Chapter 185

It was only natural for the Edelweiss Count to drop by the Edelweiss Mine.

Moreover, lately I had even been visiting the Edelweiss Mine frequently.

“Edelweiss Count?”

So Yeri Hunter was surprised that I had shown up without so much as a chat message or carrier pigeon, but true to her experience with RP dungeons, she handled it with practiced ease.

“You’re here already. I didn’t expect you this early.”

It wasn’t that she hadn’t expected me early—she hadn’t expected me at all—but neither of us let that show.

“You had an appointment.”

With us acting so naturally, the mages just accepted it as a matter of course.

The moment we entered So Yeri Hunter’s private quarters…

—Vmmm!

So Yeri Hunter quickly threw up a soundproof barrier.

“What is it? Showing up without any notice?”

She turned to me with a look of clear bewilderment.

“Something came up that I absolutely had to tell you about.”

At my words, So Yeri Hunter blinked.

“I stopped by the temple just a bit ago, and…”

I explained Hunter Yian’s condition to her in full detail—from the state of his disheveled room to the status window I had seen with the magnifying potion, and even the quest details.

Unable to keep her mouth shut as she listened, So Yeri Hunter asked the key question.

“…93%?”

Hunter Yian’s vision loss had progressed to 93%.

“So at 100%, he’ll go blind?”

“…Yes.”

I answered in a heavy voice.

Not only would he go blind, but Hunter Yian wouldn’t even be able to leave this dungeon.

Clearing it without going blind was the goal of his personal quest, after all.

So Yeri Hunter’s face twisted in complicated thought as she tried to sort it out.

“So… that means Hunter Yian can’t receive any more heals?”

Then anger flared up.

“No way—he used the field hospital in that state?”

She clutched her head.

I had nothing to say either; it was enough to drive anyone mad.

But we couldn’t bring ourselves to curse Hunter Yian.

Not when we knew why he had done it.

In the end, reaching the same conclusion as me, So Yeri Hunter grabbed her head and spat.

“Just you wait until we get out…!”

Once we were out, his damned personal quest would vanish, and his vision would probably recover.

Then I’d really give him a beating he’d never forget!

So Yeri Hunter groaned. She looked genuinely furious.

“What if we hadn’t found out?!”

She ground out the words.

“Exactly!”

I felt the same way, of course.

Tell me about it!

If we hadn’t known, we might have cleared the dungeon thinking all was well, only to find ourselves heading out with just three people.

We might have parted ways with Hunter Yian without ever knowing why.

That thought made me furious.

Furious… sorry… and on the verge of madness.

“Just you wait until we get out…!”

Of course, with an L-rank dungeon right around the corner, I couldn’t be confident we’d make it out.

But we had to.

We absolutely had to survive.

Preparations for gate entry proceeded smoothly.

[Bunkers for imperial citizens will be installed nationwide.]

At the imperial family’s command, we teamed up with the Magic Tower to install bunkers across the country.

Materials? We had more than enough from dungeon byproducts.

And they were sturdy to boot.

“Bunkers, even…”

“Aren’t the dungeons still being managed well?”

Some nobles thought it premature, but they welcomed the bunker installations once the imperial family agreed to cover all costs.

It wasn’t a bad idea to prepare for the worst.

“Well, gates have been popping up more lately.”

“Can’t have the territory’s people getting hurt…”

Just like that, any potential backlash fizzled out quickly.

“Here’s the draft for our territory’s bunker installation paperwork.”

Bunker-related documents arrived on my desk via Helen.

My territory, being one with a high number of gates, required more bunkers than most.

“Get them built as fast as possible.”

At my order, the Edelweiss territory sprang into action.

Of course, it wasn’t just my people getting busy.

I was, along with everyone in the Northeast Gate Response Alliance ‘Miya.’

Miya in particular would serve as the central frontline for Northeast gate defense in emergencies.

We had no choice but to get busy establishing manuals.

And for that, we held a meeting.

“…I’m not sure we can handle gate defense without the Edelweiss Count.”

As the meeting wrapped up, Count Baya cautiously spoke up.

“Pardon?”

His uncharacteristic words left me momentarily dumbfounded.

Where did that hot-blooded energy go?

“Of course we can!”

I clenched my fist firmly.

This wasn’t empty flattery—Miya’s people were on another level when it came to gate defense compared to other territories.

Ever since Miya was first formed, support requests had become rare.

It meant the nobles under Miya had grown accustomed to handling gates.

A few still came to me for advice now and then, but even that had dwindled lately.

Everyone had plenty of experience now.

“Count Baya, and all the nobles in Miya—you’re more than capable.”

There was conviction in my voice.

But at my words, Count Baya froze stiff.

“?”

He looked like he’d stopped breathing—like a statue.

“Count Baya?”

What’s wrong? Did you forget something at home?

But the moment I called him, Count Baya went from flower… no, from statue to man.

“Such… such an honor!!!”

Then, like So Yeri Hunter when her stocks went from crash to moonshot, he started jumping in place.

Wait, is this okay in a monarchy with an emperor?

No matter how I looked at it, he seemed to react better to my praise than Shin Jae-heon would.

Count Baya’s frenzy didn’t end there.

“The day the Edelweiss Count acknowledged me! Hey, you!”

He called over a servant and bellowed.

“Make today Miya’s commemoration day!”

Okay, maybe a Baya family commemoration day at a stretch, but Miya’s? Isn’t that going too far?

Shouldn’t we at least ask the other Miya nobles…

“I approve.”

“We’ll raise our glasses here every year.”

“For Carman!”

“We’ll hold the fort so the Edelweiss Count’s absence isn’t felt!”

No need—they were already nodding along.

I was left speechless.

Relieved by my words, it seemed the other nobles had their doubts too.

Once my assurance lit the fuse, Count Baya’s hot-blooded virus reignited.

“Raaargh!”

Everyone seemed to have a bone to pick with the sky, unleashing uppercuts at the clouds, when a servant approached me.

“A carriage is approaching from afar.”

“A carriage?”

Anyone still coming? All Miya members were here.

This was a meeting for finalizing manuals ahead of my L-rank gate entry.

No one should be missing.

Even busy Count Tenchia had shown up and was throwing uppercuts over there—who else could it be?

Then a knight approached from the distance and reported.

“My lord, a guest has arrived. However…”

“No scheduled guests.”

Is it the carriage guest? As I alternated glances between the servant and knight.

The knight said cautiously.

“That’s why they asked if they could visit first.”

He carefully held out a letter.

And there, surprisingly…

“…The Karenta family crest?”

It bore the Karenta family crest.

—Rustle.

Opening the letter revealed neat handwriting.

[To the Edelweiss Count,

I apologize for the discourtesy of visiting so abruptly without prior notice.

There is something I wish to discuss with the Edelweiss Count and the members of Miya…]

The name of the sender, who had sent such a polite letter, was familiar.

[Luril de Karenta]

“…Lady Karenta?”

The one who used hidden sword techniques at the swordsmanship tournament?

She was a welcome guest.

I had no idea why she wanted to join Miya’s meeting on such short notice, though.

As expected, the Miya nobles who heard the news reacted with surprise.

“Why is the Lion of the Central Region here?”

It seemed ‘Lion of the Central Region’ was the Karenta family’s moniker.

The Central Lion.

Well, they had the skills to back up such a name.

“Shall we invite her in? She must have come so urgently for a reason.”

The nobles agreed.

“Of course. We’ve finished sorting the manuals anyway, right?”

“Let’s enjoy the banquet together!”

Count Baya raised his glass with an excited face.

And so, Lady Karenta entered our family’s villa where the meeting had been underway.