Chapter 60
Chapter 60
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: 12. The Shrewd Fool (3)
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'...No way.'
Ian spotted Vivian waiting obediently.
A talent called No Casting that anyone would covet if they knew about it.
But he quickly shook off the thought.
'No Casting is just a theoretical ability. I only learned about it myself from the Tower Master in my second run, so there's no way a mere crime syndicate would know. Even if rumors about the talent spread, no one would believe them.'
'And if they targeted Vivian knowing her talent, that makes even less sense. It's impossible for weaklings like these, and they wouldn't have wasted time chatting her up like that.'
Gordon bumping into Vivian could just be chalked up to pure coincidence.
Guys like that hitting on women weren't exactly rare.
'Realistically, the chance they were after Vivian's talent is zero. It's most reasonable to assume it was just typical thug behavior.'
But that didn't mean he could let his guard down.
The very fact that a crime organization had infiltrated Superbia was a massive problem.
'This is Superbia, the starting point of the Hero System, so the Empire keeps a close eye on it.'
Which meant security here was relatively good.
Relative to other regions, at least. Professional crime syndicates found it hard to take root or infiltrate Superbia.
'So how did they risk expanding their turf all the way here?'
The Libertarian Alliance avoided anything that could cause them loss or danger.
They calculated risks as meticulously as any merchant guild.
'They don't usually operate around Superbia anyway...'
The Alliance's top priorities were safety and guaranteed profits.
For such a cautious group to take on risk...
No. He needed to reframe the question.
They weren't the type to take risks.
Which meant the risks that should have been there had been drastically reduced—or eliminated.
'If someone guaranteed their safety in Superbia or promised decent profits... who could that be?'
The Emperor.
Ruled out immediately.
Contenders for the throne in the imperial family.
Ruled out too.
The Alliance was a big crime group, but not big enough for the imperial family to ally with.
The Military Police.
Captain Wolfgang was hot-tempered but incorruptible.
His subordinates were the same.
The Military Police only hired those devoted to the Empire, so ruled out.
'That leaves those two groups as the most likely.'
The remnants of the Anti-Imperial Alliance, crushed by Ian's tip-off after plotting rebellion.
Or the core of the Holy Unification Nation plan.
The two groups Ian had dismantled were now scheming subversion again, allying with the crime syndicate.
It fit perfectly.
'Most of the Anti-Imperial Alliance was executed, but not the Holy Unification core. The Holy Emperor was part of it at first, so they couldn't punish the rest.'
He'd heard from Macdullin Abbey that one core member, Bertolt Schultz, was rebuilding his forces.
'The Anti-Imperial Alliance was small, but remnants exist... They might have teamed up with the syndicate to pool strength. Sharing things like city tax expenditures, inter-city trade manifests, or supply depot locations would be hugely valuable...'
...All just baseless speculation.
Nothing was certain.
'I have way too little info.'
Ian didn't know much about crime organizations either.
In his second run, he'd spent most of his time growing stronger and hunting demons, so human crime groups were a blind spot.
This was as far as he could reason for now.
Anything beyond this was for the Military Police.
'Not my place to meddle, but keeping an eye won't hurt. I should ask them to share any intel they get.'
Sorting his thoughts, Ian decided to clean up the scene first.
Vivian was still waiting patiently over there.
And one guy was still sprawled at his feet.
Ian squatted and tapped the man's occiput.
"Did you know this guy's with the Libertarians?"
Members of the Libertarian Alliance were called "Libertarians."
In the meantime, Ian had checked this man and the knocked-out others.
Only Gordon had the mark.
"......"
"So you knew. Figured the organization would bail you out if things went south? Using disposable trash like this?"
The man realized how shortsighted he'd been and stayed silent.
"A D+ rank guy must have seemed reliable enough for low-level work like this. Heroes that strong are rare around here."
"......"
Every word hit home.
Stinging shame buried the man's face in the dirt.
"Which one?"
"...Pardon?"
"Gotta break something on you like your friends. You weren't planning to walk away unscathed without any loyalty, right?"
"Ah... th-that..."
No escape no matter how he thought about it.
He resigned himself.
"Left hand..."
"Right-handed?"
"Yes..."
Ian snapped his right hand.
"Aaaagh-! I said left... Gek."
Ian ignored him and knocked him out with another tap to the occiput.
"Anyone'd think I was killing him."
Ian pulled a hunting dagger from his pocket and began dismantling.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Vivian, all done."
"Y-yes... Wh-what happened...?"
"Hm... Not exactly a pretty sight."
Behind Vivian, the gruesome sight of the four came into view.
At Ian's words, she gulped.
"Didn't do anything too bad. Just stripped them naked."
"...Huh?"
"Down to their underwear, hugged them all together, and tied them up. They'll wake up tomorrow to quite the spectacle."
Ian had dismantled their clothes.
He'd checked their Hero IDs and alerted the guards, so the Military Police would handle pickup.
"...Pfft!"
"Whoa, don't look. It's pretty gruesome."
"I-I won't! Hehe..."
Vivian giggled but soon pouted.
"Sorry... Because of me..."
"Your fault?"
"W-well... Not really..."
"Right? No need to apologize then."
"Hehe..."
"Good thing it worked out. You succeeded with the spell that wasn't working."
"Hehe, yeah."
Recalling her success, Vivian beamed.
Then she noticed something odd.
"...Huh? Wait? You saw?"
Ian just shrugged.
"Ughhh... I wanted to surprise you..."
Vivian puffed her cheeks and grumbled.
"I was already shocked enough by you—any more and I might not survive it."
"Huh? Shocked by me?"
"Why not? You adapted your spell structure on the fly, have high artifact compatibility, cleared two dungeons, trained on your own, and mastered a spell you couldn't before."
"......"
"All in one day? Not being shocked would be weirder. I'm a bit worried—and excited—for what you'll show next."
"Aaaah, got it...!"
Embarrassed, Vivian stomped her feet in a tantrum.
"Let's head in then. Staring at those guys is unpleasant."
"Yeah."
"You can peek if you're curious. But I won't take responsibility if it scars you."
"I'm not looking!"
Vivian followed half a step behind Ian back to the inn.
The whole way, she didn't even glance back.
She just kept staring at Ian.
Over and over.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Rest up for today at least..."
"Huh? Oh, um, I actually have something bothering me..."
"Hm..."
Listening was important, but so was rest.
Especially after two dungeons and solo training today.
Ian hesitated, and Vivian pleaded urgently.
"Y-you said I'm top priority?"
"...Can't argue with that."
"And everyone's still asleep—I might wake them for nothing..."
True enough.
Quite some time had passed since Kati's report.
Kati and the others were likely asleep.
Ian had no choice but to let Vivian into his room.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ In the eastern continent, Fioreene County.
In a hidden drawing room of a castle, two men sat facing each other.
The luxurious space was adorned with ornate red carpets and golden chandeliers.
One man spoke.
A young noble in a finely embroidered high-class suit.
"Did you check the spot I told you about?"
Across from him sat a rough-looking man in leather armor and a hooded cloak.
"Heard the report. Superbia's not ripe for action yet, but the outer cities are workable."
"It better be, since I gave you the info. I guarantee your safety and profits if you stick to those points and routes."
The noble boasted confidently.
Arrogant, but true, so the man didn't deny it.
The noble spoke again.
"Still no sign of Bertolt?"
"Nope. Slippery bastard—hard to track."
"Damn it... How did his name leak from Macdullin Abbey? And then he bolts right away? Never trust zealots."
He'd proposed the temporary alliance first, but the noble blamed Bertolt anyway.
The man ignored the contradiction.
"We need to grab him quick... If Razri catches him and he spills everything... Ugh, nightmare."
The man changed topics.
"This place secure? Heard the count's hosting a duel tournament soon. People will flock here. He doesn't suspect you're Anti-Imperial remnants, right?"
"Hmph. Can't tell that loose-lipped count. No choice—he's already blabbing about the tournament everywhere. Canceling now would look suspicious."
"Hm."
The man knew that.
He was just testing how far the young noble thought ahead.
"But good news too."
"Good news?"
"Beatrice reached out."
"Oh? That Beatrice?"
"Yep. The one. Said no interest last time, but now wants to discuss the mercenary business. Very eager."
"She doesn't know it's for recruiting private troops for the Anti-Imperial Alliance."
"Heh heh heh. Exactly. A legendary hero backing rebellion? Exciting, no?"
Aaron Somerset, one of the executed Anti-Imperial leaders.
His son, Henry Somerset, an Anti-Imperial remnant, grinned slyly.
He'd even shoved huge sums at Beatrice and Kaily in Badenverk last time.
"Even if exposed, we can dodge blame. We'll cling to the 1st Hero Party—who'd touch us?"
The man just grinned and played along.
Rebellion? He didn't care much.
As long as the deals went as promised.
His organization supplied manpower and gear to weakened Anti-Imperial nobles, and passed info across the continent.
In return, they got valuable secrets only those nobles knew and turned them into cash.
Whether their rebellion succeeded or not...
As long as safety and profits were secured.
He was always ready to bail.
Just one curiosity.
"Speaking of the 1st Party... Their manager's Ian, right?"
"Yeah. Heard he got kicked out recently."
"If the tournament happens, he might come here?"
"Hm... If he's rebuilding the party, sure. He'd scout talents among participants. Why, know him?"
"...You could say that. He owes me personally."
The man clenched his fist threateningly on the table.
His wrist tattoo gleamed in the light.
A circle with an X in the center.
Uniquely, all ends of the X protruded outside the circle.
"Heh. Owes you?"
The man who'd stolen a premium elf and a special ring artifact.
Not just that—he'd slaughtered all on-site members and a key client, then torched the place.
The organization lost 20% of its capital and manpower that day.
Without it, he'd be sitting equal to Henry—or above.
"Heard Ian was an ex-Hero too. Confident?"
"Just a puppet for some Philip after retiring from the field. Quitting young means he's mediocre."
"Ha! Yeah. Compared to you—a B-rank Hero pushing low A-rank—he's nothing. Poor bastard's unlucky as hell. If he'd stuck with the 1st Party, they'd protect him."
The man had been after Ian all along.
Emotional revenge for hitting his organization, plus calculated reasons.
Go soft on external attacks, and rivals look down on you.
Internal discipline crumbles too.
So, risks or not, he planned to hunt Ian down and kill him.
Tracking was tough at first; didn't even know who did it.
Learned later, after the monstrous 1st Hero Party formed—untouchable.
But now Ian was ousted.
And might come to their hideout region.
"...Looking forward to meeting him."
The man didn't even know what Ian looked like.
Or why he'd done it.
But the organization's revenge had to be complete.
For safety and survival.
That incident shook internal order badly and hit them externally hard.
Still recovering.
He had to end it personally now.
Edgar, leader of the Libertarian Alliance, vowed as much.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Kati slipped out late at night.
Vivian hadn't returned yet.
Ian had gone to fetch her, so probably no issue.
If serious, he'd have signaled via the Ring of Subordination.
Still, better check.
She hadn't telepathed via the ring, in case Vivian had turned in early in Ian's room.
Just check for presence outside.
The moment she pressed her ear to the door.
-I'm smitten.
Someone inside said that.
"......"
Kati froze in place.