Chapter 45
Chapter 45
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 045
Chapter Title: Authority of the Demorus Name
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Sein and Balak, along with Rasiel's guide who had come with them.
"What the hell is this?"
Standing beside him was Kampe, one of Rasiel's enforcers whom he'd seen before.
"You finally show your face."
Sein had already noticed Kampe's presence.
A covert watcher tailing them.
And it was Kampe, of all people.
"I knew you'd pull something like this, Sein Demorus."
Kampe and Sein.
The area around them was deathly silent, as if no one else existed.
No one dared.
"Not only did you fail the mission, but you killed the client?"
No one had the guts to interrupt the two men's murderous aura.
It felt like a storm of blades was raging.
One wrong step, and the illusion of your body being shredded to pieces hung in the air.
"You've tarnished the Demorus name."
Shing.
The dagger in Kampe's hand.
'So Rasiel's enforcer isn't just some empty title.'
The finely honed energy pierced his skin like a blade.
'At least level 20.'
There was still a significant gap; it was hard to gauge Kampe's exact strength.
Swish.
Balak moved to step closer to Sein.
Sensing the impending fight, he wanted to lend a hand.
"Hold back. Don't butt in."
Sein stopped Balak.
"I told you, the barking of the powerless is just empty bravado."
Even though Balak had achieved mid-tier demonization, he was no match for Kampe.
"And power isn't..."
Sein's voice came as a whisper.
"...just about force."
Sein stared straight at Kampe.
"Is there any excuse for this, Sein Demorus?"
"There is."
Kuuuwaa!
Sein pushed back against Kampe's energy as he spoke.
Kampe flinched, momentarily startled.
"You're the one smearing shit on the Demorus name right now."
"What nonsense..."
"The mission was a success."
Kampe had been watching, so he knew.
Gropa wasn't dead; he was alive, and the corpse in front of them was just a doll.
But.
"You're the one denying Demorus' guarantee."
If he wouldn't acknowledge that, then that was that.
"......"
Only now did Kampe seem to realize the truth.
"The lord of Tanba tried to embezzle Demorus' payment. There's clear evidence, right?"
It was an added bonus, but by Demorus' rules, that was unacceptable.
Payment for payment.
"Sein Demorus."
"Yeah, you son of a bitch. I'm Sein Demorus."
Sein stepped forward without hesitation.
He didn't even draw his sword.
"Under the Demorus name, we carried out Demorus' business..."
Right up close.
Sein and Kampe locked eyes.
A hand's reach away from slitting each other's throats.
But Sein wouldn't.
"Who the hell are you to say it's not, or it is, you prick?"
Kampe couldn't.
"A mere Rasiel enforcer, raising a flag against the Demorus name?"
He wasn't Demorus.
Even if the candidate's status was low, this was an external operation.
A mission conducted under the Demorus name.
"You think you can handle the consequences?"
"......"
"You son of a bitch. Can you handle it?"
Sein grabbed Kampe's dagger hand and pulled it toward himself.
Meaning, stab if you dare.
Grit.
Kampe ground his teeth.
Only then did a smile spread across Sein's lips.
"Sein Demorus is right. Looks like there was a misunderstanding."
So.
Pshuuuuk!
A storm of purple blood raged around Kampe.
Parca, who had tried to protest.
The knights who stood to protect him.
The soldiers lined up behind them.
Drip, drip, drip...
They scattered as chunks of meat.
"Cleaning up Demorus' mess? Fitting for a mangy mutt."
Sein's satisfied smile.
"Sein Demorus."
"No, Kampe. Shut your mouth. Let me say something."
Sein approached Kampe and whispered.
"You're one step closer to Rasiel's guild master now."
"......!"
"Don't be dense, or you'll swim at the bottom forever. Remember that."
Sein stepped back.
Kampe still couldn't utter a word.
"See that?"
Sein said to Balak.
"That's what romance is."
*
*
*
"A new lord will come to Tanba."
The incident wrapped up like that.
The price for daring to cheat Demorus.
Hundreds of soldiers and dozens of knights dead.
The lord and steward's deaths were covered up.
"Gropa's orphanage is relocating. Any complaints?"
At Sein's words, the ashen-faced old woman, Gropa, shook her head.
"I'd have moved if you'd just supported the relocation from the start."
Once called a knight, but in Sein's eyes, she was just a powerless old woman.
Same for Gropa.
Sein was.
"We'll relocate since you're guaranteeing relocation funds and safety."
Simply an absolute being to obey.
The talk was straightforward.
"But that's not the end of it."
Sein was tying up loose ends.
"Balak, you're the owner of this land."
Beneath the orphanage site lay a mana stone mine.
"......?"
"The paperwork's done. You and Gropa are joint owners."
"When did you..."
Mana stone mine under the Demorus name—the new lord won't dare touch it. Especially with joint owner Gropa to consider.
Aftercare too.
"Thirty percent of the mana stone mine profits go to Demorus."
It was unavoidable.
"That'll secure protection, so it's actually a good deal."
Gropa seemed to have caught on to Sein's plan.
"No bold lord would target a mine dedicated to Demorus in a place like Sector 7."
"Right? Balak, you grew up with her—how do you know nothing?"
Balak hung his head as Sein spoke in exasperation.
"And..."
It was then.
"Long time no see."
A tall, handsome young man.
His tanned skin testified to the time he'd spent.
"Long time. Your name was, uh... what was it?"
"It's Eia, Sein Demorus sir."
A merchant who arrived from Borfeo.
Eia led the small Glass Merchant House.
-From now on, you're getting special treatment.
After Sein took Borfeo, Eia's and Glass Merchant House's fates changed.
They became number one across all of Borfeo, expanding their power.
And as a merchant who could cross sectors and territories, he rushed over at Sein's call.
"Nice to meet you. Here are Tanba's biggest mana stone mine owners."
"An honor to meet you. As someone introduced by Sein, please feel free to ask for anything."
Balak looked shocked.
He knew Sein's resourcefulness and power were impressive, but from Sector 10?
He'd become a candidate and come straight away—how had he gathered such people behind him in that time?
"Glass Merchant House gets thirty percent, and another thirty percent will come from a merchant house in Antara."
"......"
"The last ten percent is up to you. Feed yourself or the orphanage."
"It'd be good to use it for the orphanage."
Clap.
Sein clapped his hands.
"Alright, all sorted. Eia, the contract."
"Here it is."
"I like how you handle things. How's Derun?"
"Of course, sir. Sein."
"Good."
The special mission in Tanba.
"Let's head back, pup."
He set off on the return journey with his new dog, Balak.
*
*
*
"...And so, Balak's mana stone mine will dedicate thirty percent of profits to Demorus."
Balak's heavy voice echoed.
"Thirty percent."
This was Rasiel's guild house.
The room where Master Alman sat.
Sein and Balak stood before Alman, giving their report.
"That's too little."
"Are you crazy? Trying to take more without lifting a finger."
The mutter sounded like casual speech.
"Demorus' protection, above all..."
But Alman continued undeterred by Sein's voice.
"Thirty percent is too low to overlook the commotion in Tanba."
"Come on, bullshit."
Sein faced the wall, not looking at Alman, as he spoke.
"That Sur guy, the old Tanba lord, was the type who schemed and wouldn't listen. Dug through the papers, and he was skimping on protection fees too."
Sein's words poured out without restraint.
"Installing a new lord to Demorus' taste, solidifying Demorus' control—thirty percent is plenty."
This was the basis of negotiation.
Knowing exactly what to gain and what to give.
"Forty percent."
"Okay."
Sein agreed without hesitation.
-Yeah, it won't fly like this, so Eia, give it up on your end.
Sein had anticipated this and adjusted the contract.
"But make it clear: Demorus Mine."
"Consider it done."
It happened in an instant.
Balak had honestly been scared.
Sein treated the man before him like a neighborhood uncle.
Gooo!
But to Balak and the other candidates, Alman was a coiled dragon.
An existence no one could touch or defy.
That's why, even though things wrapped up well in Tanba, he'd worried about Alman's reaction.
"The gains are huge. And we'll collect the proper payment from Tanba's next lord."
"Just give me my exact share. Oh, this guy too."
"Done."
They'd caused a ruckus, but it turned into merit.
And that was because.
'Sein Demorus knows Alman's intentions perfectly.'
One of Alman's plans for this special mission had been flawlessly executed.
The best move for maximum mutual gain.
This was it.
'One with real power.'
The true powerhouse Sein had described.
This was what such a person could do.
"Excellent."
Even causing trouble earned Sein praise.
"However."
It was at that moment.
Thud, roll.
Something hit the floor and tumbled.
Sein, Balak, and Kampe standing behind them.
It was his head.
"Overstepping can be unwise at times."
It was a warning.
For daring to mention Rasiel's guild master.
And Alman's warning that he already knew everything.
"Remember that."
A smile spread across Alman's face at Sein's reply.
"Still, since you've brought great profit to both Rasiel and Demorus, a reward is in order, wouldn't you say?"