Chapter 105
Chapter 105
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: A New Order
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“...So, the stories about an interesting brat in Sachsen weren't entirely baseless.”
In the tense atmosphere, the Drowned Duke spoke.
“Brat, I accept your offer.”
“......!”
“No, I have no choice but to accept.”
An immediate reply without a hint of hesitation. Even Dale seemed to gasp in surprise at those words.
“However, you are gravely mistaken if you think I will become your puppet and dance to your tune.”
“I am more than willing to understand that point.”
Dale smiled slyly and nodded.
There was no other choice. A cornered rat will not hesitate to bite the cat. Faced with a threat that held his heart hostage, he would have gladly thrown away his life in exchange for merciless, bloody revenge.
But that wasn't the case when the cornered rat was given an escape route.
Even someone like the Drowned Duke couldn't simply throw his life away. That was precisely what Dale had aimed for, and the Drowned Duke had grasped his intention.
“Then it's settled.”
The City Master spoke.
“Lord Dale of Sachsen has bid for the 'Drowned Duke's Heart' using the privilege granted to the winner of the Fight Club.”
Behind him, the six guild masters struggled to accept the bewildering situation.
“The item is sold for eight hundred thirty-nine black chips.”
Ray Yuriseu, Mikhail Lancaster.
Among those who would one day stand tall as the 'strongest of the next generation' after the 'strongest of the present generation' had fallen, the first to claim victory was Dale of Sachsen.
***
The emblem of House Barbarossa—a skull with two crossed thigh bones. The sails of the fleet, emblazoned with that very pirate flag, fluttered in the night wind.
The invincible fleet of the Drowned Duke Barbarossa, which had surrounded the city of Cambio, was turning its prows and retreating beyond the pitch-black horizon.
With the 'immense spoils' they had plundered from the city of Cambio, the financial heart of the so-called Golden Empire, the Guild City.
To preserve his dignity as a pirate, he had left a blow that wouldn't drive the entire city to ruin, but it carved a scar that would not be easily erased.
He had attacked the 'Guild Bank' in the city of Cambio and emptied every single one of its vaults.
The city was burning. It was the Drowned Duke's own message that he would never simply yield, and Dale understood it as well.
The city districts facing the sea had been reduced to ashes by looting and arson.
It was undeniable proof that the Drowned Duke, Francis Barbarossa, had been there.
***
A short time later, the seven great guild masters of the Guild City gathered in one place.
The venue for the vote to decide the next City Master.
The 'next City Master' was decided by a unanimous vote from the six other great guild masters.
It was the man wearing the mask of the “Laughing Man.”
***
“What are you plotting?”
The city of Cambio. The official residence of the mayor of Arte del Cambio.
He was there, wearing the mask of the “Laughing Man,” its mouth split into a bizarre crescent moon.
“I'm not plotting anything in particular.”
The City Master answered Dale's question with a sly tone.
“I simply know.”
“Know what?”
“That you, Lord Dale, threatened the guild master of Kalimala and took control of the Shadow Court... and the future of this city, which will be played like a puppet by the strong.”
It wasn't strange that the City Master knew he had contacted the guild master of Kalimala. But the fact that the Shadow Court, the judicial enforcers of the Guild City, had sworn allegiance to Dale was another matter entirely.
The greatest assassin organization on the continent.
They had become Sachsen's limbs, and it was not a fact Dale would be pleased to have known.
“Did you plant a spy within the Shadow Court?”
“Of course not.”
The City Master replied.
“I simply knew that the 'Shadow Church' and the darkness of Sachsen have a long-standing bond.”
“...After the deal is done, the Drowned Duke will not let you live.”
“Ah, I am aware of that as well.”
The City Master laughed as if it were someone else's problem.
“I truly know a great many things.”
There it was again.
“That the Drowned Duke's heart would fall into Sachsen's hands, that the Empire, the Red Magic Tower, and the representative of Lancaster would witness it... and what will happen afterward.”
As he spoke, the City Master pulled something from a drawer in the table. It was the Guild City's ledger.
“Your desire for this ledger, Lord Dale, is also to understand the events unfolding across the continent.”
“......”
“How many swords were sold and to where, where they are scheduled to be sold, and who has taken on debt to buy them. To grasp the future events of the continent and act accordingly based on that information.”
Dale remained silent.
“Have you ever considered this?”
“What do you mean?”
“For example, just as we predict the continent's state of affairs and 'future events' by looking at the Guild City's ledger...”
The City Master continued.
“Suppose there is a ledger that records all information in this world, and based on that, there exists a 'demon who can accurately predict the movements of this world'.”
An omniscient demon.
“It wouldn't be impossible to foresee all future events.”
“Laplace's demon...”
A being that knows the precise position and momentum of every single molecule in the universe.
“Just what are you?”
“Ah, I am but a humble merchant.”
From behind the mask of the “Laughing Man,” the City Master smiled slyly.
“Merely a merchant who happens to know far too much more than others.”
“Don't tell me.”
“But knowing does not mean one can change anything.”
The City Master continued nonchalantly.
“For instance, my own impending death is no exception.”
Because after the Drowned Duke's heart was traded, there was no way he would let the City Master live.
“If the current City Master dies, the Guild City is obligated to appoint the guild master with the next highest number of votes as the successor.”
The City Master said, pulling a stiletto with a gleaming, sharp edge from the table drawer.
“Six guild masters voted for me, and I cast my one vote for the 'guild master of Kalimala'.”
“......!”
At the same time, the City Master brought the stiletto down on his wrist.
For a moment, Dale held his breath.
“This world is already decided, and no one can change it.”
Blood began to gush from the severed artery.
“We are nothing more than puppets of fate.”
From behind the mask of the “Laughing Man,” the City Master spoke.
“Just as you, Lord Dale, were once nothing more than a 'puppet of the Empire'.”
“......!”
Dale's expression filled with shock. The City Master paid him no mind and continued.
“And there is nothing in this world as dull as a story whose ending you already know.”
“What is that ending?”
“That's a trade secret.”
The “Laughing Man” laughed slyly.
──Those were his last words.
Life drained from him, and the City Master's body slumped onto the table. Watching this, Dale couldn't say a word until the very end.
***
By gaining control of the Shadow Court, the guild master of Kalimala became the City Master. All because the “Laughing Man” chose to take his own life in front of Dale.
The City Master was dead, but the arrangements he had made beforehand proved Dale's innocence in the 'Shadow Court'.
“As I said.”
And before the new head of the Guild City, Dale spoke.
“I have fulfilled my promise.”
The promise to place him in the City Master's seat.
“Now it is your turn, Guild Master of Kalimala, no, City Master, to fulfill your promise.”
A mutual deal. If he was made City Master, he would share the heart of the Guild City... the City Master's ledger.
The 'Black Prince' had fulfilled his promise. In a way the guild master of Kalimala could never have imagined.
No, he didn't even want to imagine it.
“...I understand.”
Therefore, from his position as City Master, there were not many decisions he could make.
***
The Shadow Court's hideout, belonging to no city within the Guild City's territory.
“Heh, fuck.”
There, Master Baro chugged a beer and cursed.
“There's nothing as delicious as a beer after finishing up some shitty business.”
The storm that had thrown the Guild City into chaos had passed, and a new order had finally settled over the city.
Officially, the head of the Guild City was the master of the Kalimala Guild, but the true ruler standing at the city's apex was someone else.
“O Apostle of Black, who will gather the last flame of this world and extinguish the final light.”
Before him, the Shadow Saint, her vision obscured by black bandages, spoke.
Kneeling before the 'Black Prince' of House Sachsen, with the allegiance of the continent's greatest assassin organization, the 'Shadow Court'.
“Please, tear down the Empire of Fire and Light, and lead us to an Empire of Shadows.”
As she said, a 'Shadow Lord' in the truest sense of the name was there.
***
A bitter sense of defeat tightened its grip on Ray Yuriseu's heart.
The promise with his father to break his silence and reveal himself to the world. And when he finally did, the one who defeated him was the 'Black Prince' of Sachsen.
As the heir to the will of a great clan, it was an unacceptable humiliation. Furthermore, the incident at the Black Market was no exception.
Before the overwhelming power displayed by the 'Drowned Duke', Ray Yuriseu finally realized what a frog in a well he had been.
And now, he was out in the world beyond the well.
***
A broken sword lay before Mikhail Lancaster.
The Blood Flower Sword. A bladed whip of crimson.
He recalled the sword the 'Black Prince' had shown at the Fight Club that day.
It was too overwhelming. The pressure felt like facing someone stronger than the Seven Swords of the Continent. Although he hadn't used the full power of his 'avatar', his opponent was likely the same. A mage with that level of talent couldn't possibly be unable to activate a 'World of Ideas'.
That's why he could sense it.
With a sword like this, he could never reach the 'Black Prince'. With his current methods, he could never surpass that monster.
Mikhail, who was once called 'a talent in the sword unmatched by anyone in the Empire'.
Had been defeated by a child twelve years his junior, and a mage at that, not a knight.
But that day's defeat did not break Mikhail's spirit. No, it ignited a fire in his heart, which had been filled with an inexplicable emptiness.
Dale of Sachsen. A worthy rival to be defeated, one he regarded with the utmost awe.
Having made his resolve, Mikhail Lancaster placed his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist. It was an ordinary knight's sword, with no distinguishing features.
***
A short time later, the 'Black Prince' of Sachsen safely left the Guild City and returned to the Duchy of Sachsen.
He returned bearing things so outrageous that the Duke of Sachsen could never have imagined them.