Chapter 142
Chapter 142
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 142
Chapter Title: Talent Recruitment (2)
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As dusk gradually settled in.
Clack-clack—
Inside a carriage racing down the city's main avenue, a beautiful woman with pink hair and purple eyes quietly gazed out the window.
The soft smile on her face held an air of pure innocence, as if she were blissfully unaware of anything, but her inner thoughts were far from calm.
'This is...'
Overcome by a creeping sense of unease, the woman—Siana—kept her gaze fixed outside while spreading her senses to probe the surroundings.
One, two, three...
The number of ghostly presences had clearly multiplied compared to before.
Some had even marked her as a surveillance target, trailing the carriage at a fixed distance.
And as the situation reached that point, she could finally confirm it.
'I've been tailed!'
By the Immortal Army. Banshee Queen Olivia was investigating her.
But she had no idea why she'd been exposed.
Mere ghostly entities couldn't have pierced her flawless human disguise.
'No, they haven't figured out I'm that Siana yet. The investigation must have started for some other reason.'
If Olivia knew she was the 'succubus Siana' and had targeted her specifically, the response would have been far more thorough.
As it was, the surveillance felt a bit sloppy, more like routine information gathering on an ordinary human.
'Then where did they get the tail on me? Not as an Imperial noble... Oath of Reverse Heaven activities? Through the Old man?'
Her mind grew tangled.
But he wouldn't know her real name or anything beyond her base being in the Empire.
Their cooperation had only ever been at that level.
'I've had a bad feeling ever since contact with the ones I sent to Talaria suddenly cut off. Could this be related?'
In the end, she could only conclude that her location had been exposed through some complex, untraceable paths she couldn't pinpoint right away.
'Whatever the cause, now that I've caught their attention like this, I can't stay here any longer. Time to pull out.'
It wasn't an easy decision, as it meant abandoning a great deal.
Her status as an Azerion Empire noble had been carefully cultivated over many long years.
But there was no helping it.
If Olivia was interested, that meant the Immortal King's gaze was turning this way too.
Lingering could lead to her being dragged back into the Immortal Army.
'No way! Enlistment again?! I'd rather die!'
A position and identity could be rebuilt anytime.
But if the Immortal King caught her now, she'd be eternally bound until he was finally subjugated.
'Yeah, time to run.'
With her mind made up, she felt resolute, but there were still too many regrets to simply abandon everything and bolt.
'I've worked so hard to build my foundation here!'
Shouldn't she at least make some minimal arrangements for a potential return?
And secure some startup capital for a fresh start...
'...They won't come crashing in right this second, right? Someone like the Immortal King wouldn't bother showing up personally.'
Even if they did move, it'd probably just be Olivia and the other executives.
And since she was smack in the middle of an Imperial city, they couldn't act freely without him.
That bought her at least a few days until they were ready to come for her.
In the end, unable to shake her greed, Siana rationalized it to herself and headed for her mansion.
Among the valuables she needed to grab was, of course, 'Andrew Weaver.'
He came with some restrictions, but nothing beat his ability to monitor the continental situation from a single seat.
Clack-clack—thud!
Upon finally arriving at the mansion, she flung open the door and ignored the servants greeting her, heading straight for Andrew's presence.
Bang—!
The door flew open with a massive crash from her unhesitating shove.
But she had no time to care about such things now.
"Andrew—!"
"Huh? Sis? What's up all of a su—"
"Get ready to move right now!"
"...Ooh! So you thought the same, sis! I was just about to mention—"
"Enough—move!"
Andrew, sprawled in an armchair drowning in booze and grinning like a fool, staggered to his feet under her forceful command.
Meanwhile, Siana packed essentials into her black magic subspace while pondering how to minimize her losses.
'This has to come with me... This one's too much effort invested to abandon. Can I at least maintain the status quo? And that one...'
But as she frantically prepared her midnight flight.
Shiii—
A chilling sensation brushed her nape.
'Huh?'
She knew this feeling all too well.
The unfathomably dense, overwhelming power that smothered the mansion's dense security barriers.
Deep and dark, heavy and sticky.
A deathly abyss that devoured everything.
It was his presence, the one she'd dreaded.
'Aaaah—! I should have just ditched everything and run!'
Sensing her fate, Siana could only squeeze her eyes shut.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 'Tobea City... Not quite a metropolis, but no backwater either.'
And cities of this size always had thorough defenses against all sorts of anomalies.
Meaning stealthy infiltration wouldn't be easy from the start, and...
No matter how perfectly she hid her barriers, containing the mana backlash entirely was impossible.
Quiet in-and-out wasn't an option.
So he'd prepared.
Weeeeng—whiiiing—!
Boom—!
"Gah! What the hell?!"
"Kyaa—!"
Emergency sirens blared across the city, matched by explosions everywhere.
From lavish mansions to dingy alleys, the blasts plunged the darkening city into instant chaos.
'Alright, let's go.'
If quiet movement was tough, just move in the chaos.
Hans slipped silently into the pre-deployed barrier while his minions kicked off their activities.
Inside the barrier stood an ordinary noble mansion.
But that was just the facade—its inner workings were extraordinarily elaborate...
'Impressive. Most wouldn't even notice these security measures.'
Abilities like Path of the Arcane and Mana Dominion fired off in sequence, breathlessly analyzing the mansion's spells.
From perception distortion to aura concealment and intruder-repelling barriers.
All high-level magic, impossible to dismantle normally without serious time.
Crackle—!
Snap!
But irrelevant to the Immortal King with his overwhelming power.
Simply powering up and moving crushed the barriers' intricate mana structures under the sheer density of his black mana.
'Let's see... First...'
Hummm—
Distorting space with his presence, Hans entered in a flash, sending mana pulses sweeping the entire mansion.
Presences inside began collapsing one by one—and those resisting were pinpointed.
[There you are.]
And in the next instant.
Hans was already before them.
"Hii... Hiiik...!"
There was a drab blond man trembling violently at his sudden rift-tearing arrival, and...
[Hm? You?]
...a pink-haired woman flat on the floor, prostrating herself.
"Aah—! My King, you've finally come. This girl has waited breathlessly for your return!"
"S-Sis?"
Her unconditional submission was obvious at a glance.
The man beside her looked bewildered at the sudden shift, but she ignored him completely.
"Ohoho... To make your conquest of the continent smoother and surer, this girl has prepared diligently. Hiding among humans for ages, enduring with unwavering loyalty, awaiting the perfect chance..."
The pink-haired woman desperately spun excuses, sweat beading on her brow.
Watching silently, the Immortal King—Hans—quickly grasped why.
'Demon clan succubus, Siana.'
Her human disguise was flawless enough to fool even archbishops, but it couldn't evade his Abyssal Eye that detected all demons.
'Top ten under the previous Immortal King, I think.'
Summoned from the neighboring demon realm, she'd accidentally joined the Immortal Army.
Digging through his memories, her combat prowess was decent, but like Olivia, her true value lay elsewhere—making her a valuable asset.
'Hiding as an Imperial noble while demonic? Not easy. She's got real talent.'
Fooling even top powerhouses like temple elites made her the ultimate schemer.
Of course, right now she was just a caught deserter.
[Kekeke, looks like you've lived quite comfortably.]
"N-No, sire! This girl has counted the days to this moment..."
[Yet you hid pretty thoroughly for someone so eager.]
"Ho, hoho... I deeply regret not contacting you sooner..."
Her excuses resumed, but he had no patience for more nonsense.
"...But it was all to fulfill my duties more thoroughly—never for personal gain..."
[Siana—]
"Eek?!"
Hummm—
The moment he uttered her name, a strange resonance pierced her, renewing and overlaying the forced contract from three centuries ago.
"Aah..."
Unaware horns had sprouted, she moaned as the Immortal King's energy flooded her body.
Unlike other undead executives, she didn't grow stronger from death energy, but...
'Damn it, reenlisted after all.'
That alone sufficed to re-enslave her to the Immortal King.
Drip—
A tear she hadn't meant to shed at her unwanted return.
"A-Ah? Tears of joy? Proof of my loyalty, right? Ohohoho..."
Even then, survival instinct drove her mouth nonstop.
Satisfied, Hans nodded, his gaze shifting to the still-stiff, fidgeting man.
'What's with this guy? Mana brimming, but no signs of magic or aura training.'
The dissolute-looking drab blond froze under the stare, but Hans appraised him like a predator eyeing prey.
'No training traces, yet freakishly enhanced physique. Almost like... Huh? No way?'
Physical enhancement not from normal training, but external influence.
He knew this phenomenon well.
"Has the King taken an interest in this one? Andrew! Greet him properly."
"Y-Yes! H-Hello! I'm Andrew Weaver. Uh... pleased to meet you?"
The blond man—Andrew—fumbled awkwardly in the chaos.
But Hans's curiosity fixed on his true nature.
And Siana, now the century's schemer, spilled unasked details to win favor.
"Andrew's another talent I recruited for the cause. You'll be amazed at his utility, my King. All he's accomplished..."
And at the tale's end, the info he'd sought emerged.
"...One more shocking fact: he's from another world! Not the demon realm or spirit realm—wholly different dimension. Ohoho."
[...Hoo? Another dimension?]
Hans's eyes gleamed as he stared.
Siana had leaked his secrets without asking, but Andrew could only force a sycophantic grin, no protest possible.
"Y-Yes... Immortal King, sir. I'm from, uh, Earth. Hehe... It'll be nine years soon."
His answer stirred something special in Hans.
'Another Earthling awakener... besides me.'
Nearing two years since his transfer to Auterica.
The first encounter with a compatriot.