Chapter 151
Chapter 151
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 151
Chapter Title: Fafnir (1)
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"Good. Then come with me right now."
"Ah, that won't work."
Demian flatly rejected the Mercenary King's proposal.
"I was on my way back to the family estate. I'll come find you after I see my family."
"You're saying you'll prioritize your family over my offer right now?"
The Mercenary King spoke with an angry look on his face. Demian replied nonchalantly.
"It doesn't seem like you would, Mercenary King?"
That single remark left the Mercenary King speechless.
"Argh... You're a humorless guy to the end. I was just trying to tease you a bit."
The Mercenary King scratched his head and then said to Demian,
"I'll give you five days. Come to the Pel Plains by then. I'll be waiting there."
Leaving those words behind, the Mercenary King vanished into the forest with his subordinates.
Once the Mercenary King was gone, Demian headed toward the Haksen Viscountcy.
* * *
When Demian arrived at the Haksen Viscountcy, he couldn't help but be greatly surprised.
For some reason, people were lined up from the entrance to Spring Castle.
Not only nobles but also a large number who looked like merchants were mixed in. They all watched Spring Castle with anxious faces.
"Was it... always this crowded?"
No way. When Demian had left for Baekguk, Spring Castle had been quiet.
"Since when did so many guests show up?"
Demian passed through the line toward the entrance. But with so many people packed in, it was hard to get through.
"Excuse me, coming through."
When Demian spoke to the people blocking the way, one impatient man suddenly yelled.
"Who's cutting in line! Wait your turn like everyone else!"
"Yeah! You think we have time to burn!"
The people shouted at Demian in angry voices. Demian replied with an awkward expression.
"I can go in without waiting."
"What nonsense!"
"Kid, you can't fool people like that!"
Even with Demian's explanation, the nobles and merchants got angry.
One of them stared at Demian's face intently.
"Wait, aren't you...!"
"Lord Demian!"
A voice came from inside the castle. Victor was waving toward Demian.
"You've returned? Come in, sir!"
Victor pushed through the crowd and approached Demian. Thanks to him, Demian could enter the castle comfortably.
"What's this sudden commotion? Why are there so many visitors all of a sudden?"
"It's all thanks to Lady Olivia! While you were out, young master, she worked hard, and the family's influence has grown."
Victor said with a proud face.
"They've all come to form ties with our family. Or they're merchants here to buy wheat from the territory."
He knew Olivia was capable, but he hadn't expected this much.
'Abel really met a great match.'
Demian had played a major role in their marriage. So he couldn't help feeling satisfied.
"But what are you doing here?"
"By Lady Olivia's order, I'm handling the initial guest reception. Making a list too."
"Oh, the firewood chopper's duties have been upgraded."
"Ehehehet, it's all because I'm so great, isn't it?"
Victor grinned.
"By the way, anything happen lately? Not family stuff, but to you."
"Yes? Nothing. Ah! The church came by once."
"The church?"
"Yes, they said they were investigating someone named Victor. Something about... looking for a black mage?"
Demian opened his subspace and handed Victor a silver coin. Victor looked puzzled as he took it.
"Why are you giving me this?"
"Name fee. Keep it up."
Demian started toward the mansion... but turned back to Victor.
"Ah, and let those four guys in a bit later. They came to our family but couldn't even recognize my face properly."
At Demian's words, the four men's faces turned ashen.
"You really hold grudges."
Victor muttered, shaking his head.
* * *
"Demian!"
As soon as he entered the castle, Mother hugged him. Abel and Olivia, who had been drinking tea with her, jumped up from their seats.
"Brother! Where have you been this time?"
"You don't know how much Abel worried about you, brother-in-law."
"D-Don't talk about that."
Abel protested to Olivia, his face red.
"I wandered around a bit. Where are Father and Sis?"
"Father's in his study receiving guests! Luise went out with Ballad. Looks like they're starting marriage preparations soon."
Mother said with an expectant face.
"Good thing Abel and Olivia are here. You two, come with me for a sec."
The two followed Demian, puzzled.
"Is there a place in Spring Castle to store important items?"
"Ah, there's a secret vault underground."
Olivia led Demian to the underground vault. Once inside, Demian said to them,
"Whatever I show you from now on, you must never tell anyone else."
Demian opened the subspace in his necklace. He took out the relics he'd obtained from the ruins.
The two's eyes widened hugely at the sight.
"B-Brother... Th-These... where in the world... d-did you..."
"Don't ask for details."
"Is there a reason you can't answer? Don't worry. We'll keep it secret for sure..."
"Too lazy to explain."
Demian's words left Abel stunned.
He meant it sincerely. He couldn't tell the full story from the ruins, and making up a suitable lie was too much hassle.
"These and those are armor and weapons for the soldiers. That one's a siege weapon. It'll explode, so don't touch it carelessly."
Demian pointed to the relics one by one, explaining briefly.
"Don't use these relics carelessly. Only in emergencies."
Before leaving Baekguk, Demian had scoured the sixth floor again, gathering relics for the soldiers.
Unfortunately, there weren't any amazing items. The real treasures had long been excavated and sold off by Baekguk.
Still, what remained was impressive enough. Equipping the soldiers would greatly boost their combat power.
"And these are swordsmanship manuals and mana cultivation methods I wrote. Have all soldiers learn the swordsmanship, and give the mana cultivation only to trustworthy ones."
Demian handed over the books he'd written on the way back from Baekguk.
He'd prepared these to ensure his family's safety in case of conflict with Pandemonium.
"Brother, why give these only to us..."
"You two will lead the family from now on. I'm telling you ahead of time."
Abel would inherit the Haksen Viscountcy. But based on ability, Olivia would likely be the real power.
"Take good care of the family going forward."
Demian spoke sincerely to the two, who still looked dazed.
* * *
After that, Demian spent leisurely time with his family—going hunting with Father or playing chess with Abel.
After a few days like that, he packed up and headed to the Pel Plains where the Mercenary King's mercenary group was.
"Wow... impressive."
Upon arriving at the Pel Plains, Demian couldn't help but marvel at the mercenary group's scale.
Dozens of tents were lined up across the vast plain.
Dozens of horses grazed, and far more people moved busily.
'Fafnir' Mercenary Group.
Named after the legendary evil dragon said to have burned half the continent.
Matching its reputation as the continent's largest and strongest, the group's size was enormous.
'At this point, it's like a whole territory on the move.'
Demian approached the Fafnir Mercenary Group's camp.
Two mercenaries guarding the fence entrance blocked his path.
"This is the Fafnir Mercenary Group's territory."
"Leave now if you don't want to get hurt bad."
Surprisingly, both were practicing mana cultivation methods—at least at the apprentice knight level.
The fact that even gatekeeper-level mercenaries could handle mana showed the group's strength.
"My name is Demian Haksen. I'm here to see the Mercenary King."
At the name Demian Haksen, the two mercenaries' eyes widened slightly.
Perhaps due to prior instructions from the Mercenary King, they stepped aside.
"Follow us. We'll escort you to the Mercenary King."
Demian followed the mercenary into the camp.
The mercenary stopped at a circular clearing inside the camp. Many people already surrounded it, like for some event.
"Uhaha! Good! Press harder!"
"Hey! Your reaction's slow! Can't you move faster?"
Two boys fought in the clearing, wielding training weapons.
The people sitting around cheered as they watched.
'All dragonbloods.'
Both the fighting mercenaries and the spectators were dragonbloods.
"Kuhahaha! Both have decent skill!"
At the familiar voice, Demian turned. The Mercenary King was among the crowd.
Unlike the others, he lounged crookedly on a palanquin, being fanned by two scantily clad women on either side.
He looked less like a mercenary and more like some rich slob.
"Uahat! I win! I won!"
"Aah... Lost all my money."
Then, one boy in the clearing dropped his weapon. As the match ended, the watching dragonbloods lamented.
The boys picked up their weapons and withdrew. The escorting mercenary seized the moment and shouted.
"Lord Hopper! Sir Demian Haksen has arrived!"
At those words, everyone's gazes turned to Demian.
"You rascal! You finally came!"
The Mercenary King lit up and jumped off the palanquin.
"What if you came exactly on the fifth day! Come here."
The Mercenary King came to the clearing and said. Demian approached his side.
"Let me introduce him! This handsome young man is Demian Haksen! You've all heard the rumors!"
The dragonbloods' gazes focused on Demian. It was a very familiar look.
Back in his delinquent days, those who ignored and looked down on Demian had that gaze.
'No, maybe a bit more arrogant?'
Perhaps from the pride of being acknowledged by the absolute being, the Mercenary King.
Or because all the geniuses he'd brought from outside before were nothing special.
The dragonbloods looked at Demian with mocking faces.
"He's a friend I hired with difficulty, so show some respect. Got it?"
Contrary to the Mercenary King's words, the dragonbloods' gazes didn't change.
"Oh my, look at their eyes? They clearly have no intention of listening to me! Sorry about this. Mercenaries won't acknowledge anyone they haven't seen with their own eyes."
The Mercenary King made a troubled face, then proposed to Demian.
"Seems they don't trust your skills... Care to show them a bit?"
He was saying to show skill, but really testing Demian.
To see if he was truly a genius who could compete with the dragonbloods.
'Is what he saw of my abilities last time not enough?'
Or maybe they were confident dragonbloods could do that much too.
After all, they were heirs to the dragon's bloodline.
'Come to think of it, I'm always getting tested like this.'
Whenever he got involved with a group, Demian always had to prove himself.
But this time was a bit different.
'How long has it been since I got openly sneered at like this?'
Since reaching mid-class, people doubted his abilities at most, but never sneered.
But these dragonbloods were different. They were convinced Demian couldn't even reach their ankles.
'I can't just take this insult lying down.'
For Demian, it was quite—no, extremely unpleasant.
He wanted to crush their high noses right then.
"I can show that much anytime."
"Uahaha! What a likable young man. So, who wants to test Sir Demian Haksen's skills first?"
At the Mercenary King's question, one dragonblood jumped up.
A man with broad shoulders and unusually long forearms.
"Grandfather! I'll go first!"
"It's Baltin. You qualify. Permission granted."
The man called Baltin stepped into the clearing. He picked a training spear from the weapon rack in the corner.
"Demian Haksen, I've heard a lot about you. Some great genius, huh?"
Baltin said, tilting his head slightly. Like a superior looking down at an inferior.
"But outsiders overuse 'genius' so much I can't believe it. So I'll check personally. To see if your reputation's real."
Arrogance oozed from his eyes, speech, every action.
He couldn't just take this treatment sitting down.
Demian also went to the weapon rack. He scanned the training weapons thoughtfully.
'Let me see... How should I show them a lesson.'
After a moment's thought, Demian picked something from the rack.
Seeing it, Baltin made a strange face.
"...A spear? I heard you were a swordsman?"
"The famous dragonbloods are curious about my abilities. Gotta show something special."
Demian replied nonchalantly to Baltin's question.
"No matter who comes, I'll face them with the same weapon."