Chapter 354
Chapter 354
Chapter 354
Zeke remained silent for a moment when Shadia asked for a chance, then slowly spoke.
"What kind of chance are you asking for?"
Shadia replied in a calm voice.
"As I mentioned earlier, the Mountain Elder is the enemy of the Salmak members, including myself. If you give me a chance, I will select those among them who could become assets to the boss."
The assassins of Salmak were the finest assassins on the continent.
Having them join Zeke's faction would be a significant advantage.
'Drawing in Salmak's assassins first and then striking at the Mountain Elder would be more efficient.'
For Zeke, Salmak was one of the groups that needed to be dealt with anyway.
Fighting against the Abyss and Jiemens while having an untrustworthy enemy like the Mountain Elder behind him was burdensome.
It would be more advantageous to clear out Salmak and the Scorpion Clan holding out in the desert region before engaging in an all-out war against the alliance of Jiemens and the Abyss.
Zeke soon nodded at Shadia's words.
"Very well. I'll leave this to you, Shadia. Are all the Salmak members currently with us trustworthy?"
Shadia shook her head at that question.
"There are some who send separate information to the Mountain Elder's side. The Mountain Elder always arranges personnel this way to have different comrades monitor each other."
It was a clever way to make comrades distrust each other.
This way, Salmak's assassins couldn't unite their forces to attack him.
Zeke nodded.
"Gather selected personnel excluding the spies. After eliminating the spies, we'll take care of the Mountain Elder's people. Then the Mountain Elder will think I've dealt with you all and send assassins using this as an excuse."
"Exactly. When he sends assassins that way, I can persuade them again and extract the assassins, effectively bringing Salmak's personnel to our side."
After organizing the plan according to Shadia's words, Zeke thought of the space where Salmak was staying.
'That place is likely to be an ancient ruin as well. I wonder what's hidden beneath it.'
Having decided to eliminate Salmak, Zeke was unwavering.
Shadia, who had received the orders, had already disappeared from the carriage.
Left alone, Zeke looked out the window.
Through the window, he could see the cityscape of Atlas and the Four Seasons Castle in its center.
Zeke's gaze deepened as he looked at the Four Seasons Castle.
* * *
Upon arriving in Atlas, Zeke immediately entered the Four Seasons Castle.
Having been summoned by the head of the family, Arthur Draker, he went straight up to the family head's room without delay.
Zeke still felt tense whenever he saw Arthur Draker.
Unlike his previous life, though Arthur Draker showed favor towards him in this life, he was still someone whose true intentions were unfathomable, making it impossible not to be wary.
Moreover, this time there was something weighing on his mind that made him even more nervous.
'Could he be questioning me about Bacchus?'
Zeke had let Bacchus go, disobeying Arthur Draker's orders that were delivered through Souma.
He had decided to help Bacchus and his mother Carmilla.
Although he had sent false evidence of Bacchus's severed arm to the Black corps, Arthur Draker was no ordinary person.
He might have seen through Zeke's scheme.
Zeke carefully opened the door to the family head's room and entered.
However, upon entering the family head's room, an entirely unexpected scene awaited him.
BANG!
At first, thinking the explosion meant an attack, he quickly tried to draw his sword, but it wasn't meant to attack him.
'...What is this?'
Looking around in confusion, he saw large messages posted on the walls of the family head's room saying things like 'Congratulations Knight of Salvation!' and 'Welcome back Continental Celebrity Zeke!'
Even more surprisingly, Arthur Draker, who had set off the celebratory fireworks, along with Baron Draker and Howard Draker beside him, were all wearing party hats.
For the first time since his regression, Zeke felt like his resolve might crumble at this unbelievable sight.
Arthur Draker pushed the awkwardly standing Howard's back and said.
"What are you doing, Howard?! Go give our Knight of Salvation congratulatory greetings."
Howard approached Zeke with a forced smile, holding a three-tiered cake with congratulatory messages.
The cake was topped with a decoration resembling Zeke holding Bahamut, with candles burning brightly.
Howard lifted the cake toward Zeke's face, suggesting he blow out the candles.
Seeing Howard, a member of the Cross Council responsible for Draker family's justice, act this way made Zeke think Arthur must have a firm grip on some weakness of his.
'...I should blow these out first.'
Zeke blew out the candles on the cake.
Arthur applauded with a smile from behind, while Baron beside him clapped enthusiastically with an unchanged expression.
If Duke, Zeke's mentor, had been beside Arthur, this situation might have seemed normal, but seeing Baron Draker, the head of the Black Corps, acting this way was almost frightening.
Arthur grinned at Zeke who was showing obvious wariness.
"Why are you making that face like you've seen something awful? You should be more than moved that a father prepared a celebration party for his proud son."
"I am moved, Family Head."
Arthur clicked his tongue and shook his head at Zeke's immediate response.
"Alright, alright. I knew you'd react this way anyway. Come, sit here."
The four sat on the sofa in the family head's office.
Howard brought knives, plates, and forks, skillfully cutting and distributing the cake.
Baron diligently brewed tea beside them.
Zeke couldn't hide his discomfort at this unfamiliar scene.
'Baron is the Family Head's loyal servant so that's understandable, but what weakness did Howard get caught with...?'
Though Howard Draker was wrapped in the title of war hero, he was actually a cunning opportunist.
In his previous life, Howard had been one of the main contributors to handing over the Draker family to the Empire.
Although the current timeline had changed due to Zeke's regression, Howard's submissive attitude was quite surprising.
Zeke felt anew the fearsome nature of Arthur Draker and reconsidered his death. He thought perhaps the family's transfer to the Empire in his previous life might have been part of Arthur Draker's grand plan.
There was a need to consider the possibility that his death by illness itself might have been fake.
Whether aware of Zeke's thoughts or not, Arthur spoke to him while eating cake.
"You've achieved great merit again this time."
Zeke bowed his head to Arthur humbly.
"I was lucky."
Arthur laughed at those words.
"Hahaha! How can luck alone save the Holy Kingdom and utterly defeat the Imperial army led by the Emperor himself? Too much modesty isn't always a virtue, boy."
Zeke found it quite strange seeing Arthur in such a good mood for the first time.
Then, Baron served the brewed tea to everyone.
Arthur nodded while savoring the tea's aroma.
"Indeed, the tea you serve is always the best, Baron."
Baron bowed to Arthur with his characteristically unchanging expression.
"You flatter me, Family Head."
Arthur clicked his tongue and shook his head seeing Baron.
"You and Zeke are just the same."
Despite his words, Arthur's expression was very satisfied.
He turned his head toward Howard while drinking tea.
"Howard, what do you think about Zeke's achievements this time?"
Howard startled at Arthur Draker's call and raised his head.
"M-me, you ask? W-well..."
Unlike before, Howard was noticeably afraid of Arthur Draker.
Arthur stared at Howard steadily, waiting for his response.
Howard finally spoke while sweating.
S-Sir Zeke Draker's recent achievements are truly remarkable. I've never seen a knight accomplish so much at such a young age in such a short time."
Arthur Draker smiled slyly at those words.
"Oh, is that so? Then what reward would be appropriate for Zeke's tremendous achievements?"
Howard rolled his eyes around before finally speaking.
"I-I think it would be appropriate to elevate Sir Zeke Draker to Guardian Knight."
Zeke was quite surprised at Howard's words.
'To think Howard would bring up Guardian Knight first.'
Zeke had been a Senior Knight for less than a year.
Promoting him to Guardian Knight in this situation was quite burdensome.
Arthur stroked his well-trimmed beard with a grin at Howard's words.
"Guardian Knight, eh? Well, Abel's position is vacant now."
Howard noticeably flinched when Abel was mentioned.
Zeke understood why Howard was so tense around Arthur.
'Howard had connections with Jiemens and the Empire. With heir candidate Abel's disappearance, the Jiemens family's influence has greatly diminished. Add to that the Emperor's death making the Empire's political situation unstable, he can't help but be intimidated.
He had risen to the position of a member of the Cross Assembly by borrowing the power of Jiemens, but in the current situation, it would be difficult for him to receive proper support from him.
The position of a Cross Assembly member was not something that could be maintained solely by one’s own abilities.
Especially in the case of someone like Howard, who had compensated for his lack of skill with political maneuvering, external power was even more crucial.
Now that his connection to Jiemens had been severed, Howard absolutely needed the power of Arthur Draker to maintain his position as an assembly member.
‘Arthur Draker is taking advantage of Howard’s weakness to recruit members of the Cross Assembly to his side… Is this Draker’s method?’
In truth, this was a common occurrence within the Draker family.
Though the politics of the Holy Kingdom of Badoka were complicated, they were nothing compared to the politics of Draker.
Blackmail, persuasion, camaraderie, lobbying—Draker would even go as far as sending assassins without hesitation.
On the surface, they portrayed themselves as knights among knights, but in reality, Draker was the very breeding ground of the vilest power struggles.
Arthur Draker was at the pinnacle of the Draker family.
Right now, he was wearing a full smile while enjoying a sweet cake, but he was an unpredictable figure whose actions could never be anticipated.
Arthur listened to Howard’s words, nodded, and then asked Baron,
“What do you think, Baron? Howard speaks like this. Can we promote Zeke to Guardian Knight?”
Baron remained silent at Arthur’s question for a moment before slowly opening his mouth.
“I believe Sir Zeke’s merits are certainly deserving of such a position. However, the Elder Council and the Cross Assembly will not accept it so easily.”
Arthur had already once pushed through forcefully to promote Abel to Guardian Knight.
Using the excuse that Abel was a Black Knight, he had ignored the family’s formal procedures and granted him the rank of Guardian Knight.
Although Abel’s disappearance had left a vacant spot, the number of Guardian Knights was not strictly fixed, so his absence was not necessarily an issue.
Arthur nodded at Baron’s words.
“That is true as well. Hey, Howard, do you think you can take care of the Cross Assembly members?”
At Arthur’s sudden request, Howard’s face turned deathly pale.
If he refused here, he would undoubtedly lose his qualification as a Cross Assembly member.
With no choice left, Howard nodded.
“Ah, I… I understand, Lord.”
At his response, Arthur smiled in satisfaction.
“Good. Then Howard will take care of the Cross Assembly. As for the Elder Council…”
Arthur Draker trailed off, lost in thought.
Just then, Zeke spoke, looking at Arthur.
“Lord.”
Arthur’s face brightened as he responded.
“Oh? Do you have a good idea?”
Then, Zeke slowly opened his mouth.
“I do not wish to receive the rank of Guardian Knight.”