Chapter 293: Sense of Mission 3 |
TL/Editor: raei
Schedule: 5/Week Mon-Fri
Illustrations: Posted in discord.
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From the 40th to the 45th floors, six layers were conquered by humans.
A complete conquest, qualitatively different from the Magic Tower's research labs, which at best were camouflaged with magic after building barricades of wood.
The 35th floor became a monster-free zone due to a mysterious synergy of mana, divine energy, and dark magic.
From the 41st floor onwards, the city of the stone dwarves emerged as a major trading hub, significantly boosting human power.
Gems that enhance swords and spears. Crystals that strengthen a mage's staff and bows. And unknown metals that ensure exceptional protection when melted into alloys.
It was so impactful that the mages of the Magic Tower, completely captivated, contemplated abandoning the tower to relocate to the city of the stone dwarves.
Meanwhile, the hero who had triggered this change was off in the South, busily catching bugs.
"Why suddenly bring up merit and reward?"
"Because a tremendous amount of money has started to move. The scale is so large that even the kingdom's nobles can't overlook it, especially since they're wary of the Temple's scrutiny."
The expansion of the tower indicated an expansion of the kingdom’s territory.
Unless the Temple were to construct a religious state like the Vatican, the development within the tower would signify its integration into the kingdom's territory.
Adventurers, called heroes, had bestowed vast territories upon the kingdom, and from here flowed various enhancement stones and enormous Harpy stones—an incredible bounty!
From here on, it seems we enter the mucky realm of annoying politics.
Whether it's from a desire to weaken the royal family's power, a wish to give something to the hero party out of belief in the Goddess, a belief that those who have served deserve awards, annoyance that lowly adventurers are called heroes, a desire to participate in trade, or because it's been neglected due to distance from the tower——
Are humans really creatures that would stop politicking simply because there is a Goddess?
Of course, the temple also had to act.
Even the most devout are not dreamers out of touch with reality.
If the kingdom quarreled over the treatment of the heroes who had achieved great deeds and would continue to advance endlessly for the Goddess, and the temple remained silent, wouldn't it seem as though they were ignoring the hero party?
All three major powers of the kingdom began discussions on a single issue, putting the organizations beneath them in such a state of unease they felt near death.
"Old Graham was grumbling about going bald. He keeps saying he wants to quit being guild master and just talks nonsense while drinking every day."
"Oh dear, even a senior adventurer feels powerless before stress."
-Isn't Guild Master Graham that really cool-looking warrior?
-Thought he was just a wealthy silver-haired guy
-Ahh like reality, the less hair NPCs have, the higher they are
-Does it make sense that even with virtual reality games that manipulate brainwaves, hair loss remains incurable?
-I bet Han Se-ah's bomb plucked out at least 50 hair follicles from the guild master
Despite being heroes, we got tangled up as adventurers and merchants frantic to enter the tower, stonemasons and carpenters unexpectedly enjoying a construction boom, and mages flipping out over enhancement stones and mana stones.
With political powers swarming in overwhelming numbers, it appeared even the legendary Graham couldn't overcome his hair loss debuff despite receiving gacha buffs.
"The nobles are always talking and now the Temple has gotten involved too. Oh, I don't mean that in a bad way!"
Originally, they would have probably just handed out some gold or a manor.
The kingdom’s territory that could be colonized after victories over monsters was limited, so compensating with money or weapons was the most likely option.
However, with the Temple’s involvement, the narrative shifted slightly.
If they just handed over a few gold coins to the first one to conquer an unknown space, while wielding the Goddess's sword, wouldn’t that be seen as a slight to the Goddess?
This concern quickly became the prevailing opinion.
It was completely different to harbor disloyal thoughts in one corner of your heart and to treat a hero chosen by the Goddess casually.
Nobody wants to choose such an uncertain path, not knowing when divine punishment might come.
"The discussion naturally led to, 'Let's not decide among ourselves, let’s hear what the hero wants!' That’s how it went."
"The invitation from the company was because if a noble summoned the hero, it would lead to political entanglements, right? ...Probably?"
"Ah, I see."
To summarize Ellis's words, it really was a setup.
The royalty had put pressure on the nobles, and the nobles, wary of the Temple, then put pressure on the guilds.
Consequently, the Razwell Trading Company, because it was a regular shop for the hero, was forcibly put in charge.
No matter how solid its foundation was, for Razwell, a medium-sized company, to step up as the representative among the giant trading companies dealing with the royal family, meant it was definitely pushed into it.
It was like when a private stepped up instead of a sergeant or a corporal when it was time to act.
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Raei Translations
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Antique stone lanterns cast a soft magical glow over the well-maintained garden.
The scent of shrubs and flowers, neatly arranged like in a noble's estate, tickled the nose, while from afar, the ethereal laughter of a woman resounded, sounding like something out of a fairy tale.
It was a beautiful estate that could be straight out of a fairy tale.
If the estate of Antibes in the South prioritized practicality and was full of life, this place straddled the line between luxury and opulence with a good balance.
If this weren’t inside the tower, it would have been quite impressive.
"Did they build a villa in the city of the stone dwarves?"
"Seriously... I knew rich nobles buy villas in different regions for when they travel, but I didn’t expect one to be built inside the tower."
Some rich noble must have given something to the stone dwarves and secured a spot in the city, as the beautifully decorated estate was situated on the 43rd floor, below the Harpy Kingdom.
It appeared a wealthy noble had bought it and then immediately leased it to the Razwell Trading Company.
This confirmed that Razwell, having been set up, was now bearing the burden.
Both the viewers and Han Se-ah seemed to have caught on, judging by their subtly changing expressions.
With so many people, a variety of opinions emerged, and although Han Se-ah was skilled at reading the fast-moving chat and sometimes entertained bizarre or exaggerated views, it tended to be helpful in these situations.
"This, no matter how you look at it, isn't a hastily prepared villa by a mid-sized guild, right? It feels more like I’m in a museum than a villa."
-I work in accounting for a guild lol. There’s no way this is a mid-sized budget.
-That would mean it's not mid-size, but sh*t-size, right?
[Chat deleted by mod]
-Maybe mid-size companies are like modern small businesses
-Mid-size means at least using a carriage, not barefoot.
"Ah, really? Well, there are plenty of stories about company accountants embezzling funds in reality, so I guess it's the same in a medieval fantasy."
Just then, fantasy accountants and quartermasters started chiming in.
It seemed there were quite a few users who, instead of being mercenaries, had taken jobs as security guards for trading companies and wandered the world, much like those who vlog from inns.
As a result, Han Se-ah naturally evolved her stream into a segment where she listened to the experiences of those affiliated with the Merchant's Guild.
Observing her effortlessly smooth streaming, one couldn't help but acknowledge her as truly top-notch in her field.
Indeed, with such skill and audacity, it was no wonder she had endured all sorts of vile swearing and s*xual harassment to amass a subscriber count that could label her a global star.
"The estate is quite spacious, yet it's teeming with people. Well, they did lay out a path from the 40th to the 45th floors, so it must have been easy for the nobles to come up."
"It's funny how you can instantly tell apart the merchants and nobles. Are those people in the corner priests?"
"So the brothers from the Temple are participating too; perhaps they have something important to say?"
As Han Se-ah chatted with her viewers, our group took a leisurely stroll around and eventually entered the interior of the estate, where all sorts of people were gathered.
There were elegantly dressed slender nobles, portly merchants as if a big belly were a virtue, priests who seemed indifferent to social gatherings holding their ground in the corners, and devout individuals heading to offer prayers to the priests.
With such an assortment of people, completely out of sync with the interior of the tower, the scene felt so awkward that it made my skin crawl.
"Ah, Hero! I've heard about your adventures in the South!"
"Hmm, the guest of honor has arrived."
Regardless of my feelings, the sight of priests huddled in a corner and striding determinedly towards us sparked a commotion.
Nobles blatantly staring from behind the priests, a fat merchant sweating profusely as he weaved through the tables, and young ladies clutching the symbol of the Goddess Faith gazing dreamily at Han Se-ah.
At that moment, I wished I could use stealth like an assassin rather than being a tank.