The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - Chapter 232

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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Chapter 232. Ashes on Cooked Rice (1)
The Whitewolf Territory’s influence grew more formidable with each passing day.
As the situation escalated to the point where it now rivaled even the Royal Court’s authority, voices of restraint against the Whitewolf Territory grew louder in the Conference Room.
Thus, Leon, the First Prince who embodied the Royal Court’s authority, found himself at the center of it all.
‘This is absolutely excellent!!’
Yet internally, Leon was exulting with unbridled joy.
A grin threatened to spread across his face.
He had to suppress it with considerable effort.
Leon opened his mouth with a stern and grave expression.
“It is improper to impose sanctions simply because the Whitewolf Territory’s influence has grown.”
Leon fell silent once more.
Speaking too much was unwise.
Those with any sense would have understood his meaning by now.
“Indeed, Your Highness is correct. Restraining the Whitewolf Territory would be inadvisable.”
“Our Royal Court itself currently relies upon the Whitewolf Territory’s strength, after all….”
“Who would dare speak of restraint so carelessly?”
Precisely.
As Adrian shook The Continent, the Royal Court reaped considerable diplomatic benefits.
Negotiations, border disputes, trade privileges—the list went on.
The Royal Court had leveraged Adrian’s influence to resolve diplomatic quandaries that had once seemed intractable.
And now they would restrain the Whitewolf Territory?
“If we provoke them carelessly and House Whitewolf turns away from the Royal Court….”
It would be like slitting open the belly of the goose that laid golden eggs.
No, what was a goose compared to this?
It would be like banishing the guardian dragon that protected the Kingdom itself.
“Yet we cannot simply leave the Whitewolf Territory unchecked, can we?”
“If we do nothing, they will surely threaten the Royal Court eventually.”
Idiots, the lot of them.
Leon ground his teeth inwardly.
“Then rather than restraining the Whitewolf Territory, why not ensure they become firmly aligned with the Royal Court?”
Yes! That’s exactly it!
Leon made a mental note of the Minister of Interior’s astuteness.
“Is such a method possible?”
“What if we sent royal envoys to them more frequently?”
“Would that alone be enough to secure the Whitewolf Territory’s loyalty?”
Just a bit more. Just a bit more.
“I hear that nobles from other kingdoms are clamoring to send their children to study in the Whitewolf Territory. What if we sent a member of the Royal Court as well?”
“There is no shortage of royal family members suitable to send as envoys.”
“Hmm….”
“Ugh….”
The ministers fell silent.
Leon was suffocating with frustration.
What, these so-called ministers of the Royal Palace hadn’t even studied history?
Both historically and traditionally.
There existed a proven method to bind the Royal Court and noble houses together, did there not?
“Then what about this?”
“What do you mean?”
“A marriage between the Royal Court and House Whitewolf—.”
“Exactly! Minister of Foreign Affairs, that’s precisely it!”
Leon slammed the table with a bang and cried out.
The Conference Room fell silent in an instant.
His true thoughts had spilled out before he could stop them.
“Ah, it’s nothing. Ahem!”
Leon forced an awkward cough.
The ministers were busy exchanging cautious glances.
Fortunately(?) the Minister of Finance spoke again.
“…To pursue a marriage between the Royal Court and House Whitewolf, we lack suitable bloodlines remaining in our royal family, do we not?”
The Second Prince, Blake.
He was wanted for treason.
The Third Prince, Walter?
He was simply an idiot.
That left only one person.
“Surely you’re not suggesting a marriage between His Highness Leon and—?”
“That is impossible.”
That damned Minister of Defense.
Leon ground his teeth inwardly.
“Why is it impossible?”
“House Whitewolf possesses no young lady of suitable standing for His Highness.”
“Why not?”
“Who says there is one?”
“Is there not Seraphia the Countess?”
Indeed, the Minister of Foreign Affairs!
His mind worked brilliantly, rattling off genealogical information about key figures across multiple kingdoms.
“That is inadmissible. How could we possibly accept an adopted daughter as queen?”
There, that insufferable Minister of Justice!
Reciting legal statutes all day had apparently drained him of all flexibility.
“Adopted or not, she currently serves as the head of House Whitewolf.”
“However—.”
“Moreover, as the head of a house that stands as a pillar of the kingdom, is her status not sufficient?”
Indeed, the Minister of Interior!
My mind felt sharp, honed by years of grinding through administrative complaints.
“Then it is all the more impossible.”
That Minister of Justice—I couldn’t even stand to look at him!
“The Queen symbolizes political neutrality. Therefore, one who holds a title can never become Queen.”
I wanted to just—!
“Then what if the Count’s title were transferred to someone else?”
Ah, the Minister of Interior!
By any measure, he was the perfect candidate for the next Prime Minister.
“Transfer the Count’s title? To whom?”
“To Adrian Whitewolf.”
“What do you—!”
“There is precedent for such things, is there not?”
At that, the Minister of Justice fell silent, his mouth clamped shut.
A Count’s title is granted directly by the sovereign.
Therefore, the sovereign could also strip that title away.
It was not common.
But as he said, there was precedent.
If there were undeniable justification, a forced transfer of the Count’s title was possible.
The Minister of Justice, versed in Royal Law.
He knew this well.
“As you know, Adrian is the legitimate heir of House Whitewolf.”
Justification through bloodline?
It overflowed.
“The current Whitewolf Territory is, in fact, an achievement Adrian himself has built, is it not?”
Justification through merit and achievement?
It was more than abundant—it was bursting at the seams.
“I hear that Seraphia herself wishes to transfer the Count’s title to him.”
Resistance from House Whitewolf?
Impossible.
“The people of Whitewolf Territory already regard him as their Count in practice.”
Justification through public opinion and popular sentiment?
There was nothing more to say.
“If we transfer the Count’s title to Adrian and then welcome Seraphia as Queen, would there not be any problem?”
Ah!
How admirable this was!
Leon bit down hard on his trembling lips.
Just then.
“However, I have heard a certain rumor.”
Someone spoke up cautiously.
The Minister of Palace Affairs.
A position overseeing Royal Court protocol and internal affairs, one that placed great emphasis on dignity and formality.
“What sort of rumor, sir?”
“Well, that is….”
The Minister of Palace Affairs opened his mouth with a somewhat reluctant expression.
* * *
True to its nature as a Territory-linked Quest chain, the Quests continued without pause.
From flush toilets to water and sewage systems.
Laundries, civic registries, and more besides.
With each completion, a new Quest emerged.
And all of them were institutions that could only be found within the Allied Forces—facilities that did not yet exist on The Continent.
Yet the Dwarves’ technological prowess.
The Elves’ environmental mastery.
The residents’ voluntary participation and dedication.
Combined with experience from the Allied Forces and the effects of various Territory Buffs, completion came without difficulty.
◆Your Territory growth has accelerated beyond all measure—it’s spiraling wildly!!
Whitewolf Territory was expanding at an unbelievable pace.
◆Water and sewage systems installed across the entire region in mere days!
◆The very next day, 100% flush toilet distribution achieved!
◆Laundries, theaters, and civic registries established in just weeks!
◆A windfall! A spectacular windfall!!
The bombastic proclamations rose before my eyes.
Strangely restrained, though.
Normally, something like “Can humans truly accomplish such feats?!” would emerge.
Or perhaps “The blessings of civilization have descended upon this Territory!!”
Such fanfare seemed inevitable.
But not this time.
Had Mungu grown weary at last?
That was not the case.
“The linked Quest chain hasn’t ended yet.”
It was merely being suppressed for now.
Held back until the completion of the linked Quests, when all that enthusiasm could finally burst forth.
And so I had reached the final Quest in this chain.
==[The Compressed National Standard Quest! Hey, You Too Can Become a Proper Lord – Chapter Final]==
[Objective] – Construct a lord’s exclusive bathhouse
[Reward] – Acquire the Title “Proper Lord”
[Refusal] – Forfeit all linked rewards
“A lord’s exclusive bathhouse, then.”
A facility for washing oneself—a bathhouse.
Such facilities already existed on The Continent.
“But the perception surrounding them isn’t favorable, I’m afraid.”
In crude terms, I’m stuck in the depths of despair.
A bathhouse requires vast quantities of clean water.
But when drinking water itself is scarce, we’re supposed to dedicate separate water just for bathing?
“There’s no waste quite like that.”
And it wasn’t merely a matter of having clean water.
The labor required to haul the water.
The fuel needed to heat it.
Herbs and aromatic plants to cleanse the body, and so forth.
“The resources poured into a single bath cost more than some grand banquets, for heaven’s sake.”
Naturally, it was regarded as a ‘luxury’.
Consequently, nearly every kingdom across The Continent, including the Battenberg Kingdom, viewed bathhouses in this light.
◆A symbol of indulgence and depravity that reminds you of your reckless youth!
A pleasure reserved for corrupt royalty and nobility.
A luxury divorced from the lives of common people.
That image had solidified further, transforming into a place that washed not the body, but desire itself.
A facility for sexual gratification.
Today, bathhouses were regarded as ‘places of prostitution’.
“Hmm.”
So I found myself in a dilemma.
Was there truly a reason to build a bathhouse?
“I have sufficient resources to build one, certainly.”
Clean water posed no problem with the spirits’ assistance.
The labor to haul water was resolved by complete sewage infrastructure.
“And expensive herbs and medicinal plants—I have soap for that.”
Frankly, it was a situation of ‘build it anyway?’
“And the refusal penalty strips away all connected Quest rewards.”
Frankly, it was a situation of ‘not build it?’
Hmm.
Hmmmm….
Hmmmmmm….
“Fine then, I’ll build the blasted thing.”
* * *
The Minister of Palace Affairs’ lengthy account.
The crux of the matter was simple.
“You’re saying Adrian has… built a bathhouse?”
A bathhouse.
Everyone in the Conference Room fell silent.
No one was ignorant of what a bathhouse represented.
Where coquettish pleasure rose as steam.
Where corrupt authority mingled with the sound of water and flowed away.
A bathhouse built on the entanglement of greed and indulgence—a den of depravity.
He built such a bathhouse?
Who? Adrian?
“….”
“….”
“….”
A heavy silence descended upon the Conference Room.
Yet their expressions spoke volumes.
-So that reckless nature of his hasn’t changed at all!
-True colors always show through, don’t they!
-Once he inherits the title, what extravagance and debauchery will he indulge in!
-Predictable, isn’t it? He’ll run wild with authority at his back!
-Women, boys, girls—he’ll summon them all into those waters without discrimination, I can see it now!
The gazes of the high nobility subtly shifted toward Leon.
As the saying goes, the protruding nail gets hammered down.
These were men who harbored deep reservations about Adrian.
Leon clamped his mouth shut.
There was nothing he could say.
And in this state, he could not transfer the title to Adrian.
If he seated Adrian as Count now?
The authority of the Royal Court would be compromised.
And Leon’s own judgment would be called into question.
Leon, who had not yet been formally invested as Crown Prince.
Losing trust on the eve of succession to the throne would be fatal.
…He had to withdraw for now.
But there are limits to how much ash one can scatter on a finished meal.
And the irony that the one scattering the ash was Adrian himself—his own brother.
“Sigh….”
Leon could only exhale a deep, weary breath.
* * *
◆Territory-Linked Quest, [Complete Everything in One Quest! The National Standard Compressed Edition! Hey, You Can Become a Lord Too]—Cleared!
A brilliant flash of text burst across my vision.
◆Title, 【Lord of Prosperity】, acquired!
==【Lord of Prosperity】==
[Acquisition Condition] – 100% Completion of Territory-Linked Quests
●Quest Experience +500%
●Diplomatic Negotiation Influence +30%
●Public Sentiment Decline Rate -40%
●Favorability Applied Upon Discontent Generation
●【Optimization Monitoring Tool】 Function Enhanced
●Automatic collection log of public sentiment changes following policy implementation
.
.
.
The effects of the title—seemingly endless—cascaded forth one after another.
Each and every one of them absurdly overpowered.
Yet what captured my attention most was ‘Quest Experience ×5 Multiplier’.
This meant, in essence.
That I could receive five times the total accumulated experience from all linked Quests combined.
◆You have acquired 353,000,000 Quest Experience!!!!
Mungu’s bombastic announcement flooded my vision.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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