"Reaching level 10 in less than 20 days," Leonor murmured.

Her eyes shifted to the side, clearly looking at Sera’s face. Sera and Leonor exchanged glances for a moment, and the woman understood the meaning behind the girl’s gaze.

"Only level 10?" Sera asked, turning her gaze forward.

Edmund nodded while looking at Sera. The woman cleared her throat and agreed, explaining that Leonor could reach that target in less than 10 days.

Besides Leonor’s actual strength already being above her current level, Sera was always helping her choose guild missions that rewarded EXP, whether certain missions or hunting more specific monsters.

"You should prepare that reward soon, Edmund," Sera said. "Leonor can level up quickly. I can guarantee that."

Edmund stood up from his crouched position, and Sebastian came over to help him.

His sharp gaze turned serious as he looked at them. He had no intention of taking back his words.

A man is respected because of his actions, not his words.

"Alright then. Are you ready, Leonor?" Sera asked.

"Yes, I’m ready, Sister Sera."

The two of them said their goodbyes and left the wheat field on foot. Edmund and Sebastian did the same, fully handing over the wheat field fire case to Liam and the police department.

"What exactly are you planning, Edmund? Why do you want her to level up so quickly?" Sebastian asked.

"There’s no specific reason. I just want her to become stronger before entering the academy."

They stopped beside Edmund’s black-haired horse. He climbed onto its back, both hands gripping the reins tightly.

Edmund’s attention shifted to the side just as Sebastian said something before heading to the Aschwin Mansion.

"I’m going to the Trade Department and the City Finance Department. I’ll make sure they come to the Aschwin Mansion tomorrow," Sebastian replied.

"What kind of documents should they bring?" 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Edmund fell silent, then raised his head and looked ahead where the police officers had started searching other areas, questioning witnesses and the people around them.

"Last month’s market commodity price data for the Trade Department, then the financial and savings records of the Archester City government for the Finance Department," Edmund answered, looking back at Sebastian.

"I’ll take care of it."

Without wasting time, Edmund urged his mount forward and left the village in the southern part of the city, while all the police officers immediately lowered their heads as Edmund rode past them on his way home.

Sebastian remained near the wheat field, calculating the damages and helping Liam with the investigation.

Once he finished his work there, he would head to the offices of the two departments to deliver Edmund’s message.

According to Sebastian, Edmund responded very quickly by summoning the heads of the two departments to deal with this fire case.

It was a wise and effective move to prevent the possibility of other disasters caused by the implications of the wheat field fire.

From another direction, Edmund rode through the southern gate of the city and saw crowds of people moving about. However, his movement stopped when he heard shouting.

"No! They stole my mission!" shouted one of the men, an adventurer dressed a little too luxuriously for an adventurer.

A crowd gathered to watch the argument taking place on the sidewalk beside the city’s main road.

Edmund narrowed his eyes, then slowly guided his horse closer to the scene.

"HAH? Are you blind? We got that mission first!"

That was... Denise’s voice.

"You idiot! I booked that mission two days ago. It was supposed to be mine!" another man shouted.

"There’s no such rule. First come, first served," Denise replied.

Edmund stopped and tied his horse’s reins to a street lamp post, then climbed down and limped forward.

The moment the gathered townspeople realized Edmund was behind them, they were startled and quickly made way for him while greeting him politely.

Edmund’s appearance was charming. Combined with the fur-lined coat typical of a nobleman, his athletic build, handsome face, and the sword always hanging at his waist, he was the ideal type for every woman in the Archie territory.

"Viscount Edmund?"

Hearing the townspeople mention Viscount Edmund’s name made the man turn around in shock.

He and the other three members of his party looked back and widened their eyes.

"What’s all this commotion about?" Viscount Edmund asked in a deep voice.

"Greetings, Viscount Edmund," the party leader greeted him.

Denise and the others looked at Viscount Edmund. They smiled and bowed their heads in greeting as well. Edmund’s attention returned to the man.

"I’m Noel. We got into an argument with them, the Diva Party."

"Why? What’s the issue?" Edmund asked.

Noel explained everything from the beginning, while Denise and the others remained silent.

They could not argue because they were not the ones who took the mission. It had been Sera acting as the representative of the Diva Party.

"They took the mission we booked two days ago," Noel said firmly, rudely pointing ahead.

The other three members of Noel’s party also cursed and insulted them, saying they were just a commoner party while Noel was the son of a noble merchant in the city.

"You should be ashamed. You’re dealing with a party from a noble family."

"Lowly commoners like you have no right to take our mission!"

Noel turned toward Edmund and asked him to punish them. Taking a mission that had already been booked was considered a crime.

"Let them become an example to other commoner parties so they can’t just take missions whenever they want," Noel said.

Denise lowered her head helplessly, not knowing how to respond because the four of them knew nothing about it. Even Aya had started crying.

People in the crowd cursed and shouted, calling the Diva Party trash and thieves.

The painful words born from the townspeople’s baseless anger made Denise and the other three girls cry.

"Silence!" Edmund ordered firmly.

Everyone immediately fell silent in shock upon hearing Edmund’s commanding voice.

Denise and the others looked back at Edmund, whose face was filled with seriousness.

"I used to be an adventurer as a noble. I know about mission bookings. However, there is another condition you all don’t understand," Edmund said firmly, addressing everyone there as they listened carefully.

"A mission booking is considered void if the party involved does not come within 24 hours after making the booking," Edmund explained.

Noel was shocked. He had never known such a rule existed. Previously, his servants had always told him he could book guild missions without worrying about anything.

Denise began to smile, wiping away her tears as she looked at Edmund with hopeful eyes.

"If what you said is true, then that mission should already be void because you and your party never took it."

"N-No. A rule like that shouldn’t exist."

"What would a D-Rank adventurer like you know?"

A woman’s loud voice rang out as she pushed through the crowd. It was Sera, arriving with Leonor and the other instructors. Noel turned toward her arrogantly.

"What? I’m the son of the Jax nobles. We own the cloth business in this city!" Noel shouted.

"Oh, you’re the son of a noble merchant? I’ve killed several noble merchants proven guilty of corruption and bribery," Sera muttered.

"Maybe... I should ask Liam from the City Police Department to conduct a financial audit on your family," Sera threatened.

"What Viscount Edmund said is true. I took the mission after the guild staff informed me that your booking had expired," Sera said.

She released the powerful aura of her magical mana, shocking many people and making Noel and his party afraid.

"So... do you have a problem with me, brat?!"