Chapter 172: An Enjoyable Job
When the Royal Knights stormed the mansion, most of the knights and guards surrendered. However, a small group made a desperate stand at the entrance to the basement.
Since they had defied the kingdom and the royal family, they knew leniency was impossible—so they fought with the resolve to die.
At Battalion Commander Zainfelt’s request, I tossed a [Whirlwind!] into the basement entrance…
It kicked up so much dust that everyone fled, and I ended up having to create a narrow [Tornado!] to ventilate the place.
By the time the dust was cleared, the bodies of those who had been spun around for three full minutes lay scattered, and many others, covered head to toe in dust, surrendered in miserable condition.
We ignored the ones who fled and focused on identifying the captured individuals.
Once things settled down, I got curious about Vincens’ mansion in Jewelron, so I flew over to check.
The place was now heavily guarded, calm and under control. A knight approached and saluted me, and on my way to see Captain Josefane, I dispelled the magic dome.
“Leon, how did things go over there?”
“Alphonse, the fourth son, resisted a bit, but it’s all taken care of.”
“I see… feels like we got the short end of the stick.”
“Not at all. You fulfilled your role perfectly—and it led to the downfall… or rather self-destruction, of the Langueille ducal family. That’s a great result.”
With that, the mission was complete. Next, I figured I’d report back—and maybe ask for permission to do a little treasure hunting.
I descended below Chancellor Brighton’s office, adjusted the wind slightly, rang the bell, and landed.
I’d gotten pretty used to this by now—maybe a bit too casual.
Entering the office, I handed over the jester outfit and the royal flag to Marginus and gave my report.
“Chancellor Brighton, the Langueille estate has been successfully secured. Reinforcements arrived at Vincens’ residence in Jewelron as well, so the mission is complete.”
“Ah, thank you. Thanks to you, we’ve managed somehow.”
“Managed somehow?”
“Well… some information leaked, and in several places the people who were supposed to make the arrests fled before carrying out their orders. Even so, we secured the major targets, so the organization should be effectively destroyed. I’ll report to His Majesty—wait here.”
So they couldn’t wipe everything out completely, huh.
Well, a world without crime doesn’t exist anyway. If things stay quiet for a while, that’s good enough.
A knock came at the door.
“His Majesty requests your presence, Sir Leon.”
“Again? The job’s done—I don’t see why I need to meet the king…”
“If you’ve been summoned, it must be important.”
Reluctantly, I followed.
“Leon, I hear the mission concluded successfully.”
“There was some resistance from the fourth son, Alphonse, but it’s handled.”
“Good. You’ll hear about your reward later from Brighton. Now then—do you have anything you desire as a reward?”
“Anything?”
“Within reason.”
“Then first… I’d like permission to explore the wine cellars of the Langueille Duke’s estate and the Romberg Marquis’ estate.”
“…Wine cellars?”
“Yes. I’ve earned plenty of money, but as an adventurer, collecting fine alcohol is difficult.”
The king turned away, coughing slightly.
“And the second request?”
“I recently obtained a large snake, but bringing it to the Adventurers’ Guild would cause a stir.
If I provide half the meat, could the royal household request the guild to process it?”
The king and chancellor exchanged glances.
“…Is it large?”
“Green-patterned. About 15–16 meters long, maybe 40 cm thick.”
“That’s a rare specimen. The hide is valuable, and the meat is said to be excellent.”
“I can’t handle it alone, and I’d like the meat without drawing attention.”
“Very well. You may take as much wine as you like—Brighton will issue a permit.
And show me this snake.”
They brought in a Storage Magic user, and we moved to a courtyard to present it.
“Remarkable… I’ve never seen one this large.”
“Where did you find it?”
“About twelve or thirteen days into the forest north of Roxanne.”
The king examined it carefully before having it stored.
“When can I collect the meat?”
“In ten days. Come to my office.”
With permission in hand, I returned to the Langueille estate.
“Leon, what brings you here?”
“Just some business. I have authorization from the chancellor.”
I handed over the document granting free access to the wine cellar.
As soon as Zainfelt read it, he froze—then his shoulders started shaking.
“Could you guide me to the cellar? And lend me a carpenter?”
“Of course. Enjoy yourself.”
Inside the cellar, rows upon rows of fine alcohol lined the shelves.
An older man arrived, and I showed him a wooden crate from my Magic Bag, asking him to make over 40 of them. I slipped him five silver coins, and he eagerly agreed.
While waiting, I began exploring.
Starting with the varieties that had fewer bottles, I appraised them and packed every bottle of the superior-looking kinds into crates, leaving none behind.
Poison wine was displayed prominently here too.
Seven of them.
At this point, I was convinced that poison wine was just part of noble culture.
By the time I got bored of packing, over 30 crates had vanished into my Magic Bag.
The worker watching me looked envious, so I handed him two bottles.
“Commander Zainfelt, a small token of thanks.”
I placed a crate in front of him.
His surprised expression quickly turned into a grin.
“Heading back to the capital?”
“Not yet—one more stop.”
I showed him the second permit.
He burst out laughing.
“Going bar-hopping between noble estates, are you?”
“Not at all. As an adventurer, chances like this don’t come often—and alcohol doesn’t spoil.”
After thanking him, I set off toward Moorian.
But before reaching the town, I stopped in the plains to camp for the night.
Even for someone who likes alcohol…
Packing crates twice in one day is exhausting.