"Darkness? What happened to you?" Aqua and Megumin's surprised voices rang out.
"Could it be that you're having some strange delusion again?" Even Kazuma turned his gaze toward Darkness.
But Darkness was completely oblivious to the situation, only staring intently at the pendant that Fang Li had tucked inside his clothes, fixated on the sparkling ring, her expression wavering.
"No... it can't be wrong... that ring... that ring is...!"
Just as Darkness was about to say something due to her agitation, Fang Li had already put away the Adventurer card and the ring pendant.
Shortly afterwards, Fang Li placed a hand on Darkness's shoulder and smiled as he spoke.
"What are you talking about? What ring?" While saying this with a smile, Fang Li's eyes held not a trace of mirth.
"Ugh...!"
Darkness shivered all over.
This time, however, it was not because of her hopelessly masochistic tendencies, but rather from fear.
Clearly, this Cross Knight finally realized the danger.
Her instincts told Darkness that if she revealed this incredibly important matter, the expressionless, classless person in front of her would definitely not let her off the hook.
And Darkness's instincts were correct.
As previously mentioned, there are two very famous great aristocrats in the Belzerg Kingdom.
One is regarded as the Sword of the Kingdom, with the eldest daughter of the family currently serving as a confidante and bodyguard to the Kingdom's first princess, from the Symphonia family.
The other is seen as the Shield of the Kingdom, with the current head of the family being the chief strategist of the Kingdom. Their family has been known as the Kingdom's hidden blade for generations, holding a very high status, the Dustiness family.
The Dustiness family also has an eldest daughter.
This eldest daughter, like Claire, was once a confidante who grew up alongside the Kingdom's first princess.
However, no one knows that this rich young lady has recently been hiding her identity, living as an inconspicuous Adventurer in Axel's Beginner Village.
If this hidden rich young lady were to recognize the ring worn by Princess Iris, it would naturally be significant.
Thus, as Fang Li tightened his grip on Darkness's shoulder, he said with a meaningful smile, "Speaking of which, Darkness, you have golden hair and blue eyes. In this country, it seems that most people with golden hair and blue eyes are famous nobles, right?"
That insinuating remark turned Darkness's face pale.
"Hey, what are you all doing?" (Aqua)
"Even I, who am said to have high intelligence as a member of the Crimson Magic clan, can't figure out what you all are playing at." (Megumin)
"Could it be that this is some new play?" (Kazuma)
Aqua, Megumin, and Kazuma all looked at the scene in confusion.
Ignoring the three onlookers, Fang Li maintained his smile, leaned closer to Darkness's ear, and whispered softly.
"There are some things where playing dumb is better, you know?"
"Miss Dustiness-Ford-Lalatina?"
Such words could only be heard by Darkness.
Thus, Darkness understood that she had already been exposed.
At that moment, her face turned even paler.
Meanwhile, Fang Li had already pulled away, retracted his hand, patted Darkness on the shoulder, and spoke to the others.
"Alright, you've all had your curiosity satisfied. Isn't it time to fulfill our previous agreement and help me clean up the house as my rare servants?"
Fang Li's words made everyone react.
"Ugh... there's no helping it..." (Kazuma)
"Remember, you have to lend me money to pay off my debts later, okay? Don't forget!" (Aqua)
"As for me, besides paying off debts, I hope you can treat me to a meal..." (Megumin)
Kazuma, Aqua, and Megumin said this in unison.
Seeing this, Fang Li rolled his eyes.
"I usually just order takeout. If you all behave well, I might consider ordering some for you..."
As soon as Fang Li finished speaking, Kazuma, Aqua, and Megumin had already grabbed cloths, brooms, and buckets.
"Alright! Time to get to work!" (Kazuma)
"Let me show you the true skills of the Goddess of Water!" (Aqua)
"I'm the best at cleaning!" (Megumin)
Saying this, the three of them, having completely lost their dignity, left with high spirits to start the big cleanup.
Only Darkness remained, standing there with a pale face, and after a long while, she stiffly walked out as well.
Watching Darkness leave, Fang Li couldn't help but chuckle.
"Who would have thought that a super masochistic knight is actually the daughter of the Kingdom's chief strategist, the young lady of the great aristocrat Dustiness family?"
Of course, this wasn't important.
What mattered was that Darkness had recognized the origin of the ring Fang Li was wearing.
"Anyway, that guy probably doesn't know that I'm the so-called 'Black Knight,' right?"
After all, only Iris knew about the ring being given away.
However...
"This ring is indeed extraordinary..."
Otherwise, Darkness wouldn't have been so shaken.
"It seems I can't let anyone else see this ring anymore."
I just wonder if Kazuma, Aqua, and Megumin saw it.
...
Afterwards, with the efforts of Kazuma, Aqua, Megumin, and Darkness, the mansion, which hadn't been cleaned in a long time, gradually became tidy.
By evening, the cleaning seemed to have come to a halt.
At that time, Fang Li called for takeout, having the prepared food delivered.
Fang Li ordered takeout not because he was lazy and didn't want to cook.
The reason he always ordered takeout was that in this world, high-quality ingredients and dishes could also provide experience points, allowing one to level up.
Therefore, with ample funds, Fang Li had already arranged with the highest-rated hotel in Axel to provide all three meals a day, delivering the highest experience points cooking.
If it weren't for such extravagance, Fang Li's wealth wouldn't be limited to just two or thirty million Eris.
Of course, Fang Li's Black Ring also contained treasures he had robbed from the treasury.
Those treasures were all quite valuable.
So, Fang Li wouldn't skimp on himself.
Problems that can be solved with money are not problems at all.
As a result, after this meal, the experience points gained by the lower-ranked Kazuma, Aqua, Megumin, and Darkness allowed all four of them to level up significantly.
Fang Li's main purpose in having Kazuma and Aqua work here was to stack their experience points with high-level cooking.
And having tasted the benefits, this group of four made a decision on the spot.
"Please let us stay here!"
Fang Li really wanted to say, "That suits me just fine."
This way, not only could he openly level up Kazuma and Aqua, but he could also get a group of free labor.
However, Fang Li naturally wouldn't easily compromise and took the opportunity to sign many unequal contracts with this group of four.
Previous painful experiences taught Fang Li.
"Only by making these people sign a contract of servitude can I control them."
In light of this, Kazuma, Aqua, Megumin, and Darkness gradually walked down a path of no return.
(End Of This Chapter)
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