“Find someone for me.”

Who I was looking for was a man who survived a sword duel with Luc in the original story, the Mercenary King, Benesch.

In the original story, Luc was unable to find a good teacher due to the poor circumstances of the family and so, practiced the sword alone.

Luc’s innate genius and bone-cutting efforts single-handedly made him a great swordsman.

However, he lacked something to be called an overwhelming force.

One day, he happened to meet Benesch, a mercenary.

At the time, Benesch was a fugitive that was stained with demonic energy, but according to Luc’s words, his sword was still ‘pure and noble.’

Luc subdues Benesch, who runs rampant, and Benesch teaches Luc the sword as a token of gratitude.

By meeting him, Luc broke through his own walls and opened a new realm of the sword.

And in just 3 months, he rose to the position of the continent’s strongest swordsman.

I needed to find him.

Although it was fine that Luc started learning when he was at  the age of 20, how strong would he become if he started at the age of 10?

“His name is Benesch. He’s probably about 40 years old now, and he has light blue hair. I think his eyes are light grey? Looks a bit fiery and bad-tempered. Oh! And he has a big scar on his left arm that runs all the way from his wrist. I heard it was was scar he got from being bitten by a monster when he was young.”

“What’s his status?”

“Likely a commoner.”

I’ve never seen nobles do any rough work as mercenaries.

The mercenaries in this world had tough jobs and were poorly paid.

“Oh, and he has a three year old daughter.”

“Does his daughter live with him?”

“I’m not sure about that. They may or may not live together.”

In the original story, Benesch’s daughter died before meeting Luc.

Due to unexplained circumstances, she died while being separated from Benesch and he continued to mourn in regret for leaving his daughter’s side.

“He’s probably working for a mercenary group, but if necessary, you can expand the scope of the search.”

“What’s your budget?”

“How much it costs doesn’t matter.”

“Then, it could cost hundreds of million marks. Will that be okay?”

My hands trembled slightly.

Still, didn’t Duke Summerhield play his role this time?

Right, and I mentioned that I wasn’t going to cheap out on education.

If it’s to make our Luc the strongest swordsman……!

The big shot instructor flashed before me, and I couldn’t ignore it.

“N-No problem. Just find the right person.”

Even so, for the sake of my wallet, I hope they find him as soon as possible. Please.

*  *  *

Please do not repost. Read only at Dropped Inks.

As soon as I left the informants room, Bircher caught me as I staggered away.

“How much did I just spend…”

They say they will return any remaining money, but will there really be anything left?

The most expensive thing I’ve ever bought in my past life was a cell phone, and that was the most I’ve spent in a single day.

In contrast to me, whose hands were trembling, Treon spoke calmly.

“But it’s cheaper than I thought.”

“That’s cheap?”

“Yes. The family didn’t disband the secret organisation as a money-grubbing organisation for nothing.”

“Even so, madam. Don’t destroy the new organisation, okay?”

Bircher smiled sweetly.

……I’ll have to work harder.

Constructing wasn’t the problem, it was the cost to operate it.

I wonder if the Agriculture Division has found the plant I requested.

“Oh, that’s enough. Let’s go buy some presents for Luc. Take me there.”

The more that I think about it, the more it makes my heart ache.

Following Treon’s guide, I visited the shopping district.

Like the Martech estate, which was famous for their swords, there were many places that sold swords here.

Apart from that, there were also places that sold kitchenware, embroidery cloths and porcelains.

After buying quality clothes and gifts for Luc and the castle servants, the carriage became full.

Still, I was looking forward to see their expression.

Treon, who was loading the carriage, asked.

“Did madam buy anything for yourself?”

“Do I have to?”

“Of course! Madam worked the hardest, so you should buy something for yourself too!”

Bircher readily agreed.

“Well……”

But I couldn’t think of anything I wanted.

I felt like it was a waste of money to buy unnecessary things.

It seemed that it had become a habit to live cheaply in my past life.

Back then, I had to make a big decision before ordering a chicken.

The day I was kicked out for not paying the rent, I thought I would freeze to death on the streets.

It was then.

[Master.]

From my pocket, Blackie tapped me with his forepaw.

“Yes?”

What’s wrong? When I placed the pouch containing Blackie on the palm of my hand, Blackie pointed to a store across the streets with his paw.

[It smells delicious over there.]

The place where Blackie pointed was a jewellery store.

Watching my gaze, Treon asked.

“Would you like to go inside?”

“Wouldn’t it be expensive?”

“It’s a jewellery store by the streets, so it wouldn’t be too expensive. Most precious items are usually auctioned off or sold at stores that handle them exclusively.”

Encouraged by Treon’s words, I entered the store.

The jewellery store was much cleaner and more luxurious than the other stores, as it was targeting wealthy people.

“Is there any jewel you are looking for?”

A neatly dressed owner asked.

“Umm…”

When I glanced down at Blackie, Blackie spoke.

[I want to eat that diamond.]

What Blackie was pointing at was a diamond necklace in the centre of the display case behind the owner.

From the fancy details, it seemed to be the most expensive item in this store.

“I would like to view that.”

When I pointed at it, the owner smiled broadly.

“You have a great eye. This is the most expensive item in our store.”

The owner carefully took out the necklace and said.

“This diamond is from the Velome region and was designed by Baron Root, a famous designer. In particular, the cutting along this side resembles flowing waters…”

The owner talked for a while, but it sounded like a foreign language to my ears, who knew nothing about jewellery.

“So how much is it?”

“One million marks.”

It was a staggering price, but considering what Blackie ate last time was 30 million marks, it felt like a good price.

While I was pondering for a while, Treon asked.

“Madam, may I see the necklace too?”

“Huh? Yes.”

Treon asked me for permission when the owner of the jewel was right in front of him.

Is this what a butler serving his master really looks like?

Initially, the small differences were quite distinct.

I was stunned that Treon seemed to have really recognised me.

Wrapped in white gloves, Treon’s hand carefully touched the jewel.

He even borrowed the owner’s equipment to examine the jewel thoroughly.

“There are faint traces of cuts. It doesn’t look like it was deliberately cut.”

“……”

The owner’s face stiffened at Treon’s words.

Treon spoke, holding the jewel up to the light this time.

“When light passes through, the direction in which the pattern scatters is also different. A cut where the light spreads downwards is not a good technique.”

Treon laid the jewel down and wedged it.

“Baron Root designs jewellery, but he has never made a necklace like this.”

Treon looked at me as he shot the final blow.

For some reason, it resembled a cat that was looking at me with a triumphant expression, asking to be praised quickly for catching a mouse.

Still, thanks to Treon, I was able to purchase the jewel for less than half the price.

“Butler. Are you familiar with jewelleries?”

“I learned about it. My father told me that I need to know these things in order to assist the duke. You need to have an eye that recognises good jewels, so you don’t fail for tricks when serving the duke. It goes the same with serving the duchess.”

Treon secretly appealed for his usefulness and glanced at me.

Was he worried about our initial confrontation?

I didn’t want to care about it anymore, but I didn’t bother telling Treon.

We finally got into the carriage after our business with Count Martech was completely over.

Unlike when we came, Bircher and Treon sat at the driver’s seat, saying they felt stuffy in the carriage due to the luggages.

Perhaps they were being considerate of me in the small space.

Soon after, the carriage departed, and I placed the necklace in Blackie’s pocket.

Krunck, Krak.

A sound like biting a round candy with your teeth was heard.

In fact, it was more harder compared to candy.

‘Wait. Then, how hard are Blackie’s teeth?’

Diamonds are usually said to be the hardest material in the world, so were they harder than diamonds since Blackie can chew them with his teeth?

Shortly after, Blackie poked his head out of the pocket.

“Did you eat well?”

As I gently brushed his white back and wings with my finger, Blackie hummed and expressed his satisfaction.

Was it because I fed him the jewels?

Somehow, the surface of his skin seemed to shine like a jewel.

[Yes, thank you.]

“That’s good. Blackie, can you open your mouth?”

Blackie tilted his head, but opened his mouth obediently.

Its white muzzle opened, revealing the sharp teeth inside it.

When I touched them with my finger, I felt a cold and smooth texture as if I was touching an icicle.

Blackie shrank his neck and avoided my touch, but did not close his mouth, perhaps worried that I would get hurt.

[Mah the?] (Master?)

Blackie muttered, calling me.

I removed my finger from Blackie’s mouth.

“Your teeth seem sharp, so I was curious what they looked like.”

I dug through my pockets to find the chain from the necklace Blackie ate and left behind.

But nothing was caught in my hand.

“Did you eat the chains too?”

[Yes.]

“Chains aren’t your preferred jewellery, is it okay to eat that?”

[It’s fine to eat it as a snack. I can eat any even if it’s not necessarily a jewel used to break the seal. For humans, it’s just like a snack.]

“What else can you eat besides jewellery?”

[I like water that melts from high mountain snow.]

Something even more difficult than jewellery appeared.

“I’ll just keep buying you jewellery. Let me know if there’s anything you’d like to eat. But it can’t be too expensive.”

[Thank you, Master.]

Then he opened his mouth into a grin.

[But thanks to Master, I got a new ability.]

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