[Crossroads event: Royal summons]

[It's been over a year since you went through your ceremony of adulthood. It is customary to go and pay your respects and renew your vassal oath at the capital. The prolonged delay of your visit caused the king to send a unit of royal knights to come and fetch you.]

[Time until the event begins: 2 days]

Leon stared at the notification window filled with the event information.

It was exactly the same as when he first saw it, back when he just finished setting his character up.

'I need to deal with this place as soon as possible and hurry back,' Leon thought, taking a deep breath as he immersed himself in the silence that followed his words.

"I'm the owner, you moron."

This single sentence was enough to grab the attention of even those locals that ignored the situation before. Coupled with Leo's nonchalance and clear disregard for the locals and their customs, the young man effectively turned the Inn into a barrel of gunpowder.

A single spark was all it would take to turn the eerie insides of the Inn into mayhem.

"I came here to deal with three things," Leo finally spoke a statement following the bomb he dropped earlier. He then reached out to his belt before detaching a sizeable bag of coins that he then proceeded to slam down on the counter.

Ding!

The noise made up by the silver and bronze coins inside instantly attracted everyone's eye to Leon's pouch.

For the people who were willing to follow rumors and then bear the burdens of living in the middle of nothing, money was likely the main motivator.

"Tonight, all drinks and grub are on me!" Leo shouted cheerfully, before pulling on the cord that kept the pouch closed, allowing the coins from inside to spill all over the counter.

"It isn't wise to come here and flaunt your wealth, boy," one of the men from the back uttered in a low, guttural voice. The man's face was hidden in the shadows of the corner he sat at, making it impossible for Leo to take a closer look. "It would be a pity if you ended up with nothing but a dagger up your ass, thrown into some ditch by the tract," he added, his voice perfectly conveying the threat loosely hidden behind the man's words.

"You better watch your stinky..." Basil quickly grabbed for the handle of his sword, getting at ready to fight with the locals in defense of his lord's and friend's good name.

"It's okay," Leo said as he raised his hand to stop his companion from overreacting. "As for your words, there is no reason for me to worry," Leo stated, only for a lovely smile to emerge on his lips. "The second I used that money, I became penniless," Leo explained before shrugging his shoulders without a care in the world.

"What a smart fucker," the man grinned, the whites of his teeth showing even in the darkness of his shadowy corner. "Is that a tribute for your safety, then?" he asked, standing up from his chair and taking a step forward.

'How the heck did he end up here?' Leo asked himself, baffled by the sight.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The spokesman for the locals appeared to be in the middle of his thirties. His psychique left absolutely nothing to ask, an effect that only years of hard work could bring. The lines of his ripped muscles were visible even under the thin veil of his clothing.

And what put the man apart from the rest of the locals the most, was a lack of any spare fat on his flesh.

'Others are just big, he is ripped,' Leo took notice, openly staring down the man's eyes.

"It's not a tribute," Leo finally replied, shaking his head. "It's a payment for your time," he corrected the man. "Free drinks, free meat... Save for the women, isn't this all one could ask for right now?" he asked, before reaching out to the back and grabbing another bottle.

"The hell do you want, kid?" the man asked, crossing his arms on his chest.

Despite his impressive psychique, he didn't have the face of a brute unspoiled by reason.

'Was he a guard?' Leon guessed, only to shake his head and focus on the task at hand.

"Actually, this is exactly the question I want to ask you all," he countered only to raise his hand and snap his fingers.

"Here you go, my lord" Basil jumped to fulfill the order, all according to the intricately planned out strategy. He reached underneath his outer tunic only to pull out a small tablet and several pieces of long, thin chalk.

"Excuse me?" the massive man asked, too confused by the progress of the events to react to them in any way other than making his surprise known to the world.

"This is the second thing that I came here for," Leo explained, picking up one of the chalks before resting it in the upper-left corner of the black tablet. "What is it that you guys need the most here?" the young lord asked, only for a thoughtful expression to appear on his face.

"No, this won't work without some organization. But first off," Leo muttered, turning his head to the side to look at the startled bottle master. "Master, your guests are thirsty, you shouldn't keep them waiting."

Leo's provocation aimed at gathering everyone's attention on himself. Paying up for everyone's booze upfront was a means for the young lord to score some brownie points with those people, killing the bad first impression.

And as the Inn's staff started to move around like worker ants in their nest, the air in the hall quickly diluted before first, and shy sounds of happiness and amusement filled the place.

"I want you guys all to say what you miss in this place the most, one by one," Leon announced once roughly half of the hall got to have the taste of their first free drinks. "Those who agree with the opinion shall shout aye. Those who do not agree, stay silent," the young lord explained the rules.

"Before we begin, a question," the very same big man that spoke with Leon before now asked for attention again. "The way you said it before, the second question," he mentioned. And then, a huge grin filled up the smug expression that took place on his face. "Doesn't that implicate there are other matters you need to attend to?"

'How could this be so easy?' Leon asked himself, fighting off the desire to shake his head over the man's naivete.

'Certainly, he thinks he backed me off to a corner, doesn't he?' Leo thought, only to raise his eyes at the massive man and grace him with a kind smile.

"There is a third thing indeed," he admitted, only to take his legs off the counter and lean over it. Throughout all this time, Leo's smile only continued to grow.

"In two days, along with a fresh shipment of booze and various produce from my family lands, a unit of two hundred mercenaries will arrive at this place," Leo happily dropped another bomb. "They will be followed by a group of three hundred workers whose job will be to fulfill the request we decide on today."

In Leo's strategy, the value of his family farms was near void. The true wealth lay in the manufactured goods that his craftsmen could provide while using the furs from the forest as a base material.

And for this extremely profitable endeavor, keeping the hunters in the forest well-fed and satisfied was of utmost importance.

'It's so damn important to get this place under my control that I'm willing to make royal knights wait,' Leon thought as a sour grin appeared on his face.

Yet, rather than indulging in his wasteful thoughts, Leo shook his head before slapping his hand against the counter to gather everyone's attention again.

"Everyone, I want to hear your suggestions now," Leo announced, only for a small smile that up to this point quivered in the corner of his mouth to take place all over his face. "Just keep in mind, I don't think I will be able to provide you with any women!"

A moan of dissatisfaction that followed Leo's last announcement shook the inn in its foundations. Still, before long, voices started to appear, finally putting an end to idle talking and starting a productive process.