Chapter 249: Chapter 249 Gnometree (3)

Gnometree (3)

The request Shabin made was quite simple.

“Just deliver this letter to Baron Nertobin.”

The mission was to deliver a letter.

The reward was 3 million stones.

But there was one condition.

“Ah, for reference, you have to deliver this letter directly to the Baron before he leaves Gnometree.”

That was the reason why a simple delivery mission had such a hefty reward. It was practically impossible for an explorer to enter Gnometree.

It was a district where only nobles could enter, except for the workers who worked on the farms.

“I understand the request. So tell me the details.”

Although the sweet scent of an easy mission was already wafting towards me, I didn’t get ahead of myself and calmly checked what I needed to confirm.

What was this letter?

They could just send it to the Baron’s house when he returned to the city, so why were they paying such a large sum to have it delivered?

Shabin answered my questions without hiding anything.

“I can’t tell you the contents of the letter. And the reason why we’re asking you to do this is because it’s clear that the Baron won’t read our letter even if we send it to his house.”

The Administrative Office had something important to tell the Baron.

But the Baron was ignoring them.

So they obtained information that the Baron was currently enjoying a vacation in Gnometree and came up with a plan to hand-deliver the letter to him.

“Gnometree is practically a vacation spot for nobles. And they can only bring three escorts with them. It won’t be a burden for you, Mr. Bjorn, since you can just approach him naturally and hand him the letter.”

Hmm, that’s true.

I nodded in understanding.

Indeed, it was troublesome for a noble to visit another noble’s house in the city. They had to have dinner together and greet their family.

It was impossible to just meet briefly and hand over a letter.

‘Then is the condition of delivering it in Gnometree for my sake?’

That thought briefly crossed my mind, but it probably wasn’t the only reason. They wouldn’t add a condition for my sake.

“So, what will you do?”

Shabin then handed over the decision to me, and I pretended to contemplate for a moment before answering,

“I’ll accept it.”

3 million stones just for delivering a letter in this situation where there was no other source of income?

There was no reason to refuse.

‘And I was planning to visit Gnometree anyway.’

“Ah, just so you know, I’m just delivering the letter, whether he reads it or not.”

“Yes, as long as you fulfill the request, there won’t be any problems with the payment, so don’t worry about that.”

Okay, then my last worry was gone.

I signed the contract Shabin brought and received the letter.

With that, the official business was over.

We chatted for about an hour and then disbanded, and I returned home.

And…

“Misha, pack your bags.”

“Huh?”

“Let’s go on a trip.”

We started preparing for a trip.

__________________________

We decided on a 2-night, 3-day trip.

Although it wasn’t a distance that required us to stay overnight, we also needed time to find the Baron there.

And…

‘There’s also a place I have to visit.’

Honestly, I wanted to take a more leisurely trip, like 5 nights and 6 days.

But the labyrinth was opening soon.

Well, we had already agreed to skip it this time…

‘It would be better to see firsthand how much force the royal family is deploying.’

“Gn, Gnometree!! Wow! I can’t believe I’m actually going there!!”

Although it was a sudden suggestion, Misha was excited and packed her bags as soon as she heard that our destination was ‘Gnometree’.

For reference, we could only take three people with us.

So I decided to take Ainar and Erwen and go on a family(?) trip together.

“Is, is it okay for me to… join you?”

“What are you talking about? Don’t come if you don’t want to.”

“I want to! I’ll go pack! How long are we staying there?”

Erwen, who pretended to refuse but then quickly got up and went to her room to pack, looked happy for the first time in a while.

Well, there hadn’t been many joyful events for her recently.

“Hey! I told you to pack properly!”

“I am…”

“You’re only packing underwear? What about your toothbrush and towel? Huh? Are you going to ask me to lend them to you every time?”

Misha then helped Ainar pack, and the preparations went smoothly. And the next morning…

“We’ll escort you to the front.”

…we headed towards Gnometree, escorted by the knights.

We arrived well past noon.

“Viscount Bjorn Yandel. Confirmed. Please come this way.”

We went through a simple identification process at the gate and then entered.

Ah, the escort knights didn’t follow us.

Because there was a rule in Gnometree that only allowed three escorts.

‘I feel a bit sorry for them.’

Actually, the knights wanted to fill all three spots themselves.

But I firmly refused and gave those spots to Misha, Erwen, and Ainar.

It would be difficult to move freely with knights around.

And besides, it was a place where I didn’t have to worry too much about assassins.

“If there’s any threat to your safety inside, please don’t hesitate to use this whistle. The Gnometree patrol will come to your aid.”

Since Gnometree was the district with the strictest security after the royal palace, the knights didn’t force us to cancel our trip, even though they were disappointed.

“Wow…”

The scenery of Gnometree, which we entered through the double gates, was so breathtaking that even I was speechless.

A straight road stretched out before us.

A refreshing green landscape unfolded on both sides, and the gentle breeze carried the scent of unripe grains and fruits.

“Oh! Look over there! It’s fairies!”

We continued sightseeing as the carriage moved. The most common sight was fairies working on the farms.

After all, they were specialists in agriculture.

The fairy tribe sent fairies who had learned special spirit magic to Gnometree and received a huge amount of support.

‘Geez, I’m envious…’

The vast wealth that came from Gnometree. It was also the reason why they could implement an interest-free tax loan policy for their tribe members, unlike barbarians.

“Erwen, how many years do you guys lend?”

“Three years.”

“Wow, I’m envious. We only got two years. They don’t really pressure us to pay it back, but after that, we have to take care of everything ourselves, whether we live or die.”

For reference, all races except for barbarians and humans had this tax loan policy.

It wasn’t just fairies who earned money like this.

Dwarves had signed an official contract with the royal family, having their architectural skills and metallurgy recognized. The windmills and watermills we saw were probably all built and maintained by them.

Ah, and beastmen…

[Moo—!]

“Mi, Misha! What the hell is that strange monster?!”

“Ah, it’s your first time seeing one? It’s a cow.”

“Cow?”

“It’s the meat you said was the most delicious. Ah, I’ve never had a natural one either…”

Beastmen were active in the livestock industry.

They were naturally good at communicating with animals, and thanks to the fact that there were enhancement-type Spirit Beasts that increased the growth and breeding rate of livestock.

‘But it’s the Dragonkin who are really making the money.’

If the other races were all working class, the Dragonkin were a bit different.

They were practically nobles who owned land.

After all, the agricultural district, Gnometree, was built on the Dragonkin’s sacred grounds.

‘…Why are barbarians the only ones who have nothing?’

I felt a sense of deprivation as I organized my thoughts, but what could I do?

Fighting was our only characteristic.

Rumble.

The carriage arrived near a mountain in the center of Gnometree and then started circling east.

And after some time…

“We’ve arrived.”

The coachman, who was also acting as a guide, informed us that we had arrived at our destination.

It was a residential area called ‘Kiarbys’, a historical vacation spot for nobles that existed even in the game, which was set 150 years in the past.

“Please come this way.”

We first headed towards our accommodation with the help of the coachman.

It was a place the Administrative Office had reserved for us…

‘Nice.’

…and it was much better than I expected.

We had an entire annex to ourselves, and we even had five servants.

I wonder how much this cost per night?

“Please have dinner first. We’ve prepared it for you.”

We ate first since we were hungry.

And…

“You’re saying there’s a hot spring…?”

…I immediately went to the outdoor hot spring and relaxed after hearing the servant’s words.

‘Ah, this is it.’

I should come back here even if I have to pay for it when winter comes. I came out after enjoying the hot spring for about an hour, and Ainar was waiting for me.

“Bjorn, why did it take you so long to wash up?!”

“Where are Misha and Erwen?”

“They’re still in there. I don’t understand. It’s just warm water…”

It seemed like Ainar couldn’t appreciate the true value of a hot spring.

Phew, these barbarians.

“Enough, just rest and play with them when they come out.”

“Huh? What about you?”

“I have to go to work. Why? Do you want to come with me?”

“Ah, no… I’ll just stay here and rest!”

She retreated, as if disgusted, and I chuckled and left the annex.

And I first looked around.

‘This is truly luxurious.’

As expected of a place designed as a vacation spot for nobles, it was full of luxurious facilities.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Hot springs, horse riding grounds, fishing spots, and so on.

If it were the modern world, I wouldn’t have thought of this as luxurious, but it felt different here.

‘They’re not just eating natural meat, they’re playing with it…’

99% of the people in this city ate meat and bread made from magic stones. Just look at Ainar, she had never even seen a real cow before coming here.

But what about this place?

There was even a place where they released pheasants and deer for hunting.

‘Hmm, then I guess I’ve seen enough…’

I headed towards my destination with the letter.

There was no need to ask around and find out where he was staying. There weren’t any titled nobles who were staying in rented accommodations like me.

Most of them spent their vacations in villas they owned.

“He said you can come in.”

I arrived at the villa and sent word, and I soon received permission to enter.

Phew, at least he didn’t tell me to get lost.

“I was actually hoping to talk to you sometime, so this is a good opportunity. Haha, it’s good to see you, Viscount Yandel. But what brings you here so suddenly?”

“Ah, I have something to deliver.”

“Something to deliver?”

The Baron immediately opened and read the letter I handed him.

And he made a strange expression.

“Those Administrative Office bastards are really desperate. To even ask you to do this.”

“Well, I don’t know the details.”

“Hmm, and you still agreed? Why would someone like you do that?”

The Baron muttered as if he couldn’t understand.

Honestly, the answer was that I immediately accepted because they were offering 3 million stones as a reward…

…but it seemed embarrassing to say that, so I made an excuse.

“I owe them a favor.”

“Haha, you can just pretend you don’t know them later.”

Wow, is this a noble’s mindset?

I was impressed in a bad way, but I couldn’t say that to his face.

“A warrior never forgets a debt.”

“Hmm… that’s true. Haha! Interesting. A noble whose loyalty is guaranteed? Maybe many nobles will want to be friends with you.”

After the letter was delivered, the Baron offered to have a meal together, but I refused and left.

In the small world of nobles, if you become friends with just anyone, there would be consequences.

‘Anyway, the request is complete.’

It ended so easily that I wondered if it was really okay to receive 3 million stones just for this.

Then I was free for the rest of the trip.

‘I’ll go there later when it gets darker…’

I checked my remaining schedule and headed back to the annex.

That’s when…

…I saw a familiar emblem among the knights escorting the young nobles.

I felt cold sweat running down my back as soon as I saw it.

‘Aiphreya Baron family.’

The family of the ‘him’ who used magic to knock me unconscious and borrowed his face and identity to meet me.

‘…It can’t be. He said he was the youngest son? It must be his older brother.’

Even if my hopes were dashed, it was the same.

It was proven by quantum mechanics.

No one knows what’s inside a box until it’s opened.

Whether there’s a cat or something else inside is only proven after ‘observation’.

Fortunately, I hadn’t checked inside the box yet.

So…

‘Let’s go.’

I fixed my gaze on the ground and quickened my pace.

That’s when…

“Wa, wait! Are you Viscount Yandel…?”

…I heard a familiar voice from behind.

“Pl, please wait a moment! I, I heard you had a hard time because of that evil mage who disguised himself as me. I have to apologize…”

It was the real Hans A.