I Try To Enjoy My Life But This Woman Keep Calling Me Villain-Chapter 166: Summoned to the Capital

I smile a little at the beautiful, dense forest in the middle of the sand desert. The past week of relaxing in this place is something we need. After defeating the giant sandworm, we decide to take Lord Benham’s offer of relaxing in his private oasis.

It is located near the Sandfall to the west.

Even with the amount of sand around it, the place is clean. There is not a single piece of sand inside the mansion; even if there is sand inside the mansion, a small army of servants will take care of it.

Sadly, after a week of doing nothing but enjoying the place, we decided it was time to continue our adventure. For now, we need to return to Lokah City, take care of our food, and then return to the capital city.

The reason? The king wants to meet me. It looks like there is a problem in the capital city, and the king needs my help. Well, I cannot reject that request. At least we have already spent a week doing nothing but relaxing.

It takes a few hours for us to arrive in Lokah City from the Oasis vacation home. They quickly take us to the lord’s mansion. The servant takes us to the Lord’s office, where I can see Lord Benham and Lady Anahita already waiting for us.

"Grandmaster Gwyndolin! Welcome back. Are you enjoying yourself?"

"We did. It was the most enjoyable vacation for us in a while."

"That is good. That is good. Anyway, I call you here because of the letter from his highness, the king."

"I know. We received a letter from the capital city from the king. The king asked us to meet him in the capital city."

"Did the letter tell you the reason why?"

"Sadly, no."

Lord Benham nods and says.

"Then let me tell you the reason why the king asked you to go to the capital city. There was an attack from the eastern front of the Verlagan Kingdom."

"I will not help you if this is a war between two kingdoms. I’m sorry to sound rude, but I need to tell you that I will not help you and your kingdom with the conflict between the two kingdoms. I don’t want the Gipan Kingdom to get involved with a war."

"Ah, you did not need to worry about that, Grandmaster Gwyndolin. It is not a war between two kingdoms but rather a war against monsters. There is a monster outbreak on the eastern front, and it has already wiped out a village before the citizens can evacuate. It is sudden, and the soldiers on the frontier are caught unprepared. The king wants to know if you are willing to help us."

I nod and say.

"If it is a monster’s problem, we have no problem helping."

"Great! We will depart tomorrow morning via the river and get to the eastern front together with the reinforcement of soldiers and adventurers."

"There are also adventurers, huh?"

"Of course. The king will not think twice of spending money as long as he can help his people."

"That is a good thing to hear. How many monsters are coming to the eastern front?"

"We did not know. The Void Crack is still growing, and the monsters that are coming to the frontier cities are the monsters that stay in the desert."

"How long since this Void Crack appeared?"

"It has been two days, and it is still growing."

"That is worrying. Don’t worry. We will give our help in the incoming fight."

"Even when there is a risk of you dying?"

"Hah! That is a good one. We are not afraid of dying, Benham. As long as we die in honor, we will face death with a smile on our faces."

My companion nods their heads in agreement, and I can see Lord Benham smile at me. He nods his head and says.

"Thank you, truly. We will not forget your help, Grandmaster Gwyndolin."

"Don’t worry about it. You can thank us later when the situation is under control."

"Of course. I will make sure you are royally compensated. Not only for your help with this problem but also for the help you have given to my territory for the past two weeks."

"Right. Anyway, who will come with us?"

"From Lokah City, there will be one thousand men with me commanding the army."

"I want to come as well, but no one will be commanding the army in this place if a monster wave is happening near here."

I look to the side and see Lady Anahita pouting. She is a woman who likes a good fight. Sometimes, we spar with her when we visit the castle, and she is strong. Even Jullian cannot beat her with pure swordsmanship. If they are going all out, it is fifty-fifty between the two fighters.

She is truly a fearsome fighter.

"What about the adventurer?"

"There will be about forty adventurers, including the adventurers you know."

"Who?"

"I think they are called the Rising Tiger Party. The leader is someone called Quentyn. He is not the strongest member in the party, but his planning and analytic ability make him a great leader in the party."

"I know them. Three humans, one elf, and one beastman, right?"

"That is right. They are a C-rank party but can potentially reach an S-rank party just like you and your companion."

"That they are. However, there is a question I want to ask. Why only hire a small number of adventurers from this city?"

Lord Benham releases a sigh and says.

"There is an open secret in the Verlagan Kingdom, Grandmaster. The empire to our north, the Bulkon Empire, offers a massive amount of compensation for a high-ranking adventurer in their empire. They have been doing this since long ago, and now most adventurers decide to go to the Bulkon Empire and get a bigger reward. Not only that, when they reach an A-rank adventurer, they will be given a small piece of land by the emperor."

He raises his hand when I am about to ask something.

"Before you say something, we cannot beat them in their reward system because the Bulkon Empire is sitting on the biggest gold mine in the entire world. Their entire kingdom is full of gold mines, and they can spend as much money as they can to pay the adventurer. They are also sitting in the middle of the Western Continent and have the highest access to any kingdom in the entire continent. As if those two are not enough, they also have the most fertile land in the entire continent. So not only do they get gold from their mines but also from their trade route and trading their foods across the continent."

"Ah, I see. That is a hard place to be."

Gold and trade routes are not really a problem. That food is a problem for the Verlagan Kingdom. They cannot do anything to the empire because they control the Western Continent’s food supply. Many kingdoms need the empire’s food to survive, and if the Verlagan Kingdom decides to go to war against them, the empire can demand the other kingdoms to aid them because if the empire goes to war, the other kingdoms will not have enough food.

At least, that is one of many reasons why they are a troublesome neighbor.

"Yes. While we cannot compensate for adventurers like the Bulkon Empire, we value the ones who decide to stay in this kingdom. I think the king will even reward the adventurers who have done exceptional deeds for the Verlagan Kingdom. Among those rewards is a piece of land and a noble title."

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Lord Benham’s smile gets bigger, and he says.

"Ah, you did not know, huh? You and your companion are among the people that will receive nobility and land."

"I’m a noble, Benham."

"Not your adventurer persona, no. The clothing between your adventuring job and casual clothing are two different things. Only a few people know about the difference. When your companion and you walk to the castle, you are wearing simple yet elegant clothing. When you are in your Grandmaster role, you wear a robe and a hat covering your face. When you are in your adventurer clothing, you wear a robe and cloak covering your face. The same goes for your companion. Most of your face is covered with either a helmet or a mask to block the sand."

I want to retort but put my finger down when I think about it for a few seconds. He is right. We put on different clothes for every association. When we are outside, we are wearing something that covers our head and face because of the sand.

When we decide to go on an adventure, we always wear something that covers our faces. Now that I think about it, I’m the only one who shows my face to the world.

"Oh"