Chapter 155
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 156
Chapter Title: Exploiting the Opportunity
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High-ranking heroes are fundamentally stubborn.
The more they hone their skills and build their power, the thicker the inner mental image at their core becomes, making them resistant to external influences.
That's why it's nearly impossible to sway high-ranking heroes with mere words. The Myriad Demons' Mire preferred other methods, one of which was, naturally, taking hostages.
"It's a commonly used tactic. 'Sacrifice yourself, and we won't touch your loved ones,' that kind of blackmail."
No matter how stubborn they are, they're still human. Threaten their family, lovers, or friends, and they'll waver to some extent.
Plus, these threats are the kind you know about but can't avoid, so he'd seen it multiple times before his regression.
"W-Well, that's true, but..."
"And when someone who was clinging to you all friendly before suddenly starts keeping their distance after meeting one of the Ten Evils? It's obvious, isn't it?"
Normally, this sort of thing involves acting normal until suddenly vanishing one day. Not blatantly pulling away and tipping off that something's up, like this time.
"I-I wouldn't say they were clinging that much..."
"Anyway, the point is, everyone knows you've been agonizing over something stupid."
Lee Se-hun looked puzzled at the flustered Leah.
"Didn't we just agree to work together going forward? Why are you wavering now?"
It might be understandable if they hadn't properly allied yet, but weren't they already in the same boat?
Yet here she was, shaken by such a clichéd threat. Lee Se-hun couldn't quite wrap his head around it.
"..."
At his question, Leah sipped the last of her coffee and grumbled softly.
"It's because your talent would be wasted."
"Now you tell me?"
"That was before I saw the mass-produced sword energy. After seeing it... I started wondering if it was okay to do this."
After witnessing the mass-produced sword energy Lee Se-hun had created by modifying the enchantment, Leah reevaluated his talent.
'I can't be sure I could take down the Puppet Master alone... but this guy? Different story.'
The depth of potential, the heights he could reach—they were on another level.
So when the Puppet Master threatened Lee Se-hun's life, Leah thought rationally and reached a conclusion.
"I figured it was more likely you'd survive and surpass me—someone who isn't even confident about beating the Puppet Master. Something like that."
"Hmm..."
Lee Se-hun gave an intrigued look at her candid answer.
'I expected her to insist on taking him down herself... She's more flexible than I thought.'
She wanted to do it personally if possible, but if conditions didn't allow, someone else handling it was fine.
It felt less like pure revenge and more like a goal to "stop" him. That made sense to Lee Se-hun.
'Her parents, after all.'
That thought sparked one more curiosity.
Why had Leah's mother, Reyna Claudel, suddenly gone mad, killed her husband, and become the Puppet Master?
He didn't know the details, but from what he'd heard, there were no warning signs.
As Lee Se-hun pondered these questions, Leah scratched her head and spoke up.
"But that doesn't mean I planned to just roll over. It could be a chance to infiltrate, so I figured I'd get inside and poke around."
"Infiltrate?"
"I set up a workshop in the pleasure district, told them if I accepted, I'd come there."
"Pleasure district..."
Before his regression, relations with the Dream Demon were poor, but had they agreed to some cooperation this time?
His eyes narrowed at the seemingly tighter-knit Ten Evils.
'...Hold on.'
Replaying Leah's words, certain keywords surfaced in his mind.
The individualistic Ten Evils.
The Puppet Master and Dream Demon, who weren't on good terms originally.
And Leah, invited to the pleasure district.
'If we exploit this situation to sow chaos...'
We might create an opening to strike the pleasure district.
Lee Se-hun rapidly sketched a new plan in his head, drawing on all his knowledge to flesh it out.
"Was there a deadline on that offer?"
"Said they'd decide before summer break ends."
"About three months, then."
One month until the semester evaluation, then two months of summer break.
Giving that much time was probably meant to prolong her agonizing, eroding her mental image through resignation.
'The persuasion itself, too—it doesn't feel like they see her as mere material.'
Of course, he couldn't fully trust a lunatic like the Puppet Master at face value, but it wasn't an immediate threat, which was good enough.
"Alright. Let's use this opportunity like you said."
"Infiltrate?"
"Yeah. But not by charging in blindly like now—that's no different from surrender."
The gap created through the Puppet Master was just that—a gap. Exploiting it properly required thorough preparation.
'Investigate those connected to the pleasure district, lay groundwork via insider Amir.'
Of course, it wouldn't be easy, so securing time was key.
"Act normal for now. If the Puppet Master approaches, stall as long as possible—say you need more time."
"What if they can't wait and try to drag me off?"
"As long as you're inside Babel, that won't happen."
The first time could pass as an accident, but repeats would expose their own shortcomings.
Ludwig knew that, so barring special circumstances, he wouldn't allow Myriad Demons' Mire incursions easily.
Leah pondered his explanation, then glanced at him.
"...You'll be okay, junior?"
The more impatient the Puppet Master got, the riskier the hostage became. Lee Se-hun grinned at her concern.
"No problem."
He might not have before, but now he could handle the Puppet Master targeting him.
Leah stared at his confident words, then nodded.
"Got it. I'll do as you say."
Lee Se-hun, her ally; the Puppet Master, her enemy.
No contest whose advice to follow.
'Plus, he's so sure of it.'
Anyone else, maybe not—but when her junior spoke with that conviction, she felt an odd trust it'd pan out.
Feeling the worry that had lingered like a lump in her throat since the raid finally dissolve, Leah sighed in relief, her expression lightening.
"Haa... Should've done this sooner. Looking back, I feel like such an idiot."
"Threats narrow your vision. Just be careful next time."
"Yeah... But how do you know all this, junior?"
She was older, enrolled earlier—yet he acted like a seasoned hero, grizzled from the front lines.
Maybe he'd been in some secret special forces before enrolling? At her curiosity-laden question, Lee Se-hun sipped his coffee.
"Talent."
Truth was, he'd picked it up from hearsay before regressing—but he couldn't say that, and excuses were a hassle.
Leah stared at his answer, then muttered.
"So annoying..."
How could he say it so infuriatingly? It was almost admirable now. As she grumbled, Lee Se-hun set down his empty cup.
"So, what about the company?"
"Huh? Oh, right..."
No need to distance herself anymore if she was acting normal. Realizing the situation, Leah looked back at him.
"...Hehe. More coffee?"
She beamed at her future boss, grievances forgotten.
* * *
That evening.
Back at the dorm after his schedule, Lee Se-hun pulled documents on the Valmut family from the subspatial pocket Erika had given him.
'Sorted them already.'
Clients, procured materials, subcontractors, employees—all intel the Inoue family had gathered, meticulously recorded.
Of course, truly vital info might be scarce or absent entirely, but Lee Se-hun didn't mind.
'Can't avoid failures entirely.'
Right now, recreating or adapting pre-regression successes worked first try, but new materials meant trial and error.
Likewise, digging into Valmut would involve setbacks and time.
"...But this is too much."
Pulling out all the boxes to survey, his dorm room filled wall-to-wall.
Each box crammed with file folders, each an inch thick—dozens of them.
'Ice Dog's a bookworm, he'd just read 'em...'
Was there a faster, easier way?
Gazing at the mountain of boxes, an idea struck Lee Se-hun.
"Ah. Maybe..."
No guarantees, but worth a shot.
Decision made, he channeled mana into his hand, summoning his slave.
Roar!
Flames erupted from his hand, coalescing in midair. Moments later, Zhuque manifested in the room.
[Who're you calling slave!!!]
Swelling with rage on arrival, Zhuque bristled. Lee Se-hun waved it off.
"Skip the pointless bickering—straight to business. Easier for both of us, right?"
[...]
Starting the fight then saying that? Shameless. But arguing would just boil his blood—no apology forthcoming.
Learning quickly that resistance cost him, Zhuque sighed in resignation.
[Hoo... So, what this time? Burn all the trash piles around?"
"Similar, but not quite."
Lee Se-hun grabbed a file from a box, opened it, and showed Zhuque.
"As you see, all sorted and documented. Can you burn and absorb these too?"
Zhuque absorbed power from things burned in his flames. Defining that "power" as knowledge could slash the workload.
Zhuque eyed the file, then replied calmly.
[No reason not. I bulked up my knowledge burning a library that way once.]
"And pass it to me?"
[Of course. Right... Nngh... Urk...]
Mid-answer, Zhuque twitched, then sighed deeply.
[...Possible, but risky. It syncs your brain with flames—even without malice, you could end up an idiot.]
"I see... But were you just hiding that side effect?"
[...]
Zhuque turned away silently. Lee Se-hun swiftly grabbed its body with both hands.
[Graaah... Y-You bastard!!]
Twisting the flame body like trussing a chicken—wings and legs bound—Lee Se-hun tossed it atop a box.
"Burn that, and I'll chuck your ass right in."
[Y-You... Coward... Urk...!]
Self-harm threat in place, Zhuque flailed, bound. Watching, Lee Se-hun pondered.
'Knowledge transfer works, but not direct brain sync...'
What alternative? It hit him quickly.
"Hold on."
Hand to solar plexus, he activated Dream Storage, retrieving the Dream Illusion Dagger stored within.
Roar!
Purple flames bloomed from his midsection, yielding the dagger. Zhuque's single eye widened.
[That flame just now...]
"Dream flames. Can you compress knowledge into it?"
[Hmm... Need to check the flame type first.]
Lee Se-hun drew a sliver from the dagger, feeding it to Zhuque's beak.
Vrrr—
The dream flame seeped in, dispersing. After a while, Zhuque spoke.
[N-Not bad flames. This'll work.]
Voice subtly shaky. Lee Se-hun nodded curiously.
"Good. Burn all these boxes, compile the memories, stuff 'em in this dagger. You can manage?"
[Naturally. But... Ahem.]
Eyeing him warily, wings and legs still tied, Zhuque ventured.
[Process might consume a bit of that dream flame... Still okay?]
Intent obvious, Lee Se-hun gave an exasperated nod.
"A little's fine."
[G-Great. Let's start.]
Fanfare forgotten, Zhuque ignited the room, incinerating and absorbing boxes in a blaze.
Shhh.
Characters floated up from its body, vanishing.
Confirming absorption, Lee Se-hun extracted his bond stone meantime.
Vrrr!
Impure, opaque ore.
Gazing at his lackluster bond stone, its form caught his eye anew.
'Right, these impurities appeared post-regression.'
Soul changes from regressing—maybe linked? Staring briefly, he shook his head.
'Later.'
Info processing first.
Clutching the bond stone, he waited. Soon, a doubled-size Zhuque approached.
[Ready. Extend the dagger.]
"Here."
Lee Se-hun proffered it; Zhuque enveloped with wings, infusing flames.
Roar!
Dream flames and Zhuque's mingled around the dagger.
They churned back and forth, then Zhuque—back to normal—pulled away.
[Done.]
Satisfied, Lee Se-hun eyed the blade, now flame-formed.
Vrrr.
Text densely packed within the flames.
Unreadable shapes—likely Zhuque's compressed data.
"Phew..."
Exhaling, Lee Se-hun thrust the prepared bond stone into the flames.
Roar!
Dream flames transmuted impurities to dreams, incinerating them—pure memory remained.
Confirming it merged with Zhuque's info—
Pfuk!
The reverse-gripped Dream Illusion Dagger pierced his heart.