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“So, you’re telling me this Baron Alphonse fellow had no attachment to the mansion at first… but when he came back, he decided it was too good to give away and just claimed it for himself?”
“Y-yes…”
“Even if he’s a noble, does it make sense to pull something like that when both the Guild and the Magic Tower are involved?”
“I-I don’t know the details. I was just a hired knight… the close retainers would know more.”
“Really? You really don’t know?”
“Yes! I swear, that’s all I know!”
“Then go fetch me someone who does.”
“…Pardon?”
“Bring me someone who actually knows what’s going on.”
“Huh? Ah! Yes! If you let me go, I’ll do it right away!”
“You’re not planning to run back and point me out to the other knights, are you?”
“N-no! Of course not!”
“It’s fine. Go ahead.”
“…What?”
“I said, go ahead and tattle. As long as you’re fine with never being a knight again.”
Snikt!
The knight’s eyes widened as his thumb and index finger flew into the air. I caught them before he even realized what had happened—until the delayed shock made him nearly scream. I clamped his mouth shut.
“Shh. Remember I’m a priest. I swear on Lumina’s name—bring me someone who knows the truth, and I’ll reattach your fingers without a scar. But if you try anything funny on the way… you know what happens.”
“Ghhk….”
I sheathed my dagger and healed the wound just enough to stop the bleeding.
“See this smile? It’s not a real smile. You’ve got five minutes. Go. Quietly. Don’t let on you’re hurt.”
Exactly five minutes later, voices came from deeper in the woods.
“Sir Jimmy, what’s so urgent you insisted I come myself?”
“S-something you need to see… please, just come.”
“You’re drenched in sweat. Are you unwell?”
“No, no. It’s nothing. Just over here, you’ll see….”
“I asked what exactly I’m supposed to be—”
“Me.”
The man in a tuxedo—clearly a butler—froze at the sight of me.
“Wh-who are you!?”
“Me? The owner here. And the guy who’s about to crack your skull.”
Clang!
Thud.
I didn’t have the heart to smash an unarmed civilian’s head bare, so I borrowed the knight’s helmet for the job.
After making sure the butler was out cold, I kept my word and reattached the knight’s fingers perfectly.
“Well done. Now drag him over here.”
“C-could I… leave now?”
“You think so?”
The knight glanced at the dagger on my hip, then at his own hand. With a long sigh, he grabbed the butler by the arm and hauled him over.
“Heal.”
The butler stirred, eyes dazed, then widened in alarm when he saw me.
“Wh-who are—!”
Clang! Thud.
“I-I serve Baron Alph—”
Clang! Thud.
“W-wait! What do you want fro—”
Clang! Thud.
Unlike the knight, the butler had the wits of a liberal arts major. Three hits was all it took for him to realize what I wanted. He pressed his forehead to the dirt.
“A-ask me anything, my lord!”
“…And so, that’s how it is.”
“I see…”
Summarized, the butler’s tale went something like this:
- Baron Alphonse originally had no interest in the mansion.
- He happened to have business in Seol East and decided to visit the place where his predecessor and family had met their end.
- He saw the mansion—and realized it was a gem.
- What? Hand over such a villa, for free?
- But sir, the buyer is the Magic Tower. Maybe you should let it go?
- A branch office, you mean. I know someone in Central’s main tower… can’t we work something out?
- Wait—turns out the Tower already sold it.
- To whom!? Check with the Guild, now!
- Just a pair of Bronze-ranked adventurers. They’re still in the labyrinth.
- Bronze-ranked? Not nobles?
- No, sir.
- Wonderful. Then the mansion is mine once more.
“…So that’s what this comes down to?”
“Y-yes, sir. Exactly.”
“There’s still something I don’t get.”
“Wh-what is it?”
“The contract for the mansion’s transfer and sale was already finalized ages ago. And it wasn’t some back-alley deal—both the Guild and the Magic Tower’s branch are tied into it. How the hell does a mere baron think he’s going to overturn that? If it were a landed noble, maybe I could understand a bit of pushback. But Alphonse? He’s a bureaucratic noble. Strip the title away and he’s nothing but a stiff-necked corporate drone with money. What makes him think he can pull this off?”
The butler flinched at my contempt, but a glance at my fist had him bowing his head again.
“M-misunderstanding, sir! He has no intention of voiding the contract.”
“Oh? Then what?”
“He means to buy the mansion back from you.”
I understood at once.
“So, sit tight here until I show up, then try to sweet-talk me into selling?”
“Your wording is a bit harsh, but… yes. That is exactly what the baron himself said.”
I snorted.
“Judging from all this construction, he already thinks it’s his. But what if I refuse? I’m sure he’s accounted for that, too.”
The butler grimaced.
“Th-that is…”
“Heh. I don’t even need to hear it. Force me to sell, right? And looking at their behavior, I doubt they’ll even pay a fair price. How much did he say he’d offer?”
“The Tower’s branch set the mansion’s value at seven million sel… so, perhaps half? Three and a half million?”
Judging by his expression, I narrowed my guess.
“Not that much, huh? A hundred million? No? Fifty? Ten?”
“…!!”
I barked a laugh.
“You’ve got to be kidding me. Ten thousand sel? You couldn’t buy a shack in Guildtown for that. Slashing the price to one-seventieth? That’s not a purchase—that’s extortion.”
“Th-that is…”
“And those knights and soldiers—don’t tell me they’re here to bury me if I don’t play along. Wow. Quite the entourage just to handle two Bronze ranks, eh?”
“…!!”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought. Good night.”
Clang! Thud.
I cracked both their skulls and tied them to trees. For the knight, I took the extra step of dislocating a few joints. Even with Steel Body, he wouldn’t be breaking free anytime soon.
“Phew… So now, what do we do about these leeches?”
After hearing my report, Shia had calmed down enough to think rather than rage.
“And what does my dear one believe is the proper course?”
“I’ve got a few ideas, but let’s hear from the new faces first. Scala.”
“Yes, Sword God.”
“What do you think?”
Scala had clearly been turning it over already. She spoke immediately.
“I believe there are three possible options.”
“Oh?”
“First: simply hand over the mansion. It’s the safest course, and the one most people in such a position would choose. To oppose a noble is… difficult, to say the least.”
She glanced at me and Shia before continuing.
“But it wouldn’t be entirely bad. True, this place has excellent positioning, but there are surely other sites just as good. The only reason no one touches them is because of the monsters. With your strength and wealth, you could make such a place just as livable as this one.”
“Hm…”
“Of course, we’d need to extract proper compensation first. I doubt that man truly intends to settle for ten thousand sel. If you yield a little and stroke his pride, I think you could push the price to a hundred—maybe a hundred fifty thousand.”
“…I see.”
“Sword God, you once said your motto was to live quietly and happily. In that sense, I think surrendering the mansion is an option worth considering. Unpleasant, yes—but still viable.”
I shook my head lightly.
“There are two kinds of ‘quiet.’ One is the kind you buy by bowing, avoiding, plugging your ears, and stomaching filth. The other is the kind that comes after you smash every bastard’s skull who dares disturb you. Naturally, I want the latter. So that one’s out.”
Scala bowed, as if she’d expected it.
“Yes, understood. The second option is to unleash Master’s beast and drive out the workers and villagers, then march straight in and slaughter the baron’s household and every associate. The key would be to leave no survivors, no witnesses. This is the far east of East; the baron is a bureaucratic noble of West. Most likely the incident would be buried—written off as a monster rampage.”
“And the third?”
“Night infiltration. Kill only the baron and leave. With him dead quietly, his family will prioritize returning west to secure succession. The matter of this mansion will be forgotten.”
“Hmm. Not bad.”
I clapped her shoulder in approval. Scala’s legs gave out, and she sank down gasping. Right, I’d forgotten to adjust her ‘reward system.’ Leave it too long and she’d actually break. Damn Shia and her laziness.
Then Selan timidly raised her hand.
“C-couldn’t we just use that… that collar thing that brainwashed Scala? Make the baron hand over all his wealth, then force him to hang himself or drown…?”
Every time, her ideas send a chill down my spine.
Shia shook her head.
“It only works on one at a time. To bind the baron, I would need to release Scala.”
At that, Scala’s face turned deathly pale.
“P-please don’t! I-I truly am happy like this. I beg you—let me remain your possession, body and soul!”
“Do not worry. I have no intention of replacing you anytime soon. That baron is hardly worth it. Besides, the artifact’s effects are halved on men.”
That caught me off guard.
“…Wait, seriously?”
Shia chuckled softly.
“Yes. My research showed it. It was crafted by some perverse mage—designed to subjugate women.”
This time, Illeia cautiously spoke up.
“What about… appealing to the Guild? Requesting mediation?”
“The Guild?”
“Yes. We’ve earned their favor. And this began with a Guild quest, after all.”
Scala forced herself upright, legs trembling, and shook her head.
“Too wasteful. The best debts are the ones you never cash in—they weigh heavier that way. Besides, he may be a lowly bureaucrat noble, but still a West noble. For East’s Guild to crush him outright would insult West’s pride. That would draw in Viscount Seol too, and saddle the Guild with political backlash. Far too expensive a favor.”
Illeia wilted under Scala’s reasoning. I gave her a friendly pat on the back.
“The idea of involving another faction isn’t bad. Just not the Guild. The Tower. Adventurer’s Guild has to watch the viscount and West nobles, but the Tower doesn’t.”
Right. Lords and Towers aren’t master and servant—they’re partners. Equal footing.
“But… a branch tower alone won’t budge him.”
“No. I mean the Central Tower. I’ve got a… very gullible friend there. Time to call her in.”
Shia took Hosik and dashed toward the branch tower to summon Sodin Cross. At that speed, she’d make it in half an hour even on mountain roads. Add five minutes for authentication, five to request Sodin, ten for her to teleport… an hour at most. Fine. Plenty of time.
Would’ve been easier if Rivet was around, but that cat-ears mage still hadn’t resurfaced. Can’t help what isn’t there.
“All right. Let’s go.”
Illeia blinked.
“Go? Where?”
“To meet the baron.”
“But… aren’t we waiting for the Tower?”
“Oh, she’ll be here in an hour.”
“Then isn’t it too soon to—”
“Think about it. Beating soldiers, knights, the baron, and his wife will take time. An hour should do it.”
“Wait—you said mediation!”
“When did I ever say that? I said involve them.”
“…?”
“The Tower’s job isn’t to show up and say ‘Please, baron, be reasonable.’ Their job is to mop up after I’ve already smashed everything. To clean the blood, not to prevent it. Did you really think I’d let these bastards walk away?”
“Oh…”
“You step into another man’s home without permission, you get your head blown off. Simple as that.”
I waved them along and strode toward the mansion.
“What are you waiting for? Come on. Maybe we’ll get lucky—maybe he’ll see me, realize the owner’s back, and kneel begging forgiveness. Then sure, I’ll let him live.”
“Baron, the adventurers claiming ownership of this estate are here.”
“Send them in.”
A youthful man’s voice from the largest room—must’ve turned it into a reception hall.
Click.
The door opened. I led my party inside.
“So you’re the one who bought this place from the Tower? I heard you only had one child adventurer with you. Doesn’t quite match what I see now.”
I ignored him and swept my gaze around.
On the sofa by the window lounged a man in his early thirties and a woman in an ornate dress—Alphonse and his lady, no doubt.
Four knights stood guard, while two maids busied themselves with tea.
And in front, two servants puffed their chests out like peacocks.
That sofa, by the way? I bought it. Bastard’s sitting in my seat without permission.
One of the servants, apparently offended by my calm look, barked out.
“You insolent cur! How dare a mere gentry stand tall before the baron! Kneel, now!”
“Kneel, huh?”
I promptly kicked his knees out.
Crack!
His legs bent the wrong way, and a scream ripped out of him.
“Gyaaahhh!”
“Right. Kneeling is proper. Just not for me—for you.”
Horror, shock, rage—every emotion collided as a heavy silence fell over the reception room.
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