Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

“I’m not sure. I haven’t heard anything about that. It’s hard to get close to them. Our spies have only seen them from a distance.”

“They must be there.”

Lam Hwayeon raised an eyebrow, but Leeha was certain. Beelipus was skilled enough to block mana to the point where Baofust couldn’t chase him, and there was no way the Blue Beard would have wished for something like that.

Moreover, it was impossible to imagine that it was what the Blue Beard had wanted.

“Are you ready?”

“Okay.”

Creeeak―.

Lam Hwayeon opened the door to the conference room. The opposition noble faction, whom they had met before, looked at Leeha with hostile eyes.

“Hello―”

We have persuaded the majority of the opposition faction against the reinforcement pact.

[Persuasion Success Rate: 100%]

[Phuviehl-Minis Reinforcement Pact – 1]

Quest completed.

Before they could even exchange greetings, Leeha could feel the power of Lam Hwayeon.

* * *

Kruroorut─ Krurook…

“Amazing, Boss. The experience points are already at 37%… and the skill level has already gone up…”

“Me too. The weapons of the summon imps have changed! It took months just to change them once, and now it’s only been a few days… Thank you, Boss!”

The chimeras, except for the desk, would eat anything, but the users next to them didn’t touch them.

The users, excited by joy, happiness, and anticipation of growth, were looking at the “Boss” they scouted with shining eyes.

“Didn’t I tell you? Once you become part of the Demon Lord’s army, you don’t have to worry about growth.”

Baofust, dressed in pure white Lizadia, wagged his tail wickedly as he laughed.

As one of the privileges he received from the Blue Beard, Baofust had authority over the Demon Lord’s army users. While not as much as what the Blue Beard had done to him, Baofust could still enhance the growth speed of the users using that authority.

“Kihhih, it’s really true! Right here, right here!”

“I told you. How could you not trust us after trading with us so many times? You came all the way here just for some fun!”

The chimeras were growling as they were moving to swallow the newly appeared creatures, but the new users who appeared showed no signs of tension.

“Kihhihihit! It’s me, Mugin Mo-ya, Mosquito Lord! How have you been, rotting corpse?! Just because you do something fun on your own doesn’t mean you can leave us out! If there’s such an exciting event, you should’ve at least contacted us so I could bite, tear, taste, and enjoy―”

“Shut up, Crowly. There’s no way an experiment addict like you would’ve found me.”

As Baofust cut off Crowly’s words, he stepped forward.

He was already thirsty for this.

What do they need now that they have become part of the Demon Lord’s army?

And who can provide what they need? What is their skill level?

Baofust found his position in an instant, and even the decision in his heart was made in an instant when he saw Crowly, who would be a collaborator who could help him – although he didn’t like her personality.

“I’m really curious about why our Chie Yang-nim came to see me.”

“Heh, okay, okay. I like that you’re not stupid, Boss.”

The users, who could somewhat guess each other’s thoughts, smiled at each other as they faced each other.

There was no longer any reason for Leeha to hesitate about the reinforcement pact.

The first persuasion quest was granted by Broulis, but the second quest appeared out of nowhere, and its contents were nothing special.

[Phuviehl-Minis Reinforcement Pact – 2]

Description: The persuasion of the opposition to the reinforcement pact is over. The only remaining task is to confirm the conditions and make a mutual commitment.

Content: Complete the Phuviehl-Minis reinforcement pact within 7 days.

Reward: Monopoly over a city of your choice in a favorable location.

Failure condition: Death of the representative of each country signing the pact.

In case of failure: Local war between Phuviehl and Minis will break out.

Will you accept?

“This is nothing, really.”

The countries involved are only Phuviehl and Minis. Moreover, if they are representatives signing a pact between the two nations, their positions cannot be low.

They wouldn’t even appear without guards in such a place.

And if there were any problems, there were only beings who could crush even those guards.

“Blue Beard might appear and sweep them away like that… but it probably won’t happen, right? Well, who will be the representative of Phuviehl?”

There was no reason to come all the way here and not accept the quest. Leeha lightly pressed the accept button and scanned the nobles in the conference room.

“Recipient of the Medal of Honor… are you Browlice’s seed?”

“Call me your disciple. Leeha. Perhaps you are Marquis Viscount?”

“You, you bastard! Being disrespectful to Viscount-nim―”

“Oh, oh. Forget it, Quantum.”

The Marquis just gave a cold glance alternately to Leeha and Lam Hwayeon, completely disregarding the raging Quantum next to him.

―What’s with that human? Can you trust him? I’m super cautious around him.

―It’s okay. He likes me a bit, that’s why.

―What, what?

―It’s probably because I’m better at handling things than most NPCs. The author is just fixated on creating NPCs and making them mess with people.

Was that what it was…?

Leeha listened to Lam Hwayeon’s explanation while barely concealing his bewildered expression. Regarding the reinforcement pact, the NPCs and users had divided into supporting and opposing factions, and the tug-of-war had been tremendous.

Among all the members of the opposing faction present, Lam Hwayeon played the most outstanding role! The faction leader, Marquis, started to regard Lam Hwayeon as someone special.

“And suddenly, he thought that by showing up, he could pull out Lam Hwayeon like a stuck stone? Tsk, as expected, it’s tiring to get involved with Lam Hwayeon…”

No, that’s not it.

Tiring? What nonsense? Leeha glanced at the red-haired woman next to him, who was sitting there with her chin held high like a confident young lady.

Because he saved her in the past during the Guild War between the Crimson and Stardust Guilds?

Or because even before that, he captured the Black Anger? Or is it because she has a stake in Castle Dale, making her a kind of co-owner?

No, there must be something more fundamental that led to all these events happening.

“Wait a minute, could it be that she likes me―? No, no. This is a typical trait of people who haven’t been in love. Axemen!”

“What?”

“Uh? Oh, no. It’s nothing.”

When Leeha tilted his head, Lam Hwayeon playfully asked, “Then, when will the signing date be, Marquis?”

“As soon as His Majesty gives his approval today, we will notify them immediately. It may take up to three days for the mana message to reach them and for them to come.”

“Who will be attending the signing then?”

“Why are you asking when you know who it is? Huh, although I do like that side of you.”

As Lam Hwayeon slyly asked, the Marquis smiled slightly. Leeha could roughly grasp the context of their conversation.

―Could that person be the representative?

―Of course! The opposition overturned everything, saying, ‘Let’s just get the Castle Bancaul done quickly.’ So, of course, the leader of the opposition is going to represent the king.

Another reason why the Marquis liked Lam Hwayeon so much.

Of course, she was not someone who would hand over credit to others easily. But as the Marquis gained power within Phuviehl, Lam Hwayeon’s influence in the royal palace would also increase.

―He’s as charming as I am…

He may have been the one to ask for the decisive information, but Lam Hwayeon was undoubtedly the expert in handling information.

“Within three days, no, maybe two days, we need to receive the representative of Minis. Please prepare for that. Can I trust you?”

“Haven’t you trusted and relied on me until now?”

“Good. Quantum!”

“Yes, yes! Marquis.”

“Fully support Lam Hwayeon. If necessary, you can use my name.”

“Understood, sir.”

Quantum’s status as a Viscount was not low, but even Leeha found his absolute loyalty to the Marquis quite amusing. It was probably to demonstrate the power he possessed within Phuviehl.

“We are practically a victorious nation here.”

Roughly three days later, the location would be Phuviehl’s royal palace. If Blue Beard didn’t directly intervene, no one would dare to act up here.

Leeha’s worries about that aspect were resolved.

“The problem would be until Minis’ representatives arrive here.”

There was a clear failure condition for the quest.

It was not about protecting the Marquis, it was about the death of the representative from each country signing the pact.

In other words, whoever the “representative of Minis” would be, Leeha would have to protect them.

So what was his role in all of this?

After asking Lam Hwayeon for the necessary information, Leeha left the palace.

“Three days later… indeed, becoming the ruler of a territory is not an easy task. I was well aware that there are no freebies in Middle Earth…”

As Leeha sighed and grumbled, it was already pitch dark outside.

“I wonder if the sacred grill has closed its doors.”

Leeha walked through the dark streets of the capital city, heading towards a bustling restaurant even in the dead of night. There were quite a few things he needed to investigate in case of any unforeseen circumstances.