Chapter 80

Several weeks had passed since the meeting with the Representatives of Eurea.

Having returned to the Fortress City, I was spending my days in relative tranquility.

“Thank you for waiting.”

As I sat at a table in the dining hall, the chef brought out the food. Placed on the table was a steak served on a black iron griddle. It was visibly thick, weighing at least a pound. The doneness was medium-rare. Just sitting there in front of me, its savory aroma was an irresistible invitation.

I immediately began slicing into the steak with my knife. The blade sank into the meat with minimal effort. That was how tender it was. Filled with anticipation, I stabbed a bite-sized piece with my fork and ate.

I savored it for a few seconds before letting out a relaxed sigh.

‘Delicious. This is better than I imagined.’

The taste was enough to make me groan in appreciation. It was remarkably similar to beef from my original world—and high-grade beef at that. It made me want to give the chef a hug. Before cooking, the meat had a distinct gamy smell, but that had been neutralized with herbs. The addition of sharp spices pulled the overall flavor together perfectly. Since it wasn’t overly greasy, I didn’t have to worry about indigestion. Despite that, the juiciness of the meat ran wild in my mouth. There was no way this wouldn’t be delicious.

This steak used the meat of a wing-handed lesser dragon—a Wyvern. It was an individual that had inhabited a valley within our controlled territory. Since it attacked merchants whenever they passed by and disrupted the local ecosystem, I had led a subjugation team to go on a culling spree. By now, Wyvern meat was likely being served in taverns all across the city.

As a bonus, I destroyed their nests to ensure no new Wyverns would settle there. Apparently, it wasn’t uncommon in this world for monsters to suddenly appear in human habitats and cause some form of harm. The dwarven settlement Alice and I had visited was also under the threat of a dragon. They were essentially the equivalent of pests from my old world, but the scale of damage in this world was fundamentally different. If you were unlucky, monsters that even an army couldn’t defeat would appear without warning. Thinking about it calmly, this world was definitely set to “Hard Mode.”

That was the reason for the Wyvern cull, but at Alice’s suggestion, we captured a few of them alive. The captured individuals were currently being trained by specialized mages. I heard that some were already becoming obedient. The plan was to use them primarily as aerial forces.

As the name “lesser dragon” implied, they were essentially a downgraded version of a dragon, but one shouldn’t underestimate their strength. They flew freely through the sky on sturdy wings, and just when you thought they were diving, they’d douse you in fire breath. A flesh-and-blood human stood no chance. They even possessed a degree of magic resistance, so a half-baked party would be wiped out in an instant.

Furthermore, we recovered eggs from the nests, so we could increase the number of Wyverns once they hatched. In the future, I wanted to create a unit of soldiers mounted on Wyverns. If I equipped them with my bombs, one-sided aerial bombardment of ground armies would become possible. Just imagining it put me in a pleasant mood.

‘I want to eventually form a formal military, but that’s still a bit further off. If I rush it, the city won’t be able to keep up.’

I lost myself in thought while stuffing my face with steak. The news of Alice becoming a Representative had been made public among the city’s residents. According to the intelligence department, the reactions were almost entirely positive. A few groups had been plotting something unsavory, but I had turned every last one of them into a corpse. It would be a pain if they tried to pull something later on.

Dirty work is my specialty.

I want to maintain the support of the people within our controlled territory. This is the crucial moment for that. When starting out, you can’t afford to neglect solidifying your foundation.

The current environment was incredibly convenient. I could conduct various research projects in parallel, and I never had to worry about funding. There was no need to suck up to anyone to secure a patron, either. It was, quite literally, an ideal situation.

That’s exactly why I won’t show any mercy to those who get in my way. I’m prepared to be utterly ruthless if it means returning to my original world.

Incidentally, there hasn’t been any contact or outreach from the other Representatives over these past few weeks. I’ve dispatched the handyman duo to keep an eye on Mihana, and she is still in Arbor City. She’s likely learning magic from the Sage. It’s possible he’s teaching her self-defense techniques, wary of an attack from me.

Those people aren’t idiots. They might not be over-relying on the contract’s binding power and could be preparing some kind of countermeasure. It’s a pain, but it’s not something I can stop from my end. It’s a result brought about by my own mistake. I should just accept it gracefully and move accordingly.

On the other hand, I remained alert for a surprise attack from the Assassin King. As the name implied, he was a master of assassination. There were even anecdotes claiming he had eliminated every target he had ever been assigned. No one knew his true identity, yet he had led an assassination cult for many years.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the Assassin King, concerned for Mihana’s safety, came to get rid of me. Judging by their interaction during the meeting, he seemed quite fond of her. I couldn’t deny the possibility that he might attempt an assassination for her sake. If I were in his shoes and felt the same way, I’d certainly do it.

There was no need to debate the truth of the Assassin King’s skill. His position as a Representative of Eurea proved it. That seat isn’t something one can maintain with mere parlor tricks or quick wit. If he were reigning on such flimsy foundations, Dorgu would have invaded his territory long ago.

At any rate, it seemed best to keep an eye on the Assassin King’s movements. It wouldn’t be funny if I had my throat slit in my sleep. Depending on the situation, I might even consider going to kill him first.

While I was eating and contemplating such dangerous thoughts, Alice appeared through the dining hall doors. She took a seat across from me. Almost immediately, the chef brought out the same steak I was eating and placed it in front of her.

I glanced at my own steak, which was more than half-gone, and asked her, “Did something happen?”

“An invitation from a Representative. It seems they want to give you a tour of the city, Jack.”

I took the letter Alice held out. The sender was the Sage. This time, it wasn’t a meeting between Representatives; it seemed he wanted to personally show me around the city. The location was Arbor City. The content was perfectly ordinary, with no underlying sense of hidden meaning.

I set the letter down and gave a wry smile. “What do you think the goal is?”

“Likely conciliation. It seems they want to draw you into their circle, both in name and in practice.”

“I agree. And they probably intend to warn me off while they’re at it.”

Since the invitation came several weeks after the meeting, perhaps they were waiting for me to cool my head. As far as timing for conciliation goes, it didn’t seem wrong. This wasn’t a bad deal for me, either. It might be good to do some sightseeing in Arbor City while scouting the place out. It could serve as a reference for our own urban development. I was interested in Arbor City’s level of technology.

Of course, I wouldn’t do anything while I was there. I wouldn’t lay a finger on Mihana. My preparations aren’t complete yet, and I can’t kill her anyway because of that contract. If I pulled something reckless, I’d face sanctions from the Sage. I wanted to avoid that while things were still unresolved.

This time, I’d let myself purely enjoy the sightseeing.

Having finished my steak, I headed toward the dining hall exit. I turned back there, waving the letter lightly as I spoke to Alice.

“Alice, get ready to go out. Let’s go pay the Sage a visit.”