Chapter 25
Translated by CleiZz
Edited by Eris421
***
“Come to Setiria.”
“……?”
The Hand of the Wind guild leader, who had just finished giving his thanks, froze at Ruel’s sudden suggestion.
“I hear there’s a lot of tax cuts here in Lumina.”
Tak.
Ruel tapped on the table.
“It’s not like you don’t know who Baron Matyros is. Turn this place into a branch office and move to Setiria instead. I’ll give you a good deal.”
The Hand of the Wind Guild trembled at the mention of Matyros, but the know-hows and management system they had was real.
‘I’m gonna take it.’
Ruel smiled at the bewildered guild leader.
The request center in Sisel Village was destroyed, so why not set a new one up and make it a guild?
“Do you know the location of our Setiria? There’s a Masu Forest nearby, so requests are always abundant. Interference? Don’t worry, I hate being bothered. As long as you don’t cross the line, I’ll close my eyes.”
“Pfft.”
Cassion laughed next to him.
Ruel glared at him and continued.
“What do you think? I can only say this orally for now, but I’ll write a contract to give you that much in detail.”
“… Really?”
“There was a commission in the Sisel Village. The Sisel Village is located close to the Masu Forest.”
The story was out of the blue, but the guild leader became focused. It felt like something great was about to happen.
“The request center crossed my line, so it disappeared. Our knights broke it in half.”
“It was pretty fun. When are you going to take that building apart?”
Ganien brought up the story with joy.
Although the guild leader hesitated, Ruel struck the desk again and made a clearer suggestion.
“Well, that’s it for the story anyway. I’d like to make it a guild and request center, what do you say?”
“Does that include the commission, too? But there’s a lot of resistance…”
“I am the Lord.”
Ruel looked at the guild leader as if he was casually talking about something.
“There are a lot of rotten places in Setiria, so the request center is probably the same. Shouldn’t all the rot be removed?”
The guild leader laughed as he saw the grand words coming out so casually.
“I was discourteous back then. Let’s officially greet each other. I’m Flenn, the guild leader of the Hand of the Wind. I look forward to our kind cooperation.”
“Of course… Speaking of which, I’ll leave you with a request.”
“It’s an honor to take your first request.”
The mindset of starting over wasn’t bad.
Ruel opened his mouth with a satisfied look on his face.
“Have you heard of Matyros keeping working slaves?”
“I heard, it’s not something a human can do.”
Flenn quietly showed his anger.
“We’re the adventurers who saved them. I now belong to the Hand of the Wind Guild, so sell it well.”
It was said that it was some adventurers who revealed Matyros’ whereabouts.
Flenn was surprised, and Ruel laughed.
“Our names are Han, Gaff and Cassion, don’t forget. I’ll be a signed adventurer in the future.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Anyway, get back to the request and make sure to take them safely to Setiria. The reward, well… It will definitely make the Hand of the Wind guild sign wonderful.”
“I’ll take responsibility for your request and complete it!”
“I’ll leave it to you.”
Ruel got up from his seat. He stepped out of the guild receiving Flenn’s farewell.
“Cassion, contact Minart to extend the building to the Sisel Village Request Center.”
Except for Minart, the Barons in Setiria had all been cut off, so there was no one else to direct.
‘This time, after getting the big money, I’ll have to chop up Setiria beautifully.’
The cornerstone for that was money.
It was unreasonable to find the merchants that Mineta had sold.
Then it was the only way to acquire a pretty decent merchant.
“I’m going to the Shio family.”
“I see.”
But before that, I had to meet one more debtor.
***
Today, as always, the name of the Blue Knight was thoroughly exploited. Who would dare refuse the Blue Knight?
Seeing the wide-open door, Ruel was satisfied.
“The more I use it, the more I feel it’s a good name.”
“Why don’t you make Cassion a Blue Knight? Even if he’s not an official knight, he can borrow the name.”
“Don’t even dream.”
Ganien giggled at Ruel’s stern words.
“My body is itching right now. If someone gives me a match, I think I’ll get better.”
“There are adventurers out there. So give them money and fight them until you are satisfied, not just one match.”
Cassion said politely with a smile on his face.
“It’s sad. No one knows the freshness of sweating while fighting.”
Flicking his sword, Ganien exposed his sullen face.
Fearing that they might end up in a bloody fight, Ruel calmed him down.
“Do it with Cassion when you have time.”
Ruel brought it up and stepped forward.
“Ruel, I’m a butler.”
“Since you’re a butler, you should listen to your master.”
“Are there ghosts that died because you couldn’t fight?”
Cassion looked at Ganien with an annoyed face.
It was because he had been keeping silent for so long. Spending several days keeping his mouth shut had made the irritation inside him accumulate.
“You’re a knight.”
“Your head has to be full of swords.”
He laughed at Ganien and followed after Ruel.
Ganien grasped the handle of his sword tightly.
‘It’s more fun when your opponent is just as intense.’
Ganien moved his feet thinking about how it was such a pity.
***
“Nice to meet you, Blue Knight. You have made a valuable step in the right direction. My name is Serti Shio, the second daughter of the Shio family.”
“I’m Ganien Croft, a member of the Blue Knights of the Cyronian Kingdom. It’s an honor to meet you.”
After greeting each other, Serti looked at the two men standing behind Ganien.
“And the one over there?”
“Ruel Setiria, this is my butler, Cassion.”
Serti’s eyes bent at the word Setiria.
It was a reaction that Ruel was familiar with. A look that said she thought she had the upper hand.
“You have come a long way, my Lord. I heard that you had returned, but I didn’t know you would come all this way.”
“I only come where I’m supposed to be, so don’t mind.”
“I’ll take you, this way.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
Cassion bowed his head. Serti’s eyes narrowed when he saw him.
‘You covet Cassion. When you don’t even know the subject.’
Ruel pretended not to know and followed Serti.
The sound of his cane rang loudly in the hallway.
“If it’s not rude, may I ask how you know each other?”
“He’s my only close friend.”
Ruel answered.
I didn’t forget to give strength to every word.
He had to make sure she knew he was on his side.
Serti looked at Ganien as if to seek confirmation.
He spoke calmly.
“He’s my best friend.”
“Is that so? I envy you because you both seem to be on good terms.”
If Hale, the eldest son of the Lumina family, was clumsy, Serti was a true noblewoman.
She hid her expression and intentions with laughter.
‘If Ganien had a different answer here, things would have changed.’
Just like with Hale of the Lumina family, Ruel was able to visit the Lord of the Shio family immediately.
But he didn’t do that. It was because each person had different values.
Corrence, the Head of the Lumina family, was a person who valued his honor more than his children. The Head of the Shio family on the other hand was very fond of his second daughter Serti.
“I’ll bring the tea.”
Serti said as soon as she sat us down in the drawing room.
Ruel refused, and Ganien agreed.
It was some time until the tea came.
Serti waited for Ruel to speak.
The one with the highest rank present was him.
“Cough, cough.”
A small cough followed, and Ruel relaxed his breathing using Breath.
“You must not be feeling well.”
Serti broke the silence under the pretext of anxiety.
‘Your patience is not as good as I thought.’
That’s great. I can add on a debt.
“Right, it’s not good.”
When Ruel simply accepted, Serti spoke with a slightly cold face as if she had lost interest.
“Health comes first in everything. I hope you get well soon.”
“Do you know what hurts the most?”
“I’m afraid I don’t know due to my short insight.”
“Money.”
Moving right to the point, Serti peeked at Ganien.
“… Would it be all right?”
“Of course.”
“I will tell you straight. I have no intention of reimbursing the money. It was possible to bring the knight and meet me, but I believe it would be unreasonable to go beyond that.”
Ruel laughed at the sound of her openly scolding himself.
“What are you talking about?”
“Didn’t you come here to meet me without revealing your name? If you were proud, you should have given your name.”
Serti raised the corners of her lips and spat out her words leisurely.
Ganien looked coldly at Serti.
“That said, can you handle it?”
“What do you mean?”
“The Blue Knight’s name was only used to meet you, didn’t you say that?”
“What nonsense.”
“Well. Did I hear that right?”
Tak. Tak.
Ruel tapped on the table.
“A knight does not hesitate to reveal his name anywhere, anytime. I didn’t reveal my name? Shouldn’t I be scolding the soldier who didn’t ask my name before? I didn’t tell you because you didn’t ask.”
Sitting deep in the chair, Ruel looked at Serti’s expression.
There was a slight wrinkle between her brows after eating one bite.
Serti gently put her hands together and bowed her head.
“I’m sorry. I never meant to tarnish the name of the Blue Knights.”
“I accept your apology with a broad heart.”
Serti couldn’t react any more, even though she was arrogant.
Everything was possible because he was a blue knight.
“I’ll tell you now that the situation has calmed down. One there is no debt. Two, give me back ownership of the mine you stole. Three–”
“Ha. It seems that the Lord is very sick. Seeing as you can’t judge the situation.”
Tak.
Before Ruel could bring it up, Ganien put a bunch of papers on the table.
“Look at this and judge for yourself if he doesn’t know the situation.”
“Sir Ganien, who do you think you are?”
Serti raised her voice proudly. Ruel smirked.
“You said it.”
“Lord, whoever you may be, I am also a noble of the Six Families. I’m not going to let anyone disrespect me anymore.”
“How rude.”
As he stretched his tongue, Ruel looked pitifully at Serti.
Serti’s face crumpled. It was an unpleasant look.
“Should we have been polite to the traitor?”
“Ruel Setiria! I told you I wouldn’t let it slide!”
Serti got up from her seat and grabbed the hem of her skirt and shook her hands.
“I can’t believe you called the name of the Lord. How impolite.”
“You’re the one who hasn’t been polite.”
“Oh, right. I haven’t heard any information from you yet. Well, I guess I’ll just have to tell you because I’ve lost all my will to listen.”
“…”
“You lent money to Mineta, didn’t you? I’ll tell you what happened to him.”
Ruel looked at Serti with such a fierce expression that he didn’t look like a sick man at all.
“Out of guilt for treason, he committed suicide. After all, he tried to open the gates of Setiria to an unknown group.”
Suddenly, he touched the papers in front of him.
“Read it. See just what kind of business you were involved in.”
After speaking, Ruel inhaled Breath.
Serti stood there until the tea came.
“Get out!”
She took her anger out on the servant and, after kicking the servant out, sat down again.
Every time she flipped a document page over, Serti ran out of breath.
Ruel said earlier that Mineta was associated with an unknown organization when she lent him the money.
Seeing Setiria’s state right now, what she did was more than just a sin.
‘…To the traitor, I lent money!’
Mineta, that man came to her and begged for money.
She was willing to give even though she knew it would destroy Setiria.
For the future.
She was envious of Setiria. Setiria which had everything, military, commerce, resource.
She was waiting for the day when it was completely destroyed.
Not long ago, she heard the news that the Head who was exiled had returned.
But so what?
Even if the Head returns, in less than two weeks, what can he do?
Today the Lord came. When I finally realized that the day had come, I was overjoyed.
Serti gripped the pile of papers tightly.
‘What is this!’
Before she even knew it, a sword was pointed at her neck, without a single sound.
“Three, don’t go after Setiria anymore. Four, no harm must be done to Setiria.”
The Lord laid out the conditions to the extent that he felt at ease.
Serti’s long eyelashes trembled.
“Five, swear your allegiance to me.”
As soon as she heard Ruel’s final condition, she felt the ground sink.
It was an irresistible condition.
If one was found guilty of treason, not only her own life but also her family’s life would be in danger. After all, treason was guilt by association.
“What’s your answer?”
She bit her lips until they burst. It was humiliating. It was a disgrace.
But Serti bowed her head.
“I’ll take it.”
At the end of her speech, she volunteered to sign the Mana contract.
Ganien nodded and Ruel got up from his seat.
“You shouldn’t have desired it.”
Serti closed her eyes tightly.
She had sworn allegiance, so if she did anything harmful to Ruel, her mana would flow back and she would die.
“Don’t worry. I will help you become the head of the household.”
Currently, Serti was the leading candidate for head of the Shio family.
It was because she was the only child of the court, a wizard.
For Ruel, it couldn’t have been better if Serti became the Lord.
Even though they seemed equal on the outside, the Shio family would now be under his feet.
“But I won’t forget your rudeness to me, your debt, You’ll pay me back soon.”
Tak. Tak.
The sound of the cane echoed cheerfully. The corners of Ruel’s mouth also went up.
Serti, who had been rolling her hands in debt, was an unexpected blessing. Now, the nobles of the two families were roasted and boiled.
‘Was there only the three families and the royal family left?’
“That’s weird.”
While Ruel was happily imagining, Ganien suddenly said something out of the blue.