Chapter 341: Major Loss

"You country bumpkin! My family is the Bengsen Clan of Cloud Port! Don’t you dare do anything rash!"

Levi and Stellan stiffened at Ron’s words. As they saw the Half-Elf and the goblin actually draw their weapons and move in, while the Priest began Casting, their hands instinctively went to their own weapons and Magical Artifacts.

It’s hard for commoners to survive, but being a noble isn’t easy either. Without some real skill, bloodline alone isn’t enough to protect one’s status.

Levi Bengsen’s hand went to the Swift Sword at his waist, and he relaxed slightly. ’In Cloud Port, I’ve killed three men in duels and even disfigured the youngest son of the Holt Clan! What’s there to fear from a mere inland country landlord...’

However, before Levi could even complete the thought, the light throughout the entire church suddenly dimmed. In front of the shrines of the Deities Taimola and Tyr, the candlelight flickered, the burning wicks emitting a faint hissing sound. The next instant, a pair of hands whiter than carved jade and colder than ice rested on Levi’s and Stellan’s necks, respectively.

"Relax. It won’t hurt much," Silvia’s voice was like a demon’s whisper from hell. "But if you dare make a move, I can’t make any guarantees."

"A Mage?! I never thought a tiny place like Delusional Land would have someone like you, but you picked the wrong place. You’re the one who shouldn’t be making a move!" Though a hand was gently gripping his throat, Stellan remained shockingly defiant. "You must be a Necromancer, right? You wouldn’t dare attack inside a True God’s church—let us go!"

"You don’t really think Silvia would be divinely punished on her own turf, do you?" Aive scoffed, a fiery red Longsword instantly appearing in her hand. "Just keep them under control. We’ll handle the rest."

"This is just to ’cure’ them, after all. I’m sure both mortals and Deities will understand."

Levi and Stellan tried to break free from Silvia’s grasp, but shockingly, the woman—who looked incredibly slender aside from her chest—was freakishly strong. She held two grown men fast with just one hand, leaving them to watch helplessly as a sword and a dagger drew ever closer!

"Stop! Stop! We weren’t attacked by a monster! We staged the whole thing! Is that good enough?!"

With death drawing ever closer, Levi finally couldn’t hold out any longer and shouted, "Sir Ron, quickly, tell your people to put their weapons away! Get them away from me!"

"Wouldn’t it have been easier to just do this from the start?" Ron waved his hand, signaling for everyone to stand down. "I happened to be away these past few days. Next time you’re attacked on my lands, just come find me. Why bother a member of the clergy?"

"Buni, heal the one on the floor. No matter what, we can’t let him actually die."

To the young masters of the Bengsen Clan, the life or death of a mere Attendant was not worth mentioning. But the man’s injuries were real; if he wasn’t treated soon, he would truly need Resurrection Magic.

「Two hours later.」

Ron met with the members of the Bengsen Clan again in the reception room. After their intimidation tactic backfired, Levi and Stellan were much more subdued, but they still tried their best to maintain their family’s dignity. Ron sat behind a desk, frowning at the two men whose clothes were several times more expensive than his own, and gestured for them to sit.

Levi waited a long time, but no servant came to bring him a chair. He and his brother had to get chairs for themselves and sit across from Ron. What confused them, however, was that the people from before—who clearly looked like thugs—were also given seats in the room. They even sat right across from them, in a line with Ron!

’What does this mean? Is Delusional Land actually structured as an Alliance or a council? But from the intelligence we gathered, that’s clearly not the case!’

"Sir Ron, we are here to discuss diplomatic and economic matters between Cloud Port and Delusional Land. Your... Attendants, is it possible for them to..." Levi cleared his throat. He still remembered the feeling of that pale-skinned woman’s hand around his neck. ’How am I supposed to negotiate like this?’

"Attendants? Sir Bengsen, you may be mistaken," Ron said, looking at the bare tabletop. He suddenly seemed to remember something and, as if by magic, pulled a handful of nameplates from under the table, lining them up in front of Levi. "Since the development of our territory has just begun, we’re rather short on talent in all areas. Therefore, everyone here holds multiple positions. Take these people, for example: in addition to being members of an adventuring team, they also serve as advisors in various fields."

"Miss Aive is in charge of economic and trade matters, Miss Victoria handles both religious and defense affairs, and Mr. Delaford is responsible for the security of the surrounding region. If any of you happen to run into an Owl Bear or something, he’s the one to find."

Ron casually lifted Delaford up. The Goblin Hunter had his own custom chair, but if Ron hadn’t given him a hand, he would have slipped under the table.

"This..." Levi sighed. ’My tutor never taught me how to deal with a power like this. All my skills are completely useless here.’

"The situation in your territory really needs to be improved." Stellan, who had changed into formal attire, made Ron understand why he had been covering his head with a cloth earlier—the man had a pockmarked, bald head and shaved eyebrows. If not for his truly expensive clothes, Ron would have thought he had just gotten out of some prison. "What kind of leadership has most of its high-ranking members leave the territory at the drop of a hat?"

Stellan glanced around at the "advisors." He had only seen the long-haired black Half-Elf in town a few days ago; almost everyone else was a new face!

"And now you’re blaming us?" Aive said, displeased. "Didn’t Constance arrange lodging for you? You got tired of waiting and decided to harass our Priest, is that it?"

"Who would want to stay in this backwater for half a month..."

"Stellan, watch your words," Levi stopped his brother from getting into a pointless argument. He turned to Ron and handed him a report. "Sir Ron, we were indeed in the wrong about this matter, and we are willing to offer compensation to Miss Buni later. But that is not what we are here to discuss now."

"What’s this?" Ron took the report. It looked like a financial statement.

"This is our family’s profit from January to July of this year," Levi explained. "As you can clearly see from the line graph, since you became the lord of Delusional Land and opened the overland trade routes, our family has suffered substantial losses."

Ron looked at the line that took up most of the page, plummeting sharply, and at the vertical axis that went from 750,000 to 800,000. He looked up at this "Sir" who really took him for a country bumpkin. "Let me interrupt you for a second. When you say ’substantial losses,’ are you referring to a drop in net profit of twenty-one thousand?"