Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Return (2)
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“Your neck’s awfully stiff, Branch Chief Bayren.”
“Huh?”
Sien opened her mouth in a cold tone, and Branch Chief Bayren blankly asked back.
“It’s the guild’s duty to monitor everyone entering and exiting the dungeon. Yet an assassin slipped in and attacked the young master. This is your responsibility for conducting the inspections so carelessly. Isn’t it?”
“I’m truly sorry!”
Thud!
Only then did Branch Chief Bayren grasp the meaning behind Sien’s words.
He jumped to his feet and dropped to his knees. He even slammed his forehead against the ground.
A wound opened on his brow, blood trickling down, but he paid it no mind.
He’d be lying if he claimed to feel no resentment.
Even if the guild staff strictly inspected adventurers and everyone else entering the dungeon, there were limits.
Especially for assassins dead set on hiding their identities—how could anyone detect and stop them?
And yet, Branch Chief Bayren offered no excuses.
No, he couldn’t.
This was the city of Barehain.
The central city of Adalbert territory for a thousand years.
Martin was the son of the previous head of the Adalbert family—and their only direct descendant.
Even if his standing among the nobles had fallen, in Barehain, he was still the most noble figure one could imagine.
For him to be attacked...
With the incident already happened, the responsibility fell entirely on him, the manager.
“You know this too, Branch Chief Bayren. A simple ‘sorry’ won’t cut it.”
“I will take full responsibility for this...”
“How exactly do you plan to take responsibility?”
“I’ll step down as branch chief...”
“Tch. That’s a given.”
Branch Chief Bayren trembled as he watched Martin respond so casually.
Even suggesting he step down required tremendous resolve.
The dungeon entrance did belong to Adalbert territory.
But the Adventurer’s Guild handled its management, including the one in Barehain.
Managing one of the nine dungeon entrances on the Krasian continent made Barehain’s branch chief one of the guild’s most powerful figures—by no exaggeration.
Their authority was immense.
Enough to disregard most nobles.
Stepping down meant abandoning everything he’d enjoyed until now.
And yet Martin spoke of it as if it were obvious, leaving Bayren utterly breathless.
“You don’t seriously think this ends with you just stepping down, do you, Branch Chief Bayren? If you do, I have to say you’re gravely mistaken. At the very least, the Adventurer’s Guild needs to step in, right?”
“T-The guild headquarters directly?”
“The Adalbert family’s sole direct descendant faced a life-threatening situation due to the guild’s management failure. In a case like this, should we keep entrusting the entrance management to the Adventurer’s Guild?”
“You’re saying you’ll reclaim the management rights?”
“It’s not impossible. The branch family heads and elders would lose their minds with joy. It’d be an opportunity to seize massive interests falling right into their laps.”
Gape.
Branch Chief Bayren opened and closed his mouth repeatedly.
The Adalbert family could manage the dungeon entrance directly at any time.
If they did, the Adventurer’s Guild would suffer a massive blow.
How could he bear that responsibility?
He couldn’t even imagine.
“P-Please, spare me just once! I beg you, young master!”
“Ah, don’t worry about that. Why would I kill you?”
“The moment this becomes public, the Adventurer’s Guild will never let me live. Please, show mercy just this once...”
“Mercy, huh.”
Smirk.
The smile on Martin’s lips deepened.
Sien clicked her tongue as she watched.
‘His personality’s gotten even worse.’
Martin had a ruthless side from his harsh upbringing. But he’d never toyed with people’s lives like this before—now he did.
He acted as if his own life hung in the balance, maintaining a domineering posture.
Still, Sien didn’t view this change in Martin negatively.
To become head and reign at the top, he needed that ruthless heart.
“Personally, I rate you highly, Branch Chief Bayren. Sure, you meddle from the shadows a lot, which is a flaw, but you’re undeniably competent, aren’t you? You’re even a candidate for the next guild master.”
Rustle.
Martin lifted Bayren’s torso upright.
“Honestly, I don’t want a new branch chief either. It’d be a hassle. So swear just this one thing, and I won’t hold you accountable.”
“A-a swear?”
“Nothing difficult. While you’re branch chief of Barehain, pledge your loyalty to me.”
“That’s...”
Branch Chief Bayren hesitated to answer rashly.
If Martin failed to manifest a unique ability in this training, the Adalbert family would fall.
Escaping blame for the assassination wouldn’t save him—he’d face ruin for backing the wrong side.
“Don’t worry about the unique ability.”
Martin grinned broadly.
He’d never intended to make this public from the start.
It would only stir up the family, and if mishandled, Valdemar von Rustal might strike first and wipe out the Blood Sword Unit.
Then the information he could gain would vanish.
So he’d used that information differently to bind Bayren.
Not exactly upright or incorruptible, but his skills were real.
A man like this would perform at his peak if it benefited him.
That way, Martin could access the guild’s information and wield influence.
But first, he needed to drive the wedge in.
Rustle.
Martin raised his right hand.
The moment Bayren saw what followed, he pledged absolute loyalty.
* * *
Separate from Martin’s refusal to ride in the carriage, news of his exit from the dungeon quickly reached the main house.
Everyone in the estate rushed to gather at the main gate.
Though not recognized as heir, Martin was still the Adalbert family’s one and only direct descendant.
Naturally, they had to show proper courtesy.
“Young master!”
The members of the White Dragon Knight Order, who guarded the main house, shouted in booming voices as they held their swords forward.
Twenty of them split to either side, assuming disciplined postures—it was impressive in itself.
But Martin merely glanced lightly at the knights.
His attention focused on the group at the main gate, especially those at the forefront.
‘Aren Cruise.’
One of the elders, the only one who’d seen him off to the dungeon until the end.
His plump, kindly face bore a bright smile. As if he were truly delighted.
Martin turned to look at the other two.
The old man to the left had a muscular build, his skin a deep bronze.
To the right stood a beautiful woman who could pass for early thirties by her face alone.
‘Marius Protal, Oriana Flores.’
Including Aren Cruise, these three had served the Adalbert family for over fifty years.
Their merits had earned them elder positions. From mere retainers, they’d risen to decide the family’s major and minor affairs.
And that wasn’t all.
They’d received baronies, officially becoming nobles of the Alteria Empire.
But.
‘Old fools who abandoned my father’s dying wish for their own power and gain.’
Daniel von Adalbert had left a final plea: protect Martin until the end.
Yet these three elders chose betrayal.
For one reason: to establish their own families.
They’d even achieved that wish once. Briefly, but still.
‘This time, you won’t even get close.’
To fully seize the family, he needed to deal with the elders.
He already had plans mapped out in his head.
What reactions would they show when their desperate hopes crumbled?
Imagining that, Martin looked at those behind the elders.
All around his age: three men and one woman.
The heirs of the remaining four branch families.
‘Stefan Rustal, Simon Pezeks.’
A burly young man and a slender one. The moment their eyes met Martin’s, smirks curled on their lips.
They hid it well, but their disdain for him was clear.
‘These guys really don’t learn. Even after getting beaten senseless since childhood.’
In circle realm, he’d always been outmatched.
It was inevitable.
They could train both unique abilities and martial arts, while he had only swordsmanship.
But that was the end of it.
He’d never lost to those two or any branch heirs. He’d crushed them mercilessly.
His overwhelming swordsmanship compensated for his lacking physique and absent unique ability.
Yet they still acted like this.
It was utterly baffling.
Still, he’d discipline them later.
Someone else demanded his attention now.
Martin’s gaze shifted to the red-haired young man.
‘Kallain Gustin.’
Two years from now, the Adalbert civil war.
The true victor of that conflict stood there, smiling brightly.
‘You won’t be smiling much longer.’
All branch families except the Igrit wanted to supplant the Adalbert main line.
In his past life, the Gustin family had come perilously close.
Kallain Gustin—his arrogance cost him his head, so they ultimately failed.
‘This time, you won’t even get the chance.’
The reason Kallain grew strong, the Sword King’s legacy, was already his.
Plus, inheriting his past life’s unique ability gave him the justification too.
Kallain could do nothing.
Smirk.
Martin’s lips curved into a smile at the thought.
But it faded the instant he spotted the woman beside Kallain.
‘Adel Vitinfeld.’
A woman with long white hair like fresh snow and jewel-like green eyes.
Her subtly languid face evoked sensuality and protective instincts, but Martin didn’t fall for it.
He simply stared.
The Vitinfeld family—and its head—were mere traitors.
But her... she could be called a benefactor.
She hadn’t joined her father’s betrayal and had even saved Martin’s life once.
He still didn’t know why.
If she didn’t betray him this time, he’d ask then.
With that thought, Martin continued forward and stopped before the elders.
Grab.
At that moment, Elder Aren seized both of Martin’s hands.
“You’ve been through so much. Seeing you safe and sound lets this old man finally sleep easy at night.”
“Elder Aren worries too much—it’s your weakness. As if I’d face danger on the tenth floor.”
“Dungeons are dangerous no matter the floor. It’s a relief you returned unharmed, young master.”
“Thank you for your concern, Elder Marius. I hope Elder Oriana has been well too?”
Martin bowed to Elder Marius, then turned to Elder Oriana.
“Hehe. I’m always doing fine, young master. That aside... you returned much sooner than we discussed. There should still be about twenty days left...”
“No need to stay longer once I achieved my goal.”
“...Pardon? Your goal—don’t tell me?”
“You’re thinking correctly. I manifested Space Domination in the dungeon.”
Martin answered confidently.
Elder Oriana suppressed her emotions as best she could, but he saw it clearly.
Her left eye twitched slightly.
Truth be told, she wasn’t the only one. The branch heirs except Adel, and everyone else plotting betrayal, all stirred.
Their efforts not to show it were almost admirable.
“Ooh! You’ve finally proven your worth as a direct descendant! What joyous news!”
With Elder Oriana losing her composure, Elder Aren made a fuss in her stead.
Elder Marius nodded with a pleased expression and cautiously asked.
“Truly auspicious. Might we see the ability in action, young master?”
“Of course. But just showing it off would be boring, no?”
“Hmm. Do you have some plan?”
“Nothing so grand, but... how about a light spar? With someone here. Better than opening a subspace to pull out the Monster Lord’s head, right?”
“A spar... Is there someone you’d like to face?”
“Anyone’s fine. Even if it’s one of you elders.”
Martin eyed the elders with a provocative expression.
The faces of the pointed elders froze solid.