“Take it. This month’s salary.”
“Pardon? Lady, this is too much. It’s more than double my usual salary. And I’ve taken a lot of things without permission.”
“It includes compensation for the accident.”
“The accident?”
“You were injured today when you followed me. It’s the amount calculated for that. Take it. However, you’ll be responsible for hiring new employees.”
“Um… It’s embarrassing, but I’ll gratefully accept it. I don’t want to decline such a position. I’ll carefully look for new employees so as not to disappoint you, Lady.”
“Very well. And this is compensation.”
As I took out the envelope, Genia asked with a puzzled expression.
“Pardon? Compensation?”
“It’s from the man who caused the carriage accident.”
“But I’m fine now. Potions alone are so expensive. Thanks to them, I’m not in pain and I’m perfectly fine.”
“The aftereffects of an accident usually come later. Even if you can move right now, you might not be able to budge tomorrow morning. If that happens, don’t force yourself to work and go see a healer first.”
“…”
“I’ll cover the medical expenses with the money I gave you today. If it’s not enough, sell that core to me. No matter how urgent it is, don’t sell it to anyone else. You won’t get it’s worth.”
Genia fidgeted with the core and asked quietly.
“What about you, Lady?”
“What about me?”
“You were more injured than I was. You were protecting me… or so I thought. Isn’t that right?”
“I’m a hunter. I’ll take care of this myself.”
“But… the bruise seems darker than before.”
“I’m trying to get better. Bruises darken and then gradually fade over time. Don’t you know that?”
“I do know… Are you okay?”
“Would I have given you a potion even though I was in pain? Why would I?”
“Oh, right.”
“Get going. Leave.”
I turned the sheet over and closed my eyes as if expressing my annoyance.
“…Thank you, Lady. Have a good night.”
Genia whispered and quietly left after extinguishing the light.
Finally, I was alone. Only then did the stifled sound burst out.
“Ugh…”
There wasn’t a single place in my body that wasn’t sore.
— Anonymous Holy See: Strange. He’s not even a priest, so he shouldn’t have any healing abilities.
— Anonymous Holy See: But Astel wouldn’t lie just for a maid.
— Anonymous Holy See: Oops! Maybe Astel secretly changed he job to a priest!
— Anonymous Holy See: !!!!! So Astel can’t get married now? What about my stocks?
— Anonymous Holy See: No worries, knights can have relationships.
I silently stared at the chat window and muttered in a sleepy voice.
“It feels like it’s about time…”
The conversation window, which had been mocking my lies, quieted down.
The words I had said to Genia were a lie, but it was true that hunters had a faster self-healing ability than ordinary people.
I needed to recover quickly so that I could go out and slay monsters.
And compared to my past life, this level of pain was nothing.
After a good night’s sleep, I would recover, but I didn’t want to unnecessarily let others know.
Regardless of the situation, being in pain was a weakness.
‘By the way… the amount Kael gave me was a whopping 4.8 million ruans, right?’
Honestly, I thought that would be enough to cover at least a month’s rent.
‘But if there’s no rental property available… I’m screwed.’
Astel had been confined to the annex and had no idea about the cost of living.
What she didn’t know, I naturally didn’t know either.
‘Whether it’s my past life or this life, housing prices are insane.’
At this rate, I might not be able to afford independence even after a hundred years.
‘Do I have no luck with money?’
In my past life, I was dirt poor until I became a hunter and started earning money.
But I never really got to enjoy the wealth I accumulated because I was always frugal.
The building wasn’t even bought for my sake. It was to create facilities for orphaned children.
I still lived in a small house and was stingy with every penny.
I didn’t even spend much time lying in bed, as I was too busy blocking the gates and conquering dungeons.
Every time I cleared a floor in a dungeon, every time I was on the verge of death, I stubbornly saved up money with the thought of spending it all someday.
But who would have thought that I would fall victim to hunter syndrome and die?
Without being able to spend a single penny.
‘It’s infuriating when I think about it.’
Upon reflection, life had been quite frustrating, even when reconsidered.
‘Come to think of it, there are no dungeons here, right? So what’s the condition for escaping invasion?’
In the previous world, unlike this one, there were dungeons.
A subterranean dungeon consisting of 120 floors.
Each set comprised floors 1 to 5. It was a wretched system where one had to conquer four mazes and give up on the last one, only to start again from the first floor. Furthermore, the patterns changed every time, making it impossible to memorize the strategies.
However, once you passed through the five floors, a shelter appeared, and upon reaching it, you could restart from there.
That’s why it was difficult to easily escape once you entered the dungeon.
You had to break through the five floors somehow.
It was incredibly demanding and challenging to the point of being torturous, but upon reflection, it was simple.
If you managed to conquer all 120 floors of the dungeon, you could escape invasion.
On the first floor of the dungeon, a sentence was written outright.
[Ending Condition: Conquer Floor 120.]
Thanks to the helpful explanation, people focused on conquering the dungeon, and as a result, after ten long years, they were able to escape the invasion.
However, there were no dungeons here.
In other words, it meant that they had to figure out the ending condition separately.
‘The difficulty has increased.’
I inwardly smiled with a sense of satisfaction. The more difficult it becomes, the longer the invasion will endure.
I closed my eyes, feeling at ease.
* * *
The first morning that suited my nature.
I woke up early and took a stroll around the mansion.
After sweating it out with a jog, my muscles, which had stiffened from a carriage accident, loosened up considerably.
Though there were still bruises here and there, they would soon fade away.
I never really paid much attention to the wounds on my body.
In the world of hunters, injuries were part of daily life.
Feeling refreshed, I finished my bath and made my way to the dining room.
‘Indeed, people need to keep moving.’
Even after several days, the joy of a meal remained unchanged. It seemed to be increasing with each passing day.
It was when I had devoured about four pieces of crispy bread with butter.
Duke Luteous appeared in the dining room.
“Shouldn’t you start the morning with a cup of coffee in bed?”
I wondered if Astel’s memory was mistaken, as even the employees seemed startled and flustered.
“Y-Your Grace?”
“Coffee.”
“Yes? Ah, yes!”
The employees quickly moved to prepare coffee for Duke Luteous.
He nonchalantly spoke as he tilted his coffee cup.
“The carriage was wrecked.”
“There was an accident.”
“Was there… no issue?”
“What kind of issue?”
Luteous’s intense green gaze briefly swept over me.
“What are you looking at?”
Fearlessly raising my eyebrows, I met his gaze naturally as he lifted his coffee cup.
“Judging by the amount you’re eating, it seems you weren’t hurt. If others saw, they might think I’m starving you.”
“It wouldn’t be far from the truth.”
“What did you say?”
“Did you not know what ingredients were sent separately? If you did, you wouldn’t have made such a remark.”
After a moment of silence, Duke Luteous turned to the butler and asked.
“Frank, what is this about?”
“I will look into it, Your Grace.”
The atmosphere in the dining room grew tense, and the employees began to exchange glances.
Duke Luteous also seemed to be in a sour mood.
Amidst the atmosphere that felt suffocating even when still, I was the only one unaffected.
After eating two more pieces of bread, I wiped my mouth with a sip of juice.
“They’ve formally requested a visit to the temple. Clear your schedule.”
“When?”
“In about an hour. They said they want to meet you.”
“Why?”
“There was a joint search operation between the Magic Tower and the temple at the central plaza yesterday. They managed to capture three hidden monsters. It seems it happened after you met the Magic Tower Lord….”
Duke Luteous scrutinized me as if searching for something.
“In my opinion, it seems to be related to you. Isn’t that right?”
Did Kael say something to the temple? That man is more talkative than I thought.
Or perhaps he has such a clean and precise personality that he doesn’t want to interfere in other people’s affairs.
Either way, it was a bothersome matter for me.
“I just warned them because it seemed like they didn’t know. I told them that the monsters might still be alive.”
“Is that the only reason you went to the Magic Tower?”
“As a side note. Anyway, I don’t have time to meet anyone today.”
“Make time. It’s a beneficial contact since you’re already involved.”
“Who is it?”
“They’re being mentioned as the next Vice Minister. It’s unprecedented for a knight to hold that position.”
“…A hunter?”
“Figure it out. If he’s a hunter, it’s almost certain he’ll become the next Vice Minister.”
I nodded in acceptance.
Understanding the hunters was an important task for me as well.
