30
Chapter 30
Anyone who played Bone and Blood was bound to harbor a deep hatred for the nation called the Empire.
Their faction was disgustingly strong, so cooperating with them was practically mandatory if you wanted to progress through the game with ease.
But there were few allies as untrustworthy as these bastards.
Everything they did was utterly despicable, and it went without saying that they would stab you in the back the moment you let your guard down.
After all, they were a group of lunatics who would do anything if it benefited them.
That was why I could be certain.
The Empire was likely involved in this incident.
When unreliability crosses a certain line, it ironically becomes a form of trust.
If it was the Empire, they were definitely plotting something fucked up. If it was the Empire, they were surely pulling some bullshit scheme.
I had faith in the sheer shittiness of the Empire.
'Come to think of it, that fake Black Fang was too weird.'
It was an obvious conclusion.
Because there was simply no way to understand the objective behind their actions.
If they came to steal something from the Black Market, they showed absolutely no interest in the largest warehouse.
If they came to liberate the Slaves, then too many Slaves ended up losing their lives to Black Fang's bombs.
If they truly came for humanitarian purposes, there were plenty of better methods available than terrorism.
Furthermore, I couldn't fathom why they would specifically target this Black Market.
Only the protagonist of the previous installment and I knew that the Archmage was already dead.
Outwardly, this was still a place managed by that great Archmage.
There was no place more inappropriate for thievery than here.
Then why did they have to commit such an act?
The reason was incredibly simple.
There had to be a reason why it had to be here.
A reason why they had to attack the Black Market.
That was where a logical suspicion came into play.
What if that fake Black Fang was actually someone from the Empire?
It was a fact established in the previous game that the Empire viewed this Black Market unfavorably.
The Empire definitely had a motive to pull off something like this.
'Then what about the reason for impersonating Black Fang?'
I could guess that to an extent as well.
Pitting enemies against each other—the Empire had frequently used such schemes in the previous game too.
From the Empire's standpoint, they were likely aiming for a scenario where Black Fang and the Archmage would clash with one another.
Moreover, quite a few guests of the Black Market were caught up and killed in this terrorist attack. And naturally, the only ones who could access a place like this were the wealthy Noble class.
'This might be a bit of a leap, but.'
Perhaps that too was part of the Empire's calculations.
The current situation.
What would happen if the Empire publicized this terrorist attack as a crime committed by Black Fang?
If they pinned this entire incident—where countless Civilians and many Nobles died in the explosions—entirely on Black Fang?
If they shaped public opinion to make it seem like Black Fang had carried out this terrorist attack on the Black Market to slaughter all the Nobles?
It wasn't difficult to imagine that scenario.
Black Fang would be reduced to an extremist revolutionary group trying to kill all Nobles at once.
'Then their revolution would hit a setback, obviously.'
It was obvious.
The reason I had rated Black Fang's revolutionary potential higher than expected was because they had acted more sensibly than I thought.
They didn't harm Civilians.
They never killed people simply for being Nobles.
Their rebellion targeted only the Imperial Family.
If things had continued like that, there was a high probability that Black Fang could have secured Nobles as their backers.
No matter how rotten the Empire was, not all Nobles were evil.
There were certainly people who could become good allies if persuaded well.
Considering Black Fang's strength, there would surely be those who would betray the Empire for their own benefit.
But if things proceeded like this... Black Fang would become the public enemy of all Imperial Nobles.
Simply visiting the Black Market as a customer wasn't a valid reason to deserve death.
While there were certainly those who came for unspeakably filthy purposes, there were also people who came here seeking materials that could only be obtained here.
Even we had visited simply for shopping without any bad intentions.
If this incident became known, the damage to Black Fang's image would be unavoidable.
Even Nobles who were somewhat favorable toward Black Fang would turn against them.
They were already struggling to deal with just the Imperial Family, and now they'd be making even more enemies. This was something Black Fang had to prevent at all costs.
'That's why it's my turn to step in.'
With those thoughts in mind, I smiled softly.
The current situation.
There was only one thing I needed to do.
To prevent the Empire from arbitrarily distorting the incident, I needed to firmly establish our side's position beforehand.
Make it clear that this massacre was not carried out by Black Fang.
Rather, that we had simply punished those who massacred Civilians under Black Fang's name.
"Ciel. Make absolutely sure you can't be tracked. Be meticulous about it."
As I spoke, Ciel left a trace using her mana. Given a little time, this message would soar high into the sky with a deafening roar.
In other words, it was Black Fang's first memorable declaration.
Well. It wasn't like I was the Black Fang Leader. Leaving behind a declaration on my own was a bit concerning, though.
'It's not like this is the first time something like this has happened anyway.'
I had already figured out that Black Fang was flexible with this sort of thing through Rien's case.
Like assassinating the Imperial Knight Commander, taking out the High Command, or disposing of the Black Mage.
Among the feats known as Black Fang's accomplishments, the Elite Force Annihilation incident was actually Rien's doing.
I saw it with my own eyes, so I was certain.
However, the world treated it as Black Fang's doing. And Black Fang wasn't denying it, either.
The reason Black Fang made that judgment was probably simple.
Acknowledging it as their own achievement helped build the authority necessary for their revolution.
Black Fang wasn't a group of incomprehensible monsters.
They were a revolutionary group that acted quite sensibly, in their own way.
This declaration would definitely be helpful to Black Fang's activities. Therefore, they likely wouldn't put up much of a fight over it.
They would probably turn a blind eye just like last time.
Well, even if my prediction was off the mark and Black Fang did get furious about this, I had Rien and Ciel with me. So there wasn't much need to worry.
'If this works out well, maybe I should try making contact with them for real.'
Their actions were somewhat agreeable to me, and they were a powerful armed group that could be reasoned with to an extent. They might not be so bad as allies.
"I'm done."
Ciel declared.
It finished so quickly that I wondered if the Spell Formula might be sloppy. Surprisingly, there wasn't a single flaw to be found.
A level of perfection that bordered on artistic.
I'd felt it for a while now, but Ciel was just as much of a cheat as Rien.
It was just because of her messed-up contract. If you looked at her pure magical prowess alone, she was talented enough to make even an Archmage drool.
'I guess it's because she's a protagonist's companion, after all.'
It was incredibly reassuring.
On the flip side, her personality was a bit of a concern.
'I'm telling you, this kid is just too naive.'
I had just made the absurd demand of leaving behind a declaration in Black Fang's name out of nowhere.
Yet, Ciel hadn't voiced a single question, just like always.
She simply carried it out exactly as I told her to.
She would probably nod without an ounce of hesitation even if I asked her to sign as my guarantor.
I was grateful for her dedication to me, but I was genuinely worried about whether she could survive in this world with such a naive personality.
I was looking at Ciel with those thoughts in mind when... I suddenly realized something strange.
Come to think of it, leaving Ciel and Rien aside, why wasn't Rubia asking me why I was doing something like this?
I was suddenly impersonating the Empire's most fearsome secret organization and leaving behind a declaration, and she had absolutely nothing to say about it? Did that make any sense?
Feeling a bit suspicious, I asked Rubia if she wasn't curious about why I was doing this right now.
"I-I'll support you no matter what you do. So if you need anything at all, just say the word."
But the response I got was a rambling mess.
It was obvious what was going on in this situation.
"It seems you still don't quite understand."
It looked like she hadn't fully woken up from her sleep yet and was still out of it.
Ciel was one thing, but this woman was just as bad. How she managed to survive in this harsh world while being so scatterbrained was beyond me.
On top of that, her personality was bizarrely kind. It made me question how she ever succeeded as an Entrepreneur.
The Potion business that would duplicate money for both me and Rubia.
Rubia was supposed to play a crucial role in it, but my trust in my business partner was plummeting in real-time.
I was hoping to get some help utilizing her know-how as an Entrepreneur, like with promotions or networking. Now I was already worried if we could even run the business properly.
'She didn't seem to be paying attention when I explained the business plan earlier, either.'
Well, I did owe her a lot.
No matter how unreliable she seemed, out of a sense of loyalty, I obviously had to let her copy the money with me.
I remembered exactly how much I had borrowed so far. Since I had received her help, I'd lose face if I didn't return it at least three times over.
"Ah, n-no! I-I understand everything completely! I totally agree with you!"
Seeing my expression darken, Rubia cried out in a panic.
Did this woman eat something wrong?
While I stood there bewildered, Rubia continued to spout nonsense.
Saying things like shouldn't we overthrow this Empire together, and how she genuinely and completely sympathized with my ideology.
Her voice was trembling so much that anyone looking would think she was undergoing a life-or-death ideological investigation.
It was a completely incomprehensible situation.
I pondered it for a moment before... soon realizing what was going on.
The reason Rubia had suddenly lost her mind.
Because I could roughly guess what it was.
'What the hell did that crazy bastard Asel put in that alcohol?'
I couldn't help but consider it a huge blessing that I hadn't drunk the alcohol provided in the VIP seats back then.
I knew Asel was a shady guy, but I never imagined he'd brazenly pull something like this on a customer at his own Auction House.
I had no choice but to withdraw my declaration of support for Asel.
Not only did he mercilessly slaughter all those fake Black Fang members without blinking an eye, but he even drugged Rubia to put her in that state.
He was truly a guy with endless horrifying secrets.
Seriously, how could such a piece of trash even exist?