Chapter 58: A Great Favor

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Early morning, Kane family mansion.
Lys rose as usual, dressed normally, and went downstairs as usual...
This ordinary routine brought tears to the eyes of Lys, who had endured a series of misfortunes over the past three days.
Lys had already noticed that these unlucky events posed no great threat to him—at worst, they caused minor bruises or small injuries.
However, such experiences easily left psychological scars.
Still trembling slightly, Lys touched the swelling on his forehead, which had now subsided.
Over these few days, Lys had also formed some hypotheses about the effects of being a “lucky one” and a “jinx.”
The Arcadian Lucky Brooch seemed to harness the power of fate, forcibly granting the wearer nearly “wish-fulfilling” luck within five seconds.
But in return, the user had to bear corresponding misfortune, which would persist for three days, albeit with a milder intensity.
Regardless, after using the brooch this time, Lys witnessed firsthand the power of this secret treasure—it could be a lifesaver in critical moments!
Still, it was best to avoid using it unless absolutely necessary.
He didn’t want to endure that dreadful feeling ever again.
After getting dressed, Lys quietly entered his family kitchen, replenished his storage ring with fresh ingredients, and gave the sturdy shoulder of the family cook an encouraging pat before preparing to set off to find Arsen.
After all, he had delayed three whole days—no pigeon ever flew this slowly.
This time, having learned his lesson, Lys had Welf follow him all the way to the adventurers’ villa on Gerdo Street, only waving Welf off when he arrived, telling him there was no need to accompany him further.
In terms of safety, Welf just couldn’t compare to Yar.
Welf was rather worried, especially since his young master had just survived an assassination attempt, but Lys firmly refused close protection and sent him away while constantly looking back, so much so that Welf didn’t even enjoy his usual flower-tasting stroll down Golden Lily Lane.
Lys, already quite familiar with the place from several visits, pushed open the door and entered the villa without hesitation.
Since Lys had gotten up early this morning, only Elina was in the living room, feeding the little lunar leopard.
The elf, clad in a teal-green home outfit, had yet to pin up her long, pale golden hair, which cascaded straight down to her waist.
Without her ranger attire, she lacked the usual heroic vigor but gained a gentle and graceful aura.
The little lunar leopard had no time to appreciate the scene, hungrily gnawing on a plate of unidentified magical beast meat and occasionally licking milk from a nearby dish, savoring the blissful moment while the “female demon” was away.
“Good morning, Elina!”
“Good morning, Lys. Why are you here so early today?”
Elina, still unkempt, shyly brushed her long hair from behind to the front.

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“Nothing special, just came early to cook something delicious—after all, I am the chef.”
Lys winked at Elina and went straight into the kitchen to start working.
Occasionally cooking a meal by himself was a welcome respite from his book-obsessed state yesterday.
When Lys brought steaming triple fruit cakes and a bowl of white broth soup to the table, along with some pre-prepared apple taiyaki, Arsen and Yar had just gotten up.
“You’re here, Lys. Could you come to my room for a moment later?”
Arsen greeted Lys.
“No problem.”
Lys nodded; this was the main reason for his visit today.
Yar paid little attention to the two men lurking in the room, instead focusing on the taiyaki on the table, grabbing one and biting into it.
“Ouch, it’s hot!”
Freshly baked taiyaki was still scorching, but Yar was unwilling to spit it out—the tangy-sweet apple filling paired with the rich milky crust was too tempting to waste.
Just out of bed, Yar’s fiery red hair was tousled over her shoulders, and her pale pink sleepwear was a little wrinkled, indicating a restless night.
Elina also adored the taiyaki, nibbling it delicately—this treat was even more popular with her than the triple fruit cake.
Lys enjoyed the fruits of his labor; cooking and tasting food was one of his favorite pastimes besides working hard.
After a delicious breakfast,
Lembos remained as hungover as ever.
Elina guided the still-drowsy Yar to freshen up and dress.
Arsen conscientiously cleaned up the dishes and then invited Lys to his room.
Since their last conversation, the two had grown much closer, and Arsen didn’t hesitate to pull up a chair and sit.
He poured Lys a glass of grape juice—after all, neither of them were dwarves addicted to alcohol, and drinking so early would be excessive.
“After our last talk, I went straight to tell my father.”
Arsen was straightforward, getting right to the point.
The Duke Hard?
Lys nodded, realizing Arsen understood well that this was not something they could solve alone.

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Arsen hesitated a moment before saying,
“My father has some suspicions but isn’t as certain as you are.”
Lys’s thoughts were clear—he already knew how the story would unfold; it was definitely not a lie.
Yet the fact that the old Duke Hard was alert spoke volumes—no wonder he was the pillar of the Fis Kingdom.
“My father believes someone is pulling strings behind the scenes, but he is certain it is not His Majesty the King.”
Just as Lys had suspected, the King of Fis did not want—or at least not yet—to engage in war with neighboring states.
Lys pondered quietly; although he now knew the mastermind was the second prince, Yatan Fis, it was not appropriate to reveal this to Arsen.
Given Yatan’s modus operandi, he would leave no trace for them to exploit. Even a thorough investigation would only turn up suspicious signs, never implicating him directly.
Even if Camille were still alive, it wouldn’t help.
This matter required caution and patience; there was no need to rush.
As Lys mulled this over silently, Arsen asked,
“So my father wants me to ask you if you have any other leads?”
Arsen looked at Lys earnestly and said,
“Please, Lys, this is very important to the Hard family. If you ever need anything from us, don’t hesitate to ask.”
Lys was somewhat surprised; this was a significant statement, as Arsen spoke on behalf of the Hard family, essentially indebting them to Lys.
Had he known earlier, with the Hard family’s power and status, he could have even requested an elevation of his own title to Count.
After some consideration, Lys told Arsen,
“In the past six months, prices for some foodstuffs and weapons have fluctuated irregularly—someone might be secretly buying up large quantities.”
“I’ve received news that there’s unusual activity in the eastern Bertich Kingdom; we need to be cautious.”
Lys spoke deliberately and with purpose. The price fluctuations came from Morra’s reports and were easy to verify, though they had gone unnoticed.
As for the Bertich Kingdom, if Lys recalled correctly, the first to declare war on the Fis Kingdom in his previous life was the Bertich Kingdom.
Their reason: Bertich sent assassins to kill several nobles at the Radiant City’s Festival of Saints!