episode_0039

There is a common saying, “iron rice bowl.”

It was a term referring to jobs that had extremely high job security and were unlikely to be cut.

This mainly applies to occupations such as civil servants, school staff, professors at private universities, and presidents.

Jobs where you don’t have to worry about being laid off unless the company goes under or the country splits in two.

Then, let me raise a question here.

What is the most lucrative job in the world?

‘Carrot Pata Warrior.’

One and only.

The only job in the world right now.

A calling given by a god who is higher than the emperor.

No matter how much you dislike it and how angry you are, you can never cut it off.

This was the corner I believed in, and thanks to it, I could act like shit.

“···Stop it.”

As they were blowing on the bottle like that, the emperor finally broke the silence and opened his mouth.

There was a hint of fatigue in his voice.

“As you said, I guess I’ll stop here with the formalities. Of course, there’s no need to make a bothersome speech. Everyone here knows that I’ll be receiving an award anyway. Thank you for your hard work, and from now on, enjoy the banquet.”

After saying that, he left the banquet hall in a hesitant manner. His expressionless appearance clearly showed that he was in a bad mood.

But what can I do?

What can you do about it if you feel bad?

What can I do other than curse inwardly and leave with a bad look on my face?

‘Yeah, I’m a warrior.’

Even if I am pushed aside in terms of power, I have the upper hand in terms of the firmness of my rice bowl. In fact, I have nothing to lose to.

And to begin with, the current emperor was not that powerful.

He was not a man of great courage to take losses and restore his dignity, and he did not have the ability to do so.

A tiger that is slowly retreating because its teeth are falling out.

The waning years are about to pass on power and slowly retire.

That’s what I thought of Maurice von Fieldor in the game. So this level of guestliness is okay.

Of course, just because he didn’t say anything directly, that didn’t mean the people around him stayed quiet.

“They say this year’s hero has a lot of problems···.”

“Really, I didn’t think you’d be that much of a loser···.”

A lot of talk.

I hear people gossiping about me nearby.

I thought I spoke softly, but the warrior’s body heard even that small voice.

Of course, I didn’t feel hurt or anything when I heard such gossip.

Instead, what the party members said was a bit painful…

“Huh, I thought something was ominous, but you were hiding your true colors. How rude.”

“How vulgar and vulgar.”

“Huh, you never know. That could be an act too.”

“Hero······.”

They all look at me with the same gaze and say something to me.

Feelings of irritation, disgust, and suspicion are directed at me.

Since we’ve been together for half a year and never showed anything like this, it seems like it’s impossible to avoid suspicious looks.

What was unusual was the saint’s gaze. She was looking at me with a somewhat pitiful look.

Although it is still a saint’s reaction that I don’t quite understand… it is still within the range of what I expected.

So I didn’t care about the gaze and blew the whistle diligently.

Gulp, gulp.

Before I knew it, a bottle of wine was almost empty.

Judging by the burning sensation in my throat, it must have been quite strong. I can feel the alcohol dripping down my stomach.

One, ironically, my body felt completely intoxicated.

It’s not that my body is particularly resistant to alcohol…

[The poison is neutralized!]

In a way, alcohol is also a type of poison.

As soon as it enters the body, the ‘toxicity tolerance’ neutralizes it, so there is no way you will get drunk.

Because of that, my appearance looked completely normal… but I had no intention of leaving myself like this.

Cast a small skill inside.

‘Blood flow acceleration.’

Acceleration of blood flow has many benefits.

There are so many effects, such as improved physical abilities, increased magic power efficiency, and increased reflexes, but…

The simplest effect, of course, is to simply return blood quickly.

I briefly directed the blood circulating in my body toward my face.

My face quickly turned red like a drunk person.

Okay. My mind is clear, but on the outside I look like I’m unconscious.

What does this mean?

I am now able to act more like a dog.

Since ancient times, alcohol has been a very effective way to turn people into beasts.

And people give animals some leniency. Our country’s laws have proven that.

“Bring me more alcohol!!”

So I acted like a dog for a while.

In a banquet hall with an old-fashioned atmosphere, they eat food in a voracious manner and even find another bottle of alcohol to down a shot.

“Ugh, this is what it tastes like. After months of fucking dried food and lukewarm water, eating a feast like this makes me feel alive!”

“Ugh···!”

“I, I···!”

He would sometimes tease us with his mouth a bit harshly.

Every time, I felt like the favorability ratings from people around me were dropping, but it didn’t matter.

‘anyway.’

For a moment, a coldness passed through my eyes.

‘These are guys who don’t need to look good.’

As I said last time, this game is a dark fantasy night game.

And as is often the case with dark fantasy, it wasn’t just the monsters that were bad.

This country is rotten to the core.

“How incredibly shallow.”

Said one of the nobles who throws orgies in his mansion every night.

“Your personality must be really trash.”

It was something said by a nobleman who had killed several slaves with a whip.

“I wonder if something like that can really save the poor people… tsk tsk···.”

These were the words of a nobleman who starved hundreds of his people to death through excessive taxation.

This was the reality of this country.

A place where everyone pretends to be noble and clean on the outside, but in reality, most of the nobles are corrupt and depraved.

The nobles who are supposed to rule the country only think about using their power to exploit others.

The Demon King has been resurrected and the world is in crisis, but everyone is busy satisfying their own desires.

That’s why there are so many poor people in the country and criminals are rampant.

So, these guys here, too, had to be replaced at some point.

“Haha, I rather like being honest!”

As I was thinking that, a person came near me.

Baron Belper.

He is known as a popular lord, but he is a piece of trash who always abuses his slaves at home.

“Nice to meet you. As expected of a warrior, you are very cheerful.”

He said that and reached out his hand to me. It was amazing how he could come to me with such a smile, even though he was clearly under a curse.

Indeed, he was a man who had dozens of snakes in his stomach.

I didn’t hold his hand, but instead took a sip of my drink and spoke.

“You have a really nice belly.”

Belper was a potbelly.

Perhaps because I was pointing out his complex, his eyebrows furrowed for a moment.

But that was only for a moment. Soon, he spoke with a kind smile.

“It’s fate that we met like this, so how about having a drink together?”

“Huh?”

I nodded.

“Good.”

Let’s hear what the hell he’s trying to say.

One thing we can be sure of is that he picked the wrong guy.

That’s how we started to create our masterpiece.

After a few drinks, the guy got to the point.

As expected, it was a business story.

“Come to think of it, wouldn’t it take a lot of money to do a warrior’s job? Well, I have a lot of money because my business is going well. If you need anything, just let me know.”

I will give you financial support.

“You can do that much for a big cause in the world. I only ask for one thing. How about you come visit my mansion every now and then, and meet up like this and work on a big project together? Because I like meeting people.”

Instead, how about becoming friends with me?

“Introducing my people by the way. Isn’t that how people live?”

And help them show off that friendship.

‘I’ll give you money and get influence.’

I am close to Yongsa. I have eaten with Yongsa and gone to the sauna with him. By showing off such things, I am increasing my political influence.

Even though he’s a loser, the warrior has his own uses.

My answer to this was:

“What are you saying?”

“Yes?”

“Why are you talking so long? So you’re giving me money?”

I don’t know.

“If you give me money, I should be grateful! So when and how much do you plan on giving me?”

“Don’t worry about that. I can give you whatever you want. But please try to talk to me whenever we meet···.”

“What? Why on earth do I have to do that? It’s annoying.”

“So you’re saying we should trade now!”

Boom bang.

He finally raised his voice as he pounded his chest as if he was frustrated. I took a sip of my drink and said.

“You keep saying boring things at drinking parties. Stop it. I don’t need the money, so get out now.”

It is a de facto ban on guests.

Since I’m going to have a lot of money anyway, I don’t really need the subsidy. It would have been better not to accept it if it would have increased the guy’s influence.

“Ugh···.”

After that, many people came to me.

A person who asks you to promote the potions in exchange for supporting the potions made in their territory.

A person who wants to buy a large quantity of monster debt and sign a direct equipment contract with himself.

Or even someone who brings a proper contract.

Of course I rejected them all.

“Don’t talk about difficult things like mutual supplementation or resource aid.”

“A contract? Why do I have to write something so annoying?”

“Can’t you have something better than this? It’s salty and delicious.”

Every time, those guys gave me the creeps.

“I, that ignorant···.”

“You were born lowly, so you don’t know manners or etiquette.”

“Why was that guy chosen as a warrior?”

Did you think I would be too drunk to hear you?

The gossiping voices were louder than before, but I took it as a green light.

‘Okay, ignore me some more.’

Underestimate more and let your guard down even more.

That way it will be easier for me to bite your throats.

After finishing the work that had somewhat lowered my favorability rating, I let out a small sigh.

“Phew.”

Okay. I think I’ve gotten the hang of it to some extent.

But still, the problem remained.

‘With this, I can’t even dream of my political influence…’

The point is that my network has been completely isolated.

I gained physical freedom by cutting everything off, but in return, there was no one left to politically control my speech.

The Dark Curtain route allows you to connect with people, even on the surface.

The guy’s problem is that he is very suspicious, but he has no social problems.

But the simple, ignorant, and slacker route was difficult.

It may be less suspicious, but it cannot do anything political.

And politics were very important in this game.

The happiness level of humanity must increase, so that the Demon King’s seal will be released less often.

I cut out what’s rotten, fix what needs to be fixed, and at the same time, I persuade the people around me.

To do all these things, power is ultimately essential.

So, the Mangnani route has a very fatal limitation in this regard···.

‘······.’

Fortunately, I didn’t do this without thinking about it.

Is it hard to gain power?

Then, you can just use someone else to swing it for you.

Or else, just create a partnership.

Of course, this also had strict conditions.

Someone who shares my views and is not as corrupt as other nobles.

At the same time, a guy who is strong enough to cooperate with me while I am under a curse. I need that guy.

As it turns out, there was one character like that.

“······.”

For a moment, my eyes are drawn to the very corner of the banquet hall.

Although the banquet hall was noisy with the conversations of all kinds of nobles, it felt particularly lonely and desolate.

Moreover, the woman sitting at that table had hunched shoulders and her eyes were constantly wandering around.

He definitely gave off the impression that he was feeling depressed and anxious.

At first glance, he may seem like a noble from a small family… but everyone is surprised when they realize his unique appearance that is characteristic of his bloodline.

Silver hair that sways and wavy, purple eyes that resemble amethyst. A tired-looking beauty that I’ve seen countless times in games.

The third princess of the empire.

Dayla von Fieldor.

She was the card I was trying to use.