Chapter 36 : Chapter 36
Chapter 36
“……”
The Count said nothing.
He moved his lips as if to speak several times, but they soon closed tightly, and a sense of his characteristic stubbornness could be felt from them.
‘He doesn't want to make excuses.’
He was a Master-level knight.
One who could stop an army with his own strength.
There must have been circumstances I did not know, but he probably did not want to make excuses or ask for forgiveness now.
“I will be on my way.”
To think that after standing and staring for so long, all he said was that he was leaving.
I smirked and watched the Count as he turned his back.
There was no farewell to see him off, no parting greeting.
The Count, who had been walking with heavy steps, stopped at the entrance of the reception room and muttered as if to himself.
“Be wary of the royal family and the Empire.”
And then, without any further explanation, he walked out.
“Kuuuugh.”
As soon as the Count left, Ian collapsed onto the floor.
It was a miracle and an astonishing display of obsession that he had been able to stand until now with his body in a state of mana exhaustion from having scraped together all his mana.
Having no strength to even move to the sofa, he lay on the cold marble floor and looked up at the chandelier illuminating the ceiling.
“Damn old geezer.
If you're going to leave, leave quickly, and if you're going to give a warning, at least be a little more specific.”
He was a man with no redeeming qualities whatsoever.
“Ha… did I overdo it?”
Now that the Count was gone, a wave of regret washed over me.
If I had just cajoled and soothed him a little, I might have been able to receive his help.
“No.
If I had asked for his help, he would have thought I was just that kind of person.”
Since I said it was my war, I had to end it with my own hands.
Even Mogul would not be able to ignore the visible results.
“Still, it wasn't without its achievements.”
I checked the message shining on one side.
[Greed of the Gold Fiend has been successfully activated.]
[You have acquired the trait of ‘The Iron Wall of Moner - Mogul’.]
[You have acquired the trait, Struggle Desire of the Giant King.]
It was not enhanced because I had not acquired it through The Capable Incompetent, but it was the very trait that had raised Mogul to the Master level.
I moved my weakened arm and quickly checked the trait.
[Struggle Desire of the Giant King ]
The endless fighting spirit of the king who ruled the giant race.
- All weapon proficiencies increase more rapidly.
- You do not tire easily in battle.
- You acquire mana every time you win a battle.
I checked again and again, unable to believe the incredible trait.
“Acquire mana every time I win a battle?
Could it be that it increases my mana pool?”
In this world, mana could only be increased through long hours of training with mana breathing methods or by consuming various elixirs.
No matter how talented one was, it was impossible to gain more mana than the time spent training.
Wasn't that why even the Black Noble Troop, composed solely of geniuses with traits, had only reached the end of the 3rd class and could not overcome the wall to the 4th?
“So that's why Mogul had such an absurd amount of mana.”
I recalled Mogul, who had felt like a great mountain just by standing there.
Behind his underlying strength, which had felt like a vast ocean due to how much mana he possessed, must have been this very trait.
Having served as the defender of Moner, he must have fought dozens of battles a day.
As I was smiling to myself at the satisfactory reward, Reina opened the door and approached.
“Young Master, shall we go back now?”
Reina, who had seen Ian in a state of mana depletion several times already, was not at all surprised to see him sprawled on the floor.
“Yes.
I don't have the strength to move.
Can you carry me to my room?”
With those words, Ian let go of the consciousness he had been forcibly holding onto.
“Then, excuse me, Young Master.”
Soon after, Reina carefully lifted Ian as if holding a princess, but Ian, who had already departed for dreamland, could not have known.
* * *
The next morning.
From dawn, Ian had a servant gather Lina, Rylae, and all the members of the Black Noble Troop at the Auditor's Department.
“…Young Lord, why on earth are we here… more importantly, why am I……”
Bain, whose office had been suddenly taken away, looked tearful, but the Golden Goblin's was too small for all the members of the Black Noble Troop to gather, so I could only think of the training ground or this place.
“You listen too and tell me if you have a good plan.
If we are to wage a war, three months from now is the opportune time.
An alliance that has been shaken once is never solid.
While they are busy suspecting each other, right before they collapse, we can land a blow.”
Ian explained in as much detail as possible.
Until now, he had not bothered to explain any of his plans due to the trust and favorability debuffs, but now, he had to borrow even a cat's paw to create a plausible plan.
“The most important thing is troops.
We need a force that can make one of the three domains flinch.
Like the current Black Noble Troop.”
Ian raised his head and met the eyes of the Black Noble Troop, who were looking at him.
The jewels he had uncovered with his own strength, the hidden daggers that even the Master-level Mogul had no choice but to acknowledge.
“We need to be able to recruit a lot of people.
There's the method of recruiting from all over the domain like last time, but the farther we get from the Lord's Castle, the fewer applicants there will be, right?”
Bain, who had been listening quietly with his head down, asked with a bewildered expression.
“So, you are saying you are looking for people who need to find any work because they lack food and clothes, and who have no homes or families?”
The description was strangely negative.
“…That's right?”
“Then aren't those slaves?”
Twitch.
Before I could say a word, Lina, who had been listening to the story, frowned and stepped forward first.
“No, the Lord said he would provide pay and lodging in full……!”
“Ah, no, that's not it, Miss Lina, please listen.
Slaves and beggars would not have homes, and if they have families, they can come here with them, and wouldn't they come with open arms if we just provide them with food?”
Lina was still frowning as if she did not like it, but my thoughts were different.
“That's an interesting idea.”
Come to think of it, there was no rule that I had to find people only within the domain.
Unlike Moner, which suffered from a chronic labor shortage, the domains right next to it were overflowing with slaves and beggars.
However, the troops I wanted were only people with traits.
Simply gathering people would not do the trick.
Ian's eyes turned to Rylae, who was standing on one side.
“Guild Master, didn't you say you're still short-handed?”
“Since our guild has to take on almost all the work that the three guilds used to do, we are bound to be short-handed.
Thanks to the friends we newly ‘hired’ this time, we've put out the urgent fire, but we are still far from enough.”
At those words, Ian smiled broadly.
“Then let's proceed with additional hiring.
The Black Noble Troop will plunder the slave trader caravans entering the three domains, and the slaves will be hired by me, the Golden Goblin, and the domain.”
Lina, who had been listening quietly, tilted her head and asked.
“Plunder the slave trader caravans?”
To plunder the slave traders, who were called devils.
Wasn't that like robbing a thief?
“The slave traders are all likely connected to the lords of each domain.”
Rylae, standing next to her, expressed her concern with a worried face.
As the profession of a slave trader itself was not respectable, most slave trader caravans operated with the lord's permission, hiring guards and mercenaries.
“It's fine.
They'll have a lot on their minds anyway.
Since they are all our customers, let them go alive if possible, and when we rob Lyt and Merchen, we'll use the crest of the Obsol family's knights, and when we deal with Obsol, we'll use the crest of the Lyt family's knights.”
He did not know how many times they could play bandits over the three months, but it would be quite entertaining.
It would be a problem if they just robbed them once and annihilated the merchant guild.
Ian licked his lips at the thought of acquiring cheap labor and continued.
“Guild Master Rylae, please put out recruitment notices not just in our domain, but in the three domains as well, in the name of the Golden Goblin.
Say that we don't look at status or gender.
But, let's have an age limit.”
He recalled the mercenary captain who was probably locked up somewhere in the Lord's Castle prison.
The faint light of talent he had seen at the Merchants’ Association.
They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks.
He would have to meet them later to know for sure, but those with a brighter light than a faint one would surely have a higher probability of awakening their traits.
“In addition to that, we must use every possible means to increase the number of our domain's people.
It would be good to increase the number of immigrants by sending people to spread rumors in the three domains that there might be a war.”
Since he had found 20 members of the Black Noble Troop in Central Hold alone, if he combined the three domains and Lier, he might be able to form a force of at least 100.
‘If it's a special forces unit composed entirely of people with traits, it's enough.’
Whatever they imagined, he would be able to show them a military force beyond that.
* * *
“The Empire……?”
Count Lyt looked at the man reflected in the crystal ball as if he could not believe it.
Demded, the manager of Gold Crow and one of his most trusted subordinates, continued.
“Yes.
Judging from the situation, it seems certain.
They said they have even finalized a food supply contract with the Lord's Castle.”
“Ha……”
At the appearance of a completely unexpected dark horse, the Count furrowed his brow.
“So, the managers of the other two domains are dead?”
“Yes, notices have been posted in every square saying that they will make an example of them by beheading the wicked group that played with food.”
“Could it be that they would……”
The situation was more serious than he had thought.
Internally, Obsol was targeting Lyt and Merchen, and without his knowledge, Moner had the Empire at its back.
“So, what do you think we should do?”
The Count continued with a troubled face.
“If they killed both managers, we should consider both merchant guilds finished, right?”
“Yes.
I haven't heard the news from Lier yet, but they are seizing all the assets of the two merchant guilds here.
It seems that a notice will soon be issued to banish the two guilds from the domain.”
At the much more resolute decision of Moner than he had expected, the Count swallowed a groan.
To kill the two managers, who were as good as vassals of the domain, without any notice, was no different from declaring they would be on bad terms with the two domains.
“…For now, we must cooperate closely with the Empire.
It's unlikely they will move right away, but when they do, we must be the first to know.”
“Understood.”
After pondering for a moment, Count Lyt asked towards the other side of the crystal ball.
“By any chance, who does the Empire think is behind this incident?”
The Lyt domain was in a difficult situation because of his daughter who had returned safely alone.
Unlike the Centaur Merchant Guild, where the bandits claimed to have killed all the workers, or Thierre, who returned with everyone injured in the thigh, the fact that only Snail of Gold Crow had returned without a single scratch had led Obsol to openly claim that Lyt was the attacker.
Merchen still seemed to be suspicious of Obsol, but if the fact that only the Gold Crow merchant guild had survived in the Moner domain spread, they would not be able to avoid further suspicion.
“…The Empire said that since no merchant guild succeeded in this trade route, it seems at least two domains have made a move.”
“Kugh……”
The Count also agreed.
If any domain had carried it out alone, then eventually one merchant guild should have reached Central Hold without any loss.
“Then in the end……”
“Yes.
The Golden Goblin's guild master, who is a secret agent of the Empire, seems to be suspecting the two domains other than ours.”
At those words, Count Lyt's complexion darkened.
To think that the solidarity of the three domains, which had lasted for over ten years, would be shaken now.
“Be careful of the two domains.”
The Count's gaze trembled as he looked at Demded, who had finished his report.
“It seems a storm of blood will blow for a while.
Demded, you too, do not forget my words.”
A large-scale reorganization of the merchant guilds in Moner, and an endless power struggle in the three domains to find the culprit of this incident, would surely continue.
“In a dangerous situation, you must keep a low profile.
Stay by the Empire's spy's side as much as possible, watch the situation, and cooperate with them.”
It was an evening where the Golden Goblin unexpectedly came to receive the full support of the Gold Crow.