Jupiter immediately shook her head.
"Don't underestimate the frontier frontlines. Things here operate very tightly. There are many watching eyes, and not much room for slip-ups."
"Hmm, is that so?"
"Most importantly, the commander, the third prince."
Thinking of Ash, Jupiter let out a wry laugh.
"He's completely different from his reputation in the capital. His vision isn't just broad, it's as if he's reading the future or something."
Junior let out an impressed 'oh'.
"This is the first time grandma has praised a commander so highly."
"He seems like the kind of man with many cards up his sleeve. Better to earn an honest wage than to be caught up in a disaster due to some unnecessary meddling. He pays well too..."
"Really?"
Junior shrugged her shoulders.
"Well, then there's nothing I can do. I guess I'll have to work here for a while."
"What?"
"The prince, on my way here, he made me a direct offer. Asked if I was interested in working."
Taken aback, Jupiter quickly stood from her seat.
"No, no, Junior! You promised me! You said you wouldn't use magic!"
"Ha! Are you worrying about me now?"
Junior revealed the left side of her face that had been hidden by her hair to her grandmother.
"'Now'?"
"…!"
Jupiter could only back off in shock, at a loss for words.
Chuckling at her grandmother's reaction, Junior brushed her hair back in place and, with a wave of her hand, exited the hospital room.
"Take care and rest, Grandma. You seem to have been hurt a lot."
"Wait, just a moment! Junior! I still have things to..."
"You've worked hard all your life, earning money by doing all sorts of dirty work, Grandma."
Turning at the entrance, Junior flashed a bright smile.
"Now, it's my turn."
Her smile was cute, like a fox, yet also hinted at scheming.
"Grandma should live the rest of her life in peace, shouldn't she?"
"..."
"I'll be back, see you later~"
Thud. The door closed.
The footsteps of her granddaughter gradually faded in the hallway.
"..."
Jupiter stood dumbstruck in place.
Pain.
It wasn't her wounded body, but a certain part of her brain where memories had been etched. It throbbed fiercely.
The scene of that burning village...
Throb. Throb.
"Cough..."
Collapsed on the bed, Jupiter let out a suppressed groan.
"I caused all this."
Regret swelled in the old woman's single eye.
"It's all... my karma..."
***
Lucas and I, having left the Mercenary Guild, headed to the city center.
Our destination was 'Etty's Honey', the only inn in Crossroad.
"So, let's see how much the operation has improved over the past ten days or so?"
I had issued orders for inn operation improvement last time.
I was considering entrusting the operation of the hotel, which would be built in Crossroad, to the inn's crew here. Therefore, I hoped they could maintain at least a basic level of hotel operation capabilities. It was a test.
And so, as I entered the hotel,
"Welcome, my Lord!"
"Welcome!"
The entire inn crew was bowing to me.
They were all in suits, which I hadn't seen the last time. What's going on?
Moreover, the interior of the inn had drastically changed.
It was definitely a bit worn out but a familiar, cozy local inn.
Now, burgundy carpets covered the floor, and an extravagant chandelier hung from the narrow ceiling. It's too much, way too much!
"...What is all this?"
As I looked around, puzzled, the inn's owner came out from the back with a confident look. He was also dressed up to the nines.
"How is it, my Lord!"
"No, not how, what is this?"
"Didn't you say that you were entrusting the operation of the national hotel to us?"
The owner laughed heartily and pounded his chest.
"So, we prepared in advance! We imagined this place as that hotel and changed everything from our employees' manners, uniforms, sanitation, management, to even the props!"
"..."
Well, it's good to have passion.
I didn't expect them to be this over... no, this dedicated. I just wanted them to clean up a bit more.
"So, how is it! For ten days we worked our bones to the marrow and have transformed this inn!"
The owner sparkled his eyes as he looked up at me.
"You are entrusting the operation of the national hotel to us, right?"
"Well..."
Given that they've done this much.
"You've passed!"
Whoa-!
As soon as my words fell, the owner and the hotel crew all embraced each other.
Anyone who saw them would think they just won the bid to host the Olympics.
But the hotel construction will take almost a year, even if we fully employ magical architecture. If they are this excited already, I don't know what will happen.
'But it's good to be enthusiastic, right.'
Looking at the extravagant, ill-fitted interior in the small inn, I could only break out in a cold sweat.
The owner clenched his fist and proclaimed his ambition.
"We will definitely make the hotel a symbol of Crossroad, and make guests swarm in like bees!"
"..."
I didn't have plans to expand into tourism. I didn't want swarms of guests.
I'm just doing this to lure in a few high-level heroes.
But I couldn't say that, so I leaned back and laughed awkwardly. Good luck to you.
"I'll get the hotel up quickly..."
At least this much is my conscience. Ha.
***
After leaving the inn, I sought the heads of the Mason's Guild and the Carpenter's Guild.
I had already scouted a few places to build the hotel and wanted to find out which location would be best, what level of construction was possible, how much the budget would be, and so on.
"This location would be better!"
"No, it's hard to transport materials there. Rather here is..."
"Even if it's a little more difficult when we have to get our own materials, the location of a hotel is crucial! Especially here!"
The two guildmasters were intensely discussing as they looked at the map, and they finally proposed that we should go to the site in person since the conversation alone was not enough.
We took a carriage and toured around the city to inspect where it would be best to commence construction of the hotel.
By the time we finally settled on a location and a rough estimate was out, night had fallen.
"However, Your Majesty. We can carry out the construction."
The guildmasters spoke cautiously.
"For a facility like a hotel, it would be better to employ a proper architect. The beauty of the exterior is also important."
"Hmm, you have a point."
I nodded slowly.
"I need to go to the capital..."
I have to scout for a competent architect. Plus, I have to make contact with a particular merchant for the distribution of magic stones.
'I also need to... find out about the other royal families.'
I wanted to know more about the princes who were Ash's brothers.
So, I was thinking of visiting the capital, but there are still a lot of issues right in front of me.
The distance to the capital is quite far, and I lack the time to travel.
I told them to start by securing materials.
The masonry and carpentry guilds are also tasked with rebuilding the southern outpost, so they're going to be very busy for a while.
"The outpost comes first. Let's gather the materials for the hotel construction more slowly."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
After a much longer meeting than expected,
"Whew..."
Feeling exhausted, I got in the carriage and headed back to the mansion.
Ding!
[Autonomous Exploration Ended!]
A message saying that the autonomous exploration had ended was displayed.
It seems 8 hours have already passed. I quickly checked the result screen.
[Leveled-Up Characters]
- Dion(N) Lv.17 (↑1)
- Ayla(N) Lv.16 (↑1)
- Rock(N) Lv.16 (↑1)
- Hessen(N) Lv.16 (↑1)
- Chay(N) Lv.15 (↑1)
[Injured or Dead Characters]
- None
[Acquired Items]
- Regular Potion : 2
- Flame Enchant Scroll : 1
- Lesser Clan Magic Stone : 12
That's pretty simple.
There are no injured people, and it seems they returned without any significant issues...
"...?"
Wait a minute.
Something strange caught my eye.
I looked at the 'Acquired Items' tab again. Did I read it wrong?
- Lesser Clan Magic Stone : 12
I didn't read it wrong.
"Aaaaahhhhhh!"
Before I knew it, I shrieked in shock.
Startled by the scream, Lucas, who was handling the horse reins, stopped the carriage and poked his head inside.
"Master?! Are you okay?! What happened?!"
"Clan... you said...?"
I gaped and shivered uncontrollably.
Sending an expedition to the dungeon beneath the lake before the stage begins is also part of the reconnaissance.
Because it allows us to identify what kind of monster will appear in the next stage.
And if this system window wasn't malfunctioning, the party dispatched for independent exploration had encountered a bloodline.
'A stage 5 hostile legion... is a bloodline?!'
What is a bloodline?
In other words, vampires.
It refers to vampires and their entire underling army.
The apex monster species that appear only in the late parts of !
"Crazy game! Why does this appear in stage 5?!"
Is it another dark event?! Or did the game just break?!
Pulling at my hair in frustration, I noticed Lucas' surprised look and managed to calm down. Yes, that's right. I should pull myself together first.
'After hearing Evangeline's report, verify whether it's a dark event, interrogate this damned director named Aider, and then it's not too late to decide.'
I combed my hair back, took a deep breath, and awkwardly smiled at Lucas.
"Let's go back. To the mansion."
"Yes, your highness? Are you okay? Is it a return of your old migraine-"
"No, I'm fine! Let's go back! Quickly! Damned quickly!"
At my urgent plea, Lucas started up the horse swiftly.
Inside the carriage rushing back towards the mansion, I organized my thoughts.
If indeed the enemy legion at stage 5 was a bloodline.
Could the current party win against them?
"..."
No, it's impossible.
I need to reinforce more. More soldiers, stronger heroes, better items...!
That's when I saw a familiar-looking woman in a robe walking along the road to the mansion.
Jupiter's granddaughter. An SSR grade elementalist.
It was Jupiter Junior.
"Stop the carriage, Lucas!"
"Yes!"
Screeech-!
The carriage wheels squealed to a halt.
Opening the carriage door, I saw Junior standing calmly amidst the dust cloud created by the carriage.
"Jupiter Junior."
A voice with no leisure flowed from my mouth. But it was an unavoidable situation.
"You have two choices. Be conscripted by force, or be hired by me willingly."
"..."
"Which do you choose?"
With a fox-like smile, Junior gestured towards the inside of the carriage.
"May I join you inside, your highness?"
I extended my hand. She took it and lightly pushed herself into the carriage.
The door closed, and the carriage began to move again.
The closer the dusk-shrouded mansion got, the more real it felt.
Hell.
It wasn't just the name, 'hell difficulty', the real hell- was creeping up on this monster front line.