On the continent of Hanath, in the year 1414, May 8th. It has been a week since Julian was appointed Chief Administrator.
[Jared – Lv. 8]
[Strength: 35]
[Stamina: 35]
[Magic Power: 1313]
[Wisdom: 160]
[Agility: 35]
[Charm: 205]
[Physical Defense: 35]
[Magic Defense: 138]
[Remaining Stats: 0]
‘I’m quite satisfied with the overall increase. Especially the magic power, with this much... I think it's about the level of a 6th-class magician in <Paradiso>. Of course, the wisdom is low, so the damage isn’t very strong, but having a large mana pool is good.’
I looked over the stats contentedly. Anyway, the strength and agility stats can be covered with strength and haste spells respectively. My stamina is somewhat lacking, but since I've always been more focused on attack rather than defense, it doesn’t bother me much.
Charm, on the other hand, is something you can never have too much of. For now, it's sufficient for dealing with ordinary people, but when I meet higher nobility or beings beyond them, charisma will have a greater impact. First impressions are crucial, and having lower charm can detract from them.
It's what is often referred to as a "feel," and charm has a significant influence on this.
‘As long as I continue to train steadily, I won’t have to worry about the Grand Magic Tournament. It’s huge that I’m gaining 1 magic defense every day.’
I infused my abdomen, covered in needles, with magic power, practicing my magic power training as always. When midnight comes, as usual, I will train magic defense with Isabelle.
Recently, Isabelle has been concentrating on practicing 3-star spells. Apart from meal times and training with me, she has been training alone constantly. Seeing her work tirelessly without pause, I sincerely cheer her on.
“Whew.”
I lay down on the bed, exhausted. Although Julian was busy moving around as the appointed Chief Administrator, that didn’t mean I had no work to do. Ultimately, I am the lord, and the final decision-maker is me.
Being just a signing machine would be easy, but I’m not the type to handle things sloppily. Even in my past life as an office worker, I meticulously recorded everything and didn’t miss even the smallest instructions. I couldn’t afford to be negligent with the affairs of my territory, which I govern.
As a result, the paperwork I had to process piled up as much as Julian worked hard, and thus I ended up spending almost the entire week living in the mansion. It was a time where I was overwhelmed with work without a proper outing.
Knock, knock.
Then, I heard a knock.
“Come in.”
“My lord! I’ve brought some Kalakas petal tea! It’s good for your diet, and I got it from the Cribia territory!”
Haze entered with a fresh and lively voice, bringing in the tea. In truth, after awakening her as a healer, I had told her not to work as a maid anymore. Since she already had the qualities of a healer, she could receive a higher treatment than a commoner – a maid.
However, Haze stubbornly refused. She said she would continue her healer training but didn’t want to give up her maid position. She claimed she would never allow another maid to attend to me, not as long as she was alive.
Thanks to that, Haze was doing a double job, juggling both maid duties and healer training. Since it was a decision she made herself and insisted she wouldn’t blame me, I didn’t want to discourage her any further.
Sizzle.
“Would you like a cup?”
“No! How could I dare in front of the lord?”
“It’s fine. I’ve always told you, let’s not worry about status or anything like that in private.”
Though I accepted this life perfectly, listening to overly polite speech still made me somewhat uncomfortable due to memories from my past life. Especially since all maids and servants used respectful speech towards me, it was ticklish to hear it all the time. There were times I just wanted to hear casual conversations like in modern times, or be called brother or something similar.
“Then... I’ll take it carefully.”
“Sure.”
Pouring tea into our cups, Haze and I enjoyed a small toast, leisurely sipping tea. While I sat on the bed looking through documents that still needed my approval, Haze, sitting next to me, continued the conversation.
“My lord, have you heard the news?”
“What news?”
This is how Haze usually starts conversations. She gathered information about the territory from various sources, often bringing up recent hot issues. The current hot topic in the Mallorka territory was naturally the young administrator, Julian. At thirty years old, Julian had become Chief Administrator and initially received cold stares from other retainers. It was an expected reaction.
“Yesterday, Sir Obren and Sir Avila visited to see if there were any issues with running the territory, right?”
“Yes, they did.”
“It seems they followed Julian around all day yesterday and today, observing his work personally.”
“Hoho, that’s interesting news.”
A smile tugged at my lips. These two were meticulous, even harsh when it came to administration. Though they displayed a gentle demeanor because they pledged loyalty to me as the lord, they were cold and strict when dealing with their subordinates in their respective fields.
“Well, those picky gentlemen reportedly praised Julian! It seems the response from the territory’s residents is also positive. They say that by replacing many officials with people experienced in similar fields, complaints from farmers and merchants significantly decreased!”
“Looks like my prediction was right.”
“They said they were amazed at how you can dig out pearls among so many people, my lord. They were truly surprised!”
“It’s good news. I thought it would go well, but being recognized is satisfying.”
At that moment, another knock sounded. When Haze opened the door, Rakis entered in full gear. Ordinarily, he should have removed all military gear before meeting me, but I had simplified such unnecessary procedures long ago. I granted trusted retainers considerable discretion and decisively broke old customs.
“Rakis, what’s the matter?”
“My lord, thanks to Julian, we've uncovered and apprehended all the freeloaders who were parasitically hiding within the territory. They were secretly embezzling grain and gold by manipulating and forging ledgers. I’ve just returned from imprisoning them all.”
“You mean you investigated the ledgers in the meantime?”
“Yes. It was a daunting task even for me, but... Julian immediately pinpointed errors as if solving an easy problem and even identified mishaps in delivery during the process.”
“I didn’t expect it, but the work progressed faster than I imagined. I expected it would take longer due to the need for cross-analysis of double or forged ledgers, right?”
“Yes. It’s truly remarkable. Julian’s skills are astounding not only to me but to all retainers. There’s no doubt about the respect towards you, my lord, for recognizing such talent and appointing him!”
“That’s good. Julian has now been recognized for his prowess.”
“You can rest assured about the administration of Mallorka territory. Sir Obren and Sir Avila have returned to the Cribia territory without worries.”
“Great. Any other news?”
“The large-scale operation to eradicate crime organizations over the past week is nearing completion.”
“What about the drug syndicate Detrahere?”
“Some remnants who pledged to carry on Detrahere fled to the Ronella territory and seem to be establishing a new base there.”
“Ronella territory? Since it’s a territory we plan to attack someday, let’s delay addressing it until then.”
“Yes.”
“Good work. You may return.”
Sending Rakis away, the aftermath of occupying Mallorka territory, which had been tumultuous, ended well. Thanks to Julian’s exploits in eradicating crime organizations, stability quickly returned.
[Julian’s loyalty has increased! Loyalty has risen from 80 to 85.]
At the same time, a message indicating a rise in loyalty appeared. It seemed there was a slight change in Julian’s mindset.
‘Good. Allowing someone to do what they want naturally makes them more devoted. A loyalty of 85 isn’t perfect, but it's enough to ensure he won’t look elsewhere.’
Julian’s loyalty was the lowest among the retainers since he had recently joined. Obren, Avila, and Rakis had never once decreased after reaching their maximum. It was the same for Reyna and Mia, and Aki, who was excelling as a merchant leader. Haze, who was a sunflower looking only at me, was no exception. Only Isabelle’s loyalty was slightly lower, but it wasn’t a concern.
“Whew!”
Feeling that the backlogged work and worries were resolved all at once, I felt a languid relief wash over me. Although not tired, I felt like sleeping. It was just that kind of feeling.
“My lord! Are you tired? Shall I give you a massage?”
“No, it’s fine.”
I stopped Haze from instinctively activating her devotion. While I wanted to rest, my body was still full of energy. Thanks to the Gorzaz necklace, I had lost appetite, sleep, and lust...! but it gave me much time.
“Haze.”
“Yes?”
“Shall we take a short trip to the outskirts of the territory? There’s a place I’ve wanted to visit in Mallorka territory.”
“Oh? Where is it?”
“You’ll know when we get there. Haze, you have a better sense of direction than me, right? So I’d like you to map out any necessary parts while we’re there.”
“If my lord commands, I must do it! I’m really good with directions! I remember every path I take once! Drawing isn’t hard either!”
“Great, then let’s practice healing magic while we’re at it. I also have a few comments to give.”
“Yes! Are we leaving right now?”
“The iron must be struck while it’s hot. Let’s go.”
The place I intended to visit wasn’t far. So I made an excuse to the retainers about going for an inspection of the territory, and with Haze, I headed toward the mountainous area in the northeast of Mallorka territory. The place I aimed to visit was an ancient tomb formally named ‘The Underground Tomb of King Mahat III.’
In my past life, it resembled the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, a tomb made over a thousand years ago. Despite a millennium passing, the tomb remained unknown for two reasons. Firstly, from the start, the tomb’s entrance was made in an unexpected location to avoid being noticed by those around.
Secondly, even if one finds the entrance, they must face various trials upon entry. Many explorers perished or failed to escape, unable to share information with others. As such, little was known about ancient tombs, and they were merely speculated to exist somewhere.
In <Paradiso>, Mahat III’s tomb was released as a special user event dungeon. The event rewarded the team who first discovered and conquered the dungeon with a 9-star artifact. The only issue was that the location of the dungeon wasn’t revealed, not even a small hint.
Yet, the users were exemplary. They scoured previously overlooked fields with meticulous attention, reasoning that it might be placed in relatively unpopular lands. Moreover, they crawled through the developers’ personal social media, crazily looking for backgrounds or reflections of monitors in individual or group photos.
After tracing a few tiny pieces of photos and several lights, users finally figured out the entrance to the ancient tomb. The place I’m headed to now is precisely that location. It’s the result of tens of thousands, no, hundreds of thousands of users’ blood and sweat in the form of shortcut know-how.
“My lord, it feels creepy.”
“Don’t mind the atmosphere, just focus on your healing magic. Healing doesn’t work just because you pour excessive healing power. Like comforting a startled stomach with porridge, you must control the strength of the healing power.”
“Was I too strong? It’s just because I wanted to heal you, my lord! Gosh, this dense head of mine!”
Haze blamed herself. But I know that you can never be satisfied with the first bite. Yet, it seemed she wanted to achieve rapid success like taking a shortcut.
“After all, it’s just a minor wound on my finger. Don’t worry about it, just think of it as mending a scratch on a piece of meat.”
“But!”
“I’m ordering you as a lord. This isn’t advice from a comrade.”
“...Understood.”
Emphasizing again with a stern tone, Haze bit her lip and began practicing her healing magic earnestly. Just then.
Ssss...
I saw the figure of a sand mist suddenly appearing in front of my eyes. The sand mist soon transformed into a human shape, resembling the face of King Mahat III.
“Haze, step back at least five steps behind me.”
“Yes, understood.”
I first moved Haze back. It was too dangerous to keep her in front, as the identity of the opponent was unknown.
“A cursed one who should not exist in this world has appeared before me... Begone at once. The moment your and my curses resonate, the world will fall...”
“I’ve heard that many times before. The world doesn’t fall so easily, you know?”
“Do not disturb my rest.”
“Sorry, but there’s something more important than your rest. How about we meet again later?”
“You are courting death...”
I scattered the sand mist with a magic missile spell. It was a chilling threat, but I was accustomed to the lines from <Paradiso> and brushed it off nonchalantly.
‘So, I have arrived after all.’
Seeing the apparition of King Mahat III confirmed that I had found the right place for the tomb.
“Let’s go again, Haze.”
“Yes.”
I hastened my steps again. With a chance to grow right in front of me, I couldn’t afford to miss it.
End of Chapter 46