CHAPTER 117: HATRED

The maids could now see that the receptionist’s face had gone pale for some reason. They had also been informed during dinner that his VIP guest was very important, and they had to be careful when dealing with him.

However, seeing the receptionist’s reaction now, it seemed the matter was more serious than they had thought.

A voice from behind made all three of them turn their heads.

"What’s happening here? Tell me."

The manager had come over upon seeing the two familiar maids assigned to their important guest, but when he got closer and noticed the receptionist’s pale face, he quickened his steps in fear.

Had they upset the guest from the Higher Domain... I-If it really happened, not only their jobs but my own position would be gone...

I can’t afford to lose such a good job when I have a family to take care of in the Middle Domain.

Seeing them fail to greet him when he had asked such an important question angered him even more.

"Tell me what happened?"

The receptionist had already assumed she had lost her job. She kept her head down in shame, even though the meal they had sent was their chef’s signature dish—simple yet extremely delicious.

She should have gone with something more extravagant.

He saw the receptionist’s reaction, which confirmed his worst fears, so he turned to the maids, still clinging to hope.

"You t-two t-tell me what happened now!"

Both maids quickly started relaying the message from the young lord to the manager. However, they were shocked at how much commotion this simple message had caused.

They began to fear that his identity might be something they couldn’t even comprehend. Their manager was someone who didn’t even fear the Dukes or even the King of Shampain—the strongest kingdom. His reaction truly left a mark on them.

The receptionist, who also heard the words of the maids, showed a look of relief as she slumped in her seat from mental exhaustion. She wouldn’t have to leave her high-paying job at Bellsfords.

The middle-aged man in his forties with a beard almost cried tears of joy in front of the maids, realizing his horror had just been a false alarm.

He decided to wait in the reception hall for the guest to come down and personally meet him before he left.

An hour passed, and the young lord never came down. The two maids were also waiting, wanting to offer their greetings to such an important figure—they hoped to leave a good impression.

The manager stood up abruptly from his seat, fearing something might have happened to the guest. Along with the maids and the receptionist, he went to check on him.

He was ready to be scolded if something had happened to a person from the Higher Domain inside his inn—it was too big a risk. He could even lose his life. He had no choice.

Outside the gate of Leon’s previous room.

Even after the maids loudly called out, no one answered from inside. The middle-aged man ordered all three of them to step back—he was going to break the door. The door was designed in such a way that if locked from the inside, no one could unlock it—not even them.

Mana surged inside the body of the middle-aged bearded man. A sword made of water appeared in his hand, looking dangerous. With it, he sliced the gate open with precision.

Debris of wood didn’t fly anywhere, as a clean square hole was formed in the middle.

The manager’s expression became unreadable as he looked into the room—completely empty, with only the window left open.

-----

Unaware of the panic he’d left behind at the inn, Leon arrived at the Marquess’s estate and emptied their treasury with practiced ease. The vault offered no resistance, its contents vanishing into his dimension like breath into the void.

He was disappointed, as the amount of gold, jewelry, and platinum in their vaults was tens of times less than that of the Dukes. Only the techniques and skills inside were worth something to him.

He didn’t bother storing any gold or platinum, and with a touch of his hand, he made them disappear, _fwoosh_ as they glitched out of existence, directly exchanged them for causality, which earned him less than twenty thousand causalities.

It doesn’t matter if they have less treasure—there is strength in numbers.

Leon left for another noble’s house inside the Kingdom of Champagne under the cover of night, which made his travel even faster than before.

It was great that the distance between them was much shorter now, unlike the Dukes’ castles. Along the way, he even robbed the lower-ranked nobles’ houses. Even if their treasure was comparable to a mosquito’s value, it was still better than nothing—and one or two techniques he got from them were worth it.

It was the next day. Leon was done now. He had gone to a Baron’s house—the lowest he had gone—and it was the only time he did. Their treasure vault was too empty to even be called a vault. He even thought of just destroying the mansion with a light sword strike.

Time was being wasted, and his minute rate was too high to waste on less than a thousand gold coins.

-----

The sun was unforgiving at its peak, casting stark shadows across the rooftops of Hemsburg as Leon glided past. Dust curled in his wake, and even the wind felt dry on his skin. Fifteen hours of stealing had left his mind buzzing with a dull ache—like static behind his eyes.—he had robbed more than fifty noble houses. He needed rest, not for his body but for his mind.

In the more than fifteen hours of continuous robbing. The excitement had kept him going.

Physically, he was completely fine, as his life element could take care of his body, but he didn’t need it. The process had been easy—but mentally taxing to do non-stop.

Still, it was all worth it for him. He had one and a half days of free time, during which he had planned a date with Seraphine. There was also the rotten secret place in Hemsburg that he liked to visit.

That was where he would begin recruiting people for his empire. Some had already caught his eye when he visited last time and checked their statuses using the system.

Even when not awakened, he could still see their affinities and other stats.

He smiled, thinking of Seraphine. But part of him couldn’t shake the image of one particular face he had seen in the slums last time—young, quiet, and burning with rage behind the eyes.

Eyes like a burning glass.

He hadn’t forgotten them. He doubted he ever would as hatred so strong in them.

He would have to meet that one again soon.