Finally, I can Retire, Or so I Thought

Five days later, thanks to the tireless effort of 35 golems working non-stop and requiring only an hour to recharge their energy, Dion’s mansion began looking like its former self once again.

Additionally, several houses in the village were rising from the ground, and foundations were being set for homes that had been intentionally torn down due to severe damage. The villagers, numbering around 20 people, all of whom were former slaves, had begun clearing the fields, orchards, and paddies to bring the land back to life.

A few residents joined Sheila and one golem on hunting trips to secure temporary food supplies. Since the distance between Dion’s domain and the capital city of the Thetor Kingdom was short, a mere half-day round trip, Luna, who was well acquainted with the capital, made frequent supply runs to purchase plant seeds, provisions, and construction tools.

Dion handed his black card to Luna to use at the Aetherias Trading Company, sending two golems along as her escort. She will return alongside the Aetherias merchant caravans, spreading the word that the trade route to Dion’s domain was officially open.

Mei assisted the golems in rebuilding the village, taking detailed notes on the materials needed to construct sturdy homes capable of standing firm against heavy winds and earthquakes. Dion, meanwhile, remained in the back shed, using his Mechanical Crafter and Gunner persona to produce a steady stream of golems and practical tools.

After crafting two more units. Numbers 36 and 37, who promptly snapped a salute before heading outside to work, Dion looked over at his remaining stockpiles.

"Phew... my iron supply is only enough to make about two more golems. Hopefully Luna brings back plenty of iron when she gets home," Dion thought to himself, glancing over at the dwindling pile of scrap metal.

Blam!

The shed door suddenly flew open. Dion turned toward the entrance to find Mei standing there, gasping for breath. Dion stood up and turned around.

"What is it, Mei?" Dion asked.

"Dion, there’s trouble in the village! Hurry, come with me!" Mei answered, rushing forward and grabbing Dion by the hand.

They bolted out of the back shed and dashed past the mansion. Reaching the village square, Dion was shocked to see all the residents huddled together in fear. Standing before them was a band of fierce, heavily armed men. They sported rough, menacing faces, gapped teeth, filthy skin, jagged scars, and ugly snarls. Dion and Mei pushed their way through the crowd of villagers, spotting Gina hovering defensively in front of the villagers, holding off the mob.

"Who are they, Mei?" Dion asked.

"Bandits and slave traders... Sheila mentioned them before, remember?" Mei replied.

Dion recalled the conversation. When he had woken up five days ago during dinner, Sheila had explained that a gang of bandits hired by illegal slave traders frequently raided the area to capture residents. That was the real reason Sheila had set up a tent inside the mansion and never bothered making herself comfortable, she had to remain on high alert at all times.

The bandit group never dared draw near whenever they spotted Sheila in the village, but today, Sheila was out hunting with a few golems and villagers, while Luna was away in the capital of Thetor.

Recalling that the mob before him was the very gang Sheila had warned them about, Dion still transformed in his Mechanical Crafter and Gunner persona, stepped forward. Mei followed close behind, resting both hands on the hilts of her dual swords. Seeing Dion advance, Gina, who was hovering between the villagers and the bandits, darted straight onto Dion’s shoulder.

"Hello there. Is there something I can help you with?" Dion asked the bandits politely.

An immediate silence fell over the square. The villagers, Mei, and the bandits all stared at Dion in utter disbelief. On Dion’s shoulder, Gina tilted her head, gazing at Dion’s face in sheer confusion.

"Kyuu?"

Everyone looked at Dion as if he had grown a second head. But a moment later, "Hahahaha!" the gang of bandits burst out laughing at Dion’s strange attire. Even clad in his Mechanical Crafter and Gunner gear, Dion’s base physical build made him look utterly weak.

A hunchbacked, bald bandit with a nose ring turned toward a towering, muscular man standing beside him. The larger man had a thick beard, long hair, a ruthless expression, and carried a spear with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Boss, let me just pack them all up while that barbarian woman isn’t around," the bald man said openly.

Ignoring the bald bandit, the man addressed as Boss stepped forward. He stood directly in front of Dion, resting his spear at his side. Dion had to tilt his head up to look at him; the man was massive, and his face radiated blatant contempt for Dion.

"The name’s Jax. People know me as Scarface... take a look at my mug," Jax said, pointing to a jagged scar running across his cheek from right to left, cutting straight across his mouth to give him the appearance of a wide, distorted grin.

"Ooh... Jax, huh? Nice to meet you. My name is Dion von Oswald. I am the lord of this domain, and everyone in this village is a resident under my protection," Dion said nonchalantly, extending a hand without a trace of a smile.

Hearing that, Jax turned to look at his crew, and the entire mob erupted into uproarious laughter. Mei grew visibly furious, her hands gripping her swords as she prepared to draw them. On Dion’s shoulder, Gina began spewing small embers from her mouth, glaring fiercely at the bandits, ready to expand into her giant form and swallow them whole.

Suddenly, a man dressed like a low-tier adventurer, who looked far more like a bandit than an adventurer, spoke up.

"Boss, look on his shoulder! Isn’t that dragon on his shoulder the one from the paper?" the man asked, holding up a bounty poster.

Jax snatched the sheet. He inspected the illustration of the dragon provided by the guild, which depicted the calamity dragon straight out of legend books. Jax looked back and forth between the drawing and Gina on Dion’s shoulder. The color, horn shape, and body structure were an exact match, the only difference was the size, as the bounty poster illustrated a titanic beast.

Glimpsing the staggering sum of gold with endless zeros printed beneath the drawing, a cunning smirk spread across Jax’s face.

"Listen up, boys! Grab every single one of them, and take that dragon alive!" Jax roared to his crew, holding the poster high in the air.

"Uoooooh!"

Before his men could even take a single step psiuuu! a blinding beam of laser light completely vaporized Jax’s raised arm along with the bounty poster, shooting endlessly up into the sky. Due to the intense heat, Jax’s severed shoulder didn’t bleed a single drop, perfectly cauterized as if neatly amputated.

"Aaaaaaaah!"

Jax instantly collapsed to his knees, clutching the stump where his arm used to be. The smug expressions on the bandits’ faces vanished in a fraction of a second, leaving them pale and slack-jawed as they watched their leader fall. Then click! the barrel of a handgun pressed firmly against Jax’s forehead.

"So... your goal in coming here was to capture all the villagers, kidnap me, and carry Gina off?" Dion asked casually, a smirk on his face.

"D-damn it! What kind of weapon is that... how... how is this possible?!" Jax stammered, forcing his head up to look at Dion with sheer disbelief.

"Oh, this? It’s called a Phantom Magic Gun... and I actually have two of them," Dion said smoothly, showing off the pistol before drawing his second gun and pressing its barrel against Jax’s forehead as well.

"D-damn it... who the hell are you?!" Jax demanded.

"I already introduced myself, didn’t I? My name is Dion von Oswald, and I am the lord of this domain," Dion replied easily.

He then crouched down in front of Jax, using the barrels of both guns to shove Jax’s chin upward, forcing the man to look him in the eye.

"Now, I’m giving you one warning. Never set foot near here again. If you’re reckless enough to try, next time it won’t just be your arm that goes missing. Got it?" Dion said, his tone dropping into dead seriousness, his eyes radiating pure bloodlust fueled by his active persona.

Jax turned deathly pale as cold sweat poured down his face. He stared into Dion’s eyes, not with rage or thoughts of vengeance, but with absolute, paralyzing terror. Without uttering a word, Jax scrambled to his feet and turned back. He immediately rounded up his entire bandit force along with the iron cages they had brought, fleeing the scene as fast as their legs could carry them.

Dion stood up and casually blew a puff of smoke from the barrel of his gun before holstering both weapons.

"Kyuuu?" Gina asked from his shoulder.

"Yep... we’re all clear," Dion replied easily, watching the bandits scramble out of his village.

Suddenly thud! Mei wrapped her arms around Dion from behind without saying a word, while the villagers began crowding around Dion, showering him with tears of gratitude. Feeling a bit overwhelmed, Dion could only smile and force an awkward chuckle. But deep down, a serious question lingered in his mind.

"That bounty poster earlier... is someone actively hunting down Gina?" he thought to himself.