Darius returned to The Great Escape Inn and had a lovely lunch with Gunner. He also made sure to spend his CP for the day preparing both the things for the Mercenary Guild and for himself.
The duo then went back into the town and headed towards the Noble's District. Darius wanted to check on its progress, and he was pleased to see that the foundation had already been set and various Journeyman earth mages were working on it.
Of course, even on Earth, building a castle was not something that could be done in seconds. For them to finish within one month would require the use of extensive magic.
Darius greeted the foreman and chatted with him for a bit. He also greeted the Journeyman mages who were pleased to see that the contractor was an Adept. As such, they showed him plenty of respect, something which Darius reciprocated.
Once done, he checked on the restaurant near the town's entrance. It was almost done as well, just the roofing and painting was left, as well as the various permits. However, with Lord Spencely on his side, he was sure it would not be a problem.
Darius then went out to check on his refinery, which had made the least progress of the lot. It couldn't be helped, because it required many special tools and equipment that were hard to acquire or make because they were specialty items.
However, he was still satisfied with what had been done so far. His only issue would be to find capable workers to manage these businesses, as he would not have the time to do so himself.
Deciding not to waste time, Darius began headhunting. He had the town criers shout out his recruitment the next day, in the late morning, including what he expected of them and how much they would be paid.
Around that time, he and Gunner once again cleared the first floor of the town's dungeon just to pass the time and keep themselves active. Darius didn't bother using the Demonic Spear because his magic was more than good enough to handle anything here.
Gunner though, made use of his new equipment. Darius had seriously underestimated how much it would increase his combat prowess, especially the gauntlets. Their ability to drag enemies over only for Gunner to literally punch their heads off was quite the sight.
They breezed through the floor and claimed their drops. Since the two of them participated, the items were far more plentiful than when Darius alone received them through the undead Liches as a proxy.
As such, when they came out, they once again mind-boggled the crowd with their earnings. Some fellows though, recognized Darius from yesterday and whispered among themselves excitedly.
Seeing their reaction, Darius understood that his generosity was yielding positive benefit. Considering this an investment in his image and reputation, Darius once again gave out some 'welfare' to all adventurers at the Novice rank.
As for the clerk, who was the same one on duty as yesterday, Darius gave him a silver coin, which made the fellow's hands shake. His monthly salary was barely 300 bronze, and taking out his expenditures, he barely had 1400 bronze in savings after working in this position for years.
Darius gave him in one day what he had struggled to accumulate over 3-5 years. How could he not be shaken to his core?
Understanding what he must do, he took Darius' 'mission' more seriously and shared the potions as fairly as possible, and made sure to mention to spread the name of their benefactor.
Darius then went to visit Jonathan Silverwater, the fellow he had met in the shop. The duo had lunch while discussing various topics about the current state of Andrato, as well as the possible consequences of what was going on.
Genevieve also came around to say hi, and Darius greeted her respectfully. After he was done, he parted from Jonathan's place and return to The Great Escape inn where he was later serviced by Emily before bed, Gunner by Fashina as well.
He made sure to make use of his daily CP for his needs of course.
This cycle persisted for the entire week. In the morning, they would have breakfast, head out to clear the first floor of the dungeon, and give out his earnings to the Novices while giving the now 'rich' clerk a silver coin for his work.
The Adventurers' Guild remained silent about this matter as if they tacitly agreed to Darius' decision to give out welfare. After all, his actions had raised the morale of the Novices while increasing their productivity at no cost, so why should they complain?
In the afternoons, Darius would visit random 'friends' including Henrietta Diavolo, Lord Spencely, Bistro, and even Carlton. He knew the importance of social calls and networking, so Darius did not hesitate to spend time to strengthen his relationships with such fellows.
In the evenings, he would have dinner with Gunner while studying various books, trying to increase his database as much as he could. Then, Emily and Fashina would visit and quell their rampant sex drives for the day, allowing them to sleep in peace.
In a way, it was quite idyllic. When one considered that Darius would die in about two weeks unless he got the Resurrection Stone, one couldn't help but feel pressured by his seeming nonchalance.
Even if he wasn't pretending and was actually calm, did he not understand his predicament?! Or did he think he was like other fellows who would have some cosmic force save him at the last second?
On the last day of this idyllic week, Darius headed to the Mercenary Guild where he presented Carlton with the items he had promised the guild, which won the fellow's smile which was quite… masculine… to say the least.
Just as Darius was about to make preparations to finally partake in the 'party' he set up, he received a summons from Lord Spencely that was urgent.
Once there, the City Lord of Listo hit him with a bombshell.
"Baron Stone, the Crown Princess of Andrato summons you to the capital for an audit."
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