The chaos ended in an instant. I questioned the NPC, Eileen, who worked there and she claimed that Supreme Fire Dragon was a very good man. I didn"t know why, but he had gone to work at the flower store for two days and helped her with the work. I didn"t know if Supreme Fire Dragon really wanted to kidnap a hostage, but in any case, it was good for me that he stepped back so easily. The users might"ve taken videos if we fought.
...Was it called the A.S.L community?
I somehow managed to block reporters from entering, but I couldn"t prevent the photographs and videos taken by users. I wanted to avoid the community that my second son told me about from heating up again. Those d.a.m.n reporters would go after me again.
“Hmm. By the way, the village has really improved.”
I had finally arrived at the village chief"s office after a long time. I wanted to go straight to the clinic to see Helena and Kis, but Joseph sent me a whisper that he arrived a bit earlier.
[[Metheus][Village]
Military: 351 Economy: 283 Culture: 169
Technology: 155 Religion: 92 Politics: 10
Hygiene: 87 Safety: 89% Development: 219
Local Influences: 38%
-Current Taxes: None
-Village Finances: $3,513
-Overall Evaluation: You are currently the village chief and a farmer of Metheus.
-More than 10,000 residents of Garbage Village have temporarily settled here. They are committed to developing the village at a rapid pace.
-The Sylphid Knights are inhabiting this place and maintaining security.
-The Temple of the Wind is scheduled to be completed within seven days.
-Some villagers are missing your food.
-Currently, 999 users are living in huts in your village. They are paying a rental fee of $10,000 a month.
-The promotion from a "village" -> "small town" is possible. You can collect taxes from the residents after being promoted to a small town. You can also raise soldiers and build walls. The siege function will open after 50 days. ($3 million is required)]
“So many...”
The first thing that caught my eye was that the overall numbers had risen. They seemed to have risen by two or three times compared to before. It was amazing.
“Is this due to the Garbage Village residents?”
I read down the information window one by one. The Sylphid Knights were still settled here. They couldn"t all come because half the knights were guarding Windia. Meanwhile, the other half would protect Metheus. Currently, Kerenos was called by Edward and had gone to Windia.
“The temple is almost completed. Additionally, they miss my food...”
I prepared a few meals for them with the heart of a chef, not the village chief, yet they missed the food this much. I would have to cook for the villagers again sooner or later. The village was getting better so it wouldn"t be bad to open a store. Furthermore, this...
“Haha. Helena is a truly amazing woman.”
In fact, I had tried giving Helena some money the first time I sent her to the village. However, she refused to accept such a large sum of money and said that it wasn"t necessary, even when I had said it was funds for development of the village. it was amazing to see that she was self-sufficient by using the shacks to collect money from players. I thought I knew why Sujeong praised her so much and said she was cool.
“I wish they could continue to stay in Metheus...”
First of all, it required a bit more effort. This was something that time would resolve. I first turned my attention to the bottom of the information window.
“A city...”
In fact, this was something that was possible someday. I was told that many small and medium-sized guilds had cities. I heard this the other day from Mido and those troublemakers. It was because they had a small castle. Of course, their city wasn"t as prosperous as Metheus. They acc.u.mulated contribution points doing quests in the Orca Kingdom and saved enough to obtain a small castle. However, the castle of the Orca Kingdom was in a worse condition than expected. Various monsters and thieves launched fierce attacks and the number of NPC and player guards weren"t sufficient, making it equal to a hippopotamus eating money.
They said that all the members of the Icarus Guild were guarding the castle. They only kept it due to the sieges and taxes. They said that if someone else"s castle was taken away, they would become a bit richer. If they were lucky, they might hit the jackpot. People and NPCs gathered as long as there was power. Therefore, both reputation and money could be obtained at the same time.
“Hmm. It won"t be easy...”
The Icarus Guild had failed in the siege that I watched on TV in the past. It was a fact that I knew well.
“I"m not worried about money, but I don"t have the manpower to protect it.”
The residents of Garbage Village were terrible at fighting. It was comforting that the Sylphid Knights and Kerenos were here but I thought it was a bit lacking. I was not only lacking manpower, I currently didn"t have enough power either. “I will have to think about it after the Colosseum event ends.
“...Why are you speaking to yourself?”
I raised my head with surprise and saw Joseph smile at me after he had come in. Sometimes, I couldn"t hear the surroundings when I was concentrating. This must be the case now. I scolded him, “Are you a ghost? Knock before coming in.”
“I did it twice?”
“Groan. Sit down.” I coughed and guided him to a small table in the office. Then I sat across from him.
Joseph laughed. "It has been a while, Elder. You seem healthy.”
“...Stop talking nonsense. Did you suddenly call me just to say this?”
“Haha. That isn"t it. I have something important to discuss with you.”
“What? Get to the point. I have to go see the doctor.”
“I understand. Elder, I know your personality.”
Joseph took a deep breath. “Please accept the resistance into the village.”
* * *
Four hours later. After visiting the clinic, I dragged my tired body to the hotel. I buried my face in the bed and looking to the side, I could see Chunza sleeping in an exhausted manner under the old lights. I couldn"t help laughing at the pitiful sight.
“It must be pretty hard.”
Chunza had been learning Fireball from Solar and quickly increased her enlightenment of the Fireball skill. I had been a bit worried because I couldn"t keep summoning Solar. Still, I was glad. Currently, Chunza"s enlightenment regarding Fireball was 87%. Once it reached 100% and she learned Fireball, she would be able to practice hunting. In fact, we could go hunting together but she was still low in level and it was dangerous. I had obtained a Lechuza so I had to raise it preciously.
“Hmm. The resistance...”
Four hours ago, Joseph had asked me to take in the resistance. He said that Fortren was no longer a place that the resistance could use as a base. Joseph explained that they were fighters for freedom, like the independence fighters of the j.a.panese colonial era. The targets were naturally the n.o.bles of Fortren. They had mastered the firearms of the Parta Princ.i.p.ality which was very helpful to me.
I was a bit confused, but in fact, I was singing with joy in my heart. I had been worrying about the manpower to protect Metheus. Perhaps I could ask them.
“By the way, stealing a Star Fruit. Hrmm...”
He said he was planning to steal the Star Fruit from Kaidan. The funny thing was that Joseph offered to give me the stolen Star Fruit without any conditions. I thought he had an ulterior motive so I decided to think about it first. He wouldn"t have to worry about the price of his twins" milk powder and diapers if he sold the expensive Star Fruit. I didn"t believe he would give it to me so easily. He said he didn"t want anything, but I knew more than anyone about his greed for money.
“Sigh, my head hurts.”
Based on the information obtained by Joseph, Kaidan would make the Star Fruit public in the final match. Of course, no one knew whether the Star Fruit was real or fake. He asked me to identify if the Star Fruit was real or not in the finals. Once I judged the authenticity, I should send him a whisper. Then he would carry out an operation with the resistance to steal the real Star Fruit.
They were probably the resistance group mentioned by Aren. Karstein or something.
“Ah, I forgot to tell Helena about it.”
Once I thought about Aren, I remembered the quest he had given me. In fact, I felt like the mood wasn"t right when I visited the clinic. It wouldn"t be too late to talk to Helena when the Colosseum event was over and she was alone.
“It is a hectic day.”
I was thinking about many things when a whisper suddenly arrived.
-Park Muyeol: Chuntaek, thank you! Hahaha!
It was a simple whisper, but Park Muyeol"s expression and voice were clear, as if they were imprinted in my mind. He was probably smiling and laughing right now.
“Jerk. Is it that good?”
Before going to the clinic, I had told him about the ident.i.ty of the flower store"s owner. The owner was naturally Park Muyeol and he liked it so much that his grin seemed to stretch up to his ears. He looked so childish that I made fun of him.
-Park Muyeol: The Magic Power Germination that you gave me is the best! Thank you, friend! Hahahaha!
I had given him the Magic Power Germination I received from Flora. Well, I only lent it to him so he would have to give it back. It was useful when running a flower store so it seemed to be a good gift.
-Jackson: Really? I"m glad you like it. I"m going to log out now. You know that the Colosseum battle is tomorrow, right?
-Park Muyeol: Yes, I know. Really, thank you. I will see you tomorrow. Kuhahaha!
-Jackson: Stop laughing, you rotten guy. Go.
-Park Muyeol: Yeh. Go carefully.
I immediately pressed the log out b.u.t.ton. I had a headache all day and felt exhausted.
* * *
It wasn"t until late in the evening that Mido was able to return home. It was her mother who welcomed her. Her father was tired from working out recently, so he went to bed early. Additionally, her grandfather was obsessed with Arkstar these days.
“Daughter, you came? Was it fun today?”
“Yes, Mom. I enjoyed it today. Is everything okay?”
“Yes~ come on in. Do you want to eat?”
“No. I ate something in pa.s.sing on the way home. I"ll wash up first.”
“This child, you shouldn"t eat half-heartedly. I"ll make juice so drink it after your shower.”
“Thank you, Mother~”
Mido went straight to her room. There was a small bathroom in her room. At first, she had fought with her brother, Jeongdo, when deciding the rooms. Well, it happened when they were children, but Jeongdo must"ve been upset. She was a.s.signed the bigger room with the bathroom just because she was a girl. Well, there was nothing like that anymore.
After a quick shower, she changed into her pyjamas, dried her head with a towel, and headed to the kitchen. The health juice that she had been drinking was still on the table. Mido swallowed it only out of love for her mother.
“Ugh... It really isn"t delicious.” She always felt it but the juice that contained her mother"s love didn"t taste good. Mido was consuming something good for her body but she couldn"t adapt. “I should ask for more honey...”
She dropped the empty cup on the table and headed back to the room. Then she sat at her desk for the first time in a while. She had to do her school a.s.signment. The last time she entered the community on her laptop, she was busy collecting information about various Star Fruit abilities. The last one released was probably Michael, the world"s number one player. By the way...
“Wait. What is this?”
Mido"s eyes widened with surprise. Her gaze turned to the piece of paper that she had been writing on a few days earlier. The thing that was written there wasn"t what she wrote last time, and what"s more, the single piece of paper had turned into several pieces of paper.
The handwriting was slightly rough, but bold. There were so many newly written things that Mido"s eyes became suspicious. She grabbed the post-it note attached to the papers. There was small writing on it.
[I hope this helps - Dark Wolf]
“Eeeeeeeeek?!”