NOVEL NEXT Chapter 137: I Didn't Even Touch It (2)
Giral looked at Ryu with an expression that seemed to say, “What nonsense is this crazy woman spouting?”, but she spoke with utmost seriousness.
“Listen carefully, Giral. This is quite an important issue.”
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
“It’s true, I swear.”
“…Damn.”
Giral showed a very dissatisfied expression at Ryu’s words.
But her eyes looked so sincere.
“…Let’s hear it then.”
Still maintaining a displeased expression, Giral spoke.
In response, Ryu cleared her throat and began to speak.
“I think you, Giral, are well aware of this issue.”
“What issue?”
“Interference from others.”
“Interference?”
“Yes, to be precise, we were interrupted last time too. And the time before that. Well, back then, it was the Boss who was interfering, but anyway.”
“…That’s true.”
Giral nodded at Ryu’s words.
Indeed, Merilda had made many efforts to appeal to the Lord of Lartania, even if in less than respectable ways.
The problem was that every time she tried hard to appeal, there were always interrupters.
Giral, being fully aware of this fact, nodded, and Ryu continued.
“In my opinion, if the Boss wants to change her relationship with the Lord of Lartania, whether to kill or keep it, avoiding interference is more important.”
“Hmm…”
As Giral nodded as if it made sense, Ryu continued.
“And surprisingly, avoiding interference isn’t that difficult. For example, the dragon attached to the Tienus Merchant Group can be avoided by acting when the group isn’t around.”
“Aren’t there heroes in Lartania as well?”
“We can align the heroes’ schedules too. The Master of the Blue Tower will be away next week for a Mage Tower meeting, and the blacksmith has been staying underground in the Guild lately. Even if they come out, they’ll probably use some tricks.”
“What about the one stuck to the Lord like glue?”
“I’m planning to have the subordinates cause a small commotion near Lartania. Of course, there should be no unnecessary casualties. Something the Boss might be worried about could happen.”
Giral showed an impressed expression at Ryu’s words.
“Impressive.”
“What is?”
“…Were you always this smart?”
In Giral’s mind, Ryu was just a female revealing her attraction to men, so he looked at her with a curious expression.
“In these matters, I have to be smart. It’s about someone’s love life.”
“…Shouldn’t your love life be more important than the Boss’s love life?”
“I still haven’t found a male that I like. Ahem- Anyway, to get back to the main point, we can block all interferers during the operation. The problem is…her subordinate.”
“Loriel…”
“Yes, her.”
Ryu continued.
“Of course, she hasn’t defended or interfered so far. She’s been strictly an observer. But…”
“She’s extremely loyal to the woman competing with the Boss, right?”
“Exactly. So far, she’s been an observer, but if our Boss really tries to win… She might participate directly.”
“…That’s not certain yet, is it?”
“You’re right. But it’s not entirely out of the question, is it?”
“……”
Giral fell silent at Ryu’s words.
Indeed, thinking about it, Ryu’s words were correct.
At least Giral, who occasionally…no, quite often these days, talked with her, knew very well how much affection Loriel had for her master.
“That may be…true, but…”
“So, to completely eliminate any potential interferers, Giral, you need to show some strength.”
“…It seems better to just fight.”
“Fighting would be strange, wouldn’t it? And more importantly, it would make noise. If something happens near Lartania at that time, the operation would be over.”
“Then-”
“Mating is the only option.”
“…Can’t you just talk somewhere else?”
“Like they would listen. Mating is just cleaner, isn’t it?”
“No… Isn’t that too barbaric?”
Ryu gave a sour expression at Giral’s words.
“Really, it’s as crazy as you said.”
Ryu, wearing a slightly disdainful expression, suddenly tilted her head as if something seemed strange, then with a look of realization, exclaimed, “Ah!” with a shocked face.
“…Don’t tell me you like him just because you exchanged a few words with that human?”
“I- Absolutely not!”
“Wow… Is this for real?”
“No!”
Giral hurriedly denied it.
Ryu looked a bit suspicious but then shrugged as if understanding.
“Anyway, please think about this. If we can handle that woman, we can execute the plan perfectly without any interference. I’ll go talk to the Boss.”
With those words, she left.
“…Hmm…”
Giral’s heavy sigh continued as he looked at the Shayu Spring Water.
“Well, I’m off!”
“Take care.”
“Yeah! Oh, and you said the Fang of Fenrir, right? You can look forward to it; it’s in the Mage Tower.”
“Don’t overdo it.”
“I’m going to overdo it.”
With a very confident smile, Shadra hugged Kim Hyunwoo tightly from behind, looking a bit secretive.
“How could I not overdo it when my dad asked for it?”
She whispered in his ear.
“That makes it a bit burdensome.”
“Really? Then you can grant me another wish next time.”
“You haven’t even asked for the wish I promised last time, and you need another?”
“Of course I do!”
“In that case, I’ll grant any wish within my power.”
“Really?!”
Immediately after hearing those words, Shadra ran towards the office door with quick steps.
“Then I’ll definitely get it! Stay well while I’m gone!”
“Take care.”
“Yeah!”
With those words, she opened the office door and disappeared.
And then.
“Ha-”
Kim Hyunwoo let out a light sigh and fell into a strange thought.
‘…Lately, it feels like everyone is hitting on me.’
To say he hadn’t noticed until now would be a lie, but Kim Hyunwoo hadn’t really given it much thought.
He only began to consider the possibility that they might be hitting on him after becoming aware of the limit placed on his mind.
But even being conscious of it, he didn’t feel any particular emotions about it, which he found curious.
‘…Normally, knowing something like this would make me excited and want to brag about it.’
Of course, given Kim Hyunwoo’s personality, he wouldn’t actually brag, but he should have felt happy and excited.
He’s a lifelong bachelor.
But unlike an average bachelor, even with them hitting on him, he maintained perfect composure, which he found curious.
It didn’t seem particularly strange, yet it felt strange.
But thinking like that was only momentary.
‘This is something to think about after lifting the limit.’
With that thought, he opened the troop window.
–Owned Forces–
-Regular Soldiers: 1,000
-Swordsmen: 500
-Guards: 700
-Apprentice Knights: 200
With the new soldiers recruited due to the creation of the Magical Engineering Research Institute, Lartania’s army now totalled 2,400 soldiers.
Considering the residents, it was an appropriate amount, but if including the mercenaries gathered in Lartania, it felt a bit insufficient.
However, increasing the number of soldiers was not an immediate necessity.
Kim Hyunwoo needed to spend most of the money he had accumulated for the development of the territory again.
‘…I need to build secondary structures starting with the Magical Engineering Research Institute.’
Additionally, the creation of the Magical Engineering Research Institute seemed to unexpectedly aid in missile development, requiring extra expenses, so he needed to save as much as possible.
In other words, the current number of soldiers was very reasonable from Kim Hyunwoo’s perspective.
‘Well, now is the time to think about how to earn more money rather than increasing soldiers.’
In fact, the current Lartania territory was earning an enormous amount of gold.
If it were another lord, they could live lavishly without doing anything else.
But from Kim Hyunwoo’s perspective, who roughly knew what would happen in this world through the Blue and Red Merchants, he needed much more money than now.
The current Lartania territory still wasn’t fully grown.
‘…The demons are one thing, but to stop the upcoming celestials or another, growth is still needed.’
So Kim Hyunwoo was thinking of business items to earn more money.
A few days later, when the Tienus Merchant Group arrived in Lartania again,
“…Yes? So-”
Kim Hyunwoo heard a very strange rumor from Adria.
“The demons self-destructed?”
The rumor that the demons have self-destructed in the Middle Realm.