She must have had a stroke

"Hmm."

"Hmm. No."

"Ah... no."

"What the hell... Oh, I see."

Eliz was lying in bed, flipping through the thick sheet of lists she had gotten from the head butler. It was a list of the mercenaries of the Mercenary Guild that had been sent through the Great Communication Crystal. Of course, they had it on the estate. It was handy for her father's work because it allowed him to work faster and more efficiently. In addition, she also had the Blue Rose estate plans sent to Kuron.

"I should have had them sort from worst to best for me." Eliz sighed as she looked at the list. But it was true that it would be pointless if they put the worst at the top.

Eliz was looking for the best of the worst. She wanted someone strong but had a bad reputation.

So far, she had only seen the top of the pack. Great strength, great results, great collaboration. Some were solo; others were in groups of three to five. There were also large or smaller groups who commented that they did not have trouble connecting with other groups.

The reason was simple—monster attacks.

Eliz had nothing to do with this because she was in a safe area. But she would probably encounter them as soon as she set out.

The Mostra was sorted similarly to the human warriors. This made it easier to see how strong the warriors had to be to eliminate them. Rank 1 monsters could usually be handled by a rank 1 warrior or large groups of ordinary warriors.

Some might wonder why there were ordinary warriors at all. But they, too, had their uses, for example, for pest control. Below the rank 1 monster are even lower monsters called mutated beasts. So there is a difference when someone says rat and mutated rat, for example.

A rat was simply a rat, as everyone knew it. But a mutant rat is three or four times bigger and stronger. But they were still pretty weak compared to a level 1 monster.

For Enhanced fighters were not worth dealing with them. They use ordinary warriors who, with enough numbers, could handle mutated monsters.

As for rank 1 monsters, this was where goblins, imps, skeletons, zombies, slimes, and other low-level monsters came into play. If you compared it to games, these were the monsters that any level 3-7 newbie could easily handle. Of course, Eliz was comparing it to the common monsters everyone knows. This world had its own unique monsters. To her delight...

But the rank 2 monsters were a different matter.

Just like with humans, the difference was huge. Again, if Eliz were to compare it to a game, the player would have to be at least level 15 to 20 for a rank 2 monster.

These monsters had higher intelligence and abilities.

Of course, they had them. If the author did not include such monsters, what would the main characters be fighting against? The author could not keep inventing new humanoid enemies. What would he do if they were on the road? Would he keep sending bandits after them repeatedly? Readers would be tapping their foreheads that he was crazy.

Eliz would have preferred if the author had been lousy at this too, but he really seemed to have a knack for inventing monsters.

For example, the Thunder Wolf. A huge wolf the size of a bus with needle-like yellow fur and a curved horn that could shoot lightning. Such a monster was ranked 3. When their pack grew too large, they became a significant threat. They quickly killed their prey in their territory and continued their search elsewhere. Therefore, expeditions were regularly organized to kill them and prevent attacks on inhabited areas.

Or a Royal Strangler Plant. A plant monster that hid in the forest pretending to be an ordinary climbing plant. Once the victim was wrapped, it strangled and thrusted spikes into the victim, which sucked out all his bodily fluids.

It is classified as a rank 4 monster because it was hard to deal with. So, the plant inhabited a large space, and the only way to get rid of it entirely was to burn down the whole place because the Royal Strangler took root in many places. As soon as any roots survive, it grows back. It is a hard thing to beat.

Eliz did not mind. She did not worry about monsters as long as she could find a capable bodyguard. Besides, she would rather deal with monsters than Male Leads and their kind. The monsters just needed to be killed.

Eliz turned another page and sighed.

Rustle

Rustle

Rustle

She turned the pages, and her eyes slowly closed. She was tired from today but needed to finish this to meet with the Mercenaries tomorrow.

She rubbed her eyes and kept going.

She was almost halfway through the page when she spotted something that caught her eye.

"Boulders? Did they really call themselves Boulders?" She thought it was a funny name.

"Commander Alarr Shard. Enhanced Warrior- Attacker. Rank 3 Human. Enhanced Warrior - Defender Rank 2, Holm Dow, Race of Bears. And Raiana Enhanced Runner - Duelist. Rank 2, Hybrid."

Eliz raised an eyebrow. " Rating 2/10."

"While it is a capable team, customers have complained about their actions, violence, and disrespect. The Boulder team is unsuitable for working with other mercenaries, escorts, or in delicate situations. Suitable for the elimination of monsters. 300 gold per month."

Eliz stared at the sheet for a moment. "Hmmm. Sounds perfect."

She left bed and went to her desk to write the application.

Only 300 gold a month? That was even better! Of course, someone with them skills would typically charge a thousand gold or more. But they probably had to lower the bar because of the bad reviews.

Eliz noted her selections and requested to meet at the Mercenary Guild late tomorrow afternoon.

Then she summoned Alobela and had her post the letter. Then Eliz finally shuffled off to bed and curled up. But she could not fall asleep for a long time. Bad memories and fears prevented her from falling asleep quickly.

*****

A black-haired man of about thirty sat at a table in a small room lit only by an ordinary wax candle. His eyes were dark red like clotted blood, and fine lines were already appearing between his brows because he was constantly frowning. He was handsome, but his cold, stern gaze kept most people away.

Alarr slowly flipped through one paper after another, listening to the quiet snores from the small giant lying on the floor, covered by a too-small blanket for him.

The only bed in the room was occupied by a much smaller figure who breathed inaudibly.

Alarr pinched the bridge of his nose as he looked at the job postings. They were the most miserable jobs, and the money would not last a week.

But they had no other choice anymore. They had not gotten a real job in months, and the last one had ended so disastrously that Alarr wondered why they had not been kicked out of the guild long ago.

Not everyone tolerated nearly getting a customer killed. The only thing that saved them from being kicked out was that the incident went to the group's reputation, not the guild itself. But that will not last forever. Once the guild's reputation suffers, they'll be out in no time.

There was a heavy knock on the door. Alarr looked up, the snoring stopped immediately, and the person on the bed seemed to have stopped breathing.

Alarr stood up, picked up the large black sword lying next to his chair, and walked to the door.

He clutched the pommel of his sword tightly and anxiously, worried that the money collectors were here.

Carefully, he opened the door on a crack, weapon at the ready, but when he saw who it was, he opened it wide.

"Bitch." He greeted in a gruff, cold voice.

Behind the door stood a woman in her late forties. Her hair was pulled back perfectly into a chignon, without crooked hair. To Alarr's amazement, she wore casual clothes. Although her hair was still perfect, she looked like someone who had run away from home in a hurry.

"Dickhead." Replied the woman coldly, handing him the paper.

"You have a job to do. Come to the guild tomorrow afternoon to meet with a client. I am warning you. If you screw this up, we'll kick you out of the guild."

Alarr took the paper from her hand. "As long as he does not cause trouble, there will not be a problem." He replied in a still, cold voice.

"That's something else entirely, you son of a bitch." The woman growled and jabbed her finger at the paper. "I do not know if she was a stroke that she chose you, but she is Duke's daughter. If you do not think you can handle it, then do not fucking take it, okay?"

Alarr's eyebrows moved as he almost jumped in surprise and looked down at the paper.

"The Duke's daughter?" He repeated, then looked up.

"Is she stupid?"

"Apparently so. So be careful. You can not just hurt her. It wouldn't just cost you a place in the guild, but you'd also get arrested."

Alarr frowned; unless they needed the money, he would refuse. Messing with an uppity lady was not something he could handle calmly.

"Good." He replied, slamming the door in her face.

He returned to the table. The little giant on the floor sat up. "Did we get a job?"

The man was six feet tall and twice as wide as Alarr. He had short red hair and a beard, and two bear ears. His eyes were emerald green but so small that they looked like he had no whites.

"Hmm," Alarr grunted in response.

Alarr put the paper on the table. "This is going to be a bit tough." He said.

"I am sorry." A woman's voice came from the bed.

"Don't,"

A large man named Holm raised his hand and patted the woman on the bed.

The woman then sat up, revealing a dark blue-haired woman with tattoos on her face, somewhat pale skin, and long horns on her head.

There was a dull rumble. "Haaaa. I am hungry." Holm sighed, rubbing his stomach and looking miserable.

Raiana patted the big man on the back this time and looked at Alarr. "We'll eat tomorrow. We will take the job. Whatever it is."

Alarr hesitated and sighed. "We'll see."

*****

Eliz got up early in the morning and felt a nervous energy that did not allow her to sleep peacefully. Just like yesterday, she had a lot of work to do today, but she was most nervous about her contract with Kuron.

Therefore, the first thing she did this morning was to stretch. That helped ease her nervousness a bit. She was a little surprised at how quickly she got out of breath. Elizabeth's physique was alright; even though she had not exercised much, she had not expected it to be this bad! She had almost no stamina.

Another thing to add to her list when she got out of here. Exercise more. She had to get over it even if she did not like exercising. At least she should be able to run if she needed to.

Alobela came with breakfast, finally took her complaints to heart, and gave her less salad. This made Eliz happy, and she was immediately in a better mood.

Alobela dug out a dark green dress with white lining from somewhere in the closet. It was not exactly a color that suited Eliz, but she thought it was much more subtle than her usual colors.

Eliz had already issued instructions last night to escort him directly to his office when Kuron arrived.

She knocked on the door and entered her father's office when he invited her in.

"Good morning, Father," she greeted with a smile and approached him.

Her father looked up and returned her smile. "Good morning."

Eliz settled down in the chair across from his desk. "Clan leader Frosthound will be arriving soon. I would appreciate it if we could discuss a few matters with you privately before his arrival."

To her amazement, her father put aside his work and gave her undivided attention. Eliz hesitantly scratched her cheek. It was an unusual experience to be immediately acknowledged like this, and it didn't happen, not even in her original home.

Eliz took a deep breath and looked directly at her father.

"As for the Blue Rose estate, I plan to turn it into a fortress." She paused and looked at the duke, but he only raised an eyebrow and waited for her to continue.

"It's a remote area, and in the years it has not been used, the area has certainly been overrun by monsters. If I have to seize the place, I need a safe place. And not just for me, but for all the people who stay there. Also, it's a good place in case something happens in the future."

Father began to rub his chin thoughtfully, but he did not avert his gaze from Eliz.

"Besides, I know that there is an undiscovered crystal mine near the Blue Rose estate." She added another enticement.

Her father paused. "How sure are you about that?"

Eliz did not move her gaze. "Ninety percent."

She had not lied about that. That was one of the ways she would cover the construction of the fortress. She had others in reserve, but going there now would be too dangerous.

This crystal mine was the most accessible at the moment. She read about it in a story about Gray and Selene traveling through the area. The mine was inhabited by a group of strange mages who, for some reason, were trying to trap earth elementals in the crystals. Since elementals are creatures of energy, this was not entirely impossible.

Selene and Gray were on their honeymoon in the area, and the mages had the funny idea of kidnapping Selene for her healing abilities, which have an earth attribute, thus trapping the elementals.

By this time, Gray was already at rank 3, and the mages were giving him quite a hard time. Not for nothing was she looking for strong people to clear the mine for her. The question, however, was whether the mages were already there because the event would take place in a year and three months.

The father lowered his hand. "The fortress. Interesting. I would never have expected such a suggestion from my daughter." He stood up, went to the filing cabinet, and pulled out a file before returning to the desk.

"When you mentioned the restoration of the Blue Rose estate, I decided to look for myself. The building has a solid foundation and is in a convenient location. However, you are correct in noting that the surrounding area has become much more wild. But it would not hurt our family to have such a fortress. Especially if there is indeed a crystal mine nearby." He spoke while flipping through the file.

Eliz nodded. The presence of the crystal mine meant a big change. Crystals were one of the few minerals that could store mana without imploding. Because of their scarcity, they were highly-priced. Securing this mine would result in significant financial gains.

Eliz felt relieved. Her father seemed to agree with her plans. She had been worried, but her father was clearly thinking strategically. Before they could go any further, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," Duke called, looking up from the table where he had placed the file.

The head butler entered the room. "My lord, young lady, the head of the Frosthound clan has arrived," he announced.

"Let him enter," Father said, and Eliz stood up.

Kuron came in, holding a leather tube in his hands. He looked first at Eliz and then at the duke before bowing. "Thank you for having me, Duke Roseblood."

"Kuron, it is good to see you again. Thank you for coming," Eliz said, walking over to shake his hand.

"No problem, Lady Elizabeth," Kuron replied.

Eliz turned to her father and placed her hand on Kuron's shoulder. "Father, the head of the Frosthound clan is a Master Maker and an excellent builder. I shared the Blue Rose estate blueprints last night, and he has already prepared a design." She looked at Kuron and smiled. "You must have been full of inspiration."

Kuron chuckled. "You could say that. It's been a long time since I have worked on a fortress."

"Ah, so you have experience working on fortresses?" Father wondered.

Kuron nodded and walked over to the table. "Yes, they were smaller forts, but we built them in the mountains, which is much more difficult than building them in the lowlands."

"Indeed. I can imagine that the conditions for construction there are less than ideal. However, the area around the Blue Rose estate is not as safe as it once was. Of course, I will provide soldiers for your safety," Father remarked.

Kuron smiled. "So, have you made your decision?"

The duke smiled as well. "Not quite yet. I want to see your blueprint first."

Eliz smiled contentedly and turned to the head butler. "Please bring some refreshments," she ordered.