Chapter 66

Chapter 66 – The Quest Isn’t Done Yet (1)

As Artpe had predicted, Maetel and Sienna regained consciousness in short order.  They were surprised at how much they had gotten stronger after they had woken up.  This was especially true for Sienna.  She was dazed.

“Oppa was able to kill the Kraken unscathed.   What a relief…..  Still, I think I received to much EXP.  Also, my skill is strangely more powerful now.”

“That’s because you contributed the most in killing the Kraken…..   Huh?  It seems you aren’t aware of this fact.  Maetel, did you really get Sienna’s consent before you brought her magical energy?”

Artpe’s question was sharper than Maetel’s long sword.  Maetel turned up her smile to 120% as she answered him.

“My feelings and thoughts for Artpe is the same as Sienna!  Of course, my feelings are much stronger compared to hers.”

Basically, she hadn’t received consent from Sienna.  She was able to take and use someone else’s magical energy as she pleased.  Artpe was having a hard time figuring out the skill called Record Divide.  Before he did anything, he flicked Maetel’s forehead several times.

“I told you countless times that there is a close relationship between Mana and one’s life.  If she hadn’t leveled up, Sienna would have been put in a precarious situation.”

“If I didn’t do it, Artpe would have died!”

“Oppa!? You almost died!?”

At Maetel’s words, Sienna freaked out as she reacted to the news.  Maetel knew this was her chance.  She told Sienna all about what Artpe and she had endured, while they faced the Kraken.  After hearing the complete story, Sienna clapped her hands saying they had been fortunate.

“This means I was able to have a deep understanding with unni!  I’m so happy.  I’m so happy that I was able to help oppa.”

“There’s a deep understanding between the two of you?  When did you two develop….  Ah.”

There was that incident.  They had fought in broad daylight at the auction house. They spoke about squishy feelings that sounded as if they were revealing their hearts….   No, they were probably acting.

Artpe didn’t want to dig into it any further, so he shut his mouth.   Instead, he grabbed Roa, who was perched on top of his head.  She had been playing with his hair.  He introduced Roa to them.

“This is Roa.  She’ll be with us from now on.  As you can see, she isn’t a normal cat.  She’s the Greed Beast.”

[Nyaa.]

Roa lifted a paw as she gave her greeting.  Even if they were told that she was the Greed Beast, she looked like a dignified black cat on the outside.  Sienna was at an age where she loved cute stuff, so her eyes shone.  She sounded pleased.

“You are too cute!  You are very very cute!”

However, Maetel tackled the issue from a totally unexpected direction.

“Artpe, is Roa a female cat or a male cat?”

“She’s a female cat.  Are you trying to compete even with a beast?”

“Grrrrrrr······.”

[Nyaa······.]

When Maetel heard that the cat was female, she started growling.  Maetel became guarded.  Roa, who had to face Maetel’s hostility, was taken aback by it.

“She really is cute…..   No, Artpe-nim!  This isn’t the time to be doing this!”

There was a cordial atmosphere amongst the hero’s party.  Mycenae couldn’t stand it, so she express her anger.

“Yes, yes.  I’ll go out.  I’m coming.  Tsk.”

Artpe was lackadaisical as he got up.  He put his robe around his body.  No one instructed her to do so, but Roa entered into his robe out of her own accord.  She hid atop his head.

It was the corpse of an enormous level 267 large monster.  It was something rarely seen in the human world.  Artpe felt depressed at the thought of facing the humans demonstrate their greed.

He got out of the bed first, then he waited for Maetel and Sienna to equip themselves.  After they were done getting ready……

“Artpe, I’m hungry.”

“Oppa~  I want to eat buttered corn.”

“All right.  Let’s eat before we go.”

[Nyaa!]

“Ah ah!  Really!  Artep-niiiim!”

They decided to go eat first.

“You are finally up?”

“We’ve been waiting for you, magician.”

It was as if they had been trying to eat all the meals they had missed for the past two days.  They enjoyed their meals thoroughly before they went to the square.  It seemed all the foreign nobles, nobles of Diaz, the lord of Frate and the merchants were all gathered here.  If things went a little bit awry, a much dirtier and thicker greed compared to what was seen in the auction house yesterday would emanate from them.

“Wow.  It looks really big seen in this light….burp.”

“You dummy, don’t speak and burp at the same time.  Where did your dignity as a human go to?”

“It really is big.  Oppa killed this.  Oppa is too cool.”

Of course, they weren’t the only ones there.  The Kraken was so large that he wondered how they moved the corpse inland.  Moreover, the Kraken’s corpse had been kept intact.  It was being guarded by an awe-inspiring number of guards….. Artpe was baffled by all of this, so he asked the lord a question.

“I’ve only killed the Kraken.  The Lunatic Wave has started, so it won’t end until the winter ends.  Is it ok for you all to be here doing nothing?”

“Since you’ve killed the Kraken, the size of the Wave has decreased.  Two days has passed, yet the size of the Wave barely increased in size.  We still have time.  This is all thanks to you….”

“The more important thing right now is the Kraken!”

“Magician!  We want to talk to you about divvying up the Kraken’s loot!”

“Koo-hmmm······.”

The foreign nobles were jumping up and down in excitement.  The only one that was subdued amongst them was Frate’s lord, count Melard.  He probably also coveted the Kraken’s corpse, but the defense of Frate was more important to him.

“Even if you don’t raise your voices, the magician will understand your words.  Everyone should calm down, and we should wait for him to speak.  This will allow us to do this quickly, and it’ll finish without any conflict.”

“How can I do that!  These bastards are trying to steal my share of the Kraken through unfair reason!”

“Who are you accusing of theft?  I acquired the share to the barrier wall through the merchant over there!  I bought it with my Magic Stones early on!  I’m different from you guys, who held out giving the Magic Stones until the last moment.  You only gave it up, because you didn’t want to die!”

“Everyone should calm down!  Aren’t you ashamed of your behavior as nobles!”

“How can we calm down right now!”

This was why the count had remained here.  If he vacated his post of watching over the corpse of the Kraken, he was worried a fight would have broken out.  He was at a point where he wished the corpse of the Kraken would just disappear.

‘Thankfully, the lord has a good head on his shoulders.  If people like him didn’t exist, the country would fall into ruins.’

Artpe shared a bitter laugh with the lord before he stepped forward.  Everyone’s attention was focused on him.  He let out a deep sigh, and he looked over the Kraken’s corpse. He had planned on talking about everyone’s share after he made an accurate assessment of the worth of the Kraken’s corpse.

‘Huh…..’

However, he found an information that he hadn’t been able to catch with his Read all Creation ability when the Kraken was alive.  During the fight, he hadn’t been focused on analyzing what was within its body.  He had focused on its health and overall status of the Kraken.  It was understandable as to how this had happened.

The Read All Creation was a god-like ability that allowed it to discern all information that could be seen through his eyes.  However, there was a limit on how much information Artpe could receive and process.  This was why he had trained his ability to show him information on topics he was focused on.

In conclusion, he had done a thorough search of the Kraken’s inner anatomy, and he was barely able to find an entity within it.

‘Besides the fact that there is something within it…..   It is still alive?  Moreover, this being belongs to the race of…..  Wait a moment.  This smells like another Quest…..’

He had thought he had nothing to hide.  Greed Beast Roa had looted the Kraken once already.  The only thing that could be gained from the Kraken was its big body.  Of course, the parts of its body were useful, but it wasn’t anything he coveted.   This was why he had been ready to give away most of it after he gathered the important items…..  However, the story had changed once he found ‘another possibility’ within its corpse.

“All right.  I am a magician that is second to none in this world in terms of fairness.  I’ll make my verdict now.  My three man party will take 50% of the loot.”

“You want 50%?!  That is too high!?”

“Artpe-nim!  You only want 50 percent…..”

If one was being frank, the hero party had done everything in this fight.  Five hundred magic stones was worth an enormous amount, yet the Reinforcement of the barrier wall couldn’t have been done without him.  Moreover, Sienna and Maetel wouldn’t have been there.  The barrier wall wouldn’t have been used to defeat the Kraken.

He had every right to take the entire corpse for himself, so he was being generous by announcing his 50% cut.  Of course, the generosity was influenced by the fact that Roa had already looted the Kraken.

A portion of nobles couldn’t hide their anger and discontent.  They were barely able to keep their cool, but the nobles started making snide comments.  Artpe snorted as he spoke in a disinterested manner.

“Next, there is the merchant that played a huge role in making the barrier wall, which blocked the Kraken.  Mycenae’s share is 20%.”

“That merchant tried to cheat us out of our items,  yet you are giving her a 20% cut!  Are you out of your mind !”

“If this particular merchant wasn’t here, we would have all died.  So shut the hell up!”

At Artpe’s rough rebuke, the nobles shut their mouths.

Since Artpe wasn’t a noble, they couldn’t bend him to their wills through political pressure.  He was also a powerful magician, so they couldn’t subdue him through violence.  If Artpe had tried to coerce them all through his magic, they could have shouted with righteous anger.  They could have invoked the name of their countries.  However, Artpe was speaking as the most accomplished combatant in this battle.  He also spoke about the contributions made by the other people in battle.  There was nothing they could gain by raising their voices.

“Then there are the nobles and merchants of Diaz, who provided 180 Magic Stones for the construction of the barrier wall.  They sold it at a ‘cheap’ price.   I believe 20% share is fair for them.  The rest will take the 10% share.  These are the foreign nobles and merchants, who paid 320 Magic Stones, in exchange for the right to be protected.  That is it.  Are there any objections?”

“T…ten percent….. You want us to share 10 percent amongst the 100 of us? Y…you bastaaaaaaaard!”

The noble couldn’t stand it any longer, so he unsheathed his sword.  He pointed his sword at Artpe.  However, neither Maetel and Sienna stepped forward to help Artpe.  They knew how much strength and martial force he possessed.

Artpe’s eyebrows twitched as he looked over the noble.

“I split it up fairly.  Do you have a problem with it?”

“How is this fair!  I’ve never experienced meeting such an obstinate person!  I gave up three Magic Stones, and I want a fair compensation!”

“You should speak the whole truth.  You’ve already received a fair compensation.”

Artpe extended his hand to grab the sword.  The Mana Strings erupted like vines as it climbed up the sword.  The Mana Strings reached the man’s neck.  The nobleman couldn’t see the Mana Strings, but he could feel the pressure caused by them.  He squeaked as his body tensed.

“I’m talking about your life.  The rest is just a bonus.  Am I not right?”

“Y…you bastard….  You dare to threaten a marquis of the Diatin Kingdom!”

“I’m pretty sure you were the one to threaten me first.  I’m pretty sure we made a clean transaction, yet you are going back on the terms of the deal.  You are trying to double dip.  If that isn’t a form of threat, what is?”

“T…that wasn’t a fair trade……”

When he added strength into the Mana String, the nobles sword broke cleanly.  The bastard finally realized that he was facing someone with unfathomable abilities.  He finally realized this fact.

“If you don’t like the price you paid for your life, I can take it all back. Shall we settle our account after nullifying our previous agreement?  I’m ready to do so.”

Artpe was trying to prevent more annoying incidents from occurring.  He spoke as he gathered his Mana.  The noble’s face paled.

“M…my country won’t allow….”

“Do you really think that your northern country will be able to find me?  No….  If I decide to do something to you here, do you think I’ll leave behind any witnesses?  You were shaking in fear behind the wall, while we killed the Kraken.  It has only been two days, yet have you forgotten this fact?”

“Koo, kuh-huhk…..”

Artpe’s imposing presence was mounting.  It was as if the Demon King’s Four Heavenly King had made his appearance.  The murderous intent rose until it choked their throats.  It was hard to breath in this atmosphere.

“Such fearsome Mana…..”

“He probably became much stronger after defeating the Kraken.  He might be the strongest human in this world…..!”

No one there could say anything.  They could only feel sorry for the marquis of the Diatin Kingdom, who was feeling the full brunt of Artpe’s killing intent.  Nevertheless, Artpe spoke words that held more venom than before.

“I’m playing along with you guys, since I don’t want to create more annoying incidents.  If I kill you, it will be inevitable.  I will have to destroy your country at some point in time.  ······so how do you want to play this?  Are you going to create trouble for me?”

No one there could laugh off Artpe’s words as a lie.  They believed that Artpe was capable of destroying a nation.  This was also true for the marquis of the Diatin Kingdom.

“N…no.  I…I’m not going to”

“What about you guys?”

The nobles and merchants had been showing a bold front until a moment ago, yet they avoided meeting Artpe’s gaze right now.  When he saw this, Artpe felt truly appalled by it.

If they knew they were going to end things like this, why did they all raise their voices?  Why did they have to force Artpe to growl and show off his power?  This was why he considered humans to be no better than dogs.  However, it was also true that Artpe had humored them, and he played on their level.  Artpe was the same as them.  He was also pathetic.

Still, he had to continue this pathetic farce to achieve his goal.

“All right.  Since we’ve concluded our discussion, let us start distributing it.  Since we no longer need to guard the corpse, you should quickly send the guards to the 2nd tier barrier wall.  Those with no claims to the corpse of the Kraken should also go.  You should be vigilant against the murderous intent of the monsters, not the greed of humans.”

“I…I understand!”

“Understood, magician-nim!”

The square became quiet.  There were greedy people still present, yet no one had the fortitude to reveal their greed.

“Let us start the looting.”

“Y…yes sir.”

The marquis of Diatan couldn’t withstand Artpe’s killing intent, so he had pissed his pants.  Artpe discarded him, and he approached the Kraken’s corpse.  As he approached it, he gave orders to Roa in  a low voice.

[When I mess with the corpse, I want you to play along by pouring out the worthless items.]

[Nyaa-ahhhh.]

Artpe messed with the Kraken.  Roa opened her mouth.

The collaboration between the master and servant was perfect.