Loren Town, the town mayor’s residence.
“You know, I once thought that was nothing more than a distant dream.”
The young town mayor lounged comfortably on the sofa, gently swirling the wine in his glass.
The crimson liquid rose and fell with the motion.
His tone shifted.
“But now it suddenly feels like it’s about to come true. Light, don’t you think that’s incredible?”
The armored guard stood behind the sofa. Hearing this, he showed a helpless expression.
His town mayor had been rambling like this more than once or twice lately.
He was even starting to get used to it.
This was not a good thing.
If it continued, a certain town mayor was going to turn into a complete slacker.
The guard, mindful of his duty, straightened his chest.
“My lord, it’s getting late. You still haven’t handled today’s official business. By the way, I’ve already reviewed yesterday’s, the day before’s, and the day before that’s documents for you. All you need to do is sign them.”
“Then today’s…”
“No.” The guard refused firmly.
“Even though most of it is minor stuff that isn’t important, it’s still a bit too much for you to not even glance at it.”
Silean’s hand paused mid-swirl.
“Light, that really hurts my feelings. We endured so many hard days before. It’s not a big deal to relax a little now, right?”
The guard sighed softly.
“My lord, even though Mage Ed has cleared out most of the problems for us, that’s still no excuse for you to slack off like this.”
At the mention of that name, Silean’s relaxed expression finally changed.
He sat up straighter, no longer leaning against the soft sofa back.
“Speaking of which, that guy turned out to be a mage. Truly unexpected. At the time I only thought he was a slightly capable swordsman.”
“Not just him—his companion as well,” the guard reminded him.
“She’s a mage too, and apparently quite accomplished in spellcasting.”
“Where did you hear that?” Silean turned to look at him in surprise.
“Light, I don’t remember ordering you to plant spies around those two. If you’ve damaged our relationship because of this, I will hold you accountable.”
The guard was silent for a moment.
“I wouldn’t dare, my lord. The information came from the mouths of those drinkers at the tavern. Its accuracy… cannot be guaranteed.”
Silean stared at him for a while, then looked away. “As long as you didn’t plant spies. Still, better safe than sorry. We’ll treat both of them as mages with some real skill. Next time they come to visit, remind me beforehand so I don’t forget and end up slighting them.”
“Yes.”
The guard lowered his head in acknowledgment, then suddenly looked up again as if remembering something.
“My lord, there’s one matter I’m not sure whether I should mention.”
“Speak.”
The young town mayor took a light sip of his red wine, his face showing obvious enjoyment.
At least he was somewhat willing to deal with official business now.
The guard sighed inwardly.
He organized his thoughts and continued.
“It’s still about the mage lady traveling with Mage Ed. The town priest told me privately a few days ago that she might be more than just a mage.”
Silean raised an eyebrow.
“Did he say in what way she’s more than just a mage?”
“I don’t know. The priest wasn’t willing to reveal much. It might have just been a well-meaning reminder.”
“I see.”
Silean stroked the wine glass, his fingertips slowly rubbing against the smooth surface like sandworms crawling across polished tiles.
“Since he won’t say more, we’ll pretend we don’t know.”
“My lord, this…” The guard hesitated.
“The priest has always had an excellent reputation. According to the teachings of the Radiant Church, he shouldn’t have any reason to deceive us.”
Silean waved his hand impatiently.
“That’s exactly why I hate those pious, mystical believers the most. They always put that so-called Holy Father first. Now that I actually need them, he refuses to give the full story to me, the town mayor. So why should I trust him?”
The guard opened his mouth but couldn’t find the words to refute him.
The town mayor’s complaint wasn’t entirely unreasonable.
If the priest had been willing to share everything he knew—even if it was only speculation—the guard could have put in a good word here.
As things stood now…
The guard looked at the young man’s sullen face and sighed silently.
“Do as I said.”
Silean looked as if he no longer wanted to discuss the topic.
He even gripped the wine glass a little tighter.
“I don’t want some baseless suspicion to sour my relationship with those two mages. At a critical time like this, that would be a huge loss, Light.”
The guard could only lower his head. “Understood, my lord.”
“Hurry up and move on to the next item. Once we finish early, I can still go out for a stroll.Maybe I’ll even make it to tonight’s gathering.”
The man crossed his legs again, returning to his carefree demeanor.
He showed no intention of moving from the sofa to the desk.
Seeing that there was no hope of getting his town mayor to handle official business properly today, the guard could only put on a bitter face.
He walked over to the desk, pulled out a stack of documents, and returned to his spot behind the sofa with the same bitter expression.
“Don’t look so gloomy, Light.”
The young man couldn’t help chuckling when he saw the guard’s face.
“You get what you pay for. The salary I give you isn’t low. Why do you look like I’m mistreating you?”
“It’s not about the money, my lord.”
The guard’s brows furrowed into a deep V.
“When I chose to become your guard, you never mentioned that a guard would also have to handle official business—especially the kind that the town mayor himself should be dealing with personally.”
“I just didn’t say it. It’s not like I tricked you.”
Silean’s gaze drifted away.
The guard couldn’t be bothered to argue.
But when money was mentioned, his hand flipping through the documents suddenly stopped.
“What is it?”
Silean turned to look at him.
The town mayor of Loren Town had been using the soft rustle of paper as a sort of lullaby.
The sudden silence actually felt a little strange to him now.
“My lord, are you certain you want to hand over the reward to those two?”
The guard pinched the paper and asked.
“Why bring this up all of a sudden… Is the reward so large that I can’t afford it? I shouldn’t be that poor, right?”
“Not exactly…”
The guard flipped through the pages again and read the recorded figures aloud.
“In this period, their team has brought back the proof of two hundred and thirty second-tier demon beasts and twenty-one third-tier demon beasts. According to the price you originally set, it comes to roughly…”
“Two hundred and twenty gold coins.” Silean finished the calculation for him.
“Mm, that is quite a lot, but it’s still within my means. At least they actually earned the money by doing real work—far better than those useless adventurers who are no better than rotten fish.”
“My lord, Loren Town’s entire annual net revenue might not even reach that amount.”
The guard spoke more forcefully, trying to remind his town mayor of the value of gold coins.
Silean glanced at him.
“Then deduct it from the funds I brought with me. Don’t be stingy about it and make them think I’m some poor devil who suddenly struck it rich and became town mayor.”
The guard still hesitated.
“But that money was meant for you to…”
“Light.”
The young man cut him off. Perhaps his crossed leg was getting tired; he switched to the other one.
“Let me teach you a principle—some relationships cannot be bought with gold coins. Once you miss the chance, it’s gone forever. Understand? A few hundred gold coins is nothing. If it’s spent, we can earn more. But souring our relationship with two mages over a few hundred gold coins? That’s not worth it.”
“My lord, are they really that important?”
“If they were just two slightly capable adventurers, then fine.”
Silean chuckled softly as he set down his wine glass.
He laced his fingers behind his head and leaned back against the sofa.
“But they are mages. Light, to put it bluntly, someone like you who climbed up from the bottom might have a hard time understanding exactly what a mage represents.”
“What does it represent?”
The young man gazed at the remaining red wine in his glass.
“Power. Endless wealth. Or perhaps everything that our current positions could never even imagine… But no matter what, just remember this: it’s always far better to be on good terms with mages than on bad terms. Don’t let your greed ruin you, Light.”
The guard stared at the documents in his hands and thought for a long time.
Finally, he nodded. “Understood, my lord.”
“Good, then—”
Before the word could fully leave his mouth, hurried footsteps sounded outside the door, growing rapidly closer until they stopped right in front.
Knock knock knock!
The knocking was chaotic and urgent, clearly showing the visitor’s anxious state.
“Town Mayor!” the person shouted through the door.
“Groz Valenol has arrived! Groz Valenol has arrived!”
The guard and the young man exchanged a glance.
Both saw the same flash of astonishment in each other’s eyes.
And an even clearer flash of delight.