56
Chapter 56
-W-wait, lucky? Don't tell me you planned all this too?
Rubia, visible on the other side of the screen, exclaims in shock as she says this. No matter how many times I see it, I just can't get used to her overreactions.
What kind of existence am I in her head?
Every time I say a single word, she overanalyzes it and freaks out, so I don't even have the courage to speak.
Having those ridiculous thoughts, I opened my mouth again to clear up the misunderstanding.
"I didn't intend for this. I don't even know why something like this suddenly happened in the first place."
Rumors were spreading for a while that Black Fang was helping the people of the Slums.
If they did such a thing, they would definitely incur the Empire's wrath. Why on earth would they make a donation at a time like this?
It was truly incomprehensible.
After pondering for a moment... I soon spoke up.
"I know you're busy, but could you perhaps look into the identity of that anonymous Donor?"
A figure who would bear such a risk to save people.
The chances of such a person being a righteous character appearing in the original work were... higher than expected.
So it wouldn't be a bad idea to try making contact. With that in mind, I conveyed my intentions to Rubia, but...
-Honestly, I can't guarantee that I'll be able to find them. They're hiding their identity too thoroughly.
Unfortunately, it seemed questionable whether she would be able to contact them or not.
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed... Well, I suppose this happens sometimes.
'It's not like we're the real Black Fang.'
We didn't possess intelligence capabilities surpassing the Empire's. So naturally, we couldn't figure out information that even the Empire couldn't uncover.
-B-but I'll try my best to find them!
"Don't push yourself too hard. Make sure you get some proper sleep."
As soon as I finished speaking, Rubia left the communication Magic Engineering Device as it was and ran off somewhere in a hurry.
Now, all that was visible beyond the screen was a luxurious red leather chair and the flashy walls of the mansion.
I stared at the screen for a moment, then got up from my seat.
Even though I had been working without a wink of sleep for over 20 days,
Seeing Rubia working so hard, I couldn't just sit back and rest.
Finding people still suffering from Mana Poisoning,
Crafting Potions to distribute to the people,
There was still a lot of work left to do.
Even with the Healthy Body trait, I was still pushing myself to the limit with all-nighters every day.
But... a smile actually spread across my lips.
That was only natural.
Just turning my head slightly, I could see the Relief Center.
Children who, despite their young age, were bravely doing their part. Ciel and Rien. And the local residents who had volunteered to help run the Relief Center.
I wasn't alone.
Such wonderful people were working hard alongside me.
How could I possibly feel exhausted after seeing that?
'Truly, when it comes to being blessed with good people, I must have better luck than anyone.'
*****
The Second Prince smiled with bloodshot eyes.
Terribly lacking in good fortune with people.
From the Informant who brought back fake intelligence claiming Black Fang was a group of minors,
To the Informant who got fooled by such false claims, wasting precious time pinpointing the locations of those pathetic petty criminals.
Despite the antics of those fools who did nothing but hinder his work, he had finally succeeded.
Without the help of those inferior beings, he had accomplished everything on his own.
Wearing an expression brimming with superiority, the Second Prince looked back at the book.
[Bone and Blood Minor Gallery Member List]
A list filled with nothing but bizarre names.
Since all of his Subordinates were nothing but untrustworthy trash. He had struggled with this for days.
But in the end, the victor was him.
From this long list, the Second Prince had managed to extract tremendous information.
'They're a far more trained organization than I thought.'
That was something you could tell just by looking at the first page of this list.
[Blank].
It was strange enough that there was even one person with a completely blank name. Yet this list was mostly filled with such entries.
Beings who didn't even possess individual names, thoroughly raised as spies, easily numbered over 90,000.
Most of them shared blank names, and when distinguishing one another, they used bizarre numerical sequences.
(121.163)
(58.141)
Numerical sequences whose criteria were utterly incomprehensible.
They probably raised each person as a Spy from birth, then assigned such identification codes.
Black Fang might be connected to another country.
That much was clear just from seeing their scale of over 100,000 members.
And occasionally, there were those who had individual names rather than blank ones.
Their names were all equally bizarre.
Names that couldn't possibly belong to a human. The implication was obvious.
'Black Fang is connected to the Demons as well.'
When he realized this fact, he couldn't help but be horrified.
They had beings they couldn't even communicate with as Subordinates. It would have been stranger not to be horrified.
However, as long as such undeniable evidence existed. He had to accept it as a foregone conclusion that Black Fang commanded Demons as Subordinates.
They might have even formed some sort of alliance.
And finally... the most important thing.
'The colors.'
That list of members.
Among those countless names, there were occasionally those with a distinct color.
About a dozen out of a hundred thousand. They seemed to be the elite whose abilities had been recognized after rigorous screening, distinguished by a blue hue.
These were the Executives of Black Fang.
A mad smile spread across the Second Prince's lips.
It was now a thing of the past to call them a secret organization that no one could uncover.
It was none other than him.
Not his Hyungnim, not his father, but him.
Who had succeeded in uncovering every detail of that mysterious organization.
Moreover, it didn't stop at just finding out the names of the Executives.
The Second Prince wasn't clumsy enough to just read through that long list once and move on.
His obsession brought tremendous results.
He had missed it the first time he read the list because it was hidden among the densely packed text.
Just now.
Reading it for the third time, he finally found it.
A single name, glowing in orange.
No matter how much he scanned the list, he couldn't find another name with such a brilliantly sparkling orange light.
If this was what he thought it was....
Jackpot. There was no bigger jackpot than this.
The Second Prince somehow suppressed his excitement and opened his mouth.
"Asmodeus, come out."
At his words, an ominous black shadow wavered, and a Demon popped out.
Naturally, the Prince's face stiffened.
From that warning last time to this list handed over without demanding anything in return.
It was certainly helpful, but...
The Second Prince never forgot that he had been tricked last time.
He held grudges longer than one might expect.
"I have something to ask you. But... don't even dream of asking for payment."
Asmodeus wore a grim expression for a moment, then smiled. That creepy smile from before.
The memory of that day, when he lost twenty percent of his soul to a fraudulent contract, made the Prince shudder.
The Second Prince quickly regained his composure.
Repeating mistakes was something only ordinary people did.
He had no intention of making such a foolish mistake again.
"Swear that you will not lie."
[Fine. For today, I shall refrain from lying to you.]
A compliant appearance.
Naturally, a smile spread across his face.
No matter if he was a Greater Demon, he himself was a Prince of the Empire.
This was how it should be.
Nothing in the world was greater than the Empire.
Every being in the world had to kneel and submit before it.
"This name glowing in orange. The identity of this person is...."
[A Commander with immense authority. One might call them the power-player who controls that group.]
Before he could even finish, the Demon spoke and answered.
[That person can expel any member from the organization and has the authority to distribute power to others.]
Naturally, a smile played on the Second Prince's lips.
Those words.
The more he heard, the clearer the identity of the one with the orange name became.
[That person is the Commander of the Bone and Blood Minor Gallery, and the Monarch who rules over a hundred thousand humans at will.]
A manic smile appeared on the Prince's lips.
Finally found them.
The Leader of Black Fang.
'Such a bizarre name. It's clear they aren't human, but...'
Once the true name is known, the means to utilize it are endless.
Though the power of the Holy Grail couldn't harm them, finding their face might be possible.
"The time has come for the long-standing ill fate between us to end. Leader of Black Fang!"
The Prince declared this with a smile and bloodshot eyes.
It was the moment the Main Admin, who was probably socializing in a group chat somewhere in Korea, was targeted by the Prince of the Empire.