Chapter 75
Chapter 75
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: A Flawless Investment (5)
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“How did you know that what I asked Preton for was supplies?”
“Simple.”
Chimihi and Preton. Regin was the one relaying information between the two.
If there had been no information at all about DAT, it might have been different, but thanks to ample prior experience, guessing the content wasn’t hard.
“For starters, it didn’t seem like you two were just keeping in touch for friendly chit-chat. Given Preton’s personality, I figured there had to be some kind of deal involved.”
“……”
“Then I thought about your common ground. I’m not sure if I should say this, but……”
One was the kingdom’s top five swordsman. The other was the head of a family known as the kingdom’s shadow.
There was exactly one thing they had in common.
“Compared to the power you wield, you both have few friends.”
“……!!”
“I mean it literally—you both lack people around you that you can rely on.”
“Right. I get it. And it’s a fitting analogy too. Preton and I don’t have anyone we could call allies. Did you hear that from Nuada?”
“When I’m in the kingdom, I read the newspaper every day. It doesn’t say it outright, but you two are always the ones left out.”
“……”
“It’s odd that one of the kingdom’s top five swordsmen is stuck managing the 5th Floor. And there has to be a reason why someone with Preton’s level of power isn’t mentioned.”
Chimihi let out a hollow chuckle and nodded.
“You’ve got a good eye. Let’s say you grasped that much with your insight. But that alone shouldn’t tell you exactly what I asked Preton for, right?”
“I’m the one who delivered the gold coins, after all.”
“……I told you to say the front side of the gold coin.”
“The back had a number written on it, but the front you mentioned had a single sword drawn on it.”
“That’s right.”
“So…… it didn’t seem like you rejected Preton’s proposal. I thought you probably asked for something you needed.”
“Something related to swords. So, supplies necessary for battle?”
“If that’s the case…… it makes sense why Preton is suddenly tightening the noose around the Peresian family.”
To sum it up simply, the two were exchanging messages to plot some kind of scheme.
Preton had made the first proposal, but Chimihi hadn’t outright refused.
Through the gold coin and the code phrase, he had conveyed that supplies were needed to proceed.
“……Damn it.”
Chimihi shook his head with a defeated laugh.
“You wouldn’t happen to know how to use something like Link Eye, would you?”
“You mean the mind-reading eye? No way. If I did, it would’ve been obvious.”
“That makes it even scarier. To deduce almost everything correctly just from the circumstances……”
“Well, I still don’t know exactly what you two are plotting.”
It was the honest truth.
No matter how much he racked his brain, he couldn’t tell if it was war or something else.
‘Given Chimihi’s personality, he wouldn’t betray the kingdom. So it can’t be a rebellion.’
In that case, continuing to climb the Tower would be what Chimihi wanted most.
But that would be good for Chimihi and unrelated to Preton, so the odds were low.
‘Something that benefits both and that both want. I can’t pinpoint it yet.’
There had been futures where the two allied, but they varied slightly each time, so it was too early for certainty.
“……Regin.”
“Yes.”
“I can’t tell you everything, but go on with your story for now. Why do I need to acquire the Peresians?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
Chimihi had immense martial prowess, but he was alone—that was the problem.
Preton, on the other hand, had the manpower to run mines and territories.
“Friends are better when there are more of them.”
At Regin’s roundabout words, Chimihi nodded.
“But as someone who has to manage the 5th Floor, how am I supposed to manage a whole family too?”
“You don’t need to manage it yourself, do you?”
Seeing this, Regin thought the nickname “old fox” suited Chimihi perfectly.
He had already calculated everything but was pretending not to know.
“The person who will obtain the Saint’s Sword. You can just hand the family over to the successor you’ve been waiting for.”
He had admitted to searching for a spiritual heir, so what excuse was this now?
* * *
After Regin finished the conversation and left, Chimihi sank into thought for a moment.
‘Complicated.’
It had been a long time since his head hurt like this.
He pressed his temples with his fingers and glared at the letters in the drawer.
Inside were not only the letter from Preton but also old letters from others.
‘Letters from the heads of other families and the kingdom’s officials.’
He hadn’t opened them in ages, but he clearly remembered what was written inside.
—Chimihi. You are a threat to the kingdom and the emperor.
That was how the preamble started, as he recalled.
It was no easy feat to drain someone’s energy from the very first sentence, but the relatively young Chimihi back then had burst into laughter upon reading it.
That was when vague suspicions turned into certainty.
‘The kingdom is more factionally divided than I thought. And I don’t belong to any of them.’
He had swung his sword simply because he loved it. Naturally, he climbed the Tower full of monsters.
He enjoyed his swordsmanship, devoted to it his whole life, growing ever stronger, and his own power solidifying.
But to others living off the kingdom’s payroll, that was a threat.
‘I thought it was ridiculous. Jealous of someone else’s achievements.’
At first, it disgusted him to no end, but as time passed, he realized.
Not everyone was as strong as Chimihi.
And among those who weren’t, many had ambitions exceeding their skills.
Also, Chimihi, who had reached the 15th Floor all by himself…… could only be seen as a monster.
‘Too late a realization. I had already been demoted to 5th Floor manager due to their envy and jealousy.’
No longer able to freely climb the Tower was despairing.
It was Preton who had come to tempt such a Chimihi.
He would provide external power to help him escape the 5th Floor, in exchange for wielding his swordsmanship for him.
—All Chimihi needs to do is acquire the Peresian family.
The moment he nearly fell for it, Regin’s words tickled Chimihi’s ears once more.
Honestly…… it was more than anything he had ever wanted.
A mere kingdom knight acquiring a family might be problematic.
……But that could be done through a proxy.
‘I’ve lived too bluntly all this time.’
Chimihi organized his thoughts and closed the drawer.
Some might call it honesty, uprightness.
But Chimihi, having lived that way his whole life, now knew all too well that he couldn’t survive on honesty alone.
‘In the end…… I have to swing my sword with cunning, not just strength.’
That one small remark from Regin had shown him another option he hadn’t seen.
With a smirk, he called out to the guard outside.
“I heard the Peresian daughter is here. Tell her to come in.”
Meriang, who should have died by Preton’s hand originally, entered.
Chimihi had only one proposal for her.
‘I can’t acquire the family through schemes and threats like Preton.’
He had to choose a different path from Preton, who sought to gradually seize the Peresians through plots.
It would be under the pretext of protecting the family, extending a hand to her.
‘It has to be a flawless investment.’
Chimihi noticed that Regin was betting in his favor.
The words seemed for Chimihi’s benefit, but was there no desire to check Preton at all?
‘Smart guy. There’s definitely more calculation behind it.’
Chimihi didn’t forget that side of Regin.
‘I should learn the good stuff.’
And put it to proper use sometime.
“Meriang. Is the Peresian family head doing well?”
His stern voice echoed through the tent.
* * *
“Did Meriang go to meet Lord Chimihi?”
“Yes.”
After finishing the talk, Regin returned to the tent and unpacked.
He had tried to play it as casual as possible, but truthfully, Regin had been a bit tense too.
If he had mispredicted or misunderstood anything, the initiative in the conversation would have slipped away entirely.
Analyzing every detail meticulously had drained quite a bit of mental energy.
“Isn’t it too hard? You should eat something.”
“I’m fine. I need to lie down and rest for a bit first.”
Like all the beds provided in 5th Floor tents, its characteristic hardness pressed into his back.
Right now, having any bed at all felt like a luxury.
“Oh, Celia’s washing up. In the bathhouse at the far end there.”
“Doesn’t Greg need to wash up too?”
“……Do I smell?”
“A little.”
Wearing armor all day—sweat odor was inevitable if it didn’t build up.
Regin chuckled and continued.
“You can go wash up. We’re planning to rest fully today and head up tomorrow.”
“Right. It’s been a while since I stayed on the 5th Floor.”
“You said you spent a lot of time here back in the day?”
“When I explored solo, there was no better rest spot. I’d skip going to the 6th Floor and practice my axe work here instead.”
“Did you ever learn from anyone specifically? I mean, how to fight.”
Come to think of it, it was a bit surprising.
Dwarves had decent innate physical abilities, sure.
But Greg’s combat sense went beyond what that could explain.
‘Not even using a shield, standing on the front line with an axe, yet he rarely takes fatal hits.’
He had seemed exceptional from the first sight, and watching him confirmed it.
He had some real combat talent.
‘It’s a shame I haven’t seen him fight on the higher floors.’
Seeing him in high-floor battles would make it clearer.
Excluding Skelji and Kaluan, he hadn’t fought a wide variety of strong foes yet.
“There is someone I consider a master.”
“Who’s that?”
“Back when I was wandering the 5th Floor, I ran into him by chance and was captivated by his fighting. I followed him around and learned a bit. Do you know the gladiator Devont?”
‘……Of course I do.’
At the name he hadn’t heard in ages, Regin’s lips curled up unwittingly.
‘Calbang Devont!’
A figure like the role model for all gladiators.
Famous even among players for giving plenty of guidance.
He sometimes appeared in the final phase, but the issue was how hard it was to encounter him before then.
‘……This guy’s a “back path” user.’
He recalled how Alice had suspected Greg of being a back path user when they met her.
Most explorers dismissed it as superstition, but those in the know disagreed.
There were side paths in the Tower besides the teleport stones.
‘Back path users know how to access them. They move while evading the kingdom’s eyes.’
In a way, they were like black mages.
Doing exactly what they were told not to.
As a result, players rarely met him early on.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“No reason. Just……”
He was just looking because he seemed worth raising.
‘Who would’ve thought Greg was someone Devont had taught.’
There was a legend that Devont only appeared before those showing the buds of talent.
Regin hadn’t properly raised any gladiators himself, so he couldn’t be sure.
But since most users said they met him after building up early achievements, he figured it wasn’t just rumor.
‘Good start. Meeting Celia, and Greg turning out more talented than expected.’
Lying on the bed, Regin quickly sorted the current situation.
‘On top of that, I’ve induced a balance between Chimihi and Preton. Honestly, that’s the biggest part.’
He knew that mishandling it could let Preton’s influence grow uncontrollably, sweeping the player along.
Empowering Chimihi was for that reason.
“By the way, are we passing on the Saint’s Sword this time? You didn’t mention it when explaining the plan, so I was wondering.”
“Who knows.”
At Greg’s question, Regin tossed out a casual reply.
“If the chance comes, I plan to get it. That hasn’t changed…… but the timing’s a bit off, and it’s not a priority.”
The situation had changed since the last visit.
The fact that the Saint’s Sword’s new owner hadn’t appeared yet……
‘Means the Saint’s Sword isn’t on the 6th Floor right now.’
It was one of those special rounds with tricky acquisition conditions.
For Regin, who had repeated hundreds of runs, it was a familiar phenomenon.
Recalling past plays, Regin continued.
“If my guess is right, trying to grab it recklessly now…… you won’t even collect the bones.”