Maybe… Ten Tons?

Around two cities' distance from Ashur, there is a town that serves as the border between Mandora and Abyss, known as Dunya City.

A Sonic Bird had just taken flight, soaring over the city walls from the south.

It continued to glide through the air until it perched on a window ledge of a tower within the grounds of a luxurious residence.

This residence served as a home for the orphanage institution known as C-Owl.

A man who was on duty at the Sonic Bird landing site promptly approached the newly arrived bird.

He offered it some nuts as a reward and then retrieved a small tube attached to the bird's back, which contained a letter.

Upon seeing the symbol on the tube, the man immediately knew that the message originated from Ashur.

He opened the message and quickly skimmed through it. However, after finishing reading, he rubbed his eyes, feeling as though he had just read something absurd.

The man went back to reading the message, and this time he was certain that its contents were indeed difficult to believe.

Cold sweat started to form on the man's forehead.

He immediately ran to where the branch leader was located, urgently delivering the message.

The message revealed that all this time, King Mandora, Abayomi Bes Tahoma, was actually Asmodeus, the Demon General from Abyss.

Furthermore, it disclosed Asmodeus' plan to poison the entire Mandora with toxic water from Ashur.

The man had only skimmed through the message, yet even that was enough to make him turn pale. As he handed over the message to the branch leader, he declared its utmost urgency.

The Branch Leader in Dunya carefully read through all the messages conveyed in the letter.

When he finished, he immediately held his forehead. He felt like his head had just exploded from being hit by a storm.

There was a lot of information he learned. Unfortunately, almost all of that information was a nightmare. Mandora's fate now hung in a big question mark.

There was only one piece of information that made him happy. He was even ecstatic.

But... happiness was short-lived; he had to keep thinking about the nightmare ahead.

"Hahaha, I didn't expect this. Milord is still alive, and when he appears, he provides information like this. It's too crazy."

"Umm, Branch Leader?"

"Calm down. In times like this, we must not panic. Let's first assess the situation in Ashur. Now, relay my orders to everyone.

"First, find out the whereabouts of Prince Hanibal in Dunya. Second, prohibit the purchase of water from Ashur. Third, prepare for emergency evacuation to Westya, and finally, summon all agents present in Dunya and the surrounding villages!"

"Understood!"

The man immediately left to convey the orders to the others. However, after five minutes, he returned and rushed in.

"Uh, what's wrong?"

"T-There, Prince Hanibal! He's in the backyard playing with the children!"

"...huh?"

Sure enough, when the Branch Leader and his subordinate hurriedly ran to the backyard of the building, they witnessed a scene where a young man was building a giant sandcastle.

The young man was very serious about building the sand castle, adding incredibly beautiful details. Meanwhile, the children around him cheered on the architect.

"Hahaha..."

The Branch Leader chuckled dryly as he watched the scene in front of him.

He asked the person in charge of accompanying the children for an explanation. The person explained that Prince Hanibal had arrived about two hours ago.

The Prince and one of the orphaned children collided in the city market, causing the child's snacks to fall and making the child cry.

Feeling responsible, the Prince replaced the food, but the child didn't stop crying.

To cheer up the child, the Prince built a mini sandcastle.

This time, the child stopped crying and was even amazed by the creation. In the end, the child dragged the Prince back to the orphanage and showcased the Prince's talent to his friends.

"And that's what happened."

It could be said that because the Prince felt happy hearing the cheers of the children, he built a larger and grander sand castle.

"He's truly unexpected, just as the rumors suggested."

The Branch Leader said as he approached, observing the Prince engrossed in decorating his sand castle.

"Sorry for interrupting, Your Highness."

"Hm? Ahh, don't worry. I should be the one apologizing for disrupting your activities."

"It's okay, Your Highness. The children seem to be happy as well. But, could you spare a moment?"

"Hmm... after this, alright."

"My apologies, Your Highness. But I think this is quite urgent. It's related to your father, King Abayomi."

"... What do you mean?"

Prince Hanibal stopped his hand. He turned to the person who had been talking to him. He could see the seriousness in his expression and gaze.

Hanibal knew that the person in front of him was not joking around.

Hanibal then turned to the children and smiled widely, telling them that his playtime was over.

He had to leave and allowed the children to continue building the sand castle as they pleased.

Hanibal followed the Branch Leader of C-Owl to his room, where he learned that his kingdom was unknowingly heading towards destruction.

***

Inside the auction building, precisely in the office of the Auction Manager, Izhak.

Cien, who had rested and conveyed his wishes to C-Owl, came here to obtain the results of the auction.

From the beginning, this auction had been Cien's main goal. However, somehow Cien ended up doing various unexpected things.

From saving Cherry, saving (read: kidnapping) Lilinette, to exposing Asmodeus' disguise (although it was unintentional).

Cien grimaced at his fate. He felt like his phone might be sending him to a place where a major conflict would occur.

First to Huntara, now to Mandora.

Damn, Cien didn't want to be involved in any of this trouble. He just wanted to do business and find information about his family.

'...hmm, both of those goals have been achieved. But the bonuses are too excessive!'

In Izhak's room, Cien received payment for three items he auctioned off. From the mission event, he only needed to earn ten thousand Tia.

From the auction, the results far exceeded the mission's limit.

The Mana Core was sold for thirty thousand Tia. The Monster Core was sold for twenty-five thousand Tia.

But the Lesser Earth Dragon's blood was the most surprising! The highest bid reached seventy-three thousand Tia!

Cien didn't realize that the blood of a low-level dragon was worth so much. It even exceeded the value of the Mana Core, which he believed was more valuable.

Cien felt that he might not have fully understood the application of dragon blood, which is why he still considered it low in value.

'Hmm, it seems like I should learn more about this dragon blood.'

There was another reason why Cien felt that he needed to study the usage of dragon blood further. It was because the person who obtained the dragon blood at the highest price was King Mandora. In other words, Asmodeus.

How did he know that Asmodeus would be at the auction? If he had known, he probably wouldn't have auctioned off such a valuable item.

If Asmodeus were to use the material, who knows what he would create.

Cien shuddered at the thought. Therefore, once he returned from Ashur, he would add dragon-related studies to his schedule.

Cien didn't want to directly involve himself in the conflicts of the world at the moment.

However, he also didn't want to be one of the reasons for the conflict, causing suffering for others just because of his whims for selling a tiny bit of dragon's blood.

'Ugh, it would be great if Hanibal could kill Asmodeus.'

Cien thought, hoping that it would come true.

After completing his business with the auction, Cien left the building.

He was still being sought after, so he couldn't stay in one place for too long. With a large box containing Lilinette, Cien began to walk through the city's alleys.

Now there's nothing else that Cien actually has to do.

He has completed his mission of finding information about his family, informing Ethel through C-Owl and Niles, visiting Duke Bahman, Halima, and Niles, as well as warning about the presence of Asmodeus and his wicked plan.

Cien felt his role was sufficient in this event. No, it was more than he had imagined.

"Perhaps it's time to return and wait for Ethel's arrival at the shop."

"Oh, Death Valley?"

Cien immediately heard a girl's voice responding.

"Yes. You startled me by suddenly speaking like that."

"..."

"And now you're silent."

Cien didn't hear Lilinette's voice anymore. The girl was probably absorbed in her book.

Before leaving the C-Owl building earlier, Cien asked for one Mana Lamp for Lilinette. It made the girl a little happy as she wouldn't feel bored inside the coffin.

"Sigh... Should I just go back then?"

Cien muttered, then took out his phone. He saw that the mission was successful.

He could claim his reward, but Cien knew that the reward would only be sent to the shop. So there was no point in taking it now.

Cien hesitated to press the teleportation button to Death Valley. It was as if something was holding him back from leaving Ashur.

'Maybe… I want to make sure that some people here are okay.'

Cien thought, feeling concerned about some friends like Halima and Duke Bahman, as well as the C-Owl kids. Wondering if they were truly safe from the destruction in Ashur.

However, to see that, Cien felt that his time outside Death Valley would not be enough.

One week was the time given by his phone. And even if his phone didn't set a time limit, he would still be pulled by the chains of Hela to return to Death Valley.

"Hm? Hela…?"

Cien pondered suddenly. He had just come up with a crazy idea to get rid of Asmodeus from Ashur.

But would that method actually work? It was still unproven, and one could even say it was more like gambling.

'But it could still be the ultimate option if things get worse.'

With that in mind, Cien decided to stay in Ashur until the last day given by his phone, which was three days from now.

'Not only that, speaking of Death Valley, isn't Mia an Aide of Sravati? I completely forgot about her original job. Maybe coming up with an additional plan isn't a bad idea.'

Cien then contacted Mia through his phone.

Ring!

"Yo, Mia. Are you awake?"

<...just now … Is this the first thing you always say? Am I awake?! I'M AWAKE!>

"Hahaha, how long have you been awake?"

<Gulp, five minutes…?>

"Well, then I'm not entirely wrong, right?"

<Ugh, so what's up? It's the first time you've contacted me in the afternoon like this?>

"I need your help. I need a large quantity of Calming Moongrass. Can you assist me in gathering it?"

<How much do you need?>

"Hmmm... maybe about… ten tons?"

<.....wha…??? HUUUH?!>