Finally, I can Retire, Or so I Thought

The following day, along the western stretch of the Thetor Kingdom’s capital, right on the road winding between the open fields and paddies, Dion strolled briskly with a relaxed, cheerful pep in his step toward the capital’s western gate.

”Dion,” Luna called out, trailing a few paces behind him.

”Yeah?” Dion asked casually, slowing his pace to match hers.

”I am so ridiculously confused by you,” Luna said, sounding thoroughly annoyed.

”Wait... confused about what?” Dion asked, turning around to face her.

Dion was caught off guard to see Luna pouting, while the two golems tagging along behind her looked visibly uneasy.

”You do realize Gina is currently the center of attention at the Adventurer Guild with a mind-boggling bounty on her head, right?” Luna asked, her voice tight with exasperation.

”Yeah, I know. What about it?” Dion asked, taking a step back to walk side-by-side with her.

”Then why on earth did we ride Gina to get here, and why is she sitting right there?!” Luna asked, pointing directly at Dion’s bulgy backpack, her finger hovering an inch away from Gina’s face as the little creature peeked out from the top zip.

”Kyuu?” Gina squeaked in confusion, her eyes crossing as she stared straight at Luna’s finger.

”Look... we needed to get to the capital fast to buy weapons and armor. Plus, I still need a ton of scrap iron. It’s not like we could hire a wagon to haul all that, it’d take forever, waste money, and move at a snail’s pace. Asking Gina for a quick lift isn’t an over-the-top request, is it?” Dion reasoned casually.

”Do you even grasp the situation here?! Do you understand how dangerous this is?! What if we get caught inside the city walls?!” Luna barked.

”Oh... you mean that? Of course I get it! That’s why Gina’s stowed away in my bag,” Dion said, gesturing toward his backpack. ”There aren’t any magical detection devices around here, so we’re completely fine. Besides, walking all this way would’ve been exhausting and dangerous,” Dion muttered in his head.

Luna was rendered completely speechless. She could only stare at Dion’s baffled expression before covering her face with both hands and letting out a long, weary sigh.

”Whatever. Have it your way. Just please... if something goes wrong, don’t erase the entire Thetor Kingdom from the map like you did with that mountain, leaving behind a gigantic crater,” Luna pleaded in resignation.

”Huh... what do you mean by that?” Dion asked, genuinely puzzled.

”Forget it. Let’s just hurry up,” Luna replied, marching ahead.

Dion simply watched her take the lead before following behind. He threw a bewildered glance toward Gina and the two golems walking beside him. Naturally, both Gina and the constructs merely shrugged their shoulders in unison. Reaching the western gate, they passed right through without a hitch; the solitary guard on duty looked completely relaxed, his eyes half-lidded as if he were on the verge of nodding off.

Once inside the city walls, Dion and Luna wasted no time heading straight for the inner district, pulling up to the doors of the Aetherias Trading Company.

Chime!

”Hello!”

Luna pushed the front door open. The moment the clerk spotted her walking in, his jaw clenched tight. His face practically screamed: Ugh... that spoiled noble girl from yesterday is back. And now she brought a servant and those two weird things with her again.

Bypassing any window shopping, they marched straight to the main counter.

”Hi there! I need 100 swords, 100 spears, 100 shields, and 100 chainmail suits. Can you supply those right away?” Luna asked cheerfully.

”One moment, ma’am. Let me check our backroom inventory. However, I doubt we have that exact quantity on hand. If we fall short, would tomorrow’s delivery work for you?” the clerk asked, scribbling notes with a tense jaw.

”No problem at all. Go ahead and check,” Luna replied.

”Very well. Please give me a moment,” the clerk said, turning toward the back.

As the clerk disappeared into the stockroom, Dion tapped Luna’s shoulder, prompting her to turn around.

”Luna, you forgot about my iron... and check on magic crystals while you’re at it. Ask him how many he’s got in stock,” Dion reminded her.

”Oh! Right! My bad, hold on a sec,” Luna realized.

Without a second thought, Luna stepped right behind the counter and barged through the stockroom door without bothering to knock. Finding the clerk scanning through rows of storage shelves, she popped her head inside.

”Excuse me, sir!” Luna called out from right behind him.

”Eek!”

The clerk jumped out of his skin, dropping his wooden clipboard onto the floor. He spun around to find Luna standing there, his face darkening instantly. Picking up his fallen clipboard, he glared at her.

”I-Is there something else I can help you with, ma’am?” the clerk asked, swallowing his rising rage.

”Can you add all the iron ore you have on hand, just like yesterday? Oh, and all sorts of magic crystals too. Just pull out whatever stock you’ve got left,” Luna said casually.

”I am sorry, ma’am, but we have no iron ore left. You bought out our entire supply yesterday, and our next shipment hasn’t arrived yet,” the clerk explained.

”Hmm... I see,” Luna muttered, stroking her chin.

Scanning the rest of the storage room, Luna’s eyes caught sight of several wooden barrels packed with broken swords, rusted blades, and piles of scrap armor. She pointed straight at them.

”If those are for sale, we’ll take those three barrels too,” Luna offered.

The clerk looked over at the three barrels clearly labeled ”RECYCLE” across the front. He turned back to Luna with a forced, strained smile.

”Certainly, ma’am. I will tally those into your total as well,” the clerk said.

”Awesome! Thanks a bunch! Please set everything up as fast as you can, I’ll be waiting outside,” Luna said cheerfully.

”Very well, ma’am. But in the future, please wait outside...”

Blam!

Before the clerk could finish his sentence, Luna turned around and slammed the stockroom door shut, leaving the man seething.

”Arrogant, spoiled noble,” he grumbled under his breath, clenching his jaw tight.

Out front, Dion was waiting patiently alongside Gina and the two golems standing guard at his sides. The moment he saw Luna emerge, he walked over to meet her.

”How did it go? Did they have any?” Dion asked.

”They only had three barrels of broken swords, rust, and armor scraps. Is that enough?” Luna asked.

”Hmm... not really. To craft a single Soldier Golem, I need 100 units of iron and 10 Worker Golems, so I need at least 500 units of scrap iron minimum. Judging by the size of those barrels, even if all three are packed to the brim, it’s not even half of what I need,” Dion calculated out loud, doing the math in his head.

”How many Soldier Golems are you planning to make anyway?” Luna asked.

”At least three,” Dion answered thoughtfully.

”Wow... so 1,500 units of scrap iron? That’s a massive amount! What about yesterday’s iron ore?” Luna asked.

”That’s reserved for building the watchtowers,” Dion replied.

”Ah... I see... Should we check other shops?” Luna suggested.

”Hmm... Aetherias is the biggest merchant house around. If they don’t have any, the smaller shops won’t either,” Dion replied pessimistically.

”How about asking the blacksmiths in the outer district?” Luna offered.

”There’s no way they’d part with their iron, even scrap metal. They aren’t in the business of selling raw materials,” Dion pointed out.

”Oh... good point,” Luna said, falling quiet as she pondered.

”Don’t worry about it too much. We’ll work it out step-by-step. I still have two days before I can craft them anyway, so there’s no rush,” Dion said easily.

”Hmm... why do you need three days?” Luna asked, tilting her head.

”I mentioned how my personas work before, right? They have a cooldown period where I can’t use them. The persona required to build the watchtowers and soldier golems is currently on cooldown,” Dion explained.

A sudden hush fell between them. Luna stared at Dion with a blank, hollow expression, keeping a polite smile plastered on her face, though her thoughts were clearly running in a completely different direction.

”So you mean... you need time to recharge your energy or mana or something?” Luna asked.

”No... Hey, why are you looking at me like that?!” Dion called out, catching the exact look on Luna’s face that practically read: This guy is as good at making stuff up as a poet.

”It’s nothing! Want to go for a walk around the city...? Oh right, you brought Gina with you. Never mind, let me just stay right here,” Luna replied quickly.

”Huh... okay,” Dion said. ”Why is she dodging the subject...? She genuinely doesn’t believe a word I say, man, give me a break,” Dion thought in his head.

***

Meanwhile, completely unbeknownst to Dion and Luna, inside the royal study of Thetor Palace, blam! a middle-aged man around forty years old, sporting blonde hair, a neat beard, and a golden tiara, slammed both hands onto his desk. His face was deathly pale, his mouth agape as he stared at the soldier standing before him.

”Is what you just said... true?!” the king asked, his voice trembling violently.

”It is true, Your Majesty Lamberd! There were at least ten eyewitnesses, they all saw a massive black dragon land deep within the western forest!” the soldier reported.

Blam!

The study door burst open. An eighteen-year-old girl with flowing blonde hair, striking green eyes, and full knight armor strode into the room.

”Father! I just received reports that someone spotted a black Calamity Dragon in the forest... Oh, judging by the look on your face, you’ve already heard,” the girl noted.

King Lamberd was completely struck speechless, cold sweat pouring down his pale face. He turned his eyes toward the young woman who had just entered.

”Evelyn, deploy our finest royal knight brigade into the western forest immediately. Investigate what’s happening out there, and exercise extreme caution... Fire a signal flare if your unit encounters any danger,” Lamberd commanded.

”Understood, Father! I will personally lead the squad. Excuse me,” replied Evelyn, who served as both royal princess and commander of the royal knights.

As Evelyn turned and exited the study, Lamberd looked down at the high-ranking soldier who remained kneeling on the floor before him.

”Thomas, put the entire royal army on high alert! Notify the Adventurer Guild to prepare for battle, lock down all city gates, and place the kingdom of Thetor under Defcon 1! Move, now!” Lamberd barked, pointing a shaking finger at Thomas.

”At once, Your Majesty! I shall take my leave!” Thomas replied.

He immediately stood up and ran outside. Once the door clicked shut, Lamberd collapsed heavily into his chair, looking ten years older in a single instant. Then, he turned his head to stare at the bounty poster and the official sealed letter from the Lutherias Kingdom resting on his desk.

”O Goddess... is this the end of the Thetor Kingdom? Please, protect this realm,” he whimpered in utter despair.