My Lord Who Is Being Prudent! [EN]: Chapter 144

§ 144 – Threat (1)

Isabel’s eyebrows twitched momentarily.

She didn’t speak, but her cold gaze questioned Connor’s refusal.

“Sian is my lord now. I cannot accept a request to assassinate him.”

“I’m encountering quite a few surprises today,” Isabel said, her expression calm.

“Loyalty from a hound of the underworld…”

An elite assassin from the underworld.

The hounds of the underworld have no concept of a master.

There is only the client.

Connor chuckled inwardly. He never imagined he’d say such a thing.

“I am no longer affiliated with the underworld.”

Connor was no longer an assassin of the underworld.

Now, he was Sian’s slave (in a manner of speaking) and Ruben’s assassination technique instructor.

“I will erase today’s conversation from my memory.”

“Do you think Ruben can survive against Elandur?”

Connor paused. Ruben’s current power was considerable. Unlike the Ruben of the past, few could stand against him. But Elandur was a different matter.

The two pillars supporting the empire, Elandur. Whether Ruben could withstand Elandur was a difficult question.

“The Shadow Moon Guild Leader has been quite bold,” Isabel said abruptly.

Connor froze. His gaze sharpened.

Isabel calmly continued, feigning ignorance. “Not only did she fail Elandur’s request, but she also went into hiding.”

With that, Isabel fell silent.

The request from Elandur that Isabel mentioned made Connor pause to think.

The Shadow Moon Guild dominated the underworld. It was the guild where Connor used to operate. And Connor had received a request there: to assassinate Sian.

That was why he was currently working as a slave for Ruben, but… anyway.

At the time, Connor accepted the request without much thought. For the hounds of the underworld, there was only the request. They didn’t ask who the client was or why they made such a request.

And now, Connor was being offered the same request. The only difference was that back then, he didn’t know the client. Now, the client was right in front of him.

But was it really different?

“…Could it be that you were the client back then as well, Madam?”

Isabel didn’t answer, confirming Connor’s suspicion. Isabel had requested Sian’s assassination. And the Shadow Moon Guild Leader, Diana, had accepted Isabel’s request and delegated it to him.

However, when Connor failed and didn’t return, the Shadow Moon seemed to have gone into hiding. Connor didn’t know the exact reason, having been imprisoned by Ruben ever since. Diana must have made a judgment based on the situation.

But in the end, she had offended Elandur. Failing the mission and going into hiding.

“The fate of a useless hound is predetermined, especially if it’s a dog that bit its owner…”

No matter how much the Shadow Moon Guild controlled the underworld, no matter how hidden they were, it wouldn’t work against Elandur. If Isabel set her mind to it, the Shadow Moon would disappear from history.

“But what does it matter?” Isabel lightly raised her teacup.

“You are no longer affiliated with the underworld.” She took a sip.

“……”

Connor was silent. As Isabel said, it was none of his business. Connor was no longer affiliated with the underworld. The guild he used to belong to was meaningless. From the start, the hounds of the underworld had no concept of a master. They were ungrateful bastards.

But no matter how much of a bastard he was…

“I heard that the Shadow Moon Guild Leader took you in.”

He wasn’t unaware of the grace of being taken in. In his childhood, Connor roamed the back alleys, struggling to survive. He was too young to live alone, and the underworld was too harsh. Not just murder, but torture, rape, kidnapping – creative criminal acts committed without hesitation or guilt. They were truly beasts.

The Shadow Moon Guild Leader, Diana, entered this underworld filled with madmen alone. A woman of unknown identity, status, and origin. But she single-handedly trampled all the madmen lost in madness. She gave ‘rules’ to the chaotic underworld and rose to the pinnacle.

She made it possible for Connor to live in the underworld. She also taught him the strength and skills to survive.

Of course, Diana didn’t think of Connor as special. If she had, she would have tried to kill Sian when Connor didn’t return. Diana had taken in many children like Connor. He just happened to show outstanding talent among them. Diana didn’t particularly cherish Connor, but that didn’t negate the grace of her taking him in.

Connor lowered his gaze. An unidentified poison came into view, along with a 2 million gold note.

Connor couldn’t accept this request. Ruben was too special to him, and Sian was essential to Ruben. Connor had decided that day, after the princess’s visit, when the people of Ruben stood up for a mere bastard, and Sian rebuked the princess and the Royal Knights for him, that he would live for Ruben and Sian for the rest of his life.

Therefore, leaving would be the right choice. But if he left like this, the Shadow Moon Guild would disappear, and Diana would surely die.

“Choose. And whatever choice you make, I will respect it.” With that, Isabel fell silent.

Silence descended. How much time had passed?

“I…” Connor finally spoke.

#

With Ruben’s situation roughly settled, Sian left the lord’s castle and hurried to a wide, open plain in the center of Ruben, land he had acquired through the recent district expansion. In short, land worth 1 million gold.

The reason Sian came here was simple.

“Now, I just need to plant this Instiz.”

He was here because of Instiz, Elodie’s staff when she was alive, a complete World Tree in itself.

Sian reached into his inventory and pulled out a seed slightly larger than a fist.

“Can I just plant it like this?” Sian pondered. Was it okay to just plant the World Tree? He was bothered by what the Mobile Lord had said in the story quest: 《There was something unknown lurking inside Instiz.》

Sian still didn’t know what it was.

“Hmm…” Sian pondered, but not for long. Instiz was the ‘reward’ of the quest.

“Still, it’s a legacy left by Elodie. What could happen?” Surely they wouldn’t give a dangerous item as a reward.

Sian, having made up his mind, drew his sword. The SSS-grade sword was smoothly drawn, and Sian plunged it into the ground without hesitation.

And was it really an SSS-grade sword?

*Thud.* As if cutting tofu, the sword was deeply embedded in the ground.

“Of course. How much money did I spend here?” According to the cash spending history, it was a whopping 13 million gold. It didn’t make sense that he couldn’t dig up this one piece of land with that money. Of course, the purpose was different.

*Thud. Thud.* A pit large enough for Instiz was quickly created. Sian gently placed Instiz in the pit.

“Should I sprinkle some water?” *Nah, it’s a World Tree, so it’ll grow on its own.*

Sian gathered the surrounding soil and covered it firmly. Just as Instiz was completely covered, *Ding!* A cheerful notification sounded from his smartphone.

And again. *Whoosh!* A bright light burst from the ground where Instiz was buried. At the same time, something soared out of the ground: a sprout stalk of green color. The stalk grew instantly, reaching Sian’s eye level.

And.

Numerous notification windows popped up on the smartphone screen.

[Blessing of the World Tree]

.

.

.

“Crazy…!” The words involuntarily escaped Sian’s mouth. The notification windows… wasn’t this the only way to express it?

Buff effects for all living things in the territory. Literally the power of the source of life.

Sian picked up the SSS-grade sword and lightly slashed the palm of his opposite hand. With a chilling sensation, his palm was cut. Red blood flowed, but only for a moment.

*Rustle.* The open wound healed, and the flowing blood stopped. It began to recover visibly quickly, thanks to the Blessing of the World Tree’s recovery speed of +7,000%.

“It’s at the level of a novice priest’s healing ability.”

It didn’t end here. There was also the newly established ‘Divine Physician Treatment Center Lv.5’. And if you add Ellie’s excellent healing skills… they could really save everyone as long as they didn’t die.

In addition, all pests in the territory were gone, of course. And all harmful effects were reduced by -80%. Literally all harmful effects, such as curses and poison.

“Crazy…!” Wasn’t this the only way to express it?

Moreover, the real deal was from now on.

The location of Instiz, selected by plowing through the entire Ruben. The effect of that money-spending… no, cash spending was appearing.

*Ding!*

*Ding!*

.

.

.

“Wow…!” An exclamation escaped Sian’s mouth. How could he not shout this out!

First of all, the effect of increasing the mana concentration by +100%.

“Hoo-eup…!” Sian took a deep breath. Fresh air filled his lungs. He felt a refreshing energy and could feel the clear energy of mana in the air.

And that accumulated subtly within his body.

“Mana is accumulating…?”

To put it simply, it was nothing more than breathing.

It was no different from accumulating magic power.

Moreover, that energy was similar to pure demonic energy.

Of course, it was mana drawn from the Forest of Darkness, so it possessed the attribute of demonic energy.

However, the energy contained within was quite different.

It was like an energy that had undergone a slight purification process, similar to the Demon Soul Refinement Technique.

In simple terms, it was quite similar to the energy of pure demonic energy.

It seemed that Instiz was refining the demonic energy.

If so… it was also good for the dark elves.

They could handle pure demonic energy without falling into madness.

Even.

All these effects were amplified according to the growth of Instiz.

“Crazy!!”

It was truly a crazy effect.

“Ah… !”

Sian involuntarily exclaimed.

To be honest, he regretted it a little.

The terrible sum of 32 million gold.

He was secretly regretting whether it was necessary to invest all that money.

Was it necessary to completely overhaul it?

Wouldn’t it have been okay to modify it a little, even if it took time?

Sian had been slightly regretting it until just now.

But now his mind had completely changed.

This Instiz he was seeing now.

This Instiz, planted in the optimal location even by plowing through the entire Ruben [a region or territory in the story].

This Instiz alone was worth the cost of redeveloping Ruben.

“Ahhh… !”

Sian trembled uncontrollably.

Right then.

“It’s Sian.”

A familiar voice came from one side.

He looked over there.

There, Sera was looking at Sian with curious eyes.

“Are you dancing again?”

Sera smiled at Sian.

“Teach me too.”

Then Sera moved towards Sian.

Suddenly, Sera’s steps stopped abruptly.

Then she slowly turned her gaze to the tree in front of Sian.

“Instiz?”

Sera tilted her head and said.

Instiz was currently in the form of a tree that had grown to Sian’s height.

In short, it looked like nothing more than an ordinary tree.

But was it because of Sera’s ability to see through the essence?

“It’s Instiz.”

Sera immediately recognized the existence of Instiz.

Sera turned away from Sian and stood in front of Instiz.

Then she reached out to Instiz.

She gently closed her eyes.

It looked like she was trying to communicate with Instiz…

At that moment.

Whoosh.

Suddenly, the size of Instiz began to grow.

It looked almost 1.5 times larger than before.

As expected, a notification sound rang from the smartphone!

“… Crazy.”

Sian muttered involuntarily.

Elves raise the forest, and the forest raises the elves.

Instiz was growing rapidly just by recognizing the existence of the dark elf.

‘Hmm… I think it’s because of Sera, not just any dark elf?’

That’s because Instiz’s attitude towards Sera was clearly different.

The grown Instiz’s stem lightly wrapped around Sera’s body.

It was like playing a prank on an old friend, a familiar friend.

“Kya-ha-hat! It tickles!”

Sera laughed at Instiz’s prank.

And Sian was watching the scene.

“Ahem.”

Sian slightly turned his gaze away.

The sight of Sera playing around, wrapped in Instiz’s stem.

That sight was a little… like that.

Whether she knew Sian’s feelings or not.

Sera was laughing and playing with Instiz.

“Hmm…”

Is that so good?

It just looks like a tree.

Is love for the World Tree an identity rooted in the elven race after all?

“Do you like it that much?”

“Yes! I like Instiz! I like the new house too!”

Sera smiled brightly and answered Sian’s question.

“Yeah, well…”

I’m glad she likes it.

No, I was really grateful that she liked it so much.

That’s because the money poured into this was over 31 million gold!

“Haa…”

Sian involuntarily sighed at the thought that came to mind again.

At that moment.

“That’s…”

Suddenly, Sera spoke again.

And why was that?

For some reason, Sera was cautiously looking at Sian.

Before he could wonder what it was.

“I like Sian the most!”

Sera shouted with a bright smile.

Sian chuckled at Sera’s appearance.

It seemed that she understood that Sian was sulking because she said she only liked Instiz and the new house, excluding Sian.

“Okay. Thank you.”

Sian nodded with a smile.

Only then did Sera feel relieved and start playing with Instiz again.

“Kya-ha-hat!”

Sera laughing with Instiz.

Was it because of Sera’s appearance?

‘Well, it’s worth spending money on.’

The hatred for the evaporated gold seemed to subside a little.

Of course.

『 Opening Cost – 500,000 G』

“How much gold do I have left…”

Not much, just a little.

#

Ruben, newly redeveloped.

From the completely transformed residential facilities.

To the dark elves seen on the streets.

As the territory itself was completely overturned, Ruben could be said to be a completely different territory from the existing one.

Among them, the dark elves’ living area was by far the most popular.

Their unique way of life was completely different from that of humans.

They cultivate the forest and live like a part of nature.

Their lives were especially loved by children.

“Let’s play at Elin’s farm today too!”

“I agree! I agree!”

“Okay! I’ll show you the rainbow cherry blossoms today!”

The children of humans, dwarves, and dark elves mingled with each other without much sense of difference.

And the relationship between children soon leads to the relationship between parents.

“Our child is always indebted to you.”

“No. We like it because Elin likes it so much.”

“This is… it’s nothing much.”

“Wow! This is blue moss!”

“Our Yi went on a merchant escort last time and brought it back.”

“Thank you! Let’s all eat together. I’ll prepare some tea!”

“Hoho… I’ll just drink tea.”

The dark elves’ living area was the hottest area in Ruben.

However, if you were to pick the most popular area in Ruben, the story would be a little different.

None other than ‘Miraculous Restaurant Lv.5’.

It was a restaurant that had already presented miraculous tastes with Dana’s amazing cooking skills.

Even Princess Elena tasted the sweets baked by Dana and evaluated the food of the imperial palace as garbage.

Such a restaurant was upgraded to Lv.5 with this redevelopment.

“He, heaven… ! This is heaven!”

“The reason for my life… this food is the reason for my life… !”

The amplified taste was beyond description.

This was also the case for the dark elves.

Dark elves, whose eating habits are completely different from those of humans, along with their lifestyle.

“Th, this is… stir-fried ginkgo tree stems… !”

“Delicious… ! So delicious… !”

However, Dana perfectly catered to the tastes of the dark elves.

“It’s the first time I’ve made it, but I’m glad it suits your taste.”

“It’s not just to my taste! This is really the best!”

“No way! No way!”

The most crowded and hottest place in Ruben was, of course, Dana’s ‘Miraculous Restaurant Lv.5’.

A restaurant full of warmth.

Looking at the bustling scenery of the restaurant today as well.

Even though her body was tired, Dana didn’t feel tired at all.

It was also because she could cook warm meals for people.

It was because of the dark elves who became territory residents this time.

Dana’s son, Jerry, was working as a mage in Ruben.

And Jerry was the only mage in Ruben.

Because of this, Jerry was holed up in the laboratory day and night.

There wasn’t a day when his dark circles weren’t erased.

Nevertheless, Jerry didn’t rest to serve the lord.

Dana was proud of such Jerry, but on the other hand, she was worried.

However, the dark elves who became territory residents this time.

As they joined Jerry as assistants, Jerry was able to have a lot of free time.

“Then enjoy your meal and please take good care of our Jerry!”

Dana was only happy to be able to serve food to the dark elves.

“Of course! Don’t worry!”

“Jerry is a great friend! We should learn from him!”

Dana smiled contentedly as she watched the dark elves eating their food in a hurry.

She heard that the dark elves also had a lot of pain.

However, it was nice to see them smiling so brightly despite such pain.

“He’s a really… grateful person.”

Dana naturally thought of Sian.

If it wasn’t for Sian, what would have happened to the dark elves?

No, before that, what would have happened to herself and Jerry?

Sian, who readily used the saintess’s favor for her who was suffering from illness.

If it wasn’t for Sian, would she have been able to make food for people in this place?

Could the current Ruben have existed?

Dana calmly looked around the restaurant.

“Delicious! So delicious!”

“Hey, you! Eat everything in your mouth before you talk! It’s all splashing!”

“Did the food splash?! Where?! Where?!”

“Hey, you crazy bastard! Why are you picking that up and eating it!”

“Puhahahahaha!”

Somewhere ridiculous scenery.

Therefore, a scenery full of warmth.

Ruben was full of the smell of people living.

All of these things were possible because of Sian.

Dana being able to make food.

Jerry being able to walk the path of a mage.

And people eating delicious food.

Everything was possible because of Sian.

‘Really… he’s a really grateful person.’

Dana felt sincerely grateful to Sian.

That’s why Dana headed back to the kitchen.

That was the only way Dana could repay Sian even a little.

Dana calmly moved her steps.

To be exact, it was right then that she was about to move her steps.

“If you have time, can I ask you for a favor?”

Someone called out to Dana.

She turned her head and looked over there.

“Instructor Kerner?”

There stood none other than Kerner.

Kerner, who teaches assassination techniques to soldiers in Ruben.

“What do you mean by a favor…?”

“Can you make a dish that the lord would like?”

“The lord?”

Kerner nodded once and replied.

“I’m on my way to see the lord now, but I don’t want to go empty-handed…”

“Ah.”

Dana nodded her head in agreement.

“It’s okay if you’re busy.”

Dana was lost in thought for a moment at Kerner’s words that followed.

She was quite busy.

Right now, people are lining up outside the restaurant.

In this situation, she couldn’t grant personal requests.

But.

“No. I have that much time.”

Dana readily nodded her head.

It was food for Sian, not anyone else.

No matter how busy she was, it was the top priority.

“Please wait a moment. I’ll make it for you right away.”

Dana quickly entered the kitchen.

And Kerner was watching such Dana.

Kerner went outside the restaurant for a while to wait for Dana.

“Oh. Aren’t you Instructor Kerner.”

“I haven’t seen you for a few days. Are you coming back from somewhere?”

The soldiers of Ruben, who recognized Kerner, spoke to him.

But Kerner didn’t answer anything.

“Instructor?”

“Is something… wrong?”

The soldiers were puzzled, but Kerner remained silent.

Kerner slowly raised his gaze.

Far away, the figure of the lord’s castle was visible.

“…”

Kerner’s expression as he looked at the lord’s castle was endlessly heavy.