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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Yuziro
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“The Ogatorf family… I didn’t expect that level of connection to remain, even under the toothless name of Levien. I thought they would have severed all ties by now, given the circumstances.”
The men kneeling before the man who muttered this while gazing at the single lamp illuminating the dim room remained silent.
They knew their master’s words weren’t a question but a simple soliloquy.
And their judgment was correct.
Upon hearing that the key figure in this incident had made a move through the Ogatorf family, the man admired his own foresight in ordering surveillance, unlike the few other retainers of Margrave Levien.
At first, he’d wondered if the man, true to his common birth, had quickly betrayed his master and jumped onto another ship.
However, judging by his recent actions, he seemed to possess an unexpected degree of loyalty.
The audacity to stand against the Noble Council for his master’s honor was, frankly, appealing.
But what was most appealing was the information now in his possession: that the man had met with Duke Lesrom, the head of the old Noble faction, after the incident.
He had acquired the information first.
That fact alone brought him immense satisfaction.
He hadn’t given much thought to how to use the information or whether it was truly useful.
The fact that it had already spread widely among the common soldiers through word of mouth was also outside his realm of concern.
Such trivial matters were for commoners; nobles operated on a different level.
Like a noblewoman delighted to be the first to possess a fashionable accessory, he was experiencing a similar catharsis through information.
“Now, how should I utilize this sharp knife of a man?”
Commoners couldn’t participate in tomorrow’s trial.
Naturally, he had ample time to approach the person of interest, and he had no intention of missing the opportunity.
His mind began to fill with plans on what to offer to entice the man to his side.
The Ogatorf family was of no concern to him.
While the head’s skill, which had once ranked him among the King’s Top Ten Swordsmen, might be genuine, that was the extent of it.
The Ogatorf family, who lived like monks focused solely on honor, possessed considerable wealth, but it was paltry compared to their reputation.
Ultimately, they were no different from soldiers, destined to die on the battlefield.
If Count Bosha’s plan succeeded, the Ogatorf family would be ruined, whether they wanted it or not.
The daughter of the Ogatorf family was quite beautiful, so she could be used somehow, but Ekaf, with his unwavering loyalty to the royal family, was beyond redemption.
His demise was a foregone conclusion.
“Wouldn’t he be surprised if I offered him a wyvern from the outer territories?”
His long-held belief was that commoners, unlike nobles, were motivated by money, not honor.
And what about himself?
He could confidently say his financial power was among the top within the new Noble faction.
His current position as a baron was merely due to unfortunate timing.
That, too, was about to change.
Although he’d suffered a significant loss about two years ago when he lent two wyverns to Viscount Etabil and never got them back, the wyverns he was secretly raising were still thriving.
“I can certainly offer a wyvern to a warrior who returned victorious even against the Hero.”
He was a man of such capacity and capability.
As he reveled in his own brilliance, a knock echoed against the heavy iron door guarding the room.
“Who is it?”
‘Huh?’
Everyone in the room shared the same question.
The kind of question one would ask when confronted with the illogical situation of someone knocking on a door and then asking who was there.
As everyone turned their gaze towards the door in bewilderment,
“It’s me! Me! Me! Me!! Me! Me! Me!”
With a sudden explosion, the iron door crumpled and flew into the room.
“Uwaaagh!”
Even as one of his underlings, unlucky enough to be in the door’s trajectory, took the full force of the impact to his head and collapsed, the man, their master, couldn’t comprehend the situation.
Neither could the remaining three, who had been reporting the results of their surveillance.
“Mighty and powerful evening! If you ask my name! You don’t need to know. I don’t introduce myself when I’m killing everyone.”
Ignoring them, the person of interest, having kicked the iron door open like it was paper, entered the room, uttering a nonsensical self-introduction.
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“W-wait! Sir Egga! It’s a misunderstanding! A huge misunderstanding…!”
“There can’t be a misunderstanding with these guys who were tailing me like assassins.”
Glancing at the man who was still down, possibly with a fractured skull from the door incident, Eldmia swiftly decapitated the man who was frantically waving his hands and trying to explain.
Shadowfoot’s map was incredibly accurate.
It took Eldmia less than 30 minutes to change back into his adventurer’s attire and arrive at the location.
The place was a basement in an otherwise nondescript building in the southern market district of the capital.
Honestly, he was a bit taken aback at first by the utterly ordinary building.
However, trusting Shadowfoot, he descended to the basement, kicked the door open, and was greeted by a rather typical scene.
The space was decorated in a way that screamed, “This is a temporary location for a secret meeting.”
He briefly wondered if these guys read too many novels or were simply idiots, but once he decided to clear his mind, he felt much more at ease.
“You scoundrel!! How dare you insult me, knowing who I am!!”
Just as he was about to decapitate the remaining men, the middle-aged, pot-bellied man who had been sitting on a chair alone abruptly stood up and raged.
What?
He smelled something familiarly foul, like Rudra’s lackeys, emanating from this stranger…?
“W-who are you?”
Feigning hesitation, Eldmia casually inquired, and the emboldened pot-bellied man bellowed,
“I am Baron Dioti da Rubili, a close aide to Count Bosha and the lord of Rubili territory!”
“And what does that have to do with me?”
“What?”
“I said, what does that have to do with me!!”
He had no business with this man in the first place, and now that he knew his name, he had even less.
Without hesitation, Eldmia charged forward and decapitated the pot-bellied man.
The ceiling wasn’t very high, so the man’s head bounced off it once before landing on the floor.
The faces of the two remaining, soon-to-be corpses, paled even further in the dimly lit room.
“Haagh?!”
“He, he killed the Baron!”
“Do you have time to be surprised? You’re next.”
It just so happened that all the men who died first were male, but he had no intention of sparing the women.
Man or woman, anyone who wielded a sword could kill.
He was prepared to completely ignore any cliché excuses like, “I was just following orders.”
“Sir Knight! Please! Please spare my life! I’ll tell you anything! I’ll…!”
“I doubt you know anything more than the Baron.”
Having no interest in offering false hope, Eldmia decapitated the pleading man and approached the remaining woman.
However, her unexpected reaction made him pause.
“I’ll become your spy.”
Just moments ago, while the other man was still alive, she had worn an expression of pure terror.
Now, she maintained an incredibly calm demeanor, looking directly at him.
He would have cut her down if it were just words, but her sudden and drastic shift in attitude, almost like a split personality, was unsettling.
“What kind of amazing spy can the Baron’s lackey become?”
“I’m an informant planted by Count Bosha. Spare my life, and I’ll betray Count Bosha.”
“That’s too convenient a story. Don’t you think the loss from it being false outweighs the gain from it being true? Especially with your life on the line? You betray that easily?”
“That’s due to the limitations of the contract Count Bosha made with us.”
“Us? Contract?”
Perhaps believing actions spoke louder than words, the woman carefully raised her hands to cover her face, then slowly lowered them.
“What…?”
Her face had completely changed!
“Divine power?”
He’d been channeling mana to enhance his senses, anticipating any tricks.
The fact that he hadn’t sensed anything meant she was either a shapeshifting monster or a follower of a god who granted such power.
Given the current situation, the latter was far more likely.
Shapeshifting monsters weren’t unheard of, but they couldn’t speak.
“Contracts that involve our lives are expensive. And there’s a significant price difference between contracts with and without that condition. Count Bosha hired me at a lower price, assuming there would be no threat to my life in this location.”
“So that pot-bellied man was…?”
“Yes. He was someone who meticulously prioritized his own safety, believing he would never face this kind of threat. Running away in the face of danger was part of the contract, but… I’ve decided I can’t escape.”
This was tricky.
If he killed her, Bosha would likely become suspicious when he didn’t receive a report.
If he spared her, he couldn’t trust a creature who betrayed so readily.
However, it didn’t seem like Bosha would carelessly plant such an easily swayed informant, given the wide scope of his operations.
Perhaps she could escape most situations with that ability?
“Let’s say I don’t kill you. How long will it take for news of this mess to reach them?”
“If I don’t report it, they wouldn’t know unless someone else reported it.”
“Evidence?”
“Baron Rubili, due to his vanity, preferred to operate in secrecy. He was delusional, believing he controlled the underworld’s information. However, despite his delusions, he was meticulous in using his vast wealth to create hidden locations like this and move discreetly. This place is the same. Even if they knew of its existence, they wouldn’t know Baron Rubili was specifically here.”
“…How often were you supposed to report?”
“……Every four days.”
Her delayed response was likely due to her fear that he would kill her after calculating the time frame.
Being treated like a thug was slightly irritating, but given the circumstances, he’d let it slide.
“You’re coming with me.”
His decision was based on the faint hope that Ekaf might find a use for her.
It was the best course of action he could take at the moment.
Even if she couldn’t be used as a double agent, she likely possessed valuable information.
As he sheathed his sword and declared his intentions, the woman, contrary to her composed demeanor, let out a long sigh of relief.
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[007 is in the HOUSE]
