Chapter 151 – Greedy Collector (3)

Marquis Valentino was quite an interesting person.
Despite the fact that Dmitry was still a marginal force, he boldly chose to side with them.

The four factions of Cairo.
It was clear that they would show dissatisfaction with Marquis Valentino’s decision.
When he was a neutral force, they had no reason to attack him directly, but now they probably will.

It was a foolish choice to make.
If he had followed the nobles of Marquis Benedict, he would have already held amazing power in his hands, but he abandoned such a stable choice for this gamble.

There was no reason to refuse him.
In a situation where a strong ally was joining him, Roman showed a calm reaction.

“I admit that if Valentino supports Dmitry, we can rise to a new power.”

However, Roman didn’t just accept it all because it was beneficial for him.
There were clear standards that Valentino had to meet.

“But, as you know, Dmitry has no close relationships.
If the Dmitry family has yet to accomplish anything, Valentino’s support will almost certainly grant us equal status, regardless of what happens later.
I do not like that.
The Dmitry Alliance.
The nobles in the northeast region didn’t support Dmitry without a reason, and they all pledged their loyalty to stay with me.”

He looked straight into Marquis Valentino’s eyes.
Roman didn’t want the power system he built to crumble, no matter how well-known the opponent was or what benefit was offered.

“Dmitry doesn’t need the help of anyone.
We have the power and ability to solve problems, and in the process of forming the Dmitry Alliance and moving forward, all we need is the loyalty of the people.
Let me ask you one thing, then.
Can the Valentino family follow Dmitry? Are you ready to do anything for the Dmitry family instead of just standing on the sidelines?”

He asked him back.

Valentino and Dmitry.

Valentino had a great reputation that everyone knew about.
And having them support Dmitry was incredible, but Roman was not the type to be satisfied with that.

What….
What was the source of his confidence? Marquis Valentino’s eyes shuddered as he looked at Roman.

‘Roman Dmitry doesn’t care about the four factions within Cairo.
If he turns down the offer, there will be trouble, but Roman doesn’t seem to be afraid of anything.
Is it because he is young? No, that cannot be.
The hero of Cairo, who has led Dmitry to control the northeast region at once and made remarkable contributions in the war against the Hector Kingdom, he is something more than we see.’

Sigh.

Laugh.

What was the most important thing for a collector?

The rarity of an object.

The empires that ruled the continent might have had a lot of talented people, but this man here was the type of person who couldn’t be found in a weak nation like Cairo.

‘I am very attracted to Roman Dmitry.’

He felt his heart tremble.

At first, he wasn’t that interested in power.
As long as Valentino stayed alive and rich, it didn’t matter what was happening around him.
So he had to be the best.

The opponent.
Even if he was from a commoner-born Baron family…..

“Let me take this chance to clarify my words.
If you accept my offer, Valentino will follow Dmitry.
Even if we have to hold on to the last straw or jump into the pits of hell, if it is an order from you, I will smile and follow.”

It was an unusual choice for Valentino to make.
Even though he made a choice that most people wouldn’t make, Roman calmly accepted the loyalty of the Valentino family.

Baek Joong-hyuk was used to loyal people.
He had confidence in himself and did not consider Valentino as some higher noble.

“I wish us well in the future.”

That was all.
Even if this would cause a mess in the outside world, it could be dealt with in time.
The meeting of the two families formed an unexpected connection.

As it came to a warm end, Marquis Valentino asked one last question.

“… may I go back home and reveal that the person who made Blaze is Roman Dmitry? I have received such a great sword that I don’t think I can hold myself back from boasting about it.”

It was definite.
Marquis Valentino was quite a unique human.

Greedy collector.
As much as he had a great collection, he loved showing them off too.
He invited the nobles who lived near the capital to have a simple tea gathering, and when the atmosphere seemed nice, he subtly showed off Blaze.

“Ohh.”

“Is this that amazing sword?”

All the eyes of the nobles shone at Blaze.
Blaze’s reputation was quite high among the nobles, as the bid was known to have been won with a huge amount of money.

A sword that amplified the aura’s abilities.
It was a skill that would make any person gape at the mere rumors, and the fact that it was a sword obtained by the greedy collector ensured its quality.

Marquis Valentino said,

“Ahem.
I don’t know what rumors everyone has heard, but this sword is more than just the rumors.
I recently conducted a simple experiment with a subordinate of mine.
A 1-star swordsman wielded Blaze against a 2-star swordsman, and surprisingly, the 1-star swordsman managed to block the 2-star swordsman.”

“For real?”

“Have I ever lied about the things I collected? Furthermore…”

He lowered his voice, and his lips were twitching in enjoyment.

“The identity of the craftsman who created Blaze is Roman Dmitry.
The hero of Cairo, who has defeated the Hector Kingdom, and the eldest son of the Dmitry family, the blacksmith family.
He made Blaze.”

“WHAT?!”

“You mean this is Roman Dmitry’s sword?”

“Yes.
Roman Dmitry made three swords in his lifetime, and Blaze is the second of them.
And when he went to war against the Hector Kingdom, Roman Dmitry used Blaze to defeat Butler.
Isn’t that amazing? I only looked at the sword’s quality to determine its worth, but the true value of the sword is quite different, right? Roman Dmitry is a talented person who will become the best swordsman in Cairo in the future, and the sword that he created will be the greatest treasure.”

Everyone was shocked.
Only then did they realize that, while the amount of money bet by Marquis Valentino was small, the sword’s value would skyrocket in the future.

Their eyes admired it at first, but now they were stained with envy.
Aside from its current value, they were envious of the fact that Roman had only made three swords, and this was one of them.

Rumors spread fast about Valentino’s sword and that Roman Dmitry made it.
People praised the sword’s performance and exclaimed in admiration for the story it held.
The value of the sword rose to the heavens.

And that wasn’t all.
When people doubted the ability of the sword, Marquis Valentino called craftsmen to display its features.

“… this sword is a lot greater than the rumors.
I have seen many famous swords in my life, but I have never seen a sword accept mana in this manner.
To be honest, if I had the money, I would definitely want to buy this.”

The words of the craftsmen put an end to all the doubts.
People now paid attention to the swords made by Roman, and started calling the three swords the ‘Roman Dmitry Collection.’

And those rumors brought about unexpected results.

In the forge of Dmitry, it was a busy day.
It was normal for them to receive a large number of orders, but with rumors about Roman circulating, the number of orders increased.

“You want to buy the sword of Young Master Roman?”

“It is impossible.
Young Master Roman does not sell swords.”

“It is possible for us to process orders for up to 100 people, but you will have to wait for at least a month due to the backlog right now.
I apologize.
Dmitry has a lot of blacksmiths, but right now, we cannot process the orders quickly.”

At first, they asked about Roman’s sword.
Naturally, in a situation where they were rejected, they decided to just submit a production request to the Dmitry family.

Roman Dmitry, the creator of the treasured sword.
Wasn’t this his family’s business? Even if it wasn’t, Dmitry was well known in the nation for their blacksmiths, and as a result, trust in them grew.

And the Dmitry family didn’t disappoint their clients.
More orders were placed after people who had received the best quality equipment spoke up.

The fire in the furnace never stopped.
The blacksmiths had no time to rest, and they enjoyed the greatest financial boom in Dmitry’s history.

And that fact was reported to Baron Romero.

“… this is the situation.
Thanks to Young Master Roman’s name, we have processed more than half of the year’s orders.”

It was Hendrick.
His expression was bright.
The prosperity of the forge was welcomed by all the blacksmiths, and he was genuinely happy that people recognized Roman’s worth.

“Kuahahaha.
Everyone wants to covet my son’s sword.”

Baron Romero also laughed loudly.

His reputation as a swordsman was surely amazing, and he was happy.
His son’s success was, of course, a delight to his mind and heart, but this made him feel even better.

“Roman, Rodwell, and Lauren.
My sons followed me in and out of the forge at a young age, but none of them took it so seriously.
In fact, I thought it would happen.
I grew up in a forge and worked there my whole life, but they were born into noble families and had a different life than I did.
And now Roman has made a sword that the Cairo Kingdom admires.
This makes me happy.”

He had three sons, and the eldest one, whom he considered his successor, was now being accepted everywhere.
When his eldest son revealed his talent as a blacksmith, Baron Romero couldn’t help but be genuinely happy.

“Yes.
Young Master Roman was born with the talent to lead.”

“You think so? Hahaha.”

The issue of succession.
Roman was someone he had a lot of trouble with.
Roman had lost the lead due to the mess he was in a couple of years ago, but now he had no more doubts about him.
He was sure of it.
Roman Dmitry was the perfect heir to the Dmitry family.

When the world was buzzing, Roman met an unexpected visitor.

“Long time no see.”

It was McKean, a member of the Valhalla Intelligence.
He, who had previously offered a chance to recruit Roman, reappeared after a long time.

“What is this?”

“Recently, we have been receiving rumors about Mr.
Roman.
You are amazing.
Defeating the Hector Kingdom wasn’t enough.
You even defeated Butler.
I thought I knew you already, Roman Dmitry.
But we also seemed to have underestimated you.”

The Valhalla Empire.
They have been uncomfortable lately.
The fact that Roman Dmitry was a 4-star swordsman was no secret, and all four factions in Cairo were actively moving.

In particular, Marquis Benedict was quite active.
Seeing that he was ready to give up his daughter, whom he treasured so much, for marriage, Valhalla decided that they had to get Roman now.

And…

“If we could, we would give Mr.
Roman time to think it over.
But we changed our minds after seeing the Dmitry Alliance being formed in the northeast.
What are you thinking? Do you intend to form a different faction in Cairo?”

The Dmitry Alliance.
Rumors couldn’t be suppressed.
Eventually, it reached Valhalla’s ears, and they thought they could not give him any more time.

“The leaders of Valhalla are suspicious of Roman Dmitry’s intentions behind this.
Because of the possibility that you would swear allegiance to Valhalla, the Dmitry family has faced no threats until now.
If you have other intentions, we want a definite answer.
If you want to remain a member of Cairo and not Valhalla, the Valhalla Empire will not leave loose ends.”

His eyes were sharp.
The favor was gone.
His eyes were full of killing intent, and he didn’t smile.

The Dmitry Alliance blew the fuse.
The power system, which had been intertwined around Roman Dmitry, showed signs of beginning to collapse.

“Choose.
Will you follow Valhalla, or will you stay as our enemy?”

It was one-sided.
The moment the offer was declined, the favor turned to hostility.

But…

Kiik.

Roman leaned back on the chair and looked at McKean.

Roman showed a cold expression.

“I see what you mean, but why should I stick with the choices you give?”