Deception
As I was deep in thought, the door began to open on its own.
To be precise, the people behind the door were opening it.
Creak—
The sound of the antique door opening could be heard.
It was indeed different, probably because it was the residence of the lord.
With that thought, I quickly opened the forum.
And then, I wrote a post.
Come to think of it, I didn't know how to speak when meeting the lord.
I had learned that there was some kind of etiquette.
Although it was already late, it seemed like I wouldn't be talking to the lord immediately upon entering, so I thought I could check the responses on the forum and figure out what to say.
[Author: ReallyDirtPoor]
[Title: Urgent, how to act when meeting the lord?]
[Content: I'm about to meet the lord, what the hell do I say? Does anyone know? Please, it's really urgent.]
Usually, I don't use profanity on the forum, but in such an urgent situation, it came out naturally.
After writing the post, I took a quick look inside the open door.
There, I saw the lord sitting on a chair.
I walked as slowly as possible.
To get as many comments as possible.
And how much time had passed?
"Hmm, you've arrived."
The lord spoke to me.
So, I immediately opened the forum to check the comments.
I don't usually trust the forum, but for trivial matters like this, people rarely lie, so I could trust this kind of information.
[Author: ReallyDirtPoor]
[Title: This is freaking urghent, what do I do when I meet the lord?]
[Content: I'm about to meet the lord, what the hell do I say? Does anyone know? Please, it's really urgent.]
L: The title is really triggering me lol
ã„´: How can you get triggered by that, lol
ã„´:It's on purpose, stop being a grammar nazi lol
ã„´:His typo is cute tho lol
ã„´:Does cute solve everything? Damn it
L: I don't know about anything else, but the title is really annoying
L:Ferus: If you're an adventurer, you don't need to follow formalities. Even the lord doesn't expect it from adventurers.
ã„´Ferus: Just don't use informal speech.
ã„´:You're telling him this now?
ã„´: Why are you so kind?
L: Are you going to kiss up to the lord?
There was one reliable comment.
Since 'Ferus,' who often leaves comments, had posted it.
From what I remember, that person was a soldier.
A soldier who used to be an adventurer.
So it was trustworthy.
'Just don't use informal speech... that's easy.'
I usually don't speak informally, so it was quite easy for me.
I just had to speak as I normally do.
It meant I didn't need to use any special speech just because it was the lord.
With that thought, I listened attentively to the lord's words.
"Are you the wizard Eugene who captured the one-eyed bandit?"
"Yes, that's correct."
"Ho... you look very young. To have such skills."
"Haha... you're too kind."
At the moment, I wasn't wearing the robe that covered my face.
I thought it would be strange to meet the lord like that.
The guards might also find it suspicious.
As I was thinking that, the lord continued speaking.
"The one-eyed bandit, because of the rumors that he was robbing and brutally torturing gold-tier adventurers in Baruk, the gold-tier adventurers in Baruk were afraid to subdue him. Thank you for taking him down."
"No, it's nothing. Living in Baruk, this much is necessary."
As I said that, the lord's eyes turned emotional.
It was as if he had never seen someone like me before.
Maybe that's why.
There was a bit of an overwhelming feeling.
"..You're the first adventurer I've met like you. Gold-tier adventurers usually find it bothersome to listen to anyone..."
Saying that, the lord showed a look of deep emotion.
So, perhaps that's why I was a bit taken aback.
How do adventurers in this other world behave?
Even with a lord in front of them, they act in a way that makes it obvious the other party is annoyed.
It was truly astonishing.
Should I say that they live in a different world from mine?
With that thought, I spoke politely.
"It's all thanks to you, my lord."
I offered the kind of flattery that someone of the lord's status would have heard many times.
I'm not the type who particularly enjoys flattery, but seeing how much the lord liked it, I felt a bit sorry for him.
Then—
"Ahem, no, it's because of adventurers like you that Baruk runs so well."
The lord praised me in return.
To be moved by such simple flattery.
It seemed like if I praised him more, something might come out of it.
So, I said something the lord would have liked to hear.
"These days, the streets are really clean... Did you perhaps give the order, my lord?"
"Well, hygiene is important. I ordered the streets to be cleaned."
"No wonder, they are so clean."
"...Ahem, it wasn't that difficult."
Although the lord said that, I could see the corners of his mouth twitching upwards.
Even though he was far away, my eyesight wasn't that bad, so I could see it faintly.
After praising the lord, I carefully asked.
"Then, may I know the reason you called for me?"
"Ah, the reason I called you is because of the reward. There was a bounty on the one-eyed man, and it was safer for me to deliver it personally. That way, it wouldn't attract any unwanted attention."
"Thank you."
"Bring the reward."
The lord ordered someone who looked like a knight nearby to bring the reward.
And after a moment.
The knight came back carrying a box containing the reward.
"Open it. I've added a bit more out of my sincerity."
"Ah... Thank you."
It seemed that a bit of flattery had paid off.
To show such sincerity right away.
I was very grateful.
It was like scratching an itch gently and then being rewarded for it.
It was clear how much he had longed for this kind of praise.
With that thought, I carefully opened the box.
Then—
"...This seems like too much, my lord."
"It's fine. Your merit in capturing the one who caused the loss of a gold-ranked warrior is greater. If left unchecked, the damage would have been worse."
"...Thank you for saying so. I will gratefully accept it."
Honestly, I wanted to take the box and leave this place immediately.
It was hard to resist the gold in front of me.
A rough count with my eyes suggested it was about 300 gold.
It meant I wouldn't have to worry about money for a while.
As I was thinking that, the lord spoke with a smile.
"Hoho, then you may go now. I hope you continue your adventuring activities diligently."
"Ah, of course."
With those words, I carefully exited the room where the lord was.
Next to me was still the knight holding the box.
So I said with a smile,
"I'll carry the box myself."
"Ah, understood."
With that, the knight carefully handed me the box.
After receiving the box, I used magic.
[Gravity]
I then carried the box out of the lord's castle.
And I put all the gold in the box into my Subspace pocket.
I was really glad to have the Subspace pocket.
If I didn't have it, I would have had to carry this box around.
Feeling relieved, I used magic again.
[Haste]
[Acceleration]
[Lightweight]
[Freeze]
Since the weather wasn't particularly cool, it was better to use Freeze.
Although the places I passed by would become cold, it was an advantage in this kind of weather.
With those thoughts in mind, I moved.
I arrived at the Moose Inn, entered my room, and took out all the gold from my Subspace pocket.
"Wow... that's a lot."
There was indeed a lot of gold.
Compared to before, it was really a lot.
In the past, I used to be afraid of using even a single gold coin.
Seeing this, I felt like boasting about it.
Boasting in reality was dangerous.
There could be people targeting this.
So, I decided to boast in the forum.
I immediately took a picture and uploaded it to the forum.
Then, comments started pouring in.
L: Wow, that's a lot of gold, lol.
ã„´: Damn, I'm so jealous.
L: Seriously, live up to your nickname, you bastard.
ã„´: Really, showing off (while boasting about the gold).
ã„´: This is some serious deception, for real.
ã„´: At this point, you should change your nickname.
L: I feel like beating this guy up, lol.
ã„´: For real, lol.
L: You're boasting with just that? I have three platinum coins, lol.
ã„´:In your dreams
"...Is this how it feels?"
Sometimes, there were people boasting in the forum, and I was curious about how it felt. Now, I think I understand.
I felt better than I expected and put the gold back into the subspace.
Then, I thought about what to do tomorrow.
"...Take a day off and accept a request."
Taking a day off and then accepting a request seemed ideal.
Tomorrow, I thought it would be nice to eat something delicious and go to a public bathhouse.
With those thoughts, I closed my eyes.
Join our discord server for the latest release updates and novel discussions.
Rate and review this novel on NU to help people find this novel. Bonus chapters on reaching milestones.
Happy reading!