V58C5P3 – The People of Royal Road

“Hey, hyung.”

A big smile spread across Seed’s face.

It was his first time addressing Weed as hyung.

“Since my level is low, could you help me out a bit with equipment and in the hunting ground? Just giving me money is fine too.”

“…!”

It was like trying to take fish away from a cat!

Seed was oblivious to the realities of the world.

“Yosam, our relations.h.i.+p is not like any typical friends.h.i.+p. We used to split bread when we lived in the same neighborhood.”

“You did take it away from me.”

“Anyhow… If it weren’t for your bread, it would have been very difficult for me. When the sky looked yellow because i was so dizzy, it was your bread that fed my hunger.”

“To get the facts right, it wasn’t just bread but you also took my chocolate. Did you take them because of hunger too?”

“…”

Weed sighed deeply and apologized.

“I’m sorry. I’m asking for your forgiveness. I don’t have anything else, so how about a lord seat?”

***

Lord of the Arpen Kingdom!

It was a position only allowed for excellent adventurers, merchants and warriors with high contribution points to the kingdom.

Seed unconditionally accepted the position and became lord of the Leth Village.

The population count was 832.

It was a village in the valleys and its population was composed mainly of hunters.

“Ahhh. I’ve been tricked!”

Though he found out the moment he arrived, he fulfilled the tasks diligently.

Weed didn’t offer any more help, but he mentioned the Leth Village in one of his interviews.

“There are many beautiful places in the Arpen Kingdom, but I would like to recommend Leth Village. It is full of secret views and heavenly beauty. It will satisfy the hearts of adventurers.”

There were many historic sites and dungeons near Leth Village that have not been revealed. Several days after Weed’s interview, high level adventurer parties arrived and the growth of the village sparked. Seed constructed buildings and expanded the land with his hard earned money. Surprisingly, whenever the village went through an expansion, the fees of real estate transactions had to be paid to the Arpen Kingdom. Apple and pear trees in the lord castle were subject to fees and for some reason, pomegranate trees in particular were taxed harshly

The amount wasn’t significant, but the Arpen Kingdom was ripping off money frugally!

After about 6 months, Leth Village had developed into a medium sized village with over 10,000 population.

Weed spent 8 months at the island.

Switching between the real world and Royal Road, the sweet hours with just him and Seoyoon continued.

< s.h.i.+pbuilding skill advanced level 2 >

< Fis.h.i.+ng skill advanced level 5 >

< Cooking skill advanced level 6 >

< Architecture skill advanced level 1 >

< Farming skill Intermediate level 3 >

< Blacksmithing skill advanced level 7 >

They have been doing literally everything they could on an island!

The state of affairs for Versailles was calm during the time they were away.

The monsters that resided in dungeons due to Kaybern popped out to the outside world.

Monster annihilation took place regularly, leading to security and growth of the entire continent.

– Mapan: Trading volume continues to increase. It seems like a time of pacifism…

“What are the thoughts of the people?”

– Mapan: There is some unrest among the great lords. They are continually preparing for war. There are reports of them storing up supplies.

Weed never thought world unification was the end.

It was far-fetched to hope that the great lords or the Hermes Guild gave up their ambition. He didn’t expect it from the beginning.

“I guess I should head back.”

– Mapan: If you return, they will quiet down. The news will dry their throats.

Weed didn’t get to hunt but acc.u.mulated stats and skill proficiency through grinding.

Each night he practiced combat skills, even on days of pouring rain.

The tornadoes of the sea were violent. Like usual, he practiced his sword and axe techniques.

Though his level remained the same, his skills had improved consistently little by little.

“My return to the continent…’

Weed smiled faintly. He was different from the past when he fought for money. Even so, the compet.i.tion against others was exciting.

That moment, Seoyoon approached him on the beach sands.

“I think I’m pregnant.”

“Huh?”

“We have a baby.”

Since they slept under the same blanket after marriage, it was only natural to come.

Weed heard the news that his junior was growing healthily inside Seoyoon’s belly.

Weed’s mouth was trembling in joy.

“Mapan-nim.”

– Mapan: Yes!

“You’re in charge of Royal Road now.”

– Mapan: What?

***

Lafaye travelled freely across the Versailles Continent.

He visited all the places that he couldn’t when he was maintaining the Hermes Guild and governing the Haven Empire.

“What I had before… I don’t miss it much.”

The days with the Hermes Guild only a short while back felt like distant memories.

He pa.s.sed through the Puhol Waterpark and Port Varna on his trip in the Northern Continent.

After the battle against Kaybern, he stayed at Morata which had been restored.

The restoration of Morata was considered a miracle in the Northern Continent, exceeding the expectations of the players.

“There existed a city like this.”

Lafaye used to run the guild, only thinking about how to crush the enemy. He a.n.a.lyzed and strategized endlessly to win against the compet.i.tors.

The liveliness of the players in Morata was pleasing just to watch.

“The atmosphere is so different. I guess this is why the Hermes Guild was destined to be defeated.”

Lafaye sincerely accepted that he had been outplayed.

He thought countless times that Weed had luck on his side. He was very capable, but his a.s.sessment was that Weed had luck and popularity that worked to his advantage. However, being in the atmosphere of Morata made him realize that the uptight Hermes Guild had no future. Lafay himself was a decent strategist, but he had failed in establis.h.i.+ng a nation.

“I feel so relieved. This is freedom.”

He changed his job cla.s.s to a chef and opened a restaurant in Morata. He did not think of it as a permanent settlement, but he decided to stay as long as his heart desired.

The menu was just a single dish. A meat stew sold at 1 silver.

He brought back his memories of his cooking method that he used for his companions on hunting trips in the early days of Royal Road.

“Your cooking skill is lacking. I think you took the restaurant business too lightly.”

“Didn’t you do your consumer research? Your place can’t run with selling just a stew.”

“This is sweet, spicy and salty. You’re going to get punished if you cook like this without thinking.”

Once he managed the Hermes Guild, but now he was criticized to no end.

“This is too tricky.”

He invented new dishes and visited other restaurants to taste their food.

He was a bit worried that people may recognize him from commanding the Hermes Guild but to his surprise, no one did.

“You a chef?”

“Yeah, of some sort…”

“If you’re a novice, start with cooking eggs. With that, you can pull off any entry level dish.”

“I will do my best.”

Lafaye laughed a little.

The Tower of Light, Bull Townsquare, the Great Library of Morata, the Arts Centre.

The newly established shantytown hosted festivals every night and the back alleys hosted dance parties. Every Friday, all the market stores turned up their lights brightly, signaling that it was the night of the moonlight festival.

On the streets was a display of brilliant gla.s.s artwork crafted by many sculptors and artists. The beauty once again attracted the tourists and the residents, turning Morata into the most amazing city in all of Versailles.

“Morata. This city alone represents the presence of the Arpen Empire.”

It was when Lafaye was standing alone on a bridge.

A voice that was familiar and could never be forgotten ringed his ear.

“I was worried that you left the guild. I see you are doing fine. I didn’t think I’d meet you here in Morata.”

Lafay felt his heart drop. Slowly, he turned his head. He was anxious that she may disappear if he turned too quickly.

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Dain.

Back when Royal Road was the best of memories, the woman who taught him happiness was standing right beside him.

“Did you come to see me?”

“No. I just came to Morata for vacation and I saw you, so I paid you a visit.”

“I see.”

Lafay felt emptiness in the corner of his heart, but he was happy to see her again.

‘If I can turn back time… I would not have left her alone in l.a.b.i.as to go on hunts and create a guild.’

His mind was filled with only regrets. Lafay’s eyes signalled a mix of emotions and Dain revealed her clean white set of teeth and smiled.

“Do you want to go to the festival?”

“Are you… going with me?”

“If you aren’t against it.”

“Let’s go now.”

***

The chief commander of Gradian and the Nest region.

Dragon knight Myul was deemed one of the most powerful players in Royal Road and was still getting stronger.

– Kuurrragh!

The giants fell from the void fissure and attacked.

“Dragon knights. Attack!”

The griffon unit tossed their spears at the attacking giants.

After the battle in Morata, many elite players in the a.s.sault squad joined the dragon knight unit.

“2nd battalion, circle around to the side. 4th battalion, go for the rear.”

The battle strategy of the dragon knight unit that incorporated aerial tactics was spectacular, attracting a huge number of viewers on broadcast.

– That was sick.

– The dragon knight unit. The most honourable unit in the empire.

– Some of the players from the Hermes Guild quit and became members of the unit.

– Look at the giants get minced. It’s scary.

Myul led the unit and brilliantly governed Gradian and Nest.

As the chief commander ruling over the southwest, he had no greater ambition.

Under the rules of the Arpen Empire, he maintained the tax rate as low as possible and a.s.sisted players in settling comfortably.

“Though it’s tempting… I must increase the population first.”

Haven, Tulen and Britton.

He competed against these regions and put all his efforts into their internal affairs.

Mule was riding on his newly tamed Griffon, then he realized it.

“I… I really love animals.”

He loved animals since he was a kid.

Especially the birds that roamed the heavens freely deeply connected with him.

‘I envy players living as Avinas.’

Back when Myul first started, Avina was not an available race.

If it was, he would have chosen it without a doubt.

He was feeling a rush of disappointment when Mapan contacted him.

– Mapan: I salvaged an egg.

“An egg?”

Mule kept close contact with Mapan.

Mapan always maintained respected players in his contact list!

– Mapan: I found an artifact of the Nippleheim Empire. It’s a white lump and I was informed that this is in fact an egg.

“If it’s an artifact, it must be super old, no?”

– Mapan: It’s several hundred years old.

Eggs rotted when past when past their expiration date, so for an egg to be hundreds of years old was unusual.

– Mapan: In fact, this egg was examined by Silverring-nim.

“You mean the Tree Adventurer Silverring-nim?”

Silverring was a member of the Earth Shadows Adventurer party, in the middle of clearing an elven adventure quest. Myul had heard of Silverring, Ben and Ellicks since the beginning of Royal Road. There was a time when new information or quests they discovered became the fundamental guide to Royal Road.

– Mapan: Yes. They received reports of the egg pa.s.sed down in Nippelheim Empire while clearing a quest and they were able to scavenge it. Then in the embrace of the World Tree it was incubated for 6 months.

“Just what kind of egg is related to the World Tree?”

– Mapan: It is the egg of the Green Dragon.

“Green… Dragon?”

Kaybern, Randonee.

The Green Dragon was nothing like those evil dragons that were ferocious and aimed to destroy the world. The Green Dragon was known to love the forest, trees and life; benevolent and wise.

– Mapan: They said the egg was obtained by following the quest chain from the past Kaybern incident. When they discovered the egg, demons sp.a.w.ned and a battle broke out. They barely managed to drive them away.

“Amazing… All the way from the Kaybern catastrophe.”

The outrageous events caused from a dragon’s egg was deeply settled in the minds of all players in Royal Road.

– Mapan: This time, the egg is the real thing. If well taken care of, it will hatch.

“You mean the dragon will be born?”

– Mapan: Yes. However, they say a dragon’s growth is extremely slow, so it has to grow for several years before it will be capable of casting magic.

“I would a.s.sume so.”

Even a griffin took a year to grow from an egg to an adult.

“Then a quest related to the dragon could appear.”

– Mapan: That’s correct. Silverring-nim also had the same antic.i.p.ation. Maybe it will be about speeding up its growth rate or nurturing it into a healthy dragon.

Hence it would be training the Green Dragon.

Of all players across the continent, there could be no one as suited for the job as himself.

He felt confident having hatched griffins and caring for them since birth.

“I will do it. Thank you. I will take great care of the egg.”