As soon as he woke up, he looked out the window.

The sun was rising.

Rael got dressed.

There was still plenty of time until his appointed meeting at Lord Castle.

It was enough time to stop somewhere.

His destination was set.

He turned his head to see that Amelin, who had been lightly dressed, had also finished preparing to go out.

“Did you bring money?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s go.”

He left the inn with her, just the two of them.

The Shop Owner was sitting at the counter and greeted them.

Just in case, he asked him for directions one more time.

It was his first time in this city.

It was a Capital City so vast that he was bound to get lost.

Instead of telling him, the Innkeeper introduced him to a waitress who was working.

She was to be their guide.

She was a bit young.

She seemed to be the Innkeeper’s daughter. The girl asked for only 5 Copper Coins.

I remembered being at the inn in Langs Castle.

When I first went there, even a meal costing three copper coins was quite a burden.

But now, it didn’t bother me at all.

Now, one silver coin felt like one copper coin.

Seeing a noble no longer made me feel suffocated. It was a huge change.

The girl, having received the money, walked down the street and explained the village to me. Occasionally, if there was a sign, she would explain what kind of shop it was, one by one.

I committed the locations on the way to the inn to memory.

It was better to remember them all at once so I wouldn’t have to waste time asking people later.

There weren’t many places to remember anyway.

The mercenaries immediately rushed to the blacksmith’s forge to clean their weapons and equipment first.

Of course, it cost a lot of money.

But Rael, being a mage, didn’t need to do that.

The only place the protagonist might go was the Mercenary Guild.

Besides that, I only committed the Information Guild, the Merchant Guild, and the Auction House to memory.

The important magic shop was quite far inside.

It wasn’t in my castle.

It was a relief.

If it hadn’t been outside the castle, I would have made a wasted trip to the capital city.

The girl said that the mage stayed outside because of the ruins.

At the mention of ancient ruins, Amelin’s eyes gleamed.

I pressed her for information about the ruins, but the girl didn’t know much. The information a working girl at the inn knew was limited.

The road was wide, so even with many people, it didn’t feel cramped. Rael walked leisurely, asking various questions.

The girl explained very kindly. While doing so, she subtly asked about the boy. Anyone could see she was showing interest.

He was a mage moving with knights. His age seemed similar, so it looked easy to strike up a conversation.

We arrived at the magic shop around the time Amelin started making a sullen face.

It was quite a large place.

It was larger than most inns, and being a building constructed of stone rather than wood, it looked much cleaner.

He looked around.

It was desolate, with hardly anyone around, as if only this place was devoid of people. There were only a few people visible at most. The sense of alienation from the surroundings was too strong.

He sent the girl back and entered the store.

At the counter, an old man was looking at a book.

He wasn’t making any particular expression, but his furrowed brow gave the impression that he was easily angered.

The old man glanced at him but didn’t acknowledge him.

“Excuse me…”

Rael hesitated, then spoke to the old man.

“What do you want?”

“Is this a magic shop?”

“Can’t you read the sign?”

“It’s my first time in a place like this.”

The old man stared intently at him.

“You’re certainly someone I haven’t seen before.”

“Yes. About that…”

“Wait.”

Before he could ask his question, the old man cut him off.

“Find it yourself. I’m busy.”

The old man turned his chair around and sat down.

He was a grumpy old man.

He looked at Amelin, who was beside him, and she shook her head.

It meant they should stop asking and look around.

They decided to search separately.

Rael went upstairs to look around.

There were many books.

Besides that, there were a few magic items.

But they were mostly useless things.

Occasionally, a low-level magic book would appear, but that was all.

Still, it wasn’t as bad as I thought.

There were more spells than I expected.

There seemed to be about ten to fifteen of them.

The magic Rael learned was only a few kinds.

There were only about five low-level spells.

But I didn’t feel like learning them.

Nothing particularly useful seemed to be there.

It was just a slight modification of the magic I had already learned.

Concentrating water into a single point and shooting it out seemed impressive. It was written that if mastered completely, it could even penetrate armor.

I flipped through the books, reading a little here and there, then put them back in their places.

What I was looking for wasn’t there.

It was disappointing.

When I went downstairs, the woman had a similar expression.

I had no choice but to go back to the counter.

This time, the old man’s attitude was different.

When I came back with nothing in my hands, he seemed a little annoyed.

“I couldn’t find what I was looking for.”

“What are you looking for?”

“Intermediate magic books.”

“What? You don’t mean you’re going to learn it, do you?”

“It doesn’t matter to me. I’ve already learned it.”

“You’ve already learned it?”

The old man’s voice rose as if he had been doused with cold water.

“You punk. You shouldn’t lie. What could a kid like you…”

“It’s real.”

He used Freeze.

Even though it was the most basic, it was still an intermediate spell.

The Old Man’s eyes widened when he saw it.

His initial annoyance was gone.

“Did you perhaps take the wrong potion?”

He was actually asking if he was older than he appeared.

He shook his head.

“No.”

“That can’t be. It doesn’t make sense otherwise.”

He scratched his head.

It didn’t matter if the Old Man believed him or not.

What the Protagonist most wanted to know was whether he sold the items he wanted.

“What about intermediate spell books?”

“I don’t sell them. Who sells intermediate spell books!”

Amelin was startled, like a Gnoll.

“You don’t sell them?”

“Maybe. If you give me 10 gold for one, that is.”

“That’s expensive!”

“If you don’t want to buy it, then don’t. You’ll have a hard time finding it easier anywhere else.”

The Old Man acted as if he had nothing to lose.

Thinking he might be bargaining, he tried to lower the price.

The Old Man didn’t even respond.

It seemed he truly intended to charge 10 gold for one.

When he mentioned a staff made of a low-grade magic stone, the Old Man yelled at him, asking if he was crazy and to get out immediately.

He left the shop.

“That’s strange. They sold them in the country I lived in. It must be rare here because there are so few mages.”

“How much did you say it was originally?”

“Three gold coins a book. Even the expensive ones are only five.”

“That’s quite expensive.”

“Right? I need to buy at least three…”

The Old Man quoted ten gold coins per book.

To buy three books, thirty gold coins were needed.

They could pay with the money Protagonist and Amelin currently had. But it would leave them almost penniless.

Rael pondered then said,

“I’ll contribute some money later.”

“Really?”

“It’ll be fine since we can get a reward.”

She recounted the story Charlotte had told her. Amelin’s expression visibly brightened.

“I didn’t like that flat-chested woman, but this is good! Let’s go quickly!”

The woman moved her steps lightly.

She looked excited.

Her desire for magical knowledge was strong. It seemed largely due to her master teaching her nothing.

Perhaps that’s why she was even more excited.

With that kind of look, she seemed like she would understand the relationship with Charlotte.

Even if not, she’d likely overlook a mistake once if it happened later.

By the time they returned to the inn, it was almost time to depart.

Rael set off.

It was in the direction of the Soldier Lodging nearby. There, he raised the Golem, and then, following the Guard Captain, headed towards my castle.

The ground trembled with each step the Golem took.

Passersby on the street all stopped what they were doing and stared blankly as the Golem passed. It was probably a sight they had never seen in their lives.

People from houses and shops were seen rushing out, like gnolls. They looked bewildered, as if there had been an earthquake, then understood the situation upon seeing the Golem.

Ever since he created the Golem, he had been attracting attention everywhere he went.

If before he had to display his skills, now people were mesmerized just by him walking down the street. Perhaps because of that, he felt good.

The party entered the Lord’s Castle.

The Viscount was staying in the Lord’s Castle.

Normally, the Count should have been there, but he had led the soldiers to subjugate the Orcs.

Currently, the Viscount was the acting Lord.

Only Rael, besides Charlotte, met him.

The rest waited in their rooms.

He looked at the Maids and Butlers working in the Castle.

Every one of them was neatly dressed and looked dignified.

The Knights visible everywhere also looked different somehow.

Even while on guard, they stood like stone statues, not slacking off.

The most surprising was the Protagonist.

Before, he would have been intimidated by such an atmosphere.

He would have felt unwell at the thought of meeting a Noble right away.

But now it was different.

Even when he heard he was meeting the Viscount, he didn’t give it much thought.

Although he couldn’t yet stand shoulder to shoulder with Nobles, he felt good because he had grown enough not to be intimidated by the Castle anymore.

The Protagonist’s only flaws were his origin and background. Although that was the biggest factor, it was about to become irrelevant.

The Protagonist had already achieved enough skill and military accomplishments to earn a Title.

For now, he planned to receive money. Since he had succeeded once, he could do it twice.

Upon entering the Office, he saw an old man sitting by the window. Dressed in luxurious clothes, he seemed to be the Viscount.

He wondered if he should kneel and bow his head like when he met the Alchemist. Before, he would have done it without hesitation, but now he hesitated.

He only bowed at the waist.

The old man didn’t say anything.

Instead, he told him to raise his head.

The Old Man found the Priest before Charlotte did.

“Are you the Mage who controls the Golem?”

“Yes.”

He nodded.

He wondered how a Noble, stuck in Lord Castle, knew the Protagonist.

“The Castle has been abuzz since yesterday. They say there’s a Mage walking around with a Golem. We have excellent Mages in our territory, but none of them know how to create a Golem. So, I became interested.”

At the mention of a Mage, Charlotte spoke.

“You mean Lord Benedict?”

“That’s right.”

“He seems to have trouble focusing deeply on one thing. If something else piques his interest while he’s working, he just drops what he’s doing.”

The Old Man nodded.

“So, about that Magic. Could you possibly tell me about it?”

“The Magic?”

“I’m willing to pay the price.”

Charlotte stepped forward.

“That’s difficult. Asking a Mage to teach you Magic?”

For a Mage, knowledge of Magic was as precious as their life.

Even if they didn’t think so themselves, for the other party to treat it as an item for trade was going too far.

“Then, could your Golem do one task for me?”

Charlotte frowned.

The Old Man was trying to foist a troublesome task upon them.

“Viscount. This is…”

The Old Man raised his hand halfway.

“I’ve already seen the report you submitted. I read that this boy defeated over a hundred Orcs.”

“…”

“But I find that hard to believe. If you can’t even do such a small task, I’ll have no choice but to doubt the genuineness of the castle.”

Charlotte’s expression softened.

She thought the other party was making an unreasonable demand without any compensation.

But that wasn’t the case.

She looked at the boy.

It was his choice whether to do it or not.

Rael nodded.

“What is it?”

“It’s a simple matter. There’s an old ruin that’s taking up space and is dangerous. The workers are also struggling because of the traps set everywhere, so I’d like you to demolish it with your golem. If you do just that, I’ll reward you as you wish.”

It really was a simple task.

A golem could demolish a building in no time.

It was almost embarrassing that they were checking him with something like this.

At any rate, it was a good thing.

The protagonist just needed to receive the reward.

He immediately nodded.

“When should I do it?”

“Anytime, even now, is fine.”

“Then I’ll go right away.”

He said his goodbyes and left the room.

He then led the golem he had left outside and headed to the location of the ruins.

He didn’t get lost.

This time, the Guard Captain accompanied him and guided him.

He told him that there were no buildings nearby, so he could smash as much as he wanted.

It was a relief.

He couldn’t handle the golem delicately. It would have been difficult if he had to worry about the surroundings as well.

The Guard Captain also added that it would take a week because the Ruins were large.

There seemed to be many Buildings to destroy.

While talking, they had arrived without realizing it.

He looked around.

There seemed to be dozens of Buildings.

There was a temple-like structure built in an ancient architectural style.

The Guard Captain said that he would control the area, and they could destroy the Buildings in the meantime.

People had gathered around. Their eyes were full of curiosity, wondering what on earth they were going to do.

Rael only started destroying the Buildings after asking the Guard Captain several times. It would be troublesome if there was a Building that shouldn’t be destroyed.

The Golem walked with huge strides and kicked the Wall of the temple.

Then it swung its arm and toppled the Building.

It rampaged like a child stomping on something built of sand.

People just stared at the sight.

Rael watched the Golem’s actions.

He thought it would be difficult since they said it would take a week, but once he actually did it, it was nothing much.

There were Traps along the way.

Dozens of spear blades popped out from the floor, and a rain of Arrows poured from the Walls.

Occasionally, fierce Flames were spewed.

But the Golem only had scratches.

It was ice so hard that only Orcs’ axes could even make a dent.

Perhaps because he had been training to make Unmelting Ice during that time, it had become even harder.

The Golem continued to push down the Buildings as if they were merely an itch.

It didn’t even take half a day to stomp on and destroy dozens of Buildings.

He was tired.

At first glance, it seemed like he was just making the Golem work, but it was a task that consumed a lot of Mental Power. It was as if he had made the Golem fight for several hours.

As he held his head, he felt a gaze on him.

People were looking at him strangely.

He didn’t pay much attention to it.

He left the Golem there and went back to the inn to sleep. His head throbbed from moving the Golem for so long.

He needed rest.

The next day, someone appeared at the inn.

It was the Guard Captain. There were many Soldiers too.

He got dressed.

He hurried down the stairs and walked along the street, following them.

He felt people’s gazes.

Some people overtly stared at the Protagonist and whispered.

When the Protagonist looked at them, they lowered their eyes or quickly turned their heads away.

Not only ordinary people but also Mercenaries did the same.

He didn’t understand why.

He asked the Guard Captain.

“Why are they like that?”

“It’s because of yesterday’s events.”

“Yesterday’s events?”

“The Castle is buzzing with talk of the Mage who controls Golems. The Golem completely destroyed the old Ruins, after all.”

More people than he thought had witnessed the Golem rampaging.

He supposed that made sense.

The ground shook even when the Golem simply walked. That alone would attract everyone’s attention, but yesterday it openly destroyed and rampaged where the old Ruins were.

It was a tremendous commotion.