-Quest Complete!
-Reward Granted!
-Registered to Skill ‘Unique Trait’.
Reading along with the notification window, I brought up my Skill window.
“Skill window. Unique Trait.”
-Unique Trait: Language Mastery (MAX), Mental Strength (MAX), Transcendent Stamina Regeneration (Lv.10), Transcendent Mana Recovery (Lv.10), Genius Talent (Lv.20), Map Hack (MAX)
When I saw those two words newly added to the Unique Trait section, I couldn’t help but break into a broad smile.
“Wow, me, Map Hack—this is for real? Where? Where is it?”
I hurriedly looked around me. And then, at the far right edge of my field of vision, I spotted something.
It was something like a small, circular magnifying glass, and I could instantly tell that this was the Mini Map.
“Oh, does it zoom in too?”
I pressed lightly on the screen. Then a huge map filled my vision.
“Oh! This is awesome!”
The large screen before my eyes now precisely showed where I was.
Since it displayed everything within a radius of 1km, it was an incredibly useful ability.
Not only could I now see the paths I had failed to notice while staying in the mountains for nearly two weeks, but I could also see how everything around me was situated.
“Hm? What’s this?”
I noticed an arrow marked at the very top of the map. And I could guess what it was for by intuition.
“Must be the Continent Map?”
I pressed it with anticipation.
No authority.
“Huh?”
I pressed it again, and once more, a notification window appeared, telling me I lacked the authority.
“Tsk.”
That sound escaped me in disappointment. Still, just getting something as unbelievable as Map Hack was already an incredible achievement.
And that wasn’t all.
“Amazing! Lord Solo!”
At the sound of a voice behind me, I quickly dodged to the side.
Clatter, thud.
It was Irene, who toppled straight to the ground.
I had seen the green dot on the map coming toward me, so I dodged in advance.
I’d also expected Irene to rush at me.
“Hyung, you—”
Pretending to be pitiful, pretending to be cute, this cheeky Slave had eyes shining brightly with respect.
Still just a kid, but I was the one who took down the Ogre, after all.
Leaving Irene where she lay, I pulled out my Subspace Bag.
Then, I gathered up the spoils.
The Magic Stone from the Troll’s body was a fist-sized, top-grade stone.
Just selling this one would easily bring in a thousand Gold, so it could cover the construction costs nicely.
And the two Magic Stones from the Ogres were a bit smaller, but still high-grade.
I’d use these myself—and maybe as bribes as well.
The monster corpses, I stored in the Subspace Bag. I wouldn’t be butchering them right away; I’d ask Smith to handle the work.
I had never butchered an Ogre or Troll before.
Having gathered everything I needed, I moved on, bringing Irene with me.
Finding my direction was easy.
I just followed the Mini Map as I moved, and the compass told me to head east.
After deciding to escape, it only took five days to return to my Garrison.
***
After being away for roughly three weeks, the Garrison I returned to had changed quite a bit.
“Hmm?”
First off, construction was well underway to the west.
The last time I saw it, they had just erected huge timber pillars, but now a massive wall had already been built.
The spot where the Castle Gate would go was still empty, but above it, I could see a temporary bridge that let people pass by.
The field a little ways from the construction site beside the castle wall was also under construction.
I could guess what they planned to use that place for.
Probably to build my new house.
There were twice as many people working there as on the castle wall, and they were busily moving about, hauling things and making all kinds of noise.
“Hmm—”
I thought about going to see the construction site, but for now, I headed to the mansion. I figured they’d handle things well enough on their own.
When I arrived at the mansion, the first to greet me was none other than the steward, Cal.
“I am relieved you have returned safely, Lord.”
His polite greeting, given in his usual neat attire, really made me feel like I was home. So, after a brief exchange of pleasantries, I went to my room and sank into the sofa.
“Nothing happened, right?”
“If anything happened, there’s just one thing to mention.”
One thing that wasn’t supposed to happen—startled, I asked what it was.
“One of Viscount Filton’s knights came by. Sir Arnold received him politely and handed over a letter before he left.”
With that, Cal gave me the letter sitting on my desk. I opened and read it.
[To Baron Solo,
Next month, the Imperial Palace will be hosting a party.
I’d like you to come along.
Come to my Castle before we depart.]
It was a very brief letter.
The message was that they wanted me to attend the Imperial Party at the Imperial Palace. He wanted me to go with him.
“Hm…”
Handing the letter back to Cal, I frowned slightly in thought.
“What’s this? They want to take me to the Imperial Party… It’s not really a good or bad offer.”
In truth, someone like me naturally had more enemies than allies.
For six months before I became Lord, I’d been fighting on all kinds of battlefields.
I didn’t side with anyone; I just took the earliest request and participated in whatever battle I was hired for.
The Lords who lost because of me would hate me, and the ones who won thanks to me would be glad.
That was the real issue.
Right now, in the Londinium Empire, the struggle between the First Prince and the Second Prince was intense.
I’d heard it was nearing its end, but it wasn’t over yet—it was ongoing, making it all the more complicated.
Well, I could always use Garrison business as an excuse not to attend.
‘But I’d lose out on benefits if I did that.’
If I skipped out, I’d just become another weak noble losing out in the central power struggle.
That wasn’t good, not for the development of my Garrison or my own future.
‘I’ll have to make good use of the Viscount.’
If I had any ally right now, it was the Viscount.
If I made good use of him, both I and the Garrison could benefit.
That made it all the more important to focus on what I had to do now.
Cal, having read the letter I gave him, looked surprised, then his expression turned solemn.
“It seems we will need to prepare.”
“No, I’ll handle it myself. Is there anything else to report?”
“No, nothing else of note has occurred.”
It was a relief that nothing had happened.
I asked Cal where Smith was, and Cal told me he was at the construction site.
“Then I’ll call everyone together later.”
No point in bothering people hard at work.
Instead, I asked Cal to summon everyone for a meeting in the evening.
“Understood, my Lord.”
With that, Cal left, and I headed for the bath. It was time to wash off all the accumulated grime.
***
After dinner, everyone gathered in the drawing room for the first time in a while.
Of course, they probably saw each other every day, except for me.
“All right, let’s hear what’s happened while I was away.”
The people present were Arnold, Smith, Heatherwee, Hadid, and Jenny.
Irene should have been here, but earlier, when I entered the bathroom, Irene was there, and after a proper bath for the first time in a while, she just conked out.
Well, we could proceed without Irene anyway.
The first to report was Arnold.
“The Slaves’ training is proceeding steadily. We’ve nearly wiped out the Wolves, and a few promising ones are leading the way and reducing their numbers.”
“Yeah, on the way back, I noticed there were hardly any left.”
When I returned, I’d checked with my scouting Skill—there really were only a handful of Wolves left.
Of course, that only meant one tribe was wiped out. The Wolves of other tribes were still around in even greater numbers.
Next, Heatherwee and Hadid gave their report.
“The castle wall foundation is finished. Once we install the gate and a few devices, it should be usable.”
“As for your Castle, my Lord, we’ve finished laying the groundwork. Once the main wall is complete, we’ll shift workers to start building the Castle itself.”
Hearing their reports, I became curious.
“From a distance, it looked like there were more people than just our Garrison folk?”
“Yes, my Lord. The day you left, we rushed to inform Viscount Filton that we’d be gathering laborers, and also sent word to neighboring Garrisons. We spent 2 Gold in the process, but as a result, we have a steady stream of workers coming in. There should be no shortage of laborers now.”
If there was a problem, it would probably be with my funds.
But thanks to monster hunting, I didn’t have to worry about money anymore. As long as things continued like this, we’d be fine.
“How are the workers being treated?”
“We cleared out a few houses in the Village near the construction site for them. Food is being prepared by the village residents and provided to them.”
Hadid watched my reaction as he spoke. He probably made those arrangements on his own, so he was being cautious.
“And are the Garrison residents being compensated?”
“Yes, I promised them fair rewards. When a new Village is built later, I told them they’d get first pick of the houses.”
The four Villages now would change, so that’s why they could make such promises.
“Proceed as planned.”
With my approval, Heatherwee and Hadid both sighed in relief.
Lastly, Smith reported.
“I’ve been making farming tools and household goods for the residents with the iron we have. With the proceeds, I’m getting more iron, and as the amount increases, I’ll make weapons for the Slaves. Right now, I’m helping with the castle wall and Castle construction.”
It sounded like there was nothing particularly new from Smith.
In that case, I had something to assign him.
“Ah, Smith. Have you ever worked with Ogre or Troll before?”
“You mean Ogre and Troll, my Lord? I’m not as skilled as the experts, but I have made armor from their hides before.”
“Good.”
I was about to take them out right here, but not wanting to dirty the floor, I took Smith outside.
“Light.”
Since it was a dark night, I used Light Magic to brighten the area, then took the Troll and Ogre corpses from the Subspace Bag.
“Chuek le—”
Smith was startled at the sudden appearance of three corpses.
He wasn’t the only one.
Heatherwee and Hadid were so shocked they just sat down, their mouths opening in silent screams, while Arnold drew his sword from his waist in caution.
“D-did you, did you kill these yourself, my Lord?”
“Yeah, as you can see, they’re just juveniles. I was very lucky.”
I said this, then turned to Smith.
“This should be enough for armor for me and Sir Arnold, right?”
Smith nodded.
“Plenty. I’ll make the very best I can.”
With that answer, I stored the bodies back into the Subspace Bag.
Best to keep them stored and bring them out when work began tomorrow.
“All right, that’s all for the reports. Sorry for calling you so late. We’ll work hard for now, and rest easy later.”
I got up from my seat. The others replied,
“Yes, sir.”
“Get some rest, then.”
I headed back to my room first.
That’s all for today. From tomorrow on, I’ll be busy, so now it’s time for a deep sleep.
With that, I closed my eyes and let sleep take me.
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