Chapter 108. The City of Bread and Steel (5)

Late at night.

The time when the river embraces the full moon and ripples.

A boat had stopped at the riverbank and was unloading its cargo.

They were smugglers.

“If we're even a little late, we'll get caught. Move quickly!”

Robert, a current gangster and the on-site supervisor, shouted.

There wasn't a single torch at the work site.

As is usual for things that must not be discovered, the workers were moving heavy boxes from the water to the shore, relying only on the moonlight and starlight.

“Anyway, tsk. Lazy bastards.”

Robert clicked his tongue.

Originally, this boat was a transport ship that departed from the ore crushing plant and headed for the blacksmith district along the Mainwolf River.

The smugglers' means of livelihood was to bribe the boatman and then stage an 'accident' to steal an appropriate amount of iron ore without getting caught.

If they were caught, it would be the death penalty.

According to rumors, the lord of Wolfskrig was a hero of the civil war.

A man who has killed many people knows how to kill well.

Robert thought so, but he had no intention of letting go of this lucrative business.

It was the reason he remained, despite his annoyance with the damn southern weather and the damn southern bugs.

“Damn it, who would believe it. They say iron comes out like water from a spring. A little bit stolen doesn't even show. Ugh!”

Robert spat out phlegm.

A bug had flown into his mouth.

At the sight of him making a disgusted face, the workers who were carrying the cargo burst into laughter at the same time.

“You bastards, move another box in the time you're laughing!”

Robert crossed his arms and watched the workers.

Lately, one guy had been particularly on his mind.

A newcomer who had joined recently.

A young, quick, and hard-working guy.

And yet, a guy with a somewhat suspicious side.

Just then, the newcomer, who had put down a box, met Robert's eyes.

Robert beckoned him over with his finger.

“You were just laughing, weren't you?”

***

‘You were just laughing, weren't you?’

‘Ah, no, sir. A bug flew into my mouth too.’

‘Reeeally?’

‘Of course! How could I make fun of the supervisor. Please let it slide just this once, hehe.’

The scenes and sounds floating around in my head.

A strange sensation, as if I'm dreaming.

“…Ahem.”

It was a strange feeling to have two bodies.

Especially when acting with a completely different face in a different place.

‘Wheeine?’

In the subspace, the starfish-shaped sculpture trembled.

It was the third Sacred Relic of the Order I had obtained, the Sacred Relic of ‘The False Star that Shines in the Shadows.’

The ability of the Sacred Relic, which I named ‘Starfish,’ was to create a duplicate.

A duplicate that not only had the same appearance as the user, but also maintained the same abilities.

In the Lumer ruins, that ability had been a significant threat.

So much so that I'm not sure if I could have won without Randal.

Anyway, ever since returning from the ruins, I've been practicing the ability whenever I have free time.

At first, I couldn't get used to the sensation of having two bodies.

I would often run into walls or fall down while trying to make the duplicate follow the main body's movements.

After about a month, I got used to them acting separately.

After about three months, I reached the point where they could each talk to different people.

And now, about half a year later, I have reached the point where I can perform combat simultaneously, albeit in a limited capacity.

If I were to give a little bit of know-how, I'd say it's similar to the feeling of playing the piano with both hands on different keys.

‘Wheeeine?’

“Right. Good work.”

I sprinkled some cookie crumbs into the subspace and started walking.

For reference, Kkumteuli's transformation ability also applied to the duplicate.

The duplicate, disguised as an unknown passerby, recently succeeded in getting a job.

The employer was a smuggler.

A criminal organization that steals and sells Wolfskrig's iron ore.

Of course, I expected smuggling to be rampant.

Crime is something that usually follows where people gather.

I can't just leave it be, so I'm using the duplicate for practical training and to assess the situation.

After observing, I'm thinking of considering bringing them under my command by deploying old man Brol's information organization.

Since I have the [Smuggling Expert] trait, which I obtained randomly, if a complete sweep is impossible, it might not be a bad idea to use them instead.

As my power grows, there will be times when I need the power of the underworld as much as the power of the light.

Rustle.

Rustle.

Anyway, while my duplicate was diligently carrying iron ore boxes, I also went outside the city.

After leaving the eastern gate and veering off the Imperial highway, you pass through a meadow lush with grass to find an old abandoned house.

It was Alina's regular reporting place.

For reference, the regular reports have been going on for about half a year.

It first started right after the festival.

That is, after the incident when the Princess of Blood and the Mad Fire Witch both infiltrated our city.

‘My benefactor, I am sorry. If I had been more careful in observing my surroundings, I could have told you in advance…. I will try harder.’

From that day on, Alina secretly began to scan the people of the city with fire in her eyes.

Once every fortnight, she reported to me if there were any suspicious people.

There was no reason to stop her.

Her trait, [The Scales of Good and Evil of the Four Angels], can be used as a powerful counter-espionage ability.

I don't know why she chose an abandoned house near the city as the reporting place, but for her who is working so hard, it's okay to accommodate her this much.

She might be uncomfortable due to Viscount Pewin's marriage proposal and other things, but I always feel a mix of sorry and gratitude towards her for working for me.

Thanks to that, every time I come out like this, I take it as a time to get some fresh air and organize my thoughts.

It is a well-known fact that walking helps to organize one's thoughts.

What I'm going to organize today are my abilities.

Among them, traits.

Traits are one of the important pillars of my growth.

For a while, I haven't been able to properly look back on my own growth because I've been busy raising my army and faction, but I've been continuing my training consistently like a habit.

The thing I focused on training the most was the mana trait.

Basically, I am a commander.

There are times when I jump into the fray and fight, like in the battle with the Beastmen led by 'The Consecrator of the Beast Hide', but that's a special case.

Generally, like in the Lumer ruins, I need to be able to observe the entire battlefield from the rear and provide support with spells at the right time and place.

Moreover, unlike swordsmanship, in the case of spells, I still haven't gotten the hang of exploring the 'memories'.

That means the role of traits is even greater.

Fortunately, as a result of training and achievement, I was able to obtain three traits.

Above all, I acquired the trait I had been trying to get since the first day I fell into Burken Fortress.

[Profound Mana]

[The amount of mana of a mage who has reached it through long training does not easily run out.]

Although the description is written vaguely, to put it simply, it's like a qualification for a high-level mage.

With this one trait alone, you can use magic of 7th level or higher without external assistance.

Of course, you can only use it; to freely handle high-level spells, you need skill proficiency and other traits.

In my case, with [Unblocked Acupoints], I would be able to use Infernal Meteor about two or three times.

Even if I use it all up and fall into mana depletion, there's a second chance.

[Mana Vacuum State]

[Mana is like water. It flows to where it is empty. By digging a deep puddle and opening the floodgates, you can fill up on mana at a high speed.]

A trait I obtained from endlessly using spells to deal with the Lumer legionnaires.

It's a trait that immediately fills your mana to the maximum upon deployment, not quite a cheat, but a pretty decent one.

The cooldown is long, so I can only use it once per battle, but that's something.

It might become a lifeline when I don't even have the strength to drink a potion.

[High-Speed Mana Rotation]

[Spell casting speed increases. Be careful of speeding.]

Besides that, a trait that makes spell casting even faster.

[An Axe to the Spellcaster's Noggin-Oops]

[Blocks projectiles aimed at the head during spell casting.]

I was also able to obtain a trait that I hadn't seen until 3.0, which blocks unexpected snipes.

By the way, who on earth named it?

What a naming sense.

If the main income was mana traits, there was also a secondary income.

Physical traits and faction traits.

[Orc's Muscles] is an upgraded version of [Tenacious Strength] that I obtained before.

[Acrobat's Agility] is a bit low-level, but it's an agility-related trait that I didn't have.

What I'm personally paying attention to is [Sprinter].

It grants the ability to run fast for a moment, and like some traits, it has a hidden effect.

That is, when combined with [Marathoner], you can sprint a long distance at the speed of when [Sprinter] is deployed.

It would be useful in cases where I have to act alone unexpectedly, like in the Lumer ruins, especially when I haven't prepared a horse.

As for faction traits, I obtained [Tax Collector], [The Lord is a Friend of Animals], and [City Planner].

They have the effects of a slight increase in the city's tax rate, an increase in the production of the domain's livestock industry, and an increase in the construction speed of cities in the domain, respectively.

I have no immediate use for the livestock industry, but the other two were traits I desperately needed.

Since I've seen the effects of [Oh My, A Bountiful Harvest!] that I obtained before in the rice farming, I'm personally looking forward to this one the most.

‘Overall, I only got pretty good ones.’

I was lucky.

Considering that more than half were obtained through a random lottery, that's certainly true.

Come to think of it, in the past, there was always at least one dud trait like [Glossy Hair], [Plant Language Interpretation], or [What a Bolt from the Blue!].

Although there were some that were effective in a strange way, like [Selective Loss of Taste], if I had to choose, I would prefer a trait that is just conventionally good.

‘Master, snap out of it. We're almost there.’

While I was organizing the list of traits in my head, I was already at my destination.

The sight of the abandoned house with a lit torch on the torch stand came into view.

For convenience's sake, it was called an abandoned house, but it was actually a cottage built of stone.

One that had withstood the three hundred years under the rule of the Vampire Duke.

To be honest, it's a bit creepy.

The abandoned house, which had only its torch stand and fence roughly repaired, looked like a ghost would pop out of it the closer I got.

You could say it's the perfect place for a midnight rendezvous.

Well, since there's a priest who is a bishop, even ghosts would avoid it if they wanted to live.

“My benefactor, you've come.”

“Alina.”

Alina was sitting leaning against the low fence surrounding the yard of the house.

She patted the ground next to her with a faint smile.

I followed her and sat on the bare ground.

My butt is cool.

The rainy season in the south is hot and humid even at night.

I leaned my head against the fence, listening to Alina humming a tune.

It was a night with a particularly bright full moon.

And many stars.

“It's nice.”

She said.

“It's peaceful.”

Words she says like a repertoire every time.

“I agree.”

I agree as well.

The reason I go along with Alina's stubbornness is perhaps because I too am enjoying this peace that comes once every fortnight.

With the sound of insects as a background, I slowly talked with her.

Although it's a regular report, we don't really stand on ceremony.

This is because Alina prefers it that way.

What should I say.

I feel like I want to remain on somewhat comfortable terms with the key members of the executive team as much as possible.

The reason I let things like old man Brol's coarse way of speaking, Karen's occasional nagging at him, and the strange rumors Olif keeps spreading about me slide is for that reason.

Although it's a story that's possible because everyone does their job well in public.

“The dwarf prince doesn't seem to be that dangerous of a person. He's not particularly good, nor particularly evil, but he seems to lean more towards the good side.”

“That's a relief.”

“Guild Master Kambad is similar. This person feels more pure white than the dwarf.”

In between the private conversations, stories of those who have visited the domain are exchanged.

Not only the prominent figures who have visited the domain, but also the unusual people among the passersby who attend church or whom I happen to meet on the street.

[The Scales of Good and Evil of the Four Angels] is quite accurate.

It was thanks to her that I was able to track down the smugglers.

The conversation, disguised as a report, ends when the moon has tilted moderately and the earth, cooled by the dawn air, feels cold rather than cool.

I stood up in the natural silence.

“Shall we go?”

I asked as usual.

Alina did not get up.

“My benefactor.”

Instead, she tilted her head and looked up at me.

She asked. “What is our relationship?”