Chapter 60
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: The First Seat of Poisons
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Thud!
Cecil hurriedly dropped to his knees.
"S-Sorry. We lowly scum don't know the names of the executives... We only knew that a seat had gone vacant."
He doesn't know the executives' names?
Then that means he didn't react to Nemet's name—he reacted to the news of the vacant seat.
Thank goodness. I nearly screwed up big time with just a few wrong words.
They seemed like a point-based organization, so I took a half-gamble on that, and it paid off.
But this effect...
I realized it as Cecil prostrated himself flat on the ground.
The Evil Society's hierarchy was as clear-cut as a lord-vassal relationship.
Nemet, that artsy lunatic, would probably shed a flood of tears and insist it wasn't like that.
I walked over to the chair Cecil had been sitting in... and sat down as if it were my own.
Every little action like this would only convince Cecil further that I was a real Evil Society executive.
Even in a tiger's den, stay sharp and you'll survive. Here, I had to completely shed the name Deyan.
I glared at Cecil with eyes full of disgust.
"So, that's why it pissed me off. On the way here, those mercenaries kept asking for my name."
Cecil's head snapped up for a split second.
He was furious at the insolent mercenaries, veins bulging at his temples.
"Those bastards? Filthy trash... How dare they to one of the great ones."
"Enough. I hate the fuss."
"Thank you!"
I rested my chin on my hand and looked at him.
Cecil cautiously asked me,
"B-But... are you really the one who ascended to the First Seat?"
That look in his eyes.
He's suspicious.
Feels off somehow? Of course it would. Why would a top Evil Society executive show up in a backwater like this?
"You worm, you don't believe me?"
"N-No, it's not that. But this place is an important operation, so I need to know who... Haha."
Cecil rubbed his hands together like a mosquito.
Despite his words, he was demanding proof.
Villains have a time-honored tradition for times like this.
Nothing proves it more reliably.
You bet.
I suddenly unleashed a palm strike. Cecil flinched and was flung back. I followed up by hurling a flying dagger at where he landed.
Boom!
A situation where Cecil screaming his last breath wouldn't seem out of place.
But a black skull blocked the dagger like a castle wall.
True to his fiendish nature, he'd been hiding a summon to protect himself at all times?
The black skull blocked the dagger with its bony arm, nothing but bones left.
However, the arm corroded with holes from the poison, and the dagger slipped through the gaps. It swam through the bones like fish in water before stopping right in front of Cecil's eyes.
"Th-The black skull..."
He must not have expected his defensive summon to be pierced.
Cecil muttered in a daze,
"P-Poison..."
That's right. Take a good look.
Would someone who hadn't ascended to the First Seat of Poisons pull off a move like this?
"Stare at me with those eyes one more time, and I'll make poison ooze from your eyeballs."
As I amped up my killing intent like I meant to kill him outright... Cecil's eyes flashed for a moment.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
He slammed his forehead into the floor repeatedly until blood poured out.
"This lowly wretch dares be rude to one of the great ones! Kill me if you command it!"
"Insolent fool. If I didn't have business here, you'd be dead right now."
"Yes...!"
This was practically a religion.
No wonder it felt similar to the demonic cultists—humans are all the same, after all.
Why did I attack him?
Nothing special. I've seen villains kill on a whim plenty of times.
I was just acting how a real Evil Society executive with a nasty temper would.
No qualms on my end.
If he blocked it, it proved I was an executive. If not, his forces were weakened anyway.
Either way, it worked for me.
That's just how villains think.
I crossed my arms and warned Cecil,
"That should answer why I took that seat. Or do you need more?"
"N-No, more than enough!"
Impersonating villains is easier than I thought...
The theory that the Tang Clan would be unorthodox if they crossed the line just a bit... seems spot on.
Anyway, with him fully disarmed, now I could find out what the Evil Society was cultivating here and its true nature.
I decided to start with some leading questions.
"More importantly... I came for that stuff you're growing here."
"Bliss Grass? You came all this way for that?"
Bliss Grass, huh.
Even the name reeks of something sinister.
"Yeah, I came for it. Heard you manage it here."
"Th-Then you could've sent a letter or Zollan. No need to come yourself."
Zollan?
Seems there's a middleman bridging them.
"Zollan's swamped, as you know. You know how much grief he gets from the others."
"Still, wouldn't it be fine? Zollan moves via clones, and the executives contact us through him."
Normally through Zollan, then.
So this guy has never even seen the other Evil Society executives?
They're hiding their identities airtight, as expected... which made fooling Cecil this easy.
Won't get much asking him about the executives, then.
To tail the Evil Society, I'd need to snag that mid-level guy called Zollan...
If I met Zollan pretending like this, it wouldn't work.
He'd know the real executives' roster.
Finishing my thoughts, I gave Cecil an excuse.
"I wanted to see the place myself, curious how it runs. Isn't it fascinating? That Bliss Grass thing. Sucking up the land's life force—had to see the real deal."
"I'll fetch it right away."
Cecil left the room and soon returned with a plant resembling purple mountain ginseng.
The intense scent I'd smelled upon entering the building.
Bliss Grass was the culprit.
Now I knew why it reminded me of the Tang Clan's poison warehouse smell.
Broadly speaking, it could be called a type of poison.
This was a drug.
A drug that ensnared and maddened people.
When I first visited the village.
The mystery of drunks sprawled in the streets or giggling idiots was solved.
They were high on this drug.
A drug that drained the earth's life force. Its addictiveness must be unimaginable.
Thinking that way...
My mouth watered.
Poison to some, medicine to others.
This drug was a delicious treat for me. A treat.
Smiling faintly, I asked him,
"Quick work, nice. How many more besides this one?"
"The warehouse has enough Bliss Grass for about a thousand people."
"Perfect. Just perfect."
I meant it was great having treats, but Cecil took it differently.
"Thank you. We'll keep pushing to supply Bliss Grass across the continent."
"Do that. Still not enough."
"Yes, this amount is still too little."
Bliss Grass—what do they plan to do with it?
Make money?
Ruin lives?
I wanted to dig deeper, but knew where to stop.
Asking more might raise Cecil's suspicions.
What mattered wasn't their plans for Bliss Grass... but how I could claim it for myself.
"Cecil."
"Yes."
"Truth is, I came here for a different reason."
"Different...?"
"Why else would I come? The soundproofing magic here is solid, right?"
Cecil replied confidently.
"Of course. Compared to the great ones, I'm but a bug, but I take pride in my magic. Those idiots won't hear a thing."
"Good. The reason I'm here? I want to use that Bliss Grass for personal business."
Cecil glanced at me.
"Pardon?"
I furrowed my brow and glared at him instead.
"Fool, think about it. Why skip Zollan and come secretly, without the other executives knowing? To use the Bliss Grass."
"B-But that would mess up distribution..."
I tapped the table with my finger, subtly cutting him off.
Time to toss an irresistible temptation his way?
Mages, knights, anyone—they all chase power in the end.
No one can refuse this lure.
"Cecil."
"Yes."
"Don't you want to climb higher? Just help me out, and it's easy. I'll make you that strong. Got a magic tool worthy of it."
Could he refuse?
As expected, greed lit up his eyes.
Good, he's hooked. Time for the finisher.
"You're the sole manager of this village. You alone know how much we've grown. Just you and me keep quiet. Do that, and..."
Even with the soundproofing, I leaned forward and whispered,
"You won't be stuck managing this backwater—you might oversee one of the four great houses. Get my meaning?"
Gulp.
I could hear him swallow.
Without iron will, no one rejects an offer like this.
Give a martial artist a secret manual.
A manager an office.
A merchant money.
Who'd turn it down?
Especially a shady guy like him—his cunning heart caved easily.
As expected, Cecil's voice trembled.
"You promise?"
"Hate it? Then forget it. I don't deal with untrustworthy scum."
Cecil waved his hands frantically.
"No! I'll do it."
"Good. Then load the Bliss Grass and move it outside the village."
"Where to?"
"You don't need to know. How I use it is my business."
"Understood. I'll order the mercenaries to transport it."
"No mercenaries. Can't trust those fools with this. I'll handle it myself."
"Got it. I'll just load the cart."
"You catch on quick. Good choice."
"Give me a moment to prepare. Tea, perhaps?"
"Not bad."
Soon after, Cecil brought tea, and I naturally slipped poison into his.
Not instant—something that kicks in after a day or two.
After a leisurely tea time with Cecil, I boarded the cart packed with Bliss Grass.
"Safe travels."
"Safe travels!"
The arrow-nosed man and mercenaries, thinking they'd wronged me, saw me off extravagantly.
This feeling of being seen off by villains.
Ah, I can't stop smiling...
Worried the mercenaries might notice, I schooled my face and urged the horse out of the village.
The black mage, ever suspicious, kept staring at me for a while.
Soon, he'll notice something's off and try verifying if I'm a real Evil Society executive.
But what does it matter?
He's a dead man anyway—won't live to find out.
After driving the cart a ways, I inhaled the aroma of the Bliss Grass piled in the back.
"Wonderful... just wonderful..."
Too much to eat raw.
I set one aside for cooking.
The rest, I ignited with Samadhi True Fire, engulfing it in flames.
Fire spread through the cart in an instant.
The nose-stinging Bliss Grass scent poured into my nostrils.
Using it as incense, I sat cross-legged.
Siiiiip.
As much as it drained the earth's life force, its addictiveness was vicious.
Once inside, the Bliss Grass battered my upper dantian, trying to spread.
As if.
The Ten Thousand Poisons Heavenly King Divine Art welcomed it with open arms, savoring it.
Chew thoroughly. Absorb every last bit.
Bliss Grass, the evil creation from the Evil Society and Cecil's gang exploiting the villagers.
That very thing would kill them.
But taking on the whole mercenary band and black mage head-on was impossible.
Good thing I had countermeasures.
First, the black mage was handled. Now, wait for Bernard to finish festival prep in the village.
Until then.
I drew in the thick purple smoke, again and again.
With each breath, poison stacked neatly inside me.
'I've lost my mind. Should be running for my life, but here I am hammering away!'
Bernard was hanging spherical lanterns all over the village square. As he'd said, he packed them with sharp objects—needles from the village women, nails and tools from his own kit.
To hide them, he painted the lanterns dark and stuffed them with his special glow flares.
'Sigh, what's this even for.'
He didn't know why.
Deyan said do it, so he did.
He secured a lantern firmly, then headed to an alley. There, he installed his patented springboards on the ground.
As he worked in the alley.
Someone tapped his head from behind. Thwack.
'Did they catch me?'
Bernard turned anxiously. Mercenaries grinned down at him.
The mercenaries mocked him.
"Ugh, retard. Get your head straight, seriously. Inventing at your age."
"Leave him. Better he buzzes off on his own."
As the mercenaries brushed past, Bernard chuckled awkwardly.
"S-Sorry."
"Whatever. Hey, let's go."
They smacked his head one last time as they left.
Alone, Bernard scratched his head.
Anyone would call it weird, but it flew with people because it was Bernard.
As he installed his inventions around the village, a strange feeling washed over him.
'Good thing or bad? Ugh, who knows.'
The sun was already high. As Bernard hurried to finish up, a chill ran down his spine.
A voice like an imperial enforcer.
"What're you doing here?"
Corel glared at Bernard.
Bernard awkwardly held up his hammer with a grin.
"Haha... F-Festival prep?"
"I told you to run awa— No, just get out and drop dead!!"
Bernard foamed at the mouth and collapsed.