Chapter 73
Chapter 73
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: Fail-Safe Investment (3)
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"Where have I seen you before...?"
Merian narrowed her eyes as she stared at Regin.
In an instant, her face flushed red.
It was because an unpleasant memory flashed through her mind.
"...Regin Petrichio!"
"Took you long enough."
"You little punk who ditched me to follow that Delbach guy!"
It was an unforgettable humiliation for Merian.
Her family didn't have the longest history, but she'd grown up treated decently all the same.
She'd never been ignored by commoners when she was around other nobles' kids—no way.
She'd always confidently made her offers, and they'd never ended on a sour note.
The emotions from the day Regin had ditched her to follow Preton Mak Delbach were ones she never wanted to relive.
"Do you have any idea how embarrassed you made me?"
"..."
"That ugly mug of yours jogged my memory!"
Regin let out a hollow laugh as he looked at the fuming Merian.
"Ugly my ass."
"...Huh?"
Her face froze at the sudden icy tone.
Regin fixed her with a sharp glare and continued.
"Merian."
"...What?"
"You think this is the kingdom?"
"Why bring that up all of a sud—"
Her eyes began to tremble, but Regin paid it no mind.
Frankly, he was dumbfounded.
No matter how sheltered she'd been, it was obvious she had no clue what she'd walked into.
"I don't know what brought you to the Tower, but watch your mouth."
"Even that day, you straight-up ignored me...!"
"I ignored you when you had your noble status. What do you think I'll do now that you're here without a single guard?"
"..."
She seemed to have learned some magic, judging by the staff.
From what he'd overheard earlier, her retainers had come with her...
But no one had told her the most important thing.
How to survive in this place.
"Thugs. Delinquents. Criminals."
"..."
"What do they have in common? They roam freer here in the Tower than they ever could in the kingdom. The kingdom's laws don't apply here—not even a little."
"..."
Merian clamped her mouth shut, intimidated by Regin's unwavering demeanor.
That made it easier for him to keep explaining.
"That's why you don't mouth off to explorers. Why give them an excuse? We're barely scraping by as it is."
"..."
"Even people you think are your friends—you gotta be careful with them. And here you are, first thing, calling me a punk and ugly."
When Regin pulled a scroll from his bag and looked at her, Merian lost strength in her legs and collapsed to the ground.
"...S-sorry!!"
She raised her arms to shield herself, squeezing her eyes shut.
The fireball spell she'd seen moments ago was vivid in her mind.
"What are you doing?"
"...Huh?"
"It's a mana shield scroll. Use it, and it'll hold off goblin attacks for a while."
"W-why are you giving me this?"
"Your retainers must've gotten separated after telling you all sorts of things. You confident you can hold out alone against goblins?"
"...I don't know."
"Take it. Not for free, of course."
One thing had become clear during his chat with one-eyed Jack.
Things back in the kingdom were moving faster than he'd thought.
And he was no longer uninvolved in those events.
'Not a player anymore.'
Tower info wasn't enough—kingdom intel was vital to Regin too.
"Peresian, right? Your family."
"...Yeah."
"Tell me why they sent you here. And the current state of House Peresian. That's all."
He shook the scroll.
"Do that, and you won't die to goblins."
A contrived smile followed belatedly.
Like every salesman prepping goods for a customer.
* * *
Merian reflexively opened her mouth.
It was only natural.
Regin had scared her half to death, and now he was playing nice.
To Merian, who'd just cheated death, this was her chance.
"M-my uncle told me to come."
"Uncle?"
"My uncle runs House Peresian... alongside my father, the head."
"And your father just let him send you?"
"...Father doesn't have anyone he can trust around him. Uncle's no exception."
Some sibling rivalry?
Even as head of the house, he couldn't control the whole family.
Maybe the brothers were jockeying for that headship power.
"From what I heard, coming here would bolster Father's position, so I agreed."
"Hmm."
"...That's all I know. I just said it because Father seemed stressed."
"But where are your retainers? You didn't come alone."
"They told me all sorts of stuff... and said they'd pick me up once I was alone on the first floor."
"Pick you up?"
"They gave me this..."
Clink—
Merian pulled a pendant from her bag. Regin recognized it well.
"Plaxis's Pendant. They gave you this and told you to wait?"
It allowed communication, sure, but no idiot used it on the first floor.
...The first floor was massive.
How do you find someone with a comms range of just a few kilometers?
'Either her retainers are incompetent...'
Or they've been paid off.
Regin figured it was one or the other.
"I learned magic too. I had an expensive spellbook I bought."
"What spells?"
"Ice."
"...Pardon?"
That was dubious.
It was a basic freeze spell, true, but zero lethality.
Just for briefly holding enemies in place.
"Merian."
"Yeah?"
"Listen up."
"...Why you gotta scare me again."
"Those thugs and delinquents I mentioned earlier."
"Yeah."
He'd reached a conclusion.
Unless she'd learned other spells alongside Ice...
There was only one reason to send a mage this weak.
"They're the type hanging around you."
They sent you here to die.
* * *
Regin's steps quickened without pause.
'Blessing of the Wind. Pretty fast.'
He'd even used a bought Blessing of the Wind scroll as he headed for his destination.
His pace was closer to running than walking.
He planned to keep it up until he reached the rendezvous with his two party members.
"...Huff! Wait up!"
Merian was doggedly chasing after him.
To catch Regin under Blessing of the Wind, she'd been sprinting nonstop for ten minutes.
'She's got some grit, huh?'
After wrapping up their talk, Regin had memorized the info from Merian.
He'd handed over the promised mana shield scroll.
Then he'd bolted straight for the tallest tree.
Honestly, he'd thought she'd give up chasing, but she was keeping up better than expected.
'Well, without that grit, she wouldn't have entered the Tower in the first place.'
He knew well the image nobles had of the Tower.
Barring a few elites pursuing knighthood or proper mage paths...
Most nobles saw it as a death trap for rootless explorers.
'And yet she came for her father. Gotta give her credit for guts.'
Too bad the Tower couldn't be cleared on guts alone.
Without running into him, she'd probably be goblin chow by now.
"...Hey!"
Merian finally yelled as she chased.
"Save me!"
He halted and turned.
"...Thanks!"
"I stopped because we reached the spot."
"What?"
Regin nodded toward the tree behind him.
"The Big Tree. Not sure if it's actually the biggest, but that's what everyone calls it. Unique enough for a meetup spot."
"You didn't stop because I begged?"
Merian glared at him, panting wildly.
"No way."
"...Is this okay?"
"Hm?"
"No matter how you slice it as an explorer, is ignoring a newbie like this fine?"
"Think it isn't?"
"...As a fellow person, I mean."
"Some in your own family sent you here hoping you'd die. Strangers? Even more so."
Merian hesitated, then blurted it out.
"I'll tell you."
"Hm?"
"Why I came and what my uncle said."
Regin's lips curved up.
Finally, a proper conversation.
'Should've spoken up sooner.'
Her uncle had given her a mission, but she'd kept her mouth shut—how could they talk?
"He told me to deliver this letter."
"A letter?"
"To someone named Chimihi on the fifth floor."
"...What's it say?"
"No idea. Just deliver it. Father gave it to me himself."
"..."
Regin's mind raced.
A letter for Chimihi, penned by the head himself.
'No way.'
An image of one man flashed by, sending chills down his spine.
'Preton's doing?'
It might not be internal Peresian drama.
He hadn't seen the contents, but sending it secretly to Chimihi screamed alliance request.
Preton probably wanted Regin to pass something similar to her.
So Peresian and Preton were rivals.
Both vying to win over the politically isolated Chimihi first.
'Winning her cuts down rivals. And more nobles swapping secret letters risks leaks. For Preton, quietly working in the shadows, even one extra rival noble is a headache.'
The more he chewed on it, the more it pointed to one culprit.
Not house members checking her—it could be Preton eliminating a thorn early.
"...Any guesses?"
"Nope."
Regin shook his head at Merian's question and pulled out another scroll.
"Mana shield scroll. Here's one more."
Plenty for the intel.
Two total now—she could dodge goblins easy if she used them right.
"Not the scroll..."
Merian shook her head.
"Take me to the fifth floor. So I can deliver this letter."
"That's tough."
"Why?"
"Doesn't pay enough."
Big difference between a battlefield save and escorting to the fifth.
Especially babysitting the whole way up.
Extra so with a total greenhorn.
"Wear the pendant around your neck for now. You never know—your retainers might be nearby."
...Though they could be Preton's hires.
"Is escorting one person that hard? You survived lycanthropes."
"Solo, yeah."
"...I'll pay big when we get back."
Merian pulled something from her bag and handed it to Regin.
"Think of this as a down payment. The gem in the center's from our family mine."
"Pardon?"
Regin unwittingly tilted his head.
His eyes went to the brooch she'd given him.
"The gem in the brooch center—from House Peresian's mine?"
"Yeah. Took it off my battle dress 'cause it was too nice to wear around."
Small, but unmistakable.
A gem—no, ore—familiar to Regin.
'Orichalcum.'
The special ore rarer than gold or diamonds to mages, embedded in the brooch's center.
'Peresian...'
Now he knew why the name rang a bell.
'How damn busy is Preton?'
In the game DAT, that mine only appeared after Peresian fully fell to Preton.