Iconsidered asking one of the apprentices to do the honor of being the first to use the spiritual room only to change my mind a moment later. It’d be kind of fucked up to not test out my own purchase for safety. Just in case.
Having the entirety of the grassland as my domain meant that I’d essentially not run out of space to add new buildings for a while. I wouldn’t have any troubles upgrading from a small to a large farm.
“Are you done questioning Opal, Gwendolyn?” I asked, unable to keep the amusement out of my voice. The Red Star cleared her throat, trying to pretend that she wasn’t engrossed in her daughter’s gadget pixie.
“We’ll meet in town, at the mayor’s,” Gwendolyn said as she walked toward the open door of the Wingston carriage. It was almost like a small house, carried by two powerfully built horses.
“Mandi, why not catch up with your family?” I said. “It could be a while before they visit or we make any trips to Wingston.”
Seeing the point, the redhead agreed and entered the carriage, Opal following. I decided to keep Yukihara a secret for now. Not everyone needed to know about the book.
“Make sure to make fun of the twerp when you spot her working,” I said, kissing Milia before we boarded Beakwing.
Chenzu gazed at the farm once more as we took off, his eyes clouded in deep thoughts.
“Thinking about big plans for yourself?” I asked.
“No, that’s not it,” he said. “I just realized I’ve never had this much fun out here in nature, without alcohol, music, and a beautiful lady being involved. Even if she punched me in the face for getting too comfortable too early, or got angry for ending a song about her too early.” He looked at me. “Besides, the pay here is quite high for a measly farmhand. Add friends willing to traverse dungeons, this place, you, the dryad, and even the hero’s party, and I can’t help but wonder if Wanda dragged me into something way over my head.”
Milia rolled her eyes, smiling. “Whatever the case is, you’re stuck with us.”
Wolverine barked in response.
Chenzu chuckled. “You’ve got a point and yeah, you’re right, Wolverine,” he said.
I gaped at Chenzu. “Are you able to translate—”
“No,” Chenzu said, coughing once. “I’m just quite good at detecting the impressions and intent in beasts. There are some beastkin magicians with the talent, but they’re often treated like royalty, so good luck ever being allowed to get an audience. I understand Wolverine because of our canine roots.”
“I see,” I said. “So it’s no different than me. I can almost translate even Cheetara, though I won’t claim to be accurate.” I folded my arms. “But for some reason, they seem to understand me perfectly.”
Chenzu stared at me, but I didn’t elaborate on that.
Milia caressed Wolverine’s head. “Who’s my lovey cuddle muffin?”
I chuckled at Wolverine’s excitement.
Chenzu sighed. “He’s still a kid I suppose,” he said. “Wise for his age, but has a way to go before evolution.”
Cheetara awoke from her mini nap as we landed in Kyushu. The commotion near the back of the town was easily spotted in the air, so I informed Gwendolyn and the others, and we set off immediately.
Seeing the worried and uncertain expressions in the eyes of people we passed, I couldn’t help but wonder what could’ve possibly happened to gain this kind of reaction. The town had enough protection to make even the capital jealous, at least I thought. Knowing those assholes, they had probably an army of court magicians to spare…
I tossed the thought into the back of my mind as two familiar figures approached, waving from a distance. I waved back.
“What in Wanda’s jiggling rear end is going on?” Gwendolyn asked.
“Did a magician attack?” Manthis asked, taking the words right out of my mouth. He seemed to get closer to his wife for protection. She gave him a wry smile, catching his motions before he even realized it.
Maxus and Nuwa greeted us with bows. Normally the nun-like healer would even have a polite smile. Their eyes spoke only one word to me. Fear.
“It’s best if Ramon told you, since he witnessed the event,” Nuwa said.
Maxus nodded in agreement. “It’s a little hard to take in, but the energy that surged through the town before Wanda saved us couldn’t be mistaken,” he said.
“Wanda saved you?” Gwendolyn asked, skeptical. “Sir Nate, let’s go. I’m curious to hear what the hero has to say. Perhaps our combined strength may be needed.”
“Let’s try not to blow up the damn town,” I said, shaking my head. Sensing a little dread at the incoming story, I squeezed Milia’s hand softly. Her look of utmost confidence in me snuffed that dread away as if it didn’t exist. That and her smile.
Despite having apprentices and guests enter our lives, our romance only increased, though we kept it private. I wasn’t a fan of getting scandalous looks or glares from the teenagers, especially when they were on the clock. What? I didn’t pay them to slack off.
The crowd only seemed to thicken as we approached the jail. In fact, I realized that the most popular attraction in the place was the minor nobles. However, I did not spot the red armor of the kingdom soldiers anywhere, indicating that they hadn’t arrived yet to pick up the pricks.
“Sir Nate… you don’t think it’s another assassin?” Lucas asked in a hushed tone.
“God, I hope not,” I said, shuddering at the thought of being put through the bright attack again. It served as a reminder that I wasn’t invulnerable, that was for sure. Aside from the fallen angel and the Black Knight. There’s just no fucking way they could be considered weaklings. Especially the fallen angel. Chenzu wasn’t there, but it took everyone working together, pushing their limits, to bring her down. Without Nuwa and Milia, Atsuki would’ve killed us easily. And that was just one fallen angel.
I needed to create a potion that could counter darkness. Sure, relying on others wasn’t a bad thing, but I was still a potion maker, for fuck’s sake. I should be able to invent my way out of this… or see if any of the others created the solution. As if reading my thoughts—well, it clearly did—the system replied.
[Currently, there is no solution to counter the darkness of the fallen angel. Good luck!]
You know, there should be a limit of how evil a system could be.
After Manthis got the crowd to step aside, we entered the jail building. Ramon awaited us, dressed in the trousers and shirt of Kyushu, sitting at a table with the original warden. They were having a fearful conversation about something.
I glanced around at the disgusting dim place and took notice of the pale minor nobles in a large cell together, likely due to the lack of space. The jail only served as a temporary holding place before kingdom soldiers either from Wingston or another city came to take them away to be judged.
The nobles looked awful, pale. Two of them were even crying softly. I knew this wasn’t because of any torture, as Roman himself decided to take up the job as jailer after the Drew incident.
My eyes widened at the missing count.
“What the…?”
I turned to the hero, who threw a lazy wave upon noticing us, though Gwendolyn was already marching over there as if she owned the damn place. Damn nobles.
Sighing, I led the others over to the large table. This place smelled of stale air and probably a faint hint of piss, reminding me a little of a public bathroom from the old world, but I ignored it for the approaching story.
“What’s happened here already?” Gwendolyn said. “The suspense is grating my nerves.”
Ramon Thunderblade stared at her blankly, but I was surprised that the arrogance that always wanted to make me punch him in the face no longer existed. In fact, his expression turned to that of worry, fear, but determination, as if he was barely keeping himself together.
“Are you—”
“The count was more foolish than we could’ve ever calculated,” he began, talking over my inquiry. “At first, when he began talking normally for the first time, positively instead of insultingly, even expressing how his love for gold was foolish, I thought maybe he finally saw a little light. I would’ve asked the kingdom soldiers to recommend dungeon time over any execution. The Lord Ruler’s brutal beyond anything, but a recommendation from his soldiers would actually reach his ears.” Ramon shook his head. “I wasn’t in much of a talking mood, so I closed my eyes for a little meditation, but only moments passed before I felt it.” He shuddered, pale. “I felt the wrongness of him. The Peace Spawner’s presence. Greenish nasty light that made me want to hurl my lunch manifested beside that idiot, forming into one of his portals. The next moment, I heard a woman’s voice speaking to the count. A cultist, no doubt. She basically told everyone that he was responsible for whispering a summon. That bastard hoped to get the Peace Spawner to cause mayhem. But it backfired, the fool. She called him trash, refused to accept him into the cult. I thought it’d end there, but the cultist hated having her time wasted. Something… unholy, that looked like a hand, came out of that portal and grabbed ahold of the count. A demon’s hand, or maybe something worse… a true monster. It pulled him inside, and even if I wanted to help, its aura pinned us down like we were children stuck beneath a building.” The hero sighed. “I’ll be forever haunted by what we heard after he was dragged into the portal. His screams. His terrifying screams, and the obvious sounds of him being devoured like an afternoon snack. I believe I even heard an echo of her laughing. Wanda’s ass, that was one of the most terrifying moments of my life. Thank Wanda she didn’t so much as acknowledge our existence.”
The room bathed in uncomfortably deep silence. Even I didn’t know what to say to this event, having no experience with the Peace Spawner guy, but if his minions fucking ate anyone that said his name, summoned him that is, well, that could actually work as a deterrent to anyone thinking about using the dark lord in a bid of revenge.
“There is some good news, I think,” Ramon said, his eyes rife with uncertainty and still the unmistakable glimmer of fear.
“And that is,” Manthis said, pale, “if the Peace Spawner left his mark on this place, then it should be uninhabitable. How…?”
“I can’t prove it, but I believe Wanda herself saved us,” Ramon said. “Just as the aura of the Peace Spawner leaked from the portal, threatening to devour the entire area—I literally saw it rising like a funnel, a bright and powerful surge of energy and peace covered the area, probably for miles. You couldn’t have possibly missed that.”
“So that brief surge of comforting power came from here?” Gwendolyn asked, tilting her head, expression thoughtful. “I see. I thought it had something to do with Nate, since it felt awfully close to his mana.”
Everyone looked like me. I facepalmed softly. Milia chuckled.
“No, it had nothing to do with me,” I said. “We were actually out in a dungeon this morning.”
Ramon gaped at me. “Seriously, could you, like, not leave? Terrifying things seem to happen when you do.” His words were clearly joking, but deep within that voice still awaited an unmistakable fear.
“Take a deep breath,” I told him while waving off his comment. “Pull yourself together.”
“You were at the center of the burst, right?” Gwendolyn asked. “Could you not tell?
“After witnessing that horror, even you’d be too scared to be wondering about some aura,” Ramon said.
Manthis glanced at the terrified, jailed nobles. “Why are they in here, by the way?”
With a chance this golden, I explained the money-making scheme that crippled the town for God knew how long. The nobles paled when the tax collector glared daggers at them.
“This situation is part of the reason I wanted to speak with you,” I said, though to be honest, I was mostly talking to Gwendolyn, the actual person with power. Manthis collected taxes here all the time and likely heard something, but the Red Star herself only recently learned this place existed. Fucked up, but I’d work with this, especially knowing she wasn’t doing all of this out of generosity, but to curry favor.
“Let’s move the discussion out of here,” Gwendolyn said as she stood. “This place is already giving me the shivers.”
I stood up, more than ready to get the hell out of here.
“Would love to stop the assault on my nose,” Milia said, prompting a smile from me. I nodded and led the group out, which allowed the servants to come in with the jailed nobles’ food.
Along the way, the rest of the hero’s party ended up joining our group and soon, we flooded the mayor’s meeting room.
“Sir Wingston, Lady Red Star, it’s an honor to have you here,” the mayor said and even though I told him ahead of time, he still looked baffled. Maybe he didn’t believe that some new guy could actually bring in a big shot. Both heads of the Wingston family, with the true head calling me friend. He’d better direct his thanks to Milia, not me.
The dryad did tell me that her origin would be surprising. Given that she seemed well-versed in everything, she was almost certainly someone important. Perhaps calling her the daughter of Wanda was going too far, setting up expectations. For all I knew, she could be the humble daughter of a farmer.
Yeah, even I can’t think that one with a straight face. But there was simply no way for me to guess. I wondered if she’d hyped this up on purpose.
“Mayor Rue, I’ve received the full story of what happened here,” Gwendolyn said, her tone business-like. “Truthfully, I do not understand why the Lord Ruler would throw away even one of his towns. The purpose of a town is to grow, but cut off funding and it becomes an F-ranked backwater.” She leaned over, elbows on the table, as if to whisper something in conspiracy. Ronica glared or maybe lusted at the golden bracelets on the noblewoman’s arms. Mandi gulped, likely nervous over her mother’s potential declaration of not caring one bit and perhaps even going as far as suggesting people evacuate the town.
“Let’s cut the pretense,” the Red Star continued. “My husband and I have decided to finance this town.” She raised a hand. “Only because Nate told me how dire things were. You don’t have to pay me back, a small stake should do, but I’m only signing the deal because of Nate. Not to be discourteous, mayor, but…” She looked at the glaring Harmony. “You too, child. Your innocence reminds me of someone.” She looked right at Mandi, only briefly, before turning back to the mayor. “Mayor, you allowed this scheme to go on for a long time, at the expense of your people, desperate for funding. When in reality, you should’ve taken the iron fist approach.” She raised her heavy aura, preventing the protests of the mayor and his daughter. “This may not be something you want to hear, but it is shameful that a former army captain let a bunch of pathetic minor nobles run him over. Meanwhile, Nate rounded them up, exposed their schemes, and even sought help in your stead. Mayor Rue, the point of being a mayor isn’t to rely on the capital but build enough of a funding pool to become self-sustaining in the case of them failing you. Which they have. Why the Lord Ruler put you in charge is unbelievable, but I suppose we’re also to blame as well. There is a chance he expected us to help, though with no orders and capital compensation, I have my own problems to deal with. Your people were moving into Wingston anyway.” She sat up, pulling papers from a storage ring, ignoring the shocked and angry look from Mayor Rue.
“Try not to take it personal, mayor,” Manthis said. “It’s just the way she is. Try having her as a wife.”
Gwendolyn glared at him. Manthis simply shrugged, smiling at her. The exchange dissipated the tension in the room, to my relief. I was actually agreeing with the hot-headed Red Star. The mayor didn’t take a commonsense approach to governing.
“Wait,” I said, glaring at the paper. “Why are you signing it in my name? I’m not the mayor.”
“You should be, or become the lord of the place,” Gwendolyn said. “How about it? Lord Nate and Lady Milia.”
I sighed. “No.”
“Why not?” Manthis asked, his voice curious. “You haven’t been here that long and care about the town more than anyone.”
I shook my head at that logic. “I’m not qualified for politics. I’m a potion maker. Call the mayor what you want, but he’ll still have my support. He made a mistake. Let’s give him a chance to make things right.”
Gwendolyn shrugged. “I’m still placing the funds in your name.” She looked up at the mayor. “I’m only here because of Sir Nate. You have an asset that nation rulers and sect monarchs would kill for.” She sighed. “It’s a shame this town gets to be the lucky one to host him. The gold is in his name for security purposes. If you try anything, you will be arrested for both fraud and scheming against a civilian.”
“My father’s not a schemer,” Harmony snapped. “He also wasn’t qualified when the Lord Ruler threw him in this position, but he did everything in his power to keep the town running, even if it meant submitting a little to those nobles. Where could he turn to when no one would help? Sir Wingston stops by monthly to collect taxes, and sometimes a meal. Yet he turned a blind eye to it.”
“Hence why I said we’re also to blame,” Gwendolyn said. “It still doesn’t undo the undeniable fact that the mayor’s weakness led to him being taken advantage of. We’re not responsible for aiding a town four days away. We’d go bankrupt if we tried helping every place we visited.”
“You do have my apologies, but with this funding, all costs will be covered for a few years or so,” Manthis said. “Plenty of time to turn things around. Staff wages, buildings, building repairs, market revival, job creation, construction, and even vacations.”
“But if something happens to Nate, like, you know, an assassin, I will personally come to burn this town down,” Gwendolyn said. “My blood is here, after all. And her future is important.”
