Chapter 35
Chapter 35
Ch. 35 .｡.:✧ Cologne (5) ✧:.｡.
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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Come to my residence right away.
On a dark, stormy night.
It was a message received by the bishop of the Cologne diocese.
Even without the sender’s name, it was obvious whose message it was.
There was no one else in Cologne who could boldly refer to the bishop as “You”.
“What is the matter?”
“Decipher this.”
“…”
Swoosh.
The door of the mayor’s residence opened, revealing Lawrence Briam.
What he bluntly handed over were none other than two sheets of paper.
Papers with Runic script written on them.
The bishop, holding an umbrella, quietly looked down at the papers and spaced out.
Surely he didn’t call me in the middle of the night just to decipher some Runic script…?
“Please wait a moment. Hmm. What’s written on this paper means hello, nice to meet you. And on the second paper, it says it’s fine for me to stay in Cologne…”
“What? That can’t be.”
Even before the deciphering was finished, Lawrence snatched the papers back.
Checking the characters written on the papers once more, a sigh escaped Lawrence’s mouth.
“Goodness.”
The characters had changed.
Until just a moment ago, they weren’t in this form and arrangement.
Since he couldn’t read them, he couldn’t remember what they were like before the change, but at least the fact that they had changed was certain.
A pre-planted magic must have been triggered, altering the text.
“Damn it. That slippery bastard. Fine. You can go now.”
“Pardon?”
“Didn’t you hear me? I said I have no further business with you, so you can go back.”
“…”
Creak. Thud.
The door closed again.
The bishop was left alone outside in the heavy rain.
“Insolent bastard. Just because I treat him like a friend, he thinks we’re equals.”
Returning to his room, Lawrence tore up the papers in a fit of anger and paced around.
He was furious.
That mercenary.
He seemed like a reasonable guy, so Lawrence even thought it wouldn’t be bad to keep him around if he had the ability.
That’s why he invited him home and even treated him to a meal.
Not only did he blatantly stare at another man’s wife, he even exchanged strange written conversations with her in a language Lawrence didn’t know.
The guy openly disrespected Lawrence.
“Those two had their eyes on each other.”
Cornelia also didn’t seem to find the guy’s gaze unpleasant.
Seeing how they kept making eye contact the whole time made it clear.
Cornelia had clearly fallen for that handsome but unknown commoner.
“Women are really… There are so many things more important than looks. Damn it.”
They were probably dreaming of a forbidden love right now.
Escaping from the husband who beats her every day and remarrying a commoner to live happily ever after?
No way.
The sin of a mere mercenary coveting my possession was great.
And that sin could only be repaid with death.
“Ha. I’m so annoyed I could die.”
He wanted to unleash this boiling anger right away.
He wanted to barge into Cornelia’s room and slap her face until his anger subsided.
But with a guest in the house right now.
He couldn’t let Cornelia’s screams echo through the residence.
It made him even more irritated.
“You said everything would go well if I just listened to you…!”
Lawrence suddenly shouted at the mirror.
His face in the mirror twisted grotesquely.
“I even sold my lifespan! Do I have to worry about my wife being taken away too?”
His teeth ground together.
Thanks to listening well to what “that person” said, he had come this far.
Even if the instructions seemed irrational, if he followed them well, everything turned out fine in the end.
Since he had sold 20 years of his lifespan, this much was only natural.
But to have to worry about his wife running away with a mercenary who had nothing but a handsome face.
He felt like he should get his lifespan back at this point.
“You said if I just do as you say, I’ll be able to kill that guy… Alright. I’ll trust and follow you…”
However, Lawrence’s rebellion didn’t last long.
Lawrence, who quickly lowered his head and submitted, thought while grinding his teeth.
That arrogant mercenary.
He would kill him tomorrow morning and throw him as food for the alligators in the sewers.
***
The day to execute the plan dawned.
The outline of my plan was as follows.
Kill Lawrence Briam disguised as a monster’s doing.
Cornelia swallows up the Briam family.
The end.
You’re saying it’s too simple?
Originally, the simpler and more straightforward the plan, the better it works.
Of course, simple doesn’t mean the details are simple too.
Quite a lot of preparation was done.
First, I sent a message to the Hildegart side last night.
Soon, Cornelia would kill Lawrence Briam and take over the Briam family.
So prepare to support Cornelia.
To be precise, it was me who would kill him, not Cornelia, but we agreed to keep that a secret.
Rather than some stranger killing him, it would be more convincing to say Cornelia couldn’t take it anymore and killed her husband.
‘Cornelia will handle it well. It won’t be difficult.’
In the Briam family with no successor or council of elders, once the head of the family, Lawrence, drops dead, Cornelia naturally becomes the highest authority.
If that happens, Cornelia will be able to quickly subdue a family with no roots like this.
Since she’s quite capable, there’s no need to worry.
Cornelia must have been eagerly waiting for this situation too.
She must have fantasized more than once or twice about overthrowing the Briam family and taking control of it herself.
If left alone, she’ll handle it well.
‘But the aftermath will be a bit difficult.’
There’s no problem with the execution of the plan itself.
The problematic part is the aftermath.
What happens after Lawrence dies.
Naturally, there will be people who find Lawrence’s death suspicious.
They’ll foam at the mouth, claiming Cornelia intentionally killed him.
Suspicion is unavoidable anyway.
What’s important is not leaving evidence.
No matter how much it seems like Cornelia killed Lawrence based on the circumstances, if there’s no physical evidence, they can’t recklessly slander her.
Even if they push Cornelia as an evil woman who devoured her husband without evidence, it doesn’t matter.
We can also fight back without evidence, saying Lawrence was actually a brutal man who fed poison to his wife.
It’s absurd that both of these are facts.
“…Preparation. Complete.”
“How’s your condition?”
“…Perfect.”
“Then let’s go.”
Our Count Slayer (to-be) said she was ready.
The moment I was about to fling open the door.
Undecided pulled my sleeve, stopping me.
“…Leg.”
“What about my leg?”
“…Is your leg. Okay?”
Is she talking about the leg that was injured by the spike trap back then?
After applying a potion and wrapping it with bandages, it healed quickly.
But why is she still asking about something from so long ago?
“It’s already healed. Only a slight scar remains.”
“…Ah. Scar.”
Undecided’s expression contorted for a moment.
Is she feeling sorry?
What a funny kid.
Chuckling, I opened the door…
Early morning.
Lawrence closed his pocket watch with a click and shoved it into his pocket.
A mercenary with a sword at his waist was leaving the residence and walking this way.
“I heard you’ll be challenging the dungeon starting today. I’ll guide you.”
“Oh. How kind of you. I happened to forget the way, so this works out well.”
Not knowing his own future, he’s so happy.
What a stupid guy.
Lawrence swallowed his ridicule and took the lead.
The path leading to the sewers.
Glancing back, Lawrence clicked his tongue.
‘It’s unsettling.’
A handsome commoner mercenary.
And a young child who accompanied him.
He still didn’t know their names, exact occupations, or origins.
They didn’t give off the feeling of ambiguous riffraff commonly found in the slums.
The premonition that they were hiding something gradually grew stronger.
‘What’s there to worry about? I’m the king here.’
Of course, there would be no repercussions.
The dungeon was even rated as a black star, a conquered abandoned judgment.
If anyone, no matter how great, died here, it wouldn’t be strange.
“Hm? You’re entering the dungeon right away?”
“Yes. Is there a problem?”
“No…”
A huge stone door emanating an ominous aura to anyone’s eyes.
The mercenary pushed that stone door and advanced forward without any hesitation.
Lawrence had to hold back the smile that threatened to twist his mouth.
Among dungeons, there were plenty of types where monsters popped out from the very entrance.
Yet he was completely off guard like that.
He was a novice among novices, quite lacking.
As that conviction grew, even the slightest tension disappeared.
‘If I do as instructed, it will go well.’
‘If I do as “that person” said, I’ll be able to kill that guy easily.’
Lawrence thought so while tightly grasping a mana stone in his pocket.
“But are you planning to keep going deeper into the dungeon? It’s dangerous. I think it would be better to turn back around here.”
“Hahaha. It’s fine. I’ve been to this dungeon often, so I at least know there’s no threat in the early parts.”
It was a lie.
This dungeon was a demon’s creation filled with pure malice.
It was a place where unexpected threats always struck from unexpected places at unexpected timings.
This dungeon wasn’t meant to be conquered in the first place.
“Hm?”
Perhaps sensing something strange, the mercenary’s gaze turned upward.
He seemed quite surprised, as if he had no prior information.
If he had no prior information…
“Orcs?!”
He would never be able to predict a horde of orcs falling from the cliff like that.
Thud! Boom!
With heavy landing sounds, the green-skinned giants that fell suddenly surrounded the mercenary and the young child.
Their huge bodies, four or five times larger than humans, wielded giant clubs.
Their thick hide didn’t yield to spearheads, and most magic bounced off.
That guy was done for.
‘They would have died even if I hadn’t come anyway.’
But the orcs showed no interest in Lawrence, only approaching the mercenary and the young child.
It was thanks to the invisibility magic using the mana stone Lawrence held in his hand.
Lawrence swallowed his saliva and slowly stepped back.
Bang! Kwang!
Soon, gruesome sounds came from the direction of the orc horde.
Lawrence turned his back.
If he saw the sight of flesh bursting here and there, he felt like he would lose his appetite.
It was dealt with.
With this, he had cleanly achieved his revenge.
At least that’s what Lawrence thought.
“To covet my possession, my sin is paid with your life… Huh?”
Thud.
Then, after the sound of something collapsing, it became quiet behind him.
This couldn’t be.
Lawrence, startled, turned back around, and a look of horror spread across his face.
“The blade is a bit dull. It doesn’t cut well.”
“What…?”
Orcs with their thick necks sliced, sprawled here and there.
In the midst of them stood the mercenary and the young child, examining the blade with a displeased expression.
Without a single injury. Completely unharmed.
Soon, they seemed to remember something they had forgotten.
They lifted their heads and made direct eye contact with Lawrence.
It must be a coincidence.
Since he was under the effect of invisibility magic, naturally…
“Hey. Come over here.”
“…?!”
The mercenary staring straight at Lawrence, beckoned with his finger.
Shaken by this, the invisibility magic was dispelled.
As the mercenary sheathed his sword and approached, Lawrence collapsed on the spot.
“Wait, wait. Calm down. I must have been mistaken. I’m certain there were no orcs last time. The dungeon’s structure must have changed…”
“Well. Let’s say that’s the case. Is that all you have to say for your last words?”
The mercenary rubbed his ear with an annoyed expression.
At this, Lawrence’s face turned deathly pale.
Everything had already been exposed.
But Lawrence’s pride wouldn’t allow him to kneel and beg here.
Thinking of “that person’s” honor, he absolutely couldn’t do that.
“S-surely you’re not thinking of killing me now? You can’t be that stupid! Do you think you can escape safely after killing me? The entirety of Cologne is under my control! Even the bishop of Cologne cowers at my words, so someone like you, a mere commoner…! Khek!”
Thwack.
A clear sound rang out as a club flew and hit Lawrence’s forehead.
Soon, Lawrence’s eyes rolled back and he fell over backwards.
“…Peace.”
“Well done. He was noisy.”
Undecided, was holding Blin’s wooden club with one hand and making a V-sign with the other.
Yoo-jin roughly ruffled Undecided’s hair and approached Lawrence.
Lawrence, had lost consciousness with a huge lump on his forehead.
He wasn’t dead, just passed out.
“Tsk. It’s too clean. Doesn’t look like a monster’s doing.”
“…Really?”
“Huh? Hey?”
Thwack. Smack. Smack. Squelch. Splat. Squish.
Undecided brought down the club a few more times, accompanied by gruesome sounds and blood splattering everywhere.
After beating him for a long time, when Undecided put down the club, a face crushed beyond recognition was revealed.
This was definitely dead.
“Now it looks more like a monster’s work.”
“…Heh.”
Undecided laughed emotionlessly, holding the blood-dripping club.
Yoo-jin, smiling awkwardly at her, wiped his hands and stretched his back with a groan.
“Phew. It’s over.”
That’s it.
It was so easy it felt anticlimactic.
Lawrence’s close associates waiting above probably expected Lawrence to kill me and Undecided and return alone.
They wouldn’t even imagine Lawrence dying here.
In the meantime, the Hildegart family, having finished preparations, would be sending support.
Cornelia would also be preparing to take control of the family.
It was an easy victory.
“You shouldn’t think you can kill me with just orcs.”
Lawrence’s mistake was taking Yoo-jin too lightly.
Orcs were certainly strong monsters.
Even fully armed knights struggled against orcs.
But Yoo-jin’s combat power had already far surpassed the level of ordinary knights.
At this point, there weren’t many beings that could match Yoo-jin.
As Yoo-jin leisurely searched the corpse’s pockets for loot,
“…?!”
At the bizarre voice, his hand froze.
A bubbling sound came from inside the bloody corpse’s throat.
He immediately realized.
This wasn’t a human voice.
“Crazy.”
Quickly grabbing Undecided’s hand and stepping back, Yoo-jin’s eyes gradually widened.
The dark energy spreading from Lawrence’s corpse.
Just having that energy touch his skin made his insides churn and his head dizzy.
Uttering strange sounds, Lawrence’s corpse began to move.
Then the corpse twisted its joints and bones grotesquely and raised its body.
An unnatural movement, as if reversing the process of falling backwards.
That was dangerous.
Very dangerous.
Yoo-jin’s 12 years of experience, which had become instinct, screamed so.
As goosebumps rose, Yoo-jin drew his sword and took a combat stance.
“Undecided. Step back.”
“…Okay.”
The right-hand man of the final boss, Draken.
One of the Four Heavenly Kings.
It was the appearance of Belphegor, the Demon of Sloth.
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