“Are you saying you want to hire me as the head of the security force?”

“That’s right.”

Aiden and the man were engaged in conversation.

The man’s name was Hans.

In the original work, Hans briefly joined the protagonist’s party around the midpoint of the story.

“What do you think? Are you interested?”

Aiden offered him the position of head of the security force.

Unlike others, Aiden, having read the original work, was well aware of Hans’ personality.

Hans couldn’t stand injustice.

Although he looked intimidating enough to not flinch even when facing an orc or ogre, he was unexpectedly tender-hearted.

In the latter part of the story, he even risked his life to save the protagonist when they were in danger.

Moreover, considering his brief inclusion in the protagonist’s party, he was strong enough to be a perfect fit for the head of Hestia territory’s security force.

‘Well, not that he doesn’t have any flaws….’

“I appreciate the offer, but…”

After some thought, Hans opened his mouth.

“Sorry, but I’m afraid I have to decline.”

“Why?”

“I am a patient in poor health. I came here to recuperate. I can’t take on rough work like joining a security force.”

“…….”

“…….”

Aiden and Lil stared at him with dumbfounded expressions.

Lil, in particular, had an absolutely baffled look on her face.

Her expression seemed to scream, What kind of nonsense is this?

And, understandably so.

Just a moment ago, Hans had squatted with over 200 kilograms on his trapezius muscles.

And now? He’s claiming to be in poor health?

Typically, someone who’s unwell and came for recuperation would take medicine and rest comfortably in bed.

But Hans? After squats, he proceeded with lunges and even finished with dumbbell curls.

‘That’s a patient? If that’s a patient, then I must be in critical condition!’

“Is it serious?”

“Yes, I’ve contracted an incurable disease with no treatment available.”

This was a plot point in the original work as well.

Hans had come to Hestia territory for recuperation because he was suffering from an incurable disease.

“Then why are you here? If you’re sick, shouldn’t you be in a temple or…”

Although Aiden already knew the answer from the original story, he asked out of courtesy.

“I tried, but it was no use. Even divine power couldn’t cure it. I heard that there’s a medicinal herb in the Forest of Beasts that might cure my condition, so I decided to stay here temporarily.”

The Forest of Beasts was a forest overrun by magical beasts.

Since it was an unexplored region, rumors circulated that rare resources were hidden within it.

It seemed Hans had come here after hearing such rumors.

“What are the symptoms?”

“Nothing major. Just occasional fever… and.”

“And?”

Hans suddenly stood up and struck a pose.

His unexpected action startled Aiden and Lil, who looked at him in shock.

Unbothered by their reactions, Hans let out a sigh.

“I’ve been experiencing muscle loss.”

“M-muscle loss?”

Lil unintentionally blurted out in disbelief.

Looking at his physique, who in their right mind would think he was experiencing muscle loss?

“It’s true. Recently, my Kara has gotten smaller.”

“Kara?”

“My shoulder muscles. The left one is Kara, and the right one is Laka.”

“…….”

While Lil’s expression was incredulous, Hans wore the most serious face imaginable.

In response, Aiden nodded.

“I see.”

“That’s why I can’t be the head of the security force. I’m sorry for wasting your time by making you come all the way here.”

“It’s fine.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“But let me ask you something.”

“……?”

“If I could cure your disease, would you take the position?”

At Aiden’s words, Hans thought for a moment before nodding.

“Of course. If I could get rid of this damned disease, I’d be happy to take on the role.”

[Quest ‘Revival of the Security Force’ has been created.]

---

[Revival of the Security Force]

As a building owner, it is your responsibility to safeguard your domain.

As a landlord, it’s your duty to ensure that tenants can live comfortably with at least the minimum level of security.

Make sure your tenants no longer feel uneasy. That is the duty of a building owner.

Success Condition: Revival of the security force.
Success Reward: Crime suppression, temporary prevention of residents leaving the territory, new items added to the Building Owner’s Shop.
Failure Consequences: Crime surge, resident exodus.

---

“A quest appeared, huh?”

Reading through the quest’s description, Aiden realized that failure would worsen the already chaotic state of the territory.

‘Hans, for now….’

Hans’ incurable disease wasn’t a disease at all.

Though it was believed to be a disease, it was actually a ‘poison.’

In some ways, they were similar.

Both the poison and the so-called incurable disease had no known cure.

‘If I remember correctly, the poison gradually breaks down muscles until the person is unable to move at all, right?’

Ordinarily, someone poisoned like Hans would already have lost most of their muscle mass and become frail and weak.

Yet, Hans managed to maintain his physique because he was, quite literally, a maniac about muscles.

‘He’s barely holding on by compensating for muscle loss with insane training regimens.’

Aiden chuckled.

‘Still, I can make the cure.’

The poison that affected Hans came from a magical beast, specifically a high-ranking one.

Among magical beasts, some used poison, and Hans, during his time as a mercenary, had been afflicted by the poison of a magical beast called Argos.

What made this poison especially insidious was that it was indistinguishable from an actual disease.

Neither doctors nor priests could tell whether it was poison or illness.

And since the poison had a long incubation period, it was impossible to pinpoint the source.

As a result, Hans assumed it to be a disease.

‘Was it around the midpoint of the novel when it was revealed to be Argos’ poison?’

Currently, this was still an undisclosed plot point.

In the original story, the fact that the disease was actually poison was discovered by the protagonist, who then spent a long time developing the antidote.

Hans later sought out the protagonist because he knew the antidote had been made by them and wanted to repay the favor.

Normally, this achievement would belong to the protagonist, but…

‘This time, it’s mine.’

Aiden had no intention of respecting the original plot.

He wasn’t noble-hearted enough to care about such things.

‘I’m too busy trying to survive myself. Who has time to care about someone else’s glory?’

The protagonist would be fine even without these achievements.

In the original story, the protagonist had been living just fine without such accomplishments.

‘Not just one or two achievements—I’m going to take as many as I can.’

For a comfortable retirement!

To live peacefully here, Aiden needed a substantial retirement fund.

In his previous life, Aiden was alone, but in this world, he had a mother to care for.

He needed more money.

“I need to earn. Money is what brings happiness.”

Someone once said, It’s foolish to measure happiness by money.

What nonsense.

“If money can’t buy happiness, that just means you don’t have enough of it.”

To survive in this world, Aiden needed far more wealth than he currently had.

If he wanted to eventually escape the Saronton family, he needed to start accumulating funds now.

‘To do that, I need to make this territory my own.’

For the sake of the territory, Hans was an indispensable asset.

Aiden had to recruit him, no matter what.

“So, the issue is the herb?”

To detoxify Argos’ poison, Aiden needed an herb called Black Out.

The problem was that Black Out could only be found in the northern region, specifically in the Reskin territory.

The issue?

‘The Saronton family is on bad terms with them.’

Not to mention the distance.

It would take two months of non-stop travel by carriage to reach it.

And during that time, the territory would have to be left unattended.

‘Ridiculous. Considering the state of the territory, I can’t afford to leave for even a day.’

“If so, I’d have to place an order. But would any merchant caravans come here? Even if it’s possible…”

Aiden recalled details from the original story.

Among the merchant caravans mentioned, there were a few that could deliver Black Out herbs. With enough money, it could be arranged.

It was during such a moment of contemplation for Aiden.

“Is something troubling you?”

“Ahhh! You startled me!”

“Why are you so startled? If you’re this surprised by my face, I’ll be hurt.”

When Aiden turned around at the voice behind him, he found Alfredo standing there with a wounded expression.

“You should make your presence known!”

“I’ll keep that in mind next time.”

“Haa… But what about the cleaning?”

“It’s not done yet, not yet…”

“Alfredo? Where are you?”

“…”

From afar, Bianca’s voice could be heard.

Alfredo shuddered as though he had heard the voice of Medusa herself.

“You… Don’t tell me the reason you didn’t make your presence known is because you were running away from your mother?”

“…That’s not it.”

“Anyone can tell that’s the case.”

“You think I ran away because I hate cleaning? That can’t be true! I absolutely didn’t run away to avoid nagging!”

“…”

Anyone could tell he ran away.

Now that Aiden thought about it, Bianca had always been particularly strict about cleaning back at the estate.

She wasn’t obsessive-compulsive, but once she fixated on something, she’d dig into it quite seriously.

‘I had a hard time cleaning too… Just how strict was she for the servants to beg her not to involve herself in cleaning…?’

“Ahem. Anyway, what’s troubling you so much?”

“Oh, that.”

Aiden explained his encounter with Hans and asked about herbs.

Alfredo responded readily.

“If it’s hard to obtain or order because it’s so far away, wouldn’t it be better to grow it yourself?”

“Is that possible?”

“Hoho, in the Building Owner’s shop…”

“Alfredo, there you are.”

“…!”

“The cleaning downstairs isn’t done yet. Why did you run away all of a sudden? There’s still dust on the window sills; they’ll need to be redone.”

“T-That’s, um, m-my lady?!”

“Hohoho, I told you to call me Lady Bianca. Anyway, follow me.”

“Lady Bianca! Instead of this, the Lord also…”

He wasn’t about to die alone. Alfredo turned back to drag Aiden into this as well.

“…”

But Aiden was no longer there.

This was the difference between someone experienced and someone not.

---

“So this is the Building Owner’s shop, huh?”

Aiden found what Alfredo had mentioned.

<Building Owner’s Shop>

Palisade LV. 2 – 6,000 gold.
Guard Post LV. 1 – 3,000 gold.
Herb Garden LV. 1 – 3,000 gold.
Soldier Training Hall LV. 1 – 3,000 gold.
Blacksmith’s Forge LV. 1 – 3,000 gold.
Spirit Garden LV. 1 – 3,000 gold.
Clinic LV. 1 – 3,000 gold.

…

Herb Garden.

Though Alfredo hadn’t explained it, anyone could tell it was a building for growing herbs.

“3,000 gold, huh. Well, that’s no problem~”

Money wasn’t an issue.

Thanks to the secret funds Lex had diligently saved, Aiden’s pockets were full.

[You have purchased Herb Garden LV. 1.]
[You used 3,000 gold.]
[You have gained experience points.]
[You have leveled up.]
[All stats are distributed.]

Swoosh!

As the money disappeared from his pocket, 3,000 gold vanished into thin air.

[You can build the Herb Garden anywhere within your property that you desire.]
[Please select a location.]

Unlike the palisade, this required a location to be chosen.

“How do I set this up?”

As Aiden pondered, a hologram appeared in front of him.

It was a map.

“Hestia’s estate, is it?”

[This is a map of the Lord’s property.]
[You can use the map to designate where to build structures.]
[You may also demolish designated buildings.]
[However, demolitions are only allowed for buildings owned by the Lord.]

“So, I can control the blue highlights, huh? There are some red ones too, though.”

Since most of the estate’s buildings belonged to the lord, they were predominantly blue.

‘But what’s with the red? No, I’ll deal with that later.’

“There’s some space behind the mansion; should I set it up there?”

When Aiden selected a location,

[Please determine the direction.]

“You can set the direction too?”

Next to the map, there was an option to rotate the building. It seemed to determine the direction of the entrance.

Aiden adjusted it to his liking and confirmed the setup.

[Construction of Herb Garden has begun.]
[Time to completion: 10 hours.]

After checking the message, Aiden headed to the back of the mansion.

He hadn’t been able to observe the palisade because it was too far away.

This time, he wanted to see for himself what would happen.

When he arrived at the back, light began to shimmer.

“Fairies?”

Fairies appeared.

Tweet! Tweet!

One fairy, who appeared to be the foreman, blew a whistle and gestured.

The shimmering light grew stronger.

From within the light, hundreds of fairies emerged, yawning.

Tweet!!

When the foreman blew the whistle sharply, the yawning fairies were startled and quickly got to work.

More fairies appeared behind them, carrying hammers and building materials.

With their small wings fluttering, the fairies moved in perfect harmony as they began constructing the building.

Bang! Bang!

Clang! Clang!

Flap! Flap!

The fairies flew back and forth, busily working on the garden.

Aiden watched the scene with fascination.

But then, he noticed something.

The fairies’ eyes.

Typically, when one thought of fairies, they imagined bright, innocent eyes.

To humans, fairies were mysterious beings and a pure race.

But why was it?

The fairies working now…

‘They look like construction workers waiting for their shift to end…’

They simply carried out their assigned tasks silently…

Yes…

For some reason, these fairies exuded the aura of laborers from a construction site.

“Oh my!”

While Aiden was uncovering the truth about these mystical beings,

Bianca appeared.

She must have been drawn by the sounds coming from behind the mansion.

Seeing the fairies flying around, Bianca covered her mouth in shock.

“Are those fairies? Son, what on earth is going on here?”

As Bianca, wide-eyed in surprise, stared at him, Aiden suppressed a groan.

‘How am I supposed to explain this?’

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