Chapter 43
Chapter 43
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: A Prime Example of an Excellent Deal
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“Was yesterday a bust too?”
“...Yeah.
No particularly suspicious movements from anyone.”
“Hmm.”
“Sion, what’s this about? I don’t know much about the human world, but isn’t the royal palace an incredibly important place?
For someone to be plotting something shady right under its nose?”
“They say it’s darkest under the lamp, after all.”
“Uh... That’s a pretty cool saying.”
Lilite admired it at the strangest part.
Rishikida, who had been quietly watching her, slyly spoke up.
“You’re right, Mistress.
No, Young Lord...”
“Just call me comfortably.
I’m getting confused myself whether you’re calling me Mistress or Young Lord now.”
“Ah, yes.
Thank you, Mistress.”
“...”
Sion stared at Rishikida, who called her Mistress without a second’s hesitation, and muttered inwardly, *Classic dog.*
“Young Lord Sion.
May I ask what this is about?”
Lucia, who had been sitting beside him quietly sipping her tea, finally spoke.
Blabbing about future events here could twist things in weird directions, and worse, make him look suspicious, so he had to answer carefully.
*In a situation like this, the best response is twenty percent truth mixed with eighty percent lies.*
Even Kim Yu-hyun had no idea what would happen next.
He was just a guy who’d transferred from the modern world in 2006 to the martial world, then from there to this other world, all based on the novel’s plot.
“There’s something pretty suspicious.”
“Suspicious?”
“During the negotiations with Nudia, all sorts of stories came up, and it felt strongly like someone was deliberately trying to sow discord between Hispanya and Nudia.”
As he said it, Sion worried Rishikida might counter with whether she’d ever done such a thing.
But true to her loyal subordinate nature, she kept her mouth shut, silently waiting for his next words.
Whether out of trust in Sion or because she thought there might’ve been something even she didn’t know about, who could say.
“That... That sounds too far-fetched, doesn’t it?”
“I thought so too, Lucia.
But listening carefully to Nudia’s side, there were definitely odd parts.
Like declaring war and fighting just one or two battles before panicking and calling it off.
As if someone had falsely stirred them up with ‘Hispanya’s border defenses are weak.’”
At those words, not only Lucia but even Kim Yu-hyun nodded slightly.
Starting a war and then rushing to a truce so quickly had indeed seemed very strange.
*Strange? What’s strange about it?
I just drove a wedge between the Nudia royals and Viscount Basura’s territory, sowing discord until neither had the will or ability to keep fighting.*
*Cackle.* Sion laughed inwardly but continued outwardly nonchalant.
“So I’ve been thinking.
Does this shadowy force really exist?
If it does, what’s their goal? Their reason?
And where will they strike next?”
“Their next destination...”
“They’re the type aiming to sow chaos in the kingdom.
Lucia, where would you pick as the next target?”
“Where all the prominent nobles gather... the royal family’s party this time.”
*Exactly!*
Sion clapped lightly as if to say so.
Lilite grumbled, *Tch, I knew that too,* while Rishikida just stared quietly at Lucia.
“But Young Lord Sion.
Even so, it’s the royal capital and palace.
I can’t imagine how they’d pull off something like that.”
“Crazy people don’t think about the process.
They’ll use any means to get the result they want.
That’s what I’m trying to uncover.”
In truth, he already knew the outcome.
And he had the full list of their backers.
What Sion sought now was justification—a solid pretext to swallow those backers whole.
“Hmm... Even with what you’re saying, Sion, nothing suspicious stands out.”
“The nobles flocking in have made the atmosphere more lively than before, Mistress.”
“They said it’s construction for repairing the palace walls.”
“To match the kingdom’s festive mood, there are celebrations popping up inside the capital too...”
“Hold on.”
Something pinged on Sion’s radar.
“Lady Lilite.
What did you just say?”
“Huh?
Palace wall repairs.
But it shouldn’t be a big issue, right?
From what I heard, a major trading company hired laborers, and they’re working under the supervision of palace officials and knights.”
*...Gotcha, you bastards.*
“Tell me more.
Wall repairs?
The palace issued the contract, and the company hired laborers for the job?”
“Yeah.
It didn’t seem odd because the company’s been trading with the capital for over five years—totally trustworthy—and the workers are just ordinary folks living in the capital...”
Right, that much was true.
A company handling part of the capital’s commerce for over five years, workers who’d always lived there.
But conversely, they might’ve had that goal from the start—or suddenly flipped recently.
“Which company got the contract?”
“Highness, I think... Sion?
What’s wrong?
Something off?”
Highness. Yes, that was the name.
Helen Highness.
Half-human, half-elf mongrel.
A woman who’d suffered the worst a woman could at the hands of a noble house’s man, then abandoned by her kin and even him, wandering the world with her heart full of sorrow and resentment.
When radical elves pushed to accelerate the celestial “Seven Trumpet Purge” on the human kingdoms, the Highness company—run by her—had backed them from the shadows.
For one reason: to punish those who’d destroyed her life.
And further, to wipe out all of humanity, whom she saw as nothing but filth.
*Going there on just this and yelling about the truth would be totally lame.*
Without knowing the endgame, the process looked spotless.
A palace-issued wall repair contract.
A reliable company taking it.
Laborers who were longtime capital residents, diligently watched by knights.
No one would see anything wrong.
But Sion was different.
He knew exactly who the culprit was, so any path they took or alibi they claimed just sounded like bullshit—utterly meaningless.
“Let’s go.”
Everyone but him froze as he stood and said it.
Head straight to the company just because the name dropped?
A natural reaction.
“Sion?
Right now?”
“Yes.
It’s still morning, so no worry about being late to the royal party.
Better to go quick and come back.”
“Um, Young Lord Sion.
From what I know, Highness is pretty respected in the capital.
Storming in to poke around for suspicions might be a bit much.”
Sion shook his head with a smile at their words.
In the real world, without a warrant, they could just tell him to scram.
Here, “social status” and “class” worked far better.
Even if pushy, it’d end one of two ways: if they had nothing to hide, *“Handle it yourself,”* or hiding nerves with, *“Find no evidence, and we’ll make you regret it.”*
The group going with Sion ended up being everyone there.
He’d originally wanted just one besides Kim Yu-hyun, but that would’ve left the other two miffed, so they all went.
Of course, to avoid fuss en route, no knights or guards tagged along.
They’d protested, but Sion laughed it off: *“Just dropping by a company—no need to worry,”* leaving them all at the villa.
“Mistress.”
“Yeah, Rishi.”
“Is it true?
You’re saying there might be a force that tried to sow discord between Nudia and Hispanya?”
Total bullshit, of course.
“Of course I suspected something, Rishi.
Think about it.
Even after defeat, the truce came too fast, right?
If Nudia acted on bad intel to start the war, it makes sense they’d rush to negotiate.”
“...I see.”
Truth be told, it sped up because he’d seized every weakness of Viscount Basura and shaken her down.
The Nudia royals hadn’t stepped in due to their own power struggles.
Rishikida, who’d spent most of her time in Viscount Basura’s territory, naturally wouldn’t know the royal situation, even if she knew the negotiation table.
“Lady Lilite.
Hood properly on.”
“Ugh.
It’s stuffy.
Can’t I just take it off?”
“Then transform properly.”
“No way.
I can’t pour all the power Sion gave me into that.
Gotta save some for fighting if things go south.”
“So use it right.
That silver hair stands out too much, at least.”
Even covering the succubus’s potent pheromones, black horns, and mind-melting looks, she couldn’t hide the hair color.
So Sion insisted on the hood, nagging relentlessly.
“We’re here, Young Lord Sion.”
Lucia, familiar with the capital’s layout, led them to a building.
This seemed to be Highness Trading Company’s office.
Likely the radical elves’ hideout too.
“Welcome. What brings you to Highness Trading Company?”
Approaching the counter, a woman greeted Sion and his group with a smile.
Sion silently pulled a gold coin from his pocket and set it down.
“Uh, customer?
What’s this...”
The woman, about to ask the coin’s meaning, froze on the spot.
Because under the feigned coin, Sion had slid something else.
*Th-this is...*
A silver medallion with intricate shield engravings, precise lettering.
And a ruby dead center.
*Klauzen Margrave Territory!*
Who’d dare forge a great noble house’s seal?
No, not that.
Almost no one would barge into a major company pulling such a stunt.
With nobles flooding the capital lately, this seal was 99.99% real!
*VVIP!*
The counter woman bowed hastily.
Even average nobles were good clients; a Klauzen-level great house was a colossal whale.
“P-please, come in.
May I have your name...”
“Sion Klauzen.
I’d like to quietly speak with your company head, not you.”
“Y-yes, right away.
Please wait a moment.”
She frantically rang a bell.
Two men from a back room came out, asked what was up, then heard the situation and gawked at Sion and his group in shock.
The de facto star of this royal party—the war hero who’d won against Nudia—suddenly visiting? Natural reaction.
“They’re all scrambling.”
“Of course, Lucia.
They’ve gotta sweat a bit for a great noble house visit to be fun, right?”
Sion organized his next moves while waiting on the plush sofa.
He’d agonized between blocking it outright or exploiting it.
Conclusion: block just enough, let some through, and milk it moderately.
“Y-Young Lord.
The head says to bring you inside.”
Sion and his group rose and headed to a room deep in the company.
At the end of a long table like a conference room stood a woman with an expressionless face, waiting for them—for Sion.
“Welcome, Young Lord Sion Klauzen.
I never dreamed Hispanya’s war hero would grace my humble company.”
“Got some personal talk and a request.
Company head.”
“Is that so.”
Sion sat casually at her gestured seat.
Rishikida took the spot behind him; Lilite, Lucia, and Kim Yu-hyun sat nearby, watching.
“...If it’s rude, so be it—occupational habit.
I’m curious why you’ve come.
Could you get to the point without dragging it out?”
Sion stared at her silently.
Strikingly pure looks, bright green hair and eyes.
Above all, pointed ears unlike a human’s.
Up to there, a forest fairy straight out of a tale.
Though her eyes, cold beyond icy—practically dead—gave a chilling vibe.
“Helen Highness.”
“Yes, Young Lord.”
“Let’s make a deal.”
“A deal?”
The elf, Helen, eyed him as if to say *state your terms*.
Her gaze remained dead, lightless.
But as Sion’s response spilled out, a spark flickered in her eyes.
“I’d like you to yield on punishing the Kashugar Count family.”