Chapter 107: In the Na of the Blood Pact (2)
"Ah, good morning, sir!"
"Good morning, sir!"
"...?"
As I passed by the knights' training grounds, a group of dwarven knights in basic training rushed over to greet , their voices full of energy.
Judging by their appearance, they were apprentice knights.
Dwarves, known for their pride, and especially those from the knights’ ranks, were showing such respect? This was strange enough, but the atmosphere had been growing more peculiar by the minute.
One of the knights, his face flushed with excitent, spoke up.
"I’ve heard you were the one who brought forth the Judicators!"
"...Judicators?"
"Punishers of evil! They are the hope of Beneta!"
Wait… could he an those club-wielding maniacs who definitely found joy in beating to a pulp?
"Please, grant the chance to beco a Judicator as well!"
What the hell is this guy saying?
Once one of them had bravely spoken up, more dwarves started to swarm around like a flock of sheep.
Was this it?
I had no idea what the club-wielding dwarves had been doing outside after our training sessions, but clearly, so serious misunderstandings had arisen.
And now things were spiraling out of control.
"Hold on! Wait!"
"Sir Alex!"
"Aaaaaah!"
So this is what it feels like to live as a celebrity, huh?
The burning gazes, the friendly gestures, the eager hands reaching out to …
Without even realizing it, I had sohow beco a famous figure.
Of course, this was all incredibly aggravating.
There wasn’t a single woman in sight—just sweaty, bearded dwarves.
"Please, grant us the chance!"
"Grant us—!"
"Get lost!"
My attempt to respond with curses only made them cheer louder as they charged in even more enthusiastically.
These crazy bastards!
[They’re demonstrating a good attitude, seeking to learn.]
"Shut up!"
And so, an unexpected commotion erupted early in the morning at the gates of the lord's castle.
They weren’t enemies, so I couldn’t just beat them up, but I was completely surrounded by dwarves, dragged left and right as they pulled along.
I was completely drained.
"Everyone, stop right now!"
Thankfully, Sharbadin arrived just in ti, dispersing the crowd and giving a chance to breathe. I quickly darted past the crowd into the castle entrance.
"...Thanks."
"I was about to send a carriage for you, but it seems you decided to co early."
"Couldn’t sleep."
"So, you’ve fully recovered now?"
"Thanks to you, I’ve had so good rest."
"Oh, it’s nothing. Just doing what needed to be done. Dorneth is in the office on the fifth floor. Master Fenry is there too—I’ll guide you."
"Fenry’s here?"
"Yes."
Sharbadin nodded and began climbing the stairs, gracefully holding up the hem of her dress.
I followed behind her, but my curiosity couldn’t hold out for long, so I asked, "What was that commotion about earlier?"
"The dwarves?"
"Not just the dwarves. The way the townspeople were looking at was different than usual."
"Ah, it’s a bit complicated. A mix of rumors and exaggerations has created… let’s call it a myth."
"A myth?"
Sharbadin glanced around, as if making sure no one else was nearby.
We were alone. Just spill it already!
Perhaps sensing my impatience, Sharbadin smiled awkwardly and leaned in slightly to whisper.
"Word about you has spread like wildfire throughout Beneta."
"...Because of those ridiculous Judicators?"
"That’s part of it. But also, you’ve gained fa for handling the ‘monster’ incident in the lord’s castle recently."
"Monster? You an the shadow spirit?"
"There’s a story behind it, and you’ll find out soon enough. But the official conclusion is that it was a monster."
Sharbadin emphasized the word monster with a aningful look, and I nodded.
Whatever the truth was, if Dorneth decided that was the official story, then that was the reality I would go along with.
It didn’t concern much, anyway.
"Before you defeated the monster, Dorneth had a pretty rough ti, didn’t he?"
"That was just bad luck."
Rough ti? He got grabbed and hurled far, far away. The townsfolk must have interpreted that scene as him being overpowered.
A human who defeated a monster that even the lord had struggled against.
"Because of that, your past exploits in the Raub Forest are being reexamined here in Beneta. People are now calling you the Savior of Deliverance. It was mostly dismissed as nonsense before, but now…"
"And there’s more?"
"Yes. The cursed mine."
"Ah…"
"The declaration you made to lift the curse on the abandoned mine has beco a hot topic in Beneta. No one expected much at first, but recently rumors have been quietly spreading that the curse has begun to lift. Sir Natone visited the mines a few days ago with so dwarves to dismantle the traps inside."
"...If the rumors turn out to be true, what happens to ?"
"What else? Your na will spread beyond Beneta, all across Tobaron, under the banner of the Blood Pact."
Sharbadin’s expression was amused as she looked at .
Unlike , she seed quite excited to watch how events would unfold in the future.
"When was the last ti humans and other races ford a Blood Pact and maintained it?"
"……."
"One hundred years ago."
Of course, I knew this.
The problem was that the impact of the Blood Pact seed like it would be far greater than I had anticipated.
It was becoming clear that staying under the radar was out of the question.
Creak—
When Sharbadin opened the door to the fifth-floor office, the sound of heated voices reached .
"You damn cat!"
"Shut up, you stubby little dwarf!"
Familiar voices.
And an equally familiar sight.
Dorneth and Fenry were sitting across from each other at a table, glaring daggers at one another.
When they noticed enter, they both turned their hostile gazes my way. Judging by the tension, they must have been arguing before I arrived.
Why do those two always start growling at each other the mont they’re in the sa room?
"You ca just in ti."
"Good. Let’s ask him for his opinion."
What now?
I had way more questions for them, but their expressions were so grim that I quietly took a seat between them to hear what this was about.
It wasn’t hard to guess.
Of course—
"We can’t agree on the mine shares, thanks to this greedy little dwarf."
"Gr-greedy? You insufferable elf hag!"
Dorneth started to curse but froze at Sharbadin’s pointed cough. Awkwardly, he let out a nervous laugh.
"Not you, my dear fiancée. You’re the exception."
Ugh. How did the Lord of Frost end up like this? Talk about being whipped.
Beneta, the Black Rose, and .
The share split for the mine proposed by Dorneth was 7:1.5:1.5.
Since I had given my share to Fenry in exchange for the Ring of Desire, Beneta and the Black Rose were splitting the remaining 7:3. But Fenry wanted to shift it to 6:4.
She was demanding an extra 10%.
Fenry slamd the table and shouted.
"If it weren’t for , that cursed mine would still be sealed! The dwarves didn’t do a damn thing! I did all the work! !"
The way she talked, you’d think she’d done everything on her own. What an audacious elf.
She was much more tolerable when she was sick.
"That’s why we gave you such a generous share. Do you have any idea how much astronomical funding and manpower it will take to restore and operate that mine after decades of closure? Maintaining it for continuous mining will require significant ongoing expenses. I can’t convince the elders with 60%. 70% is the bare minimum."
"Then just swing your Frost Hamr around! Don’t you know how to threaten people?"
"This isn’t so petty thugs’ playground!"
They started bickering again, louder than ever.
At this rate, they’d argue all night.
Well, not my problem, I guess.
I glanced at Sharbadin, thinking she’d diate, but she just shrugged as if to say, "Let them sort it out."
It seed she had already given up.
But didn’t they say they were going to ask ?
At this point, I don’t think they even noticed anymore.
Why was Fenry pushing so hard for a bigger share? She already had my portion—wasn’t that enough?
Sharbadin answered my unspoken question.
"She’s looking ahead to when mining operations begin. Protecting the mine will require a lot of funds due to the potential threats."
"Threats? Who would dare target Beneta’s mines?"
"Beneta’s mines are… special. Do you think the dwarves would have settled near them without a reason? There will definitely be those who co sniffing around."
The novel didn’t delve into the details of the abandoned mine, so I didn’t know much about it.
Either way, the current argunt needed resolving.
My ears were starting to hurt.
"How about allocating the disputed 10% of the shares as a Blood Pact fund?"
My unexpected suggestion imdiately silenced their argunt.
Both turned to , their eyes urging to continue.
"If a Blood Pact is ford, it will require maintenance costs, right? Set aside those shares for the pact’s operations and use them for related efforts…"
"That’s acceptable."
"Fine. I can agree to that."
Surprisingly, they both accepted my idea rather quickly.
A shared Blood Pact fund would benefit both Beneta and the Black Rose, so it was a win-win situation for them.
"In the end, you’re not contributing a single coin, are you? Aren’t you part of this Blood Pact, too?"
What a sharp elf.
She saw right through my hidden motive.
Money always seed to be her sixth sense.
"I’m just one person—what money do I have? You already know I’m broke."
"That reminds , there’s sothing else I want to discuss with you."
"Huh? What’s that?"
It wasn’t about coughing up money, was it?
I looked at Dorneth nervously, but thankfully, it wasn’t about finances.
Instead—
"Have you thought about forming a guild centered around yourself?"
His unexpected suggestion left stunned.
A guild?
I’d never even considered such a thing.
"A guild? ?"
Dorneth nodded.
"It’s a necessary step. If you join the Blood Pact as you are, it’ll raise eyebrows outside Beneta."
"Because I’m alone?"
He nodded heavily.
"My pact with the elf here is essentially a racial alliance between dwarves and elves. It extends to our respective kin throughout Tobaron."
Dorneth glanced at Fenry, who continued, "As you know, the Black Rose isn’t a public organization yet. I’m more accurately seen as the representative of the elves than as the master of the Black Rose."
"You’re asking to beco the human representative?"
"Exactly. Even if you’re not a lord with land, you’ll need to lead a human organization to gain recognition from your kin."
They wanted to build a faction.
It was a daunting task.
Could I really form a guild and lead people?
"Fortunately, you’re qualified enough."
"?"
"Don’t you know? Your na is already quite famous in Beneta. And Dorneth and I will elevate your reputation even further—for the sake of the Blood Pact."
"You’re saying you’ll raise my profile?"
"To make people believe you’re the leader of a significant faction. The atmosphere is ripe for it, with just a little push."
"You’re asking to lie?"
"It’s not lying. Think of it as establishing the guild first, then gradually recruiting people to fill it."
"……."
I sat in silence, deep in thought.
After deliberating for so ti, I finally nodded and spoke.
"Let’s make the faction public, but keep its operations as a secret organization."
A brilliant idea had just co to .
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