Chapter 25: Top (2)

"If you mean the Red Dream Dragon... is she a dragon?"

When Kim Hyunwoo casually brought it up, Adria nodded and continued.

"Yes, the owner of our Tienus Merchant Group is a dragon. Specifically, a Red Dragon, known to be one of the stronger beings among their kind. Thanks to her, we can trade under her protection without the need for armed escorts."

Kim Hyunwoo nodded as he listened to Adria speak with pride.

"So that's why there were no escorts."

He knew that merchant groups typically always had escorts.

After all, merchant groups were naturally exposed to various threats, not just monsters.

Therefore, Kim Hyunwoo thought it strange that such a large merchant group entered without a single escort.

"Indeed, if it's a dragon, that would make sense."

At least during his time playing the game, dragons held a significant stature in the world of Arteil, similar to other fantasies, and were even treated as Raid Bosses.

Thus, with a curiosity that suddenly arose, Kim Hyunwoo asked another question.

"Then, is the Red Dream Dragon also with the Merchant Group?"

"No, that's not the case. We don't need the guardian to follow us around since the magic she has cast is sufficient for us to trade without any trouble."

Kim Hyunwoo nodded at Adria's answer and suddenly thought back to the past.

"Come to think of it, there was also a dragon in my territory."

More precisely, the hero in Kim Hyunwoo's territory, Lartania, was not a dragon but a half-dragon.

Not just any half-dragon, but a 1-star half-dragon.

"Thinking about it, it was quite absurd back then too."

Kim Hyunwoo found himself reminiscing about that time.

In the midst of browsing through a failed 500-year search, the hero he found was quite a peculiar one from his perspective at the time.

She was a 1-star, directly contradicting the community's expectation that any notable hero should start at three stars.

Moreover, her mental resilience was fragile, and it took a lot of effort to cultivate her talent and traits.

Thanks to her, logging into the game meant at least 30 minutes of chatting as a routine, and he even bought a book titled 'Eight Ways to Console' with money he didn't have to care for her mental state.

Of course, thanks to his diligent care, she became quite strong and proved her worth, and since she significantly improved his typing skills, she remained a hero of considerable significance to Kim Hyunwoo.

"I wonder what she's doing now."

Suddenly remembering Adria was sitting there, Kim Hyunwoo cut off his train of thought and responded.

"Excuse me, something just came to mind."

After a brief apology, he continued their conversation.

"If it's okay, could you tell me a bit about what's going on in the world?"

"...Do you mean news about the world?"

"Yes."

He had quite a lot of information about Arteil.

Being one of the hardcore gamers who survived till the later stages, the information about managing territories and dungeon strategies still remained in his head, proving to be very helpful.

Yet, the reason Kim Hyunwoo sought information through Adria was that all the information he had was from ten years ago.

In other words, while the information Kim Hyunwoo accumulated remained useful, all other details needed to be updated.

After all, Kim Hyunwoo had no idea what changes had occurred in Arteil after he stopped playing, nor was he aware of any game updates.

Therefore, Kim Hyunwoo asked her for information, and after some contemplation, Adria slightly nodded and began.

"That won't be difficult."

And started to tell the story.

"Let's end our conversation here for now. I plan to stay for about a day, so if you have anything to buy or sell, please send someone to let me know."

After saying this, Adria left the office.

In the conversation with Adria, which lasted about 30 minutes - long if considered long, short if considered short - Kim Hyunwoo obtained quite a lot of information.

Among the information she shared were stories about the 'Southern Empire', 'Magic Towers', 'Holy Kingdoms', and 'Adventurers' Guilds' - all of which were new to Kim Hyunwoo.

Among them, Kim Hyunwoo found the political relationships of the territories surrounding Lartania to be the most useful information.

Of course, at this point, it wasn't too critical for Kim Hyunwoo to understand the intricacies of the neighboring territories' political relationships.

However, it was clear that these political relationships would become a very important factor for Kim Hyunwoo once he started operating the Labyrinth city in earnest.

Fortunately, the political relations of the territories around Lartania were in a not-so-bad situation from Kim Hyunwoo's standpoint.

Therefore, Kim Hyunwoo, who had been calmly sorting through the information Adria provided for a while, thought,

"...It seems I've learned everything I wanted to know, more than I expected."

Suddenly, he made a peculiar expression at the thought that Adria had selectively shared information he wouldn't know in an intriguing way.

"Well, that's a good thing, isn't it?"

Kim Hyunwoo spent a considerable amount of time organizing the information.

After some time had passed and he had finished mentally organizing the information Adria had provided, he thought,

"Now that I've got the information I wanted - shall I move on to the next step?"

He recalled what Adria said while watching the Tienus Merchant Group busily selling goods in the Lord's castle.

"They said they focus on buying valuables and artifacts, right?"

Of course, Kim Hyunwoo doesn't currently possess any notable artifacts.

However, since there was a way to create valuables, Kim Hyunwoo smiled subtly.

"How was it?"

Upon arriving at the office located within the largest carriage of the Tienus Merchant Group, where she, the leader, resided, Adria lightly responded to her secretary, who asked as if she had been waiting.

"It certainly seems right to say the Lord of Lartania has 'returned'. Given that I wasn't aware and was also in the dark about the surrounding information."

The reason Adria thought Kim Hyunwoo only heard the information he wanted was because she had discerned his thoughts and only conveyed the desired information.

Through the delivery of that information, Adria could realize that the word spreading about the Lord of Lartania's return was indeed true.

"I originally thought the Lord's return was just a rumor and that a regent had been chosen in their place."

"Indeed, that was a common opinion. After all, there's no precedent for a Lord disappearing for nearly ten years and then reappearing."

The secretary, addressing Adria seated at the office chair, then asked,

"So, what do you think of the Lord of Lartania?"

"Hmm, honestly, there wasn't a particularly special impression. Didn't quite feel like the person who established Lartania ten years ago. But still, it seems good to establish a connection."

"Is that so?"

"...? Why look at me like that?"

"Well, it's just that you usually don't talk about making connections with Lords."

As the secretary said, Adria was not fond of making connections with the Lords.

Making connections certainly had positive effects in some aspects, but it also had very negative effects in others.

Therefore, Adria maintained a proper distance with the Lords, not particularly trying to make lasting connections.

That was why the secretary was surprised by Adria's words, however.

"...If he is the Lord who created that Lartania ten years ago, and though it's not that big yet, if he can create a territory of this scale within just a few months of returning, it's worth making a connection."

Adria shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, it seems impossible to find what he wants since it's only been a few months."

And replied.

Soon, the secretary, who had been nodding dumbly at Adria, lowered her gaze to look at an item Adria had placed on the office desk and asked.

"That necklace...?"

The secretary was pointing at the necklace.

A necklace with a red gem, though it looked a bit modest compared to the jewelry Adria was wearing.

"Ah, this? The Lord gave it as a gift for providing information. I heard it was a necklace he had kept for a long time."

Adria casually lifted the necklace in response to the secretary's question and said.

"Include this as well in the offerings to be presented to him. He generally likes necklaces with red gems."

She was handing the necklace to the secretary while saying this.

Adria had added one more offering to be presented to the Master of the Merchant Group.

In a huge cave within a forest in the Southeast,

"───"

A woman was sitting in a very antique chair.

Behind the antique chair where the woman sat, treasures were piled up to an astonishing degree.

From a huge amount of gold coins, various artifacts were tangled together, and numerous weapons were embedded in the gold, exuding their grandeur.

It was a place that perfectly fit the definition of a dragon's treasure, not odd to be called a utopia dreamed of by every adventurer.

Yet, the expression of the woman in the middle of these treasures looked terribly gloomy.

Her red hair was disheveled, tangled with her horns.

Her golden eyes, granted only to dragons, had lost their brilliant light and were soaked in gloom.

Moreover, the marks of self-harm on her neck and wrists silently suggested that she couldn't feel any happiness in this space, coveted by everyone.

"......"

She quietly turned her gaze and looked behind her.

A mountain of treasure unfolded in her gloomy eyes.

But she still turned her head away, looking at the wealth with gloomy eyes.

Then, looking straight ahead.

She grabbed her neck with both hands.

Crack-!

She strangled herself.

She also disliked pain.

But, she had to do it.

She was so broken that she couldn't sleep without doing this.

The dragon had to sleep, even if it meant doing this.

She had to enter her dreams.

Because in this golden treasure trove that everyone desired, there was nothing that the dragon wanted.

"......"

Because there was no Master.

...She strangled herself.