And finally, after Helmod's unfortunate attempt, Leon stopped releasing the massive amount of magical particles that were pressing on the place and almost destroying it.
"Heeey, so your name is Leon, esteemed sir. Hey, I'm truly sorry for the misunderstanding that happened a moment ago. Helmod didn't inform me of your presence with him, otherwise, I would have prepared a hospitality befitting you."
While Albert was flattering Leon and trying to curry favor with him a little, Leon was sitting on the chair that was supposed to be Albert's chair, and in front of him sat Helmod and Albert. The atmosphere was very tense, as Leon remained silent from the moment Helmod convinced him to abandon the idea of punishing Albert.
"Ahem, ahem, well, Master Albert, let's get back to our main topic. I came to deliver the sword, so would you like to receive it now?"
Albert replied hastily and hesitantly, saying, "Ah, yes, yes, I hope you'll show it to me if you don't mind."
In response, Helmod took out the sword, which he had wrapped in a piece of cloth and placed on his back. As soon as he removed the cloth from the sword, the beautiful-looking sword emerged. It was a medium-length, double-edged sword with a lion's head-shaped hilt adorned with an emerald piece, while the blade of the sword was polished so impressively that Albert could see his reflection on the sword.
"Ohhh, it's so wonderful, it's much better than I imagined. I truly thank you, Master Helmod, for this exquisite work."
When Albert was in the midst of thanking Helmod, Helmod began to make strange gestures with his face, as if he was pointing towards Leon. At first, Albert didn't realize it, but then he suddenly remembered and immediately turned his gaze towards Leon and began to thank and flatter him again: "Oh, I almost forgot your contributions too, Master Leon. I will forever be indebted to you for this, as your help will make my daughter very happy with this sword."
While Leon was sipping coffee, he knew very well that Albert was only trying to flatter him out of fear, nothing more. But despite that, Leon was not upset. Leon thought for a moment in his mind: fear has always been the foundation of Leon's rule. Leon was not bothered by people approaching him and fearing him; rather, he greatly enjoyed their fear.
And at the moment Leon decided to raise the level of fear and awe in Albert a little more, Helmod suddenly interrupted the event by saying, "What did you say, my daughter?"
Suddenly, Albert turned curiously towards Helmod, as if he didn't understand Helmod's meaning or request: "What? Is there a problem?"
"No, you said 'my daughter' a moment ago, didn't you?" In a tone of surprise and wonder, Albert replied, saying, "Yes, my daughter, Alicia. She is a true angel. She is my only daughter, and I never refuse her anything. She has long wanted to become a knight, and I have always been a kind and compassionate father and never refused her anything, so I decided to give her a sword made by the best blacksmith in the world, Helmod the Iron-Fisted. I am sure she will be delighted with it."
And while Albert continued to chatter about his daughter, Helmod realized that he had been mistaken, as he thought the sword was for a son, not a daughter. But who cares, whether it's a boy or a girl, whoever wields this sword, Helmod was sure they would like it. Helmod might seem a little arrogant, but he was right, for this sword was a masterpiece and a priceless piece.
And now, after the delivery is complete, it's time for payment, the time when Albert will pay for Helmod's and Leon's hard work.
Leon spoke for the first time since entering this room, saying, "Good, since you're pleased with the result, I hope we get paid commensurate with your admiration for this sword."
As soon as Leon spoke, silence fell for a moment, for the last person Helmod and Albert expected to speak was Leon. But to remedy the situation, Albert spoke, his voice tinged with a little tension: "Ah, well, regarding this aspect, Master Helmod and I agreed on ten gold pieces before he started working on this sword."
After Leon heard this amount, he gave Helmod a suspicious look, a cold, sharp look that expressed his bad mood towards Albert at this moment. And to avoid any dire consequences, Albert hastened to speak in a panic, saying, "Oh, wait a moment, if this amount doesn't suit you, I can increase it a little if you wish. Well, what do you think of twelve gold pieces? In my opinion, this would be very suitable."
"Whoa, twelve gold pieces would be very suitable for you?" These were the words Leon uttered as soon as he heard Albert's last offer. From his tone of voice and manner of speaking, it was very clear to Albert that Leon was still not satisfied with this price and that he was greedy for more.
This time, Albert tried to act a little shrewdly and tried to negotiate with Leon about the price, but the latter was not the type to listen to such talk.
And before Albert could begin his offer, Leon interrupted him, saying, "Twenty." Albert didn't understand: "What do you mean by twenty?"
Leon answered confidently, "Twenty means twenty. We will take twenty gold pieces for our hard work, Helmod and I."
At first, Albert seemed shocked by this, for twenty pieces was a bit exaggerated, especially since Albert was the one who provided the raw materials for making this sword.
For a moment, Albert thought that Leon was just joking, and given his young age compared to Albert, Albert was trying to humor Leon a little, hinting that he knew nothing about these matters.
But Leon's look and expressions did not bode well for Albert.
Leon settled the argument by saying, "Twenty. We will take twenty gold pieces. That's it. You did not respect the delivery date, so we had to exert double effort and also expose myself to danger. Therefore, twelve gold pieces will be the price for making the sword, and the other eight pieces are for not respecting the delivery date, and for the danger and double work."
As soon as Leon said this, the matter was settled, and Albert had no other choice but to agree to pay twenty gold pieces for the sword.
"Well, it seems there's no other option. Here are the twenty gold pieces, Master Helmod."
As soon as Helmod received the full amount, he stood up, and Leon stood up with him as well: "Well, it's over. I hope your daughter likes the sword, Master Albert."
As soon as Helmod said this, he started to leave with Leon, but before they were out of Albert's sight, Albert called out to them, saying, "Hey, hey, Master Leon, wait a moment."
As soon as Leon heard this voice, he stopped and turned towards the source of the sound. Albert had caught up with them, rushing down the long corridor, while Leon and Helmod were about to go down the stairs: "So, what do you want this time?"
This was Leon's question to Albert, who was panting from running down the corridor, and while Albert was catching his breath, Helmod and Leon were near him, waiting to hear the answer.
"Ah, well, Master Leon, I want to offer you something." Leon's eyes widened a little, as if he was eager to hear what Albert had in store: "Go on, what is this offer of yours?"
"Well, in fact, recently strange events have started appearing in the area, so the adventurer guilds sent exploratory missions to what they thought was the source of those phenomena."
When Albert reached this point, Leon interrupted him, saying, "And the source of those phenomena is the mountain range a few hours' walk east of here, isn't it?" Albert seemed a little shocked, for this was a secret that had not been disclosed to the public, but he realized that he had heard this from Helmod, so he continued, saying, "Good, since you already know about it, I'll be direct with my request. What do you say to joining the next exploratory team? I'm sure with your strength, it will be easier to delve deeper and get more valuable information about what's happening."
Leon's only response to this was, "I think this is not a suitable place to talk about such matters, is it?"
After hearing this, Albert realized that there was an opportunity to bring Leon to his side, since he had offered to discuss this matter elsewhere: "Ah, well, you're right. What do you say we go back to my office to discuss it?"
And with that, Helmod, Leon, and Albert returned to Albert's office once again to discuss the details of the mission Albert wanted to entrust to Leon: "Well, let's get to the point. The area has recently witnessed many incidents. The monsters have been behaving very strangely, out of character, and the common thing among them was that they were all monsters inhabiting the eastern mountain range. Therefore, many missions have been sent recently to investigate the matter, but they always returned disappointed, complaining that the monsters become stronger the deeper they go."
Leon looked directly at Albert and said, "And you want me to be part of the next exploratory group?" Albert replied, saying, "Yes, that's right. I will be generous in paying you, but please just agree to it."
"No need for that." Albert was surprised by Leon's words. What was not needed? "What do you mean?"
"I mean the exploratory trip is no longer needed." As soon as Albert heard this, he stood up in a panic, as if he couldn't believe what he heard. For a moment, Albert thought that Leon would explore alone without joining the exploratory group, so he was shocked and happy at Leon's agreement at the same time.
But this was just a slight misunderstanding from Albert, nothing more: "But going and delving into those mountains alone is dangerous, even for you, Master Leon."
"Wait a moment, what are you saying?" Albert seemed a little surprised when Leon interrupted him: "Aren't you going to those mountains to take a look?"
Leon replied, "No, who told you that? I just said there's no need for the exploratory team."
"What? What do you mean by saying there's no need for an exploratory campaign?" Leon sighed in exasperation before answering Albert, saying, "What I mean is that there's no need for more exploratory trips because they will be useless. Well, I can give you some information about that if you want."
Albert was eager to hear this information as much as he was shocked by the strangeness of what was happening: "Yes, I would like that. I will even pay for this information if it's useful."
Leon smiled a little and then said, "Well, I think I know why the monsters have been behaving strangely recently. The reason is probably fear. The fear of the monsters that inhabited the mountains caused them to flee westward towards you."
Albert could only ask about the reason for this fear of the monsters: "So, what is the reason for this fear of these monsters that made them flee westward?"
Leon replied, "The Golem. The Golem graveyard. Somehow, it seems there is a graveyard of sleeping Golems, and it seems that those Golems have awakened for some reason, and they are the ones terrifying the monsters and making them flee westward."
It wasn't just Albert who was surprised to hear Leon's words; Helmod was too, for this was the first time he had heard this from Leon as well.
At this point, doubt crept into Albert a little: "And how do you know about this?"
"Oh, I was wandering in those mountains recently and saw what I saw. A thousand ancient Golems moving northwest of this place at a decent pace."
As soon as Leon mentioned the thousand Golems, the expressions of both Albert and Helmod froze, as if it was a sign of the doubled impact of the shock. At this moment, Helmod shouted, saying, "Hey Leon, what are you saying? Are you sure? A thousand Golems heading northwest of this place? Are you sure?"
While Helmod was saying this and shaking Leon, Leon pushed him away a little and answered him, and his answer was a definitive confirmation: "Oh, it's absolutely true. I saw them with my own eyes, and I even eliminated one of them, and I saw them heading northwest with these two eyes."
There was no longer any room for doubt, for looking at Leon's words and linking them with the past bad events, it seemed logical, as there was no reason for monsters to migrate in groups other than fear. But a thousand Golems was a greatly exaggerated number for Albert.
"Tell me, Leon, are you sure they were heading northwest from here?" At this moment, Albert's tone was very serious, as if Leon's answer could make a big difference: "Yes, I saw them walking in that direction."
As soon as Leon confirmed it, Albert stood up from his place, sweat pouring from his forehead, and in a tense tone, he said, "Leon, since when did this happen?"
"Oh, I think about three days ago." This answer had a very bad impact. Leon didn't know how bad it was, but he realized the seriousness of his words just by looking at Helmod's and Albert's expressions: "So, can I know the reason for your panic? Golems don't walk in this direction, so your concern is unjustified."
As soon as Leon finished speaking, Helmod replied, "If you really saw them heading northwest, Leon, then this is very bad because there is a city that is the northern center of this kingdom. The population there is huge, and Master Albert's family is also there."
Leon was shocked to hear this and then said, "Hey Albert, how far is this city from here?"
"Oh, I think about a five-day continuous walk if you're on foot." As soon as Albert said this, Leon felt a little relieved and then said, "Hey, I think there's time to save them. Given the pace of those Golems, it will take them more than four more days to reach that city."
End of Chapter