Arthur Vs. Lord Glutton

Having successfully obtained the Orichalcum and a massive load of other minerals, Arthur waited the next day at Edward’s mansion with Gazeff, the representative of the dwarves, and the maid Marianne for Lord Glutton’s arrival.

“Sir Richard… I appreciate that you discovered the Orichalcum deposit. However, to ask to be present at the deal with Lord Glutton in return—what is your aim…?”

“Well, you see…”

“Oh hoho, no need to worry, Lord Edward. Sir Richard is an insightful man. I’m sure he has his reasons.”

Before Arthur could speak, Marianne confidently answered for him. Arthur, unsure how to explain, simply nodded—and for some reason, not only Marianne but also Gazeff looked at him with unwavering trust.

What the heck? This is scary…

“Heh. This contract here says that anything we dwarves make must be paid for in full within thirty days. Everyone’s working like mad. We might just bankrupt the guy. This was all your plan, wasn’t it?”

“Uh… yeah.”

Gazeff whispered something Arthur didn’t really understand but seemed happy about, so Arthur just nodded along. Seeing how much Marianne and Gazeff trusted him, Edward seemed to acknowledge Richard too and stopped pressing the matter.

“Well, I suppose there’s no harm in simply attending the meeting… However, Lord Glutton is a close aide to Prince Arthur. Please be careful not to say anything rude. It could jeopardize not just me, but your noble standing as well. I don’t want to trouble my benefactor either.”

“Oh, of course. I’m well aware of that.”

Arthur replied to Edward’s worried tone with a smirk. Of course, he wasn’t “well aware” of anything—he was absolutely planning to say rude things.

In fact, beneath his disguise, he was still wearing the expensive clothing he normally wore in the palace. He was fully prepared to reveal his healing abilities if it came down to it—in other words, ready to reveal his identity at any moment.

Morgan had told him never to reveal his identity, but at this point, Arthur figured it didn’t matter. Lord Glutton had used his name freely and shamelessly! Because of that man, Arthur had been attacked by dwarves in his previous life and had to go through a terrifying experience! He would never forgive him!

Indeed, while Arthur was certainly angry about the unauthorized use of his name, he also correctly guessed that Lord Glutton’s meddling had incited the dwarves’ wrath.

I’ll wait until you’re feeling cocky with the Orichalcum in your hands, and then I’ll reveal who I am and watch you panic. You’ll be just as scared as I was!

Arthur imagined the shocked look on Lord Glutton’s face when he suddenly revealed himself and said, “That was never part of the deal,” and grinned.

Yes—now that he had been praised and acquired his goal of Orichalcum, Arthur was flying high. He had completely misunderstood Morgan’s warnings and was just itching to mess things up.

KNOCK KNOCK

As Arthur flashed a wicked grin, a knock came at the door. Finally, today’s adversary had arrived.

“Lord Edward… I heard the Orichalcum is ready—oh! What a magnificent shimmer! Stunning!”

As Lord Glutton entered, he barely gave a greeting before being entranced by the rainbow shine of the Orichalcum.

“Lord Glutton, with this, will you request Prince Arthur to heal Prim?”

“Ah, of course. With this much Orichalcum, Prince Arthur will surely be pleased. But first, I’d like to take some accessories made from it for myself. I need to judge if the quality is fit for a prince, after all.”

He let out a low, sleazy laugh. Seeing this, Arthur smirked as Gazeff stepped forward with the contract.

“Also, as per the agreement, you’ll pay a fair price for everything we dwarves made!”

“Hmph, of course I’ll pay according to the contract. Though I’m surprised you had time to craft while mining Orichalcum.”

“Oh, that’s thanks to that nobleman over there!!”

“What…!? This is…”

As Gazeff proudly handed over the product list to Lord Glutton with a wink at Arthur, the latter let out a groan of disbelief—then smiled.

“Ho… quite the amount indeed. Certainly, I can’t afford all this with my current assets. However, I have powerful allies. I’ll have everything paid by the deadline, so don’t worry.”

“What…? That’s absurd! You’re saying you can pay that amount!?”

This time it was Gazeff’s turn to shout in shock. The listed price was equivalent to half a year’s worth of Dorf’s tax revenue.

Gazeff had assumed it was impossible to pay, yet Lord Glutton claimed he could. Even as a high noble, where could he possibly get such funds?

“Hey… Lord Glutton, didn’t you say you needed Orichalcum to request help from Prince Arthur to save Lady Prim?”

It was Arthur who interjected into the tense exchange. Now a little better at reading the room, he stepped in to steer the conversation. A big improvement for someone who once didn’t understand human emotions.

“Sir Richard!?”

Edward panicked at Arthur’s sudden interruption, but Lord Glutton raised a hand to stop him. He then turned to the dispirited Gazeff and smiled.

“Ahh, so it was you. You’re the one who fed the dwarves that foolish idea…”

Then, turning away from Arthur, Lord Glutton grinned maliciously at Edward.

“Lord Edward… inviting an outsider to such an important deal—how do you explain that? I’m already walking a tightrope just introducing Prince Arthur to someone from another faction like you. Or… are you saying your daughter no longer needs treatment?”

“No, that’s not it, Lord Glutton!! I’m very sorry, but could you please ask Sir Richard to leave?”

With just a few words, Lord Glutton flipped the entire situation. Now, even if Arthur revealed himself, it wouldn’t help. Lord Glutton had never actually said he would bring the Orichalcum to Arthur for an introduction.

Even if Arthur revealed his identity now, Lord Glutton could deny everything. If Arthur had gained Edward’s full trust beforehand, it might have been different—but it was too late.

And if Arthur revealed his identity now, he would be expected to heal Prim. Lord Glutton would take the credit, win Edward’s favor, and still secure the deal with the dwarves.

In short, Arthur had no card left to play.

Of course, Arthur wasn’t aware of all this. But from Lord Glutton’s smug expression, he sensed that he was at a disadvantage.

“Please wait, Lord Edward!! Sir Richard has a plan—!”

“Marianne, I’m sorry. But Prim is more important to me.”

“Grr…”

Arthur frantically searched for a way out… Then, as if to shatter the stalemate, the door opened—and a silver-haired girl entered.

“Good… I made it in time.”

“Who are you… Morgan!? Why are you here!?”

“It’s been a while, Lord Glutton. By Prince Arthur’s order, I’ve come to expose your corruption.”

The beautiful girl, her silver hair and icy gaze glinting, smiled slyly as she held up a letter sent by Arthur.

Wait—what do you mean by “Prince Arthur’s order”!?

Naturally, Arthur was extremely confused.