“I’m here.”
How long did I run? Just as my back began to ache, we arrived at the entrance of the South.
It was shabby, but there was a large wall that could serve as a fence, and people guarding it.
Dania and I got off our horses, carrying the bundle we prepared in advance, and approached the entrance.
“Stop. This is a place managed by Gorjan. People from other zones are prohibited from entering.”
A man pointed his spear at us and warned in a stern voice, and Dania stepped forward.
“We came to meet the king of the South. We have something to give him.”
The man glanced at our faces, then lowered his spear and spoke.
“Hmm… indeed. Gorjan’s concubines? Quite beautiful, aren’t they?”
What the heck?!
I flared up at the man’s ridiculous comment, and Dania shook her head while grabbing my shoulder.
Well, we didn’t come to fight; we came to trade.
If I smashed things out of anger, then the deal would be down the drain.
“I’d like to meet the king as soon as possible. May we enter?”
“..Alright. Go in.”
The guards were pretty lax. Perhaps thinking nothing would happen since we were women; they let us in without any suspicion.
“Hey, you. What’s that in your hand?”
Pointing with the spear again, he pointed at the bundle I was holding.
I smiled at the guard and lifted the bundle.
“This? It’s a gift the king will like.”
“Doubtful goods cannot be brought in carelessly. Open it.”
Hmm. It seems we won’t get in easily.
Looking at Dania, she sighed and nodded as if to say it was okay.
“Uh, sure. If you insist.”
As everyone watched, I slowly unwrapped the bundle.
Rrrrrrip – As the bundle unraveled, something emerged.
“AHHHHHHHH!!”
“What the hell!! That’s a human head!!”
“What are you doing?!”
“Wait… wait… that face is…”
The guards jumped back in shock. I held the head in my hands, presenting it to them.
“Bring your king.”
.
.
.
In a bedroom of a certain building.
A soldier approached a man surrounded by several women.
“Gorjan, there’s a commotion at the entrance.”
Hearing the soldier’s words, Gorjan leaned his chin on his hand, looking annoyed.
“Is it another monster?”
“N-no, it’s said to be two women.”
“Women?”
Gorjan furrowed his brows at the soldier’s words.
What kind of disturbance could come from women? It’s not common to see women in this city in the first place.
“So you’re saying my leisure is being interrupted by some women?”
As Gorjan glared at the soldier sharply, the soldier started sweating profusely and hurriedly added.
“Uh, well, it seems the head of the western king was found with one of them.”
“What?”
“And afterward, they tried to subdue the women, but they’ve been completely overwhelmed…!”
Bram is dead? By a woman, no less?
I pondered for a moment at the unusual situation.
‘Are they a mana user? At a considerable level too.’
“Bring them to me. Avoid unnecessary conflict.”
.
.
.
“GUUAAAHHHH!!!!!”
Stop whining. I barely hit you.
I was subduing the soldiers as gently as I could.
If I killed someone by accident, it would become a hassle, so I was just lightly tapping their arms and legs.
But it seemed from their perspective that wasn’t the case.
“Ugh… I can’t… breathe!”
“Gugh… my leg… my leg!!!!”
Screams echoed from all around. Dania, next to me, looked at me with a slight frown and a dagger in hand, an expression of caution on her face.
“You’re strong…”
“These guys are weak.”
Honestly, they were weak.
Once you go deeper into the empire, there are strong people who could easily wipe out dozens of these men.
“By the way, should we force our way through?”
“At this rate, since we made this much noise, more people will come soon.”
Just as Dania said, not long after, a soldier rode in on horseback.
“THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!”
The man quickly dismounted and ran towards us, bowing his head.
“Gorjan has summoned you! I will guide you!”
Oh. It seems this Gorjan is someone who communicates well.
As we were led by the man, we quickly entered the entrance, revealing a rather decent street scene.
“The South has some nice buildings.”
Unlike the shabby buildings in the West that only had signs attached, here, there were buildings with some degree of decorum.
“True… it’s different from the West.”
“All thanks to Gorjan. Haha.”
A soldier interjected into our conversation, proudly spreading his shoulders.
It seems Gorjan is recognized by the people, unlike Bram.
As we walked, observing the streets, we soon reached a building.
Following the soldier’s lead inside, we encountered a man dressed in extravagant clothes in a luxurious room.
But looking at the man’s face…
‘That dude… looks like…’
A balding head and a rather overweight body with a sneaky-looking face.
He reminded me of those chubby old men who lead innocent girls down the path of corruption, almost pulling out a stopwatch from his back pocket.
‘No, I can’t judge people by their appearance…’
How foolish it is to judge people by their appearances. I self-reflected.
But as the man gazed at me with a deep look, I unconsciously felt a surge of bloodlust rising within me.
‘Calm down… calm down.’
Suppressing the animosity flowing unconsciously from my body, the man greeted us with a smile on his face.
“Hello. I am Gorjan, the manager of the South.”
Being a merchant, he welcomed us politely.
It felt quite unpleasant, but it’s only proper to respond with respect to those who treat you with respect.
“You can call me Hera.”
“I’m Dania.”
After hearing our introductions, he nodded and led us to a place to sit.
“I’ve heard that you stirred quite a commotion… may I ask what brings you to this place?”
Gorjan went straight to the point, which I preferred, so I immediately showed the bundle I had brought.
As I unwrapped it, Bram’s head revealed itself.
Gorjan stared at the contents of the bundle for a moment before opening his mouth.
“It seems this will be a long story.”
.
.
.
When Gorjan first saw the two women, he couldn’t take his eyes off them for a while.
The beautiful and enchanting girl with dark hair that reminded one of the night sky and the woman with ash-colored hair that exuded a mature aura.
Gorjan, having never seen such beautiful women before, momentarily lost himself in their appearance.
‘Calm down. They’re not ordinary.’
But merchants are merchants.
He quickly gathered his wits and smiled broadly as he welcomed the two.
They had brought the head of the western king, a person with overwhelming strength that surpassed humans, easily struggling down his own guards.
He figured it would be vital to understand what they aimed to achieve.
What they wanted was support for funds to live richly in Drax’s Place. In exchange, they offered to hand over the rule of the West.
Listening to their story, it seemed they had dealt with most of Bram and his gang who ruled the West.
It was a delightful prospect.
If he could expand his domain to the West, he would gain more ‘goods’ and profits. And consequently, the number of trades would also increase.
If the price was merely financial support for a single household, it was a bargain. There was no reason to refuse.
‘Heh heh… They have strength but lack brains. How much money can be made from there?’
With a look of someone who caught a fool, Gorjan looked at the girl before him, who slightly squinted her eyes and began to speak.
“And we have one more request.”
“Feel free to speak.”
In a situation where he was already overflowing with his profit, he could afford to grant a mere request.
“We’re living with a young child. We would like crime to cease in the West.”
The girl’s request for stronger law enforcement was reasonable. Although his military might would weaken, he could simply bring more people from the West.
“Haha. You’re quite righteous. Understood. It won’t be easy in a lawless zone, but… I will give it a try.”
“And we have another request.”
Huh? There’s still more?
“Go ahead.”
“I saw that the buildings here seem decent. Perhaps could you spruce up our house a bit?”
The image of a righteous person vanished. The girl made a very materialistic condition.
Getting a building repaired… well… it should be manageable since the profit would be ample.
“That… I can manage. Then we’ll do that…”
“And we have more requests.”
Slap!
His smile begins to falter as he struggles to maintain his expression.
“Ha… haha… go on…”
“I noticed there are quite a variety of buildings here. It would be nice if you could build similar ones in the West.”
“…..”
The situation was turning from profit to loss.
What was this girl saying?
“And more…”
Thus, Gorjan’s rationality began to fade away.
“YOU BITCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
He slammed the table, shouting at the girl.
“Greed should have limits. What? You want me to build buildings? Fix your house?! You must be out of your mind. Get out of here—”
BOOM!!!!~
“-WHERE?!!!”
Crack!
The ground shook as the girl slammed her hand into it, causing the building to start collapsing.
“AHHHHHHH!”
Gorjan ducked his head to avoid the debris falling from above.
After everything settled, when he finally lifted his head.
“OH MY GOD!”
What lay before him were blood-red eyes glowing brightly enough to swallow him whole.
The owner of that gaze spoke.
“Do it for me.”
‘T-this… this demon-like girl…’
This girl never intended to negotiate from the start.
It seemed the real fool all along was himself.
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