Chapter 89

“It seems you have a unique talent for doing nothing but failing over and over again.”

A mocking voice drifted out from the darkness. Soon, the irritable face of an old man took shape under the dim lighting.

“Kidnapping Alejandro’s son—failure. Pivoting to an assassination plot—failure. Attempting to isolate and kill him in the lower district—failure. Failing to catch that troublesome Hunter woman from the Emperor’s fleet—failure. Failure, failure, failure.”

The old man’s words sped up, brimming with fury. Malik sat across from him, leaning back with a crooked posture. He scratched his head and spoke.

“I succeeded in killing Izack, didn’t I? That’s a major achievement.”

“A major achievement? How many vigilantes do you think died because of this ‘plan’ of yours?”

—Slam!

It wasn’t the old man who suddenly struck the table. Another face emerged beneath the light. It was the Banker. The hand that hit the table was a prosthetic made of tin.

“I spent a massive amount of capital playing along with your goddamn plan. And now, look at this mess!”

Malik looked at the Banker, exactly as he was told.

“Hmm, that hand looks better than the last one.”

“Do I look like I’m in the mood for jokes?!”

—Slam! Slam! Slam!

The Banker’s tin fist pounded the table repeatedly. Malik waited until the Banker’s rage simmered down a bit. Then, he offered a leisurely defense.

“You keep talking about my plan this and my plan that… but you’re the ones who set the stage.”

Malik reached into his inner pocket. Immediately, a blade surged from the shadows, casting a cold sliver across his jaw. He didn’t panic. He simply raised one hand to placate the blade while using the other to pull a cigarette from his pocket and place it in his mouth.

From the opposite side of the blade, Bard’s hand appeared, offering a lit match.

—Puff.

A cloud of smoke escaped Malik’s lips.

“You people—you damn opportunists. I know what you’re thinking. You intend to push me now that my standing has crumbled and turn me into the clown of this farce. If the rebellion fails, I shoulder all the guilt and die alone. Even if it succeeds, I’ll just be discarded once my usefulness is gone.”

The blade remained pointed at Malik. The sharp gazes of the old man and the Banker also pierced him.

“Don’t look at me like that. I’m just telling you that I’m dancing to your tune even though I know exactly what’s happening. So, I’m asking you to be a little more generous with me. I’m trying my best in my own way.”

“But Shane Astrier ultimately succeeded in escaping the lower district.”

That was a different voice. This hidden speaker displayed their presence only through the faint, flickering ember of a long pipe.

“Not only that, but he earned the support of the lower district dregs. If he opens the gates again, the balance of power will collapse.”

“Alejandro’s brat has been playing dirty tricks from the start. Because of his liquor tax cuts and market openings, every shop I’ve invested in is going bankrupt!” the Banker added, backing the invisible voice.

The smoke exhaled by the hidden figure settled heavily under the light.

“The move Shane Astrier made was quite exquisite. The price competitiveness of the lower district’s black market can’t stand against upper district goods. He will surely attack us using that same method. And Malik…”

Malik swallowed hard. It felt as if an invisible gaze was seeing right through him.

“You had better prepare an answer for that.”

“I intend to do exactly that.”

Malik stood up abruptly. He turned away with determination. With his back to the underground council, he spoke.

“So, I hope you won’t hold back on supporting me. Whether you focus on the leash around my neck or on cutting Shane’s clean throat… the choice is yours.”

Malik then walked out of the dim room. Bard followed close behind. Once they were a certain distance away, Bard whispered to him.

“You didn’t say a single word about the plan until the very end.”

“A surprise party is always more moving when it’s unexpected. Besides, there’s no benefit in those people knowing the specifics. What would they do besides give me useless advice?”

Malik rattled off his complaints like a chattering child.

“But if it’s too sudden, there’s a chance they might misunderstand the plan and threaten you, Mr. Malik.”

Malik’s expression shifted instantly. His shadowed face asked:

“Who? Threaten whom?”

“…”

Bard felt a strange sense of intimidation from those words. Soon, Malik’s face brightened again. It was a smile so innocent it didn’t match his age.

“It’s fine. There’s no need to worry about them. They don’t have the guts to do anything to me.”

“I see.”

“The one we should worry about isn’t them—it’s Shane. That kid is definitely a nuisance. Perhaps even more so than Mr. Alejandro.”

Malik flicked away the cigarette butt, which had shortened to the width of a fingernail. As he did, he spoke.

“But even he won’t be able to help himself but do exactly as I say.”

“The erasure of your previous employer.”

I emphasized the point one more time.

“Aren’t you curious about what that means?”

I flashed a grin at the archer. She remained silent, but the look in her eyes as she watched me was markedly different from before. I’m not usually someone with great intuition. However, I’m confident in this one thing:

Knowing exactly when someone’s curiosity has been piqued.

Identifying that exact point.

In other words, it meant knowing the other person’s unspoken desires.

“You’ve likely guessed as much, but I’ll say it anyway. If you become mine, I will eliminate your future troubles forever. Malik? The influential figures of the lower district? Just say the word.”

Suddenly, she spoke.

“…Bluffing isn’t a very effective negotiation tactic.”

“Does it sound like a bluff to you?”

“You aren’t a warrior. You aren’t accustomed to such cruel methods. And how could you ever trust me, knowing I’ve already betrayed one employer?”

“You’ve misunderstood something.”

Bending over like this was starting to make my back ache. I leisurely adjusted my posture.

“Our contract doesn’t require trust.”

“…?”

“Let me ask you something.”

As I spoke, I reached out and pulled Adele, who was standing beside me, into a sudden embrace.

“…!”

Adele seemed more than a little startled, but I didn’t care. My gaze remained fixed on the archer.

“Do you really think you’d be capable of betraying me?”

Then, I let Adele go.

“…Haha, just a joke. Of course you could. If you want to do it, you do it. I just meant that it wouldn’t matter either way. Regardless, I hope you think seriously about my offer. I’ll give you time to consider. Let’s go, Adele.”

“Wait… wait for me!”

I left the archer’s cell behind. As we exited the dungeon, Adele followed closely at my heels.

She asked me, “Were you serious back there?”

Back there? What did she mean? Seeing my confused expression, Adele clarified her question.

“About eliminating that archer’s previous employer.”

“Ah. That.”

I looked back at her.

“Why bother asking? I thought seeing through people’s hearts was your specialty.”

“Mmm… I was just surprised because you hugged me so suddenly. And honestly, I can’t tell if you were serious or not. I didn’t think you were the type to resort to assassination, but….”

“I was serious.”

Adele stared at me with wide eyes. I quickly corrected myself.

“But then again, I wasn’t.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Zid, Paul, Trier.”

“?”

“Those are the names of the men who lost their lives during the search operation.”

They were names that had appeared on the personnel list in my status window at one point or another. They were all young, talented, and good people. I had learned of their deaths too late, only to find their names already gone from the status window.

“By sheer luck, I was able to save Mr. Izack. But their lives can never be returned. Soon enough, they’ll fade from my mind. I’m a cold-hearted bastard like that. But their families will never be able to forget them.”

I continued.

“Our soldiers weren’t the only ones sacrificed in that fight. The vigilantes who died there were my people too. They lived in Denabi, and they surely had families.”

“They paid the price for making a foolish choice.”

“I wasn’t trying to blame you. You did what you had to do. I understand completely, and I’m grateful you made it back alive.”

“…….”

“But I absolutely loathe the people who made it so you ‘had no choice’.”

I gnashed my teeth. I had succeeded in bringing Izack back to life, but the moment of triumph had been brief. People had died for my sake. I had visited the bereaved families one by one.

Their reactions were calm. ‘Stolid’ might be a better word for it—as if they had simply been waiting for the inevitable to arrive. The soldier accompanying me described it as being ‘just like a Denabi person.’ Because Denabi is that kind of place. A place where you have to get used to death.

Someday, I might have to become like that too. What if ten or twenty people die during an expedition? What if a hundred or a thousand die in the struggles to come…? I won’t be able to deliver every single death notice, and I won’t even be able to remember all their names. At that point, I suppose I could say I’ve finally grown accustomed to it. To death.

‘What a load of crap.’

I thought it was horrific. Why should anyone have to get used to death? Why should anyone have to just endure that and live?

I hated it. If there was a problem that forced people to become accustomed to death, I wanted to sweep it away. Just as I had cleared the threat of the Mana Plague. Just as I had crushed the Orchard Dungeon.

Before I knew it, I had stopped walking and was standing still. I spoke to Adele.

“I want to live in a world where it’s common sense for a person to live out their natural lifespan.”

Because I came from a world where that was the case.

“If there are things preventing that, I want to remove them. Whether it’s the Mana Plague, inequality and misery, or someone’s twisted sense of morality… all of it.”

“Even if…… those ‘things’ are people?”

“Even if they are people.”

—Pfft.

I let out a short laugh and started walking again.

“Of course, the best thing would be to catch those bad guys, throw them in prison, and make them pay for their crimes legally.”

“What? How anticlimactic.”

“I told you. It’s better for world peace if you stay bored.”

Of course, peace isn’t just going to fall into my lap by sitting still and praying to the heavens.

‘If you want peace… you must prepare for war.’

I entered the Great Hall. Passing through the bowing officials, I sat upon the throne. Then, I made my declaration.

“In three days, we will reopen the gates.”