Gerard Millers' Tribulations (2)

Gerard and Cave.

The merchant managing the slush funds and the leader of the shadow unit.

In truth, their relationship was a delicate one.

Cave, who led the shadow unit, was officially a commoner. He couldn't publicly declare himself a Class 4 for obvious reasons.

But he considered himself equal to a knight in combat prowess, so he believed his status matched that of a knight as well.

Gerard, a mere merchant, was at best on par with a knight's squire in the yeoman class.

Cave looked down on him subtly, treating him with disdain.

From Gerard's perspective, it was absurd for some lowly commoner to gaze down on him like that.

He decided this was the perfect chance to thoroughly correct this insolent brat's attitude.

"We'll help evacuate the wounded, but retreat is out of the question."

Grind!

Cave ground his teeth. But there was nothing he could do. He clenched his molars and spat out the order like it was poison.

"Evacuate the wounded and muster every available force. No exceptions, even for agents in training."

"Yes, sir!"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"And assume there's no separate mage controlling the golem. Treat the enemy like a five-year-old kid with brute strength and plan your tactics accordingly."

"Yes, Captain!"

Cave reorganized his forces and lured the golems into traps one by one.

Fortunately, his judgment that no dedicated mage was controlling them proved correct.

"Pull!"

Clank!

Sturdy stakes linked by iron chains wrapped around the golem's limbs.

The rock golem thrashed wildly, yanking out stakes, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but the shadow unit agents hurled even more hooks each time.

While mercenaries distracted it, laborers drove in stakes, and shadow agents tossed chained hooks to bind the golem. The cycle repeated.

In the meantime, knight-level shadow agents stepped up as attackers.

They thrust long spears into the golem's body from all angles.

"Found it!"

Rumble!

Finally, the core shattered, and the rock golem crumbled back into stone and sand.

Cave destroyed two more golems the same way, somehow completing the mission.

But mobilizing even their undertrained reserves came at an enormous cost in casualties.

Unfortunately, the trials befalling them were far from over.

When Gerard stood at the ancient ruin's entrance and pressed the magic crystal orb against it, a cold, emotionless voice emanated.

It was the ego system managing the ruins.

"Invalid user? What the hell is this bullshit?!"

Flustered, Gerard pressed the orb again.

Sensing the ominous atmosphere, the chief overseer ordered the nearby guards.

"It's dangerous! Escort Gerard now!"

"Let go of me! Let go!"

"Gerard, sir! Please evacuate and observe the situation first. Escort him!"

"Yes!"

"Arrrgh!"

They barely managed to drag the raving Gerard Millers to safety when the cold voice echoed across the silent Golda Plateau.

Ziiiiing—

"Gah!"

"Keeek, kiiik!"

Soon after the eerie static noise, monster cries began echoing from all directions.

It wasn't just one or two.

Judging by the ground shaking and the clamor, there were at least hundreds.

The mercenaries and shadow agents guarding the caravan froze in terror.

They hastily abandoned all their gear and fled with nothing but the clothes on their backs.

"R-Run! Monsters are coming! Aaaah!"

While Gerard Millers waged a desperate battle at the underground ruin's entrance...

Calix was basking in the warm afternoon sun, chatting idly with Rosenne.

He took a sip of black tea, set down the cup, and murmured.

"He's probably suffering plenty right about now."

"Pardon?"

"Oh, not to you, my lady. I sent a gift to someone, and they must've received it by now."

Her eyes widened, and she covered her mouth lightly as she asked.

"Oh my, now I'm curious. Who did you send what to? A lover, perhaps?"

"Haha! As if. Just sent some 'yeot' to a middle-aged guy I know from business."

She tilted her head at the Korean word pronounced as-is.

"What's yeot?"

"A beloved snack from a distant land. Hard but sweet."

"Never heard of it. I want to try it sometime."

"I've prepared something better for you, my lady."

Calix opened a small box wrapped in red velvet with a light smile.

An emerald brooch gleamed brilliantly.

It was jewelry from the ruins.

Not a particularly powerful artifact, but its craftsmanship was top-tier.

"Oh my, it's beautiful... Really for me?"

"Consider it thanks for lending me those bearer bonds temporarily."

"With solid collateral like gold and silver, plus daily compounding interest—who could refuse? Hohoho!"

"Still, agreeing to the reserve payout wasn't an easy call."

She gave an awkward smile and glanced around to ensure no one was eavesdropping.

"Ahem, we agreed not to mention that. As you know, young master, processing it officially means mountains of paperwork, and I'm not even sure we'd get approval."

'Heh! It's not the paperwork—it's that the interest from the loan flows to the Magic Tower, and she hates losing that.'

But where the interest money went didn't matter much to him.

Going through official channels would make secrecy impossible. Neither she nor Calix wanted this leaked.

Still, bringing it up again was an indirect warning to watch her mouth.

"I know full well. You've gone to great lengths for me, my lady. I look forward to your continued support."

"...I'd welcome such opportunities anytime. Especially since you've boosted my scroll sales nicely. But where did you use all those explosion scrolls? Were you at war?"

True to form, Rosenne—who hadn't earned her branch chief position through gambling—tried to extract info effortlessly.

Calix grinned and deflected smoothly.

"Hahaha! War? Nah, just used them developing a mine, so I restocked."

"Mine development? Did you strike ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠gold? Using pricey scrolls just for digging...?"

"Heh, saving that fun for next time. I want to chat with you more often, after all."

"Ho ho, music to my ears."

Though she didn't get the answer she wanted, she didn't press. It was true to her principle of always seeming natural when fishing for info.

After seeing Rosenne off appropriately, Calix stretched languidly.

'Anyway, this settles the debt.'

His inventory now held 600 royal-issued 100-gold bearer bonds, safely tucked away.

When Gerard showed up on the due date, handing them over would end it.

The county's massive debt would be cleared.

'The question is how Gerard will move once he realizes the slush funds were stolen...'

His revenge wasn't over yet.

To Servio Viscount, Calix was probably just roadside weed to trample without a thought.

'He never once imagined the assassination order would fail.'

But the victim couldn't just laugh it off.

"Krout. Fetch Laila."

"Right here."

"Hm? Since when?"

"Since you were fawning all over Rosenne."

"Ugh."

Calix covered his face with both hands.

"I'm already wallowing in self-loathing over winning the succession just to pull this crap—don't pile on."

"Hmph."

Laila snorted sharply, her tone edged.

Shrugging helplessly, Calix ignored her reaction and got to business.

"Suppose Gerard betrays Servio Viscount. Any guess on how it ends?"

"Why would he betray the viscount?"

Calix shot back with a look that said it was obvious.

"Is the viscount some saint who forgives major ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠screw-ups from underlings?"

"...No, of course not. He's a strict perfectionist who tolerates no failure."

"So, would Gerard meekly accept execution if the viscount ordered it?"

Laila pursed her lips, then sighed in admission.

"Sigh, you're right, young master. Once Gerard learns the slush funds he managed were robbed, he'll scheme to survive. Betraying the viscount wouldn't faze him if needed... and honestly, I expect he's prepared somewhat for emergencies."

"Prepared for emergencies... You mean he won't go down easy?"

"Shaking off the executioners won't be simple. He'll probably hit the shadow unit hard to prevent them from backing up the executioners."

"I see..."

Calix crossed his arms, lost in thought. Laila pouted.

" scheming something solo again..."

Meanwhile, Gerard's greatest crisis in life raged on.

He'd whipped Cave into slaying all the monsters and breached the ruin entrance by force, but the interior was utterly empty.

"It's gone! Gone, I tell you! Goddamn it!"

He couldn't accept the slush funds being stolen so easily.

His bloodshot eyes darted wildly as he snarled.

"Search! Find the silver! What are you standing around for? Find the silver—now!"

"Y-Yes!"

Panicked laborers and mercenaries scattered like ants into every corner of the ruins.

That was when it happened.

Boom! Boom!

An explosion rocked the ceiling, showering stone dust.

Ears ringing as if burst, blood trickled from them; even nearby voices were muffled.

Gerard bellowed at the mercenary mage beside him.

"Cough, cough! What the hell now?!"

"The tunnel... the tunnel collapsed!"

"I can see that with my own eyes! I mean why did it collapse?!"

"Heard an explosion. Seems like a magic trap triggered."

"Bullshit! We've been through that tunnel dozens of times. A magic trap suddenly wipes it out? You call that an explanation?!"

"But we can't confirm the exact cause right now. We'd need to dig it out and inspect traces, and a handful of laborers can't manage that."

The mercenary mage stared pointedly at Gerard.

The blast had buried over a dozen laborers alive.

It was a silent protest against Gerard's cold calculus.

But Gerard had no spare thought for that.

"Damn it..."