“How could you accept it so readily…?”
“Is there a reason to save people?”
“…”
Rather, that single retorting question was heavier than any words Viral had heard so far.
Regardless of past grudges or personal feelings, he saved people.
The image of a noble hero that could only be found in fairy tales was right in front of his eyes.
Out of gratitude, Viral could only lower his head and swallow his tears.
But did he know?
That Hans was actually thinking something else.
‘You said there’s a divine sword in the Dwarf Republic that can cut through anything? If demons appear, I’ll secure it using that as an excuse…’
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the road to retirement is moving far away, while the uncle is getting chased by a bunch of crazies(?)
Never been any other way.
These dwarves are 2 steps short of full demon worshipping, no wander the majority of them get killed.
Thankfully the yandere collector uncle is here to kill his retirement options
It all that guy fault
Thank for the chapter!
Impact’s the same
so the dwarves are making sharingan swords?
The Mangekyou sword
He’s rizzing up shotas now? uncle please at least stay in the female catagory
Wow, no wonder the Dwarf Republic was ripe enough in depravity to fall so easily. Demonic influence? Probably.
But their obvious avarice was still their ultimate weakness…