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Suddenly, I found myself with a staggering sum of Three Hundred Thousand Gold. Acquired by posing as the Mage Tower, if caught, it would be hard to get off easy.

The risk of simply swallowing this gold was too great for me. What if Kofman, still clinging to his desire for money, decided to pull something from behind?

Of course, those who received this money instead of me might also face harm. Although one might think a noble wouldn’t behave so shamefully, I knew people could be more vile than one could imagine, so I couldn’t help but worry.

As I had the Nightmare pull the cart, I couldn’t stop pondering about the money until we finally reached the Capital City.

“Good evening, even at this late hour!”

The voice of a guard pulled me from my thoughts. Since I often brought captured bandits to the guards, most of them recognized me. He tilted his head as he noticed the cart being pulled by my Nightmare.

“What’s with that cart?”

“Uh… this is—”

The guard approached the cart without hesitation. It was then that I remembered something I had forgotten: to import a certain amount of cargo into the Capital City, one had to go through an inspection procedure.

Of course, if I slipped them a proper bribe, I could pass through without hassle. However, I didn’t bother with a bribe.

My complex thoughts cleared up. I had come up with a way to handle this money neatly.

*

Having parted ways with Seris, Kofman returned to the upscale inn where he was staying and let out a deep sigh. He had heard rumors of Hairan breed horses being here, but now his goal was out of reach.

On top of that, all the money he had brought was gone, filling Kofman with a sense of despair and loss that was beyond words.

He had believed he could easily get the horse. After successfully completing a deal under equal conditions, he was thinking of happily returning to his territory.

However, all of that turned out to be nothing but a sweet dream. The sudden appearance of the Mage Tower crushed Kofman, and he was forced to make an unavoidable choice to survive.

“Why!!! was the wizard working as a swordsman!!!”

Kofman exploded, slamming his massive fist down on a large table, shattering it in two.

Yet even so, Kofman’s anger remained unquenched. He drank the wine in the room, endlessly trying to calm the fire inside him.

As the bottles rolled under his feet began to accumulate, the cycle of days passed. Drunk and wandering through his hazy delusions, Kofman always found himself on his knees before the feet of a small girl.

Emotions of alcohol, greed, and regret were mixed together. Since he couldn’t get past the towering wall of the Mage Tower, it was only natural that Kofman’s gaze would divert elsewhere.

Wiping the drool from his mouth, he stared out the window. Bright moonlight beamed into the room beyond his blurred vision.

Forcing the alcohol-induced haze from his body, Kofman exited the room. Yet, his vision remained foggy.

“K-Kofman sir…?”

“Uh…”

Kofman looked down at the subordinates gazing up at him. Grasping his throbbing head, he said,

“Find out where my money went.”

“Yes…?”

“My money! Get it back!”

The nonsensical words spilled out, and the soldiers began to glance around, uncertain. They had to comply with what their lord, Kofman, said, but the one who took the money was the problem.

“B-but… the wizard…”

Boom-!

One soldier cautiously opened his mouth, but Kofman swung his fist, cutting him off. Then he shouted.

“Shut up! Never… NEVER speak of that incident again!”

Kofman screamed with a pale face. Before parting, the girl named Seris had stated she didn’t want her identity revealed; masquerading as a swordsman, she was active in this region.

If Seris’s identity were to be revealed to others, the backlash would inevitably fall on him, who knew her secret.

Kofman feared Seris and the Mage Tower behind her. However, despite that, his desire to recover his money led him to a certain thought.

“Seris, retrieve that gold used by the wizard… no, the fairy swordsman…”

“But…”

“Are you going to let your family back home starve? If we can’t find that money…”

Kofman didn’t finish his sentence. The soldiers nodded, their faces drained of color.

“Go and find it quickly! Mobilize all the soldiers!”

After sending off the soldiers, Kofman returned to the room and sat down, pouring himself another drink. As the bottles increased one by one, Kofman’s vision grew hazy.

As the sun began to dip in the sky, Kofman’s soldiers returned.

He rose from his seat, looking at the soldiers with joy.

“Did you find it!”

“Y-yes… we found it, but…”

“How much! How much did you find!”

“All of it, Three Hundred Thousand Gold…”

“Really? That money didn’t end up with the nobles, did it?”

“No, it all went to the commoners…”

Kofman let out a sigh of relief at the soldier’s response. If his money flowed to the commoners, solving the issue would be easier. Although there might be some gossip, if he asserted his background, he could easily recover the money.

Of course, it wouldn’t be possible to recover all Three Hundred Thousand Gold. Considerable bribes would need to be slipped to the higher-ups.

But what’s the difference? Kofman staggered toward the soldiers, saying,

“What are you doing!? Hurry up! Find my money! Use my name to bring it all back!”

However, the soldiers hesitated to move. They exchanged troubled glances without taking action. Finally, Kofman couldn’t hold back his frustration and grabbed the collar of the nearest soldier.

“What are you doing!”

“Th-that… I think you need to go yourself…”

“Me? Go myself?”

“Yes…”

“Fine.”

Ultimately, Kofman had no choice but to follow his soldiers, his drunken body stumbling behind them. He roughly changed out of his messy clothes and threw on a full plate of armor lying on the floor.

When Kofman arrived with the soldiers, it was at the Temple of the Moon God Elune. He was stunned. It was an entirely unexpected location.

“What is this…?”

Strange enough, that was not the end of it. The followers of Elune, wandering around, saw Kofman and began to bow their heads in prayer with bright smiles.

“T-this is…”

Just then, a priest clad in white robes rushed out from the inside of the temple, wearing a big smile like the other followers.

“Lord Kofman! Welcome!”

“Uh…?”

Kofman looked at his subordinates. Having lived his entire life as an atheist, he had never once donated to the temple. Thus, there was no reason for the followers of Elune to welcome him.

But what was going on? Stumbling drunkenly, Kofman gazed at the gathering Elune followers.

“In such difficult times, you willingly donate such a large sum…”

“L-large sum…?”

It wasn’t just the followers of Elune that began to gather around. Ordinary residents walking by also started to sneak in.

Staring blankly at the scene, Kofman glared at his subordinates.

“W-what is going on here!”

“That is…”

The soldier began to explain, speaking as softly as he could to Kofman about what had happened.

Seris, who received the gold, did not keep the money for herself. She entered with the cart she had pulled from outside the castle and immediately sought out the Temple of Elune, donating the entire sum of Three Hundred Thousand Gold.

Moreover, she reportedly said that all this donation was made in the name of the knight, Ander Del Kofman.

The Temple of Elune, having received the donation, did not send it to the Royalty. Instead, they used the money for citizens suffering in the endless winter.

Purchasing items like oil, blankets, clothing, and food from foreign merchants who crossed the sea, they distributed them all.

It was only natural that Kofman’s fame would rise, practicing the so-called noblesse oblige. Through the residents receiving the supplies delivered in his name, rumors of Kofman’s good deeds swelled uncontrollably.

Kofman stood there with his mouth agape. He felt as if his soul was escaping from his body.

He thought it wasn’t too late, hoping to utilize his status to reclaim the money received through a trade.

But now, even that had become impossible.

“Long live Count Kofman!”

“Long live Count Kofman!”

Amid the cheers of citizens, the prayers of the followers of Elune flowed. Kofman closed his eyes, staring at the golden divine energy pouring over him.

“K-Kofman!”

*

“Look over there, Emily… no, Seris is…!”

“Yeah…”

“Is that the place…?”

Su and Shu, along with Foldrin, spoke.

Foldrin gazed at the approaching massive continent, Monster Island, thinking he had no regrets about his choice.

Foldrin clutched the symbol of Elune hanging from his necklace, recalling the past.

Originally, his journey had been to Greenfall, the land of barbarians. He had moved to Greenfall to investigate the traces of Dark Magic as a Paladin.

Upon arriving there, Foldrin was able to uphold his duties as a Paladin while also hearing about the whereabouts of the girl he had been searching for.

However, the girl named Seris had already left.

At that time, Foldrin couldn’t help but be troubled. Once his investigation in Greenfall was over, he would have no choice but to return to the Royal Territory. This meant he could no longer chase after Seris.

Foldrin prayed to Elune, asking what he should do.

Then Elune answered him. The response was to follow what he believed was right.

As soon as Foldrin received that answer, he immediately stole a horse and pursued Seris’s whereabouts without a second thought.

He ran and ran, truly running endlessly. Desertion was a grave sin, yet Foldrin’s divine power did not fade.

Thus he arrived at the Karma Empire. There, he met Seris’s final trace and her hometown friends, the twins, Shu and Su.

Strangely, the two were awkwardly using Elune’s Radiance. Foldrin thought this was fate, that all destinies were connecting Seris and himself.

Foldrin formally taught Shu and Su how to use Elune’s Radiance. Thanks to that, they were able to advance from Bronze Grade to Silver Grade swordsmen, and together they boarded a ship heading to Monster Island.

“Disembark!”

The ship arrived. The moment the captain’s command ended, the three jumped off the ship without hesitation.

 

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