Chapter 446: Party (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 446: Party (3)
The banquet began a little before noon and ended before sunset. The attendees were all the heads of their respective houses, so unlike other nobles who could spend their time fooling around, they had busy schedules.
People were already starting to leave just one or two hours into the banquet.
Most of them stayed just long enough to be polite and honor tradition before leaving. That said, since the banquet was packed with quite a few respectable and powerful individuals, others took advantage of the opportunity to actively network. But in the end, everyone wound up exhausted and left before sunset.
Is this what they mean when they say you start to act like a child when you get old? I thought to myself. It wasn't like they were kids with a curfew.
Rattle, rattle.
As I stared out the carriage window, watching the royal palace grow smaller in the distance, I let my mind wander, imagining how convenient it would be to have a house in the capital someday.
In the end, I never got a chance to have a proper conversation with the marquess.
Unfortunately, my quest to talk to the marquess during the banquet had failed. I had gone over to his table to greet him, but there were far too many people around, and I didn't want to stir up any more trouble with witnesses there. It was a shame, but I was ultimately forced to return to my table after exchanging brief hellos.
Though honestly, whatever the marquess might be thinking right now isn't that important...
The important thing now was maintaining a certain balance. Whatever his intentions toward me may have been, now he wouldn't be able to take action against me without thinking twice. I had to make sure that the line separating us couldn't be crossed. However much power he may have, it no longer felt like he could do whatever he wanted to me.
Regardless, it's great that I was able to join Melbeth.
My membership wouldn't be made official until a few days from now when everyone could gather, but that wasn't an issue. The bigger issue was what to do about Ragna now that she'd contacted me via note. If things went well, she could become the wild card I need in my confrontation with the marquess.
I sighed.
Having to think through things in this way made me a little depressed. It would have been better if she had just stayed a regular librarian. Then I could have enjoyed reuniting with her more.
Why does she have to be the marquess's daughter?
On top of that, even Hyeonbyeol was connected to all this. The more I thought about it, the more it felt like my head was going to explode.
...Yeah. I'll just have to figure things out after I meet up with her.
I heaved a sigh, and soon after, we arrived at the platform, where I caught a teleporter back to Ravigion. After changing carriages, I headed back home.
"You're back early?"
"It ended earlier than I thought. Where's Erwen?"
"She just came back as well. She should be washing up now."
Oh, then we would finally get to see each other again after all this time. I went up to the second floor to bathe and change my clothes. When I came back down to the living room, Amelia and Erwen were sitting together on the sofa and talking. The two of them had gotten closer than I expected. Well, I figured after what they went through together in Ice Rock—
"Mister!" As soon as Erwen saw me, she jumped up and ran toward me.
I reached my hand out to stop her. "Erwen, I'm not just any mister."
"...What?" Erwen was left dumbfounded by my rejection.
"I am Baron Bjorn Yandel."
In response to my declaration, Erwen blurted out an awkward exclamation of her own. "Ah..."
It was so damn sad being a barbarian. I just couldn't get used to it. If I were with Ainar, I would have been able to shout that out with a wide smile on my face, and she would have matched my energy perfectly.
"Bjorn, cut the crap and sit down."
"...Okay."
As soon as I took a seat on the sofa, our household meeting began. There were several items on the agenda to discuss since it had been a while, but among the items to address was Erwen.
"Fortunately, everything worked out. I returned my bow for now, and as for the money I used to buy the house... I promised to return it within the month." Erwen spoke as if she had committed a grave sin. When I asked her why she was acting that way, she kept apologizing, saying it was her fault that we couldn't keep this house full of precious memories.
"It's fine. Why are you apologizing for that?"
To be honest, the thing I couldn't understand was why the elves were okay with letting Erwen off the hook with just that. Was it because she was the only pureblood of her generation? I'd even been worrying that, in the worst-case scenario, her life might have been at risk.
It's no exaggeration to say that this is actually the best possible outcome, but...
Unable to set my suspicions about how well things worked out aside, I asked Erwen to explain how things had panned out this way.
"When I was fighting with the elders, my uncle stepped in and helped me. I think that was the biggest factor."
Because of her uncle, huh? Come to think of it, I did hear that her uncle was considered a hero by the elves. I hoped to meet him one day as well.
"But only a month to return all the money... That's a pretty tight deadline." Amelia was the first to bring up the logistical issues once Erwen finished explaining. "Even if we sell the house to pay off the debt, we'll still need money to buy a new house in the future."
"...Then why don't we just buy this house ourselves?" asked Erwen. "What if we sell all the loot we got this time?"
"I'm not sure. Bjorn, what do you think?"
"Hm..." I thought it over and then offered my opinion. "I think it would be better for us to stay in an inn for the time being. Or we can rent a place each month, though it will be much smaller than the one we have here."
"...I-I see." Erwen seemed unwilling to sell the house, though she didn't voice her opinion.
Even so, this was the time and place for some honesty. "Don't worry too much. The house we live in now, the place we'll move into—they're all the same. They're just places we will be staying in temporarily."
When I brought up the idea of having Melbeth support us in buying some land and constructing a mansion, Erwen's expression noticeably brightened. "Th-then you'll really become Baron Bjorn Yandel!"
"Yeah, so tell me everything that you want added to the mansion in the future. You'll be living there too, you know."
Fortunately, judging by Erwen's expression, whatever regrets she had about selling the house had now disappeared.
"You too, of course, Amelia," I threw in just in case she felt left out, but for some reason, she just looked at me and let out a deep sigh.
I then went on to mention something I wanted for the new house as well. "...It would be great if we could make the navigator's room a little bigger than it is now. And also, if we could get him a window with some sunlight."
"...What?" Erwen was left dumbfounded by my rejection.
"I am Baron Bjorn Yandel."
In response to my declaration, Erwen blurted out an awkward exclamation of her own. "Ah..."
It was so damn sad being a barbarian. I just couldn't get used to it. If I were with Ainar, I would have been able to shout that out with a wide smile on my face, and she would have matched my energy perfectly.
"Bjorn, cut the crap and sit down."
"...Okay."
As soon as I took a seat on the sofa, our household meeting began. There were several items on the agenda to discuss since it had been a while, but among the items to address was Erwen.
"Fortunately, everything worked out. I returned my bow for now, and as for the money I used to buy the house... I promised to return it within the month." Erwen spoke as if she had committed a grave sin. When I asked her why she was acting that way, she kept apologizing, saying it was her fault that we couldn't keep this house full of precious memories.
"It's fine. Why are you apologizing for that?"
To be honest, the thing I couldn't understand was why the elves were okay with letting Erwen off the hook with just that. Was it because she was the only pureblood of her generation? I'd even been worrying that, in the worst-case scenario, her life might have been at risk.
It's no exaggeration to say that this is actually the best possible outcome, but...
Unable to set my suspicions about how well things worked out aside, I asked Erwen to explain how things had panned out this way.
"When I was fighting with the elders, my uncle stepped in and helped me. I think that was the biggest factor."
Because of her uncle, huh? Come to think of it, I did hear that her uncle was considered a hero by the elves. I hoped to meet him one day as well.
"But only a month to return all the money... That's a pretty tight deadline." Amelia was the first to bring up the logistical issues once Erwen finished explaining. "Even if we sell the house to pay off the debt, we'll still need money to buy a new house in the future."
"...Then why don't we just buy this house ourselves?" asked Erwen. "What if we sell all the loot we got this time?"
"I'm not sure. Bjorn, what do you think?"
"Hm..." I thought it over and then offered my opinion. "I think it would be better for us to stay in an inn for the time being. Or we can rent a place each month, though it will be much smaller than the one we have here."
"...I-I see." Erwen seemed unwilling to sell the house, though she didn't voice her opinion.
Even so, this was the time and place for some honesty. "Don't worry too much. The house we live in now, the place we'll move into—they're all the same. They're just places we will be staying in temporarily."
When I brought up the idea of having Melbeth support us in buying some land and constructing a mansion, Erwen's expression noticeably brightened. "Th-then you'll really become Baron Bjorn Yandel!"
"Yeah, so tell me everything that you want added to the mansion in the future. You'll be living there too, you know."
Fortunately, judging by Erwen's expression, whatever regrets she had about selling the house had now disappeared.
"You too, of course, Amelia," I threw in just in case she felt left out, but for some reason, she just looked at me and let out a deep sigh.
I then went on to mention something I wanted for the new house as well. "...It would be great if we could make the navigator's room a little bigger than it is now. And also, if we could get him a window with some sunlight."
Our navigator had seemed quite depressed recently. Maybe some fresh air by the sea would do him some good?
***
"That should take care of the issue of our residence... Now, what should we do about exploring the labyrinth?"
As soon as we figured out what to do with the house, Amelia brought up the next problem: our party was currently incomplete. With Ainar, Erwin, Amelia, me, and our navigator, there was one spot open in our party of six. The problem was that we had no one to fill that vacancy. I was planning to have my entire party eventually join my clan one day, but I was wary of making a move prematurely. Plus, I didn't think Ravien or the wizard Versyl Gowland would join quite yet.
Versyl said it would take at least a month before she could get independence, and Ravien said she wanted to take a break from adventuring for a while.
So in the meantime, we still had an open slot. However, taking a break for an entire month would be too much of a waste, so I made a decision. "I think it would be best if we just go by ourselves this time."
"The five of us?"
"It's not all that strange. Just a few years ago, five people was the norm."
"That's... true."
"And we're not going up to the seventh floor. We're just going to explore the sixth, so it won't be all that dangerous."
"The sixth floor... All right. I'll tell Rockrobe about it, then."
That wrapped up our conversation about the labyrinth. Afterward, we had a simple dinner and chatted with each other before going to bed. Then the next morning, we all went to the nearest guild branch together to finish registering the members of our clan.
"Heh... thank you, Mister."
I felt a spike of guilt considering Amelia carefully took care of all the documents instead of me. I felt like Erwen should be saying thanks to her instead.
Oh, I still need to fill the position of deputy commander.
When we first made the clan, I thought Amelia would be a perfect fit, but when I tried asking her, she rejected me in a heartbeat. Maybe she didn't want to draw unnecessary attention to herself. That would make sense. After all, the name she was using, Emily Raines, was a pseudonym.
Then who should be the deputy commander?
I fell into deep contemplation. The position of deputy commander was a crucial one, so it would be best to register them and give them power of attorney sooner rather than later. That way, they'd be able to carry out administrative tasks without the commander present.
Ravien would have been the perfect deputy commander. She's always been meticulous at handling annoying administrative things.
After we finished registering everyone, we went to a nearby restaurant to have a meal.
"Bjorn, are you going to Kommelby now?"
"No, I'm going to stop by the temple first."
"...The temple?" Amelia tilted her head in confusion for a moment, but then quickly put two and two together. "You want to get rid of the Gachabone essence."
"I don't have to hide my appearance anymore." Even then, though, I had still been debating whether or not to do it up until today. The Gachabone's essence wasn't all that bad. I did contemplate whether I should hold onto it until I started hunting for my next essence in earnest.
"Seems you have another reason as well."
"Don't Ainar and Abman still have my old equipment? Once I return to my original size, I'll be able to use it. It would be a waste not to. Besides, we might stumble across a better essence while adventuring on the sixth floor. And when I finally get around to returning to the tribe, it wouldn't be right for me to still look like this."
Our navigator had seemed quite depressed recently. Maybe some fresh air by the sea would do him some good?
***
"That should take care of the issue of our residence... Now, what should we do about exploring the labyrinth?"
As soon as we figured out what to do with the house, Amelia brought up the next problem: our party was currently incomplete. With Ainar, Erwin, Amelia, me, and our navigator, there was one spot open in our party of six. The problem was that we had no one to fill that vacancy. I was planning to have my entire party eventually join my clan one day, but I was wary of making a move prematurely. Plus, I didn't think Ravien or the wizard Versyl Gowland would join quite yet.
Versyl said it would take at least a month before she could get independence, and Ravien said she wanted to take a break from adventuring for a while.
So in the meantime, we still had an open slot. However, taking a break for an entire month would be too much of a waste, so I made a decision. "I think it would be best if we just go by ourselves this time."
"The five of us?"
"It's not all that strange. Just a few years ago, five people was the norm."
"That's... true."
"And we're not going up to the seventh floor. We're just going to explore the sixth, so it won't be all that dangerous."
"The sixth floor... All right. I'll tell Rockrobe about it, then."
That wrapped up our conversation about the labyrinth. Afterward, we had a simple dinner and chatted with each other before going to bed. Then the next morning, we all went to the nearest guild branch together to finish registering the members of our clan.
"Heh... thank you, Mister."
I felt a spike of guilt considering Amelia carefully took care of all the documents instead of me. I felt like Erwen should be saying thanks to her instead.
Oh, I still need to fill the position of deputy commander.
When we first made the clan, I thought Amelia would be a perfect fit, but when I tried asking her, she rejected me in a heartbeat. Maybe she didn't want to draw unnecessary attention to herself. That would make sense. After all, the name she was using, Emily Raines, was a pseudonym.
Then who should be the deputy commander?
I fell into deep contemplation. The position of deputy commander was a crucial one, so it would be best to register them and give them power of attorney sooner rather than later. That way, they'd be able to carry out administrative tasks without the commander present.
Ravien would have been the perfect deputy commander. She's always been meticulous at handling annoying administrative things.
After we finished registering everyone, we went to a nearby restaurant to have a meal.
"Bjorn, are you going to Kommelby now?"
"No, I'm going to stop by the temple first."
"...The temple?" Amelia tilted her head in confusion for a moment, but then quickly put two and two together. "You want to get rid of the Gachabone essence."
"I don't have to hide my appearance anymore." Even then, though, I had still been debating whether or not to do it up until today. The Gachabone's essence wasn't all that bad. I did contemplate whether I should hold onto it until I started hunting for my next essence in earnest.
"Seems you have another reason as well."
"Don't Ainar and Abman still have my old equipment? Once I return to my original size, I'll be able to use it. It would be a waste not to. Besides, we might stumble across a better essence while adventuring on the sixth floor. And when I finally get around to returning to the tribe, it wouldn't be right for me to still look like this."
"Hmph..."
Amelia for some reason let out a scoff at my answer while Erwen lamented the change.
"Then... does that mean you'll be as big as you were before?"
"Yeah."
"But I like the way you look now..."
I couldn't understand her strange preferences at all. Where in the world would a slim build like this be considered good? "Then my condolences."
After heading to the temple, I entered alone and went through the process of removing an essence.
[The Essence of the Gachabone that was absorbed into your soul has been removed.]
[Your Sixth Sense has decreased by -40. Your Physical Resistance has decreased by -15. Your Dark Resistance has decreased by -30. Your Accuracy has decreased by -45.]
My stats fell.
[Your Bone Density has decreased by -110.]
My height grew.
[Your Control has increased by +30.]
My mind cleared.
[Your Luck has increased by +50.]
And, most important of all, my luck improved a bit.
Stretch.
It took some time for me to stretch and get used to my new-old height. I quickly pulled on some clothes and checked myself out in the mirror.
Phew. I'm finally back in my normal body.
I'd already known, but it really hit me at this moment just how big I was. For some reason, I wanted to yell out the names of my ancestors, but I managed to hold the impulse back with superhuman self-control. I was in a temple, after all.
***
[Bjorn Yandel
Level: 7
Physique: 1390.55 (New -54.5)
Spirit: 521.3
Special Ability: 2197.65
Item Level: 6285 (New -2020)
General Combat Power: 5680.75 (New -575.58)
Acquired Essences: Orc Hero - Rank 5 / Ogre - Rank 3 / Bayon - Rank 3 / Storm Gush - Rank 3 / Vol-Herchan - Rank 3 / Deep Sea Giant - Rank 3]
***
The reactions of the two people waiting for me outside the temple were like night and day.
"Heh, Mister! This side of you is cool too! It's just like the first day we met!" Erwen complimented my new appearance despite her open disappointment earlier.
"...You definitely looked better before." Amelia, on the other hand, didn't say much but still managed to stab me in the heart with each word. But then, in a strangely quiet murmur, she said, "But... in a way, this might be better."
"Hm? What do you mean?"
"I'm saying it might be better now that you're ugly."
"I'm not ugly. Don't you think I look more manly now?"
"Pfft..."
"...Are you laughing at me?"
When I noticed her laughing at me, I was immediately reminded of the importance of disciplining children. However, she was my precious colleague, not a child I was raising. As the head of our clan, this was probably something I should overlook.
...Thankfully my Control stat went up. Otherwise, things might have taken a turn for the worse.
In any case, we made our way to Kommelby as originally planned. The members of our squadron didn't all live in District Seven, but we decided to meet there since it was the city center.
"Here we are."
We walked into the building that Versyl had rented for the day and were greeted by friendly faces.
"Ohhh, he's finally here. Our Baronet... No, I guess I should call him Baron Yandel now," said Melend Kaislan.
"...Oh, you look different."
Lilith Marrone, James Calla, Sven Parav, and the entire crew—all of the ones who managed to survive starving and freezing at Ice Rock—looked awed by my change of appearance.
"Versyl, where are Akurava and Ravien?"
"They said they couldn't make it."
"But everyone else managed to come."
"Well, I'm sure it's because we've all been curious."
That made sense. I was curious myself, so they must have had it even worse than me.
"What about the perimeter?"
"Don't worry about being spied on. I purposely chose a place with no windows, and I made sure to activate a Voice Control spell. Just in case, I'm also actively scanning for any use of magic."
As expected of a wizard, she was good at her job. I should ask if she had any opinions on being the deputy commander when she joined my clan later.
"Baron Yandel!"
"Why are you calling me Baron? Just call me Captain."
It'd been a while since we last reunited, so we had a good time catching each other up on how we were all doing.
"So... when are we planning to do it?"
Then, it was finally time to discuss the ceremonial opening of the sub-spaces we stole from the Order of the Rose.
"When I first opened it to store our bags, I thought there was nothing inside."
I'd actually thought the same, but not too long ago, I discovered the truth: to take out a hidden object, you needed to adjust the sub-space's magic formula accordingly. Well, at least according to what the wizard Versyl had discovered and told me.
"All right now, let's open them one by one. I've already prepared plenty of neutralizing spells, just in case."
Even I was a little nervous about opening them.
"Well then... let's see what's inside."
"I was disappointed at first, so I'm looking forward to seeing what's hidden in these."
"Phew... I guess all of you have also been waiting to open yours? I didn't even think about opening mine yet because I was afraid someone might be watching."
What on earth were the Order of the Rose trying to hide by going to such lengths for their security? There was no way to know what it could be. So, just to be on the safe side, I'd decided to erase the Gachabone's essence earlier today even though I could have put it off.
"Then... is everyone ready?"
"Yeah, let's open it!"
Here's hoping we're lucky today.
"Hmph..."
Amelia for some reason let out a scoff at my answer while Erwen lamented the change.
"Then... does that mean you'll be as big as you were before?"
"Yeah."
"But I like the way you look now..."
I couldn't understand her strange preferences at all. Where in the world would a slim build like this be considered good? "Then my condolences."
After heading to the temple, I entered alone and went through the process of removing an essence.
[The Essence of the Gachabone that was absorbed into your soul has been removed.]
[Your Sixth Sense has decreased by -40. Your Physical Resistance has decreased by -15. Your Dark Resistance has decreased by -30. Your Accuracy has decreased by -45.]
My stats fell.
[Your Bone Density has decreased by -110.]
My height grew.
[Your Control has increased by +30.]
My mind cleared.
[Your Luck has increased by +50.]
And, most important of all, my luck improved a bit.
Stretch.
It took some time for me to stretch and get used to my new-old height. I quickly pulled on some clothes and checked myself out in the mirror.
Phew. I'm finally back in my normal body.
I'd already known, but it really hit me at this moment just how big I was. For some reason, I wanted to yell out the names of my ancestors, but I managed to hold the impulse back with superhuman self-control. I was in a temple, after all.
***
[Bjorn Yandel
Level: 7
Physique: 1390.55 (New -54.5)
Spirit: 521.3
Special Ability: 2197.65
Item Level: 6285 (New -2020)
General Combat Power: 5680.75 (New -575.58)
Acquired Essences: Orc Hero - Rank 5 / Ogre - Rank 3 / Bayon - Rank 3 / Storm Gush - Rank 3 / Vol-Herchan - Rank 3 / Deep Sea Giant - Rank 3]
***
The reactions of the two people waiting for me outside the temple were like night and day.
"Heh, Mister! This side of you is cool too! It's just like the first day we met!" Erwen complimented my new appearance despite her open disappointment earlier.
"...You definitely looked better before." Amelia, on the other hand, didn't say much but still managed to stab me in the heart with each word. But then, in a strangely quiet murmur, she said, "But... in a way, this might be better."
"Hm? What do you mean?"
"I'm saying it might be better now that you're ugly."
"I'm not ugly. Don't you think I look more manly now?"
"Pfft..."
"...Are you laughing at me?"
When I noticed her laughing at me, I was immediately reminded of the importance of disciplining children. However, she was my precious colleague, not a child I was raising. As the head of our clan, this was probably something I should overlook.
...Thankfully my Control stat went up. Otherwise, things might have taken a turn for the worse.
In any case, we made our way to Kommelby as originally planned. The members of our squadron didn't all live in District Seven, but we decided to meet there since it was the city center.
"Here we are."
We walked into the building that Versyl had rented for the day and were greeted by friendly faces.
"Ohhh, he's finally here. Our Baronet... No, I guess I should call him Baron Yandel now," said Melend Kaislan.
"...Oh, you look different."
Lilith Marrone, James Calla, Sven Parav, and the entire crew—all of the ones who managed to survive starving and freezing at Ice Rock—looked awed by my change of appearance.
"Versyl, where are Akurava and Ravien?"
"They said they couldn't make it."
"But everyone else managed to come."
"Well, I'm sure it's because we've all been curious."
That made sense. I was curious myself, so they must have had it even worse than me.
"What about the perimeter?"
"Don't worry about being spied on. I purposely chose a place with no windows, and I made sure to activate a Voice Control spell. Just in case, I'm also actively scanning for any use of magic."
As expected of a wizard, she was good at her job. I should ask if she had any opinions on being the deputy commander when she joined my clan later.
"Baron Yandel!"
"Why are you calling me Baron? Just call me Captain."
It'd been a while since we last reunited, so we had a good time catching each other up on how we were all doing.
"So... when are we planning to do it?"
Then, it was finally time to discuss the ceremonial opening of the sub-spaces we stole from the Order of the Rose.
"When I first opened it to store our bags, I thought there was nothing inside."
I'd actually thought the same, but not too long ago, I discovered the truth: to take out a hidden object, you needed to adjust the sub-space's magic formula accordingly. Well, at least according to what the wizard Versyl had discovered and told me.
"All right now, let's open them one by one. I've already prepared plenty of neutralizing spells, just in case."
Even I was a little nervous about opening them.
"Well then... let's see what's inside."
"I was disappointed at first, so I'm looking forward to seeing what's hidden in these."
"Phew... I guess all of you have also been waiting to open yours? I didn't even think about opening mine yet because I was afraid someone might be watching."
What on earth were the Order of the Rose trying to hide by going to such lengths for their security? There was no way to know what it could be. So, just to be on the safe side, I'd decided to erase the Gachabone's essence earlier today even though I could have put it off.
"Then... is everyone ready?"
"Yeah, let's open it!"
Here's hoping we're lucky today.