A Shadow's Calculated Gambit
After parting ways with Juhan, the being once known as Blacky Number 5—who now called himself Karoon—stood atop a spire for a long while, quietly observing the village below.
The cold night wind whistled past him, yet he remained utterly motionless. His mind was consumed by a single question: how could he fulfill his master’s orders more perfectly? What level of results would prove truly helpful to him?
That was all he pondered. Merchants. Adventurers. Farmers. Nobles. He watched the lives of countless humans, analyzing their actions, emotions, speech patterns, and habits.
In the blink of an eye, an entire day slipped by. Once it had passed, Karoon no longer felt the need to observe anything further. He simply organized the information he had gathered.
This much should suffice.
Human society was far more fragile than Karoon had anticipated. It was incomparable to the era his creator had described from the past.
Though it was only a small village, the overall standard was pathetically low. Their vigilance was practically nonexistent. Most of them looked as though they had never once faced a situation where their lives were truly on the line.
“⋯⋯.”
After completing his observation, analysis, and organization, Karoon finally reached a single conclusion.
Humans had forgotten. They had forgotten the war from a thousand years ago, the terror that had nearly driven the world to ruin. Even the figure his creator had warned him about—Carius—was now nothing more than an old legend.
No one was prepared. No one was afraid. They were simply living ordinary days.
I cannot understand this.
He was certain that even if he began operating in this village right now, there would be no problems at all.
However, one obstacle held him back.
This village is where my creator primarily operates.
What if his actions somehow caused harm to his creator? That alone was what had restrained Karoon’s movements until now.
That would be unforgivable.
Even if it was only the slightest possibility, it could never be tolerated. It was only right to eliminate any risk factors from the very beginning.
With that judgment made, Karoon slowly turned his gaze elsewhere—toward a city quite far from this place.
Poltable, was it?
A place where far more humans gathered, where people of higher status resided. It would undoubtedly be much more efficient for gathering information than here.
I should head there.
The decision came swiftly. Karoon intended to move to a location that maintained a suitable distance from his creator while still being reasonably removed.
From there, he would blend into human society and collect information.
If possible, it would be best to recruit a human of high status.
Infiltrating their circles would be the first true step toward obtaining information that could genuinely aid his master.
The real question, then, was how to make contact with them naturally.
“⋯⋯.”
Karoon pondered for a moment. In that short time, he recalled several scenes that had left a strong impression on him.
They called it love, didn’t they?
Lovers. Married couples. Fiancés.
The way those humans behaved toward one another when using such terms was utterly foreign to Karoon.
Those pairs would whisper the word “love” to each other and willingly offer up everything they possessed without hesitation. Sometimes secrets, sometimes wealth, sometimes even their own futures. To Karoon, it was a rather fascinating phenomenon.
It appeared most frequently between young women and men.
The emotion called love. There seemed to be no better tool for manipulating humans.
Of course, no matter how much time passed, Karoon would never truly understand that emotion. But he could understand its results, and he could certainly act it out convincingly.
Gain trust. Control emotions. Acquire information. That would be more than enough.
All that remained was deciding on a target.
A young woman. Preferably one of high status.
A young noblewoman. Someone with relatively low wariness who could still leverage the influence of her family. No matter how he considered it, that seemed the most efficient choice.
Not high enough to sit at the very peak of human society, but influential enough to dominate a single city. He needed to find a woman at that level.
Karoon absently stroked his chin.
As he did so, he caught sight of his own reflection in the spire’s wall. More precisely, he was reorganizing what criteria humans used to feel favor toward others.
Appearance. Wealth. Honor. Status. Power.
These were the factors he had extracted from the information he had collected. Among them, what Karoon could utilize was clear.
This should present no issues.
It was a calm conclusion. An objective assessment.
Black hair, refined features, and a physique that was considered impressive even by human standards.
With his current appearance alone, achieving his goal would not be difficult. There seemed to be no need to alter the precious body his creator had bestowed upon him.
What remained was deciding on a specific target and how to approach her.
I should make use of the emotion called fear.
Among the emotions Karoon had observed, the one humans displayed as “fear” stood out. Ordinary humans were incredibly weak. That was why they felt fear so easily. And they also tended to place great trust in those who saved them from that fear.
Danger and salvation. Trust and gratitude. The sequence appeared to have a rather deep correlation.
Love didn’t seem like something that could be achieved in a short time.
Besides, the emotion of love looked complicated. While its effect seemed certain, forming it would likely require a great deal of time.
Of course, it wasn’t entirely impossible.
However, if he utilized the emotion of fear in the process, he could momentarily paralyze a human’s reason and strike at the moment they became vulnerable.
The threat of death, followed by salvation. In a desperate situation, he would earn the trust directed toward the one who saved them. That was his conclusion.
It will be efficient.
His subsequent actions proceeded without a hitch.
First, Karoon went looking for a suitable monster. Before long, he discovered one that humans called a Grey Fang.
It was the perfect monster for his plan. Neither controlling it nor subduing it posed any difficulty.
Karoon kept the Grey Fang restrained and waited an entire additional day. He was searching for a human who would fit his plan perfectly.
And then, a carriage entered his field of vision.
Clatter. Clatter.
It was quite a large carriage. The luxurious wood and intricate patterns were striking. At a glance, it clearly did not belong to an ordinary noble. The number of knights and soldiers escorting it was also considerable.
And most importantly—
Ssshh—.
Just right.
Inside the carriage, he could sense the presence of a young woman. It matched the target he had been waiting for exactly.
“Go.”
Kii, kiiieeeek!
At Karoon’s short command, the Grey Fang charged toward the carriage as if desperately fleeing from him.
Thud! Thud!
In an instant, the Grey Fang appeared on the road above.
Swoosh!
“Grrrrrr⋯.”
“I-it’s a Grey Fang!”
“A monster! A monster has appeared!”
“Everyone, prepare for battle!”
The knights and soldiers who saw it immediately drew their weapons, but it was already far too late.
Hiiiiing—!
Crunch!
“Aaaargh!”
“Ugh… kuh….”
The horses that met the Grey Fang’s gaze were already terrified and trying to flee in panic. The soldiers’ faces turned deathly pale at the sight of their commander dying in an instant.
Grrrrr….
A monster that even high-ranking adventurers struggled to face—the Grey Fang. Who could have imagined such a creature would suddenly appear on a major road like this?
Thud! Boom!
The road had long since turned into a scene of carnage.
“P-protect the young lady!”
“Retreat! Retreat!”
Grrrrrk!
Even in the face of those desperate screams, the Grey Fang did not stop.
Tap!
Kweeeeeeek!
“N-no….”
“Young lady!”
The moment the massive monster known as the Grey Fang leaped toward the carriage they had been desperately guarding—the very moment they thought everything was over—
Swoosh.
Someone appeared.
Black hair. Indifferent eyes. A casual stride as if he were merely out for a stroll. That was the beginning and the end of it.
What happened next did not take long.
Swoosh.
K-keeeurk….
The monster that the knights had failed to stop even at the cost of their lives was sent rolling across the ground with a single slash.
Thud—.
“W-who is that guy?”
“⋯J-just now.”
“Young lady! Are you alright?!”
The surviving knights and soldiers could not comprehend what had just happened.
It was the same monster that had driven them to the brink of death moments ago. They had thought their lives were over, yet suddenly this?
“He killed it in one strike?”
“T-that’s impossible.”
Step. Step.
Even amid their confusion, Karoon simply walked quietly through them.
His gaze was fixed on only one place—the carriage whose side had been slightly shattered, revealing its interior.
“⋯⋯.”
“Y-young lady? Where are you….”
Karoon could feel the gaze staring at him from inside the carriage.
And upon confirming the emotion filling that gaze, Karoon was certain.
This would undoubtedly be helpful to his master.
Meanwhile.
“Hmm.”
Juhan was walking slowly down the street. Naturally, he had no particular destination. He was simply continuing to gather information.
Should I take on a few requests and raise my adventurer rank a bit?
These were the kinds of thoughts occupying his mind.
Of course, that didn’t mean he was wandering around just anywhere.
Let’s avoid that place for now.
Juhan’s gaze briefly lingered on a tall bell tower rising in the distance.
It was, of course, the Antonio Church. He had no intention of going anywhere near it.
Sigh… just thinking about that bell…
Even now, the memory was chilling. He had no desire to experience anything like that a second time.
With that, Juhan naturally began shifting his steps toward the opposite side of the church.
“Huh?”
He soon noticed that there were far more people than usual wandering around this area—specifically, around the church.
It wasn’t even a holy day today. Was something going on?
He learned the reason from the conversations of the people walking nearby.
“Did you hear? They say a high-ranking member of the church is stopping by our Enton Village for a bit.”
“Yeah, I heard that too. But why is he coming?”
“I don’t know that part. But they say it’s someone way higher up than we expected?”
“Do you know who it is?”
“Not sure. Even the priests at the church don’t seem to know the details.”
The rumor that a high-ranking church official would be visiting the Antonio Church—in other words, Enton Village.
A high-ranking person is coming? To this tiny village?
He couldn’t guess the reason. Maybe they were just stopping by on their way somewhere.
There was no way they would come all this way just because a thousand-year-old hunk of scrap metal had rung a little on its own.
“It can’t be someone at the level of a high priest, right?”
“No way. Why would someone that important come to a tiny village like this?”
“True.”
So a high-ranking official from the church is coming, huh.
Excluding the rumors about Karoon, this was the most interesting piece of information he had heard in the past few days. Hmm.
Getting too close might be risky, but observing from a distance should be fine, right?
To be honest, he was a little curious. Not about the church leadership itself, but about what level these so-called high-ranking officials actually were.
It seemed like a good idea to check it out this time.