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“Wasn’t this a strategy game?”

“Do you happen to know anything more about that mage?”

Information was painfully lacking at this point. Eden urgently questioned Rita once more.

“Anything you know?”

“Anything is good.”

Rita was taken aback by Eden’s persistent inquiries about the mysteriously missing Great Mage but responded thoughtfully while rubbing her chin.

“Well, I remember hearing something when I was younger… I think there was a rumor that if you go near Hagen’ti’s castle, you’ll die.”

“What? Where is Hagen’ti’s castle?”

At Eden’s question, Rita shrugged her shoulders.

“I don’t know. I think it was said to be up north or something.”

“…Why do we die? Does Hagen’ti kill us?”

“Well, probably?”

“……”

Not to mention, a surly mage at that. Eden felt increasingly hopeless.

“Oh, there is this story…”

“What story?”

“Even if Hagen’ti hadn’t gone missing, half of the continent’s monsters would have been wiped out, and the other half wouldn’t have dared to approach the Empire.”

Wow. Eden furrowed her brow, trying to decode those words.

“So, are you saying that Hagen’ti could potentially shield the entire Empire?”

Rita gasped and waved her hands in denial.

“Th-that doesn’t mean he’s better than the Chancellor! It’s just something that was said!”

Although Rita hastily defended the Chancellor, Eden wasn’t interested in the Chancellor’s capabilities. What mattered was Hagen’ti.

How things would play out in this game was a mystery, but I had somehow gained the authority to influence this game directly. Using this authority, I had to hit the game hard from behind.

Finding Hagen’ti before he went on a rampage and stopping him.

But where on earth could I find Hagen’ti, who’s been missing for 50 years? Eden sighed, cradling her throbbing head.

“Hah….”

“I’m serious. No matter how great a mage, he can’t cast a shield better than the Chancellor! The Chancellor is Hamun’s representative!”

Eden gazed blankly at Rita, who was fervently defending the Chancellor, when suddenly a notification sound rang out.

Beep—.

Beep—.

A quest window popped up next to Rita one after another.

『【!】Basic Quest

: Eliminate the monsters in the west. (0/30)』

『【!】Basic Quest

: Increase your magical power to 15.』

Reading the quests made Eden’s expression go blank again.

Thirty monsters….

“……”

“Eden, are you listening to me?”

At that moment, Asmun was indeed dealing with Kiris, who had come up with a reason to ask for Pasarham from him.

“The Emperor has permitted this as well.”

Kiris, having convinced even the Emperor with a plausible reason, arrogantly presented the document containing the Emperor’s approval. Asmun looked down at the paper on the table with a blank expression.

“Actually, I could proceed without your permission, but that’s not the right way. So I’m here to formally seek your agreement.”

Asmun raised his head to look at Kiris again. A maliciousness coiled deep within him felt like it was twitching with Kiris’s self-satisfied grin.

“Of course, I know Pasarham is your mother’s legacy. But brother, isn’t it more valuable for that land to be developed and used for the Empire rather than just rotting away? Your mother would want that too.”

“…….”

“Why the silence? Did you hide something in that land?”

Kiris jokingly probed, and it was clear he knew about Tevel.

Asmun stared at him with snake-like eyes before giving a slight smile.

“Not at all. It’s just that as you said, it was the only land my mother left me, so I find it hard to hand it over to someone else.”

“I understand, of course. But as I said earlier, rather than rotting away without development….”

“Please go ahead.”

“Huh, so…. eh?”

“I will hand Pasarham over to you.”

In truth, Kiris hadn’t even hoped for Asmun’s agreement, and Asmun’s willingness to comply took him by surprise.

“…Really?”

“Yes, I will give Pasarham to you. But instead….”

Just as Asmun imposed a condition, Kiris’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.

Of course. This cunning guy wouldn’t just hand over the land without a catch.

Kiris clamped his mouth shut, preparing to reject Asmun’s offer by any means necessary.

“Please give me Leveim.”

But Kiris had no choice but to be left speechless again.

Leveim?

“Leveim? Why that barren land?”

Leveim, located to the northwest, was cold, barren, and rugged, utterly useless, and had not been inhabited for over a century due to periodic monster infestations.

Touching it carelessly would result in being called incompetent if they couldn’t conquer it, and it was too dangerous to conquer, so even Kiris had avoided it, letting time pass.

“Yes, Leveim is rough and wild, so it shouldn’t be necessary for you, brother.”

So anyone could take it, which was good for him, but now that Asmun was asking for it, Kiris became suspicious.

Asmun’s recent actions were unnerving. Hadn’t he cleverly evaded the trap set by Count Retton? Asmun said he noticed Retton’s schemes after seeing that Tantianno he had captured was missing, but Kiris couldn’t shake off his doubts.

So the plan was to cut off his funding completely, but what trick was he trying to pull?

“But surely, there must be a reason?”

As Kiris persistently asked, Asmun looked at him silently. Of course, he anticipated that Kiris wouldn’t just offer him anything, even if it was merely a burden of land.

Asmun pretended to ponder for a moment before finally spouting his prepared excuse.

“It’s quite embarrassing, but I embarrassed myself during the founding banquet, didn’t I?”

At this, Kiris lifted his eyebrows again.

To be precise, he had almost embarrassed himself, hadn’t he?

Asmun hadn’t suffered any harm that day. In fact, the rumor was that if it weren’t for that foolish priest, Asmun would have defeated the monsters, infuriating him further.

“As the prince of Hesmor, it was very embarrassing to show such a sight. I realized my shortcomings.”

Kiris looked him up and down, trying to gauge the unemotional expression on Asmun’s face as he spoke of having realized his inadequacies. It wasn’t so bad seeing Asmun admit to his shortcomings.

Yeah, you’re not inadequate.

The arrogant Asmun seemed to have come to his senses, and for a moment, Kiris felt pleased.

“So I’m looking for some land to train, but as you know, I don’t have much land of my own, so it’s not easy.”

“Training? You?”

“Yes. I heard that monsters have been appearing frequently in Leveim.”

Kiris barely held back a laugh. The monsters that appeared in Leveim were primarily mid-level or higher monsters.

What a joke.

True, Asmun’s expedition team had been performing well recently, but that only referred to easy-to-handle monsters, not the monstrous threats of the rugged Leveim.

However, Kiris’s eyes lit up suddenly. If that foolish brat got hurt while fighting monsters under the guise of training, wouldn’t that be a good thing?

Better yet, dying wouldn’t be too bad either.

“Sure, sounds good.”

Having finished his shallow calculations, Kiris agreed heartily, putting on a refreshing smile. He didn’t bother to mention that sometimes even high-level monsters appeared there.

“Then we should write up a contract right here. I’ll report to His Majesty.”

Asmun gave a relaxed smile while looking at the sneaky intentions clearly visible in Kiris.

“Please go ahead.”

“Hah….”

Eden trudged away, sighing. It was like climbing a mountain after a mountain.

Even defeating one monster would be tough enough, let alone thirty. And they were even ‘western’ monsters. As a apprentice priest working in the Great Temple with a mountain of daily tasks, I had no business going west.

“Raising my magical power first would probably be better…”

—But even raising my magical power wasn’t going to be a walk in the park. I had no idea how to go about it.

In my previous gameplay, I had started as a mage or as a noble who could hire mages for magic lessons, but now I had no home or shelter.

Not only could I not afford the lesson fees, but I also had no way to even meet a mage.

Moreover….

“Apprentice Priest Eden Liliart. I’ve come to clean again today.”

As the lowest rank and trainee in the Temple, there were too many tasks for me to handle. Today, Eden arrived at the East Tower to clean the Chancellor’s Office and announced her status and purpose to the doorkeeper outside the office.

“Be particularly careful today, as the Chancellor is inside. You must not disturb him.”

At the doorkeeper’s words, Eden’s eyes widened. She had been cleaning the Chancellor’s office for several days, but it was the first time he was actually in the office.

The Chancellor was as busy as the Emperor, often rarely staying at the Temple, and Eden had thought it would remain so until her two-month cleaning duty was over, but that little hope shattered today.

‘Ah. This is inconvenient….’

Unbeknownst to the doorkeeper, who had no idea about Eden’s inner thoughts, he rang the bell in front of the door. After a brief wait, the office door opened on its own.

“Please enter.”

 

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