Chapter 50
After receiving the designated request, I immediately moved to Crown Rodian’s territory.
It was suspicious, but the pay was substantial.
There’s nothing in this world that money can’t do.
‘Indeed, money is the best!’
When the cart arrived at Crown Rodian’s territory, the soldiers guarding the entrance stopped us.
They asked what our business was and insisted we state it clearly.
In that moment, I felt a déjà vu from when I was at Count’s territory.
So, as I stretched my arms, getting ready to create a Galaxy Z Flip again, Luna stopped me.
“Luke, please calm down…! We need to show them the request form!”
“Hey, let go. It’s obvious anyway.”
“I don’t know what a video is, but please take it easy!”
If they wouldn’t listen even after repeated warnings, it was better to just show them and move along quickly.
“You guys! Stop messing around and tell us your business already!”
As I was wrestling with Luna, an impatient soldier spoke up.
“Look, Luna, it’s obvious. We should just process this quickly.”
“Ah! Just a moment! We came for a request!”
“A request?”
“Yes! Luke, quickly show them the request form!”
Ehh? That’s a hassle.
I was initially planning to just fold it in half, but with Luna nagging at my side, I had no choice but to pull the request form out.
After reading the request form, the soldier bowed his upper body at a 90-degree angle and apologized profusely.
“I-I’m so sorry! You’re Lord Rodian’s contractor! I have committed a faux pas!”
‘Oh. These guys are sharp.’
Absolutely! This is how it should be!
Who would treat a noble like that?
For this, I could bear creating a Galaxy Z Flip just for the occasion.
We followed the soldier who would guide us to the mansion, taking in the sights of the territory.
Originally, I thought we needed to get the request form authorized by the Adventurer’s Guild like last time, but it turns out the marquis had taken care of everything already, so we could go directly to the mansion.
And on the way to the mansion, Luna leaned closer and whispered.
“Luke, doesn’t something feel off?”
“What do you mean?”
“It feels strange that someone of marquis status is so concerned about a commoner adventurer… It’s very different from the nobles I know.”
“Worrying is just part of the job.”
Well, Luna had a point.
I might not know all the nobles, but at least the ones I’ve seen in novels were all living it up in their own worlds.
Later on, when the protagonist is defeating demons and making a name for himself, the nobles who can’t stand to see others succeed often try to sabotage him at every turn.
Characters like Isaac, the kind-hearted noble, are almost non-existent.
So Luna’s suspicion of treating a commoner adventurer like a noble makes sense.
“But that doesn’t mean we should refuse their hospitality, right?”
I understood what Luna was worried about, but who exactly was the dominant figure here?
I might not know what this marquis does, but it’s evident that they’re obsessed with us.
That means we are needed.
So obviously, we are the dominate party and the marquis is subordinate.
Since we took the trouble to come here, a little hospitality is only natural.
If they weren’t prepared to treat us like this, they shouldn’t have called us in the first place.
Arriving at the mansion with the soldier, we were guided by the butler to the reception room.
After being told to wait a moment, we enjoyed the refreshments prepared on the table.
“What are you doing, Luke?”
“I’m putting the snacks in my inventory.”
“…Why?”
“Because it’s free.”
“…….”
Come on, don’t look at me like that. Luna, you try living just one month in Korea.
Then you’ll understand why I’m doing this.
In Korea, there are women who clean out free candy by the bagful!
Some people are so stingy they tear open the free veggie bags provided at supermarkets just to stuff them full.
So while I was loading all the snacks from the reception room into my inventory—
-Click.
Someone opened the door and walked in.
Since the only person who would enter the room knowing there were guests in the reception was the lord of the mansion himself, I turned to see what kind of person had been so obsessed with me.
“Nice to meet you. I am Crown Rodian, the one who designated you—”
“EEK!!! He’s slit-eyed!!!”
I jumped and grabbed the legs of the slit-eyed man.
“Muscle Buster!!!!”
-Crack!
“Ugh!!!!”
With a slit-eyed man smiling and approaching, my hand moved before I even realized it.
“Lu-Luke!”
“Lu-Luke!”
Luna and Yui, startled by my actions, rushed over to pull my arms away.
“Hey, let go! He’s slit-eyed! He’s definitely plotting something!”
“What does that even matter?!”
“Y-Yeah! His eyes are just small!”
You idiots! You don’t know what you’re talking about!
What are the traits of a slit-eyed person?
They’re a hidden villain, a hidden villain!
I don’t know if this marquis is a hidden villain or not.
But claiming that slit-eyed people are often hidden villains is usually a safe bet.
In fact, most slit-eyed characters tend to be either hidden villains or characters of significant importance.
“I’m so sorry…!”
Yui bowed her waist in apology.
“Ah… ha… ahem! It’s alright. I often receive such misunderstandings.”
“See? The person involved says it’s okay.”
“Luke…”
Upon hearing this, I felt gloomy.
A master living under a slave.
Is this the right kind of relationship?
“What made you hit me with the request…”
Luna whispered in my ear.
What do you mean, what should I do? We need him, not the other way around.
I didn’t back down from my desire to see him as a hidden villain.
I’d keep my eyes wide open and when trouble arises, I’ll take him out.
“Now let me reintroduce myself. I’m Crown Rodian, the one who’s requesting something from you.”
“I’m Luke. Did you expect me to say that?”
“…What?”
“Just let me hit you once.”
-Smack!
“Blugh!”
I delivered a slap to the marquis’s cheek.
A person who can strike a noble without hesitation.
A person who doesn’t care about others’ opinions.
That would be me, the manly man Luke.
‘Who’s more desperate, me or him?’
I almost didn’t want to come, but he looked so desperate that I decided to show up.
What’s he gonna do? If it bothers me, I could always just leave. I wouldn’t miss anything.
“Ah… ah… it’s fine, really…”
Oh… can he endure this?
We decided to call such behavior kind-hearted, not foolish.
“Really? Then let’s hit you some more.”
“Hold on…!”
-Smack!
“Ah!”
“This is for annoying me.”
-Smack!
“Ugh!”
“This is for bothering Adela.”
-Smack!
“Ugh!”
“This is… um, I don’t know. Just take this hit.”
-Smack!
I continued for a while longer.
After days of annoyance from him and Adela.
*
The sound of slapping echoed in the room multiple times.
The marquis’s face swelled up, looking like someone who just got stung by bees.
But despite enduring those hits, he didn’t open his eyes wide; he must have been pretty dissatisfied with that.
“Hey! You aren’t opening your eyes right?!”
Look at how he’s opening them?
He should be grateful to me!
If I hadn’t controlled my strength, would he even still be alive right now?
If I had gone all out, a couple of hits would have given him a concussion long ago.
The last time I tested, I was equal to the Iron Golem, and now I’m way stronger. Normal people wouldn’t stand a chance; I could probably crush their head with just my grip.
“H-Hey, I’m sorry! Please just let it go! It’s always like this with my face, so bear with me…!”
As I raised my hand to deliver another hit, the marquis covered his face with both arms, shaking in fear.
Nobles are not that special.
“See, Luna? Nobles aren’t any different.”
“……”
People will always prioritize their own lives first.
When in a bind, they’ll throw away power, honor, and status just to survive.
When a deadly threat is looming over them, who’s going to act all proud?
He claims to be a marquis?
What’s he going to do about it?
If he makes me angry, everything he’s built will crumble in an instant.
So, of course, this is the right attitude.
‘Sigh. I’ve got to become an S-Rank Adventurer soon.’
Once I’m an S-Rank Adventurer, I won’t have to care about nobles and can take down anyone I want.
Being an S-Rank Adventurer means being asymmetric in power itself; who could stop them?
Well, I suppose they could send the entire army of the empire to fight me but…
The emperor wouldn’t be stupid enough to ruin the empire just to catch one S-Rank adventurer.
It’s fortunate that the current S-Rank adventurers aren’t interested in the secular world.
If they had clashed with the empire, it would be game over for the empire.
“Can I finally talk about the request?”
“Sure.”
The marquis cleared his throat as if he was about to share something significant.
If he looked in the mirror, he’d know there’s no way he can create an atmosphere right now.
“Recently, in the desert area adjacent to our marquisate, a specific monster is multiplying rapidly. Your task is to completely eradicate this monster. That is, you must obliterate it.”
What kind of monster would require complete obliteration?
Wait, hold on, you initially tried to pay me just 50 won and expected to work for you?
That’s downright insulting.
Should I hit him again? As my fingers tapped on the armrest of the chair, I could see the marquis flinch a bit.
“So… what monster are we dealing with?”
“…It’s a C-Rank monster, Vespa.”
Vespa? That’s the most monster-like name I’ve seen so far.
All the other monsters I’ve encountered so far seemed to have names derived directly from their appearance, but what kind of monster could that be?
As I gazed at the marquis, demanding more details with my eyes, he began to speak.
“Do you know the E-Rank Giant Ant?”
“I’m acquainted.”
I blew theirs to smithereens.
Thanks to that, I lost my reward that day.
Remembering that made me feel irritated, why bring up an unpleasant memory?
“Just like the Giant Ant, each individual Vespa isn’t strong, but because they come in large numbers, they’re categorized as a C-Rank monster. Recently, due to their sudden increase in numbers, they have been a real headache.”
“So you just want us to get rid of them?”
“Yes, I will send a soldier to guide you to their location.”
Well, that’s pretty convenient.
This should be over in less than an hour.
“Got it. I’ll head out right away.”
“Yes, I will summon the soldier to accompany you now.”
“Oh, wait. Before that.”
“What?”
“Do you have any explosives?”
