Ch.118118. Forget It, Kid.

“Young master, it’s been such a long time. I haven’t seen you like this since the Pale Fruit incident.”

My first impression was that Castleton’s eyes were full of intelligence, but his dark circles reached down to his chin, likely from being consumed by studies.

Feeling somewhat guilty, I greeted him even more warmly.

“Oh! Right, I’ve heard news about you often from Federicks.”

“Is that so?”

“I heard you’ve been studying financial management very diligently?”

“I thought you had forgotten about me since you never called for me, young master.”

Yes, I had forgotten.

Can’t be helped.

With the monster wave approaching, crazy women hitting on me every other day, and my second brother hell-bent on killing me, I completely forgot about Castleton’s existence.

Thinking he might feel hurt if I were honest, I put on the most natural expression I could.

“I was waiting for you to be ready. I couldn’t give you work without proper preparation.”

“…I’ve been studying very hard too. To repay the debt I owe you, young master.”

This is making me feel guilty, isn’t it?

Castleton had collected investments from the villagers to obtain a succubus magic stone.

That was taken by Tras Cardrian, and I ended up absorbing it.

When you think about it, I didn’t repay his debt; it was practically his own money.

Well, I have no intention of confessing the whole truth about the incident even now.

Actually, this is beneficial for Castleton too.

Didn’t I provide him with room and board, and create the best environment for him to study?

Of course, I never intended to use him for free either.

Feeling awkward, I cleared my throat.

“Ahem! Forget about the debt. It was all settled with the Pale Fruit incident.”

“B-but…”

“From now on, think of it as us doing business together. I’ll compensate you fairly for your work.”

Castleton, despite his large build, began to sniffle.

He quickly wiped his tears with the back of his hand and gave me a solemn look.

“I will repay your kindness for the rest of my life, young master.”

“What kindness? You’re making me uncomfortable.”

“No! If it weren’t for you, I would have been beaten to death by the villagers as a con man.”

“Enough of that. Just do well with the tasks given to you from now on.”

“I will complete any mission you give me without fail.”

Satisfied with his firm stance, I opened my mouth.

“Then go meet the people who are butchering monsters in each territory.”

“…What?!”

“Go and get monster blood for free if possible, or buy it at a reasonable price if they demand payment.”

“You want me to buy monster blood…?”

I somewhat understood Castleton’s bewildered expression.

Currently, monster blood is considered useless trash.

While the hide can be used for clothing and the flesh can be used for food, the blood is just something inconvenient that gets spilled and discarded when slaughtering monsters.

However.

Soon, monster blood will be used as material for various research.

From poisons that can kill people to medicines and antidotes that can save lives.

Everything from monsters will become valuable.

That doesn’t mean the prices will skyrocket though.

Monsters are common creatures that appear in any territory.

So why am I collecting it?

Right now, I’m the only one who knows this fact, and currently, monster blood is considered worthless, so its price is essentially zero.

It’s like creating something from nothing.

You could also call it gathering dust to build a mountain.

Moreover.

In three months, Lake Territory will be hit by a massive monster wave.

In other words, if handled well, money will come pouring in.

“Most people will hand over monster blood for just a bit of pocket money, so it shouldn’t be too difficult, right?”

“How much monster blood should I collect?”

“As much as possible.”

“Are you sure it’s monster blood and not magic stones?”

“Yep, that’s right. I’ll assign a few mercenaries to help you, so go and collect as much as you can.”

Castleton opened and closed his mouth several times in confusion before finally speaking.

“Um, may I ask why you want me to collect monster blood?”

Indeed, is it natural for Castleton to have questions since this is his first time working with me?

It’s only natural to be curious.

I twirled my pen and tilted my chin.

“Castleton, are you curious?”

“Yes, very curious.”

I curled the corners of my mouth as much as possible toward Castleton, who was perking up his ears to hear my next words.

“Just do as you’re told.”

*

┗+1 Health has increased.

┗+1 Agility has increased.

━Charm skill has reached maximum level.

┗Hypnosis skill has been unlocked.

━Fireball has reached maximum level.

┗Flame Explosion skill has been unlocked.

‘Hypnosis and Flame Explosion skills…’

I was looking at my status window with satisfaction at the skills I had obtained after a long time when I saw Jawill Wilson running frantically from a distance.

“Y-young master! You have to go with me! Please don’t leave me behind!!”

“Why are you suddenly acting like this?”

“This is the Forest of Death, isn’t it?! The Forest of Death where people enter but never leave!!”

“It’s not like this is your first time here.”

“My legs tremble every time I come here. There are plenty of monsters elsewhere, so why do we always have to come here to hunt?”

A Black Hound lunged at Jawill Wilson from behind.

I extended my palm and then curled it.

“Flame Explosion.”

BOOM-!

The Black Hound was torn to shreds without a trace in a single, tremendous explosion.

This level of explosive power?

Jawill Wilson was so surprised that he covered his ears with his fingers and bent over.

“Kyaah!!”

“What kind of sound is that? I can’t collect the flesh and hide, so I shouldn’t use this except in dangerous situations.”

“W-what was that magic just now?”

“Fireball, evolved version, you could say.”

“I don’t know much about magic, but that seems incredible! When did you learn it?”

I was also surprised, to be honest.

Well, even the Fireball, which I thought was a low-level magic, has been useful all this time, so it makes sense that a spell obtained after increasing proficiency would be even stronger.

By the way.

I wonder what effect the Hypnosis skill, which I got after Charm, has?

This probably works on people too, right?

I gave Jawill Wilson a somewhat artificial smile.

“Jawill Wilson.”

“…Why are you looking at me like that? It’s making me nervous.”

“I got another skill too, but I haven’t had a chance to try it out.”

“Y-you’re not saying you’re going to use it on me, are you?”

“It’s fine, it won’t make you go ‘boom!’ like the magic I just used.”

“Wait, listen to me—”

“Hypnosis.”

When I spread my fingers and called out “Hypnosis,” Jawill Wilson’s eyes became unfocused.

At that moment, another Black Hound appeared from somewhere, about to pounce on Jawill Wilson.

Having discovered the monster too late after using my skill, I felt I wouldn’t be able to cut it down with my sword in time.

‘C-catch it.’

Before I could use magic, I urgently thought that he needed to catch it, and Jawill Wilson’s eyes changed as he drew his sword.

Then he turned around and separated the Black Hound’s head from its body in one strike.

“Holy…”

I had only thought it, but had the hypnosis activated?

Before I could be surprised, Jawill Wilson’s voice echoed throughout the Forest of Death.

“Did I just kill a Black Hound?!”

“Be quiet. Are you going to take responsibility if monsters swarm us because of you?”

“S-sorry. It’s just my first time killing a Black Hound…”

The hypnosis wore off faster than I expected, but if I increase my proficiency, could I use it like a buff spell?

If I could apply it to many people simultaneously, it could be an even more incredible skill.

I smirked with satisfaction at the result, and Jawill Wilson, having regained his senses, raised his voice.

“Did you really use a skill on me?!”

It seems the memory of me saying “Hypnosis” was erased from his mind.

I wondered if I should have used it without warning him first.

“Yep, I didn’t have anyone else to experiment on.”

“Using an untested skill on me… What would happen to my Lucien if something went wrong with me?!”

“Why would she be alone? Even without you, the two of us would live happily together.”

“O-our Lucien wouldn’t think that way!!”

I sighed briefly at Jawill Wilson’s words.

“Haa… Anyway, thanks to me, you got to kill a Black Hound, didn’t you?”

“…That’s true. But I really don’t like being a lab rat.”

“I just used a buff spell on you. If it were dangerous, do you think I would have used it on you?”

“Yes. Having observed you all this time, I’m quite certain you would.”

This bastard…

Usually clumsy, but he’s quite perceptive at times like this.

“I’m telling you I wouldn’t.”

“When we return to the family, I’m going to tell our Lucien exactly what you did to me today. I’ll tell her in detail what kind of person her father is!”

“Hypnosis.”

“…What?!”

I grinned at Jawill Wilson, whose eyes had once again lost focus.

‘Forget it, you little shit.’