Chapter 35
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Request
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“But why did you want to see me?”
“Ah... that. Actually, there's something I want to ask of you, Kai.”
Diana spoke to me with an extremely cautious expression.
“What kind of request?”
“Truth be told, it's a bit shameless, but there's something only you can do for me, Kai. I'd like you to take on a mission.”
“A mission? I'm not officially part of the kingdom yet, though?”
It was true that I was a citizen of the Hainel Kingdom, but I hadn't formally joined the knight order.
“You're right. But it's already taken as a done deal that you'll join the kingdom's knight order. Ah! Don't get the wrong idea. I'm saying that because you told me you're taking the knight order entrance exam.”
Diana kept glancing at me as she spoke, clearly worried that I might take offense.
“Go on, then. What kind of mission do you want to entrust to me?”
“Actually, the Hainel Kingdom is quite peaceful because it's a commercial nation. But behind the scenes, there's a lot of conflict between the kingdom and the back alleys. Even His Majesty the King can't easily handle it.”
“The power structure in the Hainel Kingdom right now can be divided into three main categories.”
“The first is His Majesty the King, the nobles under him, and the knight order. That's the most visible power.”
“The second is the power of the Merchant Alliance. Being a commercial nation, the wealth from all sorts of trade can't be ignored.”
“The third is the hidden power of the back alleys. You grew up in an orphanage, Kai, so you probably know, but there are forces in the back alleys that can't be dismissed.”
“It used to be something His Majesty could control, but ever since Valkyries appeared, they've grown into massive armed groups.”
Listening to Diana, I wondered inwardly if my identity had been exposed, but it didn't seem to be just that.
“So?”
“What I'm asking of you, Kai... is for you to infiltrate one of the back alley factions.”
“Pardon? I'm supposed to take the knight order exam.”
“Yes, that will proceed as planned. Um... the truth is, our knight order has a lot of infiltration from the back alley forces. We don't know exactly who, though.”
Hearing Diana's words made my heart sink. They seemed to know to some extent that people from the back alleys had secretly infiltrated the knight order.
But they had no idea one was standing right in front of them.
“You don't mean you want me to join one of the back alley groups and steal their information?”
“Exactly. You might not realize it, Kai, but you're quite famous right now.”
“Pardon? What do you mean?”
“You know how you and that guy named Seowan summoned two SR-grade Valkyries at the E-rank arena today, right?”
“Yes.”
“Because of that, not only the kingdom but the back alley world is paying huge attention to you. Even if you do nothing, they'll definitely approach you.”
She meant that since I'd grown up in an orphanage and had some experience in the back alleys, the factions there would naturally reach out to me.
‘This is like some kind of new world...’
The Twilight Moon clan wanted me to infiltrate the knight order, and now the knight order wanted me to infiltrate the back alley factions.
In other words, I'd end up as a double agent.
There wasn't a single benefit for me in this situation.
‘Or is there...? Either way, don't I now have the option to choose one of the two factions?’
Thinking about it, it didn't sound so bad after all.
But I had no intention of biting the bait just yet.
“But as you know, I'm really busy right now. I need to save up money.”
To complete my contract with Diana, I needed to gather a whopping 400 million gold. I had about 100 million now, but that still left 300 million to go.
Time really was tight.
“100 million gold. That's what the kingdom can provide if you accept the mission.”
“Hmm...”
100 million gold was an amount I could scrape together in 10 days by grinding hard.
But doing that would stall my growth. The experience from the Golden Reed Forest wasn't helping much with leveling up anymore.
With 100 million in support, I'd only need to gather another 200 million, giving me plenty of room to grow.
And if I reported infiltrating the Twilight Moon clan, I'd get 100 million just for breathing—too sweet a temptation.
Diana watched me with an anxious expression. I could tell she was thinking about what to do if I refused.
“Is 100 million really the maximum you can offer me?”
“Ugh...”
Diana swallowed hard at my words.
“If my identity as a knight order spy gets exposed, it'll be pretty dangerous. Doing that for just 100 million doesn't add up financially.”
“If you accept this commission, I'll make sure you pass the upcoming knight order exam and join Hainelrune.”
Her words made me burst out laughing. I might be 20 in this body, but I wasn't some fresh-faced newbie.
“Um... Lady Diana? With my skills, isn't joining Hainelrune a given? Were you planning not to let me join if I refused this commission?”
“Ugh...”
Diana's face twisted again, like I'd hit her weak spot once more.
The third-ranked knight in the order had terrible control over her expressions.
“Of course you can't negotiate with something that's already guaranteed.”
“Al... alright. How about 100 million gold from the royal family, and from the price I'm transferring this house, subtract 50 million to make it 100 million—totaling 150 million gold? That's the most I can do...”
Diana was starting to look on the verge of tears.
“You're willing to foot the difference yourself?”
“Yes. There's no guarantee the royal family will provide more.”
It was absurd that the Hainel Kingdom, known even as a mercantile kingdom, would only spend 100 million gold on this.
Then again, this wasn't salesmanship; it was just commissioning me, so demanding more might be unreasonable.
“But why go that far? Even covering the difference yourself?”
“Because I love the Hainel Kingdom. His Majesty the King loves his people, and the nobles have given up much of their privileges. It's becoming a world where everyone is equal. That's the Hainel Kingdom. That's why I can't let you slip away.”
Diana spoke carefully but with firm conviction.
At first, she seemed strict and haughty. The second time, she was extremely deferential, humbling herself.
And now, I saw the figure of a splendid knight devoted to her kingdom.
Seeing her like that, I thought lending a bit of my strength to such a kingdom wouldn't be so bad.
“Alright. I'll take the commission. But I have one condition.”
“A condition...?”
“Yes. Now that I've reached E-rank, I can summon six Valkyries. Can you increase the Valkyrie summoning slots in this mansion to six for me?”
“Ah! Congratulations first of all. Of course for something like that. I've been too busy with work lately to hunt much, so it should be fine.”
Diana readily agreed to my request.
“Great. Then I'll look around discreetly and report back as things progress.”
“Thank you.”
Diana finally showed a bright smile.
After leaving Diana's room, I fell into brief contemplation.
A few days from now, if I reported successfully infiltrating the Twilight Moon clan, I'd get 150 million gold for free.
But there was definitely one sticking point.
I'd have to betray Karuos and Jenellu, who raised this body from childhood.
Did I really need to go that far?
They seemed like the type who would understand if I told them about this commission from the Hainel Kingdom.
But that would mean betraying Diana in turn.
‘Sigh... This double agent thing is harder than I thought. In the end, it means betraying someone.’
I desperately hoped it wouldn't come to anyone getting hurt.
‘But how should I use this silver badge?’
I pondered how to use the Twilight Moon clan's silver badge, carefully kept in my pocket.
Jenellu had originally said to just leave it at the counter of my lodging, but now I was living in Diana's mansion.
‘Eh... Let's keep it simple. I can just drop it off at the counter of the Traveler's Rest Inn. Whatever.’
I still had the suite room rented there, and checkout time hadn't passed yet.
‘Going now would be too conspicuous. I'll swing by before hunting tomorrow and leave the badge.’
Having sorted my thoughts, I rang the bell by my bedside.
A moment later, Erekina knocked on the door.
“You called for me?”
“Yeah. Diana transferred six Valkyrie summoning slots for this lodging to me. Do you know about it?”
“Yes. Lady Diana already notified me. Is it about assigning Valkyrie quarters?”
“Yeah, exactly.”
“Then follow me. I'll show you the rooms for the Valkyries.”
Following Erekina, I saw that rooms had been prepared for me nearby.
“This room is about the same size as the one you're staying in, Kai. You can summon three Valkyries here.”
Diana had effectively given me three rooms in the mansion.
“Thanks.”
“Save your thanks for Lady Diana.”
“Right.”
Diana was indeed doing her utmost for me. I ate breakfast and dinner here every day without paying a single coin for meals.
Thanks to that, saving money had been easier.
I summoned Elastra, Jaira, and Heiji to the new room.
They were the ones I could use as main forces in the Golden Reed Forest.
Holla didn't consume much stamina, but Garujan wasn't as efficient there as Heiji.
The three newly summoned to the mansion greeted me first.
“Pilot. Thank you for summoning me.”
Elastra greeted me with an elegant, almost aristocratic demeanor.
“Pilot. Thank you. I will stand by your side.”
Jaira greeted me with the sturdy bearing of a knight captain.
“Pilot. Thank you. I will be of service.”
Heiji's expression was cold, but her sincerity shone through.
“Yeah. Looking forward to working with you all. And just call me Kai.”
“Understood, Kai.”
“Rest up today. Tomorrow, we'll all go shopping for outfits.”
“Oh... Sounds good, Kai.”
Elastra was the most thrilled by my words, though she didn't show it outright. Jaira and Heiji seemed pleased too.