13

"Here we are."

How long had we been running? Just when my back was beginning to ache, we arrived at the entrance to the southern region.

The entrance was shabby, but the large fence there served its purpose, and we saw people standing guard in front of it.

Dania and I got off our horses, holding the bundles we had prepared in advance, and approached the entrance.

"Halt! This is a place managed by Lord Gorjan. Outsiders from other regions are not allowed entry."

A man thrust his spear forward and sternly warned us. Dania stepped forward.

"We've come to meet the king of the southern region. We have something to offer him."

The man glanced at our faces, then lowered his spear and said,

"Hmm… I see. Are you Lord Gorjan's concubines? Quite beautiful, I must say."

What did this bastard just say?

I felt a surge of anger at the man's insult, but Dania placed her hand on my shoulder and shook her head.

She was right. We weren't here to fight; we were here to make a deal.

If we caused a commotion out of anger and smashed everything, the deal would fall through instantly.

"We're in a hurry to see the king. May we go inside?"

"…Fine. You may enter."

The security was rather lax. They seemed to think that because we were women, there wouldn't be any trouble and let us in without much suspicion.

"Hold on. What is that in your hand?"

The guard pointed his spear at me again, indicating the bundle I was carrying.

I gave the guard a sweet smile and lifted the bundle.

"This? It's something the king will enjoy."

"Suspicious items cannot be brought in. Open it."

Hmm. It seems we're not going to get through easily.

I looked at Dania, who sighed and nodded as if to say it was fine.

"Well, sure. If you insist."

Under everyone's watchful gaze, I carefully untied the bundle.

As the cloth slipped away, an object revealed itself.

"Ahhhhhh!!!"

"What the hell!! That's a human head!!"

"Who are you people!!!"

"W-Wait… That face…"

The guards recoiled in shock. I held the head in my hand and extended it toward them.

"Go fetch your king."

***

Meanwhile, in a bedroom of a certain building.

A man surrounded by several women was approached by a soldier.

"Lord Gorjan, there's a disturbance at the entrance."

Gorjan lazily rested his chin on his hand as he listened to the soldier's report.

"Is it another monster?"

"N-No, sir. It's two women."

"Woman?"

Gorjan frowned at the soldier's words.

What could cause a commotion over mere women? In the first place, it was rare for women to even show up in this city.

"You're telling me that my entertainment is being interrupted because of a couple of women?"

As Gorjan shot the soldier a sharp look, the soldier, sweating nervously, hurriedly added,

"It appears that the head of the western king was found with one of the women."

"What?"

"And when we tried to subdue the women, we were completely overwhelmed…!"

Bram, that bastard, was killed? By a woman?

Sensing the gravity of the situation, Gorjan pondered for a moment.

'A magic user, perhaps? And quite a powerful one at that.'

"Bring them to me at once. Avoid unnecessary fighting."

***

"Ahhh!!!!!"

Stop whining. I hit you lightly.

I was subduing the soldiers with minimal force.

I didn't want to kill anyone unnecessarily, thinking it would be troublesome. So I only lightly tapped their arms and legs.

But from the soldiers' perspective, it must not have seemed that way.

"Huff… huff… I can't… I can't breathe!"

"Ugh… my leg… my leg!!!"

Screams echoed from all around. Next to me, Dania glanced at me with a slightly wary expression, holding a dagger.

"As expected, you're strong."

"They're just weak."

These people were literally just weak.

Even if we went a bit further into the Empire, there are plenty of strong people who could easily take on dozens of people like this and blow them away.

"By the way, should we continue pushing through?"

"Since we've made quite a commotion, more people will probably come soon."

Just as Dania said, not long after, a soldier came rushing toward us on horseback.

"Stopppp!!!!"

The man hastily dismounted and ran over to us, bowing his head.

"Lord Gorjan has requested your presence! I will guide you!"

Oh, it seems this Gorjan fellow might be someone who can be reasoned with.

Following the man's guidance, we entered the entrance, revealing a rather impressive-looking street.

"The South has some decent buildings."

In the West, there were just rundown buildings with signs slapped on them, but here, you could see some buildings with a bit more formality.

"Indeed… it's a bit different from the West."

"This is all thanks to Lord Gorjan's abilities. Haha."

The soldier chimed into our conversation with pride, puffing out his chest.

It seems that, unlike Bram, Gorjan is recognized by the people.

As we continued walking while looking around the street, we eventually arrived at a building.

Guided inside by the soldier, we were greeted by a man in luxurious attire in an upscale room.

But as I looked at the man's face,

'This guy… he looks like…'

With his thinning hair and considerably plump body, along with a lecherous-looking face, this man reminded me of a certain potbellied uncle who corrupts innocent girls and leads them down a path of ruin.

'No… judging someone by their appearance is wrong…'

How foolish it is to judge a person by their looks. I reprimanded myself.

But as the man gazed intently at me, I felt an uncontrollable surge of killing intent rising within me.

'Calm down… calm down.'

Suppressing the unconscious hostility emanating from my body,

the man smiled and greeted us warmly.

"Greetings. I am Gorjan, the one in charge of managing the South."

Being a merchant, he welcomed us with a polite demeanor.

Although I felt quite unpleasant, it's proper manners to respond with respect to someone who speaks respectfully.

"Just call me Hera."

"And I'm Dania."

Nodding at our introductions, he guided us to a place where we could sit.

"I've heard you caused quite a stir… may I ask what brings you here?"

Gorjan got straight to the point. Since I preferred this approach as well, I immediately showed him the bundle I had brought with me.

When I untied the bundle, Bram's head was revealed.

Gorjan stared at the contents of the bundle for a moment before speaking.

"It seems this will be a long conversation."

When Gorjan first laid eyes on the two women, he couldn't take his eyes off them for a while.

A beautiful and captivating girl with dark black hair that reminded him of the night sky. And a woman with gray hair who exuded the aura of a mature lady.

Gorjan, who had never seen such beautiful women before, was momentarily mesmerized by their appearance.

'Calm down. They're no ordinary people.'

But a merchant is still a merchant.

He quickly regained his composure, put on a smile, and welcomed the two women.

These were the two who had easily overpowered his soldiers and brought him the head of the King of the West, who possessed superhuman strength.

With the thought that he must first understand their purpose, he slowly guided the conversation.

What they wanted was financial support to live prosperously in Draxx. In exchange, they offered to hand over control of the West.

Listening to them, it seemed they had already taken care of Bram and his gang, who had ruled the West.

It was welcome news.

If he could expand his territory to the West, he could acquire more goods and profits. And with that, more transactions could be made.

If the price was just enough money to allow a household to live comfortably, it was an overflowing deal. There was no reason to refuse.

'Hmph… They have strength, but they're lacking brains. Do they even know how much money can be made from that place?'

As Gorjan looked at the girl in front of him with an expression as if he had caught a fool, the girl slightly furrowed her brows and spoke.

"And there's something I'd like to ask of you."

"Feel free to ask."

The profit he was making was already more than enough. He could handle a favor.

"We are living with a young child, so I hope there won't be any more crime in the West."

The girl's request was to strengthen the security. Although his forces would decrease, it would only be a matter of bringing in people from the West.

"Haha, how righteous of you. Very well. Though it won't be easy since it's a lawless land… I'll do my best."

"And I have another request."

Hm? Was there more to this?

"Hehe… Go ahead."

"The buildings here. The facilities look pretty nice. I was wondering if you could fix up our house as well."

Where did her righteous demeanor go? Now she was making materialistic demands.

Fixing up a house… Well… It should be fine. The profits were already high enough.

"I… I can manage that much. Very well, I shall—"

"And one more thing."

Crack.

His smile started to falter, and he struggled to maintain his expression.

"H… Hahaha… Please, go on—"

"As I was looking around, I noticed there are quite a variety of buildings. It would be great if you could build them in the West as well."

At this point, the profits were turning into losses.

What in the world was this girl spouting now?

"And one more thing…"

And with that, Gorjan's sanity snapped.

"You little wench!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

He slammed his fist on the desk and yelled at the girl.

"Greed has its limits! What? You want me to build you buildings? Fix up your house?! You must be out of your mind! Get out of my—"

Boom!!!!!!!

"—office?!!!"

Crash—!

When the girl forcefully struck the ground, the earth trembled, and the building began to collapse.

"Aaaah!!"

Gorjan ducked his head to avoid the falling debris.

When things finally calmed down, he raised his head.

"Gasp!"

Before him stood a pair of blood-red eyes shining so intensely that they seemed to swallow him whole.

And the owner of those eyes spoke.

"Do it."

'This… this… devilish wench…'

This girl had no intention of negotiating from the beginning.

It seemed the fool here was him after all.