Report
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Jjescus ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]
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Chapter: 97
"I'll take you to the reception room."
Entering the central building of Ifrit was smooth.
Since they presented the parchment, an appointment with the mayor was immediately arranged.
"You can meet the mayor? According to the guidebook, it said that no one could even meet her face to face."
"For someone who's essentially the root of the problem, she's a person who never comes out no matter what happens."
Kim Jaeha and Avantgarde reacted in surprise.
Was adventurer A's strategy to just fight desperately at the scene when the monster wave came?
-Woah
-Let's see the mayor's face.
-We've been working like dogs and couldn't even see her face.
-Is the story going to change again?
-If we just persuade the mayor, won't it end easily?
-No way?
Viewers started pouring out all sorts of expectations and speculations. Hanbit, who was reading through them, didn't bother to answer.
"This way."
The three of them, following the employee alone, stopped in front of a splendid reception room.
Inside, a middle-aged woman with a white coffee cup sat.
"Ah, you've arrived."
She got up from her seat, meeting Hanbit's eyes. A name floated above her head.
[Pirnen d'Artuis, Mayor of Ifrit]
-Oh.
-So she's the culprit?
-Shall we kill her first, hyung?
-Then the story will be ruined, sir.
The viewers reacted first to Pirnen's appearance.
As the chat indicated, the kind-looking woman was the culprit who had undermined the city's defense system.
All she cared about was her pathological obsession with luxury goods and business profits. It was she who had demolished the original sturdy walls and built ornamental glass walls.
Thinking about the people who had died in the monster wave, she was perhaps an even more disgusting type than the villains of Edlen.
"Hello. I'm the adventurer, Black Dragon."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Pirnen d'Artuis, the mayor of Ifrit. Please have a seat."
Pirnen gestured for them to sit. When Hanbit sat down, she placed an envelope on the table.
"It seems you've made a great contribution to Edlen. I didn't expect to receive an introduction letter from Henry."
Twenty years ago, Pirnen had worked in the royal palace with Henry. Therefore, the credibility of the introduction letter was sufficient.
"The timing was good. I also received help from the Royal Knights."
"...The Royal Knights?"
"Yes. Please take this."
Hanbit handed over the red envelope. It was the introduction letter he had received from Leon.
"I didn't know the Royal Knights were involved. I know a few people there, but..."
Pirnen's eyes moved quickly as she read the contents. But when she read the name of the last writer, her expression hardened.
"Leon?"
"Why?"
"...No, it's nothing."
Pirnen gave a forced smile. Unlike her acting, her hand holding the letter was slightly tense.
"So it was Vice Captain Leon who came to Edlen. Was there anything else she said?" Pirnen asked as she crumpled the end of the letter
"We didn't have a long conversation. All she left was that introduction letter."
"...I see."
She nodded, and her expression returned to normal.
Observing the change, Hanbit casually brought up the topic.
"Were you perhaps acquainted with Leon?"
"It's a small matter, so you don't need to worry too much about it."
-?
-What's going on;
-It's obviously that woman's fault.
-But isn't Artuis a founding hero family?
-Yeah, their influence is next to the royal family.
-Their ancestors must be crying.
Pirnen's response was a forced smile.
However, Hanbit wasn't fooled.
'Small matter, my foot.'
As the viewers pointed out, the Artuis family was descended from Raven's founding hero.
And the 'incompetent sword', the former investigator of the William incident, was also from the Artuis family.
In other words, Leon had accused a person backed by a mountain-like family.
'It must have been terrifying.'
Leon naturally became an enemy of the Artuis family.
It was because she had dared to touch the family of the founding hero.
But there was no easy way to deal with someone who had risen to the position of vice captain through their abilities.
A paragon of justice who didn't care about political considerations wouldn't be afraid of even death.
In fact, Hanbit was more worried that Leon might turn her sword on him.
"Anyway, I've received the introduction letter. It's a pleasure for us to have a capable adventurer."
Pirnen, having fully returned to her true colors, changed the subject.
She took a golden bracelet from a small box next to the table and handed it over.
"As an honored guest, I'll give you this golden bracelet, granting you the highest privileges in the city. But even with gold, you're still an outsider. Please keep that in mind."
-Golden?
-She's giving this?
-It was always black.
-What a world.
"I understand."
Nodding, Hanbit took the bracelet and put it on. It was no surprise as it was the color he expected.
After glancing at Pirnen's expression for a moment, he decided to get straight to the point.
"I've heard that the city surroundings have been noisy lately. Is it because of the monsters?"
"It seems the rumor has spread that far. But there's no need to worry. It's just a regular occurrence."
"Really? I thought it was quite serious."
"Ifrit is a city of magic and technology. Even if a few monsters cause trouble, that's all they can do."
-Yeah, and everyone dies because of that?
-Should we just kill her and start over?
-That might not be a bad idea...
The viewers were fired up again by her statement.
The biggest problem with this episode was the complacent attitude of the members. And since the person in charge of the city was in such a state, it was no wonder that things weren't working out.
'It's even more problematic because it's not an act.'
Based on the achievements left by the sage who had stayed in Ifrit for a while, the city had built up its magic and technology.
Pirnen truly believed in this. Because she believed too much, she had thrown away most of the basic defense systems, including the walls.
All that remained were the magic that continued to be researched and the siege equipment and turrets assigned to the military.
"I heard that while magic is fine, various technologies are gradually declining. Isn't that right?"
"It depends on your perspective. The technology of expressing art has advanced more than ever."
"Aren't you worried about the city's defense capabilities?"
"It's sufficient as it is. We can't keep developing technology that's solely focused on killing."
There had never been a major crisis in this city.
That long peace had made Pirnen's belief incredibly firm.
Naturally, she turned her attention to profitable luxury goods. Her goal was to turn Ifrit into a tourist destination and at the same time make a personal fortune.
As a result, both the city's economy and her personal coffers were thriving, so she had no reason to change her mind.
"This recent monster phenomenon is unusual. It wouldn't be strange if problems arose tomorrow."
"Ifrit has an adventurer's guild and military forces. I don't doubt their abilities."
"Then I'll prepare countermeasures with them. That should be fine, right?"
"Well, I'm a bit worried about using manpower and resources. Besides, if unnecessary anxiety spreads throughout the city, it will cause other problems."
-I'm choking.
-Should we just give up and go to the next city?
-Abandon the episode?
-We can do that here.
-Yeah, right.
The blocked conversation flow made even the viewers feel frustrated. Hanbit, who was used to this situation, calmly made the next suggestion.
"Then how about the dwarves? I heard there are quite a few of them."
“You want to use them?”
The mayor's eyes narrowed slightly at the suggestion.
Hanbit nodded confidently. “It's best to get help from a proven species.”
“It seems we have very different perspectives.”
The contempt was evident in her use of the word “them” to refer to the dwarves.
It was no wonder, given the treatment of the dwarf refugees who had come to Ifrit in the past. It wasn't just Pirnen's personal opinion; the city's treatment of them was also at its worst.
After a moment of staring at Hanbit, she picked up the quill on the table.
"I will treat you with the respect befitting someone with a golden bracelet. If you need the dwarves' labor, I can connect you."
She wrote a short note on the paper and signed it. The content was similar to an introduction letter.
"There's a dwarf settlement outside the north wall. Show this to the manager."
"Are there no restrictions? The dwarves are important manpower, after all."
"You seem to have high expectations, but they're not that skilled. Feel free to try."
Pirnen handed over the introduction letter readily, as if to say, ‘Go ahead if you can’.
But Hanbit was already satisfied. This was exactly why he had come to see her.
“Thank you. If I have anything to tell you, I'll be sure to visit.”
"I look forward to hearing good news."
After exchanging such polite remarks, Hanbit left the reception room.
With that, an alarm sounded.
Ding-!
[Main Quest #1 completed.]
[Received 10,000 gold.]
[Received 2,000 experience points.]
[Progress increases.]
[Main Quest #2: Helper]
You have roughly grasped the situation inside and outside the city.
First, you have to go meet those who would become your helpers.
Objective: Go outside the north wall and meet the manager of the dwarf village.
Reward: None
Current progress: 1 percent
'This is where the real challenge begins.'
Dwarves were known to be skilled in all sorts of technology. However, the dwarves of Ifrit had lost their innate abilities.
To stop the monster wave, he had to solve the problems they were facing.
"Ugh, this is so frustrating."
As they stepped outside the building, Kim Jaeha sighed. He had witnessed the incompetence of the mayor firsthand.
"I'm also heated up for the first time in a while. But are you really going to use the dwarves as helpers?"
Avantgarde, who knew Ifrit's ecology well, had tried to connect with the dwarves at a tavern a few times. However, the results were always poor.
"How was it? They were terribly rude and greedy for money, right?"
"It wasn't just a little, they were all about money. They were very different from the dwarves I've seen in other regions. It was so excessive that I was honestly disappointed."
-I saw it live, it was legendary.
-They're really money-grubbing.
-They're so greedy.
Avantgarde's and the viewers' scathing evaluations were the same.
Hanbit, who didn't deny it, nodded and said, "Well, there's nothing we can do about it right now. The dwarves weren't always like this."
There were various types of people within the dwarf race. However, there was a reason why the dwarves of Ifrit were particularly greedy for money.
"I can't imagine a time when they were normal. Anyway, are we going to the dwarf settlement?"
"No. There's a place I want to go first."
Hanbit looked up at the midday sun and glanced sideways. In a distant alleyway, someone was half-hidden.
It was Gorik, the dwarf prince, in a hooded robe.
"So he followed us."
Avantgarde spoke quietly, as if he had also noticed the tail.
Ignoring him, Hanbit pointed outside. "Let's go to the monster corpse disposal site first."
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Jjescus ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]
Join our Discord for release updates!
https://discord.com/invite/dbdMDhzWa2
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