Chapter 34: Tier 2 (2)

In front of the entrance to the underground cavern of the Kingdom of Calan.

"Haah..."

Loriel, one of the Five Swords of Calan and a disciple of the Absolute Ruler of Darkness, sighed upon seeing the Master, who had been away for weeks and had now been refusing food and staying in their room for days since returning.

'What on earth happened?'

While sighing, Loriel briefly recalled the day a few days ago when the disappeared Master had returned.

Surely, she, who had suddenly disappeared and caused her disciples much worry, had returned on her own.

And that too, with minor wounds all over her body.

The disciples were extremely surprised at that.

After all, including Loriel, the disciples knew very well how strong the Absolute Ruler of Darkness was.

Right now, she was the very person who nurtured the Swords of Calan, and simultaneously, she possessed power that was in no way inferior to the great heroes that existed on this Continent.

Yet, she returned with injuries?

That alone was reason enough for her disciples to be astonished, but the Absolute Ruler of Darkness, from the day she returned, did not even glance at her disciples and simply secluded herself in the palace.

Loriel and the disciples were worried about such a Master.

It might be different for the Absolute Ruler of Darkness, but all the disciples were indebted to her.

"Master."

Thus, Loriel called out to the Absolute Ruler of Darkness with a worried heart, but,

the Absolute Ruler of Darkness, secluded alone in the palace, did not hear sounds she normally would hear, crouching alone on a chair with her head buried between her knees.

The torn and ripped qipao seemed to suggest she had not moved from this spot for days, yet she was still recalling memories from a few days ago, unable to even think of moving.

A few days ago.

The time when she fought with Merilda.

And, the answer she received from her then.

"......"

The half-demon fought with the wolf for almost a day.

Thanks to that, everything around them was destroyed and scorched, but she did not care much.

The same went for the wolf.

After all, there was no Lord in that place.

Therefore, the two fought with ease, and the answer obtained after fighting for more than a day, without even coming to a proper conclusion, pushed the Absolute Ruler of Darkness into despair.

"I don't have the Execution sword."

"Don't talk nonsense! You definitely have the Execution Sword that you pestered the Lord for-"

"That Execution Sword, I lost it too, when the territory was attacked."

"...Lies-"

"Does it seem like a lie?"

The half-demon disliked the wolf.

However, apart from disliking her, the half-demon, having lived under her and the beloved Lord for quite some time, knew.

That the wolf could not lie.

Furthermore, the wolf's dull and empty eyes, as if looking into a mirror, seemed to prove the truthfulness of the wolf's words.

The Absolute Ruler of Darkness crumbled.

The truth in the wolf's words meant only one thing to her-

-that the Execution Sword was nowhere to be found anymore, a cruel and suffocating truth.

Therefore, the half-demon, having given up on the fight with Red Eyes, a fight they had vowed to decide the rank of someday without even coming to a proper conclusion, went back to their residence and sequestered themselves.

And then cried.

Just cried.

Cried endlessly.

At the thought of no longer being able to restore the affection with the Lord.

At the thought of no longer being able to stand before him, whom she had gone to reclaim the Execution Sword from, even just once in her dreams.

Just cried.

Feeling as if there was a gaping hole in the middle of her heart, she wept alone.

While weeping, she also thought that maybe she was being punished.

Maybe for acting on her own ten years ago.

Thinking she was now paying the price for arrogantly acting towards him and ignoring the goodwill and affection he had offered.

Thus.

"...Sob."

The half-demon, fittingly in the darkness that matched their epithet, shed tears alone once again.

The next day.

As Kim Hyunwoo had said, Elena and 100 soldiers went down into the Labyrinth once again.

Of course, it wasn't just them that were sent.

Just like the first time he sent Elena to the first tier, Kim Hyunwoo hired mercenaries to accompany Elena and the soldiers.

"It might cost a bit, but considering the potential threats, it's better to go this far."

Kim Hyunwoo was well aware that Elena and the soldiers had become stronger than before.

Moreover, the soldiers, having received additional buffs from Lani's food, were fundamentally different from the clumsy mercenaries who had first entered the first tier.

Yet, the reason he insisted on attaching mercenaries was to protect the soldiers without any loss and to increase their proficiency.

"It's hard to create more soldiers than this."

The population of Lartania's territory has already surpassed 1,900 and is looking towards 2,000, but it was impossible to create more soldiers beyond this.

Initially, not all those incorporated into the population were men, and even if there were men left, considering the labor needed in Lartania, recruiting them would only have a negative impact on the territory.

In other words, soldiers were precariously recruited because they were needed for the Labyrinth city being prepared, but since no more soldiers could be created, Kim Hyunwoo intended to protect the soldiers even if it meant spending money.

"I hope they come back with their proficiency significantly increased this time too."

Kim Hyunwoo thought this as he watched Elena, the soldiers, and the mercenaries attached to them moving towards the second tier of the Labyrinth.

Lani's life was a cesspool.

Sure, she was a noble, but being labeled as a bastard, she had never been treated as a proper noble.

Rather, she was not acknowledged by anyone, and the Lord, whom she believed to be her only support, raised her with the intention of selling her off as a product.

Thus, Lani's life was not just a cesspool but a miserably pitiful existence, and she thought she could never escape this miserable life.

Until she met the Lord of Lartania, Kim Hyunwoo.

"......"

After meeting him, Lani's life changed dramatically.

He confidently reached out to Lani, whom nobody else had offered a hand to, and rescued her from the yoke of despair.

Was that all?

Right after meeting him, Lani for the first time understood what she was good at.

She realized that her abilities were definitely useful.

Moreover, Lani, who had never received any proper praise during her life, began receiving everyone's praise and recognition after being recruited by Kim Hyunwoo.

Starting with Kim Hyunwoo, the soldiers who ate her food were all busy praising her. Even Elena, who for some reason looked down on her, praised her food.

Lani was overjoyed by this.

For her, who had never received proper recognition in her life, the praise from Kim Hyunwoo and the soldiers was like rain after a long drought.

Therefore, Lani truly felt grateful to Kim Hyunwoo.

Because she knew.

That the reason she could work happily and receive everyone's praise in this situation was because of Kim Hyunwoo.

Because he had discovered her.

And she knew that this happy daily life was possible because he had pulled her out of that despair.

Knowing this, Lani always felt grateful to Kim Hyunwoo.

In fact, there was no reason not to feel grateful.

Right away, Kim Hyunwoo not only gave her an excessive amount of gold for accepting the recruitment offer but also gifted her a very nice room to live in.

"......"

Lani looked at the room she had been assigned.

The room, which was more than twice the size of her room in the Antalia, completely won over Lani's heart.

The reason was not only because the room was large, but also because of its interior.

"It's indeed antique...!"

The room assigned to Lani, unlike Elena's, had a quite antique atmosphere. The various furniture placed in the room were antique wooden types, and the black velvet fabric neatly captured a classic mood.

Thus, despite having been assigned the room quite some time ago, Lani still looked around with a satisfied expression before getting up.

The reason was that, since the soldiers and Elena were always out in the Labyrinth, she had time to spare and decided to clean the room.

Since being assigned the room, Lani had only roughly cleaned it and never really thoroughly.

"Hehe..."

Having already prepared lunch for Kim Hyunwoo and recalling his praise for the food, Lani smiled slightly and started cleaning in earnest.

Not long after, as Lani bent down to clean under the bed, she-

"...Hm?"

-found something under the bed and, without realizing, picked it up with a blank expression on her face.

It was because, despite the dust, the item she picked up from under the bed was an antique sword, emitting a cold aura even at a glance.

"Why is something like this under the bed?"

So, Lani tilted her head several times, looking at the sword that was taller than herself.

"It probably belonged to the person who used this room before, I should bring this to the Lord, shouldn't I?"

She thought, looking at the dust-covered 'Execution Sword'.