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The operation to eradicate the Slaves wasn’t widely known to the public. The fact that there were slave traders engaging in human trafficking in the heart of the Empire was quietly swept under the rug, as it would harm the Empire’s reputation.

Because of this, the knights and cadets who participated in the Gehenna operation didn’t receive any significant rewards. The reason for the reward couldn’t be publicly announced, so there was no way to create a ceremony to honor their achievements.

Of course, Seraphina, who had a knack for handling people, didn’t bother to wipe her mouth after saying they had worked hard. Historically, the most important thing when managing people was recognizing their contributions.

If they couldn’t give honorable rewards, they compensated with material rewards instead. The knights were given reward vacations and bonuses, while the Academy cadets received gold coins under the pretext of special store privileges and academic support funds for their excellent performance in field training.

Some knights and cadets, who were disappointed that the eradication operation wasn’t officially announced, were overjoyed when they received the bonuses Seraphina handed out.

I’m definitely a people person.

Gilbert, who achieved the seemingly impossible feat of cutting a Colossal Mech in half, received a heavier pouch of gold coins than others. Since opening his eyes in this world, he had never struggled financially, but money was always better in larger amounts.

Since his sword had broken, he thought he could use this money to visit Gwendolyn and commission a new sword. He also had the Tears of the Moon he obtained from the branch manager of Obitus in Wild Rose, so it seemed like a good opportunity to create a top-tier sword.

In Tactical Combat, the best sword was the Imperion, the Lion King’s sword, but it was currently impossible for Gilbert to obtain it.

The Imperion was a family heirloom of the Line Barrel family, Ian’s family, and was currently in the possession of Ian, who had been designated as the heir.

Originally, one would have to complete a complicated quest to obtain it, but in reality, Ian just had it without any effort. Thanks to that, Ian was able to acquire Fressia early in the scenario.

But that wasn’t the important part.

Whether Ian met Fressia and experienced explosive growth or not was no longer Gilbert’s concern. Ian wasn’t part of the plans Gilbert had already set, and those plans were filled with other key figures.

Even if Ian came to his senses and grew now, there was no room to include him in the plans again.

Since the topic came up, Gilbert applied for a leave and left the Academy to meet Gwendolyn.

It had been quite a while since he last saw her, and he guessed she might have become a well-known Sword Master by now.

According to occasional news from the Lion Heart Count Family, the quality of the swords she supplied was so exceptional that everyone was amazed. Dorothy’s reaction, wondering where they found such a Sword Master, was quite a sight.

– Hey, who’s cutting in line!

– You bastard, aren’t you going to the back?

Near Gwendolyn’s humble shop, a large crowd had gathered. They seemed to be mercenaries, with swords strapped to their backs or waists.

These people, who usually had no sense of order, were surprisingly lining up neatly in front of Gwendolyn’s shop.

Come to think of it, Gwendolyn, who disliked a crowded shop, was a strict person who wouldn’t sell swords unless people lined up like this. Nobles were no exception, which often led to troublesome situations.

Of course, all these issues were resolved by her innate talent as a Sword Master. Whether one owned her swords or not was a topic in social circles, showing the immense influence Gwendolyn had.

Ultimately, her talent caught the eye of Seraphina, who had a voracious appetite for talent, and she was brought to the Imperial Palace. Enough said.

But how long am I supposed to wait for this?

Gilbert made a frustrated face.

He hadn’t expected Gwendolyn’s weapon shop to gain such fame so quickly.

He had thought it was only a matter of time before she became famous with his full support, but he hadn’t anticipated it would happen this fast. It seemed the rumor that she regularly supplied swords to the Lion Heart Count Family had spread.

Should I come back later?

Gilbert scratched his head, trying to estimate the time.

It looked like the shop would close after serving about half the line. For Gilbert, who had come out on a short leave, this was a disaster.

He eventually decided to come back another time and turned to leave.

“Lord Gilbert?!”

Coincidentally, Gwendolyn, who had opened the door to welcome the next customer, spotted the familiar figure in the distance and called out Gilbert’s name loudly, waving her hand.

He, who had been quietly planning to try again another time, slowly turned around at Gwendolyn’s call.

“Today’s business is over! It’s over!”

“What? Do you know how long we’ve been waiting?”

“Why should I know that? More importantly, an important guest has arrived, so everyone, please leave!”

Gwendolyn shouted firmly at the mercenary who was arguing with her. Her personality, which never changed a decision once made, was showing.

“We’re customers too! How can you treat us like this? Do you know how long I’ve been waiting here?”

“So what? If you don’t want to buy, then don’t! And I don’t have any swords to sell to you!”

Gilbert sighed deeply. It was clear that leaving now would cause problems.

Reluctantly, he approached Gwendolyn under the mercenaries’ glares.

“Lord Gilbert, please wait a moment. I’ll wrap this up quickly!”

“No need. Do what you have to do.”

“How can that be more important when Lord Gilbert is here? You’re my benefactor!”

“But neglecting customers who came to see your swords isn’t the right thing to do. As a Sword Master, you should have a sense of responsibility.”

“That’s…”

Gwendolyn looked at the customers waiting in line at Gilbert’s words. The mention of a Sword Master’s responsibility snapped her back to reality.

The most important thing for a Sword Master was to create excellent swords, but a sword only gains meaning when it’s in someone’s hand.

Then, a Sword Master’s duty should extend to placing the sword in the right hands.

Gwendolyn calmed her mind and shouted.

“Only 100 swords from now on! After that, the weapon shop will close. It’s only fair to show swords to everyone waiting in line, but the shop doesn’t have that much stock.”

“Damn it, I should’ve come earlier.”

“I was here yesterday too.”

Complaints erupted here and there, but with the announcement of limited stock, the mercenaries at the back of the line started to leave.

It wasn’t like she was suddenly closing the shop, and with no stock, there was nothing they could do.

“Please wait a little longer. I’ll wrap this up quickly!”

Gwendolyn quickly went back into the shop and started recommending suitable weapons to the customers who had come to buy swords.

Gilbert watched the line shrink rapidly and took a seat on a chair placed outside the shop. Since things had turned out this way, he decided to review his future plans.

Various thoughts rose and fell in his mind.

He categorized the upcoming Main Scenarios by danger level and pushed aside the ones that seemed unlikely to happen.

Most of those scenarios were Main Scenarios that only Ian would experience, so Gilbert didn’t need to worry about them.

There’s still a lot left.

Just the Main Scenarios he recalled were enough to fill a sheet of parchment.

This crazy Tactical Combat had a massive volume of scenarios, making the playtime incredibly long.

If you played all the scenarios in the standard way, it would easily take hundreds of hours, so it wasn’t surprising that there were still many Main Scenarios left.

But for Gilbert, who had to clear them in reality, it was a headache. Even playing the game normally took hundreds of hours.

Among them, there might be scenarios that wouldn’t happen, but the sheer number of scenarios he had to clear was overwhelming.

His goal was ultimately to return to his original world.

Currently, he was clearing Main Scenarios out of habit since he hadn’t found any clues to return, but the time required to clear so many was far too short.

This wasn’t a game world but a real, existing world.

Even though half a year had passed since he opened his eyes here, the number of Main Scenarios he had cleared could be counted on one hand.

But how much time would it take to clear all those scenarios?

By simple calculation, it would easily take over a decade.

Of course, unless a better method was found, Gilbert intended to clear the Main Scenarios even if it took over a decade. He wasn’t the type to turn back just because the task ahead was difficult.

But what if, after spending all that time clearing all the Main Scenarios, he still couldn’t return to his original world?

Could he endure that?

Gilbert couldn’t loosen his hardened expression.

Somehow, he felt like he already knew the answer to that question.

 

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