The Deal
"...What?"
"No!"
"You can't!"
The words had barely left his mouth before the party's protests erupted. Na Seoyun cried out, her face gone deathly pale, while Joo Ha-yeon wore a look of something close to fury. Na-yeon looked thoroughly unsettled, and Nam Eun-ju fixed Lord Tophen with a rather sharp gaze. Only Ha Yoo-jin sat there wearing a blank, clueless expression.
Shouting at a noble, of all things. If circumstances hadn't been what they were, it could have been taken as an insult to the aristocracy — a genuinely ugly scene.
Of course, we were the exception. Joo Ha-yeon was a Saintess who bore the Holy Stigma, Na Seoyun was a mage who was a noble in all but name, and the rest of us had already rendered such service to the territory that we were indispensable to the crisis at hand.
Lord Tophen hid his startlement at the sudden outburst and smiled the moment away.
"Haha! Your wives' jealousy runs a little deep, doesn't it?"
When a man kept many wives — or a woman many husbands — he had to keep a firm hold on his household. Fail that, and he had no business attempting it in the first place; it meant he lacked the capacity to manage it. Lord Tophen was needling me with that observation, lightly teasing me while simultaneously scolding, through me, those who had raised their voices at him.
I offered a wry smile.
"My companions were out of line. I apologize. We haven't known one another for very long. And most of us are still just comrades."
"Hmm? Most of you are comrades? Then that's even stranger. Why are they so sensitive? They'd have no reason to object."
A question that seemed to ask why they were inserting themselves into a private matter. Then his expression shifted as understanding dawned.
"Ah. I see. Still a transitional period, then. You'll need to work harder, my boy. In that case, my daughter wouldn't even need to be the youngest, would she...? What do you say? Even if your companions object, you're the leader, and this is your affair. I'll see that your party members receive separate rewards. Well?"
He was offering a nobleman's daughter.
I knew Lord Tophen had several children. Giving me one of them would mean a rise in my station. Not that I would become a noble overnight in any dramatic sense. But taking a nobleman's daughter as a wife would at least set me apart from other commoners and mercenaries, and it would mean I belonged to House Tidrind.
A kind of backing, I supposed. But it was a card that held no appeal for me whatsoever.
An ordinary mercenary might have been tempted, but I was a man whose future would see him grow strong enough to casually chew through A-Rank mercenaries, and I was fully capable of becoming a noble in my own right. House Tidrind wasn't even a particularly distinguished family. If anything, this was closer to a scheme by Lord Tophen to bind me to his service using status as bait.
"I'm grateful for the offer, but taking a nobleman's daughter as a wife seems rather more than I deserve."
"Nonsense. A man like you is more than qualified. That's right — I'll grant you a knighthood as well. How about it?"
"...I'm grateful for the thought, at least."
I brushed aside his persistent invitation, and Lord Tophen looked a little disappointed, but the party's fierce glares quickly made him change his expression.
"Hmm. Now I'm at a loss as to what reward I ought to give you."
A de facto concession. At those words, the party's stares eased a little. He scratched his chin, looking genuinely troubled.
"Well then, is there something you want? I honestly haven't the faintest idea what I should give you."
It was a statement that laid bare just how little this territory possessed. He was admitting the inadequacy of his own means, and his domain's. And yet Lord Tophen remained unbowed. Even with a meager household he stood proud and undaunted, responding with easy generosity even to conduct that bordered on rudeness. I found myself liking him a great deal.
I smiled faintly at his question.
"Yes. There is."
"...Oh? And what might that be?"
"To be precise, I would like the authority to enter into a transaction."
"...A transaction?"
Lord Tophen's gaze sharpened. The conversation had shifted from a one-sided reward to a deal. In other words: if they gave us something, we would pay a price in return. Which meant it would benefit a territory that had little else going for it.
"A party of six, striking a deal with a territory... Hmm... Given your accomplishments, I doubt this is idle talk..."
"I can guarantee it will be a transaction you'll find very much to your liking."
"...I see. Very well. If that's what you want, I'll hear you out."
I'd succeeded in opening the door. I'd been thinking about reputation to get this far, but things had gone more smoothly than expected. Now that we'd come this far, our objectives in the Lower Floors were all but complete.
I let a light smile slip across my face.
"So you're saying you'll clean out the mine, and you want a share of the rights?"
"To be precise, a share of the profits. The rights to the mine itself don't particularly matter."
Managing it would be a headache anyway. As long as we received the revenue, that was enough. If I could just get a lot of money, nothing else mattered.
After sending the rest of the party out, Lord Tophen and I were alone in his office. As I'd ushered them through the door, the women had been warning me not to fall for any honeyed words, and I'd assured them there was no chance of that as I sent them outside.
Tap. Tap. Lord Tophen drummed his fingers lightly on the armrest of his chair, thinking.
"...It's not a bad deal at all. The mine is something we absolutely need, after all."
There were other mines, but the largest one was currently occupied by kobolds, sitting deep inside Grey Gnoll territory. The previous generation had briefly expanded the domain and seized it, only to lose it again not long after.
Knowing how extraordinary the deposits were, of course he would want it back. If they could reclaim it, mining could resume the moment the tunnels were given a bit of repair. And with the Gnoll Hero making a punitive expedition a necessity, iron and Black Iron were goods the territory desperately needed. What's more, if they gained another specialty product they could trade with merchants, it would be a tremendous boon to the local economy.
"So that's what you meant by wanting the authority to make a deal. A mercenary certainly wouldn't have the standing for a transaction like this."
What lord would enter into a deal of this scale with a mere mercenary? Practically none. He'd just issue a contract to go clean the place out and be done with it. But as I'd said time and again, this was a frontier territory, and a stack of exceptional circumstances had piled up here. That was why I judged a deal with us was entirely possible.
And though the lord didn't know it, that mining region produced Magic Crystals. On an enormous scale. Just taking a cut of the profits would mean staggering wealth. If I could close this deal, I'd never want for money in the Tower. Magic Crystals were that precious a resource — and these were high-grade, quality stones, the kind you could barely obtain even if you threw money at the problem.
Even so, entering into a contract like this with me was a different matter entirely, our accomplishments notwithstanding. He thought for a long time.
I ran my tongue lightly across my lips. Time to drive the wedge home. I continued, addressing him.
"I imagine you're worrying that you might not be able to hold it."
"...That's right. It's embarrassing to admit, but even after we pioneered it once before, we lost it."
"Until the mine is fully secured, I'll take responsibility for its defense."
"...What are you saying? That you'll be stationed there? Then what about the expedition?"
"The truth is, I have a fair number of people following me."
"...What?"
Lord Tophen's face registered shock at my words.
"Not a party... you're saying you lead a mercenary company? Then why..."
"There are circumstances. To be precise, they follow me, but the relationship is a bit... ambiguous? I haven't been fully recognized as their leader yet. That said, I'm in a position that's a leader in all but name."
Lord Tophen looked as though he couldn't make sense of it.
"What does that mean? A leader is a leader — you haven't been recognized? And yet you're a leader in all but name..."
"There are several thousand of them."
"...What?"
An armed force of several thousand. At those words, horror dawned on Lord Tophen's face.
This territory's total military strength was probably around ten thousand. Not all of them professional soldiers, of course. The professionals were a tiny fraction. Most were territory folk who'd received the bare minimum of military training. The number of young men capable of combat was roughly ten thousand. In a true crisis, all of them would take the field.
The villages had only small self-defense militias, but the castle was different. In wartime, the basic doctrine was for every village to fall back to the castle and hold the land through a siege defense. The surrounding gnolls numbered in the tens of thousands even counting just one of the five colors. To survive in a nest of such creatures, a certain level of military force was essential.
And I was telling him I had several thousand mercenaries under my command. The lord's expression grew grave.
"...I'd like to hear the details."
"I'll start by saying the mercenaries' quality isn't particularly high. Most of them are around E-Rank to D-Rank."
"...Ordinary, then. But you said there were thousands."
The territory's trained young men were about that level. No — they were actually inferior compared to the trainees. The combat experience built up in the Labyrinth wasn't something you could dismiss, after all. There were stat bonuses as well.
"Think of it as a faction of sorts. They've banded together, but they're still split into several groups internally, and our party is the strongest among them. Which means we have the highest chance of absorbing the most people and becoming the largest force."
"...I see."
He seemed to have grasped the gist.
"They plan to come to this territory."
"...Why? This territory is on the frontier, underdeveloped..."
I smiled.
"That's exactly why. We intend to make this place our base and grow together."
Something in my words must have struck him. The lord looked at me with deep, searching eyes. A long silence stretched between us. Then he spoke.
"It was you."
"......"
"You're the one who chose this place. For what purpose? Why did you choose here?"
My purpose was to save Earth and see my family. But there was no point telling them that. I couldn't make them understand. So I had to lie — a reason for doing what I was doing, a reason any person could accept.
Revenge, love, dreams, ambition, power, strength, ideals, happiness... the motives that moved human beings were countless. I chose ambition. It was the simplest and most readily understood reason, and one he would find easy to share. He, too, had ambition — even if it pointed in a different direction from mine.
"...What?"
"Ah. I'm not after this territory, of course. I intend to go to the Empire and become a noble there."
"...What do you mean..."
"The mercenaries I mentioned will be making their way here gradually. Some may have already arrived, or they may come later still. What's certain is that within two years, several thousand people will find their way to this territory."
It had been more than half a year since I'd left the Labyrinth, and given how much the situation had diverged from the first cycle, most people would be out of the Labyrinth within two years. Adding a generous six months, that made two years from the present. In that time, a great many trainees would enter this territory through Monus Village.
"When that happens, the territory's military strength will rise dramatically thanks to the mercenaries."
"...And your influence will climb at a tremendous rate as well."
Lord Tophen looked at me with wary eyes.
This was a frontier territory. A city that had originally been founded by criminals. No one would find it strange if someone became lord and started exercising influence. If anything, the merchants who passed through here might well welcome Lord Tophen's death and the arrival of a new lord — he was a thorn in their side. Of course, if they didn't want to be taken for suckers, they might try to find some leverage over me.
I grinned.
"You needn't worry about that. I intend to use the influence I gain here to absorb as many of those mercenaries as possible under my command."
And then use them to hold the mine. A faction. Recalling what I'd said earlier, Lord Tophen's eyes changed. He'd properly confirmed that I had my own purpose.
"And I'll lead them... and fight the orcs."
"...Huh?"
An expression of utter incredulity. Lord Tophen questioned me.
"You expect me to believe that? What? Orcs? Do you even know what orcs are?"
Of course I did. A race whose combat power couldn't even be compared to gnolls, the second most powerful force after humanity. And orcs were always invading human lands, because they coveted human territory and resources. Humanity's principal enemy, and a people with whom the hatred ran endless and mutual.
There were many powers that shared a border with humanity. The Elf and Dwarf Alliance, the Beastfolk Alliance, the Great Desert, the Lands of Death. And the orcs. But even if you added up every battle that took place on those other four borders, they wouldn't match the number of fights against the orcs, nor would they match the ferocity and cruelty of those wars.
In the Middle Floor, you rarely encountered other races. The Elf and Dwarf Alliance or the Beastfolk Alliance, perhaps? Most people honed their skills fighting orcs and then moved on to the Upper Floors. And upon reaching the Upper Floors, all but a distinguished few died before long, became Heroes, and departed for other worlds.
"I know, of course. Orcs — they're a powerful lot, incomparable to gnolls."
I kept the smile on my face as I spoke.
"Which means if I distinguish myself, I can become a higher-ranking noble."
House Tidrind was a baronial house. Given that they were on the frontier, fighting the gnolls alone, their rank ought to have been a count's, not a baron's — and yet, because they'd been founded by criminals, they were recognized as a mere barony. In practical terms, even a barony was more than House Tidrind deserved. Their power was that weak, their resources that scarce. If they were just barely self-sufficient, that said everything.
What good was a mine if most of them sat in gnoll territory, and the one they did hold could barely produce enough equipment to defend the territory itself? Mostly iron, and a single mine that yielded a scant amount of Black Iron. They had a decent number of soldiers — this was a place where the territory folk trained themselves simply to survive. But there wasn't a single proper knight among them, and the elite troops could be counted on one hand. The Magic Tower had nothing but a handful of low-grade mages. The territory was larger than your average barony, but that was all it had going for it.
"I want to become a high noble, one recognized even in the Empire."
I put on a smile full of ambition. Lord Tophen, looking at my face, wore an expression of disbelief.
"A mere B-Rank..."
Then his expression hardened mid-sentence. Come to think of it, our party wasn't ordinary B-Rank mercenaries. The power my companions had obtained was that of a Saintess, a Hero, and the greatest holy knight of the age — and I myself was no ordinary mercenary. On top of that, several thousand mercenaries under my command. Once their level rose through combat with the gnolls, they'd become an armed force too large to even call a mercenary company.
If people like that headed of their own accord toward the orc borderlands, the Empire would have no reason to object. Especially an Empire that loved results — depending on the merit, they could become nobles easily enough.
"...How am I supposed to trust you?"
I lifted my hand and snapped one of my own fingers.
Crack.
Lord Tophen flinched, looking baffled by my bizarre stunt.
Mass Heal
I immediately used a mass Heal skill, regenerating the wound.
"...A priest?"
I grinned.
"I swear it upon the Goddess's name."
"...Huh."
"I have absolutely no intention of taking this territory. I simply..."
I declared it with a smile so bright it was dazzling.