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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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May had disappeared.
Although I wanted to catch those guys immediately, they weren’t fools as to stay at the same location, and even if caught, they would soon be out again.
“……”
As I was lost in thought, the heavy atmosphere made the dean glance over cautiously.
I had to admit that this situation couldn’t be resolved simply by me going there and smashing everything.
So, I mentioned the name of someone who had just come to mind.
“What? Yes, that person is here, risking their life……”
The dean, surprised at the mention of an unexpected name, agreed to contact them.
“Since they’re probably in Elgrid, tell them to come within an hour.”
“Alright, got it……”
As I left the dean’s office, my destination was clear.
It was the dormitory.
According to the dean, May’s friends didn’t know where she had been taken.
It would be strange if they knew, given they had only been running away and getting beaten.
I didn’t expect that much from them.
But at our dormitory, there was someone who might know the new base of the Belon Corporation and the location of Zavalanco.
Dormitory rooftop.
Sen, the girl from the Chokugen Faction with bleached white hair, sat idly on the railing, staring blankly at the sky.
Seeing me come up to the rooftop without looking, she asked just by the sound of the door opening.
“How is it? Have you realized the reality of Elgrid?”
“You knew all along, didn’t you?”
She must have known this outcome from the moment I said I’d hand them over to the guards, that’s why she had such an ambiguous expression.
“It seems you have some connection with the captain of the guards. I don’t know how deep it is or how you pay them.”
Sen seemed uninterested in that detail.
“Anyway, I don’t need to know that.”
She briefly turned her head to look at me.
“Did they really have a connection with the Tudogs?”
“……”
Sen, thinking I had already obtained information from Zavalanco, probed me.
Yes, I knew about the connection between Zavalanco and the Tudogs, but I didn’t plan to tell her right away. It was my biggest bargaining chip.
However, as I remained silent, Sen laughed it off as if it didn’t matter.
“Anyway, I’ll make Zavalanco confess everything today.”
“It’ll be tough.”
I honestly replied to Sen, who is strong, but I knew who was stronger between her and Zavalanco.
“Hmph, no matter how strong the opponent, everyone’s the same when asleep. There’s no answer to assassination.”
“……”
“There’s nothing more you can do now, right? So just watch.”
I took a stance, indicating that I wouldn’t just let her go.
“Ugh, it’s all because of that girl May, isn’t it?”
Sen sighed as she got up from the railing, dusting off her hips.
“Tonight at 8, there will be a huge carriage leaving through the east gate. May will be on it. Probably being sold as a secret slave to a noble. Despite everything, she’s quite pretty.”
Sen added, mentioning the Plov family.
It seemed that since May was already out of Zavalanco’s hands, Sen was willing to share her information.
“Don’t overestimate your abilities.”
“Useless talk.”
Ignoring my advice, Sen returned to blankly staring at the sky. I left her there and came down from the rooftop.
Tonight at 8.
Although I hadn’t found out Zavalanco’s base, I had obtained the most important information, so I rushed back to the dean’s office.
There, the dean and a woman wearing glasses, biting her nails anxiously, were waiting for me with anxious eyes.
***
The carriage of The Belon Trading Corporation jolted noisily.
Their coachman, stifling a yawn, drove the horses through the darkened streets of the night.
Unlike most merchants who travel by day and camp or find shelter at night, they were different.
Dealing mostly in illegal goods, traveling at night was their norm.
“Sigh, can’t even smoke a cigarette or hold a girl.”
Cigarettes were so toxic that they would rot the skin, and touching the girl from the Plov family was forbidden, as she was destined to be sold to nobles who preferred virgins.
“Tsk, such a fine product.”
A woman with auburn hair, slightly waved, and a short cut. Though her stern face was exactly to the man’s taste, she was an untouchable delicacy.
Upon reaching the east gate, the vigilant guards stood watch.
Normally, they would search the entire carriage, but due to the close relationship between the guards and Belon, a mere show of an afPhileation badge was enough.
“Um?”
But today, the atmosphere was different.
The guards, usually lax and expecting bribes, stood tense and disciplined.
“Hmm, Begin inspection.”
“Uh?”
The reason became clear upon seeing a stern woman in glasses.
Despite looking a bit haggard and with dark circles under her eyes, she stood tall and proud.
The coachman of May Plov’s carriage, flustered by the unexpected inspectors, shouted.
“Who are you? How dare you inspect my carriage!”
The woman pushed up her glasses, fixing a stern gaze on him.
“Heini Rosales, a royal inspector. Today, we are supervising an unannounced inspection of the Elgrid Guard.”
“What?”
The coachman glared at the guards, who offered no help, only bowing their heads.
“Inspector! There’s a schoolgirl chained inside!”
Upon the young man’s shout, Heini’s eyes flashed coldly.
“Oh, it seems I’ve caught a big fish.”
After interrogating the coachman and the Belon Corporation about their afPhileation and the guards’ involvement, Heini was determined.
“So, is it over?”
Disguised as one of her soldiers, she sighed, removing her disguise.
“Hardly, it’s just the beginning.”
“Despite my doubts, the carriage’s contents were indeed dangerous… and not just objects.”
Shivering, May looked at Heini, who sighed deeply.
Today wasn’t about an inspection.
It was Heini’s men, pretending to be knights, and her using her identity to wield personal power.
Heini, arms crossed, glared at the guards and coachman, wondering why she was helping me.
She was framed as a suspect in the death of Fenil Leiros.
Harassed by the Leiros family, she stayed in Elgrid to clear her name without returning to the royal court.
I made her an irresistible offer when she visited the dean’s office.
The identity of Fenil Leiros’ real killer.
An opportunity only I knew, and Heini eagerly accepted.
For Heini, it was a win-win: exposing the guard’s corruption and arresting the drug dealers of Belon.
“This time, they won’t get away.”
Yes, they had used their petty power and bribes to do as they pleased.
But power lies above power.
Those dirty crows, unaware of the sky’s height, cawing and flying high, it’s time for them to fall.
In a dark room, a wooden ceiling tile suddenly fell away, revealing a gap through which a girl with flowing white hair descended, blending into the darkness.
She covered her mouth with a black cloth and had a dagger strapped to her waist.
Surveying her surroundings, she checked on a man who was snoring soundly, then locked the door and installed an artifact that prevented noise from escaping the room.
From her descent from the ceiling to her movement across the room, she was as silent as a ghost, although her eyes coldly observed the man.
‘First, I need to administer the drug.’
A torture drug used by the Chokugen Faction, it caused excruciating pain as the victim’s insides seemingly melted away. Without an antidote, the pain would persist until death, forcing anyone to divulge information.
“Alright, then…”
Just as she was about to restrain him, her wrist was caught by the man’s thick hand.
“I wondered who was sneaking in here.”
The one-eyed Zavalanko, with a cast on his left hand from an injury inflicted by Daniel, smirked as he glared at Sen.
She quickly wrenched her hand free, stepped back, and drew her dagger.
“You knew I was here?”
She thought her stealth was impeccable, but Zavalanko tapped his nose.
“Sailors like me are sensitive to smells. At sea, we can predict the weather just by the scent.”
That was new information, but it didn’t matter.
The door was locked.
The noise in the room wouldn’t escape.
There might be suspicion from the floor below if there was too much commotion, but…
‘It won’t come to that.’
Her opponent was handicapped, his left hand unusable, and he hadn’t placed his cutlass beside the bed, but carelessly by the fireplace.
‘I can definitely win.’
For the Chokugen Faction, direct combat was a last resort, only undertaken when certain of victory.
But as Sen lunged forward…
Crack!
“You think you can take me on just because I’ve been hit a few times?”
Sen was caught by Zavalanko’s right hand, lifted into the air, struggling helplessly.
The shock made her drop her dagger.
No matter how much she twisted, the man was immovable like steel.
“Amusing. You think you academy kids can take down someone who was a commander under the Pirate Lord?”
‘Commander under the Pirate Lord?!’
Zavalanko was part of the Pirate Lord’s crew?
Her mind refused to believe it, but her body recognized his strength.
This man was powerful, unnaturally so.
Especially as a commander under the Pirate Lord, he was among the elite of the elite.
But she was just a promising member of the Chokugen Faction, not even a full member yet.
Even with his handicaps, Sen was no match for him.
‘How could the Faction not know this?’
As Sen struggled, losing consciousness, she wondered why the Chokugen Faction hadn’t informed her of this.
“An ambush!”
“It’s a surprise attack! Respond!”
“It’s the students from Aios!”
Chaos erupted on the floor below.
Who could it be?
Only one person from Aios Academy knew she was here.
Could it be Daniel McLean?
“Sen! Where are you?”
It was the voice of Ares, Daniel’s childhood friend, echoing from below.
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