Chapter 85
Chapter 85
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 85
Chapter Title: Count Aaron's Test
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“What do you have in mind?”
Lee Shin asked, just in case.
His words carried a sliver of hope!
But Gillaim mercilessly crushed that hope.
“There is someone who can help us!”
“Someone that crazy exists?”
“Pardon? What did you just say….”
“You’re telling me a knight with such noble intentions is still around, and not dead yet?”
“Haha! We are in luck. It was an old connection, so I had completely forgotten about him….”
Gillaim paused for a moment, then looked at Lee Shin and continued.
“Thankfully, you reminded me of him, Your Highness.”
[Gillaim's Loyalty has increased.]
[Gillaim's Loyalty has surpassed 50.]
[He will now trust your words, even if they lack sufficient evidence.]
“…”
Lee Shin fell silent.
He wasn't sure if he should be happy about this….
It was a bit ambiguous.
“Who is this person?”
“An old friend of mine.”
“A friend?”
“Yes. We lost touch after a minor disagreement, but….”
“Doesn’t that mean it won’t work?”
Gillaim shook his head firmly at Lee Shin’s doubt.
“No. That was a long time ago. He will understand once I explain the situation.”
“...Is that so?”
Lee Shin felt a sense of unease from Gillaim’s words, but since the man himself was so confident, he decided not to dwell on it.
“Well, that’s good then.”
“Indeed. Would you like to meet him right away?”
“Do you know where he is? No, who is he in the first place? Is he someone I know?”
Gillaim nodded confidently in response to Lee Shin's questions.
“You probably know him.”
* * *
Gillaim’s claim that he probably knew him was half-true.
“What’s his name?”
“Aaron Edgar.”
“…Ah!”
The person was a noble from the House of Count Edgar.
Although he didn’t know who he was exactly, as a player in the Eteun Kingdom, Lee Shin was naturally aware of the Edgar family.
To be precise, he didn’t remember them simply for being nobles of the Eteun Kingdom, but because they were remarkably clean for nobles.
Lee Shin nodded.
‘It certainly makes sense.’
A noble who cared about maintaining public order in his domain and collected fair taxes.
Considering the current state of the kingdom, he was a very unusual noble, but that only added credibility to Gillaim’s words.
Only someone with that level of integrity would show interest in welcoming a new king.
Of course, he’d have to meet the man to be sure, but he was confident that Gillaim wasn’t talking complete nonsense.
* * *
The Edgar territory was quite far, so Lee Shin and his party traveled by carriage.
[You have arrived at the Edgar Territory.]
[This is a first-entry area. Your Strength stat will permanently increase by 5!]
“Oh…?”
Lee Shin let out a sound of admiration as he stepped out of the carriage.
The territory had a distinctly different feel right from the entrance.
Bustling.
The place was teeming with people.
Not only NPCs, but many players could be seen as well.
While this was just a small glimpse of the entire territory, a large population was generally proof of a region’s decent economic strength.
“Looks like the territory is being managed well.”
“That’s right. And in the first place, the Edgar territory is geographically destined to be wealthy.”
“Why?”
“It has a gold mine.”
“Ah…”
Lee Shin nodded.
In a world based on the medieval era, a gold mine was practically a cheat code for managing a territory.
In modern terms, it was like striking oil!
And that wasn’t all.
‘I recall their farmlands are vast too.’
That meant the territory was self-sufficient.
As this thought crossed his mind, Lee Shin realized how Aaron had been able to go against the tide until now.
He had thought it wouldn't be strange for him to incur the wrath of other nobles, being the only one failing to read the room and practicing noblesse oblige…
‘It didn’t matter to him.’
He could live well enough on his own internal economy, so being on the bad side of other nobles wouldn’t have been much of a problem.
He had nothing to lose.
“Am I right?”
“You are correct.”
“Hmm…”
Lee Shin’s eyes turned serious.
After hearing the story, he concluded that if things went well, he could gain a tremendous backer.
For Lee Shin, who already had many enemies and was bound to make more, this was not something he could take lightly.
‘I should meet him right away.’
Filled with motivation, Lee Shin headed straight for the lord’s castle.
The entrance to the lord’s castle was heavily guarded by soldiers, and Gillaim stepped forward to speak.
“I will go and talk to them.”
His plan was to show off his friendship with the lord to get past the soldiers!
Since he himself had claimed they were close friends, it was a perfectly reasonable thought.
“I am…”
“Hmm?”
Of course, it didn’t work.
On the contrary, he was turned away at the gate.
Gillaim’s appearance was so shabby for a noble that the soldiers didn’t believe his words.
“Who are you to show up in such rags…”
“Get lost!”
“...!”
Gillaim was shocked, but there was nothing he could do.
The soldiers were just doing their job.
Gillaim returned to Lee Shin and apologized, saying he was ashamed.
“…My apologies.”
“It didn’t work?”
“No. We can’t cause a scene, so it seems we’ll have to wait until he comes out.”
He suggested they wait until the lord went on patrol or some other outside activity.
It was a reasonable suggestion, but Lee Shin shook his head.
“Who knows how long we’d have to wait. It’s not like we have time to spare.”
“That’s true, but we have no other way, do we?”
“No?”
“?”
“It’s not that there isn’t one.”
Regardless of the method, all they needed to do was meet the count, right?
There was a faster, albeit slightly more aggressive, way to solve this.
“What are you planning to do…”
“Just watch.”
Leaving Gillaim to watch him with an expression mixed with equal parts anticipation and worry, Lee Shin strode toward the soldiers.
“Hm?”
The soldiers looked up.
They looked Lee Shin up and down before asking wearily.
“And who are you…”
“…”
So far, it was no different from Gillaim’s attempt.
But the next reaction was.
“*Hiss*…”
“?”
“You insolent fool!!!!!”
Lee Shin bellowed at the soldier, a roar that came from deep within his gut.
Gillaim, watching from behind, was startled, so it went without saying how the soldiers who took the full force of it reacted.
“…?!!”
“What did you just say…”
The soldiers stared at Lee Shin, their faces asking, ‘What did I just hear?’
They glanced at each other, seemingly contemplating whether to draw their swords, but Lee Shin pushed even harder.
“Do you know who I am?”
“I do not.”
“Hah… Your lord and I, we’ve eaten together! We’ve hunted together! Huh?”
“…!!”
“We’ve attended banquets together! And…!”
“*Gasp!*”
[You intimidate the territory’s soldier.]
Lee Shin delivered his prepared lines!
In truth, this would normally be a suicidal act.
An outsider with no proof of identity recklessly intimidating a territory’s soldier could be executed on the spot without complaint.
But Lee Shin’s situation was a bit different.
[A faint killing intent is being emitted.]
[The opponent flinches from the Salseong's pressure and killing intent.]
[You possess the skill, <Dignity of a Legend>. The presence of a legend has a powerful effect on lower-ranked opponents.]
“…We’ve done it all, you hear!”
The pressure of a legend, especially the blood-soaked pressure of a Salseong, was not something an ordinary soldier could withstand.
Not only that, but Lee Shin spoke with such confidence that the soldier became confused, thinking, ‘Is he really someone important?’
The result.
[The opponent falls into confusion.]
[The opponent is intimidated.]
[The opponent's mental strength weakens….]
[The skill, <Deceive>, is activated!]
‘…Good.’
The corners of Lee Shin’s mouth lifted.
The skill had worked perfectly!
Crushed by Lee Shin’s presence, the soldier soon turned pale and was swayed exactly as Lee Shin intended.
“Our apologies! We failed to recognize you…!!”
“Tsk. It was a very unpleasant experience, but I will let it slide just this once.”
“Th… Thank you.”
“…”
“…?”
“What are you doing? Guide me to the Count at once! How much longer do you intend to keep me waiting?”
“Ah! Y-Yes, sir! I will guide you immediately!”
[The soldier begins to guide you.]
[You can now have an audience with Count Aaron.]
[If it is revealed that you intimidated the soldier under false pretenses….]
‘It worked.’
Regardless of the process, the matter was resolved swiftly.
Lee Shin said to his party, who had been watching from behind.
“Let’s go.”
* * *
“…You may enter.”
“Mm.”
Guided by the soldier, he entered the count’s office, where a man who appeared to be the count looked up.
The count was a young noble who looked to be around the same age as Gillaim.
“Someone is looking for me? I don’t have any appointments… Huh?”
Tilting his head, he froze in place the moment his eyes met Gillaim’s.
His eyes went wide as saucers.
Gillaim smiled and said.
“Haha! It’s been a while!”
“You’re… don’t tell me…!”
Proving that their friendship was indeed deep, the two greeted each other with bright smiles.
“How have you been? I heard rumors that something unfortunate happened to your family.”
“I don’t know what rumors you’ve heard, but they’re probably all true. It’s difficult to use the name Haipen in public now.”
“Oh, dear…”
Gillaim’s character backstory was ‘the heir of a swordsman family that pledged loyalty to the royal family but fell due to a power struggle.’
The rumors were likely about that.
Aaron asked with a look of pity.
“How did it come to that?”
“It’s a long story, but to put it simply, I fell out of favor with the higher-ups.”
“Why?”
“Well, you know my personality.”
“Don’t tell me you…!”
Gillaim gave a faint smile and nodded.
“Didn’t I specifically advise you that you need to know when to bow your head?”
“I’m fine.”
“Fine? Your family name is about to disappear…!”
As Count Aaron fumed in frustration, Gillaim shook his head firmly.
“That won’t happen.”
“Even now, you should… What did you say?”
“I’m truly fine. The day will soon come when I can proudly use the name Haipen again. …As long as I am with him.”
“…Hm?”
Gillaim said, gesturing toward Lee Shin.
Aaron tilted his head.
“‘Him’? Isn’t he your squire?”
“He is not.”
“Then who is he?”
“A prince.”
“A pr— Pfft!!!”
The Count did a spit-take.
“A-A prince?!”
“Shh. Lower your voice.”
“Do I look like I can calm down? Just answer me!”
“Of course, it’s true. We have proof. Lord Arthur.”
“Mm.”
At Gillaim’s signal, Lee Shin nodded and showed the item he had obtained from killing the 8th Prince.
Seven-Colored Crystal Ring
• A precious object symbolizing the bloodline of a prince.
The Count’s eyes trembled.
“This is…”
“See?”
“Yes. It’s definitely authentic.”
The Count was trembling with excitement, but unlike Gillaim, who had been deceived at once, he was a bit more cautious.
“…However, this alone is not enough. It could have been stolen, couldn’t it? Or perhaps you took it by force.”
“What?”
“It’s not that I don’t trust you, but I can’t be certain with this alone. And even if it is true, this isn’t enough.”
Aaron turned his head toward Lee Shin.
“Lord Arthur. May I test you?”
“A test?”
“Yes.”
“What kind of test.”
“…Please do not take offense. I wish to confirm if you are strong enough to inherit the throne.”
*T-ring.*
National Quest – Count Aaron's Test
Like Haipen Gillaim, Count Aaron dreamed of the kingdom's revival, and you have successfully proven your identity as a prince to him.
However, that alone was not enough.
A revolution is a path of thorns.
With a weak monarch, they would surely face ruin together, let alone achieve greatness.
“Please fight me.”
“If you can prove that you are not weak, I will follow you.”
Pass the test given by the Count and resolve his concerns!
Then, the Count will pledge his loyalty to you.