Recruiting?
Lyle hadn't expected Leinas to bring that up out of nowhere. After a moment's thought, he shook his head.
He had far too many secrets. Joining the Adventurers' Guild had always been about convenience, nothing more.
"Sorry," he replied simply. "I'm not looking to recruit anyone."
"…I see."
Leinas looked visibly disappointed. She bit her lip slightly before continuing, "About the reward…"
"Three thousand… no, two thousand gold."
Lyle's eyes lit up as he opened his mouth, but he lowballed himself slightly. Right now, he was seriously short on funds, and aside from cold, hard cash, there wasn't much else she could offer that would interest him.
And let's be honest—how much money could a disgraced noble with no backing really have?
"Two thousand gold?!"
Leinas repeated the number with surprise, her voice rising as if something had just snapped in her mind. She raised her right arm across her chest and gave Lyle a deep, formal bow.
"I decided on the reward a long time ago," she said solemnly.
And with that, she turned and walked away, her black spear trailing behind her.
"…What?"
Lyle blinked, completely lost.
That's it? She just left?
So… I guess the two thousand gold is off the table too?
August 31st – Month of Ashfire
When Lyle returned to the Imperial Capital, it was the very end of August.
He and Leinas had left the city on the 24th. It had been seven days since then.
Now, only Lyle returned. Leinas had vanished shortly after they parted ways—no explanation, no word, just gone.
Nobles' District – Private Residence
First Floor, Drawing Room
"You finally decided to show up, Alchemist."
Imina crossed her arms, her tone frosty.
"Apologies," Lyle said with a helpless smile as he bent to scratch the little barghest that kept excitedly rubbing against his leg. "Took a bit longer than expected. What happened while I was away?"
"A lot," she said flatly. "The Herbalist Guild sent someone the day after you left, inviting you again."
"Then the Adventurers' Guild came knocking."
"Then came a parade of freelancers and adventuring teams, all hoping to use your regeneration potion to treat their maimed members."
"Oh, and a few nobles too."
She extended a slender hand and started ticking things off finger by finger.
"I turned them all away. Just like you told me to. I said you were developing a new potion. Also mentioned the ogre blood shortage, and how you couldn't make more regen potions for now."
"Of course, none of that's the real issue."
With a flick of her fingers, Imina pulled a finely crafted invitation from her pocket and tossed it through the air to Lyle.
"This is the real problem."
Lyle caught the envelope mid-air, flipped it open, and quickly skimmed the contents while casting a quick [Identify] spell for hidden details.
"Osk?"
The name stirred something in his memory, but he couldn't quite place it.
"Biggest merchant in the capital. Also the guy who runs the Colosseum," Imina added, not even bothering to hide her irritation. "That invitation? Dated two days ago. Venue? The Empire's most luxurious hotel."
"Relax. You already missed it."
"Congrats," she added, face blank. "You've officially pissed off one of the people you really don't want to cross in this city."
Lyle blinked, unbothered.
So what? A well-connected merchant?
He wasn't exactly planning to stick around the Baharuth Empire forever.
Besides, with his current power, even without showing his full hand, he could summon an angel and easily earn a "Orichalcum-tier" rank from the Adventurers' Guild. Just a step away from the top tier, "Adamantite."
For context—there were only two "Adamantite"-ranked teams in the entire Empire, and even they relied heavily on teamwork and class synergy.
In this world, titles mattered, but power mattered more. And Eric had plenty of both.
In fact, while Baharuth Empire boasted stronger overall national power, its elite combat force paled compared to neighboring kingdoms.
"Anyone from the palace come looking for me?" Lyle asked casually. That was what really concerned him.
He'd already gotten his hands on the "Cursed Knight" class, but he still had no lead on the "Forbidden Arts User" class.
Unlike Leinas, with Fluder there was no direct route.
And Lyle didn't want to just sit around hoping he'd show up.
He'd already spent a full month in this Empire. He couldn't afford to keep wasting time chasing shadows.
"The palace?" Imina looked confused. "Nope. No one."
Lyle's expression darkened a bit.
He'd made plenty of noise in the capital—enough to get noticed. He'd even helped treat a few maimed nobles.
With the Emperor's infamous attention to detail, there was no way he hadn't noticed.
And yet… not a single response?
"You should be more worried about this," Imina interrupted, her amber eyes narrowing seriously.
"After word got out that ogre blood was running dry and regeneration potions were no longer available, a certain noble actually brought a captured ogre here."
"Oh?"
Lyle looked toward the courtyard and noticed a lone, scrawny ogre tied up and looking very much worse for wear.
"Don't bother," Imina said, flicking her purple ponytail. "They took it back before it ever reached the house."
"Let me guess—Osk's doing?" Lyle's eyes narrowed.
"Not exactly," she replied, a hint of awe creeping into her tone. "It was the Warlord—Go Gin."
Now that name made Lyle pause.
Go Gin, the Warlord of the Empire.
Arguably the most famous figure in the Baharuth Empire—and not just because of his raw power. The man was not human. He was a demi-human, and despite the discrimination that came with that, he'd risen to prominence solely through sheer strength.
He'd become a living symbol of the Empire.
To someone like Imina, a half-elf, he was practically a legend.
Go Gin… the Warlord?
Lyle's expression turned serious for once. He hadn't expected someone like that to get involved over ogres.
Among the handful of people in this Empire worth watching, Go Gin was definitely one of them.
He had already stepped into the realm of Heroes—level 30 or higher, easy. And as a demi-human, he had racial bonuses that made him even stronger than a human of equal level.
Even Guu, the "Eastern Giant" and one of the Three Overlords of the Forest of Tob, wasn't his equal.
As the undead king once put it, the difference was like that between a wild boar and a domesticated pig—both powerful, but only one was bred to destroy.
Rumor had it, Lyle had stopped selling his potions specifically because of Go Gin's intervention.
Imina gritted her teeth. She knew the real reason, but the rumor was more believable to outsiders.
And considering Go Gin was the biggest backer of the current Emperor, it wasn't a good look.
Once the rumor spread?
Didn't matter if it was true or not. Even those who wanted to work with the genius alchemist named Lyle would hesitate.
"Bastards," Imina spat. "No wonder we haven't been able to get any ogre blood lately. They're behind it, I'm sure."