Chapter 45
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: Tier 2 Artifact
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"I started looking into Baron Hershan purely out of suspicion."
Nearly half a month had passed since the conquest of the Witch's Forest.
Cloi wolfed down the bulgogi fried rice Jun had made, then belatedly wiped her lips with a dignified expression before speaking up.
"You were the one who figured out Azure Cloud's plans during the raid and blabbed about it. Given how much his reputation had tanked, I figured it wouldn't be strange if he came after you."
Truly the instincts of a merchant.
Her crisis detection skills had proven spot-on.
"Of course, even I didn't expect him to get personally involved."
How cornered must he have felt? Neither of them had any way of knowing.
They could only assume he had his reasons.
"Anyway... the incident wrapped up without a hitch, thank goodness."
"I owe you one again. Thanks."
Jun offered Cloi his sincere gratitude.
A heartfelt thank-you from his stingy partner, Jun!
Cloi had to fight to keep her grinning lips in check.
And she had good reason.
Not only had she helped him spot the crisis,
but she'd also neatly resolved the near-disaster of him being branded a noble slayer.
Cloi waved it off modestly.
"Oh, come on! My efforts were pretty key, weren't they? Still, the evidence was too clear-cut."
The testimonies from the hunters who'd once been Black Guards played a big role.
That prompted Count Mordena, who'd been keeping an eye on the case, to launch his own investigation.
Sure enough, several documents linking the Wernaine estate to the Heavenly Church were uncovered there.
"In the end, though, it was treated as the desperate act of a baron on the brink of ruin. The Hershan family's decline wasn't exactly news, after all."
Compared to the nobles dying off in the imperial court's central politics, the fall of House Hershan was hardly noteworthy.
It was the death of some forgotten border baron, after all.
Still, for those two weeks, they couldn't be sure no other variables would pop up.
Jun let out a sigh of relief.
"Well... time to settle the accounts properly, right?"
But that was all in the past now.
Cloi beamed at Jun with genuine brightness.
Jun matched her energy, piling about ten books and a stack of papers on the table.
"Here's the comprehensive potion recipes—four volumes. Witch's Diaries—five. Golem blueprints—one. Miscellaneous potion recipes—thirty sheets."
"Kyaaaa!!"
Cloi shrieked and hopped in place at the haul.
She let out a cheer like she'd just unwrapped the birthday gift of her dreams, finally calming down enough to sit after the excitement ebbed.
Ten minutes later.
"Haa... This is amazing! They're all money-makers!"
"So, how do you plan to sell them?"
"I've got a few lined up already, but I need your advice on some—mostly the potion recipes."
A few key recipes would fuel her future potion business.
Of course, she'd need Jun's help, given how security-heavy it was and his own potion-making expertise.
"I'm donating a couple of the Witch's Diaries to the Mage Tower."
"Networking, huh?"
It wasn't free, naturally.
"Yeah. A thank-you for letting me use their auction house."
"And the golem blueprints?"
"Sadly, that's out of my league. By imperial law, anything golem-related has to be reported to the crown."
With the risk of individuals raising private armies, the empire strictly controlled golem tech.
"Better to hand it over voluntarily than get in trouble later."
"Makes sense. I half-expected you'd fence it on the black market."
"On the surface, maybe. I'd have been picky about buyers, though."
But for her, with no real pull in Blackout, sneaking it past the crown was too risky.
"If you say so."
"The crown won't let it go for nothing, of course. I'll fill you in on the split later."
"Sounds good. That covers most of the raid stuff. What's left?"
"Hehe..."
Cloi crossed her arms with a smug smile, tilting her head back confidently.
"The dungeon's finally turning a profit!"
The dungeon plot she'd splurged on during the Goblin Lord subjugation was now fully renovated and booming.
Items, magic stones, and mana ore mine revenues from there were stacking up nicely.
"Here's your cut."
What Cloi placed on the table was a bar of exquisitely refined premium mana ore.
Eight bars, each worth more than the same weight in gold.
"How much in coin?"
"One hundred thirty million gold, fees included!"
"Insane..."
He'd expected it, but not this much all at once.
And it wasn't even the end.
This haul would hit his pockets monthly from here on.
But Jun's expectations were about to be gloriously upended.
"This is just the start! It's barely half a month's take from last time."
Plus unsold inventory meant next month could double it easy.
"Pushing three hundred million...?"
"Yep. How's it feel to be rolling in it?"
"..."
Just three months ago, he'd trembled buying a single potion.
Now he had enough to buy hundreds without blinking.
Of course, it wouldn't last forever.
Blackout's reset loomed in a few months.
He'd have to snag dungeon rights again next season.
"Whew, alright. Everything but three thousand gold is yours to handle."
"...For real?"
"No need to pop your eyes like that. It's just one hundred mil."
"Mm. True enough."
Cloi clamped her mouth shut primly. No way she'd admit how thrilled she was that he trusted her with it.
"Leave it to me. I'll grow it fast."
Jun pocketed one mana ore bar. Enough to gear up Aiden and Maya.
Not top-tier, but with care, he could enchant decent pieces for each.
"How's the auction going?"
"Smooth enough. Not without pushback, though."
She said it casually, but it hadn't been easy.
The entrenched powers were rebelling harder than expected.
"Those jerks already joined hands."
Not just anyone—the name of Count Albert Mordena, the crown's mouthpiece, was involved, so it was inevitable.
Factor in Gilenoi Merchant Guild's backing,
and it clicked.
'Gilenoi grew by exploiting surface gaps while others fixated on Blackout.'
Word was, they'd bled several major guilds dry up top.
Pulling Blackout resources to counter would've tanked their decades-old market share, so they'd taken it lying down.
No wonder Cloi, the guild's golden child, drew flak in Blackout.
"The problem is how fast they united."
Not among the big guilds.
"The Mage Tower's tangled in it."
A potion business alliance with the tower.
Even Cloi found that daunting.
"Any risk of violence?"
The tower ignored methods for goals; guilds laughed atop mountains of corpses for profit.
Their union had him worried for her safety.
"Shouldn't go that far. They'd suffer too if it did."
Count Mordena would move first, likely.
It was her big safety net.
"It's an auction with a count's name on it. Any funny business, and he won't let it slide."
As the crown's voice, the imperial name behind him carried weight.
Any issue would trigger a full probe— a matter of imperial honor.
No Blackout guild or tower could shrug off the crown.
'The spatial divide makes the crown hypersensitive to Blackout shifts.'
History had examples of crown foes vanishing without trace.
"Second... they won't want surface blowback."
If harm came to Cloi, Gilenoi wouldn't sit idle.
Their surface investigations and bloody retribution would hit hard.
Unlike Blackout, Gilenoi dominated up top.
'Reminds me who I'm tied to.'
He sometimes forgot amid her memorable first impression, but she was like a top conglomerate heiress in modern terms.
Worlds apart.
"I'll be fine, anyway."
She turned the worry on Jun instead.
"But they've probably dug up plenty on you and me by now."
Goblin Lord subjugation, Forest Guardian raid, hidden dungeon clear.
Jun was always behind her big wins.
Her rivals were eyeing him now, no doubt.
"They'll come after you more than me."
"Yeah, easiest to cut out the competition."
Barely ten minutes into basking in his windfall, and now fretting over his life.
'What a mad world.'
Jun sank into deep thought, reminded of his reality.
"Bodyguards won't cut it."
"In the city, they'd help—too much noise drawing big shots."
Not welcome news.
As a merc, he had to hit the fields.
And out there, guards meant nothing.
Especially if they sicced level 6s or 7s.
'Not easy to snag that caliber, though.'
But absolutes didn't exist.
The Mage Tower might pull it off, so caution was key.
"I'll get back on this in a few days. Can't decide now."
"Got it. I'll set you up at our branch till things settle."
"Deal."
The next day.
Jun took Aiden and Maya to the mercenary guild.
Destination: the underground training grounds.
"Heard you pulled off another big one. Impressive! A hidden dungeon? Care to spill the adventure details?"
Guild branch chief Bradden tagged along down.
"Didn't Colton fill you in?"
"Sounded like all he did was run for his life."
"..."
Colton would've fumed, but it was true.
Blade Eagle Mercenary Corps had sprinted nonstop.
"Can't go into details now. Got auction items prepped."
"Shame."
Bradden hadn't really expected much.
His real aim was Maya.
"So, Maya. Settling in okay?"
"Yes. Doing well, sir."
"Hm..."
Maya's stoic face was still hard to read, but Bradden seemed pleased regardless.
"If you say so. Take good care of her, Jun."
After a brief chat with Aiden, the temp Maya had gone full member.
Aiden welcomed her; they even threw a quick party.
Though chatty Maya meant most talk was Jun and Aiden.
"Anyway... we're here to sync you two up. Plus, I've got my own test."
"Sync... you mean?"
"Yeah. No more covering for me."
Jun tapped the earring on his ear.
A black teardrop pendant.
Unique item, tier 2 gear: [Tear of Tayia].
Per the Witch's Diary, "Tayia" meant her race.
And this tier 2 artifact's power?
[Summon]
A summoning-type artifact.
Mana gathered before him at his trigger word, taking shape.
When the light faded,
a golem stood there.
Though this golem was...
"..."
"..."
"..."
Kiiiek... kiiiek...
made of spindly branches.
The golem, bathed in their stares, greeted them with pitiful creaks from its joints...