My Lord Who Is Being Prudent! [EN]: Chapter 29

Ruben was undergoing a major transformation.

No longer just ruins, Ruben now resembled a properly developing village.

Of course, calling it a full-fledged territory was still a stretch.

However, it was undeniable that Ruben had made remarkable progress.

Gone were the days constantly filled with thoughts of, ‘How will I survive tomorrow…?’

“Hey! Off to work again today?”

“Yeah, I’m determined to break that monster’s nose today.”

Now, Ruben was filled with thoughts like, ‘I need to rest well to go to work tomorrow.’

It was a daily life in Ruben that once seemed impossible.

And within that daily life of Ruben.

Swish!

Sian’s daily routine consisted of completing tasks at the training ground.

Whoosh!

The sound of his sword tearing through the air echoed eerily.

“This is the last one…!”

And with that final sword strike, thud.

Sian collapsed to the floor.

Twitch, twitch, his whole body trembled.

Ding!

[Demon Soul Asura Sword Proficiency: 41.5% (+0.3%)]

“Haa…! Haa…!”

With the cheerful notification sound coming from his chest, Sian breathed roughly.

Along with Ruben’s development, Sian diligently carried out his tasks every day.

He watched advertisements without missing a single day,

and received growth buffs at the training ground to complete his tasks.

Thanks to that, the Demon Soul Asura Sword’s proficiency had surpassed 40%.

Considering it was only 27.3% when he faced the Black Orc last time, it was a tremendous improvement.

Unsurprisingly, Lucas would often stare at Sian with surprised eyes as he performed his tasks at the training ground.

He must have grown significantly since the battle with the Black Orc.

And this growth was possible because of this.

The proficiency increased by 0.3% to 0.4% with each task after the Black Orc.

And.

“Refining mana stones with demonic energy increases the proficiency a lot.”

The Demon Soul Asura Sword’s proficiency also increased as he refined mana stones containing demonic energy.

The Demon Soul Asura Sword utilized demonic energy.

Thanks to that, the proficiency was over 40%.

“But now I’m starting to reach my limit.”

Sian could feel himself reaching his limit.

His body could no longer accept any more demonic energy.

To be precise, if he accepted any more demonic energy than this,

he felt like he would go insane.

Was there a limit to how much demonic energy he could refine?

Regarding this, Sian reviewed Elodie’s knowledge once again.

And he quickly found the answer.

“I wasn’t refining demonic energy.”

In conclusion, Sian was not refining demonic energy.

He was simply absorbing the demonic energy from the mana stones.

He had only learned how to absorb demonic energy without going insane.

Therefore, to accept more demonic energy than this, he needed a real method to refine the demonic energy accumulated in his body.

Elodie had discovered it through long research.

And it required quite a high level of magical knowledge.

So it was impossible for Sian to use it,

but Sian had another method besides the one Elodie had discovered.

“Demon Soul Control Method… was it?”

A more fundamental method.

Demon Soul Control Method.

It was none other than the Aura Cultivation Technique that Kyle had used.

And the Aura Cultivation Technique was.

A method to control mana, the fundamental power that makes up existence.

Thereby, the knight gains superhuman strength.

The priest gains divine power.

The wizard gains the power of miracles.

Of course, priests and wizards refer to their techniques by different names than Aura Cultivation Technique.

But their essence was no different.

If the Demon Soul Asura Sword was a swordsmanship that utilized demonic energy,

the Demon Soul Control Method could be said to be a way to control demonic energy.

A method to control the power of the source.

That was the Aura Cultivation Technique.

And the efficiency of controlling mana varied greatly depending on the Aura Cultivation Technique.

Therefore, a high-level Aura Cultivation Technique was a treasure that could not be obtained even with billions of gold.

The Aura Cultivation Technique passed down through the Elantur family.

Its estimated value alone was a whopping 370 billion gold.

Of course, no one actually offered to buy it for 370 billion gold.

But no one denied that it was worth that much.

And the Demon Soul Control Method.

The Aura Cultivation Technique used by Kyle, who was called the strongest Arnaise [a legendary warrior] a thousand years ago.

Its value could not even be conceptualized.

“But where do I get that?”

The problem was that there was no way to learn it.

“It wasn’t even in the Advanced Growth Support Package.”

That was because there was no package called ‘Advanced’.

Sian thought that there would naturally be an ‘Advanced’ package following the Beginner and Intermediate packages where he purchased the Demon Soul Asura Sword.

But the Advanced package was not visible in the notification window.

Whether it was not yet on sale.

Or if the Intermediate was the end.

He couldn’t know for sure.

“There’s no way the cash grab would end at Intermediate, right?”

He was just speculating with a high probability.

“Anyway, I can’t refine mana stones anymore like this.”

Then he couldn’t make any more money.

The highest-grade mana stones, easily worth thousands of gold each.

He had spent countless amounts of cash believing in that alone.

It was a bit difficult if this happened.

Of course, it would be fine if Elodie’s laboratory was completed….

Ding!

[Instant Completion Ticket] – 3,000 G

《When you feel frustrated with the progress, cash in!》

Click.

Sian pressed the X button as soon as the notification window popped up.

Even if he built that in the first place.

He wouldn’t be able to do anything special without high-level wizards and researchers.

More than anything, why doesn’t that cash grab window stop even though it’s almost finished?

Anyway.

“Hmm….”

Sian’s worries only deepened.

And it was at that moment.

“Young Master.”

A familiar voice was heard from one side.

Turning his head to look, as expected.

Hans was slowly walking towards Sian.

Judging by his expression, something was wrong.

Sian pushed his thoughts aside and slowly opened his mouth.

“You must be doing well these days since Lucas took over the soldiers. Your face is bright and blooming.”

Then Hans’s expression crumpled.

As if to say, ‘Is that what you’re saying now?’

The wrinkled face became even more distorted, and Hans shouted.

“You dump so much work on me as the administrator, and now you’re saying that?”

Currently, with Lucas in charge of the soldiers.

Hans was in charge of the territory’s administrator role.

And in fact, it was just called an administrator.

He was in charge of handling everything that happened in Ruben.

Problems that inevitably arose as Ruben developed.

Problems and inconveniences that arose from people interacting.

Most of them could be resolved with Mobile Lord [a feature or app in the game/story], but that didn’t mean there were none at all.

Especially things like disputes between people.

That was not something that could be handled with Mobile Lord.

And perhaps because he had experience dealing with people as a mercenary in the past.

Hans skillfully mediated all of them.

Sian being able to train comfortably alone was enough to show that.

“It was more comfortable when I was training the soldiers.”

“Haha….”

Sian awkwardly chuckled.

“What’s wrong?”

Hans shook his head at Sian’s slyly changing the subject.

Soon, Hans took something out of his pocket and handed it to Sian.

“Invitation?”

That’s what was written on the cover.

Sian examined the invitation closely.

And soon, he could confirm who had sent it.

[Conrad von Charlotte.]

“Huh?”

Sian’s head tilted involuntarily.

Conrad von Charlotte was written as the sender.

First of all, he couldn’t help but pause at ‘Charlotte’.

One of the six leaders of Arnaise who saved the world a thousand years ago.

And the founding emperor of the Charlotte Empire.

That was Charlotte.

In short, the only people on the continent who could use the Charlotte surname were members of the Charlotte Imperial Family.

And the name Conrad.

“If it’s Conrad…”

Of course, Sian knew the name.

The Crown Prince of the Empire.

The next in line to the Emperor.

“His Highness the Crown Prince has invited you, Master, to the founding day celebration,” Hans said, nodding slowly.

#

The Charlotte Empire’s founding day celebration.

It was, as the name suggests, a commemorative event to celebrate the founding of the Empire.

It was an event held not only in the Charlotte Empire but also in other kingdoms.

However, the Charlotte Empire’s founding day celebration was quite different from other kingdoms.

Unlike the founding days of other kingdoms that came every year,

the Charlotte Empire’s founding day came only once every four years.

The reason was simple.

A thousand years ago, the day Charlotte founded the Empire.

That day was none other than the intercalary month [a month inserted into the calendar to synchronize it with the seasons] when the moon’s energy was at its fullest,

and it was also the last day of the intercalary month.

There were suggestions to hold the event the day before or the day after.

However, the prevailing opinion was that there was no need to be so ceremonial.

In the end, it was decided that the event would only be held once every four years.

Instead, the event was enormous in scale, befitting its occurrence only once every four years.

The Empire’s founding day celebration was such a grand event that people came to see it from all over the continent.

Royal families from other kingdoms, including the Holy Empire, travel long distances to participate in this event.

There was no need to say more about how big this event was.

And this year’s founding day celebration was particularly special.

That was because it was exactly a thousand years since Arnaise Charlotte founded the Empire.

“Hmm…”

Sian calmly examined the contents of the invitation in his hand.

[Now, a thousand years after Charlotte the Great founded the Empire, the Empire has been able to come this far thanks to talented individuals like you. Therefore, I invite Sian Elandur to this year’s Empire founding day celebration…]

Well, it was basically saying that he was invited to the founding day celebration.

And in fact, it wasn’t just a request to come.

It was practically an order.

Because this invitation.

“Did he write this himself…?”

Seemed to have been written by the Crown Prince himself.

Otherwise, the Crown Prince’s seal would not have been stamped on it.

Usually, official invitations like this have the Imperial Family’s seal stamped on them.

And it had the effect of representing the Imperial Family’s position.

However, the Imperial Family’s representative could stamp it if they had permission.

But the invitation sent to Sian had the Crown Prince’s seal, not the Imperial Family’s seal.

This could not be used by the Imperial Family’s representative.

The moment it was used.

The penalty for falsely claiming to be a member of the Imperial Family was equivalent to treason.

This was a seal that only the Crown Prince himself could use.

“Why though?”

Therefore, Sian couldn’t help but wonder.

The fact that this invitation came in the first place was a question.

It was called the founding day celebration.

But in fact, it was nothing more than a place for talented people from all over the continent to gather and share friendship.

Therefore, there was no reason for Sian to be invited here.

Sian himself knew the rumors about Sian best.

“Hmm…”

Sian was lost in thought for a moment.

And it was just then.

*Ting!*

The cheerful notification sound of a smartphone rang out.

Sian immediately checked his smartphone.

And the words that appeared on the screen.

『[Story Quest] – ‘Arnaise’s Legacy’』

It was a quest notification window.

And it was quite different from the quests Sian had seen so far.

“Why is there no content?”

There was no related content at all.

There were only two things that appeared on the screen.

The title of the quest.

And the reward.

Even the reward was unknown.

There was only ‘???’.

“What is it?”

Sian wondered what this was.

“Hmm…”

There was something he could roughly guess.

『[Story Quest] – ‘Arnaise’s Legacy’』

None other than the title of the quest, Arnaise’s Legacy.

Perhaps… it was possible that it was a quest related to Arnaise’s artifact, such as a smartphone.

The problem was which of the six Arnaise it was.

And what kind of legacy it was.

It seemed that he would have to go and see for himself to find out.

“Is it okay for me to leave right now?”

“If you’re talking about the safety of Ruben, you don’t have to worry. The Dark Forest has been quiet since the Orc village was annihilated recently. And Lucas is training the soldiers better than expected.”

Above all.

“If anything happens, we have Singijeon [a powerful magical weapon], don’t we?”

Sian nodded.

Thanks to the last cash injection, the residents of the territory were also finding happiness in their daily lives.

Ruben was roughly functioning like a territory.

It seemed that there would be no major problems even if Sian was not there, as Lucas was in charge of Ruben’s safety and Hans was in charge of administration.

“I guess I have to go after all?”

“Shouldn’t you?”

The decision didn’t take long.

#

Sian immediately prepared to leave Ruben.

There was still some time before the founding day celebration started, but not enough to relax.

From Ruben to the Empire’s capital, Darkan.

It took quite a while to get there.

Above all, he had even less time to spare if he considered stopping by Lucia in the middle.

The reason for stopping by Lucia in the middle was simple.

Lucia, the Empire’s best commercial city.

It was to sell the mana stones that Sian had refined there.

Although he had reached his limit and could no longer refine them,

there were still mana stones that he had diligently refined.

In that sense.

“I wasn’t invited, so why am I going?”

Sian left Ruben with Amelia.

“I’m just saying let’s go together since we’re going to Lucia. Why, do you hate it?”

“It’s not that I hate it…”

“You don’t have anything to do left in the territory anyway, do you?”

“……”

Amelia had nothing to say.

So Sian left Ruben with Amelia.

And arrived at Lucia, the Empire’s best commercial city.

“There are so many people.”

Sian was slightly surprised by the enormous crowd.

It was as if the expression ‘there’s not even room to set foot’ was describing the situation right in front of him.

Of course, Sian also knew what kind of city Lucia was.

Therefore, he had expected that there would be many people…

Even considering that, there were too many people now.

“The founding day celebration is starting. People are coming from all over the country to attend,” Amelia explained.

“Ah, I see.”

Sian nodded at Amelia’s words.

Lucia was a city located in the central part of the Empire.

A transportation hub that extended throughout the Empire.

That meant.

To get to the capital, Darkan, one had to pass through Lucia.

Perhaps because of that, there were quite a few people who appeared to be nobles.

“Then there must be a lot of people who want to buy this mana stone? Maybe we can get more than 20,000 gold?”

“Seriously…”

Amelia shook her head.

“It’s still early, so the auction house probably hasn’t opened yet.”

“Then should we get something to eat? I’m hungry.”

“I know a good place. Follow me.”

Sian followed Amelia.

The restaurant they arrived at.

It was a restaurant with a rather luxurious atmosphere.

And that meant.

“It looks expensive.”

“It’s a restaurant for nobles. But it’s not as expensive as you think. About 2 gold per person?”

“2 gold per person is not expensive…?”

Is she crazy?

“You have a lot of money anyway. Let’s eat something delicious since we’re out. Honestly, I had a hard time eating only soup and tough jerky in Ruben.”

In the meantime, Ruben’s main food was simple soup and jerky.

It had gotten much better since 배식소 Lv.1 (Distribution Center Lv.1) was created,

But it was still difficult to suit the taste of a noble lady.

Amelia was the daughter of the Brahe Merchant Group, which dominated western Empire.

She didn’t complain, but there seemed to be some hidden disappointments.

“What do you mean I have a lot of money? I thought I spent it all?”

“Then you’ll earn a lot soon. I really like it here.”

Amelia dragged Sian into the restaurant without hesitation.

Sian went inside, pretending he couldn’t win.

Now that he was out, it didn’t seem bad to come to a place like this.

Sian entered the restaurant.

As expected, there were quite a few nobles inside the restaurant.

No, everyone sitting there was a noble.

It seemed that everyone was going to the founding day celebration like Sian.

Just then.

“Let’s go somewhere else.”

Suddenly, Amelia grabbed Sian’s hand and led him out the door.

“Huh? Why?”

“I’ll tell you later. Let’s get out of here first.”

Amelia’s expression was stiff.

Like she had seen something she shouldn’t have.

Just then.

“Well, well, who do we have here?”
A sarcastic voice was heard from somewhere.

#

“Isn’t that Amelia?”

At the voice that followed, Amelia avoided eye contact.

And desperately prayed that she was wrong.

“That’s right. Amelia!”

Unfortunately, that was not the case.

A man strode towards Amelia.

A handsome man with slicked-back hair.

His swaggering appearance was not pleasant to look at.

“It’s been a while.”

Amelia tried to speak calmly.

Because she knew who he was.

Remington, the second son of Count Crowe.

Count Crowe was a family located in the southern part of the Empire and was famous for owning the Empire’s largest granary.

About 15% of the grain distributed in the Empire came from Count Crowe’s territory.

And in the past.

It was also a family that had a marriage proposal with Amelia.

Of course, it was just a proposal.

Nothing more progressed.

Amelia, who had met Remington, refused at once,

And Amelia’s father also knew Remington’s tendencies and immediately called it off.

In response, Count Crowe cut off trade with Brahe.

He had been retaliating in various ways.

But at the time, the Brahe family was a merchant group in the west that no one could touch.

There was nothing really to retaliate against.

But now.

“Wow… I never thought I’d meet you here like this.”

That had become a past glory.

The fallen Brahe Merchant Group.

Remington smiled and stood in front of Amelia.

“I heard your family went bankrupt… I guess that wasn’t entirely true? You even come to places like this?”

Remington’s gaze swept over Amelia.

Then he glanced at Sian, who was next to Amelia.

“When did you dump me… and now you’re dating another man?”

Remington smiled as if he understood.

“How much did you shake your ass to get him to take you to a place like this?”

Remington slowly scanned Sian.

Then suddenly.

“Huh? Wait a minute.”

Remington’s gaze suddenly stopped.

“It’s familiar from somewhere…”

Remington raised his eyes slightly.

A face he remembered.

It was none other than Sian Elandur.

There was hardly anyone in the noble families who didn’t know this name.

No one in the Empire didn’t know Elandur,

So naturally, they couldn’t help but know Sian.

The Marquis family’s good-for-nothing.

A useless bum.

And, although not widely known, an illegitimate child who should not have existed.

Why was such a Sian here…?

Could it be that he was trying to participate in the founding day celebration?

But why are they together?

Remington looked at Sian and Amelia alternately.

And.

“Pfft.”

Remington burst out laughing.

“So that’s what it was? I thought so.”

Then, with a sticky smile, Remington spoke again.

“Amelia, why don’t you come to me now? If you come to me instead of this incompetent and stupid bastard, I’ll treat you well. I’m always welcome, you know?”

Remington burst out laughing.

It was an act of insulting not only Amelia but also Sian outright.

But Remington didn’t care.

Amelia was now the daughter of a fallen family.

Sian was an Elandur, but he was practically an abandoned child.

On the other hand, the name behind him was Crowe.

As a family with the largest granary in the south, it was a family that no one in the Empire could ignore.

Look at it now.

Even though she was being insulted like this, Amelia couldn’t respond.

A quick glance down.

Amelia was just clenching her fists.

And Sian was…

‘You pathetic bastard. You don’t even have any pride.’

It was just like the rumors.

Remington laughed inwardly.

“Then come find me anytime if you change your mind, Amelia.”

Then Remington turned around.

Taking a step like that.

Just as he was about to take a step.

“Are you done talking?”

Suddenly, Sian’s voice was heard.

A slow turn of the head.

There was Sian striding towards Remington.

And Sian’s words that followed.

“Then you won’t need to use that temporomandibular joint anymore, will you?”

At the same time, Sian’s hand swung wildly.

His speed was so fast.

Remington couldn’t even see it.

He could only hear the whooshing sound of his palm cutting through the air.

And in an instant.

Pow!!!

A sound that should not be heard from a person’s body burst out.

Was that… was that a slap to the cheek?

He wondered, but what he saw was clearly a slap to the cheek.

A look at the scene.

Thud!

Remington, who had been slapped in the cheek, was flying far away and crashing into something.