Chapter 57: Suspiciously… (2)
qpPIt wasn’t an overstatement to say that the Duff Village, which was sitting at the entrance of the southern plains that slowly grew to the size of a village from a carriage platform, was living off of that industry.hz64uH
5nELMloMac, who was in charge of the wyvern landing zone, was one of those people. His job was to manage the safe landings of wyverns and the ‘monster carriers’ on the landing zone of the village.QLi
GOx[This is Reff One. This is Reff One. Approaching Duff for the VIP.]XKj6HEI
tObEpm“Mr. Mac! Reff One is here!”Ou93x
hNs“I heard that too!”27vL
cQ8RReff One. That was the broad title of the wyvern squads and the monster carriers of the Dunareff Family, which was in charge of the hyper-mega plantation all across the vast plains of the south.Oik87FJ
Vg8dieq“Was something happening at the Dunareff this month?”8h8
xKMFLeL“Umm~. It’s probably because of the Academy holiday.”xKI
mpeq“So the Princess is coming back, huh.”Wh5K
U7vBEvIn the southern regions of the continent, the Dunareff family was overwhelmingly more famous than even the royal family. There was no way the people wouldn’t know about the genius mage who regularly returned to the household every holiday.58Nd
p02While the guardians representing the east were the Sword Emperor Garrand and Sword Master Lunia, the people of the south were supporting Marie as the future representative of the south in a war of regional pride.ltuxK
947d“Ah ah. This is Duff. We will now organize the landing zone. Cat 1. Cat 1. A visual reference confirmation is required when 200 feet in the air.”RT8j
Fsj0jdZ[Roger that. We will arrive in 10 minutes. We are slowly lowering the altitude.]DMV
a5moe– Copy that.X8xq5xq
ZnfjvSMMac used a magic communication device to announce to the workers of the wyvern landing zone.Ounv
NvGGMf“Reff One. Reff One is about to land soon. Bring the wyverns of the zone indoors. And make sure you clean up the area.”feChk
HoCCwSome organization work was mandatory when there was a VIP. Stopping the other wyverns from setting off and landing on the area, they readied themselves to accept Reff One.M4Zt
nGfXE03[This is Reff One. Landing soon.]iDa8
JbA“Roger that. Reff One.”9SHMHBs
DX2k4NMac replied while looking at the squad of flying beasts that were slowly coming down from the air.wfm
MgpT“Now now. Reff One is about to land. That means Ms. Marie is also going to come very soon! Get ready for some hot, burning welcome!”8dB
gLb9oWhile the squad of wyverns were coming to pick up Marie, the workers of the landing zone dropped everything they were doing and prepared themselves to welcome the VIP.ph5
rDogbJa****yxj
ADiJ4Wyverns were expensive.cCWwNBD
rlTtf10Like, I wasn’t just throwing that out there because I didn’t know about their exact price; they were extremely, extremely expensive.5N3Q4
eo3Q2uSometimes on the news, they show how fighter planes and helicopters cost this and that, right?8HCAn
IFtf5J0Wyverns were exactly the same.JCwYNn7
35E550 gold coins. 5.5 white gold coins.j13VCC
oYOB4zThat was about 550,000 in dollars, but that was the bare minimum, and wyverns with a good heritage easily went over 10 white gold coins.i0P
BnrJsBut that wasn’t even the end. The cost to maintain wyverns was also abnormally ridiculous.FjfR5F
49UMaintenance fees, hiring riders, training fees, and food. I heard how each wyvern costs about 60 gold coins each year.No1AxdQ
blCOIn the game, you only had to buy it once, and that was it, but here, you had to consider the maintenance fees on top of that so buying wyverns in real life was definitely not an easy feat.MEnRSOD
z6PO“Wow… there’s a whole squad of them.”c0F
5YaLOSo in other words, that meant that those 12 wyverns that were swarming in from the distant sky cost at least 6,600 gold coins and ate up 720 gold coins each year.XrLVNJ
KNEIt was scary how that was still the bare minimum cost.ck0ks2U
G6TJapc“Huh? Poppy’s not here? Ah, he swapped places with Jun from the 8th Squad, huh! Maybe he’s sick?”IEoi
ssw4kcO~kay then!! Right now, the minimum number of wyverns in Senior Marie’s family just soared all the way up to 96. 96 wyverns meant it was at least 52,000…OyVgPlf
R62cz8“Oh, shit… This is making me dizzy.”P6Z
fUxI didn’t even know what to say after thinking about the sheer cost of that thing. But there was more.53zZTtZ
5C5“Y, you also have… a monster carrier?”VoXf0
zS4lCzWyverns weren’t the only ones that were slowly descending from the sky. There was also a monster carrier that was carrying a whole ‘house’.cSSxnxv
Gxt2VEMonster Carriers.NmYYf
h3KTIt was a common way to refer to enormous flying monsters that were domesticated through long years of genetic modification and training.X7BOEY
ib0GAlthough they were demonic beasts by nature, these docile monster carriers that were a result of several genetic modifications were able to carry more than 50 tonnes and still carry out a stable flight.KzlUoAq
flDpThe one coming down right now was an eagle that was mainly white. One thing to note was that it was even bigger than 6 wyverns combined.XHNkA
JW8IlUv“…Hresvelgr.”wjy
8NRbW7“You know what it is!?”cQmzegJ
LoLX4EoOf course I did, because that was the end-game mount of ❰Heroic Legends of Arhan❱.Sif7
6LreThat was the final mount of the game that could only be earned after collecting materials like a madman and doing everything, including a special egg quest, training quest, private nest construction, and more.3Bjj
AbYOcJYou had to have a Hresvelgr to call yourself a veteran on the web because otherwise you’d be flamed.gn0ISbw
oLYkIAs for the price… I’d just say that it’s more expensive than the most expensive price of that wyvern squad. It wasn’t an end-game mount for nothing.ZCxdyeW
oKY4hkF– GuungcrWX9F
wo78OhIThe fact that the Hresvelgr gently placed down the large cubical ‘building’ hanging on its neck on the ground without even making any noise, was proof of how perfectly trained it was.mMR
NzCw9Soon, the wyverns also landed one by one, and an experienced middle-aged veteran came down from the biggest wyvern.1Rql
HpQ6BDv“Lady Marie!”YZi6prm
eFEjQ“Uncle Verg!”xcfUK0
59VcKB7Marie was about to approach the man called Verg, but he politely stopped her before gesturing at his men with his eyes.u6Mo1
fIq– Toot toot!gcw9AG
U4BOsAlong with a noisy fanfare, an old gentleman and an old lady wearing butler clothes came out of the cubical ‘building’ and walked up after rolling a red carpet in front.Xkcc
Rhvg“Great job studying as always, Ms. Marie.”L7h0TjM
9NuOqjf“Grandpa Paul~. Seriously. I’m telling you, you don’t have to do this every time.”enu20
KGZ0X“That won’t do. After all, you are the first daughter of the Dunareff of the South, Miss.”nnf5r
pI7f0a3Butler Paul, with a benevolent look on his face, greeted Marie before turning towards me.KoB
oU7g“This gentleman over here is…?”57u6
Iiaph6X“Ah, he’s Korin! Korin Lork! He’s a freshman this year!”rnUhMq
vCs“Ah~. So he is the one…”6zO
ZP6Paul walked up to me and suddenly grabbed onto my hands.F2UvG
ryTz“Thank you sir. Thank you so much… for saving our miss. It is an honor to see you.”SXYb
8jBu7t“Umm… okay.”uUJ
4LIbYdIt seemed that they were already aware of what had happened to Marie. Paul wasn’t the only one – all the wyvern riders and workers simultaneously lowered their heads at me.XDKMLk
Gjrk0Yd“T, thank you?”XtjQt
jYX7Honestly… I was quite overwhelmed by the wyverns and the Hresvelgr in front, so I didn’t even know what I was supposed to say.ygBS
Deiof51“Now! Please come into the guest room!”Jyj43m
DYLOOv“Thank you for everything!”dXXFM
VIkILQAfter shouting that, Marie greeted all the wyvern riders and nonchalantly walked on top of the red carpet all the way into the so-called guest room.WkEPt
stn“What are you doing, Korin? Hurry up and come inside!”NWwbhQq
MzsNnk“…”BSS
RZRPVMUOn top of the ‘guest room’, the Hresvelgr was looking down at me with a majestic gaze.VV4PSxT
Oq3jfjDamn it… I seriously want one of these.yQp
yZw5uBy the way, I only gained access to the Hresvelgr at the end of the game scenario. I barely got to ride this handsome eagle towards the end and yet…5BToyC
ofx****ugF95wb
7WtDunareff Family.NbiaM
Euuj23IThey were apparently the practical rulers of the southern regions of the continent, who possessed 2 million hectares of land and operated a super-megalo farm.0uYM
zdXO5Using the vast piece of land that they have possessed from a long time ago, they supported the kingdom’s finances, and it seemed that they were in charge of ⅓ of the crops of the entire El Rath kingdom.c6TQ0n
hBVVStarting from crops and produce like potatoes and cotton to pastoral farms that have hundreds of thousands of domestic animals freely roaming around the green pasture – they even had plantation factories that produced magic plants like Mandrakes.YSBAp
u9JDwiInstead of thinking, you only needed to listen to Marie’s explanation to tell just how enormous everything was.XcpRQDG
4XR“From all~~ the way there to there, we have flour farms, and from there to there – hmm, we can’t see because of the horizon – anyway, for about 30 minutes on a wyvern, we have potatoes! That mountain over there is this year’s grazing land! We will be moving back to that mountain over there next year! Oh right. Was that where our gold farm was?”AbKF2tm
572Bvs“Miss. The gold farm is further north. That place is the diamond farm.”UHLcM
gVYxy“Right right!”4dI4f4p
2ONL8ygHmm, I see. When it’s millions of hectares big, everything’s just on a whole different scale.vv5BiC4
7bDNr“…Is that a corn farm?”DQZoS
Y2KUpds“Nn! Ah~, you saw the Audhumbla!”05Ea
BsVIt was so far down, and yet I could still see their shapes through the window of the guest room. Just how big were they exactly?yGSiEg
D38n“That’s called an Audhumbla, and it’s su~per big! Hmm~ Probably about twice the size of the carriage that we were on!”wh20P
xpBuSo… it’s bigger than the King of Iron Mountain, huh.ibeC
4gH7Those unimaginably enormous animals were collecting corn with a harvesting tool on their necks. Twenty or so of those massive monsters moving around in a group was… truly a mind-numbing sight.WPqhk
ukj1xqS, so this is normal for rich people huh… But wasn’t this still too much?gNJS
wgHEd7While I was dumbfounded by the ridiculous scale of the farm, Butler Paul brought a large roast turkey from the kitchen of the guest room.8lvHGu
NJvIw2“This is a special meal we have prepared for our two esteemed guests.”5RY
yN6BTvnHe said while serving a gold roasted turkey, beneath which was a garnish made with a potato puree. The cocktails had several tiger prawns sticking inside – this was something I only saw in movies!5hRKpnd
S5jq29After having the best food that I haven’t even had on the ground, we arrived at the wyvern landing zone that was just outside the big city of Reff in about an hour and realized that there were still many things to be surprised about.Qv1X
CGi0Pw1“Lady Marie! Congratulations on your holidaayyyyy!!!”DQC
h6bo“Congratulations on your promotion to semi-Unique Gradeeeee!!!”Fm1WDY2
5mc0jLAround the landing zone were thousands of people welcoming Marie, who just got down on the red carpet.OAGjfv
TXXk“U, uhh…”N6A
5rZIt was fearsome at this point. I had never seen such a warm welcome, even when the stupid Mr. Park was saving the world and being called a Hero, and even when he returned after defeating the Unique Grade demonic beast that attacked the city.Gug
cjQ“Umm. Grandpa Paul? Why are there so many people?”kYzx
LxCm8rr“They have all heard about the things that happened to you, Miss.”asyc864
cPxtd“I see… they must have been worried.”i47ZwDD
Sl2It seemed that even Marie wasn’t used to such a big welcome when returning from the Academy, so she had a slightly embarrassed look on her face.oVTOh
CWkajG“Uncle Verg. How many people are there…? And it was just yesterday that I had my grade adjustment. How do they know about it already?”0Kf2UrM
KBtEeJ“Well, we have already heard news from our wyvern riders. And there were so many people that we had to return some of them back home.”DYl
a50iWhat? This is after you sent some back?pOX
gxJ“I’m sure you guys are busy with other things though. I feel a bit sorry.”Uz8c6W
RKiK20“Please don’t say that, Miss. Ms. Marie, you are the pride of everyone in the south after all.”doSbE
w2UIt’s not like I couldn’t understand her popularity. In this day and age, the most popular and well-received occupation was a guardian.GvGve6
t2SThey were few in numbers, and had the public image of heroes that protected humanity from tonnes of demonic beasts.ewM
fHE5BIf the most well-known guardian across every generation was Garrand the Sword Emperor, the current representative of guardians was Sword Master Lunia Arden from the Arden family of the east.N5gF
8KgGWThere were several famous guardians in the west and north, but there was no one that was particularly famous in the south.38yLyR
eECdOMarie, who was well-known for being a genius mage, was definitely more than enough of a talent to become the iconic figure of a generation. Regional pride was probably one of the other reasons as well.CZBnA
cdp3E“Now then, let’s head straight to the mansion.”vxy
uXGAKnWaiting for us at the landing zone was a carriage – not the magic carriage that moved with a crystal but a horse carriage that was dragged by horses. It was surprising that this was the first ‘normal’ domestic animal that I was seeing for the first time today.nE1MDx0
66snVGetting on the carriage, we entered Reff City.a24R5x2
GKiWait… the name of the city was ‘Reff’. Don’t tell me…X7P
UfTkRU“Senior Marie. Is the name of this city…”OrV
VW2py3“It comes from our surname! There’s also Duna City if we go slightly to the east!”Fk8T
oQb“…”L8zC
EQjELooking back, the name of the platform was also ‘Duff’ Village!!GwagmQ
lShawIt was in fact surprising that I was unaware of this until now. Although I hadn’t been to the south very often, it was still shocking that I had no idea about this.SPO1Ed
u0h9Even when we were inside the city, I could still spot the influence of the Dunareff family.d4ro
wJiO66o[Dunareff Barber]J5SK4
0Lkr7[Dunareff Groceries]ygzHLyT
GUeF[Dunareff Post Office]y0qRW
84co2[Dunareff Farming Cooperation Association]yyHZ
4qnhgM[Dunareff Professional Wrestling Club]Zqvenx
C2ZLISeriously… the entire city was full of Dunareff. And why the heck was there a pro wrestling club?SXRD1XK
UorvzhV“We have arrived at the entrance.”t75e
NrfZJWe soon arrived at the mansion that was standing tall inside the city and… I was trying not to get surprised by size at this point, but I couldn’t help it.G5dqK
2ZbvThere was a time when I went to the royal courtroom of the El Rath Kingdom. Back then, I was shocked by the size and fanciness of the royal palace of the fantasy world but…ixw8M
KtKvhy“It’s really… not any worse than the palace.”pXfV
bjl“Wow~ Korin. Have you been to the palace? I haven’t even been there that many times myself!”I4SNhYh
CQkn9At the entrance of the mansion were ornaments and an emblem of a potato flower, and those flower petals appeared like they were sculpted with pure gold.0hE
5urStarting from the entrance all the way down was a vast garden and a fountain. There were several sculptures and artworks that were most certainly made by famous artists that were decorating the roadside.x8q
vdx8FjdThe most mesmerizing of them all were the flowers blooming all across the garden. It reminded me of the overwhelming tulip fields of the Netherlands that I saw on TV.zLMquK
BXciYPThe only difference was that it was FHD resolution back then, whereas this was about 16k.GeSM
3s1sHPlus, there was a queue of countless guests lining in front of the entrance. What exactly were those people?3MbfN
gtuWm9oIt seemed that Marie wasn’t sure either, and she, therefore, asked Mr. Paul.nokNus
ERSM“Do we have a party today?”nxLH
D7Y8“Ah~. Guests are coming from all across the southern regions including the mayor of Reff City, after hearing news about your grade adjustment, Young Miss.”lREpo2
kA7Again, let me reiterate this.i7st
tmD4W1KThe grade adjustment was yesterday, and the news of Marie’s promotion was something she shared at the Duff platform about 2 hours ago.px1PHX
aVnKConsidering the time it would take for wyverns to fly in and send the news, that meant that those people had come here in less than 30 minutes immediately after hearing the news.tDVv
9qDBE4E“Currently, we only have guests that either live nearby or have private wyverns, but we will have more guests coming very soon.”hTc
rxa47“Aiya… I’m sure they’re all busy though.”pAe
9NmMPJudging from her words, I could tell that even Marie wasn’t seeing anything strange about the current turn of events, as if it was natural for people to come congratulate her.NRXn
pqjCWhat kind of life have you been living, Marie-noona…?Z5D1v
MR6gSAg“Senior Marie. Why did you never tell me you were rich?”AklQtC
IfA635“Hmm. My parents are rich, but I’m not, right?”l4Ipbwh
Q7Rg8k1“That’s what rich people always say!”Vnp
tcnxcYou sell this mansion and that alone would be enough to feed 100 generations!rmH7
XGevAq“Haha. Miss. You will be inheriting all this eventually anyway because you are the oldest child of the Dunareff family.”omkBq9a
2VW8“You didn’t need to say that, Grandpa Paul!”x1YxHTS
UmZqHMarie wasn’t denying his words though. Ah… what’s this sense of betrayal that I’m feeling?XFuN
mS4“The Dunareff Family often takes in in-laws when the head of the family is a lady. Of course, we also provide a portion of the businesses that we own to the in-law’s family along with incredible support.”WjwsUOy
QIODQfNO… kay? But why are you looking at me when saying that?t9RGW
uI9J1h“Ms. Marie has been renowned for being both beautiful and clever ever since her childhood, and has been called the Flower of the South. There were so many people that wanted to marry our young miss, that the marriage proposal letters didn’t even fit into one of our potato warehouses.”ITBu
lsZlM“Umm… I see.”L1e
FWEeZ6e“In the last generation with Sir Lergen, Miss Leticia, who used to be the family head back then, even gifted him with a mansion built with jewels. Hahaha. Even that was only worth less than 8 hectares of a potato farm, though.”oeM
7slIt seemed that this old gentleman was a person of the Dunareff family, after all, considering how he was comparing things to potatoes…iaaigjI
eJ4Sx“G, Grandpa Paul! Why are you talking about that all of a sudden!?”yzD0tC
9V7NTP“Hahahaha. I’m just saying things. Hahaha…”6AHUgc
NCU5oHis expression facing me was a bit burdensome, so I changed the topic.Uzp
aOyh“Sunbae. You know the castle that I was talking about?”V2PEy
VA6eaKz“Ah~ You mean Castle Duke, right?”QZS
ApSI asked her if she could look into the castle of Sebancia Duke, who used to be hailed as the hero of the south hundreds of years ago.YPMN
Xq6ii“It seems that someone has bought the castle recently!”AegZ
oERlaRight… Castle Duke was one that was under someone’s possession even in the last iteration. The owner was like… a trader from the archipelago at the southern tip of the continent or something.702mX4
TPFMQ“Castle Duke has indeed been recently purchased by Count Casseus, who does trading at the archipelago.”CO2
2htr8“Oh~. He’s a noble?”3lCrKZ
Lat0By the way, nobles were an honorary title in this world, like how famous actors were knighted and old nobles appeared on TVs in the modern Earth.d19IV
Guhs1“Miss. Our Dunareff Family also has peerage.”S9FP
Wjoi5“Oh, right. What were they again?”H6kI9
rmTUMvb“The family head is the duke of Reff, marquis of Rangol, count of Cardriol, viscount of Crancia —skip—. He has the above 25 peerage titles.”kKjsg
B1t4JZ“I’m sure you’re the only one who remembers all of that, Mr. Paul.”2H5J
N1iW2“It is a must as the Head Butler of the Dunareff.”K6H
Wvd0gsRight… the thing called peerage existed per region, and it was indeed possible to have multiples of them, like how King William I of England was both the king of England and a duke of Normandy of France.xck3p
SZ4aRJBut still, isn’t 25 too much?TfhFH
5Kzc262“I think Korin wants to visit the count’s castle!”sVtIKs
iJLkz3y“We are very lucky then. Count Casseus has visited Reff City for his business. If we invite him to our mansion, he will gladly join us for the party.”Mphg4N
Y2FRkVI“I see! That’s great, Korin! We can talk to him about it today!”0j85cW
1VUCZhpCount Casseus.MG1m
jztfDThat was indeed the name of the one who possessed Castle Duke in the last iteration. But… was this quest meant to progress this easily?4CVV
DYHKIn any case, after 30 minutes on the carriage, we finally arrived at the actual mansion.dGhDp1
inJmFi“Grandpa Paul. Where’s mom and dad?”bkd2HA
f7K“The family head and madam will be coming tonight. They told me to apologize for not being able to make it in time. The other young masters and young misses will have their holiday starting in 3 days.”qXuA
sBfl“Then we can rest until then! Korin, follow me! I’ll show you your room!”aE7w
tUpAfter getting off the carriage, I followed Marie, who was hopping up the stairs.5md
6Vv“The 1st floor is where all our workers stay! We have rooms starting from the 2nd floor, but our family stays on the 3rd floor!”0KFRQ
kfiirK“Then should I stay on the 2nd floor?”l9zIj7
5kx“No! You can come here, Korin!”7H82ZOl
p6cShe led me to one of the rooms on the 3rd floor, with Mr. Paul following from behind.tSB
iGM“This is my room! And yours is here!”IFG6Zg
qfFT7gV“The Evergreen Room, I see,” commented Mr. Paul.482jxw5
t7P“Evergreen Room?”90YPr0M
8DB60T“Yes. For generations, it has been reserved for the future family head’s fiance—”gGDp
oksB“M, Mr. Paul! You don’t have to say that! I’m just giving this to him because it’s the best room we have!”VgHARd
FHqvopAfter saying that, Marie explained several things about the Evergreen Room, before going into her room which was connected to the Evergreen Room.K9tjQ
RpfSvwThe bed was a queen-sized bed that was a bit too big for me to use by myself. It was my first time seeing such a fancy and large bed.1C5N
yWnHW– Knock knock!0ViG
akTI came out after a shower in the bathroom connected to the room when someone knocked on the door.C0tj
ubswAPS“Who is it?”xEtj1K
HyiJn“My name is Wilson, sir, and I am a masseur working in the mansion.”Z1ZNQkr
qvH“Umm… Please come in?”lGoYMs
ZcVPBWThe man who then walked into the room looked like a professional masseur that you would see at expensive spas. He asked whether I wanted to have the massage in another room or not but I told him that I wanted to do it here.sqMW
YRGfj1G– Creak! Crackkk!aWuUvnt
erNR“Aah. That feels good…”BZWwYi
MTkmOc“Haha. You have a lot of cramps. Let me start from your shoulders.”j0zBFYJ
YyJGzRH“Thank youuu…”9j9
ak3J9erThis was so relaxing…ifQZJa9
YyrZF6Was this paradise?b9bBlK
pFfrpI wanted to spend my whole life here if I could.frbLu
vfO****Tfp
SZ3ssMeanwhile, Marie was being served by maids for the first time in a long time.X9s
uEIZ“Oh my. Miss. Your skin is as soft as a baby’s!”rurYr
wcIdSl“Your skin’s very beautiful. Even prettier than last winter!”1kNqxK
KasEIg4While looking after Marie’s skin, which was as soft as a mochi, the maids were bustling with noise. It was normal for maids to say things that would put their masters in a good mood, but all their compliments for Marie were genuine.ulWBtr
QACpiHvActually, there was something the employees at the mansion had decided on before Marie’s arrival.wkINRn
ysw‘You remember right? Don’t ever talk about vampires in front of Lady Marie!’I3B
aywEveryone was greatly shocked when they heard how Marie had awakened as a vampire. Even though it wasn’t that rare for people to sometimes awaken into a demi-human, the reception and public consensus against them was by no means positive.w55ZCHp
66ZBut even so, Marie was still Marie.ruYkoqB
rmGZUGJThose who knew about Marie knew how adorable and gentle she was. The maids who had been serving her for a long time felt like they were sending off their daughter when she headed to the Academy, and yet she had come back as a demon!moV
P91EDwIn order to make sure she didn’t feel down, they decided to be careful with their words. Actually, the newspaper companies that the Dunareff had shares in made sure to portray her as a victim, and the public perception was therefore not as bad as it could have been.F9J1L2
MpuZN7As long as there was enough money and power, it was possible to make a serial killer into a saint in this world. And besides, who would dare openly pick a fight with the royal Princess of the Potato Empire?jYDO
J8oda“Ms. Marie. How is life at the Academy?”juvY
lwqLtY“Nnn… I think I need another uniform. It feels stuffy around my chest.”57k
kQE“Oh my~. That proves you are still growing even more. We will prepare the best designers and master dressmakers.”iU8
F9sNEUq“Hmm… And, can we get one for a male as well?”mBhd7NW
4Nb“For a male?”Tc88J
rBEK“Ah~. Is that for your peer that you came here with?”12udZ
590This is it! The maids looked at each other, before immediately deciding on the next topic.jCH
twzAc2“He was a very handsome-looking gentleman, right? Very amicable and had a great personality as well.”6s5Z
QSXu5“Nn. He’s a great person.”VOx2tF
pI8v0KFMarie replied while slightly burying her head into her clothes with flushed ears. The maids paused after seeing that conspicuous change.jV7YIb
2NC0‘That’s youth.’u02BIRt
o3er‘Youth it is.’osgt5
NVK‘Does anyone know anything about that gentleman?’TzZCORk
sfPFgJ‘He’s a Grade 5 Knight, apparently. It’s a bit low for him to become Miss’s spouse, don’t you think?’eagJul
BDCCE96‘No no no. Mr. Verg told me he’s a Grade 1 Knight. Apparently, he is on a similar level with Sword Master Lunia Arden of the East!’H6d
H4hZDGe‘Hoh…’NgnF
axbKzAfter silently sharing information in less than 3.7 seconds in front of their master with nothing but eye contact, the maids decided on the next direction of the conversation.1e9
y83“Oh really~? He looked like a very reliable person. What kind of person is he?”6EcIH
fakRUr“Hmm… First off, he’s handsome…”G0ZCnc
F7bj1z‘Is he?’7qKwnCq
6nnlOJ8‘Objectively speaking, I guess?’7M29pxZ
sEOax‘But not as much as our Miss.’oKug
mWw0TUh“Very responsible, nice…!”Bv0Hzb
Qr8sm‘His personality seems good at least.’UpPd
AoyBgxP‘How about his family?’AkDxgb9
Nuxq‘It doesn’t matter when Miss is from the Dunareff.’HPIs4k
aIl‘You’re right.’yAFAiW9
iWQ2“He said he wanted me to be happy. He called me a good person, nice and pretty…! Hehe…”8gPYO
Ughuat3““……””5iODd
ZkOnntHearing those last words, an ominous feeling struck the three maids.RFDOq
m32Tl‘His tongue… is quite smooth.’ZEHMdIK
PYm‘Is he a player?’zdl
CP9oxe‘No way… right?’ydY0
i2iR9rThe maids all got an ominous feeling, because this lady from the Dunareff family had been protected from the surroundings due to her absolute position in the south that she had been living a life that was very distant from men.Coj
uxy7cIEven though there were enough marriage proposal letters to fill up a warehouse, that meant nothing because someone burned them all down while screaming, ‘These guys are all after my daughter’s wealth!’cYJ
Ui1In other words, it meant that Marie Dunareff knew nothing about men!GKvE
nOgh5“Umm… By the way, Miss. This might be a very sensitive topic, but…”U1vPk
KE0D8“Nn? What is it?”sdB74
j3wrZEc“Did you perhaps, provide the young gentleman with any financial support… or were there talks about borrowing money by any chance?”8g1A
Uepgglv‘Y, you idiot! That’s way too straight-forward!’AJaU
o1NZPc‘But! She won’t tell us if we don’t ask like this!’7caUHv2
z3Yx3OFor some reason, she was right on the mark.plOAjA
obn5kc“Hmm~. I did invest some into his business!”3PQFR
4hB“Ohh…”msTsNT
eRTAcNone of the maids had the room to scold the one who accidentally let out an audible gasp. After a while, they carefully asked a question with a shivering voice.L3BJJR
jhZshTheir hands weren’t even moving at this point.d4Z
FeQQRp“Umm, by business, you mean…?”wlE
8P2EQ“He said he wanted to create an inn! And he said he would definitely multiply the money by three times! Korin is very smart and capable!”DPc74w
kx93‘…Shit.’bLLF
YBM5The maids all shared the same sentiment.NFdcNg
0a6****069CrM
GqQJy3Considering how all the influential people of the area were invited, including the mayor, the party itself was a comparatively normal one held at the garden.bAbQIPa
t4bG6Of course, even a normal one was extremely big when held at the Dunareff mansion.w0wf
wJLlDHl“Korin…! Everything here is delicious! Do you want some hash browns?”dgF7dEp
D1DlK“Yes please.”AsYbDY0
DVXihUMarie was in a casual dress, leading me forward by the hand. Since she was the protagonist of this party, we naturally ended up gathering a lot of eyes from the crowd.ecroef6
Fy5TtDk“It was called a party, so I was thinking of a banquet of nobles, but this is quite different from what I expected.”PH9siid
pc9Ub“Hnn? Well, it’s because everyone’s just here to say hi~”aeT7x
CGvOeQxShe said as if it was natural for the influential people of the area to greet her. Seeing how there was a whole crowd that was eager to strike up a conversation with her… it might be correct to say that it was a part of everyday life for her.IHVk
Qw7A1“Oh right! We need to deal with your thing first, Korin!”dg8GCn
sLqHNqq“With Count Casseus?”2obf
8nYbvv“Nn nn! He’s right there!”LEE
otA1It seemed that she was going to prioritize my business first.QEly3G
Pww7BZ“It’s your party so how about you enjoy it first?”NsI
cR9vGs“Hmm~. Why bother?”cxfgGv
C4dK“…”aK602
BMHNDamn, she was just built different or something! Was she implying this was just an everyday stuff for her that she didn’t need to bother enjoying it? Was this the dignity of the rich farmers that had control over the continent?4ylp7UL
QNinnVWTogether with Marie, I headed to a corner of the garden, where a man with a slightly darker skin that was normal for people from the archipelago was sharing a conversation with the guests.Ksy
FWfCount Casseus.Xkx
3p5oU4He was a named character that you inevitably had to meet when clearing the quest of the Unique Grade demonic spirit sealed inside the Great Library, Sebancia Duke.5Co3V
sJGwWhile looking for news about Sebancia’s wife and his daughter, Ruina Duke and Cecilia Duke, there was a need to visit his castle and the player had two choices.R123M
njCiAMOne was to infiltrate Castle Duke in secret and look for clues. Of course, patrol guards would come for you if you got discovered and killing them would increase your infamy points so it was way too risky if you weren’t maining stealth.f06vv
Qhhrx6The standard procedure was to finish Count Casseus’s questline and get the official permit from him. The problem, however, was that he would ask you to defeat the Sea Serpent that was wreaking havoc at the archipelago.hGny6
XrE4In any case, Count Casseus was a strict and seasoned NPC that matched his appearance of an old merchant. Even when he was talking to us, the heroes of the country, he was strict in the sense that we had to finish his quest beforehand if we wanted to ask him for any favor.HmRDr
wsdSR“Hello, Lord Casseus!”CvlSHlN
ARV5tV“Lady Marie?”4FCJo
Msk4bWhat was going on?g8rbeQ
FPfvpWhy does he have such a bright smile on his face? When we were looking for him, he was like, ‘You’re a guardian? Maybe I can get a permit for you if you deal with this troublesome problem of mine,’ with a discontent look on his face, was he not?!GWTcz3g
d0onBd“I’m Marie Dunareff!”ZYU
3mh7“Casseus Vlandria. Nice to meet you, Madam.”qjj8
eybQMarie pushed her hand forward for a handshake, as Casseus received the offer with a wide smile on his face.PFR
RXs“I am the director of Dunareff Construction.”qoyd4c
v3P“Of course, Miss. And I am the head director of the Vlandria transportation business.”iJqy
1U0mhO“Wow. I love the buttons on your coat. Did you make them by carving obsidian?”T9oJxHT
ulUz3“Yes. We have stores in each port city that take care of jewelry.”gJvWp
lAl“No wonder! Oh, by the way, I have a monster carrier – one that’s called Hresvelgr.”gz9de4
qN4“Right. Actually, I saw it on the way – it looked incredible!”nf1ke2
fC7l“You see, the bed inside the guest room of the carrier is a bit shaky, and it’s quite uncomfortable.”8w2jg5
N0qouG“Well that’s not good! You see, my wife runs a furniture business. She also has very firm beds and maybe she can do something about it.”hSHgwV1
jlp“Sounds great. I would love to see her if I can.”sSn
ADu“If you may, please come to our castle. It would be an honor to introduce my wife to you, Miss.”WzQ
brt“Wow~. Castle Duke, right? The castle of the hero, Sebancia Duke! Can I please have a look at the office as well, then?”DFerz
iSIrMbK“Of course you may. Would you be okay with this week?”r1kmy
3KFxSV“I think Friday would be great! If you’re busy…”wkh
NKS“No, we definitely have time, and we would make one even if we didn’t for your visit, Miss. We would love! To see you on Friday!”jwyVw
bk4rSp1“Then, see you on Friday!”J13zEP
ijhnAfter making an appointment with Count Casseus in the blink of an eye, Marie came to me with a wide smile on her face.r9IlA0
9Av4“I got the appointment! It’s this Friday!”YqmUwrh
RaJB“…”UVXHTDo
TdLW4I had to board a ship, dive 60 meters underwater and fight against a damn snake inside the ocean just to go into that castle and yet…Cbg8
eJlZ“Korin. Do you want to go shopping tomorrow? He said he will be hosting a party, so I think we need to get some formal clothes! And it’s also boring to stay home doing nothing, right?”zN0dy
dfXHCY“Sure, of course. Let’s do that.”JWJ
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