Why Are Only Madmen Around Me?
Why were only madmen gathering around me? The room I'd arrived at in response to Karon's request.
I sat in a suitable chair and pulled a cigar and cigar cutter from my pocket, setting them on the desk.
"So, what is it."
Click.
Playing with a lighter in one hand, I eyed Karon standing before me.
He must have caught a hint—or even the essence—of my ability back then, whether he liked it or not.
So I trusted he wasn't idiot enough to miss what the cigar and cutter on the desk meant.
"What do you want to say?"
"..."
Click.
"First, I apologize for coming to you so late."
Whether he truly felt remorse or not, Karon bowed deeply without even taking a seat.
Click!
The lighter's crisp sound echoed through the room at his words.
"I had some preparations to make."
"Preparations..."
Karon kept his waist bent at a right angle, lifting only his head slightly to gaze at me steadily.
One thing was clear from what he'd just said.
Karon didn't acknowledge me yet.
"..."
Well, if he'd planned to submit right away, he would've sworn loyalty from the start.
Better this way, actually.
I preferred someone with backbone over a spineless flip-flopper who waffled between options.
"Fine. If you came to me after finishing those preparations, I guess they're done now?"
As I spoke, I picked up the cigar and cutter from the desk.
Snip.
I trimmed the end with the cutter, then pressed Karon with a voice laced with faint amusement.
Sure, I liked his personality—but I wasn't soft enough to treat kindly a guy scheming something obvious.
"Alright, then first."
Fwoosh.
I slowly lit the cigar with the lighter.
This was half a test.
If Karon, who knew my ability, tried to stop me, we'd go straight to all-out war.
But as if reading my mind, Karon showed no reaction, still bowed at the waist.
"..."
The cigar's tip slowly caught, glowing steadily.
Once it was lit just right for smoking, I extinguished the lighter and gave the cigar a light shake.
"Stand up."
The moment the words left my mouth, Karon straightened from his perfect right angle.
"Explain."
I hadn't actually put the cigar in my mouth yet.
Suspicious behavior and lack of sworn loyalty weren't reason enough to kill on the spot.
To that intent in my question, Karon slowly opened his mouth.
"First, once more—I sincerely apologize for wasting your time without a word."
A reaction utterly unlike the impression Mist had described.
No flippant tone, no clownish antics—just pure, heartfelt apology.
"And."
The corners of Karon's ever-smiling mouth began to droop.
"I have one request."
"..."
"Would you grant me the chance to witness Lord Abel's power firsthand?"
A chance to witness my power?
"...Ha."
If a knight had asked, I'd have bought it.
Just chalked it up to unchecked competitive spirit and brushed it off.
But the Karon before me was different.
His face had gone blank, and his eyes—now starkly clear—held no such fire.
"Why should I grant your request?"
I slowly brought the cigar in my left hand to my lips.
In truth, most of [Shadow] already recognized me as the Nebula Ducal heir.
No matter Karon's status in [Shadow], majority ruled against the minority.
His acknowledgment offered little real merit right now.
So you'd better make a good case.
"Explain."
I still hadn't fully placed the cigar in my mouth.
Just touching it to my lips.
From here, Karon's next choice would decide my action.
Kill or spare.
Creak.
In the heavy air of the room, Karon gave a slight smile and spoke.
"First off, for whatever reason, it seems you don't particularly want to kill me."
"..."
I held my silence, staring him down.
"I've given it a lot of thought."
The shift was so swift from his earlier grave apology, it almost made me doubt it was the same man.
"Why you've let me live, why you've given me so many chances."
I could've killed him anytime.
Ten days had passed, and he'd never once left this mansion.
But I hadn't.
Not out of some grand moral conviction.
Hell, I'd ditched that crap long before reincarnating into this underworld life.
"You need me, right? Or rather, not me specifically—but the abilities of a [Shadow] member. That might be closer to the truth."
"..."
Bingo.
An assassin who could take down at least a Master-level powerhouse.
I weighed my annoyance against Karon's utility.
Killing him now would simplify things immensely.
But sparing him, securing his loyalty, and using him? The scale tipped slowly.
"You need my abilities right now. Enough to hear out my bothersome request."
Romantasy. Academy. And finally, Saintess Ariel.
This world was already in motion.
Where there was a protagonist, there were antagonists to harass them.
Conflicts, damages—but foes the hero could ultimately overcome.
The problem? Those foes wouldn't look kindly on me.
"So I beg you."
What I needed boiled down to two things.
The Nebula Ducal family's intelligence network. And elites loyal to it.
I wasn't some comic-book superhuman; I had one body.
Sure, I could cover a major city—but that was it.
Far better to delegate to capable subordinates than live on edge, exhausted.
It'd save me time, too.
"If you need my abilities, please come to the place I've prepared and show me your power."
"...A test?"
"Ahaha, hardly. After seeing your strike that day, I wouldn't dream of testing you."
Karon shook his head firmly, as if truly meaning it.
"Just a little curiosity."
Curiosity?
"...You nearly died."
I set the cigar on the ashtray.
One slip in that exchange, and I'd have attacked immediately.
I'd even ordered Mist to join if it came to a fight with Karon.
He surely knew that.
"Why pull this stunt?"
Simple curiosity.
"Not afraid of dying?"
Staking his life on mere curiosity?
Something no normal person would do.
Like bungee jumping with a half-severed cord, never knowing when it'd snap.
To that, Karon replied calmly.
"If I die, I die, right?"
Some people were like that.
Thrill-seekers or curiosity-driven types missing that normal survival instinct.
Rare encounters from my reincarnation and underworld days.
The one difference between them and this Karon?
"If I die here, then that's just my fate."
He wasn't some reckless fool charging ahead blindly.
If he were the impulsive type from the underworld, he'd have challenged me outright and died.
Those sorts let dopamine override reason.
They wouldn't dissect why I hadn't killed him, hypothesis by hypothesis.
Put simply, though all that grand talk? Karon was a cold-blooded madman wagering his own life.
A Master-assassin, no less.
"So, will you grant my request?"
"..."
The madman smiling before me.
The Duke was a lunatic, and this Karon a calculated one.
The Nebula Ducal Residence was a den of them, no doubt.
The issue? Both were too capable to discard.
"Haa..."
Why did I keep tangling with these lunatics?
The thought flickered, but I shoved it down.
Fine, look on the bright side.
These crazies were more useful for leading an organization or house than yes-men.
"Lead the way."
'...'
Kaizen stared blankly at the spot where Abel had been.
So, if he accepted the offer, he'd get a shot at becoming Duke?
"Hah..."
A sigh leaked from his bandage-wrapped face.
Moments later, he turned to Bella, now recovered enough to walk.
"You too... got a similar... offer?"
"Don't talk—you look like you're in pain. But to answer? No."
Bella sighed as she replied.
"Haa... When Abel came to me, I braced for the worst. Brainwashing or a slave contract."
That was the loser's fate, after all.
Given the Nebula Ducal infamy, her assumption might even be naive.
"But he didn't harm me at all."
Frankly, it bewildered her.
She'd expected a cold dungeon cell upon waking.
Instead, she found herself in bed, an IV drip in one arm aiding mana recovery—clear evidence Abel had treated her.
Why? Why heal me?
Grappling with that, the next day Abel arrived with word: [Kaizen wakes, I've got words for him. Focus on recovery till then.]
If it were her body he wanted, fine—understandable.
No brag, but she had assets worth eyeing.
A virgin untouched by men due to magic obsession? Could pique interest.
But no, nothing like that.
Then Kaizen woke, Abel came with him, and the revelation was absurd.
What? A challenge for the ducal seat?
"Haa... No clue, even if you ask me."
What was he thinking?
No lust for power?
But he'd orchestrated this whole spectacle for the throne.
Even prioritizing talent, no ruler welcomed threats to their seat.
"But..."
"..."
"I'll accept."
Bella eyed the bandaged Kaizen as she spoke.
A man brimming with rebellious spirit, unlike her who'd folded first.
"What about you?"
"..."
Kaizen met her question with silence.
"Doesn't matter what you choose."
Bella rose.
No reason to invest in Kaizen.
Magic was her life's sole value.
Though Abel himself now sparked curiosity.
"I'll go. Oh, one thing."
"..."
"Holding to your convictions? Impressive."
Sincere.
"Later."
Creeeak.
Thud.
Silence filled Kaizen's room. Lying abed, he stared at the ceiling and let out a hollow chuckle.
"Kuh... ugh..."
Pain tore at his lungs with each laugh, but he couldn't help it.
Bella's words.
Sure, some genuine admiration for his resolve.
But her real intent?
'Impressive holding your convictions?'
Then reject Abel's offer to prove it.
Dropping that line right before leaving? Obvious provocation.
She'd accept.
But you won't bend like me—stay true, reject, and scram.
That was the subtext.
"Mad... bastards... bitches."
Abel, treating the ducal seat like poker chips to recruit them—a madman.
Bella, accepting while subtly needling him—madwoman.
"Ha..."
Bella irked him most, though.
As drugged sleep neared, he recalled Karon—still absent despite time passed since Bella left.
'...'
His butler Karon, who'd brought him here.
The man he'd dueled to the death.
Smirks and loose talk aside, Kaizen respected the butler's skill.
He'd blocked a [Mattan] fired solely to kill him.
Not like Abel devouring it with overwhelming force.
Pure defense.
A constant barrier—magic or ability, unknown.
The shockwave cracked it briefly, letting Karon barely dodge his carotid strike.
'Whatever, probably fine.'
Kaizen closed his eyes for recovery.