Three Months Later 2

“With this latest deposit, your vault should now contain around 34,500 gold pieces. Disciple Han Doyun, this is my personal vault.”

“Pardon? But, how could that be…”

Doyun placed the items he wished to deposit on the counter.

Although still perplexed, the staff member accepted his items for the time being.

Soon after, Leona spoke up as she deposited her own items.

“Why don’t you look up the records on Disciple Han Doyun from around 5 months ago? It should help make sense of this.”

“Huh? Oh, yes… thank you…”

Still utterly clueless, she at least nodded gratefully, teary-eyed.

“The previous staff member really dropped the ball by not giving you a heads-up. Anyway, take a breather and stay strong!”

After consoling her, Leona scampered off to catch up with Doyun, who had nonchalantly strode away.

“Our junior really is something else, huh?”

Doyun didn’t respond.

Having grown quite jaded from constantly accompanying Doyun, his teammates were reminded anew of just how extraordinary he was.

Excluding the 10,000 gold deposit from his previous contract and the 20,000 gold from the Razvolnic ruins profits, Doyun had amassed a staggering nearly 4,000 gold pieces from the battlefield over just the past 3 months.

No matter how diligently one fought, earning that much was impossible unless one was a top-tier Hero-class expert. Even Heroes would struggle to match it.

It was a testament to Doyun’s immense stature as the Human Siege Weapon, repeatedly concluding sieges within a single day to push back frontlines, redrawing maps countless times.

Moreover, the reputation of Doyun and Leona’s team had skyrocketed endlessly, to the point where even ordinary civilians occasionally recognized Doyun’s name.

“Thanks to our junior, I got promoted to A-rank too. Now I get why Millaine calls him her lucky charm. Heh.”

“How long will I be the ‘junior’?”

“Once a junior, always a junior!”

During the recent evaluation, Leona, previously B-ranked, had been promoted to A-rank.

Although her skills were still lacking for A-rank, she had accumulated enough achievements accompanying Doyun to qualify.

“At this rate, you and I will be the same rank before long, won’t we?”

“It took me quite a while just to reach B-rank, so A-rank is still a long way off.”

“5 months is a long time?”

Doyun, previously C-ranked, had recently been promoted to B-rank, setting an unprecedented speed record for the World Tree since its founding.

His accomplishments already warranted A-rank, but once again, his short tenure had prompted Millaine to deliberately slow his advancement.

“I heard you have a meeting with Lord Treasurer Bylryn today?”

“It’s not a ‘meeting’… just seeing his face, is all.”

“Isn’t ‘just seeing his face’ for no particular reason even more remarkable? He’s the de facto ruler who seized power through a coup, and a current Hero to boot.”

“In any case, I have an appointment, so I’ll head in first.”

“Sure, sure. Our esteemed junior! Don’t forget about me just because you’ve become so successful! Always remember that!”

Doyun smiled wryly at Leona’s teasing before turning to leave.

However, the moment he was out of sight, her playful expression turned somewhat somber.

‘Hmph…’

And the perceptive Jillaine watched this unfold with a peculiar, mischievous gaze.

+++

The ‘Lord Treasurer Bylryn’ Leona had mentioned was Haineken.

Having succeeded in his heroic coup d’état, Haineken, now the Lord Treasurer of Bylryn, had come to meet with Doyun today.

“I really should have recruited you back then.”

Seated in the World Tree guild’s gardens, the two men sipped tea together.

“You seem to bring that up every time we meet.”

“How about the position of Pantheon sub-guild leader? I can offer it to you within 5 years.”

“My stock has risen, yet you lower your offer. Wasn’t it a crown the last time?”

“You brat, if only you had accepted when your stock was still low.”

With his schedule now relatively free, Haineken and Leah frequently visited the World Tree.

Leah’s official reason was to see her ancestral Dragon Lord, but Doyun knew she really came to visit her egg and himself.

As a result, the Skeletonia Palace often found itself scrambling to provide impromptu state guest treatment due to the influx of visiting Heroes.

“Don’t you find the current Hero King candidates unsatisfactory?”

“They’re talented fellows, but at my age, teaching disciples is exhausting… And my Master has been too busy to assist me.”

Haineken frowned deeply, creasing the thick wrinkles on his face.

“Well… at least Lord Brudhild has been helping, so I can breathe a little easier.”

“Lord Brudhild?”

“Yes. His swordsmanship has been advancing at an unbelievable pace recently. It truly astounded me – such growth at that age… truly befitting the direct disciple of the Sword Emperor.”

Doyun struggled to suppress an inward smile, washing it down with his tea.

Thanks to Doyun’s guidance, Brudhild had finally begun infusing traces of the Manifest Sword into his swordsmanship, bit by bit.

To see the fruits of his direct tutelage so visibly recognized filled Doyun with immense pride.

What seemed like minuscule progress to Doyun was apparently an astonishing achievement in others’ eyes, simply infusing that level of the Manifest Sword.

“Lord Brudhild may have solidly secured the third strongest position among the Heroes by martial might alone.”

‘There’s still much room for improvement.’

Doyun held back those words.

And simultaneously, he evaluated Haineken’s statement.

‘The third strongest would be you, Lord Haineken.’

Doyun recalled his conversation with Brudhild.

‘Where do you rank in strength on this continent?’

‘Excluding my uncle… perhaps fourth?’

‘Weaker than the Lion King and Sword Saint? Then who is third?’

‘The Lion King, Sword Saint, and Haineken. It’s difficult to differentiate the top three.’

‘…Haineken? What nonsense. You’re far stronger than Haineken.’

As he reminisced, Doyun activated his First Guild Master trait to view Haineken’s skills.

‘Haineken. By his own martial might alone, he is merely in the middle ranks among Heroes. However… along with the Sword Saint and Lion King, he is one of the only three who can contend with Legion Commanders outside the Holy Stones.’

‘Outside the Holy Stones? No, absolutely impossible. Even at your level, let alone his, it’s unthinkable.’

‘It’s thanks to Haineken’s unique skill.’

[Dragon Tiger Clash]

Lv.- Rate.A

Temporarily grants you martial prowess equal to your chosen opponent.

Doyun was amazed.

Legion Commanders were overwhelmingly stronger than Heroes.

Individual Heroes could at best contend with Legion Commanders within the Holy Stones, and even then, victory was uncertain.

Outside the Holy Stones? Undoubtedly, even Brudhild wouldn’t dare challenge a Legion Commander. Likely only the Sword Saint and Lion King could face them.

100 years ago as well, only Enoch, Hecleus, and Buske – just three individuals – could battle Legion Commanders.

Yet within this martial hierarchy, Haineken’s skill was truly extraordinary.

Depending on the situation, it could potentially make him the strongest among Heroes.

“Where would you place Leah, around fifth?”

“Don’t flatter that brat. With your abilities, you should be able to gauge her strength accurately.”

“Is there any Hero weaker than Leah?”

“No. She’s the weakest.”

Doyun nodded in understanding.

As the youngest Hero, Leah possessed the highest average stats among current Disciples thanks to her overwhelmingly superior bloodline – three Level 7s and two Level 8s, an astounding statline.

However, the martial arts prowess Doyun had witnessed from her was utterly disappointing.

“Such a pity, wasting that raw gem.”

“A difficult gem that only my Master can properly refine. But he’s been too busy lately.”

Sipping his tea, Doyun’s eyes hardened with resolve.

‘Perhaps…’

As her former tutor who would undoubtedly rank second on the continent, he seemed to comprehend the ‘Leah Refinement Method’ known only to the Vagabond Hero.

And it was possible that he could provide some assistance in that regard.

“But speaking of which.”

Haineken set down his teacup firmly.

“Are you truly not considering that woman for succession?”

“…How many times have you asked me this now?”

The ‘woman’ Haineken referred to was the one he had mentioned when scouting Doyun at the Cradle – a woman distantly in line for the Bylryn throne’s succession, yet possessing legitimate claims.

‘He did say she had large breasts…’

But Haineken’s insistence on repeatedly recommending her was perplexing.

“Wasn’t the purpose to elevate the throne’s legitimacy by marrying her to the future Hero King candidate?”

“There are always other ways to achieve that. I simply wish to introduce my cherished junior to a fine woman.”

“I see.”

Shaking his head, Doyun sipped his tea.

While Haineken’s persistent proposal of such an unreasonable option seemed odd, Doyun didn’t pry further, sensing his reluctance to divulge more.

‘He’ll tell me eventually, I suppose.’

Doyun didn’t dwell on it.

“Well, just give it some thought.”

“I shall think it over.”

“Cheeky brat.”

Haineken frowned in disapproval.

“The air is so pleasant here that I’ll let it slide. It’s like the air gets better every time I visit this place.”

“Visitors always say that, but is the air really that nice?”

“For some reason, just stepping onto the World Tree grounds provides a sense of mental and physical calm. I really like it here.”

“How could a developed city’s air be that good…”

Unable to make sense of it, Doyun could only tilt his head quizzically.

“Who knows. Ah, it’s gotten quite late. I should get going.”

“Thank you for your time despite your busy schedule. I shall visit you next time.”

“Please do. No need to see me off. Take care.”

Haineken rose and strode towards the awaiting carriage.

Although he had departed rather abruptly, Doyun didn’t feel slighted.

That the exceedingly busy ruler of a nation would deliberately meet with Doyun periodically was already a sign of how highly he regarded him.

‘The air is nice…?’

Puzzled by Haineken’s remark, Doyun tilted his head in bewilderment.

+++

In the VIP suite of the World Tree House, now Tiamat’s residence, the graceful, long-haired dragoness in her mature human form savored a cup of tea.

“Mmm…”

With the window open, she let out a contented sigh, soothed by the fresh air and dense life force wafting in from outside.

“The air is quite nice, isn’t it, my child?”

In one corner, a cozy, miniature nest.

The massive egg within seemed to twitch ever so slightly in response to its mother’s words.

Greatly satisfied by the changes occurring on the guild grounds, Tiamat murmured,

“It’s truly an excellent place for you to grow up. Your mother has made at least one good friend here.”

A gentle smile gracing her elegant features, she sipped her tea gracefully.

Meanwhile, outside the window on the first floor…

“Hm?”

The guild’s gardener approached a flower blooming at the corner of the building.

“Oh my, how beautiful…!”

Amidst the artificial environment, the mysterious flower that had sprouted possessed an ethereal, shimmering crimson radiance.

‘It seems like a wildflower, but I don’t recall such a variety existing here…’

Puzzled by the unfamiliar bloom, she tilted her head quizzically.

+++

“…You’re saying a spirit herb sprouted in our guild gardens?”

“Yes. A high-quality low-grade spirit herb, the ‘Crimson Bloom.'”

Millaine doubted her own ears at the unexpected report.