The Art of the Requisition
"Y-Yes? Sir?" Where had his initial arrogance gone? Gargo looked up at Tae-hyun, trembling like a leaf.
"It's nothing major. I just need some gold."
"Wh-What?!"
Extorting someone in broad daylight, right on the castle's main thoroughfare! Tae-hyun was truly shameless.
"F-For what purpose could you possibly need gold, my lord?"
"Tsk, tsk. Do you really think I'm doing this to line my own pockets? This is for the Second Prince."
You extort gold from the citizens in the name of the Second Prince.
The Second Prince's reputation decreases. Public discontent in Beal Castle rises. Continuing this may cause issues.
The Second Prince's Infamy increases.
System messages popped up in rapid succession. Since he was literally shaking down random passersby, various penalties naturally applied. But Tae-hyun didn't care. The Second Prince was the one who would take the fall anyway!
"Ugh... uuuugh..."
"Thank you for the gold. Oh, by the way, is there any good land around here?"
Tae-hyun's brain began to work at warp speed. If he couldn't squeeze gold directly from the Second Prince, he could just use the Second Prince's name to squeeze it from others!
"This plot looks nice. I'd like to build a temple here. Go fetch an architect. Oh, and of course, you'll be footing the bill. What? No gold left? Then go bring some other merchants."
It was multi-level marketing style extortion! The merchants he dragged in dragged in other merchants, and those merchants dragged in even more...
As a result!
The Second Prince's Infamy rises rapidly.
The Second Prince's reputation falls rapidly.
Ignoring the system alerts, Tae-hyun spoke to the architect NPC.
"I want to build a temple here."
"How would you like it constructed, my lord?"
"As grand and luxurious as humanly possible."
"..."
"Should we make the walls entirely out of solid gold?"
"We do not have any gold, however..."
"Don't worry. Some of these fellows here are bound to have some."
Tae-hyun left the Second Prince's castle with a thoroughly satisfied look on his face.
A shift in perspective is everything. If I'd known it was this easy, I wouldn't have bothered trying to squeeze money out of the princes directly.
The Power Warrior guild members followed quietly behind him. The more they watched, the more they admired him. He was a true master of pillaging!
Upon returning to the First Prince's castle, Ed-an popped out from the shadows.
"My lord Tae-hyun, you've returned! Fufu!"
"Yeah. Ed-an, did it go well?"
Instead of an answer, furious shouting echoed from the inner castle behind them.
"You absolute fools! How could you let thieves into the treasury! And you call yourselves the Royal Guard?!"
Ed-an smirked and pulled out a pouch of gold coins from his chest, shaking it. Clink, clink!
"Pull out one more."
"Eh? What do you mean? I only have this one..."
"That's your problem. Produce another one."
Listening to their conversation, Lee Da-bi tilted her head. Why was he badgering Ed-an when the guy had done such a good job?
But her opinion quickly changed.
"Sniff... ugh..."
"..."
With a deeply sorrowful expression, Ed-an pulled out another pouch from his boot! Tae-hyun took it, looking like he had expected nothing less.
"Your Highness! Here are the support funds!"
"Ohhh! Count Kim Tae-hyun! Truly, there is no loyal subject like you!"
The First Prince beamed, accepting the gold pouch. He had absolutely no idea it had come from his own treasury!
You present the support funds to the First Prince.
Your standing within the First Prince's faction increases.
Tae-hyun took it a step further.
"Your Highness, actually..."
Tae-hyun explained what had happened with the Second Prince, spinning the tale heavily in his own favor.
"I went to see the Second Prince—not out of any suspicious intent, of course, but entirely for your sake, Your Highness! I intended to deceive him and infiltrate his faction for you. But then, that wicked Second Prince demanded that I offer him soldiers! What a vile scoundrel!"
The First Prince looked puzzled. "That is impressive, Count Kim Tae-hyun... but what exactly do you plan to do?"
"Your Highness, this is an opportunity! We shall trick your soldiers and send them under the Second Prince's command!"
"?!"
The gold the First Prince demanded was stolen from the First Prince's own treasury and handed back to him. The soldiers the Second Prince demanded would be borrowed from the First Prince and handed over. It was a brilliant scheme where Tae-hyun lost absolutely nothing!
You have proposed a plan to the First Prince.
If the plan fails, your standing within the First Prince's faction will decrease.
If this plan is discovered, your relationship with the Second Prince may deteriorate.
Like I care!
Tae-hyun had already made up his mind. He would milk them for everything they were worth and then make a run for it!
"That is a magnificent idea, Count Kim Tae-hyun! Let us do so immediately!"
"And Your Highness, may I ask for one small favor?"
"Of course!" The First Prince nodded readily. "Ah, but I hope this isn't a request for gold. I cannot allow that."
"..."
Even after raising intimacy and faction standing this much, finding an NPC who put up such an iron wall was rare. The First Prince truly never lost his original, stingy mindset!
"It is nothing like that. I was merely wondering if I could enlist the help of the people here in Canaan Castle to construct a temple."
"If that is all, then by all means! Count Kim Tae-hyun, take whoever you need!"
Realizing it wouldn't cost him a single copper, the First Prince readily agreed. But he had no idea how this permission would come back to bite him.
You requisition gold from the citizens. The First Prince's Infamy increases.
Public discontent rises. A grim atmosphere spreads throughout the castle.
Additional quests may be generated.
Despite the warnings about the deteriorating atmosphere, Tae-hyun pushed forward relentlessly.
"Build the temple to its absolute maximum scale! What? Not enough manpower? Bring more people! You can't? Then you'll just have to do the work of two men. Hurry up and bring them!"
"Uwaaaah!"
He was truly a shining star in the realm of villainous bosses! In that short span of time, Tae-hyun grabbed and squeezed every single NPC in sight.
An Intermediate Temple of Archisus is completed in Canaan Castle.
This is the most luxurious Archisus Temple currently built. The reputation of the Archisus Church increases.
Your Holy stat increases.
The excessively luxurious temple may cause negative side effects.
Tae-hyun didn't stop there. When using someone else's money, it was only polite to spend it to the absolute limit!
Hire priests! Hire paladins! Execute Pope commands!
You can now hire Low-grade Priests of Archisus in Canaan Castle.
The gold required to hire one priest is...
"Hire the maximum amount! It's not my money anyway!"
Tae-hyun hired Low-grade Priests and Low-grade Paladins left and right in the First Prince's name.
"M-My lord Tae-hyun. How do you plan to maintain all of them?"
Even Ed-an, who had happily joined in on tormenting the NPCs at first, looked pale at the sight of the massive crowd of Low-grade Priests pouring out.
Low-grade Priests have been hired. Additional commands are now available as Pope.
"All of you, move out! Travel across the Auston Kingdom and spread the faith!"
"?!"
Hiring a massive number of Low-grade Priests and Paladins, only to send them all on a pilgrimage across the kingdom?
"Wait, why are you sending away the priests we just hired?! My lord, shouldn't we keep them in the temple so more people will visit?"
"That's because we can't let them stay here," Tae-hyun replied indifferently.
In other religions, massive, grand temples were packed with intermediate and advanced priests and paladins. Players were often overwhelmed by such majestic sights. Upon entering, they received various quests and interacted with the NPCs. In other words, expanding the temple and keeping people inside was what benefited the order...
But Tae-hyun couldn't do that.
I'm basically writing a mountain of bad checks right now. Why on earth would I leave them here?
Neither the First Prince's Canaan Castle nor the Second Prince's Beal Castle was a safe place to leave the priests. What if Tae-hyun had to make a run for it later?
Even if the temple gets torn down, I have to keep the priests and paladins safe elsewhere.
Tae-hyun was already drawing up the grand blueprint for his eat-and-run.
Low-grade Priests of Archisus travel across the Auston Kingdom to spread the faith, helping people and issuing quests.
Low-grade Paladins of Archisus travel across the Auston Kingdom to train, helping people and issuing quests.
The influence of the Archisus Church within the Auston Kingdom increases.
Other religious orders may begin to oppose you.
Tae-hyun really did his absolute best in that short amount of time. He squeezed the NPCs to erect the temple, hired priests and paladins, and scattered them across the Auston Kingdom.
Hmm, now that I think about it, wouldn't using undead make construction even easier? I wonder where I can get some undead...
"Here they are, Count Kim Tae-hyun. Take them and deal with that arrogant, filthy, wicked, and petty Second Prince..."
"Of course, Your Highness! I shall thoroughly deceive him and return."
The First Prince handed over a carefully selected group of soldiers. These were the soldiers who would disguise their identities to infiltrate the Second Prince's ranks.
"And Count Kim Tae-hyun, since you are the only one I can trust... I have another task for you once you return from deceiving the Second Prince."
"?"
"A thief broke into my palace treasury. I believe the culprit is someone close to me!"
"..."
In a way, he was absolutely correct.
"No matter how much I think about it, it must be someone who knows the palace treasury well. Please find the culprit."
"...Of course!" Tae-hyun replied shamelessly.
He had the kind of audacity that would make the First Prince seize his own collar if he ever found out the truth!
"Do you happen to have any suspects in mind?"
"I suspect it is one of the nobles working under me. Investigate them. You are honest, but those nobles are all close friends, so asking them directly won't yield any proper answers."
The Palace Treasury Thief
A fearless thief has plundered the First Prince's palace treasury and stolen his gold. Though you have absolutely no idea who did it, you must find the culprit.
📍 Note: Depending on the outcome, the nobles' discontent may rise.
🎁 Reward: ?
High intimacy, high faction standing, outsider status, Pope of the Church, and high reputation! The First Prince had no choice but to trust Tae-hyun. Honestly, who would ever suspect that the Pope of a holy order would order a robbery?
"Understood, Your Highness! I shall do my absolute best to find them!"
"Ohhh, Count Kim Tae-hyun! Why did I only meet a loyal subject like you just now!"
The two of them clasped hands warmly.
"Seriously, what did we even do? Why is everyone chasing us?"
"Shh. Quiet."
Burford grumbled as he entered the city gates. One of the other paladins raised a finger, signaling him to be quiet.
Sadiq's Deception
The guards fail to recognize your identity.
The Sadiq Order group barely managed to pass through the gates. Their quest in the Auston Kingdom had been a series of hardships from the very beginning.
In the first city they entered, they had casually approached an NPC and asked, "Do you happen to know of the god Sadiq?"
The moment they did...
"What? Sadiq?"
"Who just said the name Sadiq?!"
"Catch them! Don't let them escape!"
The players' nerves were incredibly frayed due to the mysterious fires that had broken out across the plains!