The underground world.
A bonfire blazed in the open space near the back of the camp, its flickering flames casting alternating light and shadow across the faces gathered around it.
Rosie sat on a raised platform, holding a piece of flatbread in her hand.
She took a bite, chewed a couple of times, and let her gaze drift past the flames to the two men talking nearby.
Baron Weiss and a tall, thin man stood beside the fire.
The man wore a magnificent, deep purple robe, the fabric shimmering with the distinct luster of silk under the firelight.
He appeared to be in his thirties, with a lean face and a sharp jawline. Every movement he made carried the effortless composure of someone accustomed to commanding others.
As he spoke, he raised his right hand slightly, the ruby ring on his thumb reflecting a deep, dark red glow in the firelight.
Rosie took another bite of her flatbread, chewing slowly.
At some point, Anna had come to stand beside Rosie, her eyes also fixed on the pair.
“That is Count Morris,” Anna said. “He is a great noble of the Kingdom of Deros, and my actual employer.”
Rosie paused mid-chew. “Your employer?”
Anna offered a faint smile, her tone casual. “A mage's research requires a great deal of money and resources, doesn't it?”
The dwarf sauntered over from out of nowhere, holding a waterskin that wafted the distinct aroma of ale.
“I seem to recall someone saying they only pursue knowledge, and that money doesn't matter...” the dwarf muttered.
Unbothered, Anna glanced at him. “Because to me, knowledge is wealth. Do you have any idea how much an ancient magic circle is worth?”
Rosie and the dwarf shook their heads in unison.
Anna smiled. “At least ten thousand gold coins, and easily hundreds of thousands—even millions of gold coins for some.”
Both Rosie and the dwarf gasped.
The dwarf nearly dropped his waterskin. “I could mine for hundreds of years and never make that much money...”
Rosie swallowed her mouthful of flatbread and asked, “What about a portal? How much would that go for?”
“Priceless,” Anna replied.
Rosie pressed further. “Then why don't you study the portal we came through? I remember you saying it was a lost technology.”
Anna sighed. “It's not that I don't want to, but I simply can't. It is far beyond my current capabilities. Even if my mentor were here, they wouldn't be able to make heads or tails of it.”
She paused before adding, “Portals don't just exist here; they can be found in other places as well, but no one has been able to reverse-engineer them yet.”
“Where else are there portals?” Rosie asked, her curiosity piqued.
“The Desolate Desert has them,” Anna said. “And not just one, but many.”
The dwarf chimed in, “I know the place you mean. The legendary Ruins of a Thousand Portals, right?”
Anna nodded. “Exactly. It's the site of a once-glorious magic empire.”
“A pity, though,” the dwarf said, shaking his head. “I've heard it's been overrun by all kinds of elemental creatures. It's an incredibly dangerous place.”
“The high elves built an arcane city in the southwest of the Desolate Desert, fully intent on restoring the glory of the magic empire,” Anna said.
The dwarf snorted. “Those high elves are so arrogant, their noses are practically glued to the sky. I'd rather dance with a goblin than deal with them.”
Rosie was about to ask for more details about the Desolate Desert when Baron Weiss's voice echoed from a distance.
“Knight Rosie, Lady Anna, Master Ginli, please come over for a moment.”
The three of them stopped chatting, stood up, and walked over.
A few stones had been placed around the bonfire to serve as makeshift seats.
Count Morris did not sit. He stood tall, his gaze sweeping over the three of them as they approached.
“Count Morris, allow me to introduce them,” the Baron began. “This is Knight Rosie. She is the one who eliminated the threat of the Mammothkin.”
Count Morris looked at Rosie and gave a slight nod.
“Greetings, Knight Rosie.”
Rosie bowed slightly in return. “Greetings, Lord Count.”
“And this is Lady Anna, she is—”
Before the Baron could finish, he was interrupted.
“Lord Count, hello. We meet again,” Anna greeted with a smile.
Count Morris offered a faint smile, one much more natural than the nod he had given Rosie. “Lady Anna, how are your endeavors coming along?”
Anna nodded. “Everything is going smoothly. We have acquired a map of this world and are preparing to search for the key to open the archives.”
Count Morris nodded. “Excellent.”
The Baron glanced back and forth between the two. “Ah, so you two already know each other.”
Count Morris nodded. “Indeed. Lady Anna is an old friend of mine. She has helped me quite a bit in the past.”
The statement was delivered casually, but everyone present understood its underlying message: he was letting the Baron know that Anna worked for him.
The Baron did not press the matter, choosing instead to ask, “You found a map of this world?”
“We did.”
Rosie pulled the map from her breast pocket and handed it to the Baron.
The Baron took it and unfurled it beside the bonfire.
His eyes traced slowly along the drawn lines.
“This world truly is massive!” the Baron marveled.
“Judging by the scale of the map, this underground world is equivalent to twice the size of the Kingdom of Deros,” Anna said.
“Which means the underground territory extends far beyond the borders of our kingdom?” Count Morris frowned.
“It seems so. Based on the proportions, parts of the underground beneath the nations bordering the Kingdom of Deros are included in this area,” Anna agreed with a nod.
Count Morris's frown deepened. “This is highly problematic. If that's the case, it could bring trouble to the kingdom.”
He turned to the Baron. “Lord Weiss, we must keep all news of this underground world strictly contained. Not a single word of this must leak out.”
But the Baron shook his head. “There's no harm in a crowd; the more, the merrier. A place this vast would only go to waste if left empty. Besides, I have already dubbed Rosie a Pioneer Knight. The lands she conquered shall be her fief.”
Count Morris's gaze darkened slightly. “Lord Weiss, while the entrance to this underground space lies within your domain, it does not actually belong to your fief. It is part of the kingdom's territory. Isn't it rather inappropriate of you to make such decisions on your own authority?”
Baron Weiss maintained his smile. “I am merely invoking the traditional Pioneer Decree. I haven't forced Knight Rosie to become my vassal. That is to say, she is an independent lord, a knight serving His Majesty the King.”
If this were just a single ruin, the Baron might have hesitated to offend Count Morris.
But things were different now. This was a massive underground world.
The Weismar Fief held the sole entrance. They could easily use this foundation to expand and grow, and it was not outside the realm of possibility for it to become the premier territory in the kingdom.
Furthermore, the Pioneer Decree had always remained in effect. It was a decree promulgated by the royal families of various kingdoms to encourage the settlement and development of harsh, untamed lands.
Therefore, he wasn't overstepping his bounds.
Once word of the underground world spread, talents from all over the world would flock here.
The kingdom would reap a massive bounty of resources, and the Weismar Fief could seize the opportunity to rise rapidly.
Count Morris's expression stiffened slightly. He reflexively rubbed the face of his ruby ring before quickly regaining his composure.
“What I mean is that this is a matter of grave importance,” the Count said. “We must deliberate on this carefully.”
“I understand your perspective, Lord Count, but a world of this scale is far too large for us to swallow on our own.”
Having spoken, the Baron gave Morris no opportunity to respond.
He turned around, facing the mercenaries and soldiers resting around the campfires.
“In the name of His Majesty the King, I declare this newly discovered underground world to be a Pioneer Territory of the kingdom! Anyone willing to pioneer and settle these lands shall be granted a fief!”
“I, the Lord of Weismar, shall personally petition for you to become new Pioneer Lords!”
The entire camp fell silent for a brief moment.
Then, the camp erupted into a frenzy.
“Lord Baron! Is that true?”
A mercenary bolted upright from the ground, shouting at the top of his lungs.
“Of course it is true! Did I not just dub Knight Rosie earlier?” the Baron replied.
“Does that mean I can become a knight too?”
“My Lord! What do we need to do?!”
More and more mercenaries joined in the clamor.
Even the laborers raised their hands to speak up.
“As long as you have the ability, you will have the chance to obtain a fief and become a new Pioneer Lord!” the Baron continued to answer.
The soldiers, who had been sitting quietly, also began whispering among themselves, their eyes drifting instinctively toward the vast expanse in the distance.
The two hundred soldiers brought by Count Morris stirred as well. Though they did not cheer loudly like the mercenaries, the low hum of their hushed conversations grew noticeably intense.
Rosie's attention was also drawn to the Baron.
No one noticed that Count Morris's face had darkened to the absolute limit.
A single ruin might not have been worth too much trouble, but a whole underground world was a completely different story.
He had personally led his troops, marching day and night, precisely to pressure the Baron into keeping this a secret.
Yet, with his three successive moves, the Baron had completely stripped him of any leverage.
First, dubbing a Pioneer Knight; next, declaring the settlement of the land in the king's name; and finally, intending to throw open the gates of this underground world to everyone...
The Count stared at the Baron's back, which stood straight and resolute in the firelight, and then at the cheering crowd.
A faint, dangerous glint flashed through the depths of his eyes.
Pioneer the underground world?
That would require the news to actually get out first.
Count Morris slowly raised his right hand, pointing his thumb directly at the Baron's back.
Zsh.
A needle-thin beam of red light shot from the surface of his ring, moving as fast as a single flicker of a flame.
The Baron's body stiffened.
He slowly looked down at his chest.
To his utter horror, he discovered a tiny, burning hole right where his heart was.
The fabric around the edges of the hole was scorched and curled, and thin wisps of white smoke rose from the wound.
The Baron's knees buckled, and he collapsed to the ground, kicking up a small cloud of dust.
The cheering stopped instantly.
Rate on N.U.
