The banquet, which began a little after noon, ended before sunset.
It was only natural.
All the attendees were heads of their respective families. Unlike the nobles who were busy enjoying themselves, they had a lot of work to do.
‘Indeed, after about two hours, people started leaving in droves.’
Most of those who were forced to attend by tradition stayed only long enough to avoid criticism and then left the palace without hesitation.
Of course, since it was a gathering where it was rare to see the heads of families all in one place, there were many heads of families who actively engaged in social activities, using this banquet as an opportunity. But even they all left, saying they were tired, as the sun began to set.
‘Is this what they an when they say old people beco like children?’
It’s like they have a curfew in this country.
Clatter, clatter.
As I watched the royal palace fade away from the carriage window, various thoughts crossed my mind.
From the trivial thought that it would be convenient to have a house in the Imperial City to my future plans.
‘In the end, I couldn’t have a proper conversation with the Marquis.’
Unfortunately, one of the quests for this banquet, ‘Probe the Marquis,’ ended in failure.
I did go and greet him, and I even sat at his table, but there were too many people around him. And he didn’t seem to want to dismiss them.
In the end, I had to return after exchanging pleasantries.
It was disappointing.
‘Well, it doesn’t really matter what he’s thinking now…’
The important thing now was balance.
No matter what the Marquis’s intentions were, he wouldn’t be able to act recklessly once I gained more influence.
So I had to walk a fine line.
I had to be strong enough to deter him, but not so strong that he felt threatened.
‘Well, it’s good that I’m joining lbeth…’
The official joining ceremony would be held later, but for now, things were going smoothly.
But I wasn’t sure about Ragna, who had contacted through that note.
If things went well, she could be a valuable asset in my conflict with the Marquis…
“Haa…”
I felt a pang of sadness.
If she had just remained a librarian, I would have been able to greet her without any worries.
‘Why does she have to be the Marquis’s daughter…?’
And Hyunbyul was also involved.
The more I thought about it, the more complicated it beca.
‘…I’ll find out when I et her.’
I took a nap in the carriage, and before I knew it, we arrived at the military transfer station. I was teleported back to Ravigion and then took another carriage ho. ŘαΝ𝙤𝐁Ěŝ
“You’re back early.”
“It ended sooner than expected. Where’s Erwen?”
“She ca back a while ago and is taking a bath.”
Oh, so I can finally talk to her today.
I went upstairs, took a bath, changed my clothes, and then went downstairs to the living room. Alia and Erwen were sitting on the sofa, chatting.
They seed surprisingly close.
Hmm, it must be because they went through hell together in Ice Rock—
“Mister!!”
Erwen jumped up and ran towards .
I stopped her with a gesture.
“Erwen, I’m not your ‘Mister’ anymore.”
“…Huh?”
She looked deflated.
“I’m Baron Bjorn Yandel!”
“Ah…”
Damn it, she’s not even excited.
Ainar would have cheered and celebrated with .
“Bjorn, stop being silly and sit down.”
“…Alright.”
I sat down on the sofa, and the family eting began. We had a lot to discuss, but the first topic was Erwen.
“…It’s all settled. I returned the Divine Tree Bow, and the money I borrowed to buy this house… I’ll return it within a month.”
She sounded guilty.
I asked her why, and she said she felt bad about not being able to keep the house, which held so many precious mories…
“It’s fine. Why are you apologizing?”
I was actually more surprised that the fairy tribe had let her go so easily.
The ‘Pureblood’ was a once-in-a-generation power.
I thought they might even demand her life.
‘This is the best possible outco…’
I was suspicious, so I asked her how she managed to pull it off.
“My uncle helped when I was arguing with the elders. I think that made a big difference.”
Her uncle…
He was a hero of the fairy tribe, if I rember correctly.
I wanted to et him soday.
“A month is a tight deadline.”
Alia brought up a realistic issue after Erwen finished her report.
“We can sell this house to cover the debt, but we still need to find a new place to live.”
“…What if we buy it back? We can afford it if we sell the loot.”
“Hmm. What do you think, Bjorn?”
“Hmm…”
I thought for a mont and then said,
“Let’s stay at an inn for a while. Or maybe rent a house. It’ll be smaller than this one, but…”
“…I-I see…”
Erwen seed reluctant to sell the house, but she didn’t object to my decision.
Geez, she can be honest with .
“Don’t worry. This house… it’s just a temporary shelter.”
I told her about lbeth’s offer to help us buy land and build a mansion.
Her face brightened instantly.
“S-so the Yandel family will beco a real noble family…!”
“Yes, so tell what you want when we’re designing the mansion.”
“…?”
“It’ll be your house too.”
“!!!!”
It seed like she had forgotten all about her attachnt to this house.
“And yours too, Alia.”
I ntioned Alia just in case she felt left out, and she sighed.
But she still made a request.
“…I want the navigator’s room to be bigger. With a window.”
It seed like she was worried about the navigator’s ntal health.
Maybe so fresh air would help?
______________________
“That settles the housing issue… What about the labyrinth expedition?”
Alia brought up the next topic.
Our party was incomplete.
Ainar, Erwen, Alia, , and our navigator.
We were one mber short of a full party.
The problem was that we didn’t have anyone suitable to fill the vacancy.
I was planning to recruit all the expedition mbers into my clan eventually, but I didn’t want to rush things.
‘Raviyen or Bersil Gowland would be the safest options…’
But Bersil had said it would take at least a month for her to settle her issues with the church, and Raviyen had said she was taking a break from exploring.
‘…Damn it, we’re still one mber short.’
It was a sha to waste a month of exploration ti.
I made my decision.
“I think it’s best if we explore as a five-man party this ti.”
“Five?”
“It’s not unusual. Five-man parties were common a few years ago.”
“That’s… true.”
“We’ll be staying on the 6th floor, so it won’t be that dangerous.”
“The 6th floor… Alright. I’ll let Lokrob know.”
That settled the expedition issue.
We had dinner and chatted for a while before going to bed.
And the next morning…
We went to the guild branch and registered as clan mbers.
“H-hehe… Thank you, Mister.”
I wish she would thank Alia instead…
She even requested an extra copy of the docunt and carefully stored it away.
‘Now I have to find a Vice-Captain…’
I had suggested to Alia that she would be a good candidate, but she had refused imdiately.
She didn’t want to attract attention.
Well, she was using a fake na, ‘Emily Raines’.
‘Who should I choose…’
It was an important position.
The Vice-Captain could handle most administrative tasks that required the leader’s authority.
‘…Raven would have been perfect. She’s ticulous and efficient.’
After registering our clan, we had lunch at a nearby restaurant.
“Bjorn, are you going to Comlby now?”
“No, I’m going to the temple first.”
“…The temple?”
Alia tilted her head in confusion, and then she realized.
“You’re going to remove the Gachabon essence.”
“I don’t need to hide my appearance anymore.”
That was one of the reasons, but I had also been considering keeping it.
It was a decent essence.
Maybe I should keep it until I found a better one.
But…
“There’s another reason, isn’t there?”
“I got my old equipnt back from Ainar and Abman. I can use it now that I’m back to my original size. And I might find a better essence while exploring the 6th floor. And I should visit the tribe soday. It wouldn’t be appropriate to go there in this form.”
“Hmm…?”
Alia humd thoughtfully, while Erwen looked disappointed.
“Uh… so you’re going to be big again…?”
“Yes.”
“I liked you like this…”
She has strange taste.
What does she even like about this scrawny body?
“I’ll be back soon.”
I went to the temple alone and had the essence removed.
「The [Gachabon Essence] that had been absorbed into the character's soul has been removed.」
「Sixth Sense decreased by -40.」
「Physical Resistance decreased by -15.」
「Darkness Resistance decreased by -30.」
「Accuracy decreased by -45…」
My stats decreased.
「Bone Density decreased by -110.」
And my height increased.
「Control increased by 30.」
At least my mind feels clearer.
「Luck increased by 50.」
And my luck must have improved too.
Swoosh.
I got dressed and looked at my reflection in the mirror.
‘Whew, I’m finally back to my original form.’
I’m really big.
I wanted to roar, but I suppressed the urge.
This was a temple.
_______________________
「Bjorn Yandel」
Level: 7
Physical: 1,390.55 (New -54.5) / ntal: 521.3 / Ability: 2,197.65
Item Level: 6,285 (New -2,020)
Total Combat Power: 5,680.75 (New -575.58)
Absorbed Essences: Orc Hero - Rank 5 / Ogre - Rank 3 / Bion - Rank 3 / Stormgush - Rank 3 / Vol-Herchan - Rank 3 / Deep Sea Giant - Rank 3
_______________________
Erwen and Alia’s reactions were completely different.
“Hehe, Mister! You look cool! Just like when we first t!”
Erwen, who had been disappointed, was now praising .
“…You look better this way.”
Alia, on the other hand, was still blunt.
But she added,
“But… maybe this is better.”
“Huh? What do you an?”
“You’re better off being ugly.”
“I’m not ugly, I’m manly!”
“Pfft…”
“…Are you laughing at ?”
I wanted to scold her, but I held back.
She was a precious comrade.
And she really didn’t have any manners.
‘…I would have lost it if my Control stat hadn’t increased.’
Anyway, we headed towards Comlby, as planned.
Not all the expedition mbers lived in the 7th District.
We decided to et in Comlby, the city center.
“This is it.”
We entered a building that Bersil had rented for the day, and I saw familiar faces.
“Haha, you’re finally here. Viscount Yandel… or should I call you Baron now?”
land Kaislan.
“…Oh my, you’ve changed.”
Liris Marone, Jas Kala, Sven Parab…
The survivors of Ice Rock were gathered here, marveling at my transformation.
“Bersil, where are Akuraba and Raviyen?”
“They couldn’t make it.”
“So everyone else is here.”
“Of course. They were all curious.”
Well, I was curious too, so they must have been even more so.
“How’s the security?”
“Don’t worry about surveillance. This place doesn’t even have windows, and the voice control magic is active. I even set up a mana detection field, just in case.”
…She’s good at this.
I should ask her if she’s interested in being the Vice-Captain.
“Baron Yandel!”
“Just call Leader.”
We chatted for a while, catching up on each other’s lives.
And then…
“Um… when are we going to do it?”
The opening ceremony for the subspace pockets we had looted from the Rose Knights.
“I thought they were empty because there was nothing in them except for our backpacks.”
I had thought the sa.
But then I found out it wasn’t true.
There was sothing hidden inside, and we needed to adjust the Bonding magic to access it.
Bersil, the mage, had discovered it…
“One at a ti, please. I’ve prepared enough reagents.”
I was a bit nervous.
I had never done this before.
“I wonder… what’s inside…?”
“I was disappointed at first, but now I’m even more excited.”
“Phew… you all opened them already? I didn’t even think about it, I was too worried about being watched.”
What could they have been hiding so carefully?
I didn’t know.
That’s why I had removed the Gachabon essence today.
“So… is everything ready…?”
“Let’s open them!”
I hoped luck would be on my side today.
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