Chapter 173
Chapter 173
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 173
Chapter Title: Various Kinds (2)
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Cardak's shout prompted Rubia to respond with a weary expression.
"Why are you getting mad again?"
"You dragged in yet another man! I don't even know how many times this makes it! I begged you so many times not to do this anymore...!"
Cardak's voice was laced with anger and desperation.
Demian looked at him with eyes full of pity.
'Even at this point, he was being led around by Rubia.'
The fallen genius, Cardak.
The man hailed as the future of the Myriad Poisons Sect, who threw everything away after falling for Rubia.
Even in the future, Cardak had never escaped her grasp.
"And if you keep bringing in mercenaries like this, what are we supposed to do? There's a limit to how much cleanup I can handle! If the other masters find out who we really are because of this..."
"You idiot. This guy's not a mercenary. Take a closer look."
At Rubia's rebuke, Cardak turned back to Demian. Moments later, his eyes widened dramatically.
"...Demian Haksen?"
He had been so fixated on the fact that Rubia was next to another man that he hadn't even recognized Demian's face.
It wasn't particularly surprising when he thought about the future Cardak. The man lost his reason easily whenever anything involved Rubia.
"W-Why is that guy here?"
"Oh, I told you. I said I was planning to kidnap Demian."
"Right! You told me! But you said you'd melt his limbs with the poison I gave you and stuff him into a sub-space!"
"That was the original plan, but things changed a bit."
Rubia glanced at Demian, as if telling him to explain it himself from here.
"Allow me to introduce myself properly. I'm Demian Haksen. The world knows me as a knight of the Viscount Haksen family, but I hold another identity."
"What are you talking about...?"
"I'm Dorgo's direct secret agent."
Cardak turned to Rubia, his face screaming what nonsense is this?
"What he says is true."
With Rubia backing Demian up, Cardak had no choice but to be flustered.
"Rubia, you're not seriously buying this nonsense, are you?"
"Lord Demian already knew that gentleman's name. And not just that—he's privy to knowledge that only a black mage would know."
"What...?"
Cardak's eyes shook violently at Rubia's words.
"If this man is that gentleman's agent... then why the hell did he kill Garlot!"
"I don't know that either. Neither does he."
"You're saying that's supposed to make sense...!"
"How could we possibly guess all of that gentleman's intentions?"
Rubia's eyes grew hazy.
"You know it too, right? How great that gentleman is. There must be a profound reason for killing Garlot."
At a glance, Rubia's expression resembled that of a woman in love.
But to Demian, it looked entirely different.
'She looks just like a fanatic.'
Black mages who knew of Dorgo's existence all revered him like a god.
Dorgo was the one who laid the foundations of all black magic and the first lich ever born.
Moreover, every prominent black mage at this point had been directly or indirectly influenced by Dorgo, so they had no choice but to worship him.
Though to Demian, he was just a crazy skull-head.
"Now do you believe me?"
Demian asked Cardak, who slowly nodded. But his eyes were still filled with suspicion.
"Then let's get back to what we were discussing. I'd like you to tell me where the Mercenary King is right now."
"Why are you so curious about that?"
Cardak snapped in a sharp tone, but Rubia scolded him.
"Cardak, I know you're suspicious by nature, and I think that's one of your strengths... but Lord Demian is someone who receives direct orders from that gentleman. Don't be rude anymore."
"Rubia, I'm just..."
"Cardak?"
Rubia's voice lowered.
"You're not seriously trying to argue with me right now, are you?"
"...No. I have no such intention."
"Good. That's how it should be."
Rubia patted Cardak's shoulder lightly.
In that moment, a smile crept onto Cardak's lips. Despite having just been dismissed, he was genuinely delighted by that tiny bit of attention.
"The Mercenary King has been handed off to someone reliable. He should be near the border by now. We're set to make contact with the person my master sent from the neighboring country."
"He hasn't gotten very far, then."
"There were some circumstances. Putting the Mercenary King under wasn't exactly easy."
From that, Demian could guess how Rubia had subdued the Mercenary King.
'She stimulated his sleep desire.'
One of a dragon's weaknesses was their powerful urge to sleep.
Dragons were creatures that lived for thousands of years. The method they chose to endure that vast span of time was sleep.
"But why are you so interested in the Mercenary King?"
"Oh, I didn't mention that. The truth is, Dorgo has a great interest in the Mercenary King. That's why he sent me here."
"Oh my... I had no idea that gentleman was also coveting the Mercenary King."
Demian spoke to the amazed Rubia.
"My mission was to retrieve a part of the Mercenary King's body. Something like hair or nails. But since you've already secured the Mercenary King, things change. Hand him over to me."
Rubia pondered Demian's words for a moment.
"My master gave me orders... but that gentleman's will takes precedence. I'll do it. But I have a condition."
"You want me to pass your name along to Dorgo."
"Oh, you remembered. Yes, that's it. Of course... you'll need to spice it up a bit."
Rubia continued in a slightly excited voice.
"So that he takes an interest in me."
"I'll do that."
"Great. Deal then. I can't leave right now. I still have business with the Fafnir Mercenary Group. Instead, I'll send Cardak with you."
Cardak's head snapped up in shock at her words.
"What?"
"Cardak, you take Lord Demian to where the Mercenary King is."
"W-Why the hell should I do that!"
Cardak reacted fiercely, but Rubia bowed her head slightly, pleading.
"...Can't you?"
"Of course I can! Just trust me! I'll take that man—no, Lord Demian—to the Mercenary King and bring him back!"
Cardak shouted with a bright smile.
Demian clicked his tongue as he watched him.
* * *
Demian left the mercenary group with Cardak.
"...This way."
Once outside, Cardak fetched horses he had hidden in the forest. The two mounted up and rode off.
The journey was long, so they didn't stop to rest along the way. They only halted after the sun had set.
Cardak gathered firewood and lit a fire. The two sat around the campfire.
"...."
Even as the night deepened, no conversation passed between them.
Neither Demian nor Cardak had any interest in the other.
'I wonder if Athena's doing okay.'
Demian worried about her inwardly.
As he'd seen in the meeting hall, Athena currently had no allies within the mercenary group.
No, it was worse than that—it was filled with people who hated her.
'In his previous life, Athena cut ties with the Mercenary King and wandered the outskirts.'
But things were unfolding differently from what Demian knew.
'Looks like the rumors got pretty distorted.'
Whatever the reality, Demian's task remained the same.
He would free the Mercenary King along this path and prevent the Fafnir Mercenary Group's fracture.
"Here, eat."
At that moment, Cardak handed Demian some stew. It was what he'd been boiling in the iron pot until just now.
"Thanks."
"It's because Rubia asked me to pack some."
As if saying there was no way he'd do it otherwise.
"What happened between you and Rubia earlier today?"
It was while Demian was drinking the stew that Cardak asked in a dry tone.
"Nothing happened."
"Really?"
"You know it too. The one that woman's interested in isn't me. It's Dorgo."
"...Yeah, that's true."
With that, their conversation paused. Cardak tossed a few more logs onto the fire before speaking again.
"But it's weird. Why are you calling him by name?"
"Why? Does it bother you?"
"It can't not bother me. I've never seen anyone dare call the great gentleman so casually."
Cardak spoke sharply, but Demian shrugged.
"The man himself didn't seem to mind."
"...Don't talk nonsense."
"Don't judge everything by your own standards."
In short, it was a jab asking if he knew Dorgo better than Demian did.
"...Are you really going to tell him Rubia's name?"
Unable to retort, Cardak changed the subject.
"I gave my word, so I'll keep it."
"...Then I'll lose Rubia's attention to someone else again."
Cardak stared at the iron pot where the stew was boiling before opening his mouth.
"...I've been thinking about it the whole way here. If things keep going like this, it's obvious I'll lose Rubia's attention to someone else again."
"That's just how it..."
*Cough.*
Demian coughed without realizing it. Blood burst from his mouth.
"What... is this..."
Demian kept coughing. Blood poured onto the ground.
"You shouldn't have taken food from someone you knew was from the Myriad Poisons Sect so carelessly."
Cardak said calmly. Demian's body collapsed to the ground.
"You... bastard..."
"Rubia is mine alone. I won't hand her over to anyone."
Cardak said in a cold voice. Moments later, Demian's head drooped.
Cardak didn't spare a glance at the corpse. He just stared at the stew he'd made.
"I'll need to come up with an excuse to tell Rubia on the way back."
"Should've just given him plain food."
The sudden voice made Cardak jump in terror.
Demian, who he'd thought was dead, was rising casually as if nothing had happened.
"You... how...!"
"Like you said, only an idiot would eat food from the Myriad Poisons Sect without precaution."
Demian spat out black saliva. It was the poison from the food, gathered and expelled.
"...Impossible."
Cardak stared in disbelief.
At high-class levels, one could use mana to expel poison from the body.
But that only applied to ordinary poisons.
No one could so easily expel a poison created by a grand black mage like Cardak.
"...Fool."
Cardak quickly regained his composure. The poison in the food wasn't particularly potent by his standards.
If he showed his true power, he could turn a guy like Demian Haksen into bloody mush in an instant.
"I was going to let you die painlessly, but you're resisting like this."
Cardak spread both hands. Green energy began gathering in his palms.
"Do you know why I pretended to be poisoned?"
"What nonsense are you spouting all of a sudden...?"
"To lower your guard."
Cardak scowled at the unexpected words.
"Watch your back."
No sooner had Demian spoken than a greatsword burst through Cardak's abdomen.