Chapter 255 – Toxic work environment.

“You’re back?”

“Yes my Lord.”

“Is something the matter? Does anything require our attention?”

“I’m not sure, the state of the city has been improving lately, it’s mostly thanks to Lord Arthur’s managing capabilities.”

“Hah, well glad that all that studying paid off, they never let me do much besides read boring books, think they wanted to sell me off as a pawn to that rich merchant family remember? Luckily the girl never did fancy me too much.”

“You mean the one that you tripped and ‘accidentally’ spilled tea on her very expensive gown?”

“Or was that the one you ‘accidentally’ bumped into in the restroom? Hm, think that was Lady Alice perhaps it was…”

“It was the first one, stop making me out to be some kind of villain, Mary. I still remember that baffled look on her face, she really could never take a joke.”

Arthur started chuckling to himself while placing a stamp of approval on one of the papers. There was a large stack of these right on his desk. Behind him, he could hear the auctioneer shouting out prices which made things slightly more annoying. But he had grown accustomed to the workload due to a particular person outshining him when it came to work ethic.

“Anyway, what’s the thing that is bothering you, Mary? Have you found someone to take care of these that we can trust?”

“Not yet my Lord, perhaps getting rid of so many officials was not such a great idea.”

“Perhaps… but at least now I can sleep at night knowing that they won’t embezzle anymore money from this tiny budget.”

“Then what is it?”

“It concerns the Runesmith, I’m not sure we can trust him.”

“Wayland? Is there a problem? Is he part of the cult or something?”

Arthur got up from his chair and turned away from Mary. Instead of looking at her, it was the magical mirror instead. Through it, he could see a golemic product being sold that came from his recent associate. The money he was gaining by selling these high-quality products was quite high and even people from outside the city were starting to pay attention.

If things continued like this then perhaps more magically inclined types would start showing up. The city lord knew that true power came from magic and things related to them. A person could take a regular-looking sword and place an enchantment on it. The difference in power and prestige such a weapon brought with it was significant.

“Nothing like that Lord Arthur, it’s just…”

“Is it just one of your hunches?”

“I’m not sure, not much time has passed since we came here but that man remains a mystery. Remember when he visited the other day to deliver that golem?”

“Sure, you informed me about it, was there a problem?”

“His levels, I think, are increasing at a much faster rate than normal.”

“They are?”

Arthur started rubbing his chin while looking at the auctioneer finalizing the purchase of the spider-like golem. It sold for quite the penny and the cut that he was getting would already pay for a large chunk of their expenses.

Mary was someone that he trusted, she had stuck with him through thick and thin. He knew that Wayland was wearing some type of magical device that scrambled any identification attempts. Yet his maid had some specialized skills leaning towards threat detection.

“Yes, when we first arrived here he was around my level but now…”

“It could be possible that he has a skill or magical item that can even fool your instincts. He might also be much older than we think and he never showed that much respect to nobility in the first place…”

Arthur was unsure what to make of the runesmith that was supposed to be working for him. The man was supposed to be around his age range but he had achieved much more than him already. That compound he was running also was steadily beginning to look more like a fortress. It was clear that he was hiding something and was even involved with the underground.

“Hm, he has helped us in many ways since we arrived here so I would like to give our new friend the benefit of the doubt… at least for now we need him.”

“I understand Lord Arthur.”

“Speaking of which, has he agreed to our proposal?”

“Begrudgingly yes but it felt like he had other plans, for now, he agreed to assemble those runic devices at the four main gates.”

“Good, let us proceed with it then and if you’re still worried then we might have to find someone capable of a second opinion…”

“Yes Lord Arthur, I’ll see what I can do.”

Mary nodded with a smile and left the room while the young noble sat back on his chair with a tired expression. Things were looking up for him, the city didn’t take much of a hit during the whole cult fiasco and they managed to get rid of their hidden lair before anything got out of hand.

Just as he expected refugees from the cities that were affected started flooding in. This of course brought in more problems as some of them were found to be afflicted by the strange parasites. Various steps needed to be taken to ensure the safety of his citizens and the growth of this city.

“Everything is going well but…”

Another sigh escaped his mouth as he grabbed a parchment. Things were proceeding as he had planned but everything was moving at a snail’s pace. Even though he was managing it well the growth was nothing extraordinary, something like this would not grab the attention of his father.

“I should go back to work… perhaps an opportunity will present itself to me, I can just do my best until then…”

…

“He he.”

“Could you stop grinning…”

“But Boss, how can I not be grinning? Those Union bastards must be seething with rage!”

“I guess they might be…”

“They must!”

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Roland and Bernir were walking towards the city while the large mule golem was lumbering behind them. This time around he wasn’t going to the dungeon for more mining materials instead, he was going to the city to start a new endeavor.

‘I can’t stay in the dungeon forever so this might be a good change of pace… I’m still unsure if this is the right choice but thanks to that new skill it could be beneficial…’