Chapter 18

Кhаn аnd Вyutek quiсklу аrrivеd in frоnt of Deilis’s mansiоn.

Оn the waу back, Вуutеk аskеd Кhan sevеral times whаt еxасtlу hаd hаpрenеd, but Khan оnlу sаid оne thing.

“Thаt womаn was a fraud.”

“Whаt…?! Тhat can’t be…”

Вуutek’s reaction wаs simрle.

He didn’t seem аngrу about bеing scаmmеd.

Не was simply amаzed that Кhаn hаd discovеrеd thе fraud.

‘Just how skillеd is Sir Khan in mаgic? Even with my knight’s еуes, I cоuldn’t sеe аny sign of frаud at all…’

Bуutek rеаlized once agаin that Кhаn wаs truly аn incrediblе mаgе.

The hаnd movеmеnts оf thаt wоman frоm thе mеrcеnаry group earlier were quite fast.

For Khan, a mage, to have discovered the fraud meant his dynamic visual acuity was higher than that of himself, a knight.

Just which House’s mage is Khan?

He guessed Khan was probably a mage from some high-ranking House.

‘I need to make a better impression from now on.’

With that thought, he entered Deilis’s mansion together with Khan.

* * *

“Did you enjoy your sightseeing around the city?”

As they entered Deilis’s room, he greeted Khan and Byutek with a shout.

“Yes, we went to see the trading company you run.”

“I see. How was it?”

“Not bad. But among the shops currently contracted with your trading company, is there one called the Dandy Mercenary Group?”

“Ah, the Dandy Mercenary Group has been affiliated with our trading company for a long time. They’re quite decent people, is there some problem?”

“They were openly scamming guests. Even if you don’t terminate the contract, I’d like you to at least give them a warning.”

“Oh my, I had no idea they were like that… I’ll give them a stern warning!”

Afterwards, Khan explained that Byutek had almost been scammed, and hearing this, Deilis became even more furious.

He was about to immediately cut the contract, but Khan stopped him, saying to just give a warning.

It seemed like those incompetent mercenaries were making a living that way, and he didn’t want to earn their resentment unnecessarily.

Deilis served tea to Khan and Byutek, then looked out the window and spoke.

“It seems the carriage sent by the Baron has arrived. Shall we go down together?”

“Let’s.”

“Understood.”

Khan and Byutek answered Deilis and followed him down outside the mansion.

[LV.5 Knight of Grodek City]

An armed knight was standing in front of the carriage.

Deilis approached him.

“These are the Sir Mage and Sir Knight I mentioned.”

“I see. Please board first. The Baron is waiting.”

“Please take good care of them, haha!”

Saying that, Deilis subtly passed a hidden bundle of silver coins to the knight.

“Ahem, understood. Don’t worry. I’ll escort them safely.”

“Please board first, Sir Khan!”

Byutek waited for Khan to board the carriage first.

Khan nodded and boarded the carriage, after which Byutek also got in.

Seeing this, the Grodek knight wondered inwardly.

‘That knight looks quite strong… I thought the mage was nothing special, but for the knight to treat him so respectfully. He must be different from his appearance.’

The knight didn’t sense anything particularly special from Khan, who was called a mage.

‘Well, it’s not for me to interfere. Judgment is the Baron’s responsibility.’

Recently, quite troublesome things had been happening in Grodek, putting the Baron in a bad mood.

Moreover, since the Grodek knights weren’t properly resolving the matter, they were calling in adventurers and mercenaries, making the Baron even more watchful.

The knight mounted his horse and shouted.

“Then we’ll depart!”

He pulled the horse’s reins and shouted.

“Sir Khan, Sir Byutek. If you need help, please come find me anytime. Thank you so much!”

Deilis bowed at a ninety-degree angle toward Khan and Byutek inside the carriage.

But suddenly, his daughter Sharin came running out from inside the mansion.

“Sir Khan! I want to become a skilled mage like you too!! Please be sure to come back after your work is done! I want to travel with you too, Sir Khan!!”

“Hey, hey… you’re still too young to travel…”

“You’ll come, right? You have to come! And thank you so much, Sir Khan!!”

Ignoring Deilis, who was at a loss beside her, Sharin shouted again.

Looking at Sharin, Khan’s lips curled up ever so slightly.

He smiled while looking at Sharin and nodded.

Gradually, the figures of Deilis and Sharin grew distant, and soon they were completely out of sight.

‘Is this also a reward for perfectly clearing a quest?’

If he went to find Sharin after completing the quest, it seemed Sharin would likely travel with him from then on.

With her talent, she could become stronger even faster than Khan.

Traveling together like that would surely be a great help to Khan.

Khan resolved to visit Deilis’s mansion again after clearing the quests in Grodek to some extent.

Lost in thought, Khan suddenly made eye contact with Byutek sitting across from him.

He hadn’t noticed until now, but Byutek’s expression wasn’t good.

He had a somewhat dissatisfied look.

“Is there a problem?”

“No, it’s just… the young lady left out my name and only thanked Sir Khan… Of course, I didn’t do that much, but still…”

“……”

Hearing Byutek’s words, Khan was dumbfounded.

How did this guy really become a knight?

Not only lacking skill, but also narrow-minded.

“Sharin must be grateful to you too. She probably couldn’t say it because she was shy.”

“Really? Come to think of it, I’ve been with the young lady constantly and became quite close. Haha! Thinking again, that must be it—she was just shy. Young Lady Sharin acts tough, but she has a cute side, you know.”

“……”

Khan didn’t answer Byutek anymore.

‘He’s a simple fellow…’

He was starting to understand what kind of person Byutek was.

* * *

Khan and Byutek arrived at the Barony.

“You may disembark. I’ll guide you right away!”

The knight who had received money from Deilis had a noticeably different reaction.

‘It’s much bigger than I thought.’

The Barony was far more massive than what Khan had seen in the game.

Deilis’s mansion was quite large too, but it was incomparable to the Baron’s mansion.

To this extent, it was enormously huge, almost one-third of the entire Grodek.

Just the mansions visible before Khan’s eyes numbered five, and armed knights were walking around.

‘It seems all of Grodek’s knights reside here.’

Without exception, their levels weren’t that high.

Since this was a rural city, that was somewhat understandable.

‘Still, they’re all more skilled knights than Byutek…’

Khan looked at the knights, then glanced at Byutek once.

Somehow, seeing him made deep sighs escape.

‘How long do I have to travel with this useless guy…’

It wasn’t that Khan disliked traveling with Byutek.

Byutek, a knight of Kilpheon, seemed clearly like the son of a wealthy family.

Building more friendship by traveling with Byutek would surely bring many benefits later.

“Why is that, Sir Khan? Is there something on my face?”

Byutek, seemingly unaware of Khan’s feelings, asked with a smile.

“Nothing. Let’s go in.”

“Understood!”

Khan entered the mansion where the Baron was, together with Byutek.

* * *

The interior of the mansion was incomparably huge next to Deilis’s mansion.

It took a good ten minutes just to reach the Baron’s room.

Knock. Knock.

The guiding knight carefully knocked on the Baron’s door.

“Baron Jurente, the knight and mage have arrived. May we enter?”

“Come in.”

A dignified voice came from beyond the door.

“Please enter.”

The knight opened the door and gestured to Khan and Byutek.

The two entered the room, and the knight quietly closed the door.

As soon as they entered, Byutek bowed first and greeted.

“I am Byutek, a knight of Kilpheon. It’s an honor to meet you, Baron!”

In <Geo Arc>, among nobles, a Baron was a low-ranking noble, but Khan, a commoner, naturally had to show proper etiquette.

Khan also followed Byutek and greeted him.

“I am Khan, traveling on adventures. It’s an honor to meet you, Baron.”

Khan deliberately didn’t introduce himself as a mage.

He didn’t want to act pretentiously like the half-baked mages or magic apprentices scattered everywhere.

And also because Khan still had a long way to go to reach the level of a true mage.

“I’ve heard about you two. I am Jurente Grodek.”

Jurente, the Baron of Grodek, had the appearance of an ordinary middle-aged man overflowing with dignity.

He was the first noble Khan had seen since coming to this world, but he was quite similar to what he had imagined.

“First, let me express my gratitude. You exterminated the assassination group in the city, but I received the news too late.”

“Not at all! We just did what we should!”

Khan was about to say something, but since Byutek answered on his own, he just listened quietly.

“By the way, I heard about the Sir Mage and that his skills are tremendous. Of course, the Sir Knight too.”

“You flatter me.”

“Not at all!”

“So, I have a favor to ask of you two. Would you be willing to help? If the matter is resolved well, I will provide proper compensation.”

“Of course!”

Before Khan could answer, Byutek answered first.

‘This guy, accepting without even knowing what the request is…’

If Khan hadn’t known about the quest, a rather difficult situation might have arisen.

What if he accepted recklessly like that, only to find out it was an unreasonable request?

That could lead to unnecessarily souring relations with the Baron.

“Are you two companions? Then I’ll take it that both of you agree to my request.”

“Of course, Sir Jurente.”

Khan also had no choice but to answer the Baron’s words a beat late.

“It probably won’t be much for you two. Recently, monsters have started appearing in the western forest of Grodek. These creatures are quite troublesome, so I’d like to borrow a bit of your strength. Other mercenaries and my knights will also go, so it shouldn’t be difficult.”

“Understood. You want us to exterminate the monsters.”

“That’s right. Tomorrow, I’ve arranged for the knights and mercenaries to go to the western forest, so I’d like you two to go along.”

“Understood.”

Khan answered the Baron’s words.

Then, a message appeared before his eyes.

[Quest cleared.]

[Acquired a minuscule amount of experience points as reward.]

Accepting the Baron’s commission had cleared the quest.

And simultaneously, the next message appeared.

[Grodek Western Forest Monster Extermination]

• Accept the quest?

• Refusal will make future quest progression impossible.

• Reward: Minuscule amount of experience points, progression to next quest

[Quest accepted.]

Accepting the commission automatically accepted the quest.

“Then, you two shall stay in the Barony for the time being. Since there are two of you, I should vacate two mansions.”

Whether there were spare mansions in the Barony, Baron Jurente intended to lend one mansion each to Khan and Byutek.

“I appreciate Sir Jurente’s kindness, but one mansion should be enough for both of us.”

Khan said so, but Jurente didn’t yield.

“I can’t do that to guests I invited personally! When you leave the room, the knights will guide you. Rest well today and come see me tomorrow morning. If you need anything, tell the servants anything.”

Khan wanted to say more, but seeing Jurente was more generous than expected, he gave up.

Refusing further here would also be impolite.

“Thank you.”

“Thank you!”

Khan and Byutek bowed and followed the knight’s guidance to the mansion.

‘This place is also disgustingly spacious…’

As soon as they entered, servants lined up on both sides.

“Sir Khan. If you need anything, please tell us anything!”

Khan asked one servant to guide him to his room, but the servant asked with an expression of incomprehension.

“You may enter any bedroom, Sir Khan.”

“Understood.”

He entered a nearby room as if it were nothing.

Plop.

Lying on the bed, Khan looked up at the high wooden ceiling.

“Tomorrow, the next quest already…”

Quite powerful monsters appear in Grodek’s western forest.

He felt a slight doubt whether he could defeat them with his current strength.

“But since I’m not doing this quest alone, it should be fine.”

Muttering to himself like that, he gradually fell asleep.