Chapter 15 — What a Cold-Hearted Elf
Chapter 15 — What a Cold-Hearted Elf
“…Who are you?”
Abel, who had been spacing out, sprang to his feet and raised his claws.
I pushed him gently back into his chair and looked at the unexpected visitor.
《Assassin Rosalia (Woodland Elf, 29). Due to the difference in Soul Rank, deeper secrets cannot be confirmed. Raise your Soul Rank at once!》
Because of the level gap, not much information could be obtained, but it did not matter.
The decisive information needed to judge the situation was already stored in the mind of a veteran player.
She looks exactly the same.
That elf’s class was Assassin, but in daily life she mainly worked as a bodyguard for important individuals rather than carrying out assassinations.
“Have you come for a reading club? Please sit on the opposite side.”
Even after I had Abel pull out a chair for her, the red-haired assassin continued to stand silently.
Like a single flower.
She did not even draw a dagger or throwing knife—the eternal companions of the rogue class. There was no hostility or killing intent in her presence.
“Do your legs not hurt?”
I pointed across the table again.
“……”
Rosalia merely shifted her gaze slightly before looking forward again.
“If you came all this way, either hurry up and assassinate me, or tempt me with forbidden power while laughing ominously. Do something already instead of just standing there.”
I tried repeatedly to start a conversation, but Rosalia did not respond.
What a cold-hearted elf.
“If this is a new assassination method where you suffocate your target with awkward silence, then congratulations—you have succeeded.”
While patting Abel’s tense back, I stared at the elf’s shadow.
An unusually dark shadow.
It swayed slowly.
Even though its owner did not move.
“I understand. I admit defeat.”
I held up the book I Will Tell You Everything About the Nightmare Dungeon!.
“I’ll just keep reading. You can stand there as long as you like.”
“……”
Rosalia again gave no reaction.
But her shadow twisted violently for a moment.
It seemed there was no longer any intention to hide it.
Gurgle.
Just as I was about to pretend to read, the shadow suddenly surged upward and took the shape of a handsome young man.
Crackle.
The tattoo near my collarbone transmitted pleased emotions from the one who loved beauties of every kind.
“My back is killing me. You noticed long ago, so why keep pretending?”
The man who emerged from the shadow grumbled as he sat across from me.
With his arms folded and legs crossed, he lifted his chin arrogantly.
“Cultist Kar of the Twisted Truth. Tell me who I am.”
He appeared suddenly and demanded that I identify him.
A rather abrupt request.
But I had expected this, so I was not surprised.
If anything, I felt slightly disappointed.
I had expected something even ruder and more self-centered.
“You already have a rough guess, don’t you?”
“Not a rough guess. I know exactly.”
I had known even before he revealed himself.
After all, discovering Hidden Pieces in two labyrinths and selling the information to the Harmony Church had been done precisely to create this moment.
“You are the youngest son of the Brites family, one of Pletika’s greatest information-broker clans that rule District Four. Currently exiled with your mother to a villa in District Six. What brings you here, Young Master Odilon?”
Odilon Brites.
The youngest son of the Brites family—one of the six major powers that dominate Pletika.
His personality could barely be described as “self-centered” if one were being generous.
Yet his abilities were excellent.
Odilon stared at me silently for a moment before snorting.
“Anyone who isn’t a complete fool could deduce my identity. I openly used the Mystery monopolized by our family—[Shadow Folk].”
“You are correct.”
“Still, you show some basic competence. I will give you the opportunity to become my subordinate.”
It came.
The arrogant line beloved by veteran players—the event triggered only after discovering two Hidden Pieces in succession.
“I’ll give you exactly five minutes. Prove your worth. If you fail to present useful information that even my family’s spies could not uncover, you fail.”
I had not even agreed to take a test, yet he had already become the examiner.
Yes, that was Odilon.
I nodded with satisfaction and spoke quietly.
“What shall I start with? The insults your half-brother and sister use most often? Or the twenty-seven reasons you and your mother were expelled to District Six? If you prefer, I could list all the chronic illnesses you suffer from.”
“……”
Odilon stared at me silently.
Then he unfolded his arms and placed both hands on the table.
“Acceptable.”
Despite hearing his own dirty secrets spoken aloud, the young master of the information clan smiled with satisfaction.
Then he spoke generously.
“Starting today, use the Mysteries granted by Lidni to assist my labyrinth expeditions. I want to hire you as a member of the expedition team I will assemble.”
He clearly believed I could never refuse such an opportunity.
How could someone be so arrogant?
That arrogance, oddly enough, made him popular.
Apparently his equally rude treatment of everyone had gained fans overseas.
Personally, I did not care.
I only knew the proposal benefited me.
With Odilon’s backing, recruiting talented individuals—something impossible for a cultist alone—would become easy.
“It is certainly an attractive proposal. However, let us call it cooperation rather than employment. I cannot perform at my best when I have an employer.”
“Cooperation….”
Odilon leaned back and extended a hand.
Rosalia silently placed a long rod between his lips.
《An expensive artifact called Comforter. When held in the mouth, it releases smoke that alleviates symptoms caused by several chronic illnesses. If you steal it, he will die within days. Remember that.》
Whoosh.
Odilon inhaled deeply and nodded.
“Very well. As a partner, I want you in my expedition team. Shall we draft a contract?”
“Let us test our compatibility with one expedition first, then write the contract afterward.”
“Reasonable.”
With Wisdom 18, decisions came quickly.
“…Is it really okay to decide things like this?”
Abel, who understood nothing, looked around nervously.
“How will we form the expedition team? I heard you entered the previous labyrinth with only a child. Do you intend to do the same again?”
“I did, but she still needs more training.”
I pointed toward the silent assassin.
“So I would like her help.”
Rosalia.
Among rogue-class companions, she had excellent growth potential and useful traits.
Marlin shared the same class, but that was not a problem.
A thief specializing in tricks and an assassin specializing in covert combat filled completely different roles.
“It is not my favorite combination, but for now it will suffice. Fine. We will start the first labyrinth that way and recruit additional members slowly.”
“That would be best.”
I answered calmly, then carefully changed the topic.
The conversation had progressed so efficiently that it still needed to continue for the sake of Sue’je’s religious requirement.
“If knowledge or combat techniques are what you need for labyrinth exploration, would it not be better to recruit priests or holy knights from the Harmony Church?”
To speak frankly, Lidni’s Mysteries were currently inferior to those granted by Arteine, the Goddess of Wisdom and Protection.
In other words, there was little reason to seek a cultist of the Twisted Truth.
“So tell me, Young Master. What exactly do you want from me?”
“You are tiresome.”
Odilon frowned and tapped the Comforter between his fingers.
“You already know. Why ask?”
“Since you know, why ask me that question?”
“I already feel like canceling this partnership.”
Even if he said that, he would not withdraw.
Cultists of the Twisted Truth were rare.
There might be hidden believers living quietly, but true cultists who had obtained Mysteries through human sacrifice rituals were extremely scarce.
“To answer your unnecessary question—”
He leaned forward.
“You are a variable.”
“A variable capable of overturning an overwhelmingly unfavorable succession struggle?”
“Exactly. In our family, the one with the best achievements becomes the head. And currently I am losing badly to my elder brother and sister.”
The first and second children of the Brites family each had elite Harmony Church followers beside them—individuals blessed by Arteine with Mysteries specialized for information warfare.
Odilon had almost no supporters within the family.
Recruiting another Harmony Church follower would not help him.
Therefore he intended to create a variable through a cultist of Lidni—the deity who presided over twisted knowledge.
“If you can keep doing what you just did—revealing secrets no one else knows—then winning the succession might not be impossible.”
“You are not wrong.”
“I did not expect much, yet you are impressive. Lidni’s authority has greatly diminished, so how can you gather so much knowledge?”
Because the source was not Lidni’s Mysteries.
It came from countless hours spent mastering the game.
Of course, some information also came from Eye That Perceives Truth.
《Odilon’s hobby is reading romance novels where major characters’ relationships collapse completely. His usual review is: “It would be better if the story were even more destructive.” Even I find that distasteful….》
Unfortunately, it also revealed useless information like that.
While I brushed away the floating text in my vision, Odilon spoke again after inhaling smoke.
“We will finalize the expedition schedule later. I will send Rosalia within a few days. Any questions?”
“I have no questions. But I have one request.”
“Speak.”
I glanced meaningfully at Abel and whispered.
“Please completely neutralize Maken, the leader of the Black Sword Guild operating in the eastern slums of District Six, and deliver him to my house.”
That was the simplest way to eliminate the siblings’ greatest threat.