Chapter 100
Chapter 100
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 100
Chapter Title: False Peace in Zone 2
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100
A seemingly peaceful Zone 2.
But that peace was only possible from a grand, overarching perspective. In the end, it was a place where people lived.
“You said you had to collect thirty thousand gold from Irne?”
Late at night, when everyone was asleep.
Sein looked down at the man kneeling in an extravagantly luxurious room.
“Mmgh!”
The man was bound head to toe, with a gag stuffed in his mouth.
Rip.
Sein yanked the gag free.
“What is the meaning of this!”
The man shouted.
“Is no one here! No one at all!”
He was Garcia, the loan shark operating in Zone 2.
Usury in a place with no back alleys.
“No one’s here.”
“Do you know who I am!”
“Garcia.”
“...Do you know who’s backing me!”
Naturally, nobles had to be involved.
“Count Ipar?”
“...You know that and you still pull this shit!”
In Zone 2, the only ones who could properly arm themselves were the New Empire and the nobles.
Everyone else couldn’t even easily acquire gear or weapons.
“You think you’re someone from the three great underworld families or something!”
Sein scratched his head.
“Or maybe you’ve got someone even higher than Count Ipar behind you...!”
“Both sound about right.”
Sein slouched back and locked eyes with Garcia.
“It’s Demorus.”
“...!”
“And Kanima’s probably backing me.”
“...Duke Kanima?”
Garcia’s face drained of color.
Impersonating a power broker was commonplace.
But no lunatic in the world would dare use Demorus’s name.
“The Iron-Blood Duke... s-sent you?”
No one dared impersonate Iron-Blood Duke Kanima Beriat.
The end result would be utter destruction—not just for the faker, but for everyone involved.
“He didn’t send me, exactly, but that’s not the point, is it?”
Swoosh.
Sein pressed a dagger to Garcia’s throat.
“Wh-what’s Irne got to do with... N-no, forget it! Whatever it is, I’ll do as you ask! If it’s a debt, I’ll forgive it! N-no, I’ll sponsor you myself!”
“Yeah?”
Sein’s smile seemed satisfied.
But.
“Too late.”
Slash.
Sein’s dagger sliced across Garcia’s throat.
“Shame.”
He briefly regretted killing him so easily.
Garcia had tormented Irne and the Walnut General Store for quite some time.
—I owe money.
If it had just been a simple debt, Sein would’ve paid it off.
—I only borrowed a thousand gold!
It hadn’t even taken a few years for a thousand gold to balloon into thirty thousand.
Miraculous business practices.
—So? You still borrowed it.
—That’s not how it was!
Even that hadn’t been a willing loan.
Deception and fraud.
As someone entrenched in the underworld, Sein couldn’t exactly condemn it.
Thud.
But he’d picked the wrong target.
“You torment people who can fight back.”
Tormenting someone already in hell? Even demons wouldn’t stoop that low.
—Make sure they can never touch us again.
He’d granted Irne’s request.
“Well... the method might not sit right with everyone.”
There’d be no evidence.
This dagger had been stolen from one of Garcia’s rivals.
Even without that, a loan shark like him would have plenty of enemies—no one could pin it on Sein.
The debt wouldn’t vanish just because the collector was dead.
So.
Leap.
He had to handle the cleanup thoroughly.
“You’re back earlier than I thought.”
Sein returned to Remi’s mansion.
“Here.”
“What’s this money for?”
Sein handed Remi a pouch of gold coins.
“There’s a place called the Walnut General Store in Porishe. Deliver it there. Count Ipar will probably come collecting the debt.”
“Ipar? That filthy bastard?”
“Yeah. Make sure his side can’t touch the Walnut General Store.”
The debt would transfer to Ipar.
He’d send another shark to seize the store.
Intervening there would escalate things too far.
So instead, he’d pay off Ipar with money stolen from Garcia’s vault.
That would strip them of any pretext.
If they still came after it, Remi would have to step in.
“Can you handle it?”
Demorus pressure in Zone 2 would draw too much attention.
Not to Sein, but to Irne and Artel.
“Ipar, huh...”
Heh.
Remi grinned.
“I can manage. Made a new friend at that party. Thanks to you, so I owe you one. A debt, you say?”
“A debt?”
“You said you’d make me yours. Money, power—it doesn’t matter.”
Sein chuckled.
“Anyway, what’s the deal? I’ve never seen you go this far for someone.”
That’s why he kept it hidden.
Remi was the limit of what he could do.
Sein pondered his words for a moment.
“I owe her. More than I thought.”
“...You?”
“So take good care of it. If you can pay off my debt for me, I might consider your offer favorably.”
“Promise?”
A few days later, Sein stopped by the Walnut General Store before returning to Demorus.
*
*
*
Some looked askance at Sein upon his return from Zone 2.
Because the man who’d decried joining territorial wars as playing into nobles’ games had attended a central party.
Hypocritical.
Contradictory.
Pointing fingers and murmurs multiplied.
—Sein Demorus is not fit for Demorus.
Such judgments.
—Especially not as heir.
A fatal flaw for a successor.
He’d anticipated it and prepared countermeasures.
“Sein Demorus.”
But at the family head assembly, where merits and faults were reviewed, something unexpected happened.
“You attended a party in Zone 2.”
Tejera said it despite knowing full well it was a mission.
“A mission...”
Sein prepared to trot out his excuse.
But.
“A letter arrived from the Iron-Blood Duke.”
Tejera’s next words froze the assembly solid.
“...!”
Iron-Blood Duke.
If the three great underworld families lurked in the shadows, then under the sun stood the three great dukes.
Iron-Blood Duke Kanima.
One of the three great dukes, his power and influence were said to rival Demorus’s.
“He was deeply impressed by you.”
Tejera’s gaze bore down on Sein.
Murmurs.
The retainers, expecting Sein to be reprimanded, stirred.
What could he have done to earn a letter of impression from the Iron-Blood Duke?
“In our ongoing dealings with the Iron-Blood Duke, he’s promised to side with Demorus.”
“Crazy.”
One retainer finally blurted it out loud.
Fortunately, Tejera didn’t punish him.
What had just happened was the kind of shock where even cursing in the assembly wouldn’t be amiss.
“Excellent.”
“...!”
Everyone froze at Tejera’s praise.
“Your achievements are significant. I’ll grant whatever you desire.”
*
*
*
Upon returning from the capital, Sein no longer holed up.
He proactively sought missions and roamed beyond the main house.
—A mission has been assigned.
His built-up reputation, plus events in the capital.
—Missions...
—Missions incoming.
—It’s a direct request.
Power brokers and tycoons across the continent began seeking Sein Demorus.
Mission after mission after mission.
Sein accepted every single one without refusal.
‘Artel.’
After a turbulent period, Sein had found his own answers.
And meeting Artel in the capital had clarified even more.
Performing missions like a madman earned him a nickname.
—The Undefeated Demorus.
Demorus without failure.
But that was on a broad scale; minor setbacks were inevitable.
Of course, Demorus always poured in extra support and resources to complete missions anyway.
But the “undefeated” label on Sein meant something else.
—100% success rate.
He never failed a mission.
His methods were brutal and ruthless, but the results were ironclad.
—Sein Demorus.
Some praised the name.
—Sein Demorus!
Others feared it.
—Sein... Demorus.
Some revered it.
At least now, no one in the underworld remained ignorant of Sein’s name.
It had taken a year.
Just one year.
“Long time no see, sis.”
Sein had become a top contender among the successor candidates.
The beauty facing him scowled at his words.
“Disgusting. What mask are you wearing today, Sein Demorus?”
Tampia Demorus.
One of Demorus’s successor candidates alongside Sein—and the original backer of the third combat unit he’d claimed.
Scritch.
Sein picked at his ear in response.
“Even when I call you sis, that’s bullshit. That thing.”
“...Fine. That’s you, alright.”
Tampia ground her teeth.
She couldn’t pinpoint when it had all gone wrong.
Even Rasiel and Dante’s simultaneous support.
—Alman and Rohan must be blind.
She hadn’t thought it anything special.
It was the habit of one born to absolute power, basking in it.
A sickness where everything at her feet seemed like mere insects or pawns.
“What’ll it be?”
Sein gripped his sword and faced her.
Thirty Demorus elites stood behind Tampia.
Sein had only six at his back.
“Shall we clash properly here and settle it?”
Sein smirked.
“Or back off quietly? For the record, I prefer the former.”
It was too late when she realized Sein’s fangs were sharper than imagined.
“Well? Choose.”
Sein’s fangs had already sunk deep into her throat.
“Today...”
Crunch.
It felt like her molars shattered.
“I’ll... retreat.”