Chapter 219 Melting Night -2
Chapter 219 Melting Night -2
Jiha did not take the offered hand and stared at the other man in silence.
His age was hard to guess; he looked somewhere between his late twenties and mid-thirties.
But since celestials were a long-lived race, his real age was likely older than he appeared.
He was handsome, with an air of dignity, and had the sort of face that immediately brought a blond prince to mind.
"He's the type who'd show up in a romance comic, lose the girl to the black-haired male lead, and then pretend to be all gracefully mature about it."
"Pardon?"
"So why is someone like you dressed like a servant?"
Alex smiled as he answered.
"It is our celestial custom. The master greets guests from the lowest station."
"I'm a guest?"
"I have been waiting a long time."
"I'll listen, so bark."
"......."
At Jiha's provocative reply, Alex's face flickered with discomfort.
"If I have said anything discourteous, I apologize."
"Shove your apology up your ass. Spit out what you really mean."
"You are a rough one."
Alex sighed.
"But I understand. It is hard for a man in this world. Tiptoeing around women every day is never pleasant. Everyone carries plenty of resentment."
'Look at him.'
Subtly trying to sow a sense of camaraderie, was he?
Even knowing it was a ploy, it still landed.
After all, Jiha himself had started this precisely because he disliked this world and meant to overturn it.
Under Jiha's gaze, Alex dipped his head slightly.
"Why not take our time and talk more deeply? Everyone is waiting inside."
"Fine. Let's."
Jiha dropped the mockery and regarded Alex coolly.
See one thing and know ten.
Judging by how he had just absorbed the provocation and turned it back around, the man was no pushover.
Alex turned and said,
"No further guests will be arriving, so I shall escort you inside."
"......."
Watching Alex's retreating back, Jiha lightly clenched his fist and then relaxed it.
Hearing footsteps and sensing Pairan's presence, Jiha spoke without looking back.
"Stay sharp. Don't get in the way. If things go wrong, just grab Mayan and run. I'll handle myself."
Pairan, who had just been insulted, wore a deeply displeased expression.
The fact that she was not arguing back now was already a considerable exercise of restraint on her part.
From Jiha's perspective, he'd done it thinking, 'What's she going to do even if I don't hold back?'
"To me...."
"If I die here, that's good news for you."
Jiha cut her off and beckoned Mayan with a flick of his hand. Mayan, who had been staring entranced at the fountain, saw the gesture and hurried over at once.
The way she brightened like a puppy at its owner's signal made Jiha laugh reflexively.
"Shall we?"
Jiha followed Alex into the mansion.
After being searched to confirm they carried no weapons, they were allowed into the banquet hall.
Music filled the spacious hall as guests stood here and there, drinking and chatting.
'Thirty-two people in total. A modest affair.'
A quick scan showed that half were men, the rest were partners the men had brought.
A discreet gathering of men — nothing strange on the surface, but given that this was Warsland, the atmosphere felt off.
Alex, who had been guiding them, turned and said,
"Please enjoy the food and drink at your leisure. I shall speak with you again a little later."
"Sure."
'He's not someone who gets rattled by words alone. I'll need more time to break him down.'
As Jiha quietly surveyed the room, a familiar face approached with a wine glass.
It was Heinrich, Barjet's close aide.
"You've arrived, Lord Jiha. And you have brought a charming lady and a lovely maiden with you."
Heinrich complimented the looks of Mayan and Pairan standing behind Jiha. He probably figured you can't spit on a smiling face, but...
"I walk in and the first thing I see is this moron. Don't they manage the water here?"
"Ha ha, you are so very cold."
"Forget that. Where's Barjet?"
"Ah, she did not come. She dislikes gatherings like these, so I came alone."
"......."
Instead of replying, Jiha stared hard at Heinrich.
The man claimed his goal was to possess Barjet, but that could not be all.
'He's the type who hides his real intentions even after getting beaten. There's something more here...'
Jiha got straight to the point.
"Is Alex the boss?"
"I don't know the details either."
So he was no longer hiding that they were members of the same organization.
Wearing a mocking smile, Jiha assessed the layout of the hall and the security posture.
There was no way Alex would have let Jiha walk into his belly without any precautions at all.
Next to Alex, who was engaged in conversation, stood a leopard beastman, and at a distance an eagle beastman moved with quiet purpose.
It looked defenseless at a glance, but there was no real opening.
'Both of them are capable fighters.'
As Jiha gauged them, Heinrich spoke quietly.
"The people here, however, know even less."
"......."
"Only Alex and I would be aware."
Meaning that only Alex and Heinrich belonged to the organization, while the rest had gathered here with no idea of the truth.
Jiha smiled coldly.
"Why are you giving me this information?"
"Because it looks like we'll be eating from the same pot from now on. I'd appreciate it if you would look on me kindly."
"Yeah. Get lost."
"Then I shall see you later."
As Heinrich walked away, Jiha instructed Pairan and Mayan.
"Move separately and gather information. I'll say it again: don't put anything in your mouths. And don't think you can just flush it out with Mana."
After giving the order, Jiha covered his face with his palm and then lowered it.
Smiling, sociable talk — he could do as much of that as necessary if it served his purpose.
For a secretary who had served high-ranking figures, the art of maneuvering in high society was second nature.
As Jiha circulated, the men struck up conversations with him of their own accord, feigning familiarity.
Jiha, who had brought Waris under his thumb in the name of the investigation committee, was an object of curiosity to them.
"Ha ha, I had no idea the committee chairman would be so easy to talk to."
"Indeed, indeed. If I had known, I would have met you much sooner."
Glass in hand, Jiha chatted with the men attending the party.
Every one of them was a notable figure whose name was known throughout Warsland.
Not for their combat ability, however — they were prominent in various other fields.
"I'm surprised myself. I live a rough life, so I assumed I wouldn't fit at a gathering like this... but accepting Alex's invitation was truly a fine choice. Above all, I never dreamed I would meet so many kindred spirits."
Jiha served up insincere pleasantries while observing their reactions.
"Oh-ho, of course, Lord Alex... He is a remarkable man, isn't he?"
"Absolutely. Didn't he settle things smoothly when my construction project was stalled before?"
The architect Teroma nodded vigorously. The dwarf Tonikang, who had been part of the conversation, stroked his beard and spoke.
"That was a real mess back then. Getting tangled up in pointless trouble while trying to do business... People who don't even know how to keep accounts keep stirring up nonsense."
"What happened?"
Jiha asked while keeping his true thoughts hidden.
Tonikang spoke quickly, as if the memory alone angered him.
"Ah, back then I bought some land and entrusted this man here to put up a building for me, but some vampires or whatever suddenly showed up claiming the land was theirs. I'd bought it fair and square with money, but they claimed they'd been living there for a thousand years. They intimidated the workers at the site, even killed some... There was nothing I could do."
"Tsk tsk, that so-called Unique was utterly ignorant..."
"Did Alex step in and resolve it?"
At Jiha's question, the two men nodded with satisfaction.
'So he's been wielding influence through politics.'
The men gathered here were mostly Normal Grade, but they held social power.
Because they had money or the sort of ability that had established them in their respective fields.
'They say the world comes down to money, power, and military strength, but once you break it down it gets rather complicated...'
Over there, the man Mayan was speaking with was a patissier famous within Blue Seal.
'He's recruiting influential men from all walks of life. But even if he gathers them, they're ultimately non-combatants — they won't provide immediate military strength.'
Jiha stared intently at Alex's profile as the man stood surrounded, conversing with people.
He must have assembled these prominent figures here to make a display for Jiha.
It was a temptation: 'My organization has this much power; we wield influence across every sector — aren't you tempted?'
"Anyway, shall we put this sort of talk aside and enjoy ourselves a bit more?"
"Shall we secure a room in the annex and make preparations?"
The men around Jiha exchanged meaningful glances as they spoke.
As Jiha watched them quietly, Tonikang asked in a suggestive tone.
"You must have heard from Lord Alex?"
"He said you gentlemen would explain it to me."
"Ha ha... I didn't mean to show off."
Teroma laughed and lowered his voice.
"There's good stuff here."
"Drugs?"
"When you take it and do it with a woman, it's incredible... Everyone gets hooked after a single taste."
Tonikang licked his lips, and Jiha put on a deliberately alarmed expression.
"Isn't it dangerous?"
"Dangerous? Try it and you'll understand."
Jiha thought for a moment, then tossed out a question for final confirmation.
"This is a bit awkward to ask, but... how do you gentlemen meet women?"
"......."
The mood among the men sank for a moment.
Then Tonikang burst into a hearty laugh.
"Well, what do we lack? Do we lack money? Stamina?"
"But there must be plenty of women who act superior and reject you, no?"
"......."
The men gathered here were each socially successful; in Earth terms, they were celebrities in their respective fields.
All of them had achieved lives that others could not envy, so by rights they should not be desperate for women.
But Warsland was a world governed by the law of the jungle, by the logic of strength, and nearly all of these men lacked martial power.
They had money, fame, and political pull, but without actual strength... they probably had not been able to obtain every woman they desired.
In fact, the women they had brought as partners were dressed up, but they fell far short of peerless beauties like Enril.
As if they all held bitter memories, their faces stiffened and they could not answer right away.
Having confirmed his suspicion, Jiha spoke slowly.
"I apologize if that was tactless. There's a woman I'd like to get closer to myself, but things aren't going well. Maybe because I'm just a Common human... she won't even give me the time of day. I wanted to bring her here, but when I mustered the courage to ask, she laughed and tore up the invitation right in front of me."
"What a goddamn cunt..."
"Ah... boss."
"I know that feeling. I know it!"
The men sighed and shook their heads at Jiha's smoothly spun lie.
It seemed they all carried that same pain.
"Let's forget about it. Tonight we'll drink ourselves silly, play with women, and forget. There are plenty of women in the world — what does it matter? I'll give you a proper welcome tonight."
Tonikang pulled at Jiha's arm, but then Pairan approached.
When Pairan drew near, the men who had been talking with Jiha fell silent in surprise.
Even those who prided themselves on being experienced with women were struck speechless by her hair, black-blue like a nighttime sea, and her refined beauty.
"I need to talk."
"Excuse me for a moment."
Jiha said it with a smile, and the men nodded blankly.
Tonikang, his face still showing surprise, even clenched his fist in a silent cheer for Jiha.
It was a man's encouragement: forget the old crush and make it work with the woman beside you.
'These guys really don't know anything.'
He had probed them from various angles, but just as Heinrich had said, the gathered men genuinely seemed to be in the dark.
They all felt favorably toward Alex for the various kinds of help they had received and would follow him if it came to that, but they possessed no real information.
'But I think I understand why he gathered them.'
The men assembled here inwardly harbored dissatisfaction with the current society.
They were silently grinding their teeth over the fact that, despite their money and success, they were still looked down on.
They had to live with their heads bowed, suppressed by the Uniques and Legends who possessed nothing but fighting ability.
And they could not have the women they wanted — their pride was wounded by being treated as beneath notice.
'If you want to overturn a world ruled by women, gathering men who resent women is the quickest way.'
Jiha had chosen the path of expanding his power through Bloodsucking Mana, whereas this was another approach entirely.
As Pairan moved to a corner of the party where others could not hear, Jiha followed her and asked,
"What is it?"
"It's nearby."
"What is?"
"Shade."
Pairan's expression was grave, and Jiha sighed.
"So that was their scheme."
"If you don't believe me..."
"No, I'm reacting this way exactly because I do believe you."
Jiha shook his head and turned around.
Alex was watching him, wine glass in hand.
He was smiling.
"So it was a trap."
Crash!!
The windows shattered, and dark blue shadows leaped into the banquet hall.
It was an ambush.