God-Tier Enhancement: My Upgrades Never Fail-Chapter 121: Episode 24 _ How Much Will You Give Me_(2)

3.

He had expected it.

Unless they were idiots, there was no way they wouldn’t notice two months later that their family’s precious treasure had been stolen. They would have immediately formed an elite team to chase the thief who betrayed the family.

In fact, wasn’t the ring significant enough that it wouldn’t be strange at all if Baron Karan had been caught and the treasure taken back before he even reached Han Simin?

Although its options were veiled, the merit of simply being brought from the Demon World was enough to make others salivate.

In the midst of that, Baron Karan had somehow reached Han Simin with his swine-like body, handed over the ring, and fled.

Even if they couldn’t catch him, by tracing his movements, they could likely guess where the ring had flowed.

Simin had thought he might be suspected, but he didn’t expect them to approach this blatantly.

’Is he really a high-ranking noble?’

A scene that looked completely normal to the citizens of the Empire who were excited by the festival atmosphere!

Of course, the air had become a bit heavy and people were trying not to get too close to the group surrounding Han Simin, but the fact that no one was reporting this situation—where they were openly trying to kidnap him—meant they had approached with a very meticulous plan.

The influence of that noble bastard, who was somewhat known and recognized in the Empire, must have played a part too.

“Oppa, what is this? The vibe here screams run away, doesn’t it?”

“Hey. What are you saying? The Specialists are one. How can you say you’ll abandon me so easily?”

“One, my ass. If we die like this, are you going to take responsibility, Oppa?”

“That’s a no.”

While bickering, they stood back-to-back to maintain a proper distance.

Kang Yeseul probably meant it when she said she wanted to escape, but unfortunately, there was no space for the three of them to flee.

“Excuse me, misters. We don’t know this person, so can’t you just let us go?”

They remained silent.

“Right, I guess not.”

Furthermore, the polite question was met with silence.

However, it was also quite awkward to draw their weapons.

“What are you going to do?”

This was the middle of the Imperial Capital.

Even if the Specialists held the number one rank among players, were widening the gap with the fourth rank, and were progressing through the main quest faster than anyone else at the forefront, their opponents were nobles who ruled the continent—those with significant power even among the NPCs who drove the game.

With a single word, knights who could clear Act 2 of the Main Quest in a breath might swarm in. If that happened, the reason they gave up hunting time to come here would disappear.

They could also suffer losses due to the death penalty.

So, they had no choice but to ask Han Simin for help.

It was the same for Jeong Seolah.

Even the invisible Jeong Hyeonsu maintained a stoic silence.

“What can I do? Is there any other way? We lack numbers, we lack rank, and we lack levels.”

Han Simin remained silent.

However, Han Simin failed to meet their expectations.

Every word he spat out with a smile was negative.

Their brows naturally furrowed, but they didn’t complain.

In truth, the person who was least generous about his own death and trembled in fear the most was none other than Han Simin.

He would surely prepare a way for himself to survive somehow.

They just needed to squeeze into that gap.

Escort knights entered through the surrounding nobles.

Cautious actions for safety!

“Wait!”

Han Simin shouted at them.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Bind him.”

“Yes.”

It didn’t work at all.

Han Simin, scratching his head as if embarrassed, pulled out his next card.

“You’ll regret this, you know?”

“The only one who will regret this is you. How dare you order the theft of our family’s treasure.”

“I have absolutely no idea what kind of dog-shit nonsense you’re spouting, but right now, I am running an errand under the command of His Imperial Majesty. If someone like me suddenly disappears, it should be obvious what will happen, right?”

“...What did you say?”

A lie that, if told by anyone else, would justify the execution of three generations of their family!

Marquess Haines paused at the audacity of selling the Emperor’s name.

If the son-in-law of one of the Empire’s three powerful Dukes was like this, how much more so for the nobles who merely followed behind, hoping to pick up crumbs!

Gasp!

“His... His Majesty’s...”

No matter how high the prestige of the three Dukes was, and even if the Emperor acknowledged them, in the end, a single word from the Emperor meant they would all face the annihilation of their clans.

Furthermore, the Emperor—a tyrant yet a benevolent ruler who unified the continent, maintained peace, and provided a comfortable life for his people—had captured the hearts of the public.

To rashly touch his son-in-law.

They had prepared themselves, but they hadn’t intended to declare war this openly.

Naturally, they took a step back.

“Hah. If you were going to be like this, why act so tough? Idiots.”

“What are you doing? Capture that bastard immediately! He has been wandering the castle aimlessly for hours after receiving the Emperor’s errand? Isn’t it obvious that he is lying?”

“Yes!”

At least Marquess Haines was the first to come to his senses and grasp the essence of the situation.

Rather than realizing and deducing Han Simin’s obvious lie, it was more that he simply denied reality, but the truth he accidentally guessed was quite plausible.

“Do whatever you want. Capture me or not. The Emperor already knows I have your treasure anyway, and I told him that if I happen to disappear, it’s because the culprit got scared and killed me. Plus, you know I’m an adventurer, right? Even if I die, I’m not really dead. I’ll come back alive and tell the Emperor everything.”

The knights fell silent.

Of course, the opponent was Han Simin.

How could they win a battle of words against someone who spat out whatever came to mind without thinking?

Moreover, he was leveraging the Emperor.

Something that no one breathing on this continent would dare dream of doing.

As the knights hesitated again, this time he stepped forward on his own.

“Here. Go ahead, try binding me.”

The knights stood frozen.

At this point, there was no way they could do it.

They had already lost the momentum and drawn too much attention.

If they were going to do it, they should have taken him away when people were confused.

Most of the citizens watching here were commoners, so they didn’t need to be feared, but if word reached the Emperor through them that the Empire’s son-in-law had been kidnapped by the Ducal faction, it would be a fatal blow to the Dukes who had been holding their breath and waiting until now!

“We withdraw for now.”

Marquess Haines muttered quietly, biting his lip.

The treasure was right there in front of his eyes, yet he had to turn away.

It wasn’t something he had used, nor was it something he could use, but wasn’t this exactly like a chicken rib?

Something you can’t eat yourself, but it burns you up inside to see someone else trying to eat it.

Furthermore, as the encirclement loosened, Han Simin curled up one corner of his mouth and raised his left hand toward him.

“Then, I’ll take this as you giving it to me and use it well.”

Marquess Haines was too stunned to speak.

Even though a mere Viscount was committing the rudeness of speaking informally to a Marquess, he had nothing to say.

The Marquess’s side had definitely made the mistake first, and the atmosphere was now one of retreat.

It would be better not to create a reason for him to drag this out.

Some nobles saw the Marquess’s expression as he suppressed his anger with that thought.

Loyal subjects who had worn themselves out flattering the Marquess and made quite a bit of money from the crumbs!

Seeing his bursting anger, those loyal subjects expressed it on his behalf.

“You insolent fool! Even if you are His Majesty’s son-in-law. How dare a mere Viscount show such rudeness to Marquess Haines! You scoundrel! Do you intend to ignore the etiquette of the Empire!”

It wasn’t a wrong statement, and in this part, Han Simin was definitely in the wrong.

Moreover, insubordination was what the Emperor punished most strictly in the world!

Apart from this incident, if they wanted to punish him, they could sufficiently hold him accountable.

Or so they thought.

“Who are you?”

“I am Viscount Hatata!”

“Is that so?”

“It is!”

“Then why are you acting up?”

“...What? How dare you show rudeness to the Marquess...”

“What are you talking about? When did I?”

Viscount Hatata looked confused.

Until they saw Han Simin’s nonchalant feigned ignorance.

“When did I commit rudeness to that Marquess over there?”

“...What on earth.”

“I was talking to him.”

The crowd looked puzzled.

Fingers pointed in the awkwardly flowing atmosphere.

The gazes of the nobles, as well as the watching citizens, followed the tip of his finger.

Marquess Haines was certainly there.

But the finger was not pointing at Marquess Haines.

Behind the Marquess.

It was pointing at a noble who was modestly clasping his hands and looking around nervously.

“Him. Hey. What’s your rank?”

“...Huh?”

The noble, flustered by the sudden attention directed at him.

He answered Han Simin’s question inadvertently.

“I... I am a Baron.”

“Right? See. If he’s a Baron, he’s below a Viscount, so what does it matter if I speak informally or not?”

Viscount Hatata was bewildered.

Viscount Hatata lost his words to refute the overly nonchalant statement.

Come to think of it, it seemed like that might be true.

Looking back, Han Simin’s words indeed lacked a subject.

Of course, even so, the conversation had centered around Marquess Haines and Han Simin, but what could they do if he insisted like that?

Even Viscount Hatata, who raised the issue, almost accepted it for a moment, so how much more so for the people watching?

“Come to think of it, that’s true?”

“It’s a bit strange, but he’s right.”

“There’s no way a Viscount would speak informally to a Marquess, right? Even if he is the Emperor’s son-in-law. Unless he wants to die. The thing the Emperor hates most is the destruction of the hierarchy.”

If it came to this, there was only one way to resolve the problem.

However, Viscount Hatata did not want to resolve it to that extent.

What he needed was to show a moderate amount of loyalty to Marquess Haines, not to risk his life.

“By the way, who are you to act up against me?”

Viscount Hatata was speechless.

Did he understand his heart?

Han Simin grabbed him as he tried to back away.

And then he threw it.

A single glove.

THWACK!

“Urgh!”

He threw it roughly, but a +15 glove is heavy enough to knock a person down.

Before Viscount Hatata, who was suddenly assaulted, could understand what was happening, a bolt from the blue fell.

“You bastard. How dare you insult me in front of so many people! I cannot tolerate this. Although I could handle my own disgrace alone, since I have become His Majesty’s son-in-law and the princess’s husband, insulting me is directed at His Imperial Majesty and the princess! My pride does not allow me to just tattle, so let’s settle this fair and square with a Knight’s Duel!”

The crowd was shocked.

Knight’s Duel.

At that single phrase, the audience stirred.

Because the weight carried by those words was never light.

“Give me back the glove.”

He snatched the expensive glove from Viscount Hatata, who was staring blankly in denial of the situation facing him, and pulled out a hammer.

People naturally backed away.

Marquess Haines’s expression crumpled to the point where there was no more space to crumple, but he did not intervene.

That is the kind of word it is.

A Knight’s Duel.

“To be fair, I won’t send out a knight as a proxy either, so don’t you send one out. Let’s fight fair and square amongst ourselves!”

“I... I only spoke the truth... I really didn’t know you were speaking to the Baron.”

Perhaps coming to his senses at the killing intent directed at him, Viscount Hatata hurriedly begged.

He had no combat ability.

No, he had learned some self-defense, but how could he defeat an adventurer holding such a flashy weapon?

The light pride that used to flatter Marquess Haines quickly made him change.

“No, no.”

However, Han Simin was as straight as bamboo.

Many things had changed, but there was one thing he hated most: those who tried to get by with just words without money.

Furthermore, he didn’t even like the words being said.

“The truth? You bastard, the truth my ass. Those were words that deserve a beating. You’re dead today.”

* * *