Chapter - 53

Two more days flew by between getting better and feeling better.

It had been exactly one week since Leo had arrived in this world. Seven days ago he was just a shut in otaku staring at a computer screen, who died an embarrassing death. And in just one week, he had lived more than he had in nineteen years back on Earth.

He lay back against the plush pillows of his private luxury home arrest prison, staring at the ceiling fresco.

"Rushing things is the work for devils," Leo muttered to himself, with a satisfied smirk on his lips, "And it gets you killed."

He had done enough rushing.

He had saved the bandit girl, Brena, though she turned out to be a snake that actually wanted things to happen to her.

He had saved Aliana from the Blackfangs, though she turned out to be a complete bitch who wants to kill him.

He had saved Seraphine from the chandelier, assassins and even a troubled marriage, and she turned out to be the best thing that had ever happened to him.

He stretched his limbs, feeling the fully healed body of his. The ache in his ribs was gone. The hole in his palm had already filled up, leaving nothing but a scar thanks to his high regeneration power.

He even used one random spin, and as his protagonist luck would have it, he got a Detox Dan to remove that cocoon of that poison in his stomach.

All in all, the last forty eight hours had been something of a recovery and recreation session.

Lady Seraphine had been very diligent in her duties to her saviour. She visited him every night, long after the moon had lit up the sky and the castle was dead silent.

She claimed she was coming to "check his wounds," but those checks usually involved her getting naked, straddling his lap, and checking if his stamina had recovered.

And Spoiler alert: It had.

Good thing her maids would take over the guarding job when she was there, sending the guards away.

Leo chuckled, remembering the look on her face when she left this morning. She was flushed and sweating, walking with a slight limp that she tried desperately to hide from the maids. Right now, Leo already owned her, body, heart, and soul.

"Alright," Leo sat up, the silk sheet pooling at his waist, "I need to check my books."

He hadn't properly gone through his notifications since the night of the party. He had been too busy with his grind with Lady Seraphine.

"Aiva," he commanded mentally, "Show me the logs. Let's clear the queue."

The blue interface shimmered in front of him.

First up was the immediate quest he had completed after Lady Seraphine's confession.

[Quest: The Serpent in the Keep]

[Objective: Uncover the conspiracy behind Lady Aliana's kidnapping and identify the high-ranking traitor working with the Blackfang Bandits.]

[Status: SUCCESS]

[Reward 1: +1,000 Gold Coins]

[Reward 2: 1 Random Spin]

Leo could hear the sweet sound of gold coins filling up his inventory, "Nice. Another spin. I will save that for a rainy day."

Next, there was also a hidden quest that he unknowingly completed. The notification popped up out of nowhere after Seraphine finished her story that day.

[Hidden Quest Complete: The Silent Listener]

[Objective: Listen to Seraphine's trauma without judgment and offer validation.]

[Status: SUCCESS]

[Reward 1: Seraphine's Favourability +30 (Current Status: Devoted/Obsessed)]

[Reward 2: Iron-Hide Rhino Tusk]

[Reward 3: Artifact - The Whisperer's Earring]

[Reward 4: Moon-shade Herb]

Leo tapped on the item descriptions.

[Iron-Hide Rhino Tusk]: A potent aphrodisiac ingredient. When ground into powder and mixed with wine, it creates a tonic that grants 'Unending Vigor' for 24 hours. It is also an extremely important ingredient in dan-making.

Warning: Do not overdose.

"Heh," Leo grinned, "Into the stash you go. Might need that for a marathon session."

[The Whisperer's Earring]: A pair of small, silver studs. When worn, it allows the user to focus their hearing, picking up conversations through walls or across crowded rooms within a 10-meter radius.

"Perfect for playing Johnny English," Leo grinned.

[Moon-shade Herb]: A rare ingredient that blooms only in moonlight. Essential for crafting High-Grade Mana Potions.

"Useless for me right now," Leo shrugged, "But probably worth a fortune to a mage. Sellable loot."

Finally, he turned his attention to the big one. The Main Quest. The one that would define his first major upset in this new world. He had to get rid of a minor boss.

[Main Quest: The Matriarch's Vengeance]

[Objective: Assist Seraphine in the total destruction of House Dargan.]

[Sub-Objective 1: Strip Aliana Dargan of her status, pride, and divine protection.]

[Sub-Objective 2: Kill Lord Caelum Dargan.]

[Time Limit: 27 Days, 18 Hours Remaining]

Leo's eyes widened as he looked at the reward list for this one. It was massive.

[Rewards:]

[1. 20,000 Gold Coins]

[2. 50,000 Silver Coins]

[3. 70,000 Bronze Coins]

[4. Silver Reward Pack x1]

[5. Block of Star-Metal (Rare Crafting Material)]

[6. Black Lotus Flower (Herb - Consumable)]

"Twenty thousand gold," Leo drew in a deep breath, "That's more than Caelum has in his entire treasury. If I pull this off, I won't just conquer the house; I might be rich enough to buy the damn town."

And the Block of Star Metal and Black Lotus... Aiva didn't give him the description about them, but he did not need to. Just the names were enough for him to guess that this was going to be, 'Legen-WAIT FOR IT-dary'.

"Twenty-seven days," Leo mused when he looked at the timer, "The clock is ticking. I can't stay in this room playing house with Seraphine forever. I need to make my move."

[Nothing much has changed since last time, Master]

Aiva said as she showed him his stats.

[SYSTEM INTERFACE]

[Name: Leo Dragomir]

[Level: 3]

[HP: 2000 / 2000]

[Strength: 28]

[Agility: 38 (+3)]

[Stealth: 33 (+5)]

[Stamina: 45]

[Intelligence: 53]

[Charisma: 62]

Leo quickly closed the system, he already knew where he stood. He was stronger than average humans without Divine Blessings. But compared to the real power houses that Aiva told him about, he was still a baby in diapers.

Somewhat rich baby in diapers.

"Time to grow up," he muttered to himself.

The afternoon sun was high when Leo finished dressing. He didn't put on the fancy suit Seraphine had given him. That was for parties and seduction. Today was for business.

He wore his Adventurer's Clothes, the sturdy leather and cloth fitting him well. Underneath, the Shadowweave Tunic hugged his skin like a second shadow. He strapped his Short Iron Sword to his hip and tucked the Twin Serpent Daggers into his belt at the small of his back.

He looked in the mirror. He looked like a pro. A dangerous drifter.

Just as he was checking his hair, the door opened. Seraphine slipped in, carrying a tray of lunch herself, having dismissed the maids.

She looked radiant. There was a glow to her skin that no amount of makeup could replicate.

"You are dressed," she said, setting the tray down. Her eyes swept over his gear, a hint of worry creasing her brow. "Are you leaving?"

"I can't stay in this room forever, Sera," Leo said, walking over and stealing a piece of bread from the tray. "I am getting restless. And your dear husband has made it pretty clear I am not welcome in the rest of the castle."

Seraphine sighed, "Caelum is paranoid. He has doubled the guards in the dungeon. He has explicitly forbidden anyone, even me from seeing Brena or Kaelen. I don't know what he is thinking, but it looks like he is trying to bury the whole thing.."

"Coward," Leo scoffed. "What about the others?"

"Baron Volkov fled back to Ironhold before the sun was even up yesterday," Seraphine said with a smirk. "Claimed he had 'urgent border matters,' but everyone knows he was terrified that the assassin attack was for him."

"And the Priest?"

"Remus hasn't been seen. Rumor says he is 'sick,' but I suspect he is hiding. He knows his divine magic failed where a common herb succeeded. His audience didn't take lightly to what they saw. At least the Temple in Auravale might not be giving blessings to those at the banquet."

"Good," Leo said. "Let them hide."

He grabbed her waist and pulled her in for a quick, searing kiss. "I am going out into the city. I need to check out the town for myself. I can't rely on your husband's 'hospitality' forever."

"If you decide to go to a brothel," Seraphine looked at him teasingly, "You better wash up before you come back."

"Why would I go and waste money there?" Leo grinned, as he grabbed her by the ass, his fingers digging in her flesh, "When I have such a beautiful woman waiting for me here."

"I need to look around and see those guilds that you mentioned before?"

"Yes," Seraphine nodded, "The Adventurer's Guild and the Merchant Guilds. But Leo, be careful. The Merchant Guilds especially... They are not kind."

"If I can tame you," Leo winked, "I can tame anyone."

He released her and stepped back. "Aiva," he spoke in his head, "I need a briefing. Give me the details on these Guilds. How do they work? Who runs them?"

[Acknowledged, Master,]

Aiva's voice was crisp in his mind.

[Based on the information gathered from the Kingdom's archives and local chatter, here is the breakdown.]

[First: The Adventurer's Guild.]

[In the Kingdom, there is only one Adventurer's guild operating. It is known as the 'Iron Oath'. They possess a monopoly on monster hunting, dungeon delving, and private mercenary contracts. They even operate in neighbouring nations]

A holographic image of a rugged shield emblem appeared in Leo's mind.

[They are said to be strictly neutral.]

[They do not take sides in wars between nobles or kingdoms. But they don't stop their adventurers from choosing sides.]

[Even the King must respect their autonomy.]

[Joining them can be a good move. It grants you an official Adventurer's Rank, access to their intelligence network, Complete quests that might help you grow faster. And you are able to cross borders without political interference.]

"Neutrality my ass," Leo scoffed, "And what about the Merchant's guilds?"

[Second: The Chamber of Commerce, or the Merchant Guilds.]

[Unlike the Iron Oath, commerce is fractured. There is no single monopoly. Instead, three major rival guilds fight for control of the market in Auravale and the Kingdom at large.]

[1. The Golden Scales: The oldest and wealthiest. They are a great place to deal in high-end luxury goods, rare gems, exotic slaves, and magical artifacts. They are powerful, and their interests are deeply entrenched with the nobility.]

[2. The Iron Caravan: They are proficient in the control of the logistics of war. Weapons, armor, mounts, and ore. The guild was founded by a Marshal in the King's service and they are the primary suppliers of the Royal Army.]

[3. The Silver Route: A relatively new and smaller guild. They focus on the volume of general goods, food, potions, and common materials. They are considered the 'people's guild', but they are aggressive and scrappy.]

"So these guilds have their own niche?" Leo asked.

[Correction, Master. They do not specialize exclusively. All three guilds deal in *everything*. You can buy a sword from the Golden Scales or a diamond from the Silver Route.]

[However, their *scale* and *clientele* differ. The Golden Scales by large caters to the elite. The Iron Caravan caters to the military. The Silver Route is making inroads with the masses.]

[Important Note: Intelligence suggests that the Golden Scales controls the black market for Spirit Stones in this region. If you wish to acquire them, you will likely need to deal with them.]

"Golden Scales it is," Leo decided, "I need to sell this loot anyway. So why not try the established one?"

"Aiva," he commanded. "Mark the locations of the Iron Oath hall and the Golden Scales headquarters on my map."

[Locations Marked. Route Calculated.]

A glowing path appeared in his vision, leading out of the Castle and into the heart of the city.

Leo turned to Seraphine, "I will be back late," he winked at her, "Can I expect a knock on the door?"

Seraphine blushed, but her eyes shone with excitement, "Always."

Leo opened the door. The two guards stationed outside straightened up, blocking his path with their spears.

"Halt," one of them grunted, "The Lord's orders are that you remain…"

Leo didn't stop. He walked right up to them, his hand resting casually on the hilt of his sword. He let his Predator's Instincts flare, radiating a cold, lethal aura.

"I am going for a walk," Leo said, his voice flat, "Tell the Lord if he wants to stop me, he can come down here and try it himself. Otherwise, move."

The guards hesitated. They remembered the scene from training yard. They also remembered the aftermath of blood and flesh they had to clean up after that party. They looked at each other, then with a tactical understanding, slowly made way for him.

"Smart," Leo walked past them, a smirk on his face.

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