“I heard skilled novices joined the clan recently.”

A black-hooded man was talking to Shiryoo inside one of the rooms in Notorius Clan. Shiryoo owned this room, and he was also the leader of the clan.

“Oh, the news really gets to you fast, as expected.”

“How are they now?”

“Well, I didn’t think we’d get a gold mine. They’ve come from the countryside, apparently, so they don’t have any idea about rewards for defeating monsters or the market prices for weapons and gear. Yet their skills aren’t far behind our mid-tier members. We really struck gold this time.”

“…Hmm, seems like you’re skimping a lot, huh.”

“Buhahaha. A, ah, sorry for being rude. Actually, I’m not even skimping, we’re not giving any compensation to those guys at all.”

With “adventurers tend to spend money extravagantly” and other excuses, Shiryuu had been keeping the entirety of the rewards from the commissions that Keith and Aria accomplished. In return, he provided them with very basic gear, cheap meals, and a shabby room.

Despite that, Keith and Aria seemed satisfied with that.

“Seems like we’ve tamed them properly.”

“They’re unbelievably easy to manipulate, nothing like anything we’ve dealt with before. The plan is to keep them saddled with debt for trivial reasons, and boom, they’ll have to live as adventurers who keep on bringing money into our clan forever.”

“You’re as ruthless as ever. To think that someone like you is the head of the greatest clan in the entire kingdom… I can’t help but worry about Glendale’s future.”

The hooded man said those words, but a smirk was plastered on his face.

“Likewise, likewise, coming from someone like you who holds the position of captain of the kingdom’s knight order—dedicated

to protect the nation.”

“Fufufu. I don’t have a shred of loyalty to a kingdom that tries to use me so cheaply.”

After confirming that a perception-inhibiting barrier was set up inside Shiryoo’s room, the man took off his hood.

“So, Lord Kiel, what’s your request this time?”

The man who had concealed his identity when coming to Notorious was none other than Vice Captain Kiel of the Kingdom’s Knight Order, 20th Division. He had made his way to Shiryoo’s room without being discovered.

“I need some pawns for a military assessment. It would be great if they were sturdy and had some strength.”

“Ahh. Is this on the assumption that they won’t come back after?”

“…Yes, most likely.”

’Not coming back” meant there was a high chance of dying on that mission.

“I see. Well, let’s send the two newcomers then.”

“Are you sure? Aren’t they supposed to be like a gold mine?”

“It’s alright. I’m gathering intel regarding their village, where folks with the same ignorance level but more combat strength than those two reside.”

“Oh, so replacement will be a piece of cake then.”

“That’s right. Besides, those ambition-filled eyes of theirs are starting to get on my nerves recently, so…”

“Fuhahaha. Those words will surely break the spirit of those children who admire you and seek to be your strength.”

“Such a trivial thing, that’s totally fine. What I want is those who bring money, that’s all. Naive guys who absorb our techniques and skills are bound to become a menace later on, particularly those guys.”

Shiryoo and the senior adventurers of Notorius had no intention of training Keith and Aria into top-tier adventurers. They only provided them with the bare minimum of knowledge with the intention of continuing to exploit them.

And yet—

“Argh, seriously, they don’t know anything! Nothing! Why the heck are they trying to dissect monsters with their bare hands!? Use tools, d**n it, tools!! No, how the heck can they tear apart monsters with their bare hands!?”

Shiryoo wanted to assess Keith and Aria’s abilities as adventurers, so he had them hunt a C-rank monster. Up until the point of the kill, they had taken actions that seemed achievable for adventurers with a reasonable amount of strength… However, the way they dismantled the defeated monster was problematic.

“Keith twisted and tore off the horns of the Metal Sheep, which should be impossible without any dismantling saw. And Aria, with her bare hand, plucked out the monster’s magic stone.”

“Got it!”—remembering Aria’s smile while holding up the blood-soaked magic stone, blood drained from Shiryoo’s face.

He was an A-rank adventurer, so he didn’t flinch at the sight of monster flesh and blood, but the carefree smile of the seemingly frail fifteen-year-old girl caused chills to run down his spine.

Keith and Aria learned about the rewards they could get for defeating monsters, the market prices for weapons and equipment, and even the existence of suitable tools for dismantling monsters. They also learned that using magic in a certain way, rather than simply throwing a mass of magical power, was more effective… They were ignorant about all this before.

However, despite Shiryoo and the others only teaching them a little bit of the basics that were considered common knowledge in this world, Keith and Aria grew at an astonishing pace as adventurers. This was because they had started with almost zero knowledge prior to being taught.

“Oh, those two will definitely become Bakemono in no time. So if there’s a chance to use them up, I’d like to dispose of them sooner rather than later. If you ever want more like them, I can recruit replacements, so rest assured.”

“Hmm. If you say so, then I don’t mind. There’s no harm in having strong pawns, too. Now then, these are the contents of the commission. Is it alright if we discuss the reward as usual after everything is done?”

“Yes, that’s fine. The moment those noobs are gone—”

“Please leave me dealing with the aftermath. I’ll handle it beautifully.”

“That would be a relief. Well then.”

“Yes. I’ll be entrusting you with the task of explaining the details to the novices.”

Kiel disappeared after saying that.

“…Alright. Shall we bring their last commission, huh?”

Shiryoo headed towards the place where Keith and Aria were without knowing that it was the beginning of destruction.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep