Chapter 84: The Price of Nobility

A sudden windfall of 300,000 gold had fallen into my hands.

Since I had obtained it by impersonating the Magic Tower, if the deception were discovered, things wouldn’t end well for me.

Simply pocketing the gold without a plan was too risky.

There was no telling what Kopman, still attached to the money, might do in the background.

Of course, it was also possible that the people who received this money instead of me would become targets of retaliation.

One might think a noble wouldn’t stoop so low, but I knew better—people could be far more despicable than one might imagine.

As I rode toward the capital with my Nightmare pulling the cart, my concerns about the gold continued to weigh on my mind.

“Working hard even late at night, I see!”

A guard’s voice broke through my thoughts.

Since I frequently turned in captured bandits to the guard station, most of the city guards recognized me by now.

This particular guard tilted his head curiously at the cart my Nightmare was pulling.

“What’s with the cart?”

“Oh… this?”

The guard approached the cart without hesitation, and only then did I remember something important—I had completely forgotten that bringing a large quantity of goods into the capital required an inspection process.

Of course, a suitable bribe would let me bypass the tedious procedures, but I chose not to resort to that.

Instead, my mind cleared as I thought of a way to handle this money cleanly.

After parting ways with Seris, Kopman returned to the luxurious inn where he was staying and let out a deep sigh.

He had come here after hearing rumors of a Hyland-breed horse being in the area, but his plans had fallen apart.

On top of that, all the money he had prepared was gone.

The despair and sense of loss Kopman felt were indescribable.

He had been confident that he could obtain it.

He had expected to negotiate on equal terms, finalize the deal, and return to his territory in high spirits.

But it had all been a mere pipe dream.

The immense power of the Magic Tower had suddenly appeared and crushed Kopman completely, forcing him into a desperate choice for his survival.

“Why the hell… was a magician acting as a swordsman?!”

Kopman slammed his massive fist down on the table, shattering the wooden surface in two.

Yet even that did nothing to quell his rage.

He continued to drink, drowning himself in wine in an attempt to smother the fire burning inside him.

As empty bottles piled up at his feet, the sun rose and set over and over.

Drunk and lost in hazy delusions, Kopman found himself kneeling before the feet of a small girl again and again.

Alcohol, greed, and regret swirled together in his mind.

Since the Magic Tower was an insurmountable obstacle, it was only natural for Kopman to start looking elsewhere.

Wiping the drool from his lips, he gazed out the window.

Beyond his blurry vision, the bright moonlight illuminated his room.

Shaking off the lingering drunkenness, Kopman staggered out of his room. But his vision remained unfocused.

“C-Kopman, sir…?”

“Hah…”

He looked down at his subordinates, who stared up at him nervously.

Gripping his throbbing head, he spoke.

“Find out… where my money went.”

“…What?”

“My money! Go get it back!”

His incoherent orders made his soldiers exchange uneasy glances.

They had no choice but to obey their lord, but the problem was who had taken the money.

“But, sir… the magician—”

Smack!

One soldier cautiously opened his mouth, but Kopman silenced him with a punch.

Then, he bellowed.

“Shut up! Never, ever mention that incident again!”

Kopman shouted with a pale, ashen face.

Before they parted ways, the girl named Seris had spoken to him—she didn’t want her true identity revealed.

She had deliberately disguised herself as a swordsman instead of a magician while operating in this region.

If Seris’s identity were to be exposed, those who knew her secret—including Kopman himself—would be in serious danger.

Kopman feared Seris.

And more than that, he feared the power behind her—the Magic Tower.

Yet, despite that, he still wanted his money back.

So, he came up with a plan.

“…Retrieve the gold used by that magician—no, the fairy swordsman.”

“But…”

“Are you planning to let your families starve back home? If you don’t get that money back…”

Kopman left the rest unsaid.

The soldiers, faces pale with fear, nodded.

“Hurry up and find it! Mobilize all our forces!”

After sending out his men, Kopman returned to his room and slumped into a chair, resuming his drinking.

One by one, the bottles stacked up as his vision grew dim.

By the time the sun had begun its descent, his soldiers returned.

Seeing them, Kopman brightened and got up from his seat.

“Well? Did you find it?”

“Y-Yes… We did, but…”

“How much?! How much did you recover?”

“The full 300,000 gold…”

“I see. It hasn’t fallen into the hands of other nobles, has it?”

“No. It all ended up with the commoners…”

Hearing this, Kopman sighed in relief.

If commoners had taken the money, reclaiming it would be easy.

There would be some complaints, but with his noble status, he could easily pressure them into returning it.

Of course, he wouldn’t be able to recover the full amount—he would need to offer hefty bribes to the higher-ups.

But that was fine.

Staggering toward his soldiers, Kopman ordered, “What are you waiting for?! Go get my money! Use my name to take it all back!”

Yet, the soldiers hesitated.

They exchanged troubled glances, reluctant to act.

Growing impatient, Kopman grabbed the nearest soldier by the collar.

“What are you waiting for?!”

“W-Well… You should see for yourself…”

“…See for myself? Me?”

“Yes…”

“Hah, fine.”

In the end, Kopman had no choice but to drag his drunken body along, following his soldiers.

He hastily changed into a less disheveled outfit and donned the full plate armor lying on the floor.

Kopman and his soldiers arrived at the Temple of Elune, the Moon Goddess.

He was bewildered—this was entirely unexpected.

“This place is…?”

The strangeness didn’t end there.

The Elune followers wandering around noticed Kopman and broke into radiant smiles, bowing their heads in prayer.

“T-This is…”

At that moment, a priest clad in pristine white robes rushed out from inside the temple.

Like the others, he was beaming with joy.

“Kopman Sir! Welcome!”

“…?”

Kopman glanced at his subordinates.

He had lived his entire life as an atheist and had never once donated to a temple.

So why were the Elune followers greeting him with such warmth?

Dazed, Kopman, still tipsy, swayed slightly as he looked around at the gathering believers.

“For you to offer such a generous sum in these trying times…”

“A g-generous sum…?”

And it wasn’t just the Elune followers. Ordinary townspeople walking along the streets had started to gather as well.

Still staring blankly, Kopman turned to his men with a sharp glare.

“What in the world is going on?!”

“Well…”

A soldier, keeping his voice as low as possible, began to explain the situation.

Seris, after receiving the gold, had not kept it for herself.

Instead, she had immediately sought out the Temple of Elune and donated the entire sum—three hundred thousand gold.

Moreover, she had declared that the donation was from none other than Sir Ander del Kopman.

The Temple of Elune had not sent the money to the Holy Kingdom. Instead, they had used it to help the citizens suffering under the endless winter.

Oil, blankets, clothes, food—they purchased vast amounts of supplies from foreign merchants across the sea and distributed them all.

It was only natural that Kopman’s reputation soared. His name, now associated with true noblesse oblige, spread like wildfire among the citizens who had received aid in his name.

Kopman stood there, his mouth agape. He felt as if his very soul was leaving his body.

He thought it wasn’t too late. He planned to use his status to reclaim the money, arguing that the funds had been obtained through a transaction dispute.

But now, even that was impossible.

“Long live Count Kopman!”

“Long live Count Kopman!”

The prayers of Elune’s followers blended with the cheers of the citizens.

As golden divine energy poured down upon him, Kopman shut his eyes.

“Sir K-Kopman!”

“There, that must be Emily—no, Seris!”

“…Mm.”

“That’s the place…”

Su, Shu, and Foldrin spoke.

As Foldrin gazed at the approaching massive landmass—Monster Island—he felt no regrets about his decision.

Clutching the Elune emblem on his necklace, he recalled the past.

His journey had taken him as far as the savage lands of Greenfall.

As a Holy Knight, he had been sent there to investigate traces of dark magic.

Upon arriving, he fulfilled his duties as a knight while also searching for a girl he had long sought.

But Seris was already gone.

Foldrin had been torn.

Once his investigation in Greenfall was complete, he would have to return to the Holy Kingdom, meaning he could no longer pursue Seris.

He prayed to Elune, asking what he should do.

And Elune answered—follow what he believed to be right.

Upon hearing that, Foldrin didn’t hesitate for a second. He stole a horse and set off after Seris.

He rode and rode, endlessly. Desertion was a grave crime, yet his divine power never faded.

Eventually, he arrived in the Karma Empire.

There, he found Seris’s last known whereabouts and met her childhood friends—the twins, Shu and Su.

Strangely enough, the two were clumsily using Elune’s Radiance.

Foldrin saw it as fate, believing that all paths were connecting him to Seris.

He formally taught Elune’s Radiance to Shu and Su.

Thanks to him, the two, who had been of Bronze rank, were promoted to Silver-ranked swordsmen.

With their newfound strength, they secured passage on a ship to Monster Island.

“Disembark!”

As soon as the captain’s command rang out, the three of them leaped from the ship without hesitation.