Chapter 51
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: A Visit
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The fame of the White-Masked Young Master had now soared to the point where there was no one in the City of Deformities who didn't know of him.
But not everyone readily believed in that fame.
There were those who still doubted his identity.
Those who thought it was too exaggerated.
And those who were jealous of his fame.
In a two-story building on the outskirts of the City of Deformities, a bit too modest to be called a mansion.
There, Jemin Kahul, the head of the Kahul family, sipping from a wine glass, was one who fell into all three categories.
‘*Heh, some brat from an unknown family, riding on the coattails of the Lord of Nangnang and playing the part of a Black Dragon Knight on a Fell Dragon.*’
Jemin sneered.
He was a Blade Goblin, a superior species.
Though he was a noble, born with the three-star 【Swordsman】 class.
He was a low-ranking noble without a fiefdom and had been looked down upon his entire life in noble society simply because his lineage originated from the goblin race.
But now, a brat who appeared as if out of nowhere was making a spectacular name for himself.
He couldn't possibly be pleased.
This was especially true for him, who, despite having five wives and concubines, had been ridiculed for participating in the Calamity Princess's groom competition only to be eliminated.
‘*He’s nothing more than a puppet for the Lord of Nangnang!*’
No matter what they called him, White-Masked Young Master or whatnot.
In the end, it was just fabricated fame.
If he were truly from one of the Hundred Great Families, there would be no reason to hide his identity.
From passing the groom competition and defeating the bandits to conquering the Labyrinth and taking the Treant Elder as a vassal.
It was all a ploy by the Lord of Nangnang.
He believed it without a doubt.
Using a puppet to expand his influence was something that cunning old serpent, who always pretended to be audacious, was more than capable of doing.
And that went without saying when the Calamity Princess, known as the Wicked Scion, was involved.
‘*Kikik, but to think he’s coming to pay his respects. It seems he’s finally learned his place.*’
To think the slave he had paid a hefty sum to dispatch had run away.
If this became widely known, the Waryong Manor's mercenary business would be in shambles, and the White-Masked Young Master's fame would be exposed as baseless.
How anxious the White-Masked Young Master must be right now.
And how much he could extort as a price for his silence.
And what kind of expression he would make when, after all that, he was betrayed and fell to ruin.
Just as Jemin was smirking at the delightful prospect…
*CRASH!*
“Kik?!”
—A deafening roar shook the Kahul family’s residence.
For a moment, he almost tumbled from his chair due to the sudden shock.
But as befitting a high-ranking Awakened One, Jemin righted himself before he could fall and moved to the side like a bolt of lightning.
He snatched the sheathed sword hanging on the wall and bellowed.
“What is going on?!”
“L-Lord, it’s an emergency!”
“I know it’s an emergency! So what is it?!”
“—It’s the White-Masked Young Master!”
“What?”
Perhaps because the words were so unexpected.
The hobgoblin butler, his face pale as a sheet, spoke to Jemin, who couldn't help but doubt his own ears.
“The White-Masked Young Master has attacked with his retainers!”
***
The Kahul family was a low-ranking noble house.
They had only their bloodline.
Far from having a fiefdom, they were a common noble family with nothing particularly special about them.
Nevertheless, the fact that the family had five high-ranking Awakened Ones, including Jemin's wives and children.
And that they ran a small but profitable business distinguished them as a respectable noble house, unlike a fallen one.
If they were lucky enough to acquire a Divine Beast.
And raise it to the three-star level.
They were nobles who could become a proper lord's family at any time.
As such, the Kahul residence, though small, was well-kept, with about twenty household members and guards.
But at this very moment.
The Kahul residence was being demolished in real time.
“Keuk!”
Yuma Kahul, the eldest son of the Kahul family.
He had been harassing a succubus maid as she cleaned, as usual, and was the first to rush out at the roar that shook the mansion.
Thanks to that, he was the first to be smashed, and he rolled across the floor.
But that was only for a moment.
Startled by the sound of a ferocious gust of wind, Yuma, though dizzy, threw his body aside.
*KABOOM!*
A steel-toed boot slammed down where the back of his head had been just moments before.
Feeling a chill as he saw the slender leg that had shattered the floor like a biscuit and sunk in up to the ankle, Yuma gritted his teeth and swung his sword.
Its speed was like a flash of lightning.
It was the sword strike of a superhuman, faster than the wind and capable of cutting steel, enhanced by the talent of a 【Swordsman】 and the power of aura.
*CLAAANG!*
There were two problems.
One was that his opponent was also a high-ranking Awakened One who had stepped into the realm of superhumans.
And the other was…
—that the level of this dark elf maid, who wielded iron fists and steel legs, was far higher than his.
*CL-CL-CL-CL-CLANG, THWACK!*
“Guuuh…!”
“All those wild swings, yet you’re so skilled at dodging and rolling. You’re no different from a cockroach.”
He blocks.
He parries.
He blocks, and blocks again.
The fist aimed at crushing his skull.
The elbow that would break his ribs.
The palm that would rupture his organs.
The back of the hand swung like a mace.
The grip that tried to seize and break his arm.
He barely managed to block the assault, which was faster and more dazzling than his own sword, six times.
But just as the maid’s slender body spun like a top.
A roundhouse kick from her steel-toed boot slammed into his side, sending Yuma’s body flying sideways like a sheet of paper.
‘*What is this monstrous power…!*’
His side, which he had defended with an aura-clad sword, throbbed as if cracked.
Yuma broke into a cold sweat as he forced strength into his still-numb hands.
How such destructive power could come from that slender body.
As a fellow aura user, his inability to comprehend it was one thing, but more importantly, he had no confidence he could endure any longer.
Just as Parsha was about to charge at him again.
“Stop!!!”
*SHIIING!*
A fierce shout accompanied a flash of light that cut between them.
As Parsha retreated from a sword strike incomparably faster and sharper than Yuma's.
Yuma’s face lit up at the sight of the middle-aged Blade Goblin.
“Father!”
“To be in such a state because of a mere elf, you useless fool.”
“B-But that wench is no ordinary opponent. You must be careful too, Father…”
“Silence.”
As if to say he wouldn't tolerate any further damage to his dignity.
Yuma shut his mouth with an aggrieved expression at Jemin's words, which were laced with killing intent.
Jemin slowly turned his head.
The wrecked interior of the mansion.
The guards scattered everywhere.
Each sight was enough to make his blood boil.
But what infuriated him more than anything was the sight of the dark elf maid who had created this scene, and the figures behind her.
A beastkin girl yawning languidly, perched atop a fallen guard.
A young kobold leader male and female, each carrying a large box on their back.
A group that, aside from the dark elf maid, seemed to have just reached adulthood, or were not yet of age.
Jemin’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the half-masked young noble at the center of the group.
“What is the meaning of this, White-Masked Young Master!”
“Do you need an explanation?”
“What?”
Jemin was dumbfounded by the absurd response.
But Dion tilted his head as if he couldn't understand such a reaction.
He stared intently at him with his red eyes before speaking bluntly.
“You borrowed someone’s precious slave, kidnapped them, and then demanded compensation, claiming they ran away. You should have been prepared for this.”
“W-What nonsense…! Are you trying to shift the blame for your runaway slave onto us?”
Jemin flinched for a moment.
Then, he put on a fierce expression and snapped.
Dion stared blankly at the goblin for a moment before slowly nodding his head.
“Yeah, I can understand. A slave without a slave seal must have looked like just another mana stone rolling on the ground.”
“So…!”
“But did you really think I would manage my slaves so carelessly?”
“…!?”
“Young Master, I found him!”
What that meant.
Jemin couldn't ask.
It wasn't just because of the shout from a rabbit-eared boy with a lute on his back who had appeared from somewhere.
It was because of the mouse in an apron who appeared alongside him, hesitating.
“I’m glad to see you’re safe, Lachu.”
“S-Squeak. I am sorry for the trouble, Master.”
“You did nothing wrong, so there’s no trouble. Don’t worry about it and wait in the back.”
“Yes, Master.”
The one who had been dispatched to the Kahul family and then escaped.
No, to be precise, the Ratman 【Kitchen Hand】 slave who was reported to have escaped but was actually detained by the Kahul family.
As Lachu retreated with short, scurrying steps as Dion instructed.
Jemin’s face contorted.
“How…!”
“How did I find our Lachu, who you hid so well? Someone told me his location.”
“There was a traitor among my household?!”
“I didn’t say it was an insider.”
“What?”
“Our slaves always have a guardian-slash-observer attached when they’re dispatched.”
Lachu had come alone, and he hadn't seen anyone else, so where could this guardian have been?
The answer to Jemin’s question was revealed soon enough.
Lachu, who had retreated to the back.
A part of his thick fur rustled, and a single blood-red shadow shot out from within.
—A blood-red bee, as small as a fingernail, that moved with a peculiar lack of presence.
*Bzzzz.*
“Good work. You can get some rest now.”
[Mist Blood Bee]☆☆
A two-star monster, a variant of the Blood Bee, specialized in infiltration and surprise attacks due to its mist-transformation trait.
Though its size was small.
It was stronger than most low-ranking Awakened Ones.
The drone, which followed its queen with absolute loyalty, obediently entered the box carried by the two kobold leaders at Dion's command.
Jemin gritted his teeth at the sight.
‘*This cunning brat, to have set up such a petty trick…*’
He should have suspected that some measure had been taken from the moment a slave without a seal was dispatched.
Jemin had ignored such an obvious thought.
He only cursed the cunning of the brat who had led him into this trap.
But what could he do?
The deed was already done.
It was too late for regrets.
In the end, Jemin suppressed his anger and let out a dry cough.
“It seems there has been a slight misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding?”
“The slave suddenly disappeared, so I thought he had run away, but it seems he secretly entered the family vault.”
“In short, this all happened because our Lachu was trying to steal something?”
“Isn't it common knowledge that Ratmen are vulgar and greedy?”
“Squeak! W-What are you….”
“Silence! How dare a mere slave interrupt a nobleman’s conversation, you insolent rat!”
“…”
“Ahem, still, I bear some fault for this matter escalating. If you leave now, out of respect for your reputation, Young Master, I will pretend this commotion never happened.”
Not only had he been suddenly imprisoned after coming to work, but now he was being framed.
Lachu wore an aggrieved expression but did not dare to protest further.
Jemin took this for granted.
No matter what the so-called witness babbled, a slave was a slave.
He could be cut down on the spot for insulting a nobleman, and it would all be over as long as his price was paid.
Thus, this was a compromise.
I will overlook the damage done to my mansion over a mere slave.
In return, this incident would not be spoken of again—a refined proposal, befitting a nobleman.
“Hmm, perfect.”
“Hmph, hmph. No need to thank me.”
“That goes without saying.”
“Huh?”
Therefore, whether the White-Masked Young Master was a mere puppet or truly from one of the Hundred Great Families.
Jemin was certain he would not refuse this offer.
That was why.
The reason for Jemin’s delayed reaction to Dion’s words.
“I never intended to compromise in the first place.”
“…???”
“What are you waiting for, everyone.”
But of course.
Dion, who had no need to puzzle over the man’s offer, felt no confusion.
He simply drew the sword at his waist, a smile blooming on his face as bright as a flower.
“—Kill them all.”
“?!?!?!?”
*KWAAAAAAANG!!!*