The Lord Has Lost His Mind

"Y-you... did this on purpose to help me...!"

"What are you talking about? Hand over the reward."

"Ugh... ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thank you so much..."

"You're not trying to wriggle out of giving me a reward, are you?"

"I shall place my trust in you... Here is my signet ring..."

Thud.

With those final words, the Count collapsed once more.

"...!"

Tae-hyun ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was startled. No matter how high his reputation and Speech skill were, giving away the position of temporary lord so easily was unprecedented!

Wait. Can I make a fortune and run?

[.......]

I wiped out the demons in this territory, so it's a fair price.

Ignoring Carbanog's silent, judging gaze, Tae-hyun spoke with absolute confidence. Since he had rounded up and destroyed the demons occupying the territory, it was only natural to receive compensation!

"..."

Tae-hyun's face fell. The heist was a bust!

In the end, all he could do was adjust the territory's taxes, draft its soldiers, punish players locked in the local dungeon, modify local quests, or boss around the NPCs.

Hmm. Now that I think about it, that's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠actually quite a lot.

He couldn't plunder the treasury directly, but as temporary lord, he could do pretty much everything else.

"But what should I do with all this?"

"Oh! I have a great idea!"

When Cain raised his hand and spoke, everyone flinched.

"R-right. Let's hear it."

"Yeah. Go ahead."

I'll just pretend it's a good idea and move on.

He's probably going to spout nonsense again.

Absolute distrust! Unaware of his companions' deep skepticism, Cain spoke with pure enthusiasm.

"We should seize this opportunity to take over all the key positions in the territory, just like we did in Atali Kingdom!"

"!"

Tae-hyun was genuinely surprised. Even a neighborhood dog could recite poetry after three years! Spending so much time around Tae-hyun had actually allowed Cain to come up with a highly plausible suggestion.

"That's actually a decent idea."

"Right? Surprisingly..."

"Surprisingly sensible."

"...Hey. I can hear you all, you know?"

Ignoring Cain's protest, Tae-hyun fell into deep thought. This was indeed the best strategy available right now!

In Pan-On, the absolute best way to make gold was to become a lord. The second best way was to secure an official title under a lord.

Positions where you could draw a steady salary while pocketing extra cash on the side!

Some might ask, How can a stablehand or a guard make any money? But that was the talk of amateurs!

A stablehand could make money by secretly renting out rare or high-quality mounts first. A guard could accept bribes to smuggle in players or NPCs with high Infamy who were banned from entering the city.

In short, as long as you used your brain, you could make a fortune in these roles!

If even stablehands and guards could do that, higher-ranking positions were on a completely different level.

Even with temporary lord authority, making these appointments was entirely possible. Better yet, the demons had just been completely wiped out.

The positions they once occupied were now completely vacant!

"Perfect! Lee Da-bi! Call the Power Warrior kids!"

"Yes, Master!"

Since they were already gathering, the moment he announced, "Official titles given on a first-come, first-served basis!" a mad rush toward the territory would begin.

"...But ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠when are we actually leaving?"

Alcott and Crawford stood there awkwardly, finally asking the question.

They needed to clear the quest as quickly as possible. How could these people afford to be so leisurely? Was this the relaxed confidence only the very best could display?

No... I don't think that's it. Isn't this just sheer complacency? Crawford thought to himself.

They were currently in a race to see who would claim the legendary quest first, yet Tae-hyun was obsessing over such minor profits. No matter how he looked at it, it was incredibly careless!

"Tae-hyun, there's a problem," Lee Da-bi said.

"What is it?"

"This territory is so small and insignificant within Erance Kingdom that players rarely visit."

"Oh, come on...!"

Count Illeni's fief was an unpopular, backwater territory! If foot traffic was low, the value of those official titles would naturally plummet.

"We'll just slash the taxes then," Tae-hyun concluded simply.

It was the easiest way to attract players!

Massive Sale!

The Lord Has Lost His Mind!

If they slashed the territory's taxes to 0% and showered players with various benefits, they would flock here in droves. Even if there weren't enough hunting grounds or dungeons nearby, the territories within Erance Kingdom were relatively close to one another. Players could hunt elsewhere and then come to this territory to sell their loot.

"W-Wait. Isn't that too dangerous?"

"That is far too risky..."

The captured demons, who had been listening, panicked and tried to dissuade him. Having worked in the territory, they knew how its economy functioned.

If taxes were set to 0%, how would they generate any revenue?

"Since I can't plunder the treasury, I have to make do with this. We need to make a quick buck and get out."

But Tae-hyun completely ignored the demons' protests.

After all... the territory's maintenance costs weren't coming out of his own pocket!

"Alright! All done!"

Having wrapped up his work on the Illeni territory in less than thirty minutes, Tae-hyun was finally ready to depart.

Only then did Alcott and Crawford breathe a sigh of relief.

They were finally moving!

"Is something going on?"

"Something feels off..."

Players whispered among themselves.

Recently, high-level parties they had never seen before were suddenly popping up in the city. Furthermore, their gear was extraordinary.

They were clearly elite parties of high-level players or above!

Even the conversations they shared were highly suspicious.

"Heh... being such a high level is honestly a burden..."

"Sigh, my level is finally approaching this milestone."

One of the party members held up two fingers.

The surrounding players gasped in shock.

Two hundred?!

Level 200!

While the top-tier rankers had already surpassed it, there were still plenty of rankers who hadn't reached Level 200 yet. This meant the party consisted of at least high-ranking players!

They're true experts!

Amazing!

Two fingers could only mean Level 200. It certainly wasn't Level 20 or Level 2.

"Excuse me... by any chance, what brings you..."

"It's a secret."

The party refused to answer the players' questions and quickly vanished.

However, the rumors spread like wildfire.

- There must be something going on with the Erance King's quest!

- It must have progressed!

- Otherwise, there's no reason for parties of rankers, who should be far away, to suddenly appear here!

As things escalated, even players who previously had no interest began cornering any ranker they could find to interrogate them.

"Are you working on the Erance King's quest?!"

"We know you're doing the quest! Let's do it together!"

"Share some info!"

"Don't hog it all for yourself!!"

With every single step, dozens of players would swarm them!

The rankers, who had simply stopped by the city without much thought, were utterly bewildered.

"No, I'm telling you, I didn't come here for the quest."

"Boo! Liar!"

"Share it! Share it!"

"...Kim Tae-hyun is acting suspicious."

At Lee Se-yeon's sudden remark, the viewers watching the Yuseong Gaming broadcast were collectively dumbfounded. What part of the current situation could possibly make Kim Tae-hyun look suspicious?

Squeeze!

Lee Se-yeon clenched her fists. She should have done this broadcast right after her 1v1 match with Tae-hyun in Pan-On 1...!

"U-Unni, don't worry about the viewers."

"Um, this is a promotional broadcast..."

"Quiet."

"Yes, ma'am."

Such cool indifference to tell her sister to ignore the viewers during a promotional broadcast!

However, even with Kim Hyeon-ah's reassurance, Lee Se-yeon's expression remained tense.

These mysterious ranker parties that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Moreover, they were dropping hints left and right as if they were doing it on purpose.

Thanks to that, countless players were chasing after them like they were possessed, other rankers were getting intrigued and following them to see if there was actually something to it, and the rankers who were actually trying to clear the quest were getting swept up in the chaos and disrupted...

No matter how she looked at it, Kim Tae-hyun was the only person capable of such a scheme!

"Unni, but couldn't it be someone else? There are plenty of people who would want to disrupt this quest..." Kim Hyeon-ah said cautiously.

She trusted Lee Se-yeon implicitly, but this time, she felt her sister was overreaching. There were simply too many potential culprits! It could be low-ranking players trying to cause trouble, or major guilds trying to sabotage others.

Besides, she had heard that a new coalition of large guilds had recently formed to the west of the Auston Kingdom and was growing rapidly...

"I get it, Hyeon-ah. That's a possibility."

"Right?"

"Yes, yes."

Lee Se-yeon replied dismissively.

Kim Hyeon-ah realized then.

She's not listening to me at all!

The look in Se-yeon's eyes showed she was already 100% convinced that Kim Tae-hyun was the culprit!

"Whoa. It's the Guild Union."

"...? The Guild Alliance?"

"No, the Guild Union. You know, the guys who split off from the Guild Alliance."

"Ah, those guys."

Alcott instinctively ducked his head.

Alcott was a prominent ranker from the Guild Alliance. There was no way he would be on good terms with the large guilds that had broken away from the Alliance, shouting, "To hell with Su Ning!"

"Hmm. I thought they'd struggle, but they seem to be doing surprisingly well?"

At Tae-hyun's question, Alcott nodded.

While the Guild Alliance was on the decline, the Guild Union was on the rise.

"Their territory is much smaller, but that's just how guilds work. When a guild is doing well, players swarm in. When things start going south, even existing members leave... That's exactly what's happening to them."

Though they might be slightly lacking in scale, the Guild Union was generating far more buzz. The drama of breaking away from the Guild Alliance, the excitement of a fresh start, and their marketing campaign claiming they were different from the Alliance—it was highly appealing to players.

Is that group also made of rankers? There's no reason for rankers to be wandering around the city aimlessly unless it's for a quest.

Tae-hyun quickly sized up the opposition.

As Crawford had warned, they weren't the only ones who had jumped into this. If they were too slow, they would lose the quest!

"Demons. Guide us, quickly."

Tae-hyun urged the demons they had brought along.

The demons nodded frantically.

"This way, please!"

The captured demons led them toward the noble district, where the noble NPCs resided. This was an area only accessible to players with high reputation or significant contribution points!

Perhaps because of this, the streets were quiet, and every single player stood out.

"We need to pass through quickly."

"Agreed. We don't want to draw unnecessary attention."

Tae-hyun ran forward with his group.

It was a good thing the Power Warrior party was drawing attention elsewhere; otherwise, they would have stood out immediately.

"!?"

"What? Why are they going in there?"

The Guild Union party stared in shock as they spotted Tae-hyun's group!

They had barely managed to locate the entrance and were about to go in, only for some random, unfamiliar party to head inside ahead of them.

"There's another one!"

To make matters worse, yet another party appeared!

"Who are those guys?"

"It's the Black Rock Sect!"

"Damn it... tell them to yield! We were here first!"

The Guild Union party recognized the Black Rock Sect. They quickly approached them to negotiate.

"We arrived first! Please yield to us!"

"Are you out of your mind? Arrived first? Can't you see we're already on our way in?"

Of course, unless the Black Rock Sect had lost their minds, there was no way they would agree to such a demand.

"Right. I guess polite words don't work on you people. Move aside if you don't want to die."

"Ha! You guys act exactly like the scum you split off from in the Guild Alliance!"

"Why, you...!"

The Guild Union was just as prideful and arrogant as the Guild Alliance. Meanwhile, the Black Rock Sect was an elite, tight-knit guild that refused to bow to anyone.

In an instant, the atmosphere grew tense, as if a fight could break out at any moment.

Hearing their heated exchange from behind, Tae-hyun smiled to himself.

They're keeping each other in check perfectly, aren't they?

What a bunch of easy marks!

He would have to egg them on even more!