“This is getting out of hand…” 

The various guild leaders licked their lips in vain after hearing the words of Moffern’s mayor. They were currently gathered in the mayor’s study. The guild leaders had been gathered at the request of Gardye, the leader of the merchant guild, to discuss Jan Eugene.

“The cost of the castle will be the least of our worries since it won’t be too burdensome to build a small castle. The problem is that the castle site will include the mansion of Lord Bemos.”

Although the mansion had been left without an owner for a long time, it was previously owned by the youngest son of Marquis Archivold. If the structure was modified at will, it was highly likely that whoever settled the ongoing dispute and rose as the official successor in the future would create an issue about it.

The fabric guild leader spoke up. “What if we pay a reasonable amount of compensation? If we truly believe that to be true, then the lands that Sir Eugene claimed as his own will be picked on in the future.” 

Gardye chimed in. “That’s right. They have already been neglecting it for over a year, right? Our city has bled quite a bit due to it as well. And regardless, Sir Eugene will have to take responsibility for it. Even if they pick at it in the future, we have plenty of excuses to make.”

“I agree with the opinion of the merchant guild leader.”

“I, as well.”

The mercenary guild leader and the stonemason guild leader shared their thoughts as well. Most of the other artisan guild leaders could be seen nodding their heads, giving their silent consent.

“That’s beside my point. The other noble families, as well as the Archivold family, will become suspicious of our city.”

“Hmm…”

“I also admit that Sir Eugene’s services and contributions are great, but don’t you think that things are proceeding too fast? How old is he now? Twenty-two? Twenty-three? He is way too young. Nobles who don’t actually know Sir Eugene will surely assume that Moffern is trying to expand its influence by using a knight as its puppet.”

“They might, but only if they don’t get to experience him personally.”

“Hmm?” The mayor narrowed his eyes. 

Gardye continued. “Under the condition that all of our city’s guilds will contribute, it will take about six months at the quickest, and a year at the latest to finish the castle’s construction. Where and what will Sir Eugene be doing during this time? We didn’t hire mercenaries on his behalf just so he could sit around doing nothing in his territory.”

“…!”

“The nobles who never experienced him firsthand might react similarly to the mayor’s concern. However, I guarantee that those that had experienced him will have no choice but to keep their mouths shut. Lord Beogalan is a prime example, right?”

“Aha!”

“That’s definitely true.”

It was already well known that Baron Beogalan had recognized Jan Eugene as a lord, even going as far as to have other lords stamp their seals on an official document. It was unknown why the baron made the decision, but no one could deny that it was the result of the baron’s encounter with Jan Eugene.

“Lord Beogalan hired Sir Eugene, but he ended up recognizing Sir Eugene as a lord. Then what about the nobles who will come to face Sir Eugene? No, rather, what about the lords who will take Sir Eugene as their enemy?”

“…!” The mayor expressed surprise. 

Gardye continued with a smile. “There is still a long way to go before we can see the results for ourselves, but no one will doubt his skills and achievements anymore if Sir Eugene becomes even more successful. We won’t be labeled a puppeteer, but rather as wise investors who recognized a diamond in the rough.”

“Gardye,” The mayor called out with an astonished look.

“Yes?”

The mayor continued, “Since when did your sight become so far-reaching and vast? It’s impressive.”

“I did have someone’s help. Haha,” Gardye flinched and laughed awkwardly. He could never confess that most of what he said was what he heard from a random ‘territorial administrator.’

“Then let’s get started on building Sir Eugene’s castle right away. Do you all agree?”

“Yes.”

The guild leaders of Moffern nodded vigorously in response to the mayor’s words.

***

“…And what is this?”

Eugene was dumbstruck after chasing the knights into the forest and into the bandits’ hideout. The knights were waiting for him with proud looks, and nearly thirty bandits were trembling while kneeling on the ground.

“Sir Eugene! It seems that they have been completely shocked by our bravery! They surrendered immediately. Uhahaha!”

“See this, sir? I told you that I would never hold you back!”

“Is this enough to prove ourselves? Is it not worth trusting us in the future?”

The morale of the knights pierced through the sky. From the looks of it, it seemed that they managed to defeat the bandits without even having to raise their blades.

Eugene couldn’t help but admit that although regular knights appeared rather weak in comparison to himself and Galfredik, mere bandits never stood a chance against them. A charge consisting of five or six knights in solid armor would exude a pressure similar to an intermediate-rank or high-rank monster.

Moreover, the seven knights were ‘survivors’ of the Carls Baggins Peninsula’s great chaos over the last several years. Even if they didn’t possess transcendental abilities like himself or Galfredik, the bandits would have felt overwhelming fear in the face of their collective attack.

The bandits had surrendered immediately without even thinking about taking advantage of their home ground.

‘But to think they surrendered immediately without resisting. This is a bit strange.’

Eugene headed toward the trembling bandits while having such thoughts.

“Oi.”

“Hieeek!”

Eugene frowned after seeing their reaction. He had simply called out, but the bandits reacted as if he had killed their family.

“Why are you so surprised? It’s not like I’m going to eat you.”

“Hahaha! Is it not because of Sir Eugene’s piercing reputation? In addition, we are with you as well. It’s no surprise that these…”

“…Is that not true?”

“What?”

One of the bandits muttered, and the knight turned his head. The bandit’s entire body was soaked with sweat, and he stuttered with fear. “I-I heard that h-he really eats people. I-Is that not true?”

The knight responded fiercely. “What the fuck is this bastard talking about?”

The bandit fell flat on the spot. “Hiek! P-please forgive me! I heard rumors that if you stand up against the black iron knight from Maren, he would eat you alive! If you surrendered, you would become his slave! Please forgive me! Sir! Please have mercy!”

“…”

Eugene was at a loss.

He never imagined that such nonsensical rumors would spread as well. Of course, it wasn’t entirely false, since he was a vampire.

“Where did you hear that from?”

“A-at a pub in a nearby village. That’s why we haven’t gone out of the forest at all recently! A-after we heard the stories, w-we stayed still and didn’t do anything!”

“Mercy!”

“I will repent! Please, sir!”

The bandits kowtowed with desperation.

“I think they are acting like that because they’re scared of Sir Eugene, and not because of the other sirs.”

“I think so.”

The spectating mercenaries started whispering, and the expressions of the knights became rather awkward.

“Sir! Compliment them! Compliment!” Mirian whispered in Eugene’s ear.

‘Ah, right.’

Eugene recalled Galfredik’s advice on how to deal with knights. He looked back at the knights. Their proud, brave expressions were nowhere to be seen, and they were only licking their lips with embarrassment.

“But would they have surrendered if you sirs had not rushed in bravely? Great work. All of you.”

“…!”

The corners of the lips of the defeated knights quickly rose.

“Hahaha! Not at all. It is no match for Sir Eugene’s bravery.”

“We are no match for Sir Eugene’s sharp judgment. Haha!”

“It’s the result of our boldness and Sir Eugene’s reputation. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“However…”

“What?”

The knights immediately stopped laughing when Eugene spoke in a quiet, subdued voice.

“Did I not say that I would be giving all the orders?”

“Uh…”

“I will show forgiveness just this once. Sirs, if something like this happens again in the future…”

Eugene paused, then looked around at the knights before smiling coldly. “Then we will be sparring with real swords. And maybe, just maybe, there may be a few accidents during the spar because of it.”

“…”

An eerie silence descended, and the knights stared silently while gulping with fear.

***

The knights thoroughly followed Eugene’s instructions since that day. Of course, they weren’t technically ‘orders,’ but suggestions. Eugene would say things like ‘I wish XX would be done,’ or ‘It would be nice if Sir XX took care of this.’

However, the knights were wary of potential accidents that could occur during sparring with real blades, so they responded to every one of Eugene’s requests and expectations.

As such, Eugene was able to wipe out almost all the thieves and roamers inside his recognized territory without losing any troops. The survivors managed to escape from Eugene’s territory before they met their doom.

The villages and hamlets inside the territory finally regained peace and stability after almost two years, and the residents enthusiastically praised their new lords. The territory would surely progress steadily when the people from Moffern’s guilds arrived. 

Since Delmondo was entrusted with taking care of such matters, Eugene departed once more.

In the meantime, Galfredik joined up with Eugene after leaving behind a number of troops to manage the silver mine.

Their destination was the territory of Andre, a knight of the Archivold Marquisate. Andre was the knight in alliance with the eldest son of Marquis Archivold, Gabriel.

***

“Sir Eugene! Sir Eugene!”

“What is it? Have you discovered more roamers?”

A scout ran forward hastily before bowing his head.

“No, sir. Lord Feedren’s sons would like to see you, sir.”

“Lord Feedren?” Eugene asked, and Veron quickly provided an explanation.

“He is a lord in the nearby area, but he is not a nobleman with a bequeathed title. He was appointed as a lord by Marquis Archivold since his family was around for several generations.”

“I see. But why do his children want to meet with me?”

“I’m not entirely sure…” Veron scratched his head. 

Partec stepped up. “They might want to become acquainted with Sir Eugene.”

“Become acquainted?”

“Partec is right, although I’m certain it’s also because they want to see who the master is for themselves.” Galfredik grinned, then turned towards the scout. “How many sons were there?”

“Three.”

“And how many were with them? Surely, it wasn’t just the three of them.”

“Including the servants and soldiers, there were definitely more than ten in total.”

Galfredik spoke after hearing the scout’s answer. “I’m right. They must have been curious and scared since so many troops were moving around. I think it should be okay to say hello.”

“Hmm. Let’s do it then.”

Now that Eugene decided to become a lord, he would need to become familiar with the nearby nobles, although he might not become their best friend.

“Bring them here.”

“Yes, sir!”

The scout rushed out. In the meanwhile, Eugene was informed about Lord Feedren from Veron. However, Veron was only the leader of a small mercenary group. He couldn’t provide important information about Feedren, but it was more than enough.

‘Are they similar to the Tywin territory?’

It appeared that the Feedren family was wealthier, but they were rather similar to the Tywin family in terms of the size of their territory and their militaristic force.

The scout returned while breaking a sweat.

“Hmm? Why are you alone?”

“Well…” The scout kneeled before speaking cautiously, “The eldest son told Sir Eugene to come and see him.”

“…”

“Is he out of his mind?” Galfredik spoke with a dumbfounded expression.

“I think so,” Partec smiled bitterly. 

Eugene commanded more than one hundred troops and was even accompanied by a military depot. Moreover, it wasn’t even the lord, but rather his son that attempted to order Eugene around.

“You. Are you sure that you delivered the message correctly? Did you fully explain who Sir Eugene is?” Galfredik asked with a frown. 

The scout quickly nodded his head. “Of course! I definitely said that Sir Eugene has been clearly recognized as a lord by Lord Beogalan and by the many other nobles of the peninsula!”

“Yet he still dares to spout such nonsense? This guy is definitely out of his mind. Master, should I go?”

Galfredik spoke while cracking his neck, but Eugene dissuaded him. “No. I’ll go.”

“Hmm?”

“We will only be going there to give our greetings. It’s not like anything else will happen, right?”

Eugene shrugged, and the others tilted their heads with confusion. There was no reason for Eugene to make such a trip when he possessed a higher status than Lord Feedren’s son.

There was only one present who realized Eugene’s true intention. “I hope something else happens! I hope he picks a fight with Sir Eugene and gets pummeled senselessly!”

Eugene was inwardly startled by Mirian’s hopeful words. Although she wasn’t always right, it was certainly hard to ignore the intuition of the greedy lump.