The city of Thunder in the Campbell Duke's territory within the Ryan Kingdom was, as always, peaceful and bustling today.
Steamships at the port were busy coming and going, while bare-chested laborers moved crates and bundles of goods from decks to markets or workshops, and every stall under the colorful dyed fabric was crammed full of intriguing trinkets.
All this prosperity and the corresponding glory could be attributed to the man who rode a tall warhorse, led a troop of Knights, and walked down the brightly decorated main road.
His name was Aaron Campbell, and by his name alone, it wasn't hard to guess that he was the lord of this place.
But that wasn't all.
Besides being a vassal knighted by the King of Ryan, he was also the Chosen of Saint Sis… commonly known as a hero.
Just recently, outside Thunder city, the Demon King who had caused trouble had died by his sword.
Although he had reached the ripe age of 70, his bravery hadn't diminished since his youth.
Many speculated that this esteemed Duke of Campbell might have already broken through the Diamond Level bottleneck and stepped into the realm of Crystal or even Grandmaster!
"Praise Saint Sis! Praise the Holy Light!"
"Long live Duke Campbell!"
"Long live the Duchy!"
"Long live the Ryan Kingdom!"
Cheering, applause, and whistling!
As the hero triumphantly returned, young men and women standing by the streets threw flowers into the air, and red-faced old farmers and citizens cheered with all their might.
In response to the citizens' enthusiasm, Duke Campbell nodded slightly, his sharply featured face carrying a fitting smile, like a strict but kind father.
The citizens of Thunder city quite liked him.
Especially the devout followers of Saint Sis, who were almost ready to throw themselves at his feet to kiss his shoes.
However—
Not everyone was willing to credit all that Thunder city possessed to Duke Campbell and his knights.
In the corridor of the city hall.
The portly mayor lit a cigarette, his gaze passing over the half-drawn curtains, casting an envious look at the aged yet handsome duke.
"Look at these fools with their sickening display… as if the sun is crowed into existence by a rooster, there was no sun back in the First Epoch."
Not daring to stare too long at the noble, he guiltily pulled the curtains shut.
Watching the muttering Mayor Mier, the gentleman with a bowler hat smiled and spoke in a casual tone.
"I think you're just sour."
His name was Yang Andes, a well-known businessman of Thunder city.
Just an hour ago, the city council had just solicited opinions on the controversial "Commercial Tax Increase Proposal"… mainly soliciting opinions on punctuation and sentence construction.
His old friend Mier finally managed to placate those protesting shopkeepers, farmers, and captains, and he was on the placated side.
"Sour? What a joke!"
Expressing his displeasure at his old friend's teasing, Mayor Mier cursed and muttered.
"It's not about being sour, but Thunder city has been this way since the Isaac era! Even more interesting than now! Back then, we didn't thank the lord for feeding us, instead, we fought with Lizardmen in the marshes, prying huge manors out from between their teeth! And that's how Thunder city got to where it is today!"
"But no one lived through that, did they?" Yang comforted him, cutting him off, "Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. You don't want some passerby to accidentally overhear you and then accidentally consider you a 'traitor worshipping foreign gods,' right?"
Foreign gods.
Usually refers to all gods other than Saint Sis, whether it's the Ancient Gods of the First Epoch or some unnamed Isaac.
"Tsk."
Mier shrank his neck.
The remark had indeed hit a sore spot.
Regardless of whether he believed in the damn Saint Sis or not, he had to act extremely devout.
It wasn't entirely pretense.
He would still pray and donate money.
Watching his calmer old friend, Yang spoke in a composed voice.
"At least he did defeat the Demon King, I think he has no problems as a ruler."
"The problem is huge," Mier shook his head, sighing as he continued, "The Demon King is dead, the Demon King Territory will soon vanish, and then slowly the city's adventurers will all be out of work, followed by the taverns and forge shops. My accountant calculated that we will lose at least a quarter of our income… maybe even more."
The Ryan Kingdom is the land of knights, but no city can make money off full-time knight lords.
Compared to the illustrious Trident Knights, the "labyrinth" is Thunder city's real draw, which managed to decoy young men from the countryside here, continuously and in droves.
They either bring back valuable treasures from the labyrinth or curse their bad luck for being left behind by the monsters inside.
An invasion from Hell?
Who cares about that kind of thing!
This place isn't located on the front lines like the Aus Empire!
In fact, given the chance, he really would like to keep an Enchanting Demon to try!
However, now that the Demon King is dead, well-funded adventurers will soon head non-stop to the next city with a labyrinth, and those adventurers who can't afford a ship ticket will become a factor in disturbing the peace.
"They'll have to learn to adapt to a new life." Yang spoke in a light voice, "No one can live in the past forever… not even you and me."
"I hope so."
The mayor sighed, looking at the ceiling and muttered to himself.
"You say… it would be nice if we had a more rule-abiding Demon King, like, staying underground honestly, we go down on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, they come up on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays."
Or better yet, not come up at all.
"Anyway, even if you manage to take down Thunder City, you won't be able to hold onto it, will you?"
"On the seventh day, everyone rests together, right?"
Yang laughed upon hearing this.
"Would that still be called the Demon King?"
The adventurers chased mazes for faith, for glory, for promotion, to become the favored ones of Saint Sis.
Rationally speaking, the Demon King must have had his demands. He wouldn't have gone to such great lengths to invade the surface if it were just for fun.
Mayor Mier clearly thought his own statement was foolish as he sighed at the ceiling.
"That's true."
Sometimes he couldn't help but wonder if Thunder City would have looked different had the Isaac Dynasty not perished but continued to exist until today.
However, that was only left to imagination.
After all, his understanding of history might not necessarily be the closest to the truth…
...
On the other hand, the Knight procession had already passed through the main street, followed closely by a conscription corps carrying large-caliber rifles.
They were different from the lord's soldiers.
Most of them came from fields, mines, or docks, and would only gather when the lord needed them.
Although the cheers and applause were clustered around the lord and knights, for these commoners, the privilege to march on petals that had once rested on the shoulders of the chosen was still an honor.
At least.
The proud expressions on their faces were not feigned.
Some were joyful, others sorrowful.
Just as the squad carrying torch sticks marched in neat steps across the street, the tavern across was bubbling with voices, noisy as sparrows on a branch.
The name of this tavern was "Sword and Broken Sword Pavilion," and the name seemed to have originated because the owner once hung a sword at the door.
Later, the sword was stolen, but the thief didn't just take it—he hung a broken one in its place.
People speculated that maybe it wasn't stolen but borrowed and never returned because the owner of the broken sword unfortunately perished in the maze.
Although the name wasn't very auspicious, since this was the closest tavern to the adventurer guild and located directly behind it, many adventurers waiting for jobs would gather here to kill time.
Over time, this place truly became known as "Quality Square" and "Matching Hall."
Occasionally, someone would commission the bartender sitting behind the bar, posting jobs that couldn't be registered at the adventurer guild but didn't belong exclusively to the thieves' guild, jobs that treaded in a gray area between black and white.
It was just past noon, hardly the time for drinking.
However, rather ironically due to the Demon King's death, the number of maze commissions had plummeted and a large group of jobless adventurers could only come here to drown their sorrows.
Some indiscreet fellows, once drunk, would shout loudly.
Perhaps this was what Professor Enos meant—
Sometimes, even without interference, humans will sell their souls to demons.
When they are completely unaware.
"Damn Campbell family! Why did that fool have to kill the Demon King! He has no idea what a hard-working yet useless Demon King means to Thunder City!"
An oak mug thudded heavily on the table as a man carrying an axe loudly babbled, his spit flying several meters out.
The man carrying a bow next to him was probably his companion and quickly tried to comfort the drunken fellow,
"But that fool went ahead and did it… If the lord's army just ignored him, wouldn't the taxes paid by the citizens be in vain?"
"That's the problem!" the man with the axe bellowed with bulging eyes and reddening neck, "If that fool truly had his people in mind, he should have trimmed the Demon King's claws and then—"
The teammate sitting next to him quickly held down the indiscreet fellow, scolding him in panic,
"Are you out of your mind!"
Speaking of sparing the Demon King's life on the land blessed by Holy Light, if those fervent believers heard it, they would certainly charge in the name of God to execute justice at once.
Fortunately, everyone sitting here was an adventurer, and they pretended not to hear, even thinking this fool was making some sense.
Wasn't it true?
Mazes yield shiny Demon Crystals and various other treasures not found aboveground but only in the deep underground or even the bowels of Hell… like a massive gold mine.
No.
A gold mine can't even compare to this.
The former is the private property of nobles and landlords, while the latter belongs to everyone with a dream.
Of course.
Many adventurers admitted in their hearts that they were just envious.
If they had the chance to slash the Demon King, they wouldn't consider all these trivial matters and would rush to execute justice faster than anyone.
After all, it was an opportunity to receive God's grace!
Duke Campbell, already a chosen of the gods, might not care, but for those stuck at their personal limits for too long, this was almost their only way forward.
They desperately wanted to progress!
In their dreams!
As everyone was clamorously discussing, almost no one noticed a handsome young man entering from the door and sitting near the entrance.
They wouldn't have dreamed.
The "special merit" they so longed for was sitting right beside them…