Chapter 64: Back To The Manor

Lord Berlic had sent this bastard into the rift so he could die in there, yet because of that fool Dane, Elias was still standing alive before Daemon, looking completely unharmed despite everything that had happened inside the rift.

Daemon’s expression remained calm as he stared at the returning rangers, but inwardly, his irritation was steadily increasing.

If Elias had simply died inside the spatial rift, there would have been no problem at all. Lord Berlic would have received the result he wanted, and Daemon could have reported that the bastard had perished while carrying out his duties.

Instead, Elias had returned alive.

Worse, Daemon had no justification to do anything about him.

He needed something, anything, that could justify punishing Elias or at least creating trouble for him. Otherwise, Lord Berlic would undoubtedly be disappointed with him.

As Daemon’s question fell into Dane’s ears, every moment of Elias ignoring his orders replayed inside his mind, yet those memories were immediately followed by another scene.

The battle against the Rusted Reaper.

He remembered how the creature had nearly slaughtered them, how its scythe-like arms had repeatedly forced them backward, and how their attacks had been completely useless against its armor. Then he remembered Elias arriving and defeating the monster almost effortlessly.

Dane’s fingers trembled.

He looked at Daemon and slowly shook his head.

"No," Dane answered, his voice slightly strained. "There was no insubordination from any of the rangers."

Daemon stared at him for several seconds.

’That is what is wrong with picking idiots as leaders; they cannot understand basic clues.’

He had practically handed Dane an opportunity to complain about Elias, yet the man had somehow managed to miss it completely.

Daemon closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead before deciding there was no point asking again.

"Okay," he said.

He leaned toward the left side of the table and picked up six small leather pouches before throwing them toward the rangers.

The pouches landed across the wooden surface with several dull thumps, and the sound of coins clicking against one another immediately filled the tent.

"Each of them has ten gold coins," Daemon commanded as he looked at the group. "Take them and leave."

The rangers stared at the pouches.

Ten gold coins was not an insignificant amount for ordinary warriors.

"T-Thank you, Lord Daemon," they stammered almost simultaneously.

They quickly stepped forward and collected the pouches.

Elias calmly picked up one of them as well, fastening it to his belt before turning toward the tent’s entrance.

Daemon watched him leave, and the moment Elias’s back disappeared beyond the flap, his expression twisted with frustration.

His fist tightened.

"What a waste," he mumbled.

Outside, the six rangers began making their way back toward Kilmir, with Elias walking slightly apart from the others as he silently considered everything that had happened inside the rift.

The battle had provided him with valuable experience, while the Rusted Reaper’s corpse and Dark Thorn’s corpses that he had stored would hopefully prove useful once he found somewhere safe to sell them.

However, there was one problem.

He still had no idea how he was going to sell anything without attracting Berlic’s attention.

Kilmir did not possess a proper facility for handling materials from spatial rifts, at least not one that Elias could use without someone eventually reporting the transaction to the City Lord. If he suddenly appeared with several monster corpses and a large quantity of Riftstone, there was no way Berlic would ignore it.

’Perhaps I should find a merchant outside the city,’ Elias thought as he walked.

The thought seemed promising, but he didn’t know whether he could leave Kilmir without permission, nor did he want to draw unnecessary attention to himself.

He was still considering his options when Dane suddenly moved closer.

"That voice..." Dane asked in a low voice, "Was it you?"

Elias turned his head.

’Hmm?’

His brows furrowed as he looked at Dane.

"What are you talking about?" Elias asked.

Dane glanced toward the other rangers before lowering his voice even further.

"While talking to Lord Daemon, I heard a voice in my head," he said cautiously. "It was you, right?"

Elias’s expression remained calm, but his thoughts immediately shifted.

’Is the voice of Mental Whisper different than my actual voice?’

He had assumed the skill simply allowed him to communicate with someone mentally, yet if Dane couldn’t recognize the voice as his, then perhaps the skill didn’t reproduce his physical voice at all.

Elias briefly considered the possibility before shaking his head.

"I do not know what you are talking about," he answered.

Dane frowned as he studied Elias’s expression, but he couldn’t find even the slightest indication that Elias was lying.

"Is that so..." he muttered.

The two continued walking with the others, and Dane eventually fell silent.

As they moved farther away from the rift, Elias returned his attention to his earlier problem.

’How am I going to sell the monster corpses and Riftstone?’

The thought continued bothering him.

He had already collected several valuable materials, and keeping them inside his Inventory indefinitely would accomplish nothing. He needed gold if he wanted to improve his manor, purchase better equipment, and provide better resources for his wives.

Yet doing anything openly within Kilmir would almost certainly reach Berlic’s ears.

Elias frowned as he continued thinking, but before he could come up with a solution, the scenery around him gradually began changing.

The dirt road beneath his boots slowly became a paved stone road, while the trees surrounding them disappeared and were replaced by rows of houses and larger buildings.

The evening sky gradually darkened as the group continued through the streets, and the warm light shining from windows became increasingly visible as night settled over Kilmir.

Elias remained lost in thought until his feet eventually stopped.

A familiar building stood before him.

His manor.

However, the moment Elias raised his head and looked toward the gates, his brows immediately furrowed.

Benjamin was standing outside the entrance.

The old butler’s usually composed face had disappeared, replaced by an expression of obvious terror, and he stood rigidly before two figures.

Elias narrowed his eyes.

Both figures were wearing the distinctive armor of the Outer Night Watch.

One of them stood with his arms crossed while the other rested a hand against the hilt of his weapon, and neither seemed particularly concerned about Benjamin’s presence.

Elias’s expression gradually became colder.

’What is going on?’

He immediately walked toward the gates, his eyes remaining fixed on the three people standing there.

As he approached, one of the Outer Night Watch members turned toward Benjamin and shouted angrily.

"Did you not hear me, you old bastard?! Bring me those bitches!"