This young master truly has the ambition of a hero.

Chapter 002: The Harmless Dick

Grandor clearly wanted to keep Dick, as he was a professor at the National Academy of Magic and a nobleman with the title of Earl. He held onto Dick tightly, refusing to let go of his beloved student.

He had visited Lagug when he was young to study the ecology of cold-climate monsters, and he knew very well that it was not a place for humans to live.

This territory is indeed very large, but more than 90% of it consists of snow-capped mountains, primeval forests, and vast wilderness. Six out of the twelve months of the year are winter, and the permanent population is only about 50,000.

Apart from a small number of local natives, only two types of people come here to settle: exiled criminals and impoverished farmers who have no land to cultivate and flee to reclaim wasteland.

Given the extremely harsh local climate, anyone who wants to live here for a long time needs to have a strong and resilient body, but Dick, with his delicate skin, looks like he won't last more than two episodes.

So it's no wonder Grandor tried so hard to stop him. Dick was his most admired disciple, and he genuinely regarded him as his last disciple, so he didn't want to watch his beloved student freeze to death.

“Dick, listen to your master’s advice and don’t go! Come with me to the Magic Academy. I’ll help you get a trainee assistant position. The dean is my senior brother. I’ll personally ask him for help. With him protecting you, even if your father is a grand duke, he won’t be able to forcibly exile you to another place.”

“Master, you’re overthinking it. I’m not that fragile. Besides… besides, I went to Laguge with a specific purpose.”

"Purpose? What purpose?"

"I want to break through."

As Dick spoke, he grasped his teacher's hand, and some pure magic began to gather in his palm. Grandor's expression first turned solemn, then puzzled, and finally filled with surprise and delight.

"You little rascal...you're pretty good at hiding things!"

"Master, I have absolute trust in you. Please keep my magic level a secret."

"You're deliberately hiding your abilities because you're afraid..."

Dick nodded, and Grandor, understanding the implication, didn't continue.

But after much deliberation, he still wanted to persuade his beloved disciple to stay. After all, the National Magic Academy was the empire's top magic academy, with the best conditions in every way, and many famous teachers, including Grandor, who would greatly benefit Dick's training.

Dick simply shook his head and whispered to his master.

“Master, the capital is too complicated. The intrigue and backstabbing are not limited to the palace and the duke’s mansion. There are so many people in the National Magic Academy. Doesn’t the underworld exist there? Although I am a member of the Best family, my father does not value me. The Lagug Mountains are far from the emperor’s reach. It may be a good place to cultivate in peace.”

Seeing that Dick was determined to leave, the old monk pondered for a moment, then suddenly rolled up his sleeves, took off an ancient bronze bracelet, and handed it to Dick.

"This is a spatial artifact, Banzola's Treasure Chest. It holds more than a regular storage ring. Inside are my collection and research notes from half a lifetime. You can take it; you might find it useful."

"master!"

"Alright, stop being so fussy, here you go."

Grandor waved his hand as he spoke, but then quickly remembered something, grabbed Dick, and, under Dick's puzzled gaze, took the spatial bracelet back. Then, standing by the flower bed, from an angle unseen by others, he took out stacks of booklets from the bracelet and stuffed them into another spatial ring.

Dick, with his sharp eyes, spotted the cover of one of the books, titled "The First Prayer of the Saint - Purifying the Impurities from the Body of a Strong and Evil Man."

Dick knew what kind of literature it was just by looking at the title.

The craftsman spent a long time rummaging through the books and managed to move over a hundred of them, indicating that he had quite a lot in stock.

Dick couldn't help but tease his master, Grandor.

"Master, you're being too polite. Please leave a few copies for your disciple to admire."

The old mage gave Dick a disapproving look, then handed him the storage bracelet again. After staring at Dick silently for a while, he earnestly gave him some more advice.

"Do everything within your capabilities, and don't overexert yourself, understand?"

"I will keep that in mind, Master. Please take good care of yourself and try to read fewer books that are harmful to your health."

"Get lost."

Laughing and cursing, the old mage kicked Dick, sighed helplessly, and then turned and left.

The steward sent by the Duke's family to see Dick off also arrived at the opportune moment to report to Dick.

"Fifth Young Master, the luggage has all been loaded onto the ship, it's time for us to board."

Dick nodded and turned to walk toward the ferry docked at the pier.

This is a paddle steamer with a displacement of over 6,000 tons. It has no sails or oars and is propelled by steam boilers that drive waterwheels on both sides of the hull. It is a novelty that has only appeared in the Empire in recent years.

However, anyone with even a little knowledge knows that this "technologically advanced" creation was not an invention developed by the Black Forest Empire itself, but rather an otherworldly technology "stolen" from the transmigrators.

At this time, Dick boarded the ferry's main deck. Those who could board at this time were all wealthy and powerful people who could afford to buy a first-class cabin, and all those who came and went were people of status.

As soon as Dick appeared, his handsome appearance with elven blood immediately attracted many eyes, but soon someone recognized him as the fifth young master of Duke Best's family, that ridiculous boy who disgraced the noble status by going to a lowly demi-human brothel.

For nobles who value lineage, visiting prostitutes is not a big problem, but visiting places that are not of high quality is! A duke's son seeking pleasure in a low-class brothel in the slums is seen by other nobles as no less than hearing that the Prime Minister of the Empire has slept with a pig!

Therefore, some people looked at him with disdain, while others laughed out loud, completely unafraid of being heard by Dick.

Dick completely ignored these mockeries and disdain. They were just venting their frustrations; no one was foolish enough to actually cause him trouble.

However, just as Dick was about to go to his cabin, he was suddenly attracted by shouts and curses from not far away.

He looked in the direction of the sound and saw a young nobleman in his early twenties kicking a chubby, bald man. Next to him stood a middle-aged man in a suit, his head bowed and his posture submissive, just like a corporate slave working in a large Japanese company.

The fat boy, who had been beaten, curled up on the ground, howling incessantly, and pleaded with the noble young master in a language uncommon in the Black Forest Empire.

"Private Marseille, red bean paste private Marseille! Dog Xiu Jin Sa Ma!"

"Useless! Utterly useless! I spent so much money, and all I got was such a useless thing like you. What kind of 'AI talent' is this? You're not even as good as Kang Zhi, you're a disgrace to me!"

When the young nobleman said, "Not even as good as Kang Zhi," the office worker next to him visibly twitched twice, but quickly adjusted his expression and put on a business-like smile.

Both the office worker and the fat man on the ground had conspicuous red runes on their cheeks, marks left after the signing of slave contracts. Their master was undoubtedly the noble young master who was currently beating people up.

The surrounding people seemed unfazed by the scene, but a few wore subtle expressions. Some were dressed in the uniforms commonly seen on servants of the Black Forest Empire, while others wore strange attire that contrasted sharply with their surroundings. Without exception, these people were all transmigrators from Earth, pitiful souls who had been tricked into coming to this world!

Unlike many novels and anime where they transmigrated to another world and gained superhuman powers to become world-saving, powerful protagonists, these transmigrators were more like unlucky souls tricked into going to northern Myanmar under the guise of company team building. Upon arrival, they were immediately controlled by despicable otherworldly beings through magical contracts, becoming powerless slaves.

This practice of abducting people from Earth has been going on in the Black Forest Empire for decades. Magicians who study space accidentally detected Earth and discovered that this world has no magic, but Earthlings possess a power called "technology".

Thus, the Hessians, who coveted technology, began a one-sided plunder, stealing Earth's technology.

By deceiving Earthlings, the civilization level of the Sunrise Continent has advanced rapidly in just a few decades, rising directly from the magical medieval period to a level equivalent to the mid-to-late Victorian era.

However, most of the technology is in the hands of the aristocratic class and is only available to the privileged class, creating the superficial prosperity that the empire enjoys today. Not much of it actually benefits the working class, and the people's lives remain very poor.

Dick only paused for a couple of glances before turning and going into the cabin.

His room was on the seventh floor of first class, which had been reserved by the Best family. His entourage consisted of only ten servants and four guards, who stayed in the servants' cabins corresponding to first class. The three hundred private soldiers and other miscellaneous servants assigned to him by the family, along with their horses, were transported by a separate ordinary ferry that followed the luxury cruise ship.

Once inside the cabin, Dick sat by the window, where the ship was already slowly moving.

Dick noticed a copy of the Imperial Daily on the table and picked it up to casually flip through it. A short while later, a maid knocked and entered, placing a pot of freshly brewed black tea and a plate of refreshments in front of Dick.

Dick flipped through the newspaper, glanced at the refreshments, and chuckled softly.

"Isn't this too hasty?"

"Fifth Young Master, what did you say?"

"I say, aren't you in a bit too hasty in administering the poison! The ship has only just set sail, it's not even dark yet, what are you going to do with my body later?"

"Young Master, what are you saying? I don't understand."

The maid looked at Dick with a pitiful expression, her eyes brimming with tears as if she were terrified. But Dick just smiled at her, dipped his index finger in some tea, licked it on the tip of his tongue, and then analyzed the situation.

"The black stamens of snake saliva flower, with a bit of old datura root, and the taste masked with top-quality purple maple syrup and green plum juice... No wonder you gave it to me now. This medicine won't take effect until tonight, am I right? Who instructed you to do this?"

Seeing that Dick had so easily seen through the slow-acting poison in the tea, the maid, who had been feigning fear, suddenly changed her expression, revealing a fierce look between her brows, and reached for the short knife tucked into her waistband.

But the moment her hand touched the hilt of the knife, her wrist was gripped tightly by a smooth, delicate yet incredibly strong hand. She turned around in astonishment and found a girl with short, gray-gold hair standing behind her. Before she could cry for help, the girl grabbed her throat with her right hand, silencing her completely. Her eyes were filled with horror.

"Kneel before my master."

The short-haired girl's voice was charming and pleasant; with a gentle press, she made the maid kneel on the ground.

The maid was just a disguise for her; her true identity was an assassin with the strength of a mid-level warrior.

She thought that using a slow-acting poison was a sure thing, and that she could throw the young master into the river at night to make it look like he had accidentally fallen in. But the little boy was so quick-witted that he immediately saw through her poisoning, and he even had such a skilled master by his side.

She didn't even notice his presence until he grabbed her wrist.

The female assassin secretly resented the employer who had given her the information, saying that the fifth young master of the Duke's family was just a low-level mage with a simple and honest personality and only some ordinary guards, so he should be easy to deal with.

As it turned out, not a single piece of this intelligence was correct!

At this moment, Dick was watching the controlled female assassin with great interest. Her exquisite features and smiling expression were clearly very beautiful, but her stare gave Dick a chill down his spine.

This guy! He's a ferocious beast that will devour anyone who chooses to kill, definitely not some harmless little rabbit.

At that moment, the cabin door opened again, revealing the beautiful black-haired girl whom Dick had met at the dock earlier.

The other woman removed her black veil, bypassed the female assassin, and came to Dick. She deliberately bent down and leaned close to his ear, her exquisite curves outlining an amazing arc from top to bottom. Her full breasts, due to the forward-bending posture, fully displayed a deep cleavage in front of Dick.

"Young Master, all the entourage members have been brought under control. As you instructed, the anesthetic Lily used will not harm their lives. She and Miss Belfast are currently searching them. We will soon find out who the mole is."

"Very good, what about the troop transport ships?"

"Red Leaf and Mist are still keeping watch on those knights..."

"Ignore them for now, we'll make our move once we reach the northern border."

With just a few words, Dick had clearly arranged the affairs of those around him, casually deciding the fates of many. The female assassin was horrified; she wasn't the kind of assassin with high professional ethics, and at this moment, she only wanted to save her own life.

However, just as she was about to reveal her employer, Dick suddenly raised his hand to stop her.

"I have no interest in who your employer is. Why don't you show some professionalism and take the secret to hell with you?"

"Young Master Dick, I was wrong! I shouldn't have poisoned you. Please keep me; I have a use for you!"

"I'm sorry, I don't trust you."

As Dick spoke, he gave Rita a wink, and Rita tightened her grip on the female assassin's throat, snapping her neck with a snap.

The corpse, its eyes wide open in death, lay sprawled on the ground, soon emitting a foul odor.

"I'm sorry, Master, I'll take care of it right away."

As Rita spoke, she used a blanket from the floor to roll up the female assassin's body and dragged it out to dispose of it. There were no outsiders on the entire seventh floor, so there was no need to worry too much about being discovered.

After Rita left, only Dick and the black-haired girl remained in the room. The girl, named Tia, was a highly skilled female spy who reported to Dick on the various intelligence she had recently gathered. However, her voluptuous body moved closer and closer to Dick, eventually pressing against him and using her two bouncy mounds of flesh to trap Dick's arms.

Tia loved snuggling up to her adorable young master, deliberately breathing sweetly on his long, pink elf ears, watching as his chubby, pointed ears bounced and slowly turned pink and red.

Dick, who was being teased by his subordinate, also wrapped his arms around the beautiful girl's slender waist, and used his long, white fingertips to meander down her slender waist, slide down the slit of her long skirt, and touch her smooth, jade-like thighs.

At the base of his thigh, hidden by the hem of his skirt, a red rune emitted a faint red glow upon Dick's touch—a mark unique to those who had been summoned. On the Sunrise Continent, only transmigrators brought from Earth by summoning magic possessed this mark.

But Tia is clearly not from an ordinary Earth!

Chapter 003: The Young Master and His Team of Beautiful Girls

Not long after, Rita returned, accompanied by two more silver-haired beauties, one gentle and graceful, the other lively and energetic.

After the three entered the house, the lively girl saw Tia clinging to the young master "again" and immediately huffed and puffed at him.

"Tia! You're stealing food again!"

"Hehe! You're wrong about me. I didn't steal any food; I was eating it openly and honestly."

Tia giggled and gently bit Dick's elf ear with her red lips. The chewy texture was like a gummy candy, making her both worried about accidentally biting into it and unable to resist.

Dick blushed slightly as his ear was bitten. The elf's long ears were indeed a sensitive spot for him, but in front of his beautiful female subordinates, he couldn't lose his authority as their superior. He quickly coughed lightly to cover his embarrassment while reminding Tia not to go too far.

Tia immediately became much more composed, sitting upright but still close to Dick.

"How is the investigation going?"

"There are indeed quite a few moles. Including the one who was just taken out, there are eight people with problems."

The one who answered Dick's question was a gentle and beautiful silver-haired girl named Belfast. She was not only not from this world, but not even an ordinary human; she was a being known as a "ship girl."

In fact, not only the beautiful young women in the room, but Dick himself was not a pure Black Forest person either. However, unlike the other pitiful Earthlings who were summoned by physical bodies, he was a soul who transmigrated and was reborn into a baby with the memories of his previous life.

This allowed Dick to escape a terrible fate and avoid becoming a slave like his fellow countrymen.

Even so, Dick's early years were not easy.

Despite Dick's father being an Imperial War Marshal and Duke Best, his mother was merely a lowly elven dancer.

Although the Black Forest Empire believed in "human supremacy" and brutally suppressed the demi-human race, the elves, who were also demi-humans, stood out from the oppressed demi-human races after being conquered by the empire because of their natural beauty and magical skills. They were treated as "second-class subjects" like the dwarves who were skilled in blacksmithing.

To put it bluntly, it's an upgrade from "livestock" to "pet".

Dick's birth mother was a half-elf, and she also had half-succubus blood, but she did not show it in her appearance, so she was sold to the duke's mansion as an ordinary elven dancer.

One day, the Duke, on a whim, slept with Dick's mother, and ended up with Dick, the soul-traveler!