Everything went extraordinarily smoothly. After Loulan paid a small, inconsequential gratuity, he got his wish and followed the wolf demihuman steward Huian into Coldiron City's noble district.
Unlike the worlds of typical Western fantasy novels, nobles in this world rarely chose to live on their rural fiefs.
Aside from the ruling lords and essential personnel, most rented or bought a parcel of land in a major local city or the county seat and settled their families there.
This situation created an outward appearance of "remarkable unity" among the local nobility and even gave rise to quite a few novel businesses.
Of course, none of that concerned Loulan for now.
【Wow〜 Now this is somewhere fit for people to live. Once I have money, I'm buying a house here too!】
Coldiron City was a large county seat encircled by three walls. It was divided into the outer residential district, the inner noble district, and the central count's castle, making its class divisions perfectly clear.
Compared with the filthy outer district, where people might even relieve themselves by the roadside, the streets of the inner district were spotless.
The houses here were all made from premium stone and timber, each more luxurious than the last. Some even had private gardens and swimming pools!
Paradise!
"Please come in, Mr. Loulan. My master should be studying in his study at the moment. You may wait in the reception room for a while. A maid will bring tea and refreshments shortly."
Huian led Loulan to a small, two-story medieval castle, opened the door, and politely invited him inside. Only then did he slowly back away, turn halfway around, and depart up the spiral staircase on the left.
Loulan looked around at the castle's layout. It was no different from the medieval castles of the West in his previous life and could easily serve as a fortified bunker in an emergency.
Before long, he was sitting quietly beside the reception table, waiting for his employer to arrive.
"Tap, tap..."
At some point, footsteps sounded through the previously empty hall. A human maid in a long dress entered with several pastries and a pot of black tea.
Back in his previous life, Loulan wouldn't have been interested in such dry snacks, but medieval food was... Well, compared with the white bread and milk in the outer district, the pastries and tea already counted as delicious fare.
As for meat?
Before meeting Huian, Loulan hadn't dared reveal his wealth, let alone eat meat.
He didn't touch the food, however. Instead, he restrained himself and waited for his employer to arrive, hoping to make the best possible impression and seize this chance to rise!
Money couldn't open every door, especially in the Middle Ages. You first had to see whether the other party was willing to give you an opportunity.
"Greetings, Mr. Loulan. I am Maven Tel Corisu, and this is my younger sister, Sia."
A man and a woman soon descended from the second floor, followed by the elegant wolf demihuman steward. The man sat across from Loulan and introduced himself before resting both hands over his lower abdomen.
"An told me why you've come. The ancient coins you offered are generally found only in Darkest Dungeons and Garrison Dungeons. It's clear that you must have been an outstanding adventurer in the past. But you may not know that each lesser noble in Coldiron City receives only one Darkest Dungeon bounty slot every five years. This opportunity is therefore particularly important to me."
"Mm-hmm! Big Brother is the next heir of the Corisu family and the future Viscount! This is a test Father gave him."
Maven's younger sister, Sia, chimed in while scrutinizing Loulan.
【One plays the good cop, the other the bad cop. After all that talk, they just want more money. Sheesh!】
Loulan silently complained to himself.
At the same time, he marveled at the value of his "windfall." Those glittering gold coins were ancient coins? He had initially assumed they were ordinary gold coins.
If the "windfall" hadn't also contained copper and silver coins, he might have learned an expensive lesson from this.
Loulan nodded, first acknowledging Maven's point, then slowly made a proposal.
"Mr. Maven, of course I understand how important this is to you. Every relic is a noble family's cherished treasure and a cornerstone that secures its foundations. But you also understand that nothing in this world has a one-hundred-percent chance of success. Even if you hired a party of Gem-rank mercenaries to explore a Darkest Dungeon, they might not recover a single relic. If you're willing to give me this opportunity, however, you'll at least receive some valuable ancient coins, won't you?"
【Besides, at the price you're offering, the best you could hire is a party of Gold-rank adventurers.】
Loulan kept that last, inadvisable remark to himself for the sake of complaining in silence.
This Western fantasy world also divided adventurers into five ranks, from lowest to highest.
Bronze, Silver, Gold, Magic Crystal, and Gem.
The Adventurers' Guild in Coldiron City had a resident party of Magic Crystal-rank adventurers. They were powerful enough to slaughter a legendary dragon! Hiring them, however, was also exorbitantly expensive.
Most Gold-rank adventuring parties were already occupied with commissions. Conquering a Darkest Dungeon required at least a top-tier Silver-rank party, and completing one expedition earned them promotion to Gold rank. That was why so many noble bounties remained posted at the guild.
There were too many jobs and too few adventurers.
Furthermore, a Darkest Dungeon's unique nature required an extraordinarily strong stomach to withstand the sanity-shredding monstrosities inside! Consequently, few adventuring parties could accept two such bounties in succession.
Most spent a month delving and then rested for a year, or even longer.
"Very well, Mr. Loulan. Your argument has persuaded me. You're right: at least I won't leave empty-handed, and I'll have an explanation for my family."
Maven fell silent for a moment, then smiled and nodded. He ultimately agreed to sell the commission to Loulan.
"Then it's settled, Mr. Loulan. Thirty ancient coins, and the bounty is yours. If you return successfully, I will still pay you a reward as a gesture of goodwill from the Corisu family. I won't impose any requirements regarding relics, but if you find any you cannot use, please don't forget the Corisu family. Is that acceptable?"
"How about twenty coins?"
"Deal!"
"..."
Loulan said nothing. He merely felt that he lacked a merchant's cunning.
Seeing his reaction, Maven could only laugh heartily to enliven the mood.
"Hahahaha, Huian, please arrange a dinner as soon as possible. Mr. Loulan, if it's convenient, why not stay and dine with us, rest tonight, and depart for the Darkest Dungeon tomorrow? I assure you, the Corisu family's service to its guests is second to none!"
"That would be wonderful. Here are the ancient coins for our transaction, twenty-five in total. I hope our next partnership will be just as pleasant."
With that, Loulan took a small pouch from his trouser pocket, counted twenty-five ancient coins from an inner pocket of his clothes, placed them inside, then set the pouch on the reception table.
"Hahahaha! Of course. You're welcome back anytime!"
Host and guest alike were delighted.