Chapter 167
Chapter 167
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 167
Chapter Title: The Consigliere
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“Enemy ambush!”
With a dozen men falling in an instant, chaos was inevitable.
Inside a sizable town that lay in their path.
Urgent shouts echoed sporadically.
Loan, however, shot into the town, heading straight for the source of the sounds.
As if to greet them.
Men, alerted by the noise, poured out from every alley and building.
Loan had experience fighting numerous Nostra members alone in Ferrara and Rhodes.
Just by the shape of their suits and the collars of their shirts in the moonlight, he could tell their rank.
According to the Nostra hierarchy he'd learned of later, the ones appearing now were of the lowest rank: Soldato.
They weren't worth much concern, even if they attacked together.
As if by reflex, the techniques he'd honed against them manifested on their own.
It was a technique he'd been favoring lately: imbuing finely divided Convection currents with the properties of different elements as needed. While less destructive than a [Mana Bullet], it was effective.
‘It's also the attack method that suits me best.’
Loan had reached a state where he could control Convection by circulating mana even in his sleep.
He no longer needed to stretch out a hand; a mere thought was enough to launch a close-range Convection attack.
And so.
The men in black suits, drawing their swords,
Shk-shkshk-shkshkshk—
found their throats pierced by invisible threads or large holes suddenly punched through their chests, causing them to collapse.
Some even witnessed their comrades' heads being severed by a whip-like ring of fire.
Wreaking havoc amidst such a gruesome scene.
Loan simply walked on.
Spreading his [Barrier of Perception] in all directions, setting a reference point high in the empty sky above, reading the mana within his radius, and awakening his heightened synesthesia to its fullest—
“Aaaargh!”
“Kuh…”
—he swept away the fleeing men and the stragglers hiding in every corner—seething at the atrocities they had committed, evidenced by the broken doors and windows—wondering if such creatures had any purpose beyond fertilizing the earth or feeding scavengers—and so he walked, step by step, toward the target causing the largest ripples in his [Barrier of Perception].
Toward someone whose mana density rivaled that of the four Tower Masters.
Step. Step. Step.
At last.
At the end of the main road running through the town, Loan laid eyes on the figure occupying the center of the street.
The man was, incongruously, sitting in an armchair.
The material and design were so luxurious it seemed unlikely to have been looted from the town, making Loan wonder if the man carried it with him.
His attire wasn't much different from the others.
However, the subtle sheen of the fabric in the moonlight, its soft wrinkles, and the faint mana it held set him distinctly apart.
It was a garment akin to a magical tool, crafted from high-quality materials.
Since they distinguished rank by their clothing, the man on the sofa had to be a Caporegime or higher.
He was clearly the highest-ranking Nostra member Loan had ever encountered. One of the top three.
Even so, sitting in the middle of the road, reading a book by the dim moonlight as if to flaunt his position, seemed downright bizarre.
Was such abnormality their norm?
Behind him, numerous Soldato stood in formation, yet they remained perfectly still, hands clasped, as they watched Loan approach.
They showed none of the impatience, fear, or battle-lust-like excitement he had sensed from the men he'd already defeated.
If anything, they seemed to fear the man on the sofa more than the approaching enemy.
They were meticulously mindful of their breathing and posture, stealing glances at their superior.
“Hoo…”
Loan stopped and exhaled slowly.
He couldn't act as rashly as he had on his way here.
Beside the lined-up men, people who appeared to be villagers were forced to their knees on the ground.
Every time the swords pressed against the villagers' necks shifted, the faint moonlight glinted, dazzling Loan's eyes.
Loan stood at a distance, taking in the scene—all the way to the faint silhouette of the magic tower visible beyond the crowd.
A chokepoint.
It seemed they intended to use this place as a base to block anyone passing through. In that, they had succeeded for now.
“Consigliere, that man is Loan of the Union.”
One of the subordinates bowed his head and addressed the man on the sofa.
The man, who hadn't looked up from his book, finally raised his head and met Loan's gaze.
A middle-aged man with taut, wrinkle-free skin.
He was quite handsome, even to Loan's eyes, an impression enhanced by his neatly combed-back, oiled hair.
He seemed somewhat surprised to see Loan. He murmured softly.
“Ha, well now. The world is a strange place. How can there be such a coincidence?”
Then, he lifted the book he was reading, shook it lightly, and continued in a louder voice.
“Did you know? There isn't much decent food in Schwerin. It's all just sausages. It's so bad that even this book introduces beer as a delicious food.”
Loan recognized the cover.
*A Gourmet's Continental Stroll*. A book written by Commander Hans of the Stability Division during his travels.
He had, of course, read the Schwerin section, but it wasn't a place he was particularly curious about. As the man said, Commander Hans had also disparaged Schwerin's cuisine.
From Loan's perspective, having tried it himself, he felt it was at least better than Grafton's.
The man spoke to him again.
“Hmm? Introducing alcohol as food.”
*Does he think he's won because he has hostages? Does he feel that fate is on his side?*
His voice was filled with leisure, confidence, and a strange sense of ennui.
“…”
Loan still showed no particular reaction.
While his ignorance of the taste of alcohol could be a reason, it was more because he was wary of his opponent's sharp intent.
He saw no need to idly exchange words about food.
However.
“Hmm… Not much of a talker. Ah, is it because you already knew? Mmm, mmm. That must be it. I heard you like this book, so that's certainly possible.”
At the man's words, Loan's brow furrowed sharply.
The phrase ‘I heard you like this book’ was hard to ignore.
“How did you know that?”
“This book? That's why I said it's strange. I picked it up to get some information on Schwerin beforehand, and of all people, you show up.”
“I asked how you knew I like the book.”
“We have to know. You're the friend who's been relentlessly tormenting us since Ferrara.”
It was very personal and private information.
He could count on one hand the number of people he'd mentioned it to. None of them would have leaked it to the Nostra.
If so, the only places they could have gotten the information were the Union academy or the shelter.
Loan shook his head.
“No. You should have said you were interested in me even before that. I heard you've banded together under the name of the Eastern Federation, so Le Tell must be with you. Did you get the information from them?”
“Mmm. You're certainly sharp. But you're wrong.”
The man nodded as if in admiration and continued.
“We are involved with them, but we don't exactly associate with such gloomy and dirty types. We're in business ourselves, so we gathered this information independently. We were scouting for talent, reaching out here and there, and happened to learn about it.”
“Your attire. It could be seen as peculiar, but it can also blend into society. You must have been at the Union graduation ceremony.”
“Correct this time. We, too, once considered scouting, just like the various duchies and other families of the continent. But our paths diverged completely when you joined the Union.”
He had hoped it was the shelter. If it was the academy, things could get complicated.
Loan said, suppressing his anger.
“Is there an 'us'? Since meeting your kind, I've started to doubt even our shared humanity. That sounds quite unpleasant.”
“Insolent brat. I like the way you talk. You're definitely one of us. Your posture, attitude, tone, the look in your eyes, and your skills, even that refined physique of yours. But it's too late now, I suppose. Our kind rarely changes allegiance once we've settled. It's like having a suit carefully tailored.”
“You talk big for someone holding hostages. It makes you look so classless that the suit is wasted on you.”
“You have a good eye. It's made from a very rare thread obtained from beyond the Tique Mountains in northern Xion. It was woven from the chest hair of a mountain goat and mixed with mana stones. It's as good as any decent armor.”
“I'll have to test that.”
A simple provocation.
The man smiled and replied.
“Alright. It should be fun. Though there's not much to gain from killing a mere Runner.”
With that, the man slowly undid his necktie. It, too, was no ordinary tie. It appeared to be a magical tool imbued with mana.
The man slowly wrapped the necktie around his right fist and spoke.
“Enzo was my friend. We were fella together since we were young. Not that I feel any desire for revenge. He stagnated while I rose to this position, so in the end, he brought his death upon himself. It was his own damn fault for being inadequate.”
Enzo.
The Nostra Caporegime who had pursued him to Rhodes and played a part in Philippa's death.
The moment the memory of that day surfaced like an afterimage.
Swoosh—
The man suddenly closed the distance, appearing right in front of Loan's face.
“But it's so damn unpleasant to see you acting all high and mighty just for killing a guy like that.”
He hadn't realized it when the man was sitting with his legs spread wide on the sofa, but he was quite tall.
As Loan looked up slightly, the man's fist shot down diagonally.
The fist wrapped in the necktie glowed pure white, feeling like raw mana, devoid of any elemental properties.
Loan watched the fist head for his eyes until the very last moment.
Whooooom—
He activated his Domain.
Instantly, a swirling vortex of mana enveloped both Loan and the man, lifting them off the ground. Their clothes fluttered, and the trajectory of the fist was thrown off along with them.
Convection, Domain, and Narrow Path were basic magic for Loan, as natural as breathing, but their power was growing by the day.
It was incomparable to when he had first awakened them.
An ability tantamount to mana interference.
But his opponent was no pushover.
The moment his fist narrowly missed Loan's face, the man spun rapidly and tried to strike again with his elbow.
It was incredibly fast and fierce.
Loan reflexively bent his knees sharply and placed one hand on the ground.
As he did, he wove the opposite image into the Domain he had created.
All things are a repetition of addition and subtraction, a collection of everything that circulates within.
To swiftly draw the released pressure back into the same space was to make one feel the very texture of the atmosphere.
It was akin to momentarily increasing the gravity affecting the body.
Thump—
For a brief moment, his opponent's movements felt sluggish.
Lifting his head, Loan pointed a finger at the man. From its tip, a [Mana Bullet] shot toward the space between his eyes.
Bang!
A bean-sized projectile of mana fired at point-blank range should not have made such a loud noise.
The man, who had somehow blocked the bullet with his tie-wrapped hand, let out a smirk.
“You use some interesting techniques. You're good, kid.”
Then he leaped back, putting distance between himself and Loan.
Loan got up, lightly cracking his neck.
“My technique? What did you see?”
Just then.
A commotion arose from behind the man.
Thump, thump—the sound of Soldato collapsing.
Even those holding blades to the hostages' necks had all met the same fate.
Sharp pillars had shot up high from the ground.
It was because of the [Bone Spikes] that had activated the moment Loan touched the ground.