Chapter 98

“You certainly have a knack for joking in a situation like this. But I didn’t find it particularly funny. If you weren’t going to have them support us, then why on earth did you split the unit in two?”

Bard was feigning composure, but I could clearly tell he was panicked.

I suppose so.

If he had any intuition at all, he would realize that I wasn’t joking.

“I didn’t get a chance to tell you or the men, but the unit consisting of Mr. Malik and the Upper District guards is hitting another location. Our role is to hold out here until things are settled on that end.”

“If that was the case, why didn’t you tell us sooner?”

Bard spoke with a low growl. He looked like he wanted to grab me by the collar. But he didn’t.

Quite the patient one, isn’t he?

“Isn’t the reason obvious?” I said. “Because I don’t trust you.”

“What did you say?”

“You heard me clearly the first time, so you don’t need to ask again. I do not trust you.”

“But Young Master, didn’t you take us in? Since we’re all in the same boat anyway…”

“You and I have never been in the same boat.”

“…?”

Bard was speechless, looking utterly baffled. I, however, didn’t understand why he was so surprised.

“Bard. We’ve both lied to each other once, so let’s stop the deception. You and the vigilantes only aligned with me for a moment to survive. I wasn’t the one who persuaded you in the first place; it was Malik’s silver tongue.”

“So that’s your reason for driving us into a death trap?!”

“Who says this is a death trap?” I stared him down. “Do you take me for a fool who walks into a dead end while leaving all my primary forces elsewhere?”

“But we’re surrounded! Not only is this sewer disgustingly narrow, there’s no way out! We fell into their trap!”

“No, they are the ones who fell into a trap.”

I tapped the sewer floor with my scabbard.

“Bard. Why do you think the Council’s soldiers are stationed in a place like this sewer?”

“Because the drug laboratory is here…”

“And what about it? Their enemy is Malik. Why would people of the Lower District fight among themselves over drugs?”

In an instant, the anger vanished from Bard’s face, replaced by doubt.

Yes. I knew you’d be curious, you rascal. I’ll answer you now.

“The reason they were waiting for us here is because I called them here.”

“You… called them?”

“Since last night, I’ve been making a lot of noise about hitting this place—even though, as Malik said, there was no reason to rush. And then, ta-da.”

I spread my arms wide.

“They were waiting to welcome us as if on cue. Though they didn’t seem to know exactly how we would raid them.”

Bard rubbed his chin and muttered, “Does that mean information leaked from our side?”

—Snap.

I snapped my fingers.

“Bingo. I told you I don’t trust you. As I said, you only joined us temporarily for survival. Naturally, I expected someone to try and make a profit by handing our information over to the Council.”

And it actually happened.

“That’s why I never revealed the specific details of the operation to you. I only said we would raid the sewers. Thanks to that, the Council’s main force is pinned down here, while Malik is probably… putting a blade to the target’s throat right about now.”

“But it’s an undeniable fact that we’re surrounded like this. Are we just sacrificial pawns?”

What a stupid question.

“Bard. Have you never played Janggi? Ah, maybe this world doesn’t have Janggi.”

“Janggi…?”

“A game where you capture pieces on a board. Once the leader is caught, the game is over. And on this board, I am the leader. What kind of fool devises a strategy to sacrifice the leader as a pawn?”

I gave him my word.

“We won’t die. Just watch.”

I pulled up my hood. Gripping my sword, I brushed past him. Before us lay the dim, cramped expanse of the sewer.

The soldiers collapsed helplessly, one after another. The overwhelming martial prowess of the hooded swordsman caused the private soldiers to lose their will to fight entirely.

“I knew it. That mace wasn’t your original weapon, was it?”

Malik, who had followed behind, spoke to the swordsman. After confirming all the soldiers were suppressed, the swordsman pulled off the hood.

Revealed beneath the hood was blonde hair that reached the shoulders. Naturally, it was Adele.

“Save the small talk. You’re not my type.”

“I know. When Shane is right there, would any other man even catch your eye?”

“If you know that, finish up and come out. We don’t have time to waste.”

Adele fanned her face with her hand as if to cool down her sweat. She turned and walked out of the building. It was a gesture telling Malik to conclude the matter himself.

‘Well then, gladly.’

Malik kicked the door. The hinges broke, revealing the interior of the room. What appeared was a pitch-black darkness that hung like a wall.

It was a darkness familiar to Malik.

“Surprised? Aren’t you going to ask, ‘Wait. I heard you were raiding the sewers. Why are you here?’…?”

“……”

Glaring at Malik from the end of a table lit by a single lamp was the old man of the Council.

“You used a trick. You bastard.”

“Yep. It was obvious there would be a traitor among the guild members. I conspired a bit with Shane. If you were younger, you wouldn’t have fallen for such a counter-trap so easily.”

“…Hmph. I was merely waiting for you.”

“Oh, quit the bluffing.”

Malik waved his hand dismissively. But the old man didn’t even bat an eyelid.

“From the moment you betrayed us and joined hands with Alejandro’s youngest, we had no chance of winning.”

“So you knew? If you knew, why didn’t you try to incite the people by calling me a traitor colluding with the Upper District?”

“That would be foolish. How could I without any evidence? And by now, public opinion regarding that youngest son has become too favorable. We should have eliminated him much sooner…”

“Anyway, this is the situation. Did you stay here because you wanted to die by my hand?”

“No, I am here to give you one last chance.”

“A chance.”

“A chance to live without being a dog of the Upper District. A final chance to turn Denabi upside down.”

Having said that, the old man suddenly threw something at Malik. Malik caught it instinctively.

It was a ring engraved with the old man’s seal.

“…Ha. You’re giving this to me? Is it a bribe?”

“Take that and go to ‘that place.’ The path will be open for you.”

“Why should I?”

“Because you are the son of a traitor. Because you are a rare kind of loser who lost the justification for revolution and was even forgiven by Alejandro. You will want to answer that ‘old question.’”

Malik opened his mouth as if lost for words.

“You are our only chance at winning, Malik. Surely you don’t want to live as a loser forever?”

“Hold the line! News of victory will reach us soon. Then they’re finished!”

Bard’s shout echoed through the sewers, vibrating through the murky air. They had been surrounded for over an hour now.

Paradoxically, Bard felt that defending was getting easier. It was strange. The enemies were struggling to utilize their numerical advantage. Although they had blocked the escape route, the sewers were too narrow to execute a proper encirclement.

As time passed, the Council’s private soldiers began to realize it as well. This stalemate was not going to be broken easily. They calculated that it would be better to simply wait until their opponents starved.

However, the risk of being double-enveloped haunted them if they just waited aimlessly. What if the “news of Malik’s victory” that Bard kept yelling about actually reached this far? What if the enemy’s reinforcements arrived?

The soldiers guarding the sewer were stuck between a rock and a hard place.

“I see… You saw through it all the way to this point.”

Bard spoke to Shane in a voice filled with awe.

“I just thought we could also utilize the defensive advantages of the sewers. This doesn’t even qualify as a tactic,” Shane replied, as if it were nothing. “If we block a narrow alley and lead with spears and shields, we can hold out for hours. Though we’ll be a bit hungry by then.”

“Will they disperse when that time comes?”

“Who knows. But they’ll soon grow tired and neglect their watch. I plan to aim for that moment.”

“What? Weren’t we waiting for Mr. Malik?”

Shane stared at Bard as if he were the biggest fool in the world.

“I told you earlier. There are no reinforcements. Malik will completely wipe out the Council’s leadership while we hold out here. It’ll take at least a day.”

“We’re holding out well, but even so, more than half a day is impossible.”

“That’s why we have to break through.”

Break through? The word clashed violently with the mental image in Bard’s head.

“The enemy has the exact same defensive advantages as we do. Weren’t you the one who created this situation, Young Master?”

Shane pointed toward the enemy holding their ground in the distance.

“We only need to deal with the ones at the very front—the ones with shields. Then we can break through the front with our crossbows.”

“We haven’t been able to do that, which is why we’re still—”

“It will work from now on.”

Saying so, Shane stepped out in front of the defensive line.

“It’s dangerous! Young Master…!”

“I’ve said it several times. Just as you don’t trust me, I don’t trust you. But I didn’t bring you here to commit double suicide. Nor did I come here just to watch you fight. I came here to win.”

What kind of nonsense was this? Had the Young Master truly lost his mind?

Seeing Shane standing out in the open, the shield-bearing enemies began to creep forward. Bard tried to pull Shane back. But at that moment, Shane held his hand out in front of him.

“Distance, confirmed. Position, confirmed. Target, set.”

And the intangible trigger was pulled.

“Fire.”

“Then how about something like this?”

“Like what?” Lucile asked, looking up at me.

“It’s a bit of a childish idea, but…”

I rolled up my sleeve and showed her the magic circle for the [Solidification] formula.

“As you know, my mother’s formula is engraved on my body. This allows me to use magic while skipping most of the preparation required for casting, at the cost of raising the mana concentration in my blood.”

I pointed with that arm to the large magic circle on the library floor that we were creating as a test.

“But you said it yourself. If one doesn’t skip the complex preparations required for magic, they conversely don’t have to pay that price.”

“So? What’s your point?”

I held up the index fingers of both hands.

“What about half and half?”

“Half and half?”

“We use the magic circle engraved on my body as is, but if we don’t skip at least half of the incantation preparation process…”

I spread my palm wide.

“Wouldn’t I be able to keep the instantaneous effect of the formula without paying the price of rising blood-mana concentration?”