The Luckiest Person of All

"You son of a... I mean, Lord Pelmas, please stay still for a moment."

"You guy who's about to die... I mean, Lord Pelmas, please step back for a moment."

The envoys ground their teeth as they spoke. Even so, considering the gravity of the situation, they politely used honorifics!

"Did you bastards... just call me a guy who's about to die?" Pelmas asked, his eye twitching.

"It must be your imagination. The assassin's number one targ... I mean, Lord Pelmas," one of the envoys replied smoothly.

"?!"

Pelmas was horrified. He thought they were having a warm, friendly conversation, so why were they acting like this?! It felt exactly like the reaction he got when he borrowed a massive amount of gold at a gambling house and didn't pay it back. Absolute, murderous intent!

"Well, the stuff about Pelmas isn't really important, so let's move on," Kim Tae-hyun said, waving his hand dismissively.

"No! This seems like a very important matter, Your Majesty! I don't think we should just skip past this!" Pelmas protested frantically.

No matter how he looked at it, this conversation directly concerned his life! Pelmas couldn't help but panic. Regardless, Tae-hyun and the envoys resumed their discussion.

"We will swear our loyalty. However, the taxes..."

"What about the taxes? Huh. Don't tell me you're swearing loyalty but refusing to pay taxes? Come on, surely nobles wouldn't act like such thugs. Even the Vampires didn't pull that kind of stunt."

"It's not that we won't pay, but having to pay double the taxes for the next three years is a bit..."

"A bit too light?"

"No, a bit too excessi—!"

"Right. Quadruple!"

Tae-hyun had learned only the finest methods during his trip to the Asbian Empire! An emperor must ruthlessly squeeze the nobility dry!

The Asbian Empire's Noble Warrior Band, who had followed Tae-hyun under the Emperor's orders to keep an eye on him, watched his actions in sheer admiration.

"The King of Atali is quite something."

"Hmph. But he still has a long way to go to match His Imperial Majesty. If it were our Emperor, he would have demanded tenfold."

The envoys were utterly aghast.

"Y-Your Majesty! Even double was a lot, but quadruple is...!"

"I said quadruple for your own sake," Tae-hyun replied smoothly.

"?"

"Compared to quadruple, double seems incredibly cheap, doesn't it? You can go back to your master and say, 'He originally demanded quadruple, but I managed to negotiate it down to double.' Isn't that great?"

"..."

What kind of absolute nonsense was this?

"Fine! Let me help you out even more. Eightfold!"

"Double! We'll do double!"

At this rate, it was going to hit sixteenfold! Count Bolone's envoy finally threw up his hands and surrendered.

"What do you mean, double? I said eightfold."

"No... but you just said double..."

"That was when we were talking about quadruple. Since it has gone up to eightfold, you should compare it to quadruple."

"..."

"..."

Was this man a king or a highway robber?

Thirty minutes later.

"Fine. I'll make it threefold."

"Thank you, thank you so much, Your Majesty!"

"Sniff. There is no benevolent ruler in this world like Your Majesty!"

The magic of collecting triple the taxes while receiving all kinds of praise! Tae-hyun nodded with a solemn expression.

"Indeed, there is no other king like me. You may praise me more. Ah, that's right. You're going to build a temple too, right?"

"...Yes..."

We'll build the absolute cheapest one possible! the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠envoys resolved internally. They would build it with the cheapest materials in the most deserted corner of their territory!

"I should send Pelmas to supervise the construction."

"A-Ah, no... Your Majesty. My health hasn't been very good lately..." Pelmas said hurriedly. He realized that if he stepped outside Tae-hyun's territory, he might actually end up dead.

"Is that so? Then I'll have to send Galakpad."

"Who is Galakpad?" the envoys asked, looking puzzled.

Tae-hyun answered kindly, "A devout priest of the Archisus Church."

"Oho..."

"I see."

The envoys felt relieved. A priest like that was far better than Pelmas. Pelmas looked greedy, ill-tempered, and... Although they had muttered about assassinating him, they couldn't actually do it if he came to their territory. The political fallout would be impossible to handle. But now Pelmas was backing out on his own, and some devout priest was coming instead.

A naive, innocent priest who knows nothing of the world will be easy prey for us.

We can play him like a fiddle.

"No... Galakpad is a bit..." Pelmas tried to stop Tae-hyun in a panic.

Even if you pity those nobles, sending Galakpad is going a bit too far, isn't it?! was what he meant! However, the envoys took offense.

"Lord Pelmas! How can you speak like that when it is His Majesty's command!"

"Even if it is you, Lord Pelmas!"

"No, I was trying to help you—!"

"We don't want to hear it!"

"Hmph!"

"...Fine. Don't say I didn't warn you."

Pelmas turned his head away, thoroughly sulking. He ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had actually tried to look out for them!

Watching their exchange, Tae-hyun suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, what is your Count doing with his order of knights?"

He had expected the nobles to ask for help. The number of players was simply too massive, and with them splitting into parties to plunder everywhere, it was impossible for a lord to defend their territory alone. Even so, lords possessed powerful NPC groups like orders of knights and territorial mages. These were formidable NPC forces capable of utterly crushing several player parties! The Guild Alliance would have naturally plundered while avoiding these knights, but...

I don't recall hearing anything about their knights.

None of the spies he had planted in the Guild Alliance had reported seeing any noble knights. So where were they, and what were they doing right now?

"Our master is leading the knights to fight against demons," the envoy answered.

"Huh?"

"Demons suddenly appeared in the territory's capital, along with wicked dark mages who worship them..."

"...My, that must be a terrible crisis! Good heavens! For demons to appear! What is this world coming to!"

Tae-hyun's companions stared blankly at him. Carbanog also stared blankly at him. But Tae-hyun feigned ignorance. Was there any guarantee that the demons who went to that territory had actually come from the World Tree?

The demon Jukenen laughed out loud.

When he had first announced that he was going to the Atali Kingdom, the other demons had mocked him. Simply because the Avatar of Archisus was there!

"Cowards! Muhahaha! Look at this now! They were frightened over nothing!"

Jukenen felt incredibly proud of himself. Unlike those other cowardly demons, he had believed in himself, and he was reaping the rewards.

"Loyalty to Lord Jukenen!"

"In the name of the demon!"

Dark mages from all over had flocked to him upon hearing his name! For someone of Jukenen's stature—the direct subordinate of the Archdemon Edaor—it was only natural that dark mages would gather.

"Listen well, my subordinates! There is no need to fight the knights head-on. Deceive and bewitch the people, and make them worship me! Make them fight for me!"

Jukenen was not stupid. Rather than a head-on clash, he chose to hide in the shadows and expand his influence. His plan was to mobilize the dark mages to turn the territory's residents into a fanatical army! Although the knights sensed something suspicious and were poking around everywhere, Jukenen skillfully slipped away and remained hidden.

As a result, the state of the territory was at its absolute worst. Monsters from the Demon Realm were being secretly summoned, fires of unknown origin were breaking out, and cursed, corrupted blood was even splattered in front of the lord's castle gates! Under such circumstances, there was no way the Count would withdraw his knights from his own territory. Count Bolone and Count Bonazo had mobilized everything from their knights to mercenaries, tightly guarding and monitoring the inner castles of their territories. Thanks to this, the Guild Alliance was having a field day!

"Who can stop me! Even the Avatar of Archisus cannot stop me!"

"Um, Lord Jukenen. The name Archisus brings bad luck, so saying things like that is a bit..."

"......"

Thwack!Jukenen struck the dark mage who had spoken so insolently.

"How dare you!"

"I-I'm sorry!"

"But the name Archisus really does bring bad luck..."

"Who do you fear more! Archisus, or me!"

"Of course it is Lord Archi—Jukenen!"

"Of course it is Lord Ar... Jukenen!"

"......"

Jukenen briefly considered vaporizing the dark mages who had almost said "Archisus" before quickly correcting themselves, but he held back. They were still highly useful pawns.

"Yes! I am Jukenen, the first demon of Edaor! Go. Go and spread evil! Make my name known!"

"Ah. I really don't want to deal with demons."

"...?"

"???"

Tae-hyun's companions were all taken aback. After all, there was no field in which Tae-hyun was more of an expert than dealing with demons! In all of Pan-On, there probably wasn't a single player who had hunted as many named demon bosses as Tae-hyun. Honestly, if it weren't for his high Luck stat, he probably would have done it anyway!

"No, seriously. It's true that I've hunted a lot of demons, but none of them were easy. Besides, you never know what kind of demon will pop up, which makes them even trickier."

The Demon Realm had countless floors, and there were so many different types of demons. Combat-focused demons, mage demons, gourmet demons, and so on!

Well, the last one isn't really scary.

Tae-hyun was never complacent. The rulers who dominated each floor of the Demon Realm were currently at a level that players simply could not defeat. It was only because they became incredibly weakened when summoned to the continent that players could somehow manage, and even then, they couldn't be defeated by normal means. It was only Tae-hyun who had successfully raided them using highly unconventional methods!

I really ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was extremely lucky. It was a miracle of good luck, but he had no desire to fight someone without knowing who they were or being prepared. Tae-hyun was someone who preferred to fight only after thorough preparation!

"But there are some easy demons, aren't there?"

"Like who?"

"Who was it again... Ah, Edaor."

"Ah, Edaor."

At Lee Da-bi's words, Tae-hyun laughed. The arena in Abalab City, where he had first met Lee Da-bi!

Edaor, the ruler of the 44th floor of the Demon Realm, had been disguised as the Governor of Abalab City.

Seeing Tae-hyun immediately swear absolute loyalty, Edaor had taken a liking to him and even lent him his demonic forces...

But Tae-hyun had pocketed those forces for himself and then treated Edaor to a taste of the Sacred Dagger of Archisus.

Edaor had his cherished greatsword stolen and became the laughingstock of the Demon Realm.

And it didn't end there. When Tae-hyun was taking an exam at the Erangs Kingdom Magic Tower to catch the eye of the dark mages, he had accidentally summoned Edaor!

Naturally, Edaor had been absolutely furious and vowed to kill Tae-hyun, but at the time, the Masters of the Magic Tower were standing right beside him. Edaor hadn't even fully recovered from his previous wounds. In the end, Edaor was soundly beaten once again and had no choice but to flee. If the Guild Alliance assassins hadn't intervened, he wouldn't have even been able to escape.

"True, Edaor was a bit of a pushover. I practically got him for free."

Compared to other boss monsters, Edaor was exceptionally easy to defeat!

"It brings back memories of when I first met you, Tae-hyun. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠At first, I really wondered what kind of person you were," Lee Da-bi said.

"I felt the same way."

"Pardon? Why?"

Lee Da-bi was taken aback. Tae-hyun was the one who had poisoned the food made by the Restaurant Guild at the arena, dressed Cain in bizarre armor to use him as bait, and completely plundered the Holy Knight Size King Guild and the Crying Hammer Guild. Unlike Tae-hyun, who had exploded onto the scene with his unique personality the moment he arrived, shouting, 'I am Kim Tae-hyun!', Lee Da-bi had been relatively quiet...

"You came in advertising Power Warrior. That was plenty memorable, you know?"

"Ah, that? But everyone does advertisements."

"..."

"..."

Cain and Choi Sang-yun swallowed their words. No, nobody advertises the way you guys do!

"Well, back then I just thought you were a peculiar person, but looking back now... I think I was just really lucky."

"Hey. What about me...?" Cain asked, feeling a bit miffed.

Didn't I suffer and roll around way more than Lee Da-bi?

Choi Sang-yun nudged Cain in the ribs. "Know when to butt in, you former Red Zone guild leader. Have some conscience."

"No...! That might be true, but...!"

Cain was left speechless. Put that way, he couldn't really argue!

"Right, I'll include you too," Tae-hyun said.

"Sniff..."

"You, Ji-su... everyone seems to have pretty good luck in Pan-On 2. The people we meet, the quests we get. In Pan-On 1, my luck was terrible. I wonder if I'm getting everything I missed out on back then all at once. Or maybe it's because I invested in the Luck stat?"

Thinking back to his days as a blacksmith in Pan-On 1, his luck hadn't been very good. In contrast, in Pan-On 2, fortune seemed to follow him no matter what he did.

At that, Lee Da-bi shook her head.

"Why? Don't you think I'm pretty lucky?"

"No. I wanted to say that the luckiest person... is me."