Chapter 184
Chapter 184
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Senior's Axe (2)
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A tall man in a white dress shirt picked up a pancake with his fork.
He, with his sharp eyes, grinned and offered it to the woman sitting beside him.
The short-haired woman happily accepted the cake and ate it.
They even matched their white shirts like a couple.
Their hair was the same black, and their eyes were the same black.
They looked as close as old lovers.
Come to think of it, they even shared the same rank.
Baronets.
Seeing them stroke the children and buy them food...
It was like a beautiful family portrait.
"Quite the sight..."
The scene was quickly sketched onto high-quality cream-colored paper.
Afterward, the paper was tucked into a thick newspaper reporter's bag.
"I'm sorry, Sir Veil..."
The man wearing a hat adorned with a duke's feather, Victor.
With eyes full of resolve, he put away his telescope.
Then, he removed his hat and bowed in condolence.
"But to become the head of the press corps..."
With a choked expression, he whipped his head away.
Then, he hurried toward the imperial palace.
"It's unavoidable!"
Soon, the sketch he drew arrived at a garden in the central imperial palace.
There, four women sat around a round table.
"So, you're pushing to mix the steel we just acquired with Bacal's mithril to make new armor?"
Lydia asked, holding a state document arrogantly in one hand.
Irina chimed in.
"You're not selling it to the crown prince, right, Tina?"
At their questions, the white-haired princess sipped her tea.
She replied with her usual relaxed smile.
"For now? Well, if they offer an absurdly high price, who knows."
The imperial princesses snorted at the sly Northern princess.
"Hah, who are you starting to take after?"
"Oh, do we resemble each other that much?"
Hearing that, Tina placed a hand on her cheek.
She flashed a suggestive smile.
"Well, they say couples start to look alike."
The princesses straightened at Tina's provocation.
Irina, in particular, grew increasingly uneasy at the growing number of rivals.
"..."
While biting her thumb and lost in thought.
Victor arrived at the garden.
"Greetings to Your Highnesses."
"It's Victor."
The noble women's gazes shifted from the state documents to the reporter.
"I've brought the interesting information you requested."
"Good information...?"
The princesses tilted their heads.
Victor swallowed hard, as if he were some great figure standing before dignitaries.
"Yes, I was out in the field covering the upcoming Empire's Greatest Sword selection tournament..."
He pulled out his prepared scoop.
His grave demeanor felt like he was about to reveal massive news, like a grand duke colluding with an enemy prime minister.
However, what was on the paper he revealed wasn't some empire-shaking incident tied to its future.
Just...
A sketch of a man and woman sweetly feeding each other pancakes.
"This is it."
Ordinary women might have brushed off the drawing.
But.
The princesses knew the two people in it all too well.
Even the Northern princess, whose expression had chilled at this unexpected rival.
"You said you'd train my knight..."
"So he's out there doing this right now?"
Leaving their vice-captains with Ekina to eat cake with his senior—the beasts' eyes turned ferocious.
Following Irina and Lydia's words, even Lea went expressionless.
"Who's that woman?"
At Tina's question, the princesses all focused on his senior.
The gentle woman with a seductive tear mole under her eye, like a cat.
Moreover, Veil, who always observed proper etiquette around them.
With her, he looked utterly at ease.
Feeling threatened by this, the noble women all turned serious.
More serious than the state affairs they'd just discussed.
"That's her, right? The kid?"
"Yeah, Veil's senior. I thought she was prim and proper..."
"Thinking about it, it's those quiet types who turn out flashy."
The princesses spoke in turn.
"What family is she from?"
Lydia asked with her menacing red eyes.
Irina answered instead.
"Oh, right. I remember from the mid-year evaluation before."
"Then let's go. How dare she flirt with the man I've marked?"
Lydia stood first.
"..."
But Irina showed no reaction for a moment.
Then, she looked up at her displeased youngest sister.
"What do you plan to do if you go?"
"What do you mean? Just have a little 'chat.'"
A chat.
Irina shook her head, knowing well what kind of fiery "chat" Lydia meant.
"Don't do anything foolish, Lydia."
Lea agreed.
The two sisters stared piercingly at their younger sibling.
"Have you ever seen Veil with such a relaxed expression?"
Irina pointed to the man's smile in the sketch.
"No, unless he's flustered."
Lea concurred.
Rather than envying what she lacked, she analyzed it.
"She's lower rank than us, but it means she has some major appeal that Veil likes."
Irina's emerald eyes flashed.
In a voice as kind as a sage ruler, she said,
"So, wouldn't it be better to learn from her than crush her spirit?"
"I agree, Irina. That's a sensible idea for once."
Lea stood as well.
She draped her uniform jacket over her sensual figure.
"Jealousy toward a rival just shows inferiority."
Lea smiled.
True to her role as the empire's operations commander, she stepped forward.
"But learning from her adds her strengths to mine, leading to even greater growth, right?"
Irina chuckled.
She rose from her seat, smoothing her elegant dress.
The three princesses left the garden to visit Miya's baronet family.
Tina, left alone, stared blankly after them.
"Wait, hold on."
Unknowingly, she stood and followed the princesses.
Normally, they'd execute lovers or interrogate them.
But Tina was swayed by the princesses' unorthodox thinking.
「――――――」
After the meal.
We arrived in front of the Rastium arena.
A massive circular stadium that blotted out the sky.
In a month, the grand Empire's Greatest Sword selection tournament would be held here.
Countless stone buildings surrounded the arena.
They appeared to be wholesome souvenir shops.
However, deep in the shadowy back alleys...
「Luna Sports.」
「Mailhouse Traders.」
Dark markets rife with scalped tickets and gladiator betting unfolded.
Men with swords at their waists and brutal tattoos on their shoulders.
They eyed us suspiciously as we passed.
But Miya showed no fear whatsoever.
She simply walked beside me as usual.
Soon, we reached an underground facility.
「Ruton Sports」
The name suggested a legitimate sports goods store.
But the moment we entered through the back door into the basement.
"Get up, you damn bastard!!"
"How long are you gonna keep taking hits?! Do you know how much I've bet on you!!"
Shouts from rowdy men echoed everywhere.
The underground illegal gambling den came into view.
It was astonishing.
A massive bulletin board stood in the center.
It broadcasted real-time results of gladiator matches happening across the capital.
"Damn...!! No way...?!"
People laughed and cried over a single number on the board.
Miya's expression finally crumpled at the sight of the underclassmen clinging to gambling, unable to overcome vast wealth gaps.
"What the hell is this...?"
"The underbelly of our glorious Leon Empire."
I said indifferently.
Then, I quietly surveyed the surroundings.
'It's definitely changed from a few years ago.'
Normally, it was a chaotic hell of shouting and fights.
But today, security felt unusually tight.
From the skilled mercenaries stationed everywhere.
To the pre-prepared ornate decorations and paints behind the bulletin board.
Gold and white.
Colors symbolizing the imperial family.
Ordinary folk would pass by oblivious.
But I, quite familiar with this place, intuited that imperial tournament betting was underway in the illegal den.
"Veil, how the hell do you know places like this...?"
Miya asked me, who seemed right at home.
Without looking at her, I replied flatly.
"In the past, when I came to the capital to become a knight, I worked part-time here."
"No way, did you fight as a gladiator...?"
My senior looked up at me worriedly.
She resembled the orphanage sisters who used to fret over me.
"...No."
After a brief hesitation, I answered.
"I just served beer."
"Good... I was worried for nothing."
I calmed her troubled gaze and entered the VIP room.
A burly bald mercenary leaned against the door at the entrance.
He asked our business.
"What do you want?"
"To see the boss."
He glanced at our appearances.
Plain white shirts and dress pants.
He snorted, as we looked like total squares.
"Got an appointment?"
"It's urgent, so we came straight here."
He shook his head at my words.
"The boss doesn't meet anyone without an appointment..."
The mercenary was about to give a formal refusal.
I slipped a thick wad of paper into his breast pocket.
"Please."
"..."
He cleared his throat at the obvious thickness.
"Ahem..."
Then, he glanced around quietly and grasped the doorknob.
"Wait here."
He cautiously entered the VIP room.
Counting the bills, he called for the boss.
"Madam, some people want to meet you!"
A young woman's voice returned from afar at the mercenary's call.
"Who? I told you not to let just anyone in."
"They say it's urgent business!"
"Business...?"
The sound of her rising from a chair came.
He opened the door for us.
"Have a good time."
He patted my shoulder and let us in.
Then, he stood guard again with the door closed.
"Let's see."
Leaning against the wall, he reached into his breast pocket expectantly.
The moment he pulled out the thick stack of checks.
"Huh...?"
He frowned at the unfamiliar check name.
"Veil's Farm...? Buy one watermelon, get one free...?"
Sensing something wrong, he tried to open the door again.
But at that moment.
I locked the door, leaving just the three of us to face the madam.
"Are you the boss here?"
The woman in a red silk dress.
Heavy makeup and voluptuous figure.
The black long-haired woman glanced at me and nodded quietly.
"Yes, I'm Saria, vice president of the trading company that runs Ruton Sports and the surrounding area."
Young, yet with surprising authority.
Fitting for running the largest illegal gambling den here.
"But who are you? You don't look like our usual business faces."
She saw through us instantly from our faces alone.
Her suspicious eyes stared us down.
"Can't be helped. We're baronets from the capital's west side."
I grinned.
Miya and I introduced ourselves.
"I'm Baron Mire, and this is Baroness Mina."
The madam pursed her lips at the noble mention.
"What brings noble baronets to this dingy hole.... You're a couple, so not prostitution..."
She sneered and chuckled.
"Or do you want an orgy party?"
"W-Wha..."
Miya flinched at the madam's blunt words.
I advised her not to react, calling it a mind game.
"Something far grander than that. It's about the Empire's Greatest Sword selection tournament at Rastium."
I mentioned the grand event.
But the madam remained unimpressed.
"Huh, more tepid reaction than expected?"
"Of course. How could we muscle into an imperial event? No seat at the table."
Saria deflected immediately.
But I chuckled and probed her true thoughts.
"Haven't you already muscled in?"
I opened casually.
"The unusually clean gambling den, hired private mercenaries, even building repairs."
With each word, Saria's eyes sharpened.
"You were prepping hard for that day, weren't you?"
Finally, the boss sighed deeply.
With an annoyed look, she asked me,
"So, what do you want? You cops or something?"
She approached the desk indifferently.
Turning the safe as if to grab a gold pouch, she said,
"How much?"
In response to the madam's question, I reached into my pocket.
I flashed my defense knight badge.
"No money needed. Come with us for a bit."
Miya followed suit, reaching into her back pocket.
She proudly pulled out her badge from beneath her taut skin.
Knights of the Empire.
That lofty title usually cowed ordinary villains.
But.
"What, you're knights?"
The dark market madam was different.
She even stopped turning the safe at "mere defense knights."
"Real knights? Never imagined with those pretty faces."
Now knowing our identities, the madam oozed confidence.
"You like prison? Pretty relaxed."
"No- I just- Thought you were imperial knights."
The madam clapped lightly.
The clear sound echoed, and the VIP room door began to open.
――――――.
Soon, several rough-looking men, including the watermelon coupon mercenary, entered.
Their bulk made the spacious VIP room feel packed.
"Anti-corruption squad, maybe I'd worry. But defense knights? Different story."
The madam perched leisurely on the desk.
She elegantly crossed her legs and picked up a pipe.
"Plenty of these mercenary boys are ex-knights. Fired for bad conduct, but skills are solid."
"So you wanna tangle with active knights? How you gonna handle the fallout?"
I tilted my head questioningly.
I recalled a shady merchant who'd tried this and gotten crushed.
The one who'd dared sell fake artifacts to an imperial princess.
"You think you can strut because you know my backers?"
The madam narrowed her eyes, glaring murderously.
"No need to worry about me."
She raised her palm high.
Signaling her men to check our hands.
"Today, you'll get a thorough beating, and no complaints to your superiors."
Hearing her, my lips curled up involuntarily.
"Senior, looks like we've hit the jackpot."
"What do you mean...?"
Miya tilted her head.
"Score bundles to boost your field record."
Backers who don't flinch at empire knights.
And bold enough for illegal betting on the sacred imperial tournament day.
Who else but a high-up would overlook all that.
"Time to loosen up."