My Lord Who Is Being Prudent! [EN]: Chapter 183

§ 183 – Pursuit

The name Soren was written in Elanur’s ledger.

If Amelia was telling the truth, Soren was the mastermind who ran off with the Brahe Merchant Guild’s funds.

In other words, the very person who brought down the Brahe Merchant Guild.

That Soren’s name was in Elanur’s ledger, of all places.

However, it wasn’t certain if that Soren was the same Soren in this ledger.

It could be someone with the same name.

In short, a namesake.

Of course, Soren wasn’t a common name.

But in many ways, there were more than enough reasons to be suspicious.

“Oh, how could this be…”

Amelia was in considerable shock.

She stood blankly, muttering like a person who had lost her soul.

“C-Can I have some time alone… just for a moment?”

At Amelia’s words, Xian hesitated for a moment.

Was it okay to leave Amelia alone?

Shouldn’t he at least comfort her?

But Xian quickly nodded.

Nothing would register in Amelia’s ears right now.

Of course, he needed to transcribe Elanur’s ledger to track down the slush funds [illegally obtained money, often used for bribes or illicit activities].

But now wasn’t the time.

Amelia’s eyes were trembling with considerable shock.

In that state, she wouldn’t be able to focus on anything.

Not slush funds, not anything.

It seemed Amelia needed to calm down first.

So, Xian left the ‘Sweeping Up Merchant Guild Lv.1’ building to give Amelia some time alone.

Xian came outside.

“What the heck is going on?”

Honestly, Xian couldn’t understand the situation either.

He immediately took out his smartphone.

And the quest notification window popped up on the screen.

『[Territory Quest] – ‘That Elanur, He’s Such a Jerk!’』

The content of the newly emerged territory quest was simple.

Elanur was using Charlotte’s swordsmanship.

And he was involved in the downfall of the Brahe Merchant Guild.

It was a fact that could be roughly guessed from various circumstances.

But it was only a ‘guess’.

An uncertain conjecture.

However, those conjectures were appearing as territory quests on the smartphone screen.

This meant one thing.

“Really… did Elanur do all those things?”

That all those guesses were true.

The Mobile Lord doesn’t give quests based on falsehoods.

It only activates the quest after Xian approaches the truth.

The quest itself didn’t lie.

Rather, it only caused confusion based on the truth.

Anyway, those two stories were definitely true.

And looking at the content of the quest, it seemed that Elanur had hidden more than just those truths.

《Perhaps there are even more hideous truths hidden behind the curtain!》

The Mobile Lord had definitely said that.

Elanur was a never-ending source of bizarre tales the more you dug.

He wasn’t Elanur now, though…

Still, it was true that Elanur’s blood flowed in Xian’s veins.

“What on earth did he do?”

Xian felt inexplicably ashamed.

He blankly stared at the quest window that had popped up.

And.

“What’s with the DLC [Downloadable Content]?”

His gaze naturally turned to the quest’s reward.

It was a word he was hearing for the first time, and a concept he was hearing for the first time.

It probably didn’t exist on the continent.

It seemed to be a unique function of the smartphone, like taking pictures in the past.

Or maybe it was a concept only used in the Mobile Lord.

He was wondering what it was when.

Ding!

《You! Aren’t you curious about what DLC is?!》

As if reading Xian’s mind.

The Mobile Lord’s notification window popped up on the screen.

《DLC can be defined as an expansion pack in one word!》

“Expansion pack?”

As Xian tilted his head, the Mobile Lord raised the notification window as if waiting.

《That’s right! New content that couldn’t be seen in the existing Mobile Lord is being added!》

《Addition of new content and various convenience functions!》

《Increased user convenience through diversification of supported devices!》

《It’s practically Mobile Lord 2!》

“Mobile Lord 2?”

Xian muttered to himself.

He still didn’t quite grasp what DLC was.

But if it was Mobile Lord 2, he could guess to some extent.

“No, that’s not the point.”

Isn’t the Mobile Lord inside this smartphone?

It felt like it was answering my words just now?

This wasn’t a guess, but a reasonable suspicion.

Whether it knew Xian’s thoughts or not.

《No, then why call it DLC instead of Mobile Lord 2?》

The Mobile Lord continued to say what it wanted to say on its own.

《Because it’s not Mobile Lord 2!》

《It’s only called Mobile Lord 2!》

《You don’t know, but developing a new Mobile Lord 2 is incredibly, reeeeally difficult!》

《It takes an enormous amount of time just to plan it!》

《And the manpower needed to implement the functions is astronomical!》

《And you wouldn’t wait during that time!》

《Because you’d be dead by the time that era passes!》

《It’s not just about adding the number 2 at the end!》

《So, we developed DLC to provide new content while compensating for these shortcomings!》

《It’s about adding minor improvements to the existing system!》

Xian organized the concept of DLC based on the Mobile Lord’s explanation.

Various complex explanations.

But in the end, it meant one thing.

“Hmm… so you’re going to fleece me little by little, multiple times?”

It was no different from fleecing him multiple times with small things instead of big ones.

Well, considering the Mobile Lord’s past attempts to induce spending, it was understandable.

《In short, it’s going to fleece you multiple times with small things! Hahaha!》

Was it okay to say that so openly?

《In one word, it’s the Mobile Lord’s expansion pack! In two words, it’s additional content! In three words, it’s a booster pack!》

《Going to four words is overkill!》

《So, I’ll only go up to three words!》

《Huh? You’re saying it was already overkill from two words?》

Ding!

《Hmph!!!》

.

.

“…Is it sane?”

Or am I the one who’s not sane?

This was a problem that needed serious consideration.

But Xian quickly shook his head.

It was obvious that thinking deeply about it would only make his head hurt.

Well, anyway.

“The truths Elanur hid…”

There was no change in the fact that he had to do the territory quest.

Even if it wasn’t for the reward, DLC, he couldn’t just stand by.

Elanur stole Charlotte’s swordsmanship and brought down the Brahe Merchant Guild.

He was willing to fight dirty, not to mention the territory war that would unfold in the future.

But right now, there was no way to prove that fact.

It seemed he had to start thinking and planning from now on.

“First… I need to talk to Hans.”

Hans, who was with Xian in the past, in Elanur.

Xian immediately moved to Lord’s Castle Lv.3.

#

Xian’s office, located in Lord’s Castle Lv.3.

“Such a thing…”

Hans let out a small exclamation at Xian’s story.

The story of Elanur’s secrets and the downfall of the Brahe family.

Hans couldn’t hide his shock at the fact that it was all related to Elanur.

Perhaps because of that, a dark shadow was cast over Hans’ wrinkled face.

“Is Lady Amelia alright?”

Hans asked Xian.

Hans was most concerned about Amelia.

“Honestly, she’s not alright.”

Xian answered truthfully.

As he said, Amelia wasn’t alright.

The last time he saw Amelia, she was in shock and couldn’t come to her senses.

A major incident that brought down the family.

Now that she had faced the truth that the incident was related to Elanur.

How could she be alright?

No, even apart from Elanur, she couldn’t be alright from the fact that the culprit of the incident had appeared in the first place.

“I see…”

Hans knew that, so he just nodded silently.

And a brief silence followed.

“But… is it really true? That Elanur brought down Lady Amelia’s family, I mean.”

Hans cautiously asked Xian.

Because there was no evidence.

Elanur’s secret technique is Charlotte’s swordsmanship.

This story was a little different.

It was true that the story above was also hard to believe, but there was evidence.

Charlotte’s younger sister, Leia, was a definite witness and evidence.

Of course, it was somewhat difficult to make it known to the world.

But it was as good as definite evidence to those who knew.

But it wasn’t related to the Brahe family.

The only evidence was the name Soren written in Elanur’s ledger.

Of course, the name of the person who ran off with the Brahe Merchant Guild’s funds in the past was also Soren.

But frankly, there was a possibility that it was someone with the same name.

The name Soren wasn’t common.

Still, there were plenty of possibilities that they were namesakes.

But.

“It’s true.”

Xian nodded firmly to this question.

Because the Mobile Lord’s territory quest.

The content given as a quest in the Mobile Lord was proving that the above fact was a clear fact.

However, this was also not evidence to be revealed to the world.

Also, it only told him the related facts.

The Mobile Lord didn’t tell him the details either.

Xian had to reveal the evidence and circumstances from now on.

“In that sense, Hans. When you were in Elanur, was there anything strange?”

Xian casually asked Hans.

Xian and Hans were the only ones related to Elanur in Ruben.

It could be said that only these two existed.

And Hans had been with Xian since he was a child.

He had been by his side since before Xian was born.

In other words, Hans had been in Elanur longer than Xian.

So, in some ways, Hans knew more about Elanur than Xian.

But.

“There wasn’t anything particularly strange… I don’t think. Even if there was, it’s hard to recall it right now…”

Hans shook his head slightly with a troubled expression.

And Xian didn’t urge Hans.

As he said, it was quite difficult to recall it right now.

Above all, Hans was only an employee who assisted Xian.

Of course, he was in a more important position than an employee.

Nevertheless, it was difficult to access or even come into contact with such confidential information.

And it was impossible to extract information from inside Elanur now.

Now that Ruben and Elanur were completely at odds.

He couldn’t even approach the inside of Elanur.

Elanur’s ledger was information that he wouldn’t have been able to take out if Xian hadn’t been the vice-administrator.

Also, if he didn’t have the function of taking pictures.

So, he couldn’t do anything more with the information inside Elanur.

But.

“My colleagues might know rumors related to it…”

The story was a little different if it was a rumor that had spread outside.

“Colleagues?”

Xian tilted his head at Hans’ words.

Did Hans have anyone he could call a colleague?

As if piercing through Xian’s doubts.

Hans nodded slightly and replied.

“Yes. I have colleagues who I used to work with, risking our lives together.”

“Ah.”

Xian was able to nod then.

Hans was an old man now.

But when Hans was young.

Before Hans entrusted himself to Elanur.

Hans was quite a skilled mercenary.

He was said to be quite famous in the mercenary industry, not just quite.

Well, Xian had only heard rumors, so he didn’t know the details.

How could he know what happened before he was born?

But when he was in the Elanur family.

The White Wolf Knights occasionally came to Hans to ask for guidance.

Just looking at that, he could see how skilled Hans was in his prime.

Although he was old and weakened now, Hans was a very outstanding mercenary.

And Hans’ colleagues were also not ordinary people.

“It’s been a long time since I contacted them… but I’ve heard rumors that they’ve each taken a position in the mercenary world.”

They would have taken a position to the point of dominating the mercenary industry, not just taking a position.

And mercenaries were well-versed in the politics of the empire and the continent.

Not only the strange rumors surrounding Elanur.

Another truth hidden by Elanur could be revealed.

“Then I’ll ask you to do it.”

“I understand. I’ll be seeing some welcome faces after a long time.”

Hans nodded with a small smile.

Xian opened his mouth again at Hans’ appearance.

“Ah, and. Find a man named Soren with Grayson.”

Grayson was the one who led the people of Ruben before Xian came to Ruben as the lord.

Currently, he is the one who represents the human race among the people of Ruben.

He is also the father of Ellie, the healer of Ruben.

Anyway.

“If a man named Soren is the mastermind who brought down the Brahe family and it was Elanur’s instigation, he’s probably being protected by Elanur. So, it won’t be easy to track him down, but…”

It was different if it was Grayson.

Grayson was a veteran hunter who had survived in the Dark Forest for decades, and a master of tracking.

Of course, it wasn’t easy to track down someone who was being protected by Elanur.

But if he added the power of the mercenaries that Hans contacted here.

Maybe he could find out Soren’s location.

“I’ll move right away.”

Hans, who immediately understood Xian’s thoughts, nodded.

And as he said, he seemed to be trying to push things forward right away.

He immediately turned around and went out of the office.

That’s how Hans left.

“Hmm…”

Xian took a moment to organize his thoughts.

The truth hidden by Elanur.

And the territory quest related to it.

“Umm…”

His head was getting complicated.

Was it because of that?

“I feel like I’ve forgotten something…”

He felt like he had forgotten something.

He had definitely decided to do something… but he couldn’t remember what it was.

Xian frowned and recalled his memory.

“…What was it?”

But he couldn’t remember.

Something that seemed important but wasn’t.

“…Eh, I don’t know.”

Xian quickly shook his head.

If he couldn’t remember it even after thinking this much, it probably wasn’t important.

“First of all, what I can do right now…”

Xian took out his smartphone.

#

At that time, the production district located in Ruben.

Elena was walking alone on the streets of Ruben, looking around the production district.

There were no Royal Knights following as escorts.

They were all dueling with the knights of Ruben in the training hall.

Her brother, Crown Prince Conrad, was currently training with his sword in the training hall of the Lord’s Castle.

She was wondering why he was suddenly training with his sword.

They had trained with swords together when they were young.

But he had put down his sword after being appointed as Crown Prince.

After that, Elena also put down her sword and concentrated on her lessons as a princess.

But suddenly he was picking up his sword again?

But after hearing the reason, Elena was surprised once again.

She heard that he was learning the swordsmanship of Emperor Charlotte, which had been lost a long time ago.

From a ghost named Leia, Charlotte’s younger sister.

She didn’t know if it was true or not…

No, it must be true.

And that was to continue the lineage of the lost imperial family.

She couldn’t interfere with that important task.

Anyway, Conrad was busy training with his sword in the training hall.

And Xian, the lord of Ruben.

Xian had more work to do than anyone else.

He had to manage the duels used by the Royal Knights and the knights of Ruben.

He also had to teach Conrad Charlotte’s swordsmanship.

Just before, he seemed to have something to do with the Brahe heiress.

If she had to pick the busiest person in Ruben, it would be Xian.

Again, she couldn’t interfere with that.

In the first place, she didn’t want to interfere with those who were working hard on their own tasks.

She didn’t want to be taken care of just because she was a princess.

So, she didn’t care much about walking alone on the streets of Ruben.

She definitely thought so…

“Everyone… seems busy.”

Elena didn’t know why she felt a little lonely.