Chapter 144
Chapter 144
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 144
Chapter Title: Chapter 4. Uruun, the Nation of Entertainment and Culture.
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Roxin remained silent for a long while.
A chill crept into one corner of his chest.
How did this child know about the Shadow Kingdom?
'I thought he wasn't an ordinary kid...'
No, at this point, it went beyond ordinary.
He had been the one to approach the boy first, but now he wondered if the boy had intentionally approached him.
Of course, he thought that unlikely, but it was hard to shake off the suspicion.
Had information about the Shadow Kingdom somehow leaked out?
But no, that wasn't the case.
Only nobles and merchants knew of the Shadow Kingdom's existence, and no one else spoke of them openly.
And from what he recalled of the latest intelligence reports, there was no information on anyone named Judah Arsher.
"How did you know I'm from the Shadow Kingdom?"
Roxin looked at Judah, demanding an answer.
It wasn't a difficult question.
There was little known about the Shadow Kingdom, but if one knew of the symbols they used to recognize each other, it wasn't hard to spot.
Judah tapped the back of his left hand with the index finger of his right.
"The emblem."
The king bore a black crown, executives a hunting hound, and the rest of the subordinates a black butterfly.
That was how Judah roughly remembered it, and as he spoke, Roxin looked down at his left hand.
He had walked around bare-handed, thinking no one knew of the Shadow Kingdom, but that had given him away.
"You know our kingdom's emblem? Who told you? Only our insiders should know this."
"Who knows? It wouldn't be fun if I told you."
Mana gathered in Roxin's hand, forming a long longsword.
It was a skill similar to the Shadow Magic Swordsman's black artifact creation.
Judah, too, summoned his mana and activated a skill.
Shadow Heresy 4th Form - Lesser Black Artifact Creation.
As he recalled the skill's name and effect and channeled his mana, black mana rose from his fingertips, piling up like a tower to form a bastard sword.
──!
"!"
Though Judah had used the skill first, his weapon completed far faster.
The mana-forged swords clashed with physical force.
A metallic clang rang out, but it was quickly drowned by the casino's clamor.
"Too bad for you. I handle shadows too."
"...What are you? I've never heard of you."
Judah shrugged leisurely, their swords locked.
They had swung at each other, but Roxin's was mere intimidation, Judah's pure defense, so it didn't escalate into a fierce fight.
"Who knows. But that's not what's important right now."
"To me, nothing's more important. It means there's a traitor in the kingdom."
"No need to worry. There isn't a traitor. I just got this info by chance. At least, I have no intention of telling anyone else."
Roxin's eyes narrowed as he pressed harder on their locked blades.
In that instant, Judah pushed back with force, halting the sword that threatened to reach his chest.
Feeling it might pierce him, he couldn't afford to ignore it.
Judah, who had honed his skills against sword owners, sensed the need to neutralize his opponent first and shoved him back with his blade.
Roxin reflexively stepped back, then thrust at Judah.
Not intending to kill, the blade's path shifted midway from his solar plexus to his left shoulder.
Confirming this, Judah smiled and extended his left hand toward the sword, activating the skill once more.
"You idiot!"
Amid it all, Roxin shouted urgently at Judah, as if worried.
It meant, "Don't dodge—what are you doing?"
It was too late for him to pull back; they were too close.
But Judah didn't hesitate.
Just before the sword touched, black particles enveloped his hand, completing a thick gauntlet.
Crunch-!
As Judah's full strength added to the mana-clad gauntlet, Roxin's shadow longsword couldn't withstand the damage and crumbled.
He stared wide-eyed at the longsword melting away like snowflakes into the air.
They were close enough to touch with outstretched hands, yet neither moved.
"I need certain information, and you have the ability to provide it. That's all there is to it."
"......"
"No need to think so seriously. You told me yesterday yourself—there'd come a day when I could help you. That day is just... a tiny bit early."
As Judah smiled and spoke, Roxin sighed and straightened his posture.
His expression was uneasy but accepting.
He stepped back a little, leaning on the railing like Judah and crossing his arms.
"I can't do it for free. We're not a charity."
"I know. I'm just asking you to take my commission. From what I hear, the Shadow Kingdom is selective with clients."
"How does a kid like you even know that... Sigh."
"Oh, and a discount would be nice."
"Fine. What do you want?"
Judah glanced around.
No presences, but he couldn't rule out eavesdroppers.
Honestly, he didn't want to discuss it here.
"Is it safe to talk here?"
"Write it down and give it to me."
He pulled a palm-sized notepad and ballpoint pen from his pocket and tossed them to Judah.
Judah caught the arcing throw with both hands, muttering that he carried this around too, and clicked the pen.
Click.
The tip emerged, but no ink came when he wrote on the notepad.
Feeling something off as he drew circles with no ink, Judah looked at him.
Roxin met his gaze with a "what?" look, then snapped his fingers as if remembering.
"Ah! Sorry. It's normal for the ink not to show. Just write. It's treated with a chemical to be invisible. You scribbled on the first page, so use the back."
He was surprisingly security-conscious.
Judah jotted down the desired info on the notepad.
[Seronic, Neyubae, Hissen family estate blueprints.]
[Location of the fairy they hold as a slave, all info on the estate's guard numbers, defenses, etc.]
He wasn't sure if the writing was legible by feel.
He figured Roxin would check it himself and handed it back.
Roxin closed his eyes and ran his fingertips over the notepad.
Reading by the pen's pressure marks, his fingers traced along.
"Ha!"
Then, incredulously, he stared at Judah.
"Is what I'm thinking right?"
"I don't know what you're thinking, but if you read what's there correctly, then yes."
"You know this is insane, right?"
Roxin glanced around, confirmed no one, and leaned close to whisper softly.
"You're thinking of messing with Uruun's great nobles? You're completely mad. And you want to snatch the elf they hold as a slave?"
"Since when does the Shadow Kingdom give clients advice? Though if you're actually worried, thanks—but I have to do this. Just tell me if you can get the estate blueprints or not. No, you can, right?"
"Getting the blueprints is easy. Guard numbers, types of magic installed, ways to bypass them—I can tell you all that. For that price, sure. A thousand gold coins works."
The cost was lower than expected.
But he wasn't done.
"The issue is, no matter your skill, infiltrating their estate might mean you don't come out alive. If caught, I can't guarantee your life."
"Doesn't matter. As long as you don't tip them off that I'm coming."
"No worries there."
Judah nodded lightly.
"I'll trust you. You're the Shadow Kingdom, after all. When do I pay? I can do it now if you want."
"...Damn, bragging because you won big?"
"Something like that."
Roxin glared irritably, then tilted his head as if struck by a thought.
He pondered, then grinned knowingly and grabbed Judah's hand.
Not a handshake, but a soft grasp that made Judah uncomfortable; he shook it off.
A shiver ran through him, frowning naturally.
"What?"
"Hey, I won't take the thousand gold."
"...Then what?"
"Instead, hang out here with me today. Team up and play a bit."
"I don't know how to gamble."
Roxin clicked his tongue and wagged his finger.
"You have no idea. Your luck plus my knowledge? Perfect victory. Split 6-4, you get 6, I get 4. How's that? Info tomorrow if you want."
Gambling again?
Judah wasn't thrilled, but earning some cash now might help later.
No money was trouble, but too much rarely was.
Seeing Judah hesitate, Roxin grew anxious about rejection and prodded carefully.
"You won't lose, I swear. Scared of losing money? Don't worry—I'll use my funds. I'll bring a thousand gold. Wait here."
Was gambling that great?
Unable to refuse his offer to use his own money, Judah nodded reluctantly.
Roxin dashed off to his residence and returned with a thousand gold coins.
Exchanging them for chips, he arrived with porters in tow.
Judah shook his head and joined the game.
Roxin's prediction was spot on.
Their combined luck and game knowledge netted them a fortune, making them the casino's stars that day.