Chapter 98: 097 “Then I can’t guarantee that.
Certainly, if it were only for the achievement of subduing Killian, Shane would not have attracted the attention of the Kingdom, nor would he have received direct rewards from it.
At least, to many people, Shane’s deeds were nothing more than those of a Level 10 novice Adventurer who, due to good fortune, gained the favor of Riley and obtained powerful Magic Tools, thereby succeeding in subduing Killian only because of his carelessness.
This achievement felt to others as if “I could do it myself if I were in his place,” similar to the aforementioned incident of a commoner stumbling upon a relic. To be rewarded by the Nobles within his territory would already be a stroke of great luck. It would not be possible for such “good luck” to capture the special notice of the Kingdom, leading to a summons and reward.
It was because of this that Beren and others had planned this secret mission, hoping to transport Killian to the Royal Capital and receive direct rewards from the Kingdom.
Otherwise, Beren could have simply handed over the prisoner to his own Marquis Family to deal with. Surely, with the capabilities of Marquis Mula’s Family, it would have been possible to detain a Level 77 Demon Clan criminal, rather than it turning into a hot potato.
Moreover, if Beren had no ulterior motives at all, he could have sought help from the surrounding towns.
In that case, being from the same territory, the Nobles of the other towns would surely have taken the matter seriously and sent support to ensure that Lamijion would not have to fear the rescue threats from the Old Demon Clan Faction.
But Beren was worried that this would result in the credit being shared among others, which is why he wanted to monopolize the glory and handle the problem with Lamijion on his own.
On this matter, Riley had raised objections, but Beren insisted on having his own way, leaving her no choice but to plan and prepare for Lamijion, attempting to eliminate any accidents and casualties.
But now, circumstances had changed, and it was very possible that others would be making fruitless efforts, leaving all the credit to Shane alone.
As long as Shane truly joined forces with Laischa and used a large quantity of Magic Tools as a means to round up the members of the Old Demon Clan Faction in one fell swoop, then this time, Shane would likely find it impossible to avoid the attention of the Kingdom.
Having made contact with Laischa and assisting in the mass production of such powerful Magic Tools, as well as taking down so many criminals of the Old Demon Clan Faction, including Beddo, who was even more important than Killian, how could the Kingdom possibly ignore Shane?
By then, Shane would surely be summoned by the Kingdom, and all the credit, including the subduing of Killian, would be directly attributed to him.
In that case, even if Beren and the others successfully transported Killian to the Royal Capital, it would be no more than a mere formality.
What’s worse, if the attack by the Old Demon Clan Faction and the resulting pressure were all drawn to Lamijion’s side and they failed to notice the transportation on Beren and the others’ side, their secret mission would become completely risk-free, leading to an extremely smooth completion.
If it really came to that, it would indeed give people the impression that “I could do it myself if I were in his place,” and whether they could receive a reward would be a complete unknown.
Therefore, Magre was the first to panic.
“Don’t you dare do that!”
The young master of the Noble Family shouted without a second thought.
“Hmm?” Shane blinked, looking quite perplexed, “Why not?”
“Because… because…” Magre couldn’t think of a single Reason, getting increasingly flustered, until he simply blurted out imperiously, “Just because I said you can’t do that, you can’t!”
He was outright dismissing the need for Reason.
On the other hand, Leon immediately calmed down and, after a quick thought, had found something to say.
“Just as Alis and Vivian mentioned earlier, the risk is too great,” Leon spoke earnestly, as if considering Shane’s welfare, “No one can be certain that these Magic Tools will be effective against Beddo and the rest of the Old Demon Clan Faction. What if they really don’t work?”
“That’s… that’s right!” Udilis quickly agreed, “Lord Leon is so reasonable!”
Rather than fervent agreement, this was more like her being smitten; the naïve and sweet Lady would unthinkingly echo whatever Leon said.
“…I also feel it’s inappropriate.” Beren fell silent for a moment, then looked toward Shane and said, “We might give up, but we can’t let the citizens of Lamijion take this risk with us. If something really does happen, our guilt will be the greatest. So, I also disapprove of this plan.”
It seemed that the Knight Captain was also ready to use every trick in his arsenal to prevent this from happening.
“Oh, what should I do then?” Shane seemed very disappointed, “So these Magic Tools won’t be of any use at all?”
“How could that be?” Beren’s mind raced, and he quickly said, “In fact, you can hand over the Magic Tools to us, and we will continue with the original plan for the secret mission. We just need President Riley to leak the transportation information in advance, making the Old Demon Clan Faction turn back to search for us. Then we can round up all the members of the Old Demon Clan Faction together, right?”
Upon hearing Beren’s words, the rest also had a revelation, instantly understanding Beren’s calculation.
Vivian, Tielle, Lu Muya, and Merica, among others, frowned.
They had figured it out; Beren and his group were preparing to compete for glory once more, turning a mission that should have been an opportunity for Shane to shine alone into one where the credit belonged to everyone.
Although if they had stayed in Lamijion, waiting for the Old Demon Clan Faction to walk into their trap, they could have shared the glory, but that would turn the event into an anecdote like “Shane and Laischa collaborated to mass produce powerful Magic Tools, distributing them to everyone in Lamijion and gathering the strength of the entire town to withstand the onslaught of the Old Demon Clan Faction.”
But if they continued with the original plan, it would become an event like “the secret mission execution squad led by Beren Mura lured away the Old Demon Clan Faction and, with the combined strength of the entire team, stood against the Old Demon Clan Faction.”
Between the two, the latter scenario was undoubtedly more impressive, would receive the full attention of the Kingdom, and could minimize Shane’s personal feats, highlighting others more.
Just a change in form and context would lead to a completely different result.
This was Beren’s calculation.
Immediately, Leon, Udilis, and Magre voiced their opinions one after another.
“I think this is a good idea.”
“We can also ensure the town’s safety this way, right?”
“If that’s the case, just hand over the Magic Tools!”
The three of them—one smiling innocently, one nodding incessantly, and one quite unabashedly—did not notice the quasi-smile in Shane’s eyes.
Of course, on the surface, Shane still put on a troubled face.
“It doesn’t really matter to me, but these Magic Tools are just prototypes after all, and they require very strict conditions to be used successfully. I wonder if everyone can…”
Before he could finish his sentence, Beren preemptively hammered down the conclusion.
“Don’t worry, we are all Knights or Adventurers, no matter how difficult to use the Magic Tools are, we will successfully operate them.”
As he said this, Beren had another thought in his mind.
(If rookies at Level 10 can use it successfully, how could we possibly fail to use it?)
That was the gist of it.
The others seemed to think this way too, each one making their guarantees.
Shane kept his troubled expression but finally nodded his “reluctant” agreement, prompting laughter from everyone around.
Only Vivian and Tielle exchanged glances.
(What exactly is he planning?)
(I have a feeling these guys are in for a bad time…)
That’s what the two of them thought.
And so, the matter was settled.
Not long after, everyone got ready and finally left Lamijion with Killian in tow.
President Riley was also informed about the situation and, after a bout of silence, agreed to the plan.
Following behind the convoy, Shane couldn’t help but recall the last remark Riley, truly helpless, had thrown at him before leaving.
Remembering this warning, Shane murmured to himself.
“I can’t promise that.”
If one was going to be extravagant, they had to do it to the fullest, right?