Chapter 49
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: A Mercenary Estate
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News of the disaster at the Grisly Tree Ranch spread through the Malformed City in no time.
It was inevitable.
The ranch's Hunting Festival, a stable tradition for decades, was a famous event in the Malformed City, even drawing participants from other cities.
A catastrophe where not only participants but even the lord had died was bound to cause a stir.
Fortunately, the repercussions were surprisingly minor compared to the rumors.
Most of the festival's participants, aside from a few nobles, were low-level Awakened Ones whose deaths would go unnoticed.
Besides, the Hara clan, the actual owners of the Grisly Tree Ranch, had survived almost entirely intact, so there was little lasting impact.
What truly caught the public's attention was a different rumor.
“...The one who stopped the disaster at the Grisly Tree Ranch was the White-Masked Young Master?”
“He even cleared a Labyrinth that had a dungeon break? In a single day?”
“What in the...!”
“Not just any Labyrinth, but a rampaging one, cleared in a day? Nonsense!”
“That’s impossible!”
The Malformed City was in an uproar.
Not just 3-star, but even higher-level Awakened Ones.
Many had attempted to conquer Labyrinths before.
Rumor had it that clearing a Labyrinth could yield rare Traits or treasures, and that it was how the five heroes had become legends.
But nine out of ten had failed, and countless had lost their lives in the process.
It was even more common for entire territories to be annihilated when caught in a dungeon break.
Thus, conquering a Labyrinth was considered a miracle.
An act possible only with heaven's favor.
And one that naturally presumed immense sacrifice.
So, to hear that someone had cleared a Labyrinth experiencing a dungeon break was a story worthy of ridicule, a lie too blatant to believe.
This was especially true given the rumors that, aside from the Hunting Festival participants, there had been almost no casualties.
But...
“What? It’s true?”
“It is! They say the Hara clan survived thanks to him!”
“And to repay the favor, the Hara clan became vassals to the White-Masked Young Master?”
“Insane...!”
The moment people realized the wild rumor was true,
what had been a mere curiosity erupted into a typhoon that swept through the Malformed City.
The White-Masked Young Master was certainly well-known.
He was a rising star who had made a name for himself through a series of unconventional acts, such as passing the Calamity Princess's bridal trials, taking elves as his subjects, and hunting wanted criminals.
But to put it another way, he had stood out simply because his actions were unusual.
In truth, many other up-and-comers had shown even more astonishing prowess.
This incident, however, was on a different level.
Conquering a Labyrinth was a feat difficult even for high-ranking noble families to achieve with their full might.
Whatever methods he used, whoever's power he borrowed,
the very fact that he had succeeded meant he had already surpassed the realm of an ordinary up-and-comer.
—Depending on his capabilities, the Eight Clans and Six Demons might even become the Nine Clans and Six Demons.
Not only the politically astute nobles but even the common folk couldn't help but buzz about the news.
But as they say, no matter how fierce the storm, the eye remains calm.
And that was precisely the situation at Crouching Dragon Manor.
While the Malformed City was in turmoil, Dion's estate remained quiet, its gates closed.
“We’ve finished replenishing the supplies.”
“That was faster than I expected. Weren't there some supplies unavailable at Nakrang Castle?”
“We procured the missing items from the Malformed City. The expenditure was higher than planned due to tariffs, but...”
“Don't worry about it. Maintenance is more important than saving a few coins.”
No, to be precise, it wasn't that they were silent.
They were simply too busy with internal affairs to pay any mind to the outside world.
Checking the Divine Beast's health and connection status.
Restocking arrows and food.
Repairing the damaged manor.
Tending to the injured.
After wandering the Labyrinth for over a week and fighting fierce battles against hundreds of monsters, including the boss,
there was no shortage of things to check and organize.
Of course, it was nothing compared to the state of the Grisly Tree Ranch.
“Compensation for the Hunting Festival participants is complete.”
“I thought there were a few nobles among them. Weren't they overly greedy?”
“If they were from families of any real standing, they wouldn't have participated in our Hunting Festival in the first place.”
“True enough.”
Despite the speaker’s words, her complexion was pale.
Just tending to the injured brood beasts and restoring the Grisly Tree Ranch was enough to work the entire clan to death.
They were so short on money and time that they had even held a simple, abbreviated funeral for Lord Ras.
And to top it all off, Dion had given them an unexpected new task.
“You want to build a home for ‘Our Queen’ in the garden?”
“She seems to prefer the gardens of Crouching Dragon Manor over our stables.”
“Then send someone over to care for her. A high-level Awakened One, of course.”
“That's not a problem, but...”
“Why?”
“As I've said, we know very little about Blood Wasps, especially a named one.”
“It's fine. Our Queen is a good girl. There won't be any problems.”
The Blood Wasp Queen, Heda.
The named boss had settled right into Dion's estate.
It was only natural, given that she was a brood beast tamed by Dion, but...
Raising brood beasts required not only a tamer's talent but also expert knowledge of the monster.
That was why they had specialized in raising only forest spider types. For the Hara clan, being suddenly tasked with raising a named boss was a daunting prospect.
This was compounded by Dion's special order to restore the Blood Wasp swarm, which had been nearly annihilated in the fight with Rashanta.
But what could they do? They had only just become his vassals; they couldn't refuse their lord's command.
In the end, with a sigh, Rea prepared to dispatch a dozen of her clan members, including her own daughter.
“How are the kids?”
“The crawling bugs have at least become flying bugs.”
“If even Parsha says that much, I suppose they can finally pull their own weight.”
“They're still only half-measures, though.”
Just as a flying bug is still a bug, Parsha's harsh critique implied that a 1-star was still just a 1-star. Nevertheless, Dion was satisfied.
The slaves had indeed grown significantly through the incident at the Grisly Tree Ranch.
Most had not only acquired their third and fourth classes,
but their existing classes were also on the verge of advancing from Adept (Lv4) to Expert (Lv7).
It was miraculous growth for those without a cheat like the 【Blood Kill Star】.
This was possible because their contributions to stopping the dungeon break and clearing the Labyrinth were recognized as achievements.
‘Achievement farming really is the best part of leveling up.’
Dion smiled faintly.
Absorbing as much mana as possible by consuming mana stones or hunting monsters.
That was the fastest way the Awakened of Odobaekryeong knew to advance their classes.
But they didn't know.
The difference between finishing off 100 monsters someone else had already worn down and fighting ten fresh monsters at once and surviving.
While the former might yield more mana, the latter resulted in faster growth.
The more incredible the achievement, the greater the growth.
Mana was merely the material; the vessel that shaped it was achievement.
In that sense, the slaves could now smoothly reach Lv10 just by honing their talents.
“The preparations are finally complete.”
“What preparations, my lord?”
“The minimum preparations needed to defend the estate.”
Though they hadn't realized it themselves without a status window, the Hara clan had also grown significantly.
The dozens of forest spiders and Blood Wasps, though their numbers were greatly reduced.
And if you added the slaves to that?
Even if Dion and Parsha were away, the estate would no longer be in danger from mere bandits.
And this wasn't just about defending the estate.
“It also means it's about time we opened for business.”
“...”
“On that note, Parsha, could you call Arsha and Naru for me?”
The dark elf maid, who had been looking at Dion as if he were spouting more nonsense, paused at the mention of her mother's name.
But only for a moment.
As always, she fetched the two with a stoic expression.
A short while later, Dion smiled faintly at the sight of the rabbit-eared boy who arrived with a lute on his back.
“Hello. How are your hands?”
“Feels like my fingers are about to fall off.”
“Hahaha, what a funny joke. Your fingers aren't going to fall off from just a little playing, are they?”
“It wasn't just a little! Your wife worked me so hard...”
*Creeak.*
“Were you speaking of me?”
“I was just talking about how precise your instructions were in that difficult situation, yes, of course!”
Parsha opened the door without knocking.
As Naru recoiled at the sight of Arsha, who followed her in with a bandaged neck,
Arsha bowed demurely.
Then, approaching Dion, who beckoned with a faint smile, she gently settled herself onto his lap.
Just as she always had. But with a particular naturalness.
With his arm wrapped around the slender waist of Arsha, who was perched on his lap,
Dion spoke leisurely.
“I'm glad you were pleased with Arsha's directions.”
“Ahaha, I'd welcome the chance to work with someone as capable as your wife anytime.”
“That's why I said I'm glad. You'll be seeing more of Arsha than me from now on.”
“...Pardon?”
“Did you forget? The reason we went to the Grisly Tree Ranch.”
“To participate in the Hunting Festival and make a fortune, of course, right?”
“That was my objective. I'm talking about yours.”
“Well, I was there as an envoy of the Guild... Ah.”
It seemed he finally remembered he wasn't just some passing minstrel.
Dion smiled faintly at the boy with the wide, rabbit-like eyes and said,
“That's right. Now that the Guild's information has proven useful, I was thinking we could work together.”
“A wise decision!”
Naru was overjoyed.
Naru had come to Crouching Dragon Manor in the first place because he had foreseen that Dion would get into the mercenary business.
He had hoped to act as the broker and form a cooperative relationship with him.
“Leave it to me! I'll search the entire Magus Dominion and find you the best requests!”
“No, that's not necessary.”
“Huh?”
“For now, introduce me to jobs that are quick and easy, rather than high-paying.”
Whether it's gathering materials, hunting monsters, or even cleaning, laundry, or cooking.
He wanted to take on jobs that could be finished within a day.
Dion said this nonchalantly, adding with a faint smile,
“In the long run, daily quests are the most efficient, you see.”
“Ah...?”
“Why? Is that difficult?”
“Oh, no. Actually, that's our specialty.”
Naru quickly composed himself and spoke with confidence.
The Guild was, after all, an organization of the lower class.
This felt more like a temp agency than a mercenary business, but it was certainly easier to broker.
Whether for cooking, farming, or construction,
there were always people who needed the help of an Awakened One.
This was especially true since most small and medium-sized estates considered having even twenty 1-star Awakened Ones to be a large number.
“Ahem, then, as for the commission...”
“Don't worry, I won't take one.”
“...What?”
“Just cooperating with us is a benefit to the Guild. Taking a commission on top of that would be too much of a loss for you.”
“...”
“I hear there are people in this world who take a double commission. I guess I'm just too soft-hearted for my own good.”
“Ah, um, y-yes, of course.”
Weighing the pros and cons, it was still a net gain for the Guild even without a commission.
Simply being able to broker a problem-solver for difficult issues would secure the Guild's influence.
They could also collect extra fees—bribes, really—from desperate clients.
And above all, they would gain a much-needed noble collaborator, a direct descendant of a renowned magus family at that.
So why did he feel so wronged? Naru reluctantly agreed, his rabbit ears drooping.
Dion then whispered to Arsha, whom he was still holding,
“It'll be tough managing this alongside the estate. You don't mind, do you, Arsha?”
“It is my duty, of course. Please, entrust it to me without worry.”
“Alright, I'm counting on you.”
*Chu.*
As if giving a reward in advance, the boy kissed the tip of her long ear.
While Parsha watched impassively, Arsha's reddened ear trembled, though she didn't seem flustered.
And so began Crouching Dragon Manor's activities as a mercenary estate.
And...
* * *
“Um, about that... they say one of the lord's slaves assigned to the request has deserted...?”