Chapter 173
Chapter 173
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 173
Chapter Title: Lion King (3)
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6.
“We’ll give that commission to the Cygnus Knights.”
El Pam’s companions showed no particular change in expression at his words.
To be precise, they couldn’t.
‘What the hell is he talking about?’
They couldn’t make heads or tails of the conversation between El Pam and the Phantom Thief.
But the Phantom Thief was different.
The moment he heard El Pam, he nodded. His expression hardened at the same time.
That was quite serious.
It was no easy sight to see the ever-smiling Phantom Thief drop his smile, even briefly.
“Yeah, that’s a good play.”
In other words, the Phantom Thief was convinced.
“The Cygnus Knights won’t be able to refuse that offer.”
Just as El Pam said, things would proceed that way, and the Cygnus Knights would have no choice but to dispatch knights there.
“Hey, Boss.”
That was when Dibo spoke up.
“So you’re saying we’re getting the Cygnus Knights to raid that Mystic Gate in the abandoned mine where Zakum shows up?”
“That’s right.”
“If they’re not crazy, why would they do that?”
El Pam answered.
“That’s exactly why they will.”
“Huh?”
“The Cygnus Knights are mad about justice.”
“Oh.”
There was no rebuttal to that answer.
Still, it wasn’t full understanding.
“Even so, anyone can see that’s a death sentence, right?”
No matter what, the Cygnus Knights had their limits.
“You’re right. The Cygnus Knights would never send knights to their deaths. Unless it’s something special.”
Kiri chimed in as well.
“Kiri’s right.”
That answer wasn’t wrong either.
“That’s why it’s special—they have no choice but to accept.”
“No need to drag this out. Let me sum it up short and sweet.”
That was when the Phantom Thief stepped in.
“It’s been hundreds of years since the Lion King’s castle shut its doors, but the Elnas Mountains are still his domain. The second the Cygnus Knights set foot there, it’s war—they hate each other that much. In the Lion King’s eyes, the Black Mage’s allies and the Maple Alliance are all the same scum. But now the Lion King’s asking the Cygnus Knights directly for help. You think they’ll say, ‘Sorry, we’re too busy’?”
That explanation left just one question.
7.
“Why?”
The moment the meeting with the Lion King ended, one question filled Ebob’s mind.
“Why is the Lion King asking the Cygnus Knights for help?”
Ebob couldn’t argue that the Lion King’s plan was perfect.
If it went as planned, the Cygnus Knights would have no choice but to send knights.
And those dispatched knights would face death.
“Why bend your pride?”
But the Lion King’s pride was too lofty to trade for thousands of Cygnus Knights.
It wasn’t an empty metaphor.
Until now, the Lion King had never once allied with the Maple Alliance.
To be precise, he’d hidden his existence completely.
To the point where no one knew if he was alive or dead.
And now, just to reduce the Cygnus Knights’ numbers, he was bowing his head?
“It’s a declaration of war.”
Hote answered the question with a smile.
“His Majesty has made up his mind. To exact revenge for that day.”
That smile was utterly chilling.
That was why.
Ebob could tell how thirsty for revenge the Lion King—and Hote—was.
But the question remained.
“What does that have to do with a declaration of war?”
Sure, trimming the Cygnus Knights’ numbers like this wasn’t bad, but no matter how he thought about it, this didn’t feel like a declaration of war.
“Simple. Lure the Cygnus Knights into hell, slaughter them, then reveal it.”
“Reveal it?”
“Yeah. Admit we dug the trap. Say we did it to kill as many Cygnus Knights as possible.”
The moment he heard that, Ebob understood.
Why it was a declaration of war.
If they revealed the truth like that, the Cygnus Knights—no, the entire Maple Alliance—would have no choice but to judge the Lion King.
“Then they’ll come back here, to the Elnas Mountains.”
In other words, it meant the Cygnus Knights would invade the Elnas Mountains.
“We lost a lot back then.”
It also meant he was ready for it.
“But this time will be different. Everything.”
It meant he was confident he could annihilate any Cygnus Knights who set foot in the Elnas Mountains.
It was confidence well-founded.
Now at the Lion King’s side was a mighty supporter—the Black Mage’s follower—unlike in the past.
‘The Commanders wouldn’t have agreed.’
The problem was that the Black Mage’s Commanders weren’t avoiding war out of weakness.
From their perspective, there were things more important than war, which was why they were pulling strings like this.
No way they’d approve a war between the Lion King and the Maple Alliance.
In short, this was the Lion King’s solo act.
Shaking the Black Mage’s Commanders’ grand plan for his own revenge!
At that point, Ebob looked at Hote, meeting his gaze.
There was killing intent in those eyes.
‘This is top secret.’
If he tried to tell the Black Mage’s Commanders, he’d be killed before he could even try.
That was the message in the killing intent.
Ebob hesitated there.
‘If I try to reveal this secret, I die. If I hide it, I die too.’
Truth be told, death was inevitable either way.
If he kept quiet, the Black Mage’s Commanders would make him pay for his silence.
So Ebob’s hesitation didn’t last long.
‘A life as good as dead anyway.’
He’d been living on borrowed time from the start.
If that was the case, death wasn’t what mattered to him now.
“I want to lure El Pam’s party into that hell.”
Could he get his revenge?
Hote answered the question with killing intent gone from his eyes.
“If that’s what you want, Ebob, the Lion King’s castle won’t hold back any support.”
8.
The moment El Pam finished explaining, everyone fell silent.
There was nothing to say.
‘This is on a whole other level.’
To them as adventurers, the discussion between the Cygnus Knights and the Lion King felt like a story from another world.
So one thing was clear.
“Whatever, best not to get involved this time.”
No reason to get caught in this insane storm.
“Yeah.”
The Phantom Thief thought the same.
“Better to wash our hands of this one.”
The matter between the Cygnus Knights and the Lion King wasn’t simple.
It was war, plain and simple.
Getting tangled in that war was no different from being swept up in a typhoon.
But El Pam thought differently.
“That’s exactly why we have to get involved.”
“What?”
“Boss?”
El Pam insisted they intervene, leaving everyone aghast.
El Pam’s expression didn’t waver, though.
‘This is a declaration of war.’
He knew.
‘If we let it be, war will break out.’
This wouldn’t end with just screwing over the Cygnus Knights.
‘If war breaks out, the Black Mage followers’ plans will change big time.’
A bigger issue: before El Pam returned to the past, there’d been no war between the Lion King and the Cygnus Knights.
If such a war happened now?
It would drastically alter Maple World’s history.
The Black Mage’s followers would have to move in some way, naturally.
El Pam couldn’t sit idly by.
‘The current situation is the best.’
He didn’t know the exact reason, but the Black Mage’s followers weren’t acting openly.
They were just hyping adventurers into the Mystic Gates with various tricks.
But if their plans hit a snag, even the Commanders would move directly.
El Pam had no way to stop that now.
In other words, he had to let history flow as it had.
And to do that, the best move was to raid this Mystic Gate—the trap.
“Hey, be serious. A Mystic Gate in an abandoned mine with Zakum as the boss monster?”
Of course, raiding that Mystic Gate was absurd.
“Got some method up your sleeve?”
El Pam knew.
“No adventurer party can raid that place right now.”
That raiding it was impossible.
“No matter the best party the Cygnus Knights scrape together, it’s impossible.”
It had to be.
“Because of Zakum’s curse.”
Above all, Zakum’s curse was the problem.
No matter how skilled the adventurer or knight, they couldn’t bring out half their power under that curse.
“You know that and still spout this crap?”
“There is a way to avoid that curse.”
Of course, there were exceptions.
“You’re not talking about Zakum’s helmet, are you?”
Zakum’s helmet.
“You know how rare that is, right?”
But Zakum’s helmet wasn’t something you could just get because you wanted it.
“It took insane effort to get even one, didn’t it?”
Even El Pam had to strike a huge deal with Shamos—that dangerous figure—just for one.
And that a deal was even possible was a miracle.
Usually, deals weren’t even on the table.
Because almost no one had it.
El Pam knew.
How hard it was to get.
And he knew.
“There’s one person.”
“What?”
“There’s exactly one person in this world who’d have multiple Zakum helmets.”
Someone with multiples of that rare item.
“No way, Boss.”
That was when Dibo spoke up in shock.
“You’re saying there’s a guy with multiple of those helmets?”
It was shocking—a single helmet had required absurd effort from El Pam.
If someone had multiples, there’d have been no need for all that trouble.
“Why didn’t you say so sooner?”
Above all, El Pam’s companions knew.
“If we’d all worn those helmets, we wouldn’t have had to go through hell in that mine!”
If the whole El Pam party had worn Zakum helmets, they wouldn’t have needed such a reckless plan.
They could’ve done it smoothly.
Of course, El Pam knew.
“Dibo.”
“Yeah? Phantom, why call me?”
“Think about it. You think your boss doesn’t know that? If he couldn’t get it despite knowing, there’s a reason.”
In other words, even knowing, he hadn’t tried for a simple reason.
“A reason?”
“Yeah, a reason. A massive one.”
The Phantom Thief knew it.
“In this Maple World, there’s only one person with multiple Zakum helmets.”
“Who?”
“The Collector.”
“Huh? Who?”
“The Collector.”
“The Collector—you mean...?”
“Yeah, the Collector who put that 10 billion mesos bounty on your boss’s head.”
The one who had them was none other than the Collector.
At that fact, El Pam’s party went pale.
Negotiate with the guy who’d put bounties on their heads?
“Boss.”
It was as good as saying they were off to die.
“I know.”
El Pam knew.
“It won’t be easy.”
That this would be an incredibly tough deal.
“But we have no choice.”
Right now, El Pam couldn’t choose to ignore this.
There was only one option: deal with the Collector.
“And I do have one way.”
Fortunately, El Pam had one card to play with the Collector.
To be precise, there was only one way to deal with the Collector.
“We have what the Collector wants.”
Get the Collector what he desired.
“What is it?”
Instead of answering, El Pam looked at Kiri.
“Kiri? He wants Kiri?”
“No.”
Of course, Kiri wasn’t the trade item.
“Then? No way?”
Kyuu?
“Mano?”
Kyuu!
The snail pet Mano—that was the trade item.