Before meeting Hilda Kalsburg, I went to see Gilbert first.
How should I put it... I suppose you could call it groundwork before the real negotiation.
As it happened, Gilbert was in the same sparring arena where we had fought.
Time to provoke him a little.
“Hey, little half-brother. How are you feeling? Eating well?”
“…Get lost before I kill you.”
Oh, how frightening.
He seemed to hold a deeper grudge than I had expected.
He probably wanted to beat me to death on the spot.
He was in the perfect state for me to wound his pride.
“Why are you getting so worked up? I came bearing good news.”
“Good news?”
“Didn’t you hear? A whole crowd of young knights came to my room carrying gifts.”
“…….”
Gilbert’s expression stiffened.
Right. There was no way he had not heard.
He had probably been secretly hoping for it too.
With his prideful personality, he simply would not have shown it.
“Your older brother gave it some thought... and I decided to grant your request.”
“My request?”
“I heard you asked the knights to convince me to have another duel.”
That was a lie.
They had simply come begging me on their own.
“They were practically on their knees, you know? They even begged me that if it looked like I was going to win again, I should please lose to you instead.”
That was also a lie.
Not a single one of them believed I would win again in the first place.
But regardless of the truth, it did a wonderful job of trampling on Gilbert’s pride.
“…Who was it?”
“Hm?”
“I asked which knight dared spout such nonsense!”
“Well, I don’t know their names. So many knights came and went that I couldn’t keep track.”
Okay.
That worked perfectly.
“Get out of my sight. Now.”
“Huh? So you don’t want a rematch?”
“Enough of your nonsense! A match is a match. You are the heir.”
“Hmm... If you insist.”
Gilbert suddenly broke off the conversation and hurled his sword onto the ground.
With murderous intent in his eyes, he stormed out of the sparring arena.
Success.
A bastard that prideful would not go back on his word.
And somewhere out there, one of the knights who visited my room was probably about to lose his job.
After that, all I had to do was wait.
There was someone else who was desperate, after all.
It did not take long before Hilda Kalsburg came to see me.
All manner of gemstones adorned her body in dazzling splendor.
She had to be fairly old by now, yet there was not a single wrinkle on her face.
“You look better than I expected.”
She immediately started laying into me.
“Though I suppose that is only natural. You certainly stuffed your pockets with plenty of gifts from the knights over the past few days.”
This woman was coming in hard.
She must have known by now that I was no longer the type to simply bow my head and obey.
The Duchess immediately got to the point.
“I will dispense with the pleasantries. Consider this succession duel void.”
“What do you mean? I obtained the position of heir through a legitimate process.”
I was getting tired of repeating that line.
I had spent the entire day yesterday and today saying the same thing to knights.
This time, however, the response was a little different.
“Yes. I merely said it to see how you would respond.”
“No matter what you say, I— What?”
“The heir to the Kalsburg family, known as the King of the North. Surely you would not surrender such a position for a few paltry gifts. This is not some corner shop.”
“…….”
What?
This was going differently from what I expected.
I had honestly assumed we were about to have a major argument.
“Then why did you come?”
“Because I am confident I can persuade you. It does not appear particularly difficult.”
Hilda Kalsburg lightly tapped one of the gifts as she spoke.
“You seem to want money, so I will give you money. An amount befitting the position of heir.”
“Money... you say?”
Good.
Those were the words I wanted to hear.
Still, I carefully kept my expression under control.
She seemed to have already figured me out, but there was no need to make it obvious.
The question was the amount.
How much would she offer?
One loaf of rye bread cost 90 sel.
A pair of shoes cost 2,000 sel.
An ordinary commoner needed 50,000 sel to cover a month’s living expenses.
Opening a shop in the capital cost eight million sel.
The name of the Kalsburg ducal family.
The value of becoming its heir.
Even if what I was selling was merely the opportunity for another succession duel, it could not possibly be cheap.
Considering the materials I needed for the Hidden Piece and the supplies required for the labyrinth, I would need at least three billion sel—
“Three hundred million sel.”
Goddamn it.
Of course.
I knew things were going too smoothly.
Why bother dressing it up with grand words if that was all she planned to offer?
A harsh response slipped out before I could stop myself.
“Are you joking with me?”
“…What did you say?”
“I asked whether you were joking with me.”
“A joke? You truly have no restraint in your speech. The heir of this family cannot even show basic respect toward his elders. How is this household supposed to function under you!”
The Duchess raised her voice at my insolent words.
She did not actually seem all that angry.
It felt more like she had found an excuse to criticize me.
So I raised my voice right back.
“The Kalsburg family is one of the foremost houses in the Empire—no, on the entire continent. Do you truly believe the position of heir to one of the most prestigious families in existence can be traded for mere money?”
“…A trade? When did I ever—”
“What you just proposed is exactly that: a trade. I do not believe the position of heir should ever be associated with such petty profit.”
“…….”
The Duchess cleared her throat awkwardly.
Her maternal family was the enormously wealthy Denhart family.
Her father’s title, however, was only that of a Viscount, far below the rank of Duke.
“And how could you possibly believe the heir of Kalsburg is worth only three hundred million sel? Do you truly think so little of the position?”
“…Then how much do you have in mind?”
“Of course, I am not saying I would sell it... but no less than three billion sel. I will not accept anything below that.”
“Three billion? Do you think three billion sel grows on trees? I do not have that kind of money!”
I knew that.
Even if she was the eldest daughter of the Denhart family, she had married into another house.
Three hundred million sel was probably around the limit of what she could immediately mobilize.
Frankly, that amount in cash was enough for me too.
The materials required for the Hidden Piece were expensive, but they should not exceed three hundred million.
Still, there was no reason to sell something worth three billion for only three hundred million.
“Then how about this?”
“What do you mean?”
“I have no need for money. As I said, the position of heir is not something that should be traded. However, I have been thinking that Gilbert might be more suited to it than I am.”
“…Do you truly mean that?”
“I swear it. That is why I propose this instead. Give me three hundred million sel for now. And then—”
I paused and drew a breath.
“And then?”
The Duchess urged me to continue.
She looked extremely impatient.
Perhaps it was a habitual gesture, but she began fiddling with the necklace around her neck.
It was an ornament set with a red gemstone in the center.
I deliberately dragged my eyes away from it and spoke.
“Give me that necklace.”
“My necklace?”
Yes.
The necklace.
The moment I saw it, I wondered if it could possibly be what I thought it was.
‘Holy shit.’
It felt as though someone had struck the back of my head with a hammer.
I was suddenly reminded that what I knew was not necessarily everything there was to know.
‘Why the hell is that here?’
That was a Relic.
A Secret Treasure that could only be obtained from the labyrinth.
And not just any treasure.
It was one of the items I had planned to prioritize finding after entering the labyrinth.
There was a Hidden Piece on the second floor that could only be obtained if I had that necklace.
‘The Duchess had it all along….’
To think Hilda Kalsburg had possessed it.
Damn it.
So that was why I could never obtain it no matter what I did until the middle stages of the game.
It must have entered circulation only after the Kalsburg family was destroyed.
“You want this?”
“I know what it is. It is a Relic.”
In terms of value, it would easily exceed three billion sel.
It was that kind of item.
‘More importantly, you couldn’t buy it even if you had the money.’
Originally, I had planned to demand one of the Duchess’s buildings as collateral or make the Denhart family act as guarantor.
But the moment I saw that item, I changed my mind.
Of course, I was probably the only one who knew the necklace’s true value.
Unless certain special conditions were fulfilled, it was nothing more than an ordinary necklace.
“…….”
The Duchess sank into deep thought.
I decided to make her decision easier.
“If you give it to me, I will go to the Family Head immediately and ask for permission.”
“Right now?”
“Wouldn’t today be better? It has only been four days since he approved the proposal. There is always the possibility that he could change his mind.”
“Hmm.”
Her tone changed.
Realizing that she had taken the bait, I pressed harder.
“I say this for your sake and Gilbert’s... ‘Allen Kalsburg accepted a rematch for the succession contest in exchange for three hundred million sel....’ If a rumor like that spread, people would say the Duchess coerced me into accepting with an absurdly low amount of money. It would reflect poorly on the family as well. So that necklace would provide the minimum justification necessary.”
“…….”
Still not enough?
Fine.
Time to drive the nail in.
“The truth is, I proposed a rematch to Gilbert two days ago.”
“And? What did he say?”
“He refused outright. He said his pride would not allow it.”
“Ha! When will that boy ever grow up?”
She was right.
But I could not agree with her here.
“Is that not precisely how the second son of the Kalsburg family ought to behave? He did not seem easy to persuade. But if you and I work together, we could change his mind.”
“How?”
“We simply tell him that you entrusted your treasured necklace to me as collateral. On the condition that if he wins the duel, I return it to you.”
“You will return it? Do you truly mean that?”
That was a lie.
I did not even know whether the necklace would still exist by then.
“If we do that, Gilbert will swallow his pride. He will fight in order to reclaim his mother’s necklace.”
“Hmm….”
Appeal to her emotions.
The Duchess thought deeply for a moment.
Then, at last, she accepted the deal.
“Very well. We shall do that.”
Wow.
That actually worked.
“Then... when would be a suitable date?”
“It will take at least six months for the Family Head to make time for it.”
Six months.
That was shorter than I expected.
When I nodded, the Duchess rose from her seat.
“I will take my leave. I will send the promissory note through your maid.”
“You need to give me the necklace as well.”
“Ah, yes. Treat it carefully. You will have to return it in six months.”
“Yes. Have a safe journey.”
I bowed with the utmost sincerity.
Just as quickly as she had entered, the Duchess left the room.
The moment she was gone, I examined the necklace.
‘Beautiful.’
I had obtained the Relic I wanted.
And three hundred million sel on top of it.
I had made an unbelievable amount of money without even leaving my seat.
It was enough to live in luxury for at least twenty years.
Of course, every last coin and the item itself would be spent on my expedition into the labyrinth.
‘Return it, my ass.’
To be honest, I had even considered simply handing over the position of heir in exchange for enough money.
It was not as though I had any attachment to the position.
To the nobles of this world, becoming the head of the Kalsburg family probably represented unimaginable honor.
But I was not a noble.
I had no intention of nobly placing myself at the front line of every war, nor did I want to spend every day buried beneath mountains of paperwork.
If I was forced to live in this world, I would much rather live like a wealthy man of leisure.
More importantly—
‘I have to go back….’
Life here was not necessarily terrible.
But I had a reason to return.
And I absolutely had to do it within five years.
‘No.’
As soon as possible.
I reaffirmed it once again.
That was my only objective.
And just like that, two months passed in the blink of an eye.
“Phew... This is brutal.”
I was now inside the labyrinth.
I had killed the first marauder I encountered.
And at last, I had obtained Legendary Magic.