Chapter 473: Between an Ally and an Enemy (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 473: Between an Ally and an Enemy (5)
It took Missha a moment to respond. "A favor...?"
Her voice was no longer confident and direct, like when she told him to get the hell out of her room. She tried to hide it, but there was a tremble of fear to it. She couldn't help it, not after witnessing all of the absurd lengths Baekho Lee would go to, witnessing just how much power he truly possessed.
"Yeah, a favor." There was no way someone like him would ask for a mere favor. "We've gotten pretty close after spending all this time together, wouldn't you agree? You can do at least that much for me, right?"
It was a threat. He definitely had something up his sleeve in case she refused. The possibilities flooded her mind, unbidden.
"...I don't want to."
Yet in the end, she still flatly refused.
"But you haven't even heard what the favor is."
"Whatever it is you want, I won't help you." Her shoulders shook as she gathered the courage to look Baekho in the eyes.
He wasn't able to hold back the exclamation that jumped off his tongue. "Wow... How could someone change so quickly?" He found himself intrigued by the sight. So few knew what true fear was, and even fewer were capable of overcoming it. What could have pushed Missha to gather such courage and overcome her fear of him? There could only be one answer. "Is Hansu really that amazing? How hard did Big Bro work to win you over?"
He let out a burst of surprised laughter. Missha couldn't exactly put her finger on what had changed, but her next breath came easier than the last as the heaviness in the air dispelled.
"Yeah, no, I get it now. They always say that love makes you blind. I wonder if Hansu knows... Huh? What, do you have something to say?"
"...Who is Hans?"
"What...?" Baekho blinked at Missha in confusion. Then, something clicked in his mind, and another burst of laughter erupted out of him before he could stop it. "Pfft! Bahaha! Hahaha... Ah, that's right. Yeah, I should have realized. It totally slipped my mind!"
Missha stepped back, obviously disturbed by Baekho Lee's mannerisms.
He took a minute to calm down, then answered her question. "Hansu Lee is his real name. Okay?"
She didn't acknowledge his condescending tone. She simply repeated the name to commit it to memory. "...Hans Lee."
"Not Hans. It's Hansu."
Despite improving her enunciation quite a bit over the years, she struggled to wrap her tongue around it, perhaps because the syllables were entirely unfamiliar to her. "Hansu Lee."
"Oh, that's better."
"Hansu Lee. So that's Bjorn's real..."
Missha clasped her hands together and closed her eyes as if in prayer. Baekho watched in silence, keenly interested in what she was doing. But he didn't wait for long, of course. His ground rule had always been to mess around and waste time only after everything that needed doing was done.
"So are you really not going to do me a favor?"
"...Why should I?"
"Hm, oh, I don't know..." He shrugged. He acted playful and naïve most of the time, but that didn't mean he couldn't lie or intimidate when the situation called for it. "Maybe because Bjorn Yandel will die if you don't?"
That, however, was an indisputable truth.
***
After the Round Table, I immediately logged out and went to sleep. Spending the full twelve hours there always left me exhausted, and since I needed to wake up early, I decided to log out earlier too.
"Mister! Wake up!"
"...Five more minutes."
"Stop whining and get up," said another voice. "All that's left to do now is move our things."
"...Already?"
When I opened my eyes and checked the time, it was already 11 a.m. I sighed. I really was planning on waking up early today...
"Give me a minute. I'll hurry and pack up the things in my room."
"Don't bother wasting time on that. Just go and wash up."
"Yeah. There's nothing heavy in your room, so we'll do it for you, Mister."
I shouldn't make them do these types of things for me. However, instead of arguing, I went and washed my face, then quickly returned to help them clean up my room. By the time we headed outside, there were four large wagons parked out front, ready to be loaded up with our luggage.
Thud!
I lifted the barbarian-sized bed frame onto the wagon, and with that, we were finally ready to go.
"Shall we depart, Your Lordship?"
"Yes. Thank you for the help."
The horsemen we hired quickly pulled away with the luggage-filled wagons, leaving us behind in a now-empty house.
"...It feels so strange." Erwen stared at the empty living room, looking depressed. I wasn't completely oblivious as to why. We had made quite a few memories here, some good and some bad.
"You won't be going outside anymore, anyway."
Back then, I'd had no idea how I was supposed to deal with Erwen's obsessiveness. Luckily, she somehow managed to settle down, even though she now had stats with more severe negative effects than ever before.
I guess her mental fortitude outweighs her stats.
I was still worried about Erwen, but if I had to identify the source of my deepest concerns, it wasn't her.
...When is Baekho Lee going to give Missha back? What if she can't find us because we moved? That would be bad...
"What are you doing? Let's get going. We don't have much time, so we'll have to unpack everything as soon as we get there."
After another quick look around the empty house to make sure that we weren't leaving anything behind, we finally departed. We all hopped onto a carriage I rented for the day, and the coachman was none other than our navigator, Auyen. It seemed he wasn't only good at steering ships.
"...You're a pro when it comes to handling horses as well."
"I worked as a coachman until I came of age. Thanks to that, I know my way around the city quite well, though I'm nowhere near as talented as you."
"There's no need to flatter me like that."
It occurred to me then that dragging Auyen along with us was a blessing in disguise. With him, I didn't need to hire a coachman in the future, and since there was a small stable at our new place, I could have him take care of the horses there.
That's not a bad idea, actually.
It sounded pretty good to me, so I ran it by Amelia. Thankfully, she quickly agreed with me.
"Everyone needs a place of their own in any team. As long as Auyen is okay with it, I don't mind."
"Rockrock, what do you think? You must have heard everything we've been saying."
"Mister! Wake up!"
"...Five more minutes."
"Stop whining and get up," said another voice. "All that's left to do now is move our things."
"...Already?"
When I opened my eyes and checked the time, it was already 11 a.m. I sighed. I really was planning on waking up early today...
"Give me a minute. I'll hurry and pack up the things in my room."
"Don't bother wasting time on that. Just go and wash up."
"Yeah. There's nothing heavy in your room, so we'll do it for you, Mister."
I shouldn't make them do these types of things for me. However, instead of arguing, I went and washed my face, then quickly returned to help them clean up my room. By the time we headed outside, there were four large wagons parked out front, ready to be loaded up with our luggage.
Thud!
I lifted the barbarian-sized bed frame onto the wagon, and with that, we were finally ready to go.
"Shall we depart, Your Lordship?"
"Yes. Thank you for the help."
The horsemen we hired quickly pulled away with the luggage-filled wagons, leaving us behind in a now-empty house.
"...It feels so strange." Erwen stared at the empty living room, looking depressed. I wasn't completely oblivious as to why. We had made quite a few memories here, some good and some bad.
"You won't be going outside anymore, anyway."
Back then, I'd had no idea how I was supposed to deal with Erwen's obsessiveness. Luckily, she somehow managed to settle down, even though she now had stats with more severe negative effects than ever before.
I guess her mental fortitude outweighs her stats.
I was still worried about Erwen, but if I had to identify the source of my deepest concerns, it wasn't her.
...When is Baekho Lee going to give Missha back? What if she can't find us because we moved? That would be bad...
"What are you doing? Let's get going. We don't have much time, so we'll have to unpack everything as soon as we get there."
After another quick look around the empty house to make sure that we weren't leaving anything behind, we finally departed. We all hopped onto a carriage I rented for the day, and the coachman was none other than our navigator, Auyen. It seemed he wasn't only good at steering ships.
"...You're a pro when it comes to handling horses as well."
"I worked as a coachman until I came of age. Thanks to that, I know my way around the city quite well, though I'm nowhere near as talented as you."
"There's no need to flatter me like that."
It occurred to me then that dragging Auyen along with us was a blessing in disguise. With him, I didn't need to hire a coachman in the future, and since there was a small stable at our new place, I could have him take care of the horses there.
That's not a bad idea, actually.
It sounded pretty good to me, so I ran it by Amelia. Thankfully, she quickly agreed with me.
"Everyone needs a place of their own in any team. As long as Auyen is okay with it, I don't mind."
"Rockrock, what do you think? You must have heard everything we've been saying."
"I-It would be my honor! Just leave it to me! I'll do my best to live up to your expectations, Captain!" Rather than that just being empty flattery, Auyen seemed genuinely happy. Well, that must sound much better than being locked in a room all day. I should iron out the details later.
"We're here, Captain." Thanks to Auyen's smooth driving, I had begun to doze off. Before I knew it, we arrived at our destination of Kommelby Boulevard in the market district. A three-story building was waiting for us, just ten minutes away from Alminus Central Exchange.
"...It's in much better condition than I expected."
"Yeah. When you told me the rent, I thought it would be an old, rundown building."
Since the building was owned by Melbeth, our clan was able to secure it at a reasonable price, courtesy of my agreement with them. The building was meant to act as the Anabada clan's clan house. Since we didn't have any office workers yet, I decided we would live in it for the time being, at least until House Yandel was properly established.
"Come on, let's get our luggage inside. Everyone keeps staring at us."
Passing citizens and adventurers alike were glancing our way, apparently having come to see if the rumors about us moving here were true. Or were they staring at us because it was their first time seeing a noble carrying his own luggage?
I sighed.
Either way, we were able to move all our stuff inside before the day was over. Since it would be difficult to set up sleeping quarters on the first floor, we decided to just use it as a living room. Amelia and Erwen would be on the second floor while Auyen and I would be on the third. Oh, and per Amelia's request, we made sure that Auyen got a window in his room.
"Living in a room on Kommelby Boulevard... To think that I would see such a day..."
I hadn't expected his reaction, though. I figured he would be happy to have a window, considering he'd been trapped in a basement for such a long time, but I didn't expect him to cry.
"Where did you live before?" I asked.
"I grew up and lived on the outskirts of Ravigion."
"The slums near the castle wall?"
"Yes..."
But he was a navigator. He should have been able to make decent money, especially since he was from a clan that plundered others. Out of curiosity, I asked why he'd continued to live there, and Auyen explained that he'd been treated as a slave by the clan and never got paid.
"Then why did you stay with them?"
"You may not be aware, but there are a lot of clans like that. The moment you step into their trap, you can never escape..."
They trapped people like Auyen through contracts and then shackled them even further using the crimes they committed in the labyrinth as blackmail, making it impossible for them to escape. Strangely enough, however, I didn't feel sorry for him. The ones I felt sorry for were the innocent adventurers who were killed and plundered by him.
"Keep up the good work. I'll take care of you."
"O-Of course, sir! You can count on me!"
Despite his enthusiastic response, I didn't believe him. I spent the next hour lecturing him on how to live a good, honest life. "I'm telling you all of this for your own good, so don't forget it. The best type of man is one who's hardworking and honest, just like me. You got that?"
"...Yes."
"Louder."
"Yes, Captain!"
Yeah, that was a little better.
"I-It would be my honor! Just leave it to me! I'll do my best to live up to your expectations, Captain!" Rather than that just being empty flattery, Auyen seemed genuinely happy. Well, that must sound much better than being locked in a room all day. I should iron out the details later.
"We're here, Captain." Thanks to Auyen's smooth driving, I had begun to doze off. Before I knew it, we arrived at our destination of Kommelby Boulevard in the market district. A three-story building was waiting for us, just ten minutes away from Alminus Central Exchange.
"...It's in much better condition than I expected."
"Yeah. When you told me the rent, I thought it would be an old, rundown building."
Since the building was owned by Melbeth, our clan was able to secure it at a reasonable price, courtesy of my agreement with them. The building was meant to act as the Anabada clan's clan house. Since we didn't have any office workers yet, I decided we would live in it for the time being, at least until House Yandel was properly established.
"Come on, let's get our luggage inside. Everyone keeps staring at us."
Passing citizens and adventurers alike were glancing our way, apparently having come to see if the rumors about us moving here were true. Or were they staring at us because it was their first time seeing a noble carrying his own luggage?
I sighed.
Either way, we were able to move all our stuff inside before the day was over. Since it would be difficult to set up sleeping quarters on the first floor, we decided to just use it as a living room. Amelia and Erwen would be on the second floor while Auyen and I would be on the third. Oh, and per Amelia's request, we made sure that Auyen got a window in his room.
"Living in a room on Kommelby Boulevard... To think that I would see such a day..."
I hadn't expected his reaction, though. I figured he would be happy to have a window, considering he'd been trapped in a basement for such a long time, but I didn't expect him to cry.
"Where did you live before?" I asked.
"I grew up and lived on the outskirts of Ravigion."
"The slums near the castle wall?"
"Yes..."
But he was a navigator. He should have been able to make decent money, especially since he was from a clan that plundered others. Out of curiosity, I asked why he'd continued to live there, and Auyen explained that he'd been treated as a slave by the clan and never got paid.
"Then why did you stay with them?"
"You may not be aware, but there are a lot of clans like that. The moment you step into their trap, you can never escape..."
They trapped people like Auyen through contracts and then shackled them even further using the crimes they committed in the labyrinth as blackmail, making it impossible for them to escape. Strangely enough, however, I didn't feel sorry for him. The ones I felt sorry for were the innocent adventurers who were killed and plundered by him.
"Keep up the good work. I'll take care of you."
"O-Of course, sir! You can count on me!"
Despite his enthusiastic response, I didn't believe him. I spent the next hour lecturing him on how to live a good, honest life. "I'm telling you all of this for your own good, so don't forget it. The best type of man is one who's hardworking and honest, just like me. You got that?"
"...Yes."
"Louder."
"Yes, Captain!"
Yeah, that was a little better.
***
The day after we moved, I still had a lot of work left to do.
"No. We are going to use the empty space out back as a garden."
"Garden? It should clearly be used as a training ground!"
While Amelia and Erwen were arguing about what to do with the backyard, I went out to take care of my to-do list. The Rabbit Baroness had contacted me to let me know that some land I was interested in purchasing was available, so she asked if I had time to go check it out in person. Well, she did have some complaints, however.
"...I still don't understand why you want to build your house in District Seven and not the capital. It's not too late, so how about you reconsider?"
I had decided to establish my barony in District Seven. I may have been a noble now, but I was still an adventurer at heart. The closer I was to a Dimension Square, the better.
And if I build a house in the capital, it's going to end up being tiny and pathetic.
District Seven was much more reasonable price-wise. I would be able to build a much larger and grander mansion than if I chose to live in the capital.
...All right. I bought the land, so I guess I just need to build the house now.
Fortunately, the piece of land on sale was perfect, so I didn't need to think too long before purchasing it. All that was left was for me to consult with one of Melbeth's architects to design and construct my house. However, that process would take an entire year start to finish.
That should be enough for today.
I went straight home and passed out, and the next day, I headed to the dwarf's forge to make sure he wasn't slacking. Then, my next order of business was to meet with Rotmiller and discuss an idea I had.
"...Are you serious? You want me to teach the barbarians adventuring skills?"
"I'll make sure you're paid well. I heard you're not doing anything, anyway."
"That's true, but... if you are just doing this as a favor to me, I will have to strongly—"
"What are you talking about? I'm not doing this for you."
Rotmiller initially tried to reject the offer since he thought I was asking him out of pity, but after realizing that I was seriously looking for someone to hire, he agreed to help.
"Then let's go to the holy land right away before you change your mind. The second elder will tell you what you need to do. If you have trouble understanding him, then you should go to the administrative office."
"...Come again?" Rotmiller stared at me, confused. I assumed he was wondering how the barbarians ended up with an administrative office. I was disappointed in him. How could he be so close-minded in this day and age?
One, two, three, four—the days continued to fly by. Versyl Gowland managed to settle her affairs with the church and then finally joined our clan, making her the first of the adventurers in our old squadron to become a member.
"...You want me to be the vice captain?"
"Yeah. I think you're perfect for the job."
"That very well may be, but... I think it's best to leave the position of vice captain open for now. If I am given such a high position immediately, word will spread. Don't worry, though. I'll do all the duties of a vice captain, but I'll officially maintain my status as a regular member of the clan for now. Should a situation arise that requires a vice captain to step in, I will gladly fill that role."
"Sure, then let's do that. Thanks."
"But... are you really planning on going through with it? The Lord of the Floor?"
"We have to. And you are going to help us."
"...Isn't this a bit too much for our first quest together?"
"What, are you going to file a complaint with the palace about a hostile work environment?"
"Ha, I see you've got quite the sense of humor."
Once she officially joined our clan, we began to prepare for our five-man raid in earnest. Truthfully speaking, however, I was having trouble concentrating. My thoughts were elsewhere.
Why hasn't she come back yet...?
Missha still hadn't returned. Had Baekho Lee broken his promise? Anxiety began to creep up on me, but the fact was that this was entirely out of my hands. All I could do right now was wait patiently and keep on going.
"You're heading out early again?"
"Today is the last day. After today, I don't have any plans until the labyrinth opens."
"I see... Have a good day."
"I might be late, so don't worry about heating dinner for me. I'll just eat whatever leftovers we have cold."
I headed outside to the wide-open clearing in our backyard. I then tore the piece of paper that Ravien secretly gave me a while back.
Shaaaaaa.
Suddenly, a magic circle appeared on the ground beneath my feet, and its glow soon swallowed my entire body.
"It's been a while."
"Yes, it has."
I hadn't been to the Dragon Temple in years. As I looked up at the man sitting on the throne, I quietly reminded myself of my objective for the day.
Give the Dragon Slayer's heart to him and get my reward.
That was my last quest of the month.
***
The day after we moved, I still had a lot of work left to do.
"No. We are going to use the empty space out back as a garden."
"Garden? It should clearly be used as a training ground!"
While Amelia and Erwen were arguing about what to do with the backyard, I went out to take care of my to-do list. The Rabbit Baroness had contacted me to let me know that some land I was interested in purchasing was available, so she asked if I had time to go check it out in person. Well, she did have some complaints, however.
"...I still don't understand why you want to build your house in District Seven and not the capital. It's not too late, so how about you reconsider?"
I had decided to establish my barony in District Seven. I may have been a noble now, but I was still an adventurer at heart. The closer I was to a Dimension Square, the better.
And if I build a house in the capital, it's going to end up being tiny and pathetic.
District Seven was much more reasonable price-wise. I would be able to build a much larger and grander mansion than if I chose to live in the capital.
...All right. I bought the land, so I guess I just need to build the house now.
Fortunately, the piece of land on sale was perfect, so I didn't need to think too long before purchasing it. All that was left was for me to consult with one of Melbeth's architects to design and construct my house. However, that process would take an entire year start to finish.
That should be enough for today.
I went straight home and passed out, and the next day, I headed to the dwarf's forge to make sure he wasn't slacking. Then, my next order of business was to meet with Rotmiller and discuss an idea I had.
"...Are you serious? You want me to teach the barbarians adventuring skills?"
"I'll make sure you're paid well. I heard you're not doing anything, anyway."
"That's true, but... if you are just doing this as a favor to me, I will have to strongly—"
"What are you talking about? I'm not doing this for you."
Rotmiller initially tried to reject the offer since he thought I was asking him out of pity, but after realizing that I was seriously looking for someone to hire, he agreed to help.
"Then let's go to the holy land right away before you change your mind. The second elder will tell you what you need to do. If you have trouble understanding him, then you should go to the administrative office."
"...Come again?" Rotmiller stared at me, confused. I assumed he was wondering how the barbarians ended up with an administrative office. I was disappointed in him. How could he be so close-minded in this day and age?
One, two, three, four—the days continued to fly by. Versyl Gowland managed to settle her affairs with the church and then finally joined our clan, making her the first of the adventurers in our old squadron to become a member.
"...You want me to be the vice captain?"
"Yeah. I think you're perfect for the job."
"That very well may be, but... I think it's best to leave the position of vice captain open for now. If I am given such a high position immediately, word will spread. Don't worry, though. I'll do all the duties of a vice captain, but I'll officially maintain my status as a regular member of the clan for now. Should a situation arise that requires a vice captain to step in, I will gladly fill that role."
"Sure, then let's do that. Thanks."
"But... are you really planning on going through with it? The Lord of the Floor?"
"We have to. And you are going to help us."
"...Isn't this a bit too much for our first quest together?"
"What, are you going to file a complaint with the palace about a hostile work environment?"
"Ha, I see you've got quite the sense of humor."
Once she officially joined our clan, we began to prepare for our five-man raid in earnest. Truthfully speaking, however, I was having trouble concentrating. My thoughts were elsewhere.
Why hasn't she come back yet...?
Missha still hadn't returned. Had Baekho Lee broken his promise? Anxiety began to creep up on me, but the fact was that this was entirely out of my hands. All I could do right now was wait patiently and keep on going.
"You're heading out early again?"
"Today is the last day. After today, I don't have any plans until the labyrinth opens."
"I see... Have a good day."
"I might be late, so don't worry about heating dinner for me. I'll just eat whatever leftovers we have cold."
I headed outside to the wide-open clearing in our backyard. I then tore the piece of paper that Ravien secretly gave me a while back.
Shaaaaaa.
Suddenly, a magic circle appeared on the ground beneath my feet, and its glow soon swallowed my entire body.
"It's been a while."
"Yes, it has."
I hadn't been to the Dragon Temple in years. As I looked up at the man sitting on the throne, I quietly reminded myself of my objective for the day.
Give the Dragon Slayer's heart to him and get my reward.
That was my last quest of the month.