The Top-Tier Butler of the Marquis Family

Chapter 085

Because I had been so focused on the duel, I had neglected Avengers business a little. In fact, ever since taking over the Black Pig Gang, I had not been able to visit even once.

I was not too worried.

Kalmond and Eluna would be handling things just fine on their own. The old Scorpion Gang had been a fairly large organization in its day as well, so absorbing another one should not present much of a problem.

Still, I needed to show my face at least once. The Remnants had not yet been completely wiped out, after all.

On the day we took over the Black Pig Gang’s headquarters, I had told the subordinates that I would go to the tavern the next day and hear their report. If I suddenly failed to appear, they might grow uneasy. After all, I had heard that assassination was truly common in this world.

“So then, let’s postpone today’s training until dawn. Something’s come up.”

Late at night, I went to the Knight Order headquarters, called Arthas out, and said exactly that. Naturally, he looked displeased.

“If we start training at dawn, when exactly are we supposed to sleep? It’s already exhausting enough these days since we train for so long.”

“Well, isn’t sleeping just a matter of getting enough so you don’t doze off? Besides, being tired after training is only a natural bodily reaction.”

“Hah. That would be fine if it were normal tiredness. You’re supposed to be a butler, yet your stamina’s absurdly good!”

Arthas frowned, but in the end he nodded.

“Do whatever you want. Then I’ll see you at the Training Ground after midnight.”

Lately, Arthas had actually begun looking forward to our swordsmanship training. He said that in the course of teaching me, he was coming to realizations himself.

Since it helped both of us, it was a good thing. It also meant I felt less guilty about being the one mostly taking from the arrangement.

After speaking with him, I left the Knight Order headquarters.

Since the duel with Sir Lorenz, Arthas had changed a little. Whenever the topic was martial skill before, he always spoke to me as though I were beneath him. But now, he treated me more like a companion.

That was only natural.

He was the one teaching me swordsmanship, yes, but the Aura I could manifest far surpassed his.

It was not that I wanted to divide things into superior and inferior. I was simply glad that we seemed to have grown closer.

It would be perfect if we became true close friends and he eventually joined in my great ambition. In any case, he too was a hardworking genius, so there was a high chance he would become a knight and take on an important post within the Knight Order.

Bonds forged while people were still growing always lasted far longer than ties formed once they were already fully grown.

“I suppose I should head out now. Ah, right, I need to bring the blueprints too. Though I do wonder if there isn’t some way to receive news from the Avengers more conveniently while staying inside the mansion.”

As I returned to my quarters, I sank into thought.

Something like a communication device would certainly be convenient, but I still did not dare aim that high.

Of course, this world had Messenger Pigeons as well.

But if pigeons started flying into the mansion at all hours, it would be risky. It could easily arouse suspicion and expose my trail.

After all, what kind of Butler Apprentice would be using Messenger Pigeons?

“For the time being, I’ll have to go hear things in person. I’ll be staying in the Royal Capital soon, so I ought to go over and leave a lot of instructions while I still can.”

I also intended to use this opportunity to finally take care of the new product manufacturing I had been putting off. The artisans I had gone to all the trouble of finding were lounging around with far too little to do.

The first things I intended to make were fountain pens and ballpoint pens.

Naturally, in terms of sheer convenience, the ballpoint pen was overwhelmingly superior. But the premium appeal of a fountain pen could not be ignored. That faint scratching sensation from the nib would undoubtedly capture the hearts of the nobles.

So I planned to release the ballpoint pen as a standard model, and the fountain pen as a luxury model.

Of course, all of that would only succeed if the artisans could properly create the things I had designed.

“The blueprints did come out rather well.”

Back in my quarters, I spread out the blueprints and examined them. Back in my undergraduate days, I had once drawn up object diagrams as a hobby, and that experience was finally proving useful.

Finding a material that could replace plastic would be difficult, but perhaps there might be some substance in this world that existed nowhere else.

“I’ll leave the finer details to the artisans. For now, let’s go.”

When I stepped outside the mansion, the night had deepened, and the moon shone brightly overhead. I walked along the moonlit road toward the tavern where Eluna worked.

By pouring Mana into my legs and moving quickly, I reached it before long.

“Packed again today.”

Even before I opened the door, I could hear the loud and lively voices of people inside. Creak. The moment I opened the door and stepped in, a rush of hot air hit me full in the face.

That was how many people were inside, all giving off heat as they enjoyed their drink and conversation.

At this point, the tavern was becoming one of the village’s signature places. The alcohol was good, but that was not all. Eluna’s exceptional beauty and elegant way with words played no small part in it.

“Welcome!”

I acknowledged the greeting with a slight nod and looked around.

Eluna was tending to customers at the bar. As time passed, the number of patrons had only increased, and now there was hardly a seat left.

Still, I had already made arrangements.

There was no need to make Eluna suffer through hard work when money was already overflowing. So Kalmond had doubled the number of employees compared to before. Even if Eluna stepped away for a while, it would not cause the slightest issue.

Already wearing the Face Mask, I walked up to her.

“You look quite busy. At this rate, opening an actual tavern of your own wouldn’t be such a bad idea.”

“You came? It’s been a while.”

Recognizing me through the Face Mask, Eluna smiled. I glanced around once, then stood beside the bar.

“Nothing unusual happened, right?”

“Nothing in particular. Would you like me to make you something to drink?”

“I’ll drink next time. Let’s step outside first.”

“Please wait just a moment.”

After switching places with another server, she followed me outside.

But unexpectedly, someone else followed us out as well.

At first, I thought he had simply come out because he had to relieve himself, but even when we headed around to the back of the tavern, he kept trailing us. There was only one of him, but something felt off.

The surroundings were dark, so I could not see his face well, but I could at least tell that he was large.

An assassin sent by the Remnants of the Black Pig Gang?

I pulled back my robe slightly and rested a hand on the Mana Pistol at my waist.

Just because we had seized the headquarters did not mean the bastards had vanished from history altogether. The scattered Remnants might gather their strength and launch an attack.

To prepare for any possible Ambush, I heightened my Sensory Perception.

Even from some distance away, I could clearly feel the way he walked, the posture he held, and the speed at which he was approaching.

At that moment, Eluna touched my shoulder.

“Master. It’s all right. He’s one of our regulars. He’s not dangerous.”

“Really?”

Eluna, whose night vision was far sharper than mine, said it casually. In that case, he was not an assassin, but more like an older drunkard of an admirer. And judging by the look of him, he was thoroughly drunk.

As he drew closer, I could see his face clearly. It was bright red, and there was a liquor bottle in his hand.

“What are you trying to do with our lovely Eluna? Don’t bother her! Shoo! Off with you!”

I looked at Eluna.

She merely smiled and shrugged. Even after that, the drunkard made a scene and tried to lunge at me.

I could not let this continue any longer.

Quietly drawing my pistol from my waist, I set the Mana-output lever to Low and fired one shot.

Thunk!

“Guek! Uwaaaagh!”

The bullet struck him squarely in the stomach. He vomited up a mouthful at once, then collapsed to the ground. He looked no different from a man who had simply passed out drunk.

The round I fired did not inflict a penetrating wound. It had been designed to use Mana to deliver shock alone. To him, it probably felt as though he had just taken a massive blow to the abdomen.

Eluna sighed, then smiled again.

“You’re quite skilled.”

“As if I could compare to you. You’re quite popular, after all. You even have people following you around like that.”

“I think the same is true of you, Master. I can roughly guess where you are, and you must be rather popular there as well, aren’t you?”

“Hahaha. Well, not a small amount.”

At first, our relationship had been purely professional, but somehow it had changed into one where we could exchange little bits of casual conversation like this. It made me think that the two of us had grown fairly close.

“By the way, I was worried when you did not come on the day you said you would. Sir Kalmond kept dropping by to ask about it as well. The subordinates have been wanting to see you too.”

“There ended up being more work than I expected. I was worried about all of you in my own way as well.”

“That is kind of you.”

Eluna smiled and nodded.

She seemed to have already noticed my true identity.

You could fool human eyes, perhaps, but not an elf’s senses.

In that case, would it not actually be all right to share my daily life with her? One day, I was planning to reveal my identity to her outright anyway.

As long as secrets remained, people would always suspect me at least a little. If the chance came, it would be better to uproot that doubt entirely.

But I still needed more time. My position within the House was not yet stable. I was entangled with the Young Masters, and I had not even removed the apprentice label from myself yet.

One day, I might have to choose between the two lives.

But for now, I intended to continue this thrilling double life.

“Anyway, sorry about that. You’ve got a lot to report, don’t you? How are things with the organization? It sounds like there should be plenty to deal with.”

Eluna folded her hands politely and began her report.

“We’ve taken over all the establishments managed by the Black Pig Gang. And the disposal of the treasures is nearly complete as well.”

“Really?”

“As you instructed, we greatly expanded the size of the organization, selected thirty elites into a Special Unit, and recruited new members as well. At the moment, around one hundred men are battle-ready.”

“A hundred men? About what level does that put us at in the Underworld?”

“The upper ranks. Of course, each organization tends to have one or two aces of its own, so I cannot say anything in purely absolute terms, but it is certain that the other organizations can no longer treat us lightly.”

I nodded in satisfaction.

What mattered was that others could no longer easily lay a hand on us. That meant we could quietly store up strength.

With the right investment and a bit of fortunate timing, the organization was growing at a rapid pace.

“You’ve all been carrying out my instructions very well. We agreed not to take Protection Money anymore, right?”

“Of course. The merchants are very pleased.”

“Naturally. They’d been bleeding those people dry in the name of protection fees. This must have been hard on them all this time. We should use this chance to build favorable public opinion among the merchants.”

“That won’t be difficult. In exchange, though, we’re planning to take over the establishments that were run directly by the Black Pig Gang and operate them ourselves.”

That could not be helped. This went beyond mere protection fees. I had expected as much from the beginning. After all, I intended to move into merchant operations and various business interests anyway.

“We’ll need to create an organization capable of managing all that.”

“By a management organization, you mean a company?”

“That’s right.”

When I said company, I did not mean anything as grand as what existed in the world I used to live in. Here, all you had to do was obtain permission from the lord of the Territory to engage in business interests, and you could receive a license.

There was also the option of founding a guild, but that was a slightly different sort of path, and I chose the approach I was more familiar with.

“That’s already being prepared. Once the Establishment Approval comes through from the government office, we’ll be able to start operating immediately.”

“Everything’s going very smoothly.”

“That concludes my report.”

It was an impressively crisp report. She would really be useful in all sorts of ways if I had her as a secretary.

“But now that you’ve come, would it not be better if you visited the hideout as well? Sir Kalmond said that if you came, I absolutely had to pass that on to you.”

“I was already planning to go straight there. It’s about time I started making things too.”

“What kind of things are you planning to make?”

“Magic pens.”

“Magic pens?”

“That’s right. You’ll be surprised when you see them.”

If I spoiled it in advance, it would ruin the fun, so I wrapped the matter up there and left.

After walking quite a distance, I happened to look back, only to find that Eluna was still watching me. Was she trying to see me off? When our eyes met, she bowed her head slightly.

The more I looked at her, the more charming she seemed.