RD | Chapter 26

A priest with a bright red face staggered out.

“Where’s the sick one? The sick one…? Oh, Lord Ian!”

Contacca didn’t trust this priest who seemed like an alcoholic at all, but he appeared to be the only priest in this village. Knowing the patient was Ian, he walked over as fast as he could, knelt before the stone, and began trying to heal.

While he failed at healing several times, people were hugging Sema, saying things like ‘Welcome back’, ‘Even if Sema is incompetent, he’s indispensable to the village.’

“And who might these be…?”

People finally reacted to Contacca and Momisia, their looks filled only with suspicion, which surprised Contacca again.

“Ah! I forgot to introduce them. This is Mr. Contacca who helped me. And this is Momisia.”

“Are they father and daughter?”

“What nonsense, they don’t look alike at all.” People whispered among themselves.

Sema added, “Lord Ian accepted them as subordinates.”

“Even this little girl!?”

“Momisia isn’t a little girl.”

“I see.”

“Momisia, would you like some strawberries? They’re sweet and delicious.”

“I’d like some.”

Momisia blushed, and some people went back to the cave to fetch strawberries.

“Hmm…”

Ian regained consciousness. The chattering people fell silent, waiting for him. As he opened his eyes, the slight anxiety on their faces lifted.

“Lord Ian! You’re awake!”

“Thank you for saving Lord Sema!”

“Quiet… Why is everyone here instead of working?”

“Lord Ian must be fully recovered!”

Sema was happy at Ian’s irritation and got a kick in the shin for it.

“It’s because of you I collapsed, because of you! What’s all this fuss about? Everyone, go back to work.”

People grumbled as they went back in. Sema, rubbing his sore spot, muttered, “Lord Ian is too violent.”

“Even though you came to rescue me… Ouch!”

He gave a sheepish grin and got another hit.

“Momisia, have some strawberries.”

“Strawberries!”

A farmer brought a basket of strawberries. Momisia tried to take the basket with both arms, but Contacca, who was holding her, took it instead. The farmer seemed to know Contacca was a werewolf due to his enormous size but didn’t show much alarm, just a flinch.

Louise, who was said to be a boy from the ‘Traitor Clan’, spoke up. “I was also accepted as a subordinate here. So there’s no need to be surprised that Contacca and Momisia are accepted.”

“I see.”

Ian, having snatched the liquor bottle from the priest and tucked it into his own clothes, called to them. “Follow me! I’ll give you a tour of the village.”

“Lord Ian, give it back!”

“No way. If you don’t want to die of acute alcohol poisoning, don’t drink today.”

“You’ll give it back tomorrow, right?!”

“We’ll see.”

Ignoring the priest’s whining, they entered the cave. Momisia trembled a little, reminded of the prison when they went into the darkness, but she quickly composed herself, thanks to the torches lit on both sides of the cave.

“This is the trap zone, so be careful.”

“This area is for luring enemies in.”

“This is where we ambush.”

“This spot is ideal for overseeing the whole layout; it would be good to station guards here.”

The cave was structured with rooms, each serving a specific purpose, and Ian explained their uses one by one.

Contacca suddenly got goosebumps. This entire cave was one giant trap. No one would leave here unscathed.

“And this is the living area. Momisia will mostly stay here.”

“What about you, sir?”

Realizing Ian’s status, Momisia spoke to him respectfully. Ian glanced at her and replied,

“You’ll have to be part of our fighting force when needed. That’s why you came along, right?”

Momisia looked scared and clung to Contacca tightly, as if she wouldn’t let go. Contacca patted her head, causing her red hood to flip back from his clumsy strength. Soon, Momisia relaxed her grip.

Ian continued walking without paying much attention.

“And this is the farming area. The thing in the middle is the .”

“Oh…”

Both Contacca and Momisia sighed unintentionally. The tree called the was still small, insignificant for such a grand name.

Yet, it was radiating a brilliant light. From its roots to its branches, everything shone like it was made of gold.

“It’s beautiful…” Momisia murmured.

People were working around the World Tree.

‘What are they doing beside such a sacred tree?’

Shouldn’t such a tree be in a shrine, revered with a pious heart? Contacca found it absurd, yet there was something strangely not out of place about this scene of manure-scented agriculture.

This cave, this village, was truly unique. “How do you like it?”

Ian asked. Contacca turned his head to look at him in response.

With bandages wrapped around his neck and a pale complexion, Ian still looked oddly strong. His youthful face belied his piercing eyes that seemed to see through people, making everyone feel his strength.

He was someone who would definitely keep his word.

“We’ll be safe here.”

That sounded like safety in every sense. Safe from discrimination and pain.

Contacca’s chest warmed. He wanted to hug Momisia again, but he was already holding her.

Momisia nodded, clutching Contacca’s clothes, her mouth stained red with strawberry juice. She looked adorable, like a daughter he never dared to hope for.

He rubbed his hair against Momisia’s and answered Ian,

“We might be able to live a normal life here.”

He accepted Ian as his master.

Ding!
[Contacca recognizes you as his master.]
[Loyalty: 60%]

Ding!
[People think of you as a benevolent ruler.]

Ding!
[Character]
‘Tyrant’ Ian (★★★★☆)

Reputation
Tyrant, Frail, Strategist, Mentally Unstable, Bastard, Womanizer, Extravagant, Aesthete, Benevolent Ruler(+NEW)

Skills
Purification: LV.5
Horsemanship: LV.1
Archery: LV.2

‘Not bad for an improved reputation…’

But why is the order like this?

Ian was somewhat displeased.

Ian spent some time recuperating to fill his HP. He had no means to restore his health other than the priest’s heal, which wasn’t very efficient, so he had to rely on natural recovery as much as possible.

When he finally opened his eyes after a few days, the system window greeted him with good news.

[The level of the World Tree has increased.]
[World Tree LV.2 → LV.3]
[The maximum number of people the dungeon can accommodate increases.]

‘Nice.’

Ian clenched his fist but then realized there wasn’t much to celebrate.

It’s good that the World Tree grew, enabling dungeon expansion, but where would he get more people?

‘Encouraging people to have children…’ Ian looked at the people working hard, sweating.

They were all men.

The king was one for efficiency and had left all those without the strength to defend themselves in the castle when he fled.

From Ian’s perspective, having such an idiot as king was that country’s tragedy. Of course, the reason such an idiot was king was because the developers were idiots, putting in all sorts of mechanisms to nerf the main character.

After internally cursing the game company for about five minutes as usual, Ian thought,

‘If I bring people from the village, there’ll be a riot.’

The Traitor Village has low loyalty. Since he already had a reputation as a tyrant, there was no need to give the Traitor Village a reason to truly betray him. It would lead to an ending where he gets his head chopped off.

Ian touched his chin. ‘So, that’s it then.’

There was a traditional method.

‘Recruitment!’

Fortunately, they had just acquired an enchanter.

The population growth project, ‘Public Recruitment’, now had a 99% chance of going unnoticed.

“Momisia.”

“Yes, no, I mean, yes?”

Momisia turned her head, strawberries in her mouth.

“Lord Ian! Are you all better? Sema said not to get close because you’re still recovering.”

“Ah, did Sema say that?”

“Yes. He said it’s contagious.”

“Right…”

Ian planned to hit Sema later and sat in front of Momisia.

‘Status window.’

Ding!

[Character]
‘Witch’ Momisia (★★★★☆)

Reputation
Witch, Enchanter, Clever

Skills
Enchant: LV.5
Craft: LV.5
Appraisal: LV.5
⁝

Ian was filled with a sense of happiness.

“Momisia. Would you like to try to create something?”

“What?”