Chapter 53

‘I’m screwed.’

The first thought that came to mind upon returning to the mansion was that I was screwed.

‘I should’ve held back… damn it.’

No matter how frustrating the situation was, I should’ve kept my cool.

Charis is someone I can’t handle. She’s on par with top-tier players.

“…She’s not here to kill me, right?”

If that woman flips out and comes to kill me, there’s no way I can stop her.

‘Sigh…’

I had good emotional control on Earth, but here, sometimes I can’t keep it together.

‘First… thinking about it won’t help. Let’s focus on the chimera…’

Since the chimera has returned, I need to check how the maid spent her day.

“Play it.”

The chimera immediately appeared in front of me and started replaying the maid’s conversations from the day.

‘This is useless. Just the sound of her having breakfast with the servants.’

‘This too…’

‘This is unnecessary.’

‘Skip this.’

‘…What’s this?’

『Charis.』

『Yes, miss.』

『That guy, Lee Yun-seong… doesn’t he seem nice?』

『Huh?』

『No, he’s really handsome… and I like his personality too.』

『Ahaha… Is that so?』

『Yeah. So I’m working on him… but he’s not budging. He looks promiscuous, but is he different from how he looks?』

‘Crazy woman, who are you calling promiscuous?’

I couldn’t believe that someone labeled as a ‘slut’ was judging my appearance like this.

『Hmm… Maybe he’s clueless despite his looks.』

『No. I don’t think he’s clueless. After observing him for a while, he’s not ordinary when it comes to handling women.』

『Or maybe it’s because of your status, miss?』

『Hmm… Maybe? Men usually enjoy conquering high-status women, right?』

『Some men do… but thoughtful men usually consider the complications first.』

‘Damn, why is this crazy woman giving serious advice? They’re both out of their minds.’

『Really? Then should I approach him carefully?』

『Yes. It might be good to approach someone like that cautiously, miss.』

『Got it. Thanks, Charis. Oh, right… I need to go to the market soon…』

‘Market?’

『…Should I prepare for it soon?』

『Yes, could you? I need to check if there are any good male slaves. I’ve been… pent up lately.』

‘…It’s the black market.’

Buying slaves must mean the black market. It’s definitely illegal in the neutral country.

‘…I need to coax her into revealing the location.’

The black market could be useful for me in many ways, so it’s good to know.

I listened to the rest of the conversation, but it seemed useless, so I moved on.

‘This is useless too.’

‘…This is unnecessary.’

‘…This…’

『Charis.』

『…Old man, why are you contacting me? I told you not to.』

‘Who’s the other person?’

I hadn’t heard the other person’s voice before. I kept listening.

『…I heard Bahan’s hideout was discovered there.』

Finally, a useful conversation started. Bahan’s hideout seemed to be the dungeon we discovered.

‘Bahan? Who’s Bahan?’

『That idiot’s fault. I clearly told him not to conduct experiments here.』

『……』

『I said I’d stay quiet. If you want to mess around, do it among yourselves. Why are you causing trouble where I am?』

『Hmm… But weren’t you once comrades? Bahan… though lacking, was once a comrade, right?』

『Comrade, my ass. That trash is a comrade? Sorry, but since it’s the border lord’s territory, you guys have to choose. Whether to abandon him or not.』

『…Hmm.』

『It’s over once the hideout’s been found. My advice is to abandon Bahan. It’s the border lord’s territory, after all.』

『…Did you really clean it up?』

『Sigh… I told you, my goal is to live quietly. Isn’t that what Lady Citri wants?』

‘Citri?’

I definitely saw the title ‘Citri’s Second Finger’ in her status window.

‘Is Citri a demon army commander? Then are these guys related to demons?’

『Then… I have nothing more to say.』

『Anyway, old man, cut it out. Don’t contact me again. I’m done with you guys.』

『Sorry, I understand. I hope you live the life you want.』

『Click.』

『Sigh… Don’t give me that encouragement crap. Just don’t interfere, you crazy old man.』

After that, there were only useless conversations and the one with the noble’s child.

‘At least today was fruitful.’

One thing’s for sure—this chimera is a huge advantage for me.

‘Nothing beats this in information warfare.’

And another thing I realized… this request isn’t as serious as I thought.

‘Bahan or whatever, I don’t know what he does… but since it’s the border lord’s territory, it seems the others are ready to abandon him.’

From their conversation, Bahan seems to be weaker than Charis.

‘Well… it’s better to avoid having our party tackle this.’

I don’t know how strong Bahan is, but if he’s weaker than Charis, he’s probably not weaker than us.

I can probably convince the young lady to form a party to handle it.

‘The problem is figuring out what these guys are up to…’

Charis has stepped back from the operation, but I don’t know who the others are.

What’s clear is that they’re related to demons or demon army commanders.

‘Well…’





Anyway, thinking about it now won’t solve anything, so I’ll just tuck it away in my head.

If it’s not something that can be solved immediately, there’s no need to overcomplicate it. After all, Yoo Ju is here, so most things will be handled by her.

******

The next day, I ran into Charis at the mansion and tried to gauge her mood.

‘Damn… Nothing’s going to happen, right?’

It better not.

I passed by her as if nothing had happened yesterday.

“… Hey.”

I internally screamed when she called out to me.

‘Crap…!’

“Haha… Nice to see you, Maid Charis. About yesterday…”

“… I’m sorry about yesterday. I shouldn’t have dragged you into my mess…”

“No, no. I think I was the one who spoke out of line. I hope you don’t hold it against me.”

“… I don’t care about that. Anyway, I’m sorry about yesterday.”

“No need. I’m not bothered by it at all, so you don’t have to apologize. Well then, I’ll be going…”

“Wait…”

‘Ugh…’

“… Yes? Is there something else…?”

“… No.”

“Alright. I’ll take my leave then.”

‘I should be grateful that nothing happened.’

I was worried she might hold a grudge, but thankfully, it didn’t seem like she had any ill feelings.

‘Phew… I should just hurry back to the clan or something…’

After that, I kept an eye on Charis while staying at the mansion, but there was nothing noteworthy. That conversation was it. It seemed pretty clear she had let it go.

Anyway, the Charis situation was mostly resolved, and Lady Tierra was teetering on the edge but hadn’t crossed the line yet. Of course, I had to think long-term. I had to keep weighing the pros and cons of getting closer to her.

The only problem was that I wanted to get some black market connections from her, but there was no way to do it. She wouldn’t bring up the black market herself, and I couldn’t just ask her outright.

‘… What a headache.’

I’ve been buttering her up to get info on the black market, but it’s been fruitless.

For now, I’ve shifted my surveillance target from Charis to the lady.

The lady, frustrated that I’m not budging, has been bothering me a lot lately.

‘Should I deal with her?’

I’ve thought about what to do if she gets too annoying or tries to cross the line, but that’s a last resort.

Since she’s the precious daughter of the border count, angering him would be unavoidable if I acted against her.

‘Well… as long as I don’t get caught, but it’s not going to be easy, so I’d rather not.’

Today is the 7th and final day of our stay at the mansion, so I went to see the lady with my party members.

Knock.

Knock.

“Lady Tierra, it’s Yoo Ju. May we come in?”

– Ah, come in.

When we opened the door and entered, we saw a slightly tired-looking woman. It seemed she had a lot on her mind lately due to the discovery of the dungeon. Charis was standing politely beside her.

‘With the border count away, she must be under a lot of stress. What does a brat like her know?’

“Lady Tierra. Since today is the last day of our stay, we came to hear your thoughts on the request.”

Yoo Ju spoke to the lady. Since we belong to a clan, we couldn’t stay here forever.

We hadn’t resolved the situation, so we had to negotiate the reward and wrap up the request.

“Hmm…”

Tierra seemed to be pondering whether to send us away or not.

“……”

About a minute passed as we waited for her response, and then she spoke.

“By any chance, would you be interested in tackling the dungeon?”

“… Lady Tierra. I’ll say it again, but a dungeon at our level…”

“I’ve decided to entrust the request to another clan as well.”

“… Another clan?”

“Yes. After investigating as you suggested… it’s likely a Hero-grade dungeon.”

“… May I ask which clan you’ve entrusted the request to?”

“The Myth Clan.”

I flinched at the mention of the Myth Clan. I never expected Yoon Yeon’s clan to come into play here.

Yoo Ju also looked slightly surprised, not expecting the Myth Clan to be mentioned.

“… The Myth Clan? So, you’re suggesting we collaborate with the Myth Clan to tackle the dungeon?”

“Yes, that’s right. If you accept the proposal, I’ll increase the reward. Given the dungeon’s Hero-grade level, the original reward would be insufficient.”

Certainly… not a bad offer. Collaborating with the Myth Clan would ensure safety, and for us, it’s a valuable opportunity to experience tackling a Hero-grade dungeon.

‘Experiencing a Hero-grade dungeon… it’s something we’ll need eventually, so it’s not a bad offer.’

It’s a bit unsettling to face a Hero-grade dungeon before even completing a year, but considering the Myth Clan’s strength, it’s manageable.

‘… Tackling a Hero-grade dungeon right after a Rare-grade one is a bit too fast, but…’

If safety is guaranteed, it’s an excellent growth opportunity.

However, blindly accepting isn’t wise either. With that punk Bahan involved, it’s definitely not going to be an easy dungeon.

As we were pondering, Lady Tierra dropped a bombshell.

“I’d like you to think it over. The Clan Master of the Myth Clan has expressed their intention to participate personally.”