<Duke's POV>
It has been a few months since Duke and Ari’s sparring session.
During this time, a lot happened.
Rex and Ari were active as adventurers.
Their adventures weren’t particularly special.
There was an incident where Rex, being mistaken for a woman while registering as a novice adventurer, joined an all-female party which caused quite a commotion.
There was also an incident where Ari, who was maintaining a low profile on Rex’s orders, caved in the chest of a senior adventurer who was committing sexual harassment.
In another incident, a very minor occurrence led Ari to destroy an entire clan.
During all these events, I, the ultimate boss, was…
“Ah, I’m bored.”
Melting away in my inn room out of boredom.
Why didn’t I participate in those events?
“I can’t just join in on the kids’ show.”
To Ari, I might be like a baby tiger, but to ordinary people, she’s more like a roaming swordsman on the streets.
It’s easy to misunderstand, but the average combat power of adventurers isn’t particularly high.
A mid-tier rank 1 adventurer is equivalent to a low-tier knight,
and a high-tier rank 2 adventurer is equivalent to a mid-tier knight.
Rank 3 adventurers are S-rank adventurers admired by the populace and rare in the entire world but are merely high-tier knights in noble territories.
In short, Ari, who registered at the Adventurer’s Guild a week ago, is an ecological disruptor in the adventurer industry.
This phenomenon occurs because adventurers are merely stepping stones for seeking fortune in this world.
If one isn’t born into nobility, it’s hard to encounter fortunate opportunities like spiritual medicine or mentors, so commoners become adventurers to pray for such opportunities somewhere.
Out of 10 people, only one breaks through the rank 1 barrier and stands at a crossroads,
choosing between becoming a low-tier knight or staying as a mid-tier adventurer in hopes of encountering another fortunate opportunity.
The pattern continues:
Choosing between becoming a mid-tier knight or a high-tier adventurer,
Choosing between becoming a high-tier knight or an S-rank adventurer.
Hence, the strongest adventurer, the top dog in the adventurer community, only reaches rank 4.
Starting from rank 5, there’s no need to adventure—become a lord instead.
Nonetheless, in such an environment, a rank 3 “baby tiger” is the top predator in the food chain.
Therefore, troubles that inevitably arise during adventurer activities are naturally resolved by her.
This is also why I have nothing to do.
“A child’s stage; I can’t appear.”
So, I quietly stayed away.
Taking away her opportunity to grow would be rather undignified, wouldn’t it?
Besides, I had another role.
Because of this role, I mostly had to stay inside my room.
‘Now, time’s about up…’
While idly folding paper 13 times using telekinesis to relieve my boredom, someone knocked on the door.
Knock knock.
Realizing the presence on the other side of the door, I quickly threw the paper into an alternate space.
Then I took out something I considered important from the alternate space.
<Theory of Excuses - Author: Agnotos>
From somewhere far away, in the Elf Country, this was written by a famous philosopher, jurist, thinker… roughly a renowned person.
Naturally, I didn’t understand it—I used it as a fashion item.
The bookmark has been stuck on page 245 for 50 years.
Leaning back in my chair, I opened the book and placed it on the desk, clearing my throat.
After preparations were complete, I addressed Ari, who was on the other side of the door.
“Come in.”
The door opened with the creaking sound of old hinges.
Ari with a serious expression entered my room, dressed in black-and-white combat attire rather than her usual maid’s uniform.
Seeing her, my heart began to race with excitement.
“What should I teach you today?”
Since officially accepting her as a disciple in our last sparring session, each day has been exceedingly joyful.
“Thank you for today as well!”
Looking at her forehead brought back the memory of our first lesson.
Our first lesson took place one week after the sparring session.
When she went silent for a whole week after asking to be taught, I was disheartened.
But when she suddenly showed up a week later to request instruction, I nearly died of shock.
– “I have let go of my attachment to the past as Duke mentioned. I thought it was the bare minimum qualification.”
She had listened carefully to what I had said in our final conversation during the sparring session and only came to me for teaching after rectifying it.
“Ah, this is too hot…”
The attitude of someone who didn’t aim to eat instructions for free but worked on self-improvement and came to ask when still unable to fix it…
“It’s too exciting.”
It excited me. (Mainly in the old fart sense.)
Afterwards, she visited my room whenever she had time.
Our training consisted of three main steps.
First, we engaged in Zen dialogue in the room.
Next, I explained how today’s Zen dialogue relates to what she needs to correct today.
Lastly, we go to the backyard for practical practice.
I used to think such Zen dialogue wasn’t necessary for physical training, but as I advanced, I realized its importance.
When fighting, your mental image takes up half the battle, and Zen dialogue helps correct that imagery.
So, even though it’s tedious, I’ve been carefully cultivating her through this process.
“- That is, your obsession with speed merely puts you in a disadvantageous position. Do you understand?”
After a lengthy Zen dialogue session, she nodded as if comprehending.
“Skill is not simply about speed.”
“Yes.”
Today’s topic was deception.
Her techniques are excellent, but they’re too honest.
She has never met someone who reacts to her techniques until now, so she has been impulsively attacking but this approach has its limits.
Shoulder movements, spacing between her feet, eye contact, and the angle of her waist.
If all these are comprehensively taken in, one can roughly predict the next movement.
Once predicted, no matter how fast she is, one can simply wait beforehand.
Therefore, I will teach her how to deceive her opponents.
“Master. I shall wait in the backyard.”
She promptly proceeded to the backyard.
I, as usual, donned my cloak and followed her.
When we two reached the backyard, Rex was already waiting for us.
However, he wasn’t the referee this time.
“Why should I…?”
Rex was also scheduled to train beside Ari.
The reason is simple.
‘The king can’t keep getting defeated so easily, can he?’
Even though I and Ari are here, there’s no such thing as absolute security in this world.
Of course, there is another reason.
‘You should reach at least the rank 3 capability.’
By the end of the story, Rex achieves combat ability at the rank 3 level.
This is somewhat serious considering that his interface ability reaches the 10th rank level yet his physical combat ability is at the rank 3 level, but it is still achievable.
‘I’m not asking for too much, am I?’
I merely directed him to assist beside Ari while also participating in the fight.
‘Dirty old man repeating for thirty years…’
Though I can’t remember exactly, I’m attempting some sort of proverb-like effect.
Unknowing of my sincere intentions, Rex cried out in half-desperation.
“Save me…”
Rex, with tears and a runny nose, pleaded.
Ari, as always, promptly pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his nose.
And while doing this, Ari naturally touched Rex’s thigh to satisfy her personal desire.
A dying ruler, a maid fulfilling her personal desires, and a loyal knight training the two of them.
“Ah. Today is peaceful as ever.”
It was truly a peaceful daily routine.
.
.
.
‘Watching these two makes me want one.’
<Yohana's POV>
“Ah, I’m sleep.”
In the high-class hotel located within Kargonar Castle.
A beautiful woman, rubbing her blurry eyes, rose from a queen-sized bed.
She hated the beds in this territory.
Not just the bed, everything about this territory was undesirable.
In this territory, instead of reinvesting the wealth concentrated in the lord and his followers into the land, they chose to exploit the tenants even more.
Naturally, the oil squeezed from withered fruits can’t compare to that of luscious ones.
As a result, everything in this territory was far more backward compared to her Sneeria territory.
“Ah…”
This wasn’t just about this territory.
Simply looking at prosperity, her Sneeria territory was the most prosperous in the kingdom.
Just, the problem was that because she was busy taking care of her territory, she was weaker compared to other lords.
Therefore, to protect her territory from other lords coveting it, she used relationships and contracts.
Luxury items, high-end household goods, gourmet foods, and so on.
By lavishing these things on lords interested in hobbies and luxury, she garnered their approval and secured mutual protection contracts.
Later, if her territory were to be attacked by one lord, others who would feel the pain of prosperity would inevitably have to protect her.
That is, she weaponized the envy between lords instead of reliance on trust in her own territory.
This was a result of the combat strength of each territory being dependent on the personal military might of the lord.
She had been precariously balancing these interpersonal relationships among lords.
All because she was weaker than the other lords.
Tap Tap.
She applied the cosmetics she brought from her own territory while sighing.
“Ah…”
Of course, she’s fully aware.
How perilously high up in the air she’s playing.
She understands that the general method for lords is to first become strong themselves and then protect their own land.
But…
“I can’t exploit the land in that state, can I?”
After the empire fell into civil war and collapsed, this land was left with the scars of war.
While the lords ignored it and continued exploitation, she, being of common origin, couldn’t prioritize her own growth.
She was the one who once resisted as a part of an uprising to make others like herself happy, and for her, it was impossible to abandon such sentiments just for her own advancement.
That’s why she continued to build her territory by creating concepts unknown in this world like welfare and reinvestment.
“Work is unpleasant…”
Her neighboring lords were despicable, and the reality was harsh.
But the reason she couldn’t abandon this method was because the retainers who had followed her thus far and the majority of the citizens recognized her efforts.
– “Thank you, my lord. Thanks to you, I have lived my best life.”
Understanding that this fleeting moment for her could mean a lifetime for the citizens, she couldn’t but give her all.
With that alone, she could perfectly portray the ‘Shadow Queen’ every day.
“Ah, Now that I think about it…”
Recently, someone new has come to appreciate her efforts.
Despite feeling apologetic to those who have supported her until now, this newfound recognition of one person has brought her a sense of fulfillment like never before.
“I miss Duke…”
Unable to contain her feelings, they slipped out of her lips.
Her cheeks slightly flushed, she looked around to see if anyone had heard.
Thanks to her simple nature, she didn’t bring any attendants with her, so there was no one who had heard.
“Ho-hem.”
After finishing her makeup, she changed her clothes.
The girl, who was previously half-asleep, unwilling to work, emerged as the dignified queen managing an entire territory, and stepped out of the room.
“Sneeria Ma’am. Report.”
One of her retainers waiting for her early in the morning brought over a pile of papers.
He summarized the incidents occurring in the Kargonar Territory.
She’d come to renew the contract with this territory but had dispersed her informants here regardless.
The lord of this territory, confident in his own strength, understood nothing about the importance of intelligence.
More precisely, because he believed ordinary soldiers had no significant impact on warfare, he didn’t care whether they investigated or not.
Thanks to this, she was allowed to collect information about this territory, except the inner castle where the lord resided, without any restrictions.
“Idiots.”
She intended to poach any useful techniques, know-how, or talents from this territory for her own.
She sipped her coffee and went over the report written by a junior knight who had pulled an all-nighter.
First, page one.
‘Abolishment of slavery movement?’
Suddenly, a wandering knight group appeared and was freeing slaves throughout the Kargonar Territory.
They would set fire to the slave traders and then disappear, planting the flag of the black snake where they had been.
The lord, whose main source of income was slave trading, tried to capture this group but failed due to their unpredictability.
“Interesting.”
If it happened in her territory, she might have opposed it, but since it was happening elsewhere, she was genuinely enjoying the report.
‘I might want to hire them for our territory later.’
She believed that such justice-filled knights would surely align well with her ideals.
She made a note on this page and flipped to the next.
‘Report on the last whereabouts of Duke Erwick.’
This was a command she had given because this was the territory where Duke Erwick disappeared a year ago.
But she skipped this section.
Because these reports were meaningless now.
Just then, an interesting report caught her eye.
‘The research city that was previously involved in human laundering has suddenly become a ghost town?’
One of the main sources of income for this territory was human trafficking.
And as an extension, this territory used to engage in human laundering.
Human laundering refers to the act of washing someone away as a bandit or orc’s deed if they pass through this territory.
This service was mainly provided to envious nobles.
The Kargonar Territory earned karma from other nobles through this business and used the disappeared people as experimental subjects.
This was a well-known secret among lords.
She felt revulsion due to the fact that such a territory was adjacent to her, but she could do nothing because of her weak power.
However, this city suddenly became a ghost town.
‘The bald one will be running around in a few days.’
The local officials of this territory are fundamentally lazy.
Thanks to her diligent informants, she had uncovered that the doctor’s city had become a ghost town, but the lord’s close associates seemed unaware of it.
Most of them would be preoccupied with the cultivation and exploitation within their own cities or regions and unlikely to pay any attention to the research city.
It might take a few more days for this to reach the lord’s ears.
“Should I tell him?”
She pondered for a moment but shook her head.
‘I can’t do nice things for that baldy.’
She tucked the page with this information into the shadows, making it invisible to anyone.
Thus, while reviewing the reports, only one remained.
She put a dry scone into her mouth and perused the report.
<Discovery of 4th-tier Demon>
Her eyebrows twitched.
She read the report with a tension unmatched by her earlier demeanor.
– A 4th-tier demon appeared.
– This demon has occupied a town, and its estimated race is an ogre.
– His followers mainly consist of a large number of humanoid monsters like goblins and orcs.
– Numerous 3rd-tier demons have also been observed in the demon group.
Her expression darkened while reading the report.
4th-tier demons.
They’re not uncommon but aren’t exactly rare either.
To put it simply, if a lord is incompetent or deliberately neglects, they may appear with a certain probability; otherwise, consider it as if they wouldn’t.
This is because demons have the culture of cannibalism, unlike humans.
Thanks to cannibalism, demons’ realms quickly stack. Some may even advance one tier after a single day’s sleep.
Therefore, the average lord usually handles the issue before demons can approach the 4th tier to maintain their power as a lord.
‘What’s that baldy thinking?’
It’s unlikely that the Lord of Kargonar didn’t know about this demon.
Demons quickly accumulate karma due to their cannibalistic nature, hence, they also have high chances of being detected.
Normally, just engaging in cannibalism to reach the 2nd tier would cause enough reports to flood in because of the accumulated karma.
‘It’s unlikely that he didn’t know it would advance to the 4th tier.’
The close aides of the baldy may be lazy but are quick when it comes to powers.
Therefore, there’s only one plausible assumption.
‘That bald old man… he’s lost it.’
The Lord is placing his bet.
Probably trying to enhance the demon to the 5th-tier and then defeat it himself to break through his barrier.
‘Now that I think about it, I’ve heard that his human lifespan is precarious.’
Currently, Lord Kargonar’s level is 59.
Just advancing one level wouldn’t only extend his life but also partly rejuvenate him, but the problem is that the lord has no time left.
‘Who would have thought he’d do such crazy stuff?’
If done incorrectly, the demon might defeat the Lord, eat him and his retainers, and become the lord of this region.
Of course, the lord is practically gambling with his life, but what an inconvenience it is for her.
‘If it goes wrong, a cannibal demon territory will be right next to ours.’
Naturally, those demons would invade her territory or secretly kidnap her citizens.
Given the precedents, this wasn’t mere speculation.
‘What should I do…’
The demon is still at level 4.
It’s something she and her retainers could still deal with.
The problem is the lord.
He’s unlikely to permit her to act within his territory.
More likely, this demon is the one the lord has been meticulously cultivating, and he may even have someone watching over it.
In other words, secretly eliminating it is impossible.
She let out a contemplative hum as she started contemplating the disposal of the demon.
Just then, one person’s face flashed through her mind.
A knight of justice who would willingly exterminate this demon without waiting for the lord’s permission.
Her heart began racing.
‘Asking this person is a fixed decision.’
Naturally, she began pondering what she should offer in return.
‘Of course, one must repay after asking for a favor.’
What should she offer?
‘How about inviting him to the territory?’
Let him stay at the high-class hotel for about ten years and give him the highest treatment.
Since her territory is the most prosperous in the kingdom, she can treat Duke and his master well.
Of course, the fact that the hotel is annex to her mansion isn’t particularly significant.
‘This is repayment, after all. Yes.’
Having decided unilaterally on the repayment, she prepared to contact Duke.
She believed that the knight of justice would never refuse this request.
This is the unknown story of what no one knows.
Originally, the main character could rely on no one.
Still, karma in the original story didn’t work as loosely as that.
In the original, Rex and Hana, while conducting their adventurer activities, accidentally defeated this demon, and it became the catalyst that began to change Rex’s destiny.
Something Duke was unaware of.
Just, the karma in this world rolled a little differently.
Where the die of fate for the demon in the original would have rolled the maximum value of meeting Rex, it wasn’t so in this world.
The originally 10-sided die of fate began rolling as a 12-sided die.
Til-til-til…
The die stopped, with higher numbers equating to harsher punishments for the demon.
12
Unfortunately for this demon, an originally non-existent verdict had come up.
