Chapter 532 Charming's Ball Invitation

One mysterious appearance was all it took.

Chatting any longer risked blowing his cover, so Leech made a decisive exit.

He left them to their imagination, dusted himself off, and left.

The centaur, Beck, however, didn’t dare discuss compensation with Vito. Since the Lord wasn’t pursuing the matter, for Beck to covet even the smallest benefit would be a slap in his Lord’s face.

If this had been left to the ogres or the Scorpion-tailed Lions to negotiate, they would have made outrageous demands. They might have opened their maws and told Vito and his men to strip naked and jump right in. The ogres, in particular, would have surely made them roll around in a dung pit first to get a sufficient coating of “flavor” before leaping into their mouths, all to satisfy their peculiar preference for things that smell foul but taste delicious.

In the end, Vito and his men were allowed to return without facing any punishment. However, they were forbidden from entering the underground world without permission and were also tasked with preventing others from doing so.

The ogres were clearly unhappy with this arrangement. If no one came to get themselves killed, they wouldn’t get any more “little snacks.”

They could also barter, trading goods from the surface world for those from the underground if the need arose. But neither side intended to take it any further, so the so-called trade remained a mere polite formality.

After a perilous journey underground, Vito headed for the Rift Valley entrance under the “protection” of the centaurs.

“What are those things nailed to your mounts’ hooves?” Beck asked, gazing at the warhorse Vito rode. He’d noticed during the battle that their warhorses were not only fast but also remarkably steady.

Centaurs prided themselves on their exceptional stability while running, believing themselves far superior to human Cavalry. Humans had to train endlessly with their warhorses to achieve synergy, whereas for centaurs, running was instinctual—something even a newborn colt could do.

Yet, when the two sides charged, the centaurs had actually lost to the human Cavalry. The armor’s defensive power was one reason; the impact on their flesh bodies colliding with steel was much greater.

But to make their bulky frames run more steadily, their hooves also had several additions.

“It’s a horseshoe,” Vito said, stopping to lift his warhorse’s front left hoof. “Nailing a horseshoe to the hoof reduces wear and allows the horse to run more comfortably and with greater stability.”

“I see.” Beck nodded, marveling internally at humanity’s brilliant ingenuity. ‘Despite not having four legs, they’ve found ways to run even faster than centaurs. If one day they find a way to make themselves stronger than ogres and more ferocious than Scorpion-tailed Lions, I wouldn’t be surprised at all.’

As they talked, Vito gained a clearer understanding of the underground world, especially of “that Lord.” Beck’s words were filled with reverence for him—for ending the chaos and bringing a stable life, he was as great as a king who had unified the underworld.

Vito, however, took issue with the phrase “stable life.” ‘From what I understand,’ he thought, ‘those big brutes need meat, and their appetites are astonishing. It was one thing when the various races were competing against each other. But now that they’re united and coordinating to hunt the weak, it’s bound to create an imbalance. The weaker races might even be hunted to extinction.’

‘Once all the prey underground is gone, will they attack the surface?’

‘Then again,’ he asked himself, ‘if humanity stabilized its own internal affairs, would we not attack the underground, even if there was nothing of value there?’

‘The answer was, of course we would!’

Vito kept these speculations to himself. After reaching the entrance, he bid Beck farewell and departed quickly with his men.

‘I need to report this to the Prince as soon as possible,’ Vito thought. ‘But considering they currently have no hostile intentions, there’s no need to divert our forces to provoke a mysterious powerhouse. We’re busy enough as it is.’

…

When Leech returned to Porcupine Territory, he dove onto his bed and was out like a light. Even with the black dragon’s help, the successive teleportations had consumed a massive amount of his Spiritual Power, leaving his head swimming.

When he awoke and saw the gray, hazy sky outside his window, Leech couldn’t tell if it was dawn or dusk.

He sat up and rang the bell on his bedside table.

“My Lord, it’s Pitchfork.”

“Bring me a cup of honey water, thank you.”

“Yes, right away.”

Leech felt much more refreshed after drinking the water infused with Extraordinary Honey. When he asked, he learned that it was evening, not morning.

The harsh winter cold still enveloped the entire castle, forcing Leech to consider the necessity of a heating system. Technically speaking, it wouldn’t be difficult to implement.

Just as he was pondering where to begin renovating Porcupine Castle, or perhaps researching the feasibility of magical underfloor heating with Scholar Toma, he saw the students arriving at the castle for night school.

It was a large, bustling crowd.

Their activities and studies were restricted to a specially designated area of Porcupine Castle. The castle was more than large enough to accommodate them. Some had been studying here for a long time, but everyone strictly abided by the rules; no one dared to wander off.

When the students saw Leech, they all stopped to greet him.

“Yarrn, Lord!” they called out in a jumble of voices, the flushed excitement on their faces genuine.

“Yarrn, ladies and gentlemen,” Leech replied with a smile and a nod.

‘These kids are the future of Porcupine Territory,’ Leech thought. ‘The high-achievers will fill the gaps in our middle-tier talent pool. As for the lower-achievers, an education will still give them an edge, even in manual labor, making them savvier.’

‘Building upon this foundation of talent, the territory’s development can only get better and better.’

His gaze fell upon a blond-haired boy. Leech remembered him—one of the very first Caster apprentices.

The boy was holding something that looked like a pillow.

“Young man, what is that?”

‘A hot water bag?’

‘Porcupine Territory doesn’t have that level of craftsmanship yet.’

“Lord, this is one of the Magic Items we’re learning to make with Teacher Toma.” The boy presented the object to Leech, his cheeks flushing slightly.

Leech took it. The texture was soft, a bit like squeezing silicone. He glanced at the boy’s red, embarrassed face and immediately understood. ‘Ah, puberty. It’s perfectly normal to have… needs.’

‘Leave it to a horndog to drive productivity,’ he mused. ‘Now that the self-heating Magic Milk Ball has been invented, the Magic Fiji Monument probably isn’t far behind.’

“There’s a Magic Array inside,” the boy explained, “along with some scrap materials. You just have to periodically infuse it with a little Spiritual Power, and it will maintain a constant temperature. It’s been a huge help in the winter when my hands get too cold to write.”

“A fine invention.” Leech handed the Magic Hot Water Bag back, giving it a couple of extra squeezes, of course. ‘The texture isn’t bad,’ he thought. ‘Pretty stress-relieving.’

‘It’s a shame it requires an infusion of Spiritual Power, though. That means more than half of the night school students here can’t use it. It’s an item exclusive to Casters.’

‘Training these students is already starting to bear fruit,’ Leech thought, his mood improving. ‘In the future, I won’t have to worry about poaching talent all the time. Once I can cultivate talent in large quantities, poaching from other lords will be a side gig, not my main job.’

Leech went to the dining hall for a meal. The kitchen was always ready to serve the Lord.

After his meal, a male servant hurried over with a letter.

“Lord, a letter has arrived from Iron Stone City.”

“Thank you.” Leech wiped his hands and took the letter.

He opened the letter and found the handwriting familiar. It seemed to be from ‘Charming’.

“I will be hosting a ball on the second evening of February and would like to extend a special invitation for you to attend. Your friend, Becky.”

‘Her letters are as concise as ever.’

‘Why the sudden ball?’ Leech felt like he’d missed something.

His recent affairs had little to do with the Dongxia region, so he wasn’t very familiar with the local situation.

It wasn’t until he had his men ask a merchant caravan that had recently been to Iron Stone City, and then happened to run into Lacy Simon at the castle’s night school, that he finally learned what was going on. ‘Charming’ Becky was getting engaged, and her fiancé came from a very impressive background.

It was Mado Frey, who had just inherited the title of Baron.

Unlike Leech, who was a country Baron, Mado Frey was a wealthy man from the center of the kingdom, rumored to earn 1,000 Jinri a year.

After decades of accumulation, his family was incredibly wealthy.

This marriage with Iron Stone City was a union of two powerhouses.

However, Lacy Simon, the bearer of this news, added, “According to my friends in Dongxia, the Fray Clan threw their full support behind the Eldest Prince right after he got engaged to Miss Evangelina. Mado Frey was the first Baron to openly support him.”

The fact that Leech had publicly snubbed the Eldest Prince was no secret; the story had spread throughout high society. Of course, what had spread even more widely were tales of his cannons’ might.

The Tuna family of Monkey Island had once jubilantly pledged their allegiance to the Eldest Prince, only to be utterly crushed by Leech.

The Eldest Prince then came to Leech with “great sincerity” to “plead for mercy.”

He pleaded by looking down his nose at Leech. Leech swore he’d never met such a “benevolent” Prince, but he really hated having to count someone’s nose hairs.

But Leech ignored the Eldest Prince’s “plea.” He didn’t hold back his thunderous assault and beat the Tuna family so badly they couldn’t recover. It was safe to say the two men were not on good terms.

Lacy’s point was simple: it would be best for Leech not to attend the ball. This engagement likely meant that Baron Simon, who had always remained neutral, was about to fully side with the Eldest Prince. If Leech, who was on bad terms with the Prince, attended, he would just be asking for trouble.

“The ball will be filled with families allied with the Eldest Prince,” Lacy said with concern. “You’ll definitely be…”

Humiliated.

‘They wouldn’t dare do anything openly, but they’d surely pull some dirty tricks behind the scenes. From his very first lesson on nobility, Lacy had been taught that no matter how powerful the enemy, loyalty to one’s liege lord comes first.’

“It’s just a ball,” Leech said, completely unconcerned. “Miss Becky attended my birthday banquet. I can’t possibly refuse her invitation. Offering her my blessings is what a friend ought to do.”

Leech wasn’t particularly interested in political struggles and admitted he wasn’t very good at them.

‘Of course, the real reason is that so-called political struggles between nobles are, at their core, struggles of strength. And as it happens, Leech had just a little bit of confidence in his own.’

‘As long as the Eldest Prince didn’t just go ahead and murder his father to become King, Leech had nothing to fear.’

“There’s still plenty of time before February. I need to pick out a suitable gift.”

Lacy looked at Leech with a strange expression.

‘Becky Simon’s reputation was certainly well-known. Could it be… that his own Lord was one of her many lovers?’