My Lord Who Is Being Prudent! [EN]: Chapter 14

§ 14. The Truth Merchant Guild (2)

Amelia blinked.

The lord of Ruben…?

What kind of nonsense was that?

A lord was a noble aristocrat who ruled a territory. It wouldn’t be strange to call them the king of that area. But the man before her was no lord. He didn’t even look like an aristocrat.

Amelia carefully examined the man who was reaching out his hand. But no matter how much she looked, there was nothing special about him. No, far from being special, he was shabby. Squalid. That was the best way Amelia could describe him.

“Lo, Lord of Ruben…?

“Yes, I am Cian ElanDour.”

Cian nodded in response to Amelia’s question, but Amelia only looked more confused.

“…ElanDour?”

ElanDour. There was no one in the Empire who didn’t know the name ElanDour, and the weight that name carried. But this clueless man was an ElanDour…?

Amelia stared at Cian with a blank expression. Then Cian spoke again.

“I am Cian ElanDour.”

“Cian…? Ah.”

Only then could Amelia nod.

Cian ElanDour. She had heard rumors about him—the disgrace of the Marquis family, a bastard who should never have existed. In fact, the only rumor known about Cian was that he was a ‘disgrace.’ The fact that he was a bastard was not widely known; it was just a fact known to a few. But since merchants had to be well-versed in the information of aristocratic families, Amelia knew what kind of existence Cian was, how he was treated in the family, and how the ElanDour family was using the Ruben territory. So now, Cian introducing himself as the lord of Ruben… ‘He’s been abandoned,’ Amelia thought, understanding many things without asking for details.

Amelia pretended to be nonchalant and calmly bowed to Cian.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Amelia, the head of the Truth Merchant Guild.”

This time, Cian stared at Amelia, who looked like a daughter of an aristocratic family at first glance. Soon Amelia spoke again.

“Just call me Amelia.”

Cian nodded once at Amelia’s answer. The way she didn’t reveal her last name usually meant one thing.

‘They’ve fallen.’

When a family fell, those who had the status of nobles but had no power whatsoever usually did not reveal their last names. Cian could also understand many things without asking for details.

“Okay. Then the introductions are roughly over…”

Cian clapped his hands, then turned his head and shouted loudly, “Hans!”

An old man stood up from the crowd—an old man with deep experience. Hans trudged towards Cian. As the distance became closer, Cian spoke again.

“Go and tell them to bring the goblin corpses that have been dismantled over here.”

“There are still many that have not been finished, but should I still tell them to bring them?”

“Hmm… I guess it doesn’t matter?”

Cian glanced at Amelia, or more precisely, he looked back and forth between Amelia and Lucas.

“We can’t take them all anyway.”

“I see.”

Hans nodded calmly. Amelia sighed inwardly. Cian’s words that they couldn’t take them all… she knew that those words were a bluff. Amelia knew the situation in Ruben better than anyone else. Looking at the people dismantling the corpses in front of her, it seemed like they had hunted goblin groups, but it would only be a few. It seemed like he wanted to show off and seize the momentum from the start…

‘This person is no different,’ Amelia sighed inwardly. Right then,

“Ah! Tell them to bring the Hobgoblins too!”

Cian shouted as if he had forgotten. Hobgoblins…? Did he really hunt Hobgoblins?

‘No way.’

Amelia shook her head firmly. Hobgoblins were really out of the question. Hobgoblins who lived in the Dark Forest could only be dealt with by knights—knights who wielded Aura [magical energy]. No, even a mid-level Aura User could barely fight them. But he hunted Hobgoblins?

‘He must be mistaking a slightly larger goblin.’

If Hobgoblins had appeared, they wouldn’t be alive like this.

‘How foolish.’

That’s why Amelia shook her head. Cian, the disgrace of the Marquis family… where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Amelia could fully understand why such rumors had spread. Exactly.

Thud, thud, thud.

Until she saw the goblin corpses starting to pile up like crazy.

“…Huh?”

Amelia’s face instantly went blank at the sight before her eyes.

“Hey! Move it, move it!”

“There’s still a lot to move!”

There, people were carrying goblin corpses on their backs and moving in lines!

“Ugh! Lord, should I put it here?”

“Yeah, just pile it up there. We’ll have to check it again anyway.”

“Yes, I understand!”

Thud, thud, thud. Goblin corpses piled up like a mountain in an instant. Next to it, there were several more piles similar to that mountain.

Thud, thud, thud. And it didn’t seem to stop! Roughly hundreds of units. No, at least hundreds of units, and this was less than half?

“Wa, wait a minute…!”

Right then.

Thump!

With a vibration that shook the ground, something huge appeared in Amelia’s sight—similar to goblins, but something fundamentally different.

“Ho, Ho, Hobgoblin…?!”

Amelia’s mind went blank, and through that blank mind,

“How much can you give me for these all together?”

Cian’s voice was heard, eyes full of anticipation.

“Wh, what is this…”

Amelia didn’t know what to say.

#

The ElanDour main family, located in the ElanDour Marquis territory, displayed the majesty of a huge mansion, showing at a glance the reputation that ElanDour had in the Empire. Inside such a huge mansion, an old man was crossing the long corridor.

General Manager Lerrit was the person in charge of overseeing the internal affairs of the ElanDour family. As expected, the maids and servants who encountered Lerrit stepped aside and bowed their heads. Lerrit quickly hurried his steps. Finally, in front of the door, Lerrit lightly knocked.

Knock knock.

“Lady Isabel, it’s Lerrit.”

“Come in.”

As if waiting, permission was heard from inside. Lerrit paused for a moment and gently opened the door.

Click.

A spacious office designed with luxurious wood felt elegant and noble. Inside such an office, a blonde woman was sitting. The posture and expression without an inch of disarray were accompanied by elegance; the overall atmosphere exuded a soft yet elegant sophistication.

Isabel ElanDour was the mistress of ElanDour.

Isabel’s indifferent eyes turned to Lerrit. Lerrit slightly bowed his head and opened his mouth.

“The youngest master has arrived in Ruben.”

“The youngest master?”

Isabel’s indifferent eyebrows furrowed slightly.

“I’m sorry. I misspoke.”

Lerrit hurriedly regretted his mistake. Silence fell. Soon Isabel opened her mouth.

“I thought he would run away.”

Isabel slowly turned her head. Only then could Lerrit raise his head.

“Is he dead?”

And the question that came, Lerrit answered, “It has not been confirmed.”

“Not confirmed?”

Lerrit bowed his head again and answered, “Currently, the Dark Forest is unusual. Large-scale monster corps are showing movements to move outside the territory… It seems that a powerful monster has settled inside the forest.”

“A powerful monster….”

“We estimate it to be at least a Demon.”

Thud.

Isabel’s movement stopped. Demon. It was a word that referred to the race of darkness. And the Demons were the devils who plunged the world into chaos a thousand years ago—the remnants derived from those devils. The devils were banished by the Arnaise, called the six lights [legendary heroes], however, the remnants remained, and the result that has continued to this day is the Demon. However, they could not maintain their existence in places without demonic energy, so the Demons could not come out of the Dark Forest… that was the story passed down as a myth. It was not certain as it was only a story of mythology. No, Isabel honestly thought it was a fabricated story. Such stories in mythology were only enthusiastic about by reckless young children. Above all, it was more than a thousand years ago—a story that has no meaning now. In any case, the Demons had a strength that could not be compared to monsters and beasts.

“Because of that, it is not easy to approach the inside of the forest, and the movement of monsters heading to Ruben is also unusual….”

Isabel calmly lowered her gaze. Lerrit’s words meant that it was no longer possible to monitor Cian.

Tak. Tak.

Isabel’s fingers, which had stopped, tapped the desk again. Isabel wished Cian would run away. If that were the case, she could kill him on the grounds that he had disobeyed the family’s orders.

‘But he didn’t run away and went to Ruben….’

Anyway, I don’t like it, but well, it didn’t matter much. It was obvious that the monsters pushed out by the Demon would head to Ruben, and Cian naturally did not have the power to stop it. Cian was a disgrace without any ability, so even if Cian was alive now, it was just postponing death for a while.

“Tell them to only monitor the signs of running away. We can’t afford to lose valuable manpower by getting too involved.”

“I understand.”

Lerrit nodded. Honestly, it was a foregone conclusion that Cian would die if left alone, so, like Isabel said, there was no need to waste valuable manpower.

“And ahead of the upcoming National Foundation Day event, His Highness the Crown Prince has personally invited the young masters.”

“The Crown Prince personally?”

“Yes. He said he wanted to see the children of ElanDour.”

Therefore, the children of ElanDour that the Crown Prince said he wanted to see—Cian was also included in that, but Isabel didn’t care.

“We need to prepare a gift. It’s an opportunity to build a friendship with the Crown Prince.”

A incompetent disgrace. If left alone, he will die on his own, because by the time the National Foundation Day event comes, Cian would not exist.

#

“Ah, no. What is this…”

Amelia couldn’t believe the sight before her eyes—piles of dozens of corpses, and that was dozens again. What this meant was one thing.

‘He, he hunted this many goblins…?’

No, it didn’t make sense. The goblins piled up now were not ordinary goblins—goblins living in the Dark Forest. They were monsters with a record of hunting even Ogres. There were about 200 of those goblins. He said this was less than half, so there were about 500. Really… did he hunt all of these? If that were really the case, it was right to express it as war or massacre, not hunting. But did Ruben have such power? Above all, the Hobgoblin that was clearly visible…

‘How, how…?’

Amelia couldn’t believe it.

“No, it can’t be….”

Lucas, who was next to her, also had a shocked expression. As expected, Lucas was not much different from Amelia. Amelia checked the condition of the piled-up corpses. They were piled up roughly, but the condition was very clean. The quality of the dismantling work alone was top quality. Of course, Amelia knew that the quality of the monsters sold in Ruben was good through previous transactions, but even considering that, the corpses piled up now were top quality.

“How much can I get for it?”

At that moment, Cian’s question was heard again. Amelia answered with a dazed expression.

“We, well, you can get at least 10 gold per head, and the Hobgoblin…”

Amelia said, looking here and there at the Hobgoblin’s corpse. As expected, it was top quality.

“About 500 gold…?”

“10 gold per head and 500 gold…”

Cian roughly calculated in his head. The price of a normal goblin corpse was about 3-4 gold. 10 gold per head was more than double the price. It was a very good price. Even considering that they were goblins living in the Dark Forest, it was quite a good price. Goblins were the lowest of the low-level monsters, so they didn’t have that much value, so it was no exaggeration to say that he gave the maximum amount he could give without deceiving. It was unexpected for Cian, who thought he would be ripped off a little.

‘Grayson said he was a trustworthy merchant.’

Cian briefly recalled what Grayson had said.

‘We have been unknowingly indebted to Amelia a lot. If it weren’t for Amelia, we would have starved to death long ago.’

‘Lord, it’s not my place to say, but… Amelia is a merchant you can trust enough.’

At first, he was half in doubt. Was he trusting merchants because he had no one to trust? Still, he had a thought of maybe? When Cian first met Grayson, Grayson was not someone who would easily trust someone, so he thought that if Grayson said that much, maybe it would be a little different. And now that he saw it, he somewhat agreed. He seemed like someone he could trust and leave it to.

“Then please handle everything.”

Cian entrusted the disposal of the corpses to Amelia without much hesitation.

“Re, really, can I handle it…?”

“Of course. Isn’t that why you came?”

“We, well, that’s true, but….”

Amelia answered with a reluctant face. That’s because, to be honest, she didn’t expect to handle so many monsters. She was just thinking of exchanging food and a few monsters with the territory residents. She came to earn small money, literally. Above all, he was handing over this many monsters without suspicion? Why…? At that moment,

“But… how are you going to take them all?”

Cian asked, and Amelia had nothing to say. A small merchant guild? No, far from being small, it was at a level that was embarrassing to even call it a merchant guild. She didn’t even have a cart, and she was carrying goods in bundles. It was fortunate that Lucas was there. If Amelia was alone, she would be no different from a peddler. She had the money to buy the goblins, but she didn’t have the ability to handle them. Right then,

“Well, I’m just saying this just in case. I’m really just saying this just in case, so don’t take it to heart.”

Cian opened his mouth as if he didn’t know anything.

“There are quite a few territory residents who are not dismantling goblins right now.”

“…?”

Amelia tilted her head without realizing it.

“What do you mean…?”

Then,

Smirk.

The corners of Cian’s mouth were torn from side to side, as if he wanted to be interested, as if he had been waiting for this moment. The smile on his face even had a hint of wickedness, and Cian’s words that followed,

“Well, maybe, if you pay the labor costs ‘se.pa.ra.te.ly.,’ you can hire the territory residents as porters….”

“…”

Amelia was momentarily speechless. The Cian she saw was awkwardly looking away. From that appearance, Amelia could realize—a disgrace of the Marquis family? Where there’s smoke, there’s fire? Don’t lie! Amelia could guarantee Cian was completely different from the rumors.

“I’m just saying this just in case. I’m reeeeally just saying this just in case, so just ignore it. Haha.”

That he was not an opponent to be taken lightly.

#

Cian was able to hand over all the goblins to Amelia after the negotiation(?). Like that, the value of the goblin corpses and the labor costs of the territory residents, and so.

Chwaaaaaaa.

Golds pouring out of the money bag!

“Crazy…!”

Cian couldn’t hold back the laughter that kept coming out!