Chapter 121
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 121
Chapter Title: Black Market
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The Empire's festival, the Praise of Bavern, had finally drawn to a close.
It had stretched on for nearly a month, and people were shaking off the lingering excitement to return to their daily routines.
"Wow...... Really......"
Cloi couldn't close her mouth as she listened to Jun recount everything that had happened in his absence.
"Looks like you wrapped it up pretty neatly, right?"
Jun said with a proud expression.
In truth, hadn't he wisely resolved a situation that could have turned deadly with just a single misstep?
But.
"Are you insane???"
"......??"
Cloi's response was unexpectedly icy.
"Hey! You almost died, and you're laughing about it?"
"No, but still......"
"But still what? You know one wrong word in front of the Imperial Family could send you straight across the River of Death!"
There was a saying in the Empire:
-If you see a noble's carriage overturned on the road, don't touch it—run.
Getting tangled up with nobles never ended well, and here he was, not only rushing to the site of an imperial carriage crash but digging up all the hidden scandals inside it!
And on top of that, stepping in to resolve it himself!
"Well...... But we secured the rights to the mana fluid business because of it. All's well that ends well."
"Sure, but you have to be alive to spend the money."
In Aiden's case, Cloi hadn't said much since the Imperial Family had ultimately approved it, but hearing about the Third Prince nearly dying or it being the work of some organization threatening the Empire was a whole different story.
"Anyway, we'll never cross paths with those royals again. Our main stage is Blackout. Once we handle this, we're done. More importantly, what do you think of the Black Guard's request?"
"You're really something! Sigh...... That part doesn't sound bad, at least."
"What about info on them?"
"The Black Market channels will take some time. Internal info doesn't leak out easily there. It'll be a few days."
"I see. Hmm......"
"What's up?"
Cloi looked puzzled as Jun suddenly seemed lost in thought.
"Did you catch another lead?"
"Not exactly. Since we're digging into them anyway, how about we start building our own intel network?"
"Do we really need to? You've got me."
"True enough. But you're getting busier by the day."
"Ah...... Yeah, you're right."
With the potion business, preparations for the next season, and now gearing up for the mana fluid venture.
She still had some breathing room because most of it was in the planning stages, but soon enough, she'd be swamped.
"We need people we can move like limbs for when that hits."
"Got it. So, what are you looking for?"
"I'm planning to swallow up an intel group in the Black Market."
"What?"
The intel outfits operating in the Black Market were all pretty rough around the edges.
'Oh. Right.'
Come to think of it, Jun and his crew weren't exactly pushovers.
"Got your eye on one?"
"Yeah. The group's called Requiem. Leader's name is...... Chiles."
"You even know the leader's name?"
"Heard it come up a few times."
At this point in time, the guy should definitely be topside.
"He's useful in all sorts of ways, so I figure I'll reel him in. Mind gathering some intel on them?"
"Sure thing. Don't worry about that."
With that, Jun wrapped up his chat with Cloi and headed back to his room.
He wanted to unwrap the gift from the Emperor.
What Jun had requested from the Emperor was a certain spellbook deeply slumbering in the Imperial vaults.
An ancient grimoire.
True to its name, it contained spells from ancient times.
But it differed from ordinary grimoires in texture.
When Jun opened it to about the middle, the pages were filled with nothing but blank margins—no knowledge whatsoever.
'Just like the game lore.'
This book was an artifact in its own right.
Unlike typical spellbooks with just one spell, this ancient grimoire compiled numerous ancient magics.
To fill its pages, one had to recall a spell from its contents and infuse mana into it.
In other words, with this one ancient grimoire, you could learn multiple ancient spells!
'Sounds amazing, but it's not all that great—ironic, huh.'
People often thought anything with "ancient" sounded top-tier, but not for this grimoire.
Worth its ancient name, it held outdated magical knowledge from a bygone era.
Even modern mages didn't welcome such classical spells.
Yet Jun had chosen it for a reason.
Ancient magic had flaws, but its stability was exceptional.
Where did magical stability come in handy?
Resistance to great magic, that's where.
'Soon enough, Layers 4 or 5 will be our main hunting grounds......'
Beings like Orc Lords could cancel magic with mana-infused presence alone or turn the environment against mages.
And magic cancellation was incredibly dangerous.
Adrian from the past Volcanic Mage Tower hadn't been able to control a canceled spell and burned to death.
Sure, you might not run into Orc Lords often......
But Jun, having met them multiple times already, desperately needed countermeasures.
'[Demon God Body] has covered me so far, but as I climb to higher circles, it'll get tougher.'
If Jun ever lost control and rampaged, the entire mercenary corps could be wiped out.
The issue with the ancient grimoire, though......
'Mana consumption is way less efficient than modern spells.'
But that wasn't a problem for Jun.
He'd never be short on mana.
And another thing.
'Ancient spells have difficulties that make even veteran mages balk.'
Untrodden paths have their reasons.
The ancient grimoire was infamous for its brutal difficulty.
Even with Jun's [Intermediate Magic Talent], it might take over a year.
But......
"......?"
An unfamiliar memory stirred in his mind.
With a 'No way, really?' feeling, Jun probed the wriggling memory.
"......Ahh, my past life's self."
Knowledge of ancient magic surfaced on its own.
Jun felt like bowing to the character he'd raised in his past life...... who was now raising him.
However, it wasn't ready-to-use like [Flare].
Unlike [Flare], which he'd personally leveled up and used, this was purely theoretical knowledge.
So, manifesting the spells and handling trial-and-error was all on Jun.
'And that's plenty.'
What might have taken a year was now accelerated several times over—no room for complaints.
Thanks to that, Jun grasped the basics of ancient magic theory in just a few days.
Around that time.
Intel on the Black Market that he'd left to Cloi came in.
"First off, from collaborating with the Black Guard knights you mentioned, we've spotted some suspects."
"Good. Location?"
"A major city not far from Emperorshield."
"A Black Market operating near the capital."
"Well, half of it's under Imperial oversight, you could say. The Abyss Gate's here too, after all."
"Fair point."
With Blackout's entrance in the capital, the Black Market had to be close.
"Here's a rough map of the Black Market."
"The circled spots?"
"Suspected trading spots for the targets. Start digging from there."
"Got it......"
"The triangles are shops run by that Requiem group you mentioned. But you'll have to crack their base passphrase yourself."
"That's plenty. Codes aren't a big deal anyway."
It already reeked of chaos just from the description, so Cloi added one last warning.
"Royals are involved here. Handle it with extreme care—no slip-ups."
Jun nodded casually.
He was well aware.
Soon after, he prepared to depart with his party, and at dawn, they left the city under the illusion magic of [Mosilla's Mirror].
Morbati, a bustling metropolis four days from Emperorshield.
Close to the capital and nearby cities, it brimmed with vibrant energy.
In an inn at the city's heart, Jun met with Tear Din, captain of the Black Guard.
"Made it in one piece."
"How have you been?"
"Very well. Thanks to the Gilenoi Merchant Guild, a few of my men have already infiltrated the Black Market."
"Already on the move."
"The sooner we wrap this up, the better."
Tear Din chuckled briefly before getting down to business.
"No solid gains yet, though. Being near the capital, security's tighter than in Blackout."
Eleanor fielded that one.
"Probably due to the location. Blackout markets are one-and-done with little backlash, but this one's rule-bound and sustained, so they're warier of outsiders."
"Ho...... You know your way around here?"
Tear Din showed interest in Eleanor.
A high priestess knowing such things was surprising.
"Church work sometimes requires tracking cursed artifacts or tainted goods. Most end up in Black Markets like this."
Bern had handled most of that.
Eleanor's knowledge came largely from him.
"Hmm. So it'll take time. Annoying."
"Mind if I handle that part?"
"You have a way?"
"Yes. Take a look."
Jun showed the Black Market map from Cloi.
"Ah, from the Gilenoi Guild. But these are new markings."
"Locations of an intel group entrenched in this Black Market."
"Planning to use them to gain a foothold?"
"Exactly."
"Brilliant! But touching types like that could spread rumors across the whole Market. Risky, no?"
"I've got that covered."
With that, Jun glanced at Maya.
More precisely, at the 'Akanthus's Fang' on her waist.
"One more thing—spread some rumors for me."