System vs Rebirth

Windeblew Mansion.

"Sir!" A maid suddenly slammed open the door in panic.

"Mhmm?" The middle-aged man, who was sitting on the opposite side of the room, couldn't help but furrow his eyebrows. "You should have behaved properly like a maid. It's going to be troublesome if people know about it."

"But this is an important letter…" The maid showed the letter on her hand.

"You can just go through the usual letter…" the middle-aged man abruptly stopped. He had trained his maid to be exceptional, so it wasn't uncommon for her to make a mistake unless she really didn't make a mistake. His expression turned serious as he asked, "Whose letter is it?"

The maid looked left and right as if ensuring no one was listening to them. She then closed the door and said, "Marquis Ardagan."

"M-Marquis Ardagan?" The man dropped his jaw to the ground. "Are you serious?"

"Yes, sir. Most likely, he is going to participate in the auction that will be held one month from now."

"!!!" The man's body shook. "Give me the letter."

As soon as he got the letter, his sweat started dripping off his head. He seemed to realize what was going to happen.

"Why is he suddenly showing such an interest in our auction to the point where he needs to cross the border…" The man frowned.

"We are currently unsure about his intention. Should we give him the invitation that he requests?"

"Of course! We're talking about the tycoon from the north. Even if he is aiming for something else, he will definitely spend some money." The man's expression turned grim as though he were wondering which item would pique his interest. With the Rune Technology, Noel had become one of the wealthiest people even among the four kingdoms. "Give him the VVIP Card."

"U-understood." The maid nodded.

"…" After the maid left, he leaned back on his chair while covering his eyes. "What is actually going on? Noel Ardagan has become a hot topic in the Zaecuria Kingdom. Should I even report this matter to the kingdom? But this is a private matter…"

Noel's name had become so big that he had to think about the effect of his arrival.

However, it would definitely make his auction house more famous. There was no way a merchant like him would pass on this opportunity.

…

Ardagan Family.

Dimitri opened the door to Roel's workshop and shouted, "Roel! Where are you? I know you're here."

There were multiple clicking sounds echoing from the corner of the room, where a bunch of metal items gathered. Roel's head poked out from the pile of items, his face completely covered in dirt.

"What? Do you know I'm busy, Dimitri?" Roel frowned.

"The Lord would like you to work on something else…"

"What? Is he crazy? I have my hands full. While I'm also having fun with all this new stuff, it's impossible to add another work."

"I know you're going to say that. But this time, you will definitely not reject this."

"Huh? What kind of crazy thing is he going to make next?" Roel never expected Dimitri to be this confident. It seemed that he had prepared yet another interesting thing.

"It's something that you have been familiar with."

"Rune technology?"

"Nope. It's what you've been doing before coming here."

"Huh?" Roel squinted his eyes. "You want me to make weapons and armor again? While I'm good at it, this rune technology is more interesting to me right now."

Dimitri closed the door before looking at Roel with a smug smile. "Even if that means you're going to pass on such rare materials?"

"Rare materials?" Roel frowned. "Are you crazy? As a Master Blacksmith, what kind of materials have I not worked on before?"

Roel started to get frustrated, so Dimitri decided not to tease him anymore. "Ancient Demon."

"…" There was an abrupt silence inside the room after Dimitri revealed the materials. Roel was completely astounded, not being able to process the information. It took him a minute before he suddenly dropped his jaw to the ground. "A-Are you serious?!"

Dimitri placed his finger on his lips, gesturing for him to remain quiet.

"You're not joking with me, right?" As a Master Blacksmith, he obviously worked on all kinds of metals and items from Superior Demon. However, the last record of an attack from an Ancient Demon was two hundred years ago.

There was one with the Demon Banner Army, but Oscar definitely wouldn't reveal that kind of information due to the importance of the materials. After all, it would be better to use them to strengthen the Demon Banner Army.

"I'm not kidding. According to the Lord, there is a huge quantity of it… definitely enough for hundreds of thousands of people if not becoming materials to build rune technology. And do you know about the lady's strongest attack, the one she used to become an Arbiter?" Dimitri smirked.

"An Arbiter? I think I've heard the rumor, but I don't know much about it. Still, an Arbiter is the highest honor for a knight in this kingdom, so it's going to be extremely amazing…"

"Yeah. Apparently, the material is actually strong enough to withstand that attack."

"!!!" Roel widened his eyes in shock. "That's… After losing the empowerment of the demon crystal, the material will be weakened for a bit. In the past, I've worked on the Lord's armor made of an Ancient Demon's body. If I work on it properly, I should be able to create armor that can block an attack from a Peak Level Demons.

"If it's a rune technology, I can use more materials, which will strengthen it. It's possible that it can even withstand an attack from a Superior Demon…" Roel sucked a cold breath.

Unlike the last time, he would get a huge amount of supply to the point where it was impossible for him to actually use all of it in his entire life.

"…" Roel thought for a moment and said, "I don't really mind working on it, but I still think we don't have any manpower for that. More importantly, this is an Ancient Demon we're talking about."

"Well, Master and my lady are planning to secure more Ancient Demons. But this is a secret." Dimitri shrugged. "It could be said that you would probably be the only one working with this material… Maybe with one or two your most trusted disciples."

Roel looked down, contemplating. "If that's the case, can I actually bring in my friend? He is also a Master Blacksmith, so I'm sure he's going to be tempted."

"There is a risk of information leakage. Even if we don't care about it, there is one more problem. A noble family with two Master Blacksmiths can be seen as a big threat, you know."

"What big threat? This family is already a big threat, even with only me here." Roel clicked his tongue.

"I'm just saying. No family has ever gotten two Master Blacksmiths for themselves. If we end up getting him, it will cause some issues."

Roel scratched the back of his head and said, "How about this… I'm the Master Blacksmith of the Ardagan family, right? Then the Master Blacksmith's position for the Runegard Company is still open, right?"

"Don't tell me, you're going to bring him there?"

"Yeah."

Dimitri fell silent. "If that's the case, we have to move the Runegard's headquarters to the new city to avoid the Master Blacksmith monopoly. You might not meet him a lot."

"That's fine. To be honest, I also want a helping hand so that I don't get too buried in work. Occasionally drinking with him and discussing our progress is fine. That's how our relationship is."

"In that case, I'll need to ask for Master's permission first. Once we've got permission, you can try inviting him. As for the materials, it will come in about two weeks… since it's hard to handle that kind of material, especially concerning secrecy."

"I know." Roel grinned. "This is going to be interesting. Ancient Demon, huh?"

"I'm sure I don't have to remind you, but you shouldn't talk too much about this matter, alright?"

"Of course I know that. Don't worry about it." Roel glanced at Dimitri playfully. "Besides, look at you… I don't know why but you are more expressive after coming back this time… Did something happen?"

"Well…" Dimitri closed his eyes while smiling. Dimitri had always been an elder who accompanied and guided Noel. Now that Noel had surpassed him, that heavy burden was lifted on his shoulder, which brought out his real self. "Yeah. Something good. Anyway, I'll go back now."

Looking at Dimitri's back, Roel could only shake his head helplessly.