Chapter 12: This is Thune Family's Land

"My lord, this gauntlet fits your hand perfectly. My hands are too small. Perhaps this is a sign from the gods. You should keep the magic book. I can share with you methods to increase magic power," Talia said.

"Let's get out of here first," Romon replied.

He extended his left hand, then flipped it downward. The magic book fell again, but as soon as it left his hand, it disappeared without a trace.

This confirmed that the gauntlet was linked to activating and recalling certain magical items.

"The disturbance from the labyrinth's entrance must have alerted the surrounding goblins. Get ready for a fight," Romon reminded her.

If things got urgent, he was prepared to use the book as a weapon.

The two of them walked toward the light. From the inside, they couldn't see anything of the outside, much like how the interior appeared as a deep swirling vortex when viewed from the outside.

When they stepped out of the white light, they found themselves back in the same area.

Immediately, the eerie screeches of goblins filled their ears. Looking around, they saw a large group of green-skinned monsters encircling them.

The smallest goblins were only half a meter tall, while the largest, wielding spiked clubs, stood around 1.6 meters tall.

"That's a lot. Do you think we can fight them?"

Romon was already considering retreating back into the labyrinth.

"Don't worry, my lord," Talia said confidently.

She pulled out three pure magic crystals, holding them between her teeth. She then gripped her silver staff tightly, and a bright, fiery light began to gather at the tip.

In an instant, the rapid-fire magic shot out like a deadly laser, sweeping across the goblin horde.

Any goblin caught in the magic's path was swiftly dismembered, with no part of them left intact.

The remaining goblins, witnessing the carnage, immediately acted on their racial instincts, abandoning their comrades and fleeing. Some even used the weaker, smaller goblins as shields, pushing them in front of themselves as they escaped.

When the magic at the tip of Talia's staff finally dissipated, the pure magic crystals in her mouth were completely consumed.

"Hmph, a bunch of small fry, and they think they can surround us!" Talia scoffed.

Romon, smelling the charred air, glanced back at the labyrinth entrance.

"So, did you figure out what level this labyrinth is?" he asked.

"Hmm... from the internal magical energy fluctuations, it's at least an A-rank. But we haven't encountered the boss yet. If the boss is particularly strong, it could be S-rank," Talia replied.

"Then why were the two of us sucked into a special room?"

"The labyrinth is alive," Talia explained. "According to most reports, labyrinths are alive, although there's no hard evidence. The first person to activate a labyrinth is likely to encounter some kind of labyrinth-related anomaly. You could imagine it as a non-human, non-physical kind of entity. We just essentially wandered around inside it, which is why I said 'based on the internal magical energy fluctuations, it's at least A-rank.'"

Romon thought for a moment. Dimension creatures?

How would the magical world describe that?

"Never mind, let's head back. I've got an extra task for you."

Since the labyrinth was confirmed, they could move forward with their prior plans and start implementing toll fees for access.

Talia, being an adventurer herself, knew that adventurers loved hearing about other adventurers revealing the locations of high-level labyrinths. "A new labyrinth has been discovered at such-and-such location—go explore, there's wealth and treasures everywhere, and the monsters are truly thrilling!" Such rumors were exactly the kind of thing adventurers loved to spread.

Romon only needed Talia to spread the word once, and soon the news would explode.

Everyone knew that a new labyrinth would hold even more treasures, along with the potential for newly discovered alchemical materials, which could be sold to alchemists.

Considering the number of adventurers in Stone Town, it was likely not enough to conquer the labyrinth. Adventurers from further away, from larger cities, and those with greater skills, might come to try their luck as well.

"My lord, are you not going to increase your magic power?" Talia asked.

"We'll talk about that later, tonight perhaps. I'm starting to feel like a true lord, getting busier by the day."

First, the tribute for the king hadn't even been prepared to be loaded onto the wagon yet.

Second, another batch of knights had to be recruited. Setting up tolls was one part of the task, but as the flow of people increased, maintaining law and order also had to be reinforced.

Lastly, breakfast still hadn't been eaten.

...

Romon returned alone to the castle, where Lornis was already waiting anxiously.

"My lord, before you get busy with work, please take care of yourself first," Lornis said, not asking where he had been or what he had done, only expressing concern.

"What's for breakfast?"

"Meat pies and hot milk."

Romon washed his hands and sat down at his main seat. As soon as he sat down, he noticed a letter sealed with wax on the dining table.

It was clearly placed there by Lornis, and the wax seal bore the royal dragon crest.

"Has a messenger come?"

"No, it was a messenger hawk."

"That means the Royal Knights are coming in person." Romon's right hand slowly tapped the table as he pondered for a moment, then he broke the wax seal and opened the envelope.

Inside, there were only two brief lines.

The first line was a formal greeting.

The second line was the king's personal handwriting. He knew about Romon redeeming the great forest and, understanding the hardship of being a lord, had sent the Royal Knights to collect the taxes so Romon wouldn't have to endure the long journey.

To put it plainly: Where did you get the money from? Time for an audit!

Romon crumpled the letter into a ball and tossed it into the fire.

"My lord, I hope your troubles are as easily burned away as that letter."

Lornis said, deliberately lighting the fire in the stove. Based on his usual behavior, he predicted Romon would do exactly that, and he was right.

"It's fine. In the end, I'll still have to hand over that batch of goods. Let them come take it themselves, save me the travel costs," Romon replied.

"Exactly, my lord."

"Once we finish eating, have someone pile it up. There's no need to hide it. Dig out whatever we can and sell it before the Royal Knights return."

The large shipment of magic crystal ore heading to the Imperial Capital was something the guild master in Stone Town wouldn't want to see, and Romon didn't want to see it either.

He still owed 1950 gold coins for the land fee. Once he reached the Imperial Capital, he would unknowingly lose a large sum of money.

Romon cut open the meat pie with his dining knife and took a small triangular piece to taste.

At the same time, he opened the simulator to check Nini the beast-eared maid's location. Although the simulation rounds had reset, the basic movements were still visible.

At that moment. 

She had fully marked the great forest, and in the latest marking, a dog-like symbol made Romon furrow his brows.

Wild dog? Magic dog? Wolf?

But as he looked closer, he noticed the creature's neck was unusually long.

Romon focused his mind to zoom in on the map and saw that Nini was heading back, with a group of centaurs hot on her trail.

"Centaurs?"

Romon had previously suspected that the excessive goblin breeding must be linked to other races in the forest. He hadn't expected a group of centaurs to be hiding deep within the woods.

The leader of the centaurs was wielding a spear, shouting out racial slurs, and suddenly hurled it.

Nini barely dodged, and the spear embedded itself into an ancient tree, causing it to explode on impact.

Romon observed the general speed of movement, calculating the time based on distance.

He calmly finished his meat pie, drank a cup of hot milk, wiped his mouth, and then stood up. "Lornis, what do I need to be careful about when dealing with centaurs?"

"Centaurs? Don't stare at their lower bellies."

"Oh."

Romon descended the mountain.

By the time he reached the forest's edge, Nini, the cat-eared maid, was skillfully leading the group of centaurs toward him.

Facing the strong and towering centaurs, Romon did not back down. As a human lord, he stood at the forest's edge.

"Human?" one of the centaurs called out.

"I'm glad you speak human, Mr. Centaur. This land now belongs to the Thune family. You must have smelled the stench of goblin corpses in the forest. That's right, I ordered the execution of those creatures," Romon said.

Upon hearing this. 

The leader of the strong centaurs, standing nearly three meters tall on his four hooves, walked right up to Romon.

"A human lord? To me, you seem so weak. Do not stand in our way!" the centaur sneered.

Romon remained silent for two seconds before saying, "Attack."

At his words, Nini, who had been struggling just moments ago, immediately turned the tide. She drew the curved blade hidden at her waist, her movements swift like a shadow. Before anyone could react, she was already mounted on the centaur's back.

The curved blade was pressed firmly against his carotid artery.

"You?! You damn thief cat! You dare deceive us!" the centaur shouted in fury.

"Stop."

Just as the centaur's blood began to spill and his carotid artery was about to be cut, Romon intervened.

The terrified centaur's heart was racing, and even Romon could hear it. Finally, the centaur let out a relieved breath.

"Do I need to repeat myself? To my centaur friends here, this is Thune family's land. You either submit, or you die with the goblins."