FTA Ch 18

<Chapter 18>

 

* * *

 

Time passed quickly, like an arrow.

It had already been a month since Gloria and Leonard arrived at the Baron Romenta’s castle.

As usual, Gloria slept soundly and woke up today.

Afterwards, she spent a long time lounging in bed, rolling around without any particular thought in her mind.

It turned out that lazily rolling around on the bed was far more pleasant than she’d expected.

But perhaps it was because of the disciplined habits she’d maintained until now.

Her body began to itch with restlessness.

Before leaving the Marquis estate, Gloria had gotten used to waking up early every day when there wasn’t a monster hunt.

She would run a few laps around the training ground from dawn, have a meal, and then spar with the knights.

When participating in a monster hunt, things were even more intense.

In those situations, she had to stay constantly on high alert, cutting down countless monsters without rest.

And after every hunt, she had to offer blood to the members of the hunting team as well.

Looking back now, it seemed like she had lived a life filled with daily struggles.

It was almost hard to believe how she had endured it.

 

‘I won’t live like that again.’

 

Recently, Gloria had been leading a very lazy lifestyle.

She followed her instincts: eating when hungry, sleeping when tired, and going out to swing her mace when her body felt stiff.

She also made sure to buy Leonard whatever he needed, feed him, dress him, and take care of him as his health steadily improved.

Though she considered her days to be lazy, she still filled each day meaningfully.

And then there was Leonard.

He was an easy person to live with.

He was relatively quiet, never causing trouble, and a good companion for conversation when bored.

His handsome face made for a nice sight, and his deep, resonant voice was pleasant to hear.

Most importantly, Leonard had been meeting Gloria’s expectations.

He had nearly fully recovered his health and showed no signs of neglecting his swordsmanship training.

 

‘I was right to choose him.’

 

Now it was time to move on to the next plan.

Without hesitation, Gloria sprang out of bed and stood up.

At that moment, Leonard, who had been reading a book, spoke up in a soft voice.

 

“Where are you suddenly going?”

 

Gloria glanced back without a word.

Leonard closed the book, got up, and walked over to Gloria.

She gave Leonard a once-over, taking in the sight of him dressed in clothes she’d bought for him.

Thanks to his natural good looks, Leonard looked good in any outfit.

It was rewarding to dress him up.

 

“I think it’s time to start making some money.” Gloria said.

“Making money?” Leonard asked.

“Yeah.”

 

The Baron Romenta’s castle, where Gloria and Leonard were living, was a castle that Gloria had bought.

She had spent more than she expected on the purchase.

At first, she had intended to buy a modest house, but she couldn’t resist buying the castle when it was offered at a low price.

Of course, she didn’t regret her decision.

Regardless of the price, she genuinely liked the large castle.

It was the perfect place for a fresh start.

“I need to save a lot of money so I can invest more in you.” Gloria said.

“…”

 

And with more money, she could buy the people from the temple.

Gloria nodded, thinking about her fourth plan: ‘Buy the priestess’.

Then Leonard who had been looking at her with a surprised expression.

He blinked rapidly and standing frozen for a moment before urgently grabbing his sword.

 

“I’ll go practice swordsmanship in the courtyard.”

“Okay.”

 

Although Leonard’s hurried exit from the room seemed a bit odd, Gloria didn’t pay it much attention.

There was a more important issue she needed to focus on.

Leonard’s old friends would be arriving soon.

They were noble families that had supported Leonard when he was still a prince.

Though now, like Leonard, they had fallen from grace and were in poor circumstances.

Still, they might become useful allies in the future.

Most importantly, these were people who were meeting Leonard again after a long time, so Gloria needed to prepare ahead of time.

 

‘I can’t manage a grand banquet, but I should prepare a dinner for them.’

 

Gloria opened the large bag she had carelessly thrown on the floor.

The bag was filled with gold coins.

 

‘A saint blessed by the gods must offer her abilities to everyone, without expecting any compensation.’

Due to this absurd logic, Gloria had lived as the child of prophecy without receiving any compensation for her sacrifices.

Privately, she couldn’t even own a single coin.

But Gloria had found her own way.

She began killing monsters and selling their corpses to the guild.

Through this method, she had secretly amassed a small fortune in gold coins.

She dreamed of a future golden escape.

Feeling a sense of pride, Gloria stared into the bag for a while before taking a few gold coins from it and tucking them away.

Then she grabbed the mace she had leaned against the wall and headed outside the castle.

 

* * *

 

Gloria spotted someone standing beyond the dense bushes surrounding the castle.

He had jet black hair, as dark as the sky at night when the moon and stars were absent.

Gloria immediately recognized him.

 

“Claude Rishienders.”

 

At Gloria’s call, he curved his eyes into a smile.

His gaze lighting up.

Gloria opened the castle gates and stepped outside to approach him.

 

“Miss Gloria.”

 

For a moment, Claude seemed flustered upon seeing Gloria, his hair partly covering her forehead.

But it was brief.

Claude didn’t say a word, he just smiled faintly and keeping his lips tightly sealed.

Gloria noticed Claude’s gaze on her, but she didn’t say anything in return.

Before long, his eyes shifted to the mace she was holding.

The mace Gloria favored had a round head, with vicious, sharp spikes protruding from it.

In fact, it was a “Morningstar” weapon.

 

“You said you were stepping away from the monster hunts, didn’t you?” Claude asked.

“Yeah, that’s right.” Gloria replied.

 

Gloria smiled awkwardly and lightly swung the mace though it wasn’t really something that could be swung lightly.

 

“Well, you’ve got to make a living somehow.” Gloria answered.

“Oh, so that’s the reason.” Claude said.

 

Claude nodded in understanding as he listened to Gloria.

Monster corpses were worth a lot of money.

From head to toe, from the outer skin to the inner flesh, nothing was useless.

Moreover, if the monster had mana while alive, the value was even greater since the mana could be extracted and used for various purposes.

Gloria had been secretly selling monster corpses to avoid the eyes of the royal family and the temple, accumulating money in the process.

And the ‘business partner’ she dealt with every time was the man standing in front of her ‘Claude’.

Claude whose last name ‘Rishienders’ was as peculiar as his refined appearance.

He had lived in back alleys before miraculously founding and succeeding with a guild…

 

‘I’m not so sure if that’s entirely true.’

 

That’s because there were parts of him that didn’t quite fit the back alley story.

It wasn’t just because of his stunning beauty.

From his refined behavior to his oddly haughty attitude.

he had an air about him that made him seem even more noble than any aristocrat.

After spending over ten years among the children of prestigious noble families, Gloria could tell.

She was almost certain that he was hiding his true identity.

But she didn’t voice this thought out loud.

Whatever his reasons were for hiding his background, it had nothing to do with her.

As long as he paid her the right amount for the monster corpses, she didn’t care about anything else.

Their relationship was based on business needs, after all.

And he was an excellent business partner.

He was efficient with his calculations and handling of matters and had never caused unnecessary trouble.

If she provided him with monster corpses, he paid her for them.

It was a simple, straightforward transaction that had been going on for five years now.

Gloria was very pleased with the way he handled things without ever being a bother.

It was nothing like her experience with the members of the first monster-hunting division, who had made her life miserable for a long time.

 

“I was actually on my way to meet you, but here you are coming to find me instead.” Gloria said.

 

It was the same now.

She was happy that he had appeared as soon as she decided to go looking for him.

It saved her from the trouble of taking a long trip.

 

“What brings you here?” Gloria said.

 

Gloria smiled faintly and asked about his business.

For a brief moment, Claude appeared slightly surprised as he looked at her.

Then, his eyes curved into a crescent smile.

 

“I’ve decorated the castle as per your request. I came to check if there’s anything you’re unsatisfied with.” Claude explained.

“I like it.”

 

Gloria replied immediately without much hesitation.

 

“It’s exactly as I imagined.” Gloria said.

“I’m glad to hear that.”

 

In that moment, Claude’s smile grew even wider.