No Rights for the Dark Mage (1)

"...If everything had gone according to plan, the results should have been out by now."

Baltar Brace stared down at the communication crystal ball blinking red on his office desk with cold eyes. It had already been over an hour since contact was lost with the dark mage he had secretly stationed.

Did I go too far?

The doubt wasn't entirely unwarranted. The trial he had set was far too ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠difficult for someone who had only just stepped into the 3-Star rank.

But Baltar soon shook his head. To inherit the position of the family's successor, one had to be at least that vicious. If the boy couldn't endure it and died, it simply meant his vessel was only that large.

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

At that moment.

"My Lord! An urgent report!"

Hurried, heavy footsteps echoed from beyond the office door. Before Baltar's brow could even furrow, the firmly shut door burst open. Baltar slowly stubbed out the cigar he was holding in the ashtray and looked up.

"Well? What of Sian? Did he succeed?"

"T-That is..."

The Knight Commander's lips trembled violently before he managed to speak.

"The Underground Treasury has been... completely destroyed and buried under the earth!"

"...What?"

Baltar's face instantly stiffened. What on earth was this nonsense? Why would the treasury, which was heavily fortified with layers of defense magic circles comparable to a small-scale dungeon, be destroyed?

"T-They say... an unimaginably dense burst of sword qi exploded from within, slicing through all the supporting marble pillars! Currently, the ground where the treasury once stood has collapsed into a massive sinkhole!"

"Dammit!"

Slam!

Baltar slammed his hand on the desk and stood up. His mana instantly weighed heavily upon the office.

"H-Hieeeek...! I-It wasn't me—"

"I know that, so just tell me the situation! What about the treasures?! What happened to the centuries-old family manuals, the rare herbs, and the gold coins stored inside?!"

The Knight Commander flinched at the ferocious roar. A normal father would have first asked about the life or death of his son buried under the rubble, but to Baltar, a thorough pragmatist, the family's assets came first.

"Y-Yes, My Lord! The debris is so vast that even magic cannot easily clear it. With a collapse of this scale... it is difficult to guarantee the safety of the treasures, let alone the Young Master's survival."

"..."

A heavy silence hung over the office.

Grit! Baltar gnashed his teeth.

That damned scoundrel of a son dumps shit on the family until the very moment of his death...!

He had briefly held some expectations, thinking the boy had obtained a miraculous opportunity, but it seemed his true nature had not changed!

"Never speak of this to the outside world. If even a whisper of this reaches my ears—"

"I will take it to my grave!"

Soon, the reporting knight left, and Baltar swept his hair back roughly.

"Sigh... In the end, was he right?"

Once again, a past conversation with his old friend came to mind.

Baltar was an atheist to his bones, but today, he felt a chilling sensation, as if he were truly being controlled by someone.

But then.

"Aigoo, Father. Who snatched what this time? Is it more important than your own son?"

"...?"

Was he seeing things?

Creak—

The office door slid open soundlessly, and Sian walked in, dressed immaculately without a single speck of dust on him. A characteristic, sly smile was plastered across his face.

*

"Y-You... You're alive and well?! You didn't get crushed?!"

Baltar's pupils shook as if he were looking at a ghost. A thrilling wave of satisfaction washed over me.

This is it. This is exactly what I wanted!

It felt like I had successfully tricked a newbie by intentionally stripping off all my high-tier gear and acting like a weakling.

By the way, didn't the original novel say Baltar's sensory perception was abnormally sharp?

I guess since I possessed this body, it was hard for him to read me.

Indeed. If he could deduce the thoughts of a veteran player who had poured ten thousand hours into the original game, he wouldn't be sitting here playing Duke while preparing for the upcoming episodes.

I wore a sly grin and spoke.

"What do you mean, 'how am I alive'? When your child returns from the dead, shouldn't you hug him warmly first? How disappointing."

With that, I plopped down onto the luxurious leather sofa opposite Baltar. Naturally, I crossed my legs as a bonus.

"...Did you collapse the treasury on purpose?"

Sensing something foreign, Baltar's demeanor shifted, looking ready to draw his greatsword at any moment.

"On purpose? That's a bit of an exaggeration."

I countered slyly, glancing past the office door.

...He didn't run away, did he? That would complicate things.

Well, we had a promise, so unless he was a complete idiot, he would keep it. If he ran away now, his life would truly be forfeit, even if mine wasn't.

"Let's call it self-defense. You deployed a legion of succubi to suck the life out of your growing son, and the supporter you hired to block the Sword Spirit's gimmick was quite a spectacle."

I shrugged and gestured toward the door with my chin.

"Isn't that right?"

"..."

"...Uh, isn't it?"

...What? Did he really run away? Why isn't he coming in?

"Who are you talking to? Your father is right here."

Heh. Baltar, who had caught on to the awkward vibe like a hawk, chuckled and crossed his arms.

This isn't right.

I didn't think he'd be stupid enough to actually run.

"Well, it doesn't matter. I already know his base is in the unexplored territory anyway."

"Fuck, how do you know that?!"

Bingo. As expected, the more cowardly they are, the faster they reveal themselves when their safety is threatened.

Whoosh!

A grey robe suddenly materialized inside the office. It was the very dark mage Baltar had secretly hidden deep within the treasury.

"M-My Lord...! Save me...! This... this crazy Young Master predicted all of my spell castings and collapsed the entire treasury...!"

"What, switching sides already?"

Turns out he wasn't a rat, but a snake.

As the dark mage tried to grab Baltar's pant leg, Baltar reached out with a faint smile. The dark mage's distorted face lit up. As if he had found a lifeline, he grinned widely and reached out to shake Baltar's hand. But just as their hands were about to meet—

"Are you sure you want to hold that?"

I clicked my tongue and stepped between them.

"...?"

"Don't you see the ring on his finger?"

At my gesture, the dark mage's gaze shifted to Baltar's thick hand. Atop the rugged black leather glove, a dull, skull-shaped ring was worn on his thumb.

The Ring of Absorption. Long time no see.

It couldn't escape my eyes. A magic ring that, when shaking hands with someone at least four ranks lower in cultivation, instantly drains every single drop of the target's mana, killing them on the spot. The corpse immediately turns to dust and vanishes.

Hieeeek!

Recognizing the ring, the dark mage shrieked and whipped his hand back as if he had been burned.

"Y-Y-You crazy bastard!!!"

Having wagged his tail for Baltar just a moment ago, the dark mage darted behind my back like lightning.

"N-No, wait! Save me, Young Master! I was foolish! I'd rather you send me to the Heresy Inquisition! I will atone for my sins!"

Clinging to my pant leg and trembling, he was quite a sight to behold.

I let out a chuckle and leaned deep into the sofa. Baltar, whose blatant attempt to silence the witness had been thwarted by me, had a thoroughly sour expression.

"Too bad, Father. Your attempt to destroy the evidence has failed."

"...You and your uselessly sharp eyes."

Baltar clicked his tongue and withdrew his hand. He didn't show a shred of embarrassment despite being caught red-handed. Typical of him.

"Indeed, your wits have grown remarkably quick. So, what is your true purpose in dragging this filthy heretic all the way into my office?"

Finally, we were getting to the main point. Baltar rested his chin on his hand, glaring at me with sharp eyes. Though he had retracted his killing intent, he still looked ready to slit my throat the moment he saw an opening.

But I had nothing to lose. I flashed the most obnoxious, smug smile I could muster and spoke.

"Naturally, we need to reach an agreement, don't we?"

"...An agreement?"

"Those succubi left a massive trauma on my pure mind. For starters, I'd like you to raise my allowance under the guise of mental damage compensation."

"Oh?"

The corner of Baltar's mouth curled upward. His eyes gleamed with a strange intrigue, making it hard to believe he was the same man radiating killing intent just moments ago.

"An allowance. How much do you want?"

"Increase it from the current ten thousand gold a month to thirty thousand gold."

Baltar let out a hollow laugh at my audacious demand.

"Crazy bastard. You dare threaten your father with the Heresy Inquisition to extort thirty thousand gold a month? That amount could fund the territory's outer militia for an entire year."

"Surely the life of the Duke of Brace is worth more than a year's worth of militia funding?"

"...Pfft, hahahaha!"

Baltar suddenly burst into roaring laughter. At his abrupt, mad laughter, the dark mage hiding behind my back let out a squeak and shrank away.

"Fine, very well. A mere thirty thousand gold. I shall give it to you."

"And one more thing."

I smiled, picking up a cigar from the table. I put it in my mouth, but—

"...It doesn't suit you. It looks like a woman smoking, which feels rather strange."

Baltar suddenly turned dead serious.

"Excuse me?"

"Forget it. You said you have more demands? Let's hear them."

"..."

I simply put the cigar down, cleared my throat a few times, and spoke.

"Since clearing the rubble of the collapsed treasury will require hiring mages and spending a fortune anyway, I'll save you the trouble. Hand over the exclusive excavation rights to the treasury's ruins, along with the ownership of any artifacts recovered from them."

"You wrap it in fancy words, but you're just saying you want to monopolize all the treasures."

Baltar stared at me intently, resting his chin on his hand. There was no anger. Rather, it was a look of sadistic pleasure, as if saying, 'Let's see how far this bastard will bite.'

"If you aren't going to take them anyway, won't they belong to me as the family heir? You're being quite stingy about me using my inheritance a bit early."

"Ha! Simply unbelievable."

Slide.

Baltar stood up. Opening a drawer, he pulled out a sheet of paper without hesitation.

Scribble, scribble.

He tossed the contract, which he had signed without a moment's delay, toward me.

"Take it."

"Pardon?"

A dumbfounded sound escaped my mouth.

There's no way... He's giving it up this easily?

In the original novel, Baltar Brace was a bloodless, tearless miser and a cold-blooded man. Suspecting some hidden agenda, I couldn't bring myself to take the contract right away.

"What is it? You barged in here with such bravado, yet you freeze up when you see the signed contract?"

"No. I was just surprised you agreed so easily."

"Don't misunderstand."

Baltar grinned, his eyes flashing.

"This is an 'investment' in you exceeding my expectations. If you're a venomous snake capable of holding my leash and shaking it, then handing over some treasury ruins is a small price to pay."

"..."

"In fact, I look forward to it. I want to see how you will swallow this family whole with that venom of yours."

I see. Rather than being angry that his scoundrel of a son had not just cleaned up his act but had become clever enough to threaten him, he felt a profound sense of satisfaction.

In short, he's a total pervert.

I decided to live up to his expectations. After channeling my mana to sign the contract, I lightly stood up from my seat.

"Thank you for your cooperation, Lord Duke. I'll quietly dig up the treasury ruins with my heretic friend here."

"Do as you please."

After offering a sly farewell, I tapped the dark mage on the shoulder and opened the office door.

"Let's go, snake. Time to work."

"Huh...? But during the negotiation, you said if I just stood by your side, you'd give me the treasure I wanted and let me go—"

"Hmm? Do you want to cut your life short?"

Shring.

I lightly flicked the hilt of the sword at my waist with my thumb, sending a cold metallic ring echoing down the hallway.

"H-Hieeeek! N-No! I'll work! I'll dig until my bones shatter!"

The dark mage bowed deeply, his face pale. Yet, his lips were pouted in stark contrast. A moment later, he grumbled in a barely audible whisper.

"How did I end up in such a godforsaken territory... They're nothing but a father-son team of con artists!"

Hearing that, I snorted inwardly as I stared at the back of his head. Come to think of it, it was quite funny. Wasn't he the one who tried to shake Baltar's hand first just to save his own skin? It only strengthened my resolve to become even more vicious. I had possessed this body without a single protagonist buff; if I wanted to survive, this was the bare minimum.

Now that I think about it... there really isn't much time left.

It was about D-3. The day my suspension from the academy would be lifted.

Before returning, I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had to prepare for the 'real' ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠protagonist by any means necessary. Soon, it would be time for Sian, the fat ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠young master who bullied the protagonist and hit on the heroines, to be thoroughly put in his place at the academy.