Chapter 92
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 92
Chapter Title: The Hunt
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The Hunt
The Reinga.
A race of demi-humans with the heads of cats.
A noble family composed of the cat-man race.
In truth, they were closer to a fallen noble house than a low-ranking one.
After all, they had fled to the Deformed City after clashing with other families in the Hunting City.
Only four of their bloodline remained.
But rather than despair, the four Reinga brothers were gleeful.
Thanks to their father and eldest brother dying in the Hunting City, they were able to claim the family’s remaining fortune for themselves.
Of course, it was a paltry sum compared to their heyday.
“Isn’t it about time for the tribute to come in?”
“You idiot, that’s in two days.”
“After we bought them a high-class slave, the least they could do is show some sincerity by moving up the tribute date.”
That was why.
Why the four Reinga brothers had become thief nobles and joined the Thief Nobles’ Union.
It wasn’t enough to do their own pillaging; they had to take over a criminal organization and start collecting tribute.
As bottom-feeders in the Union, they had to take on side jobs and work hard to build their strength if they wanted to climb the ranks.
That was also why they had helped the criminal organization purchase a high-class slave.
“My lords, we have a huge problem!”
“Oh, did you finally bring the tribute?”
“I-It’s not about the tribute, my lords. Some bastards have invaded our hideout!”
“What did you say?”
“Who dares to touch our territory?!”
“I-I don’t know. My men were taken down so fast, I barely escaped through the secret passage.”
“We bought you an Awakened slave, and you let the whole organization get wiped out?”
“I-It’s not wiped out! The second-in-command is still holding out, so if you help us, we can save him!”
Thus, when an officer from the [Black Dagger Gang]—the criminal organization occupying a part of the Deformed City’s lower districts and serving as their side business—came pleading for help.
The four Reinga brothers were all incensed.
Those who are generous when taking from others are often the most sensitive when their own things are taken.
“Youngest, you should go.”
“Why do I always get the annoying jobs?”
“If you don’t like it, you can just beat us all and become the eldest.”
“It’s bad enough I was born late and ate fewer mana stones. This cat’s life is so unfair.”
Though he grumbled, the youngest obediently rose to his feet.
The [Black Dagger Gang] was their precious source of income and their hidden subordinates who handled the menial tasks of their thievery.
He couldn’t let some unknown bastards destroy them.
In fact, they had secretly supported the [Black Dagger Gang] several times until the gang had secured its territory in the Deformed City.
So, this was just another common incident.
The youngest would handle it in no time.
The remaining three Reinga brothers had no doubt.
But…
“Hiiiek! M-My lords! My lords!”
“What is it? Where’s our youngest? Why are you back alone?”
“He’s been taken down!”
“...?”
“The youngest lord was taken down by them!”
“What?”
“What do you mean by that?!”
“I-I don’t know! The youngest lord arrived and was about to say something when he was suddenly ambushed…”
“Those sons of bitches dared to ambush our youngest?!”
The three Reinga brothers were enraged.
And unlike before, they gathered every last one of their few remaining retainers and headed for the [Black Dagger Gang]’s hideout.
Their youngest was a high-level Awakened One, after all.
Even if he was still a [Novice] stuck at the wall of proficiency due to his young age, and even if he was ambushed.
The ones who took him down had to be formidable.
It was even possible another family was involved.
Nevertheless.
They didn't hesitate.
If things went south, they could just run.
And even if they were captured, there was no way some madman would dare to harm them, nobles that they were.
…Yes.
Until that moment, that’s what they believed.
***
“You must have a strong sense of brotherhood. To have come so quickly.”
“What…?!”
“W-What is this?”
The headquarters of the [Black Dagger Gang].
The moment they arrived.
The three Reinga brothers froze.
It wasn’t just because of the gang members trussed up in ropes and scattered about, or their youngest brother, beaten to a pulp and bound.
Behind them.
On the unusually large and plush chair covered in bear fur, which the leader must have used.
The sight of a boy in a white half-mask, sitting as if half-buried in it.
And next to him.
On his lap.
And at his feet.
A standing dark elf maid, a cowering Huntress girl, and a scoffing slave in a straitjacket.
The sight made them gasp in shock before they even realized it.
“The White-Masked Young Master?!”
“What are you doing here?!”
Jemin Kahul, the head of the Kahul family, renowned among the lower nobility for his martial prowess.
The one who had turned the Deformed City upside down by slaughtering him and his entire family overnight.
But after that.
The rising star of the Deformed City, who had put several noble families at ease by ceasing all activities to the point of seclusion.
To the three Reinga brothers, who were stunned to see the White-Masked Young Master.
The boy replied nonchalantly.
“What am I doing here? I came to catch these thieves, of course.”
“That’s what I’m asking, why?!”
“Don’t you know there’s no bounty on the [Black Dagger Gang]?!”
“That’s fine. I don’t need a bounty this time.”
“...?!”
Then why did you come here?
The three Reinga brothers voiced their confusion.
It was absurd enough for a noble to personally deal with a mere criminal organization.
For a celebrity like the White-Masked Young Master, it was a story that could bring him shame.
But…
“The Kahul family, you know of them?”
“…Of course, I do. The family that was wiped out for trying to steal your slave.”
“Yes, but when I looked into it later, I found some thieves connected to the Kahul family.”
“…!”
“And when I followed the trail of those thieves, it led me to these guys.”
The faces of the three Reinga brothers hardened.
The Kahul family had also been thief nobles, members of the Thief Nobles’ Union.
It was difficult for them to flatly deny any connection.
Especially since it was the [Black Dagger Gang], under orders as members of the thieves’ guild, who had relayed the command to Kahul to provoke the Dragon’s Lair estate.
Seeing their stiff expressions.
Dion smiled faintly.
“So, I take down a criminal organization, and some nobles show up. How am I supposed to understand this?”
“…We simply heard that some people were disturbing the city’s peace and came to investigate.”
“If you’re going to say that, you shouldn’t have brought the gang leader who ran away.”
“…!”
‘Damn you, you useless piece of shit!’
It was a checkmate.
He had planned to make the man a retainer later, as he had always paid a hefty tribute on time.
But now, he regretted not having beaten him to death sooner. After a moment of gritting his teeth at the gang leader, who was nervously glancing around from behind.
The three Reinga brothers exchanged glances.
And having reached a silent consensus.
They acted in unison.
“Die!”
“Perish!”
“Drop dead!”
The three brothers charged, brandishing their sharp claws.
Even if the eldest was only a [Professional] and the second and third were [Experts], they were still high-level Awakened Ones, born with the class 【Wild Warrior】☆☆☆.
Above all, having trained together as brothers, their coordination was flawless.
They moved as one mind, one body.
Without a single misstep.
No matter how much of a rising star the White-Masked Young Master was, he wouldn’t be able to withstand their attack unscathed.
The three brothers were certain of it.
And just as they expected, the boy in the half-mask made no move to counter.
…Or so it seemed.
“Girls.”
*CRACK!*
The moment Dion casually opened his mouth.
The dark elf maid’s slender, steel-booted leg kicked the eldest brother who was charging head-on.
Shadow chains shot out from beneath the twintailed slave’s feet, ensnaring the second brother.
And the Huntress girl blocked the third brother’s claws with her small hands, from which sharp nails had sprouted.
“What…?!”
In the blink of an eye, his eldest brother was slammed into a wall, slumping over, and his second brother was bound. Seeing this, the third brother recoiled in horror and tried to pull back.
Or rather, he tried to.
But the Huntress girl’s tail, which had already whipped around, did not permit his retreat.
*POW!*
“Keuk!”
‘What is this…!’
‘How can this be?’
In the end, all four Reinga brothers were captured and incapacitated, left utterly dumbfounded.
No matter how famous the White-Masked Young Master was, he was still just a talented youth of the new generation.
The renowned martial artist, the head of the Kahul family, had been defeated, but that must have been the result of an ambush and a group attack.
They had been certain their coordinated assault could easily subdue the White-Masked Young Master.
They had never imagined they would be so easily defeated not by the Young Master himself, but by a mere maid and his slaves.
“To think you’d launch a blatant frontal assault and expect it to work. You must have really underestimated my girls.”
Dion smirked.
The Unlight family’s exclusive maid.
The legendary King of the Dark Grotto’s Vault Keeper.
And his own lucky charm, whom he had personally power-leveled and taught.
None of them were opponents the Reinga brothers could afford to take lightly.
Even the Vault Keeper, who could only use the power of a high-level Awakened One due to a lack of charge.
And Orr Kai, the most inexperienced of them, had reached the [Expert] level long ago.
“Now, then. Start talking.”
“W-What do you want us to talk about?”
“Why you decided to pick a fight with my domain.”
“…!”
“Or, who told you to dare and touch ‘what’s mine’.”
His face was clearly smiling.
But there was no mirth in his eyes.
With a voice that was both leisurely and chilling.
As they looked at the boy asking about the Thief Nobles’ Union, the Reinga brothers’ pupils couldn't help but tremble.
***
“Khuhuhu. Indeed, how audacious. Astonishingly so.”
“…”
“Even in my youth, I never possessed such recklessness. Is he not a truly remarkable Young Master?”
A hulking, elderly orc.
Urk burst into a hearty laugh.
Of course, he too had been making secret preparations to confront the Thief Nobles’ Union.
But that was only possible because he was a high-ranking noble, capable of crushing several lesser families with ease.
And even someone like Urk couldn't touch the Thief Nobles’ Union carelessly; that was how powerful they were.
Yet here was a mid-tier noble, with only two manors even including his vassals, taking on the Union head-on.
As an orc, it was so impressive that his blood boiled.
“What is most admirable is that he is not just clever, but downright cunning.”
“Are you referring to his justification, my lord?”
“As long as the White-Masked Young Master operates under the banner of punishing thieves, those Union bastards won’t be able to act so easily, will they?”
Above all, what Urk acknowledged was Dion’s cunning method.
Instead of openly antagonizing the Thief Nobles’ Union, he acted under the pretext of punishing thieves or investigating the incident caused by the Kahul family.
That was a legitimate justification for a noble.
No matter how massive the Union was… no, precisely because of it, they would find it difficult to intervene.
If they were to act over something like this, it would be an admission that they were behind all the thievery, which would then draw the scrutiny of other noble families.
What did it matter if one or two families fell?
As long as it wasn’t them, they wouldn’t care.
It was a problem that arose because the organization was too large, just as a giant might dismiss the sting of one or two bees as insignificant.
“What a shame. I wish I had a talent like that Young Master among my own grandsons.”
“…Even so, do you not think it is too reckless?”
“That is what makes it even better. If the Young Master dies at their hands, that in itself will give us a justification to act.”
“…”
“Of course, if he succeeds, he must be rewarded accordingly.”
It was a gamble with a higher chance of failure than success.
But if he failed, only Dion and his vassals would die, so either outcome was a gain for him.
After speaking with a low chuckle.
Urk raised his cup.
“So, Pandora, keep your body pure.”
“…”
Pandora didn’t bother asking what the reward for Dion had to do with her body.
She simply lowered her head slightly, accepting her foster father’s command.
In the family, the patriarch’s will was absolute, and as an adopted daughter, she was an ‘asset’ to be sold at the highest price.
But even so, Pandora suddenly wondered.
Would Dion succeed?
Or would he fail?
And…
…which of the two outcomes did she truly wish for?