Chapter 46
Chapter 46
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 046
Chapter Title: Vacation in Borfeo
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“Still, the gains you brought back are huge, so a reward is in order, right?”
Alman was definitely not a bad boss.
Clear rewards and punishments.
“Fifteen days of vacation.”
Vacation.
That was the reward Sein had earned.
“Yawwwn!”
He’d heard that only a tiny fraction of candidates managed to snag a vacation around this stage.
Especially in the early phases of the candidate competition.
“What a freaking great morning.”
Those who’d been thrilled to earn the name Demorus had soon realized the reality and were always ready to bolt.
Some even got caught up in accidents and died on the spot, or fell into enemy hands, so there were reasonable grounds for it.
Sein had gotten that kind of vacation.
Crunch.
“You’re eating snacks first thing in the morning?”
Cecil sidled up beside Sein, who stood by the window, and started munching on snacks.
“Gimme some.”
Sein snatched some of Cecil’s snacks and ate them while lingering by the window for a while.
“I got the vacation, but…”
There wasn’t anything particularly special about it.
He hadn’t been grinding training like a maniac to begin with, and the miscellaneous tasks assigned to candidates were all being handled by the other candidates themselves, even taking on Sein’s share.
Missions had cooldowns anyway, and he could refuse any that weren’t specifically assigned to him.
“What’re you doing.”
He had no idea how to spend the vacation.
“Now that I’ve got it, I should use it somehow.”
Sein was Korean.
If it was given to him, he had to make use of it somehow.
“Hmm.”
Tap, tap-tap. Tap.
Sein stood tapping on the window frame.
“What?”
Cecil tugged at Sein’s collar.
“Snacks.”
“You wanna go buy snacks?”
Nod.
“Do that with Ballack later.”
Ballack had sworn loyalty to Sein after the events in Tanba.
Ballack’s loyalty was different in nature from that of other candidates bound by magic contracts.
In fact, Ballack was the most trustworthy after Derren, so Sein occasionally left Cecil’s safety in his hands.
“Ah, seriously, what should I do.”
Should he look for the lost item?
With Rasiel’s help, he could check out a few places that might have traces of the item.
Or traces of useful people, skillbooks, and such…
“Sigh, no way.”
But Sein sighed and shook his head.
Rasiel might seem peaceful and quiet, but right now, all eyes would be on him.
Especially.
‘That old man’s not seriously just gonna let me vacation in peace.’
The vacation Alman had given as a reward couldn’t be purely innocent.
Where he went.
What he did.
Every single move would be reported, judged, and dissected.
“Leech.”
“...?”
Cecil looked up at Sein at his words.
“Wanna go on a trip?”
Cecil’s blank expression, lost in snack-munching, brightened instantly.
“Yeah!”
Thwack!
Sein flicked her forehead.
“Who said you could talk back like that.”
“Eek.”
“Pack your bags.”
His annoyance at the kid’s casual tone faded quickly.
“We’re going on a trip.”
He’d decided how to spend his vacation.
*
*
*
“Long time no see.”
No missions or anything, so there was no guide from Rasiel.
Traveling alone.
Thanks to the Rasiel seal emblazoned on his top, though, Sein reached his destination without issue.
“So, like…”
People chatting nearby.
They soon spotted Sein.
“Please state your identity.”
“Oh.”
Sein admired the sight.
He’d deliberately covered the Rasiel seal.
“Things have changed, huh?”
The moment Sein lowered his hand covering the seal.
“Eek!”
The guards paled and snapped to attention.
“W-We greet a member of Rasiel’s organization.”
In a backwater place like this, not just Demorus but Rasiel was treated like the grim reaper.
“E-Excuse me, but…”
“Huh…? Could it be…?”
One of them seemed to recognize Sein and started to act familiar, but Sein was a step faster.
“It’s Sein Demorus. Open the gate.”
“Sein…”
“Demorus?”
Their already pale faces turned ashen green.
“...Open it.”
One senior guard muttered in a mosquito-like voice.
“Open it, you idiots—!”
Creeeak!
The city gates began to swing open.
“Yeah, that’s more like it.”
Satisfied, Sein headed through the open gates with Cecil.
Finally, Sein and Cecil entered, and the gates closed.
“Sein Demorus…?”
A junior guard asked his senior with a ‘no way’ look.
“Idiot. That ‘Sein Demorus.’”
This was Borfeo.
“The lord of the back alleys!”
“Gasp!”
Only then did the junior realize he’d been standing on the line between life and death.
The incident that had happened just days before he became a guard.
The tales of Sein’s exploits on the Night of Death and what followed were nothing short of legend.
Whatever the guards thought, Sein strode into the gates without hesitation.
He marched forward with unwavering steps.
The streets had cleared before he knew it.
Just like before.
“Brings back memories.”
But what would happen from now on would be different.
Step, step.
For a rural level-8 district city, they had pretty decent gear.
Eyes that looked seasoned with experience.
Compared to candidates who only had the power of their bloodline, these guys looked far superior.
“You’ve arrived—!”
They ruled the streets and shouted toward Sein.
They immediately lowered their postures and bowed their heads.
At their forefront stood a familiar face.
“Yeah, long time no see.”
This was Borfeo.
Sein’s territory.
“Derren.”
It was where his most reliable subordinate, Derren, was.
*
*
*
“The judges said that crap, huh?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll have to beat them senseless next time I see them.”
Sein listened to the recent updates.
He no longer needed to use the Cyclops’ house like before.
Derren Family.
The sole force that completely dominated Borfeo’s back alleys, and a rising power still expanding its scale.
Feared even by nearby estates.
“Oh, you’ve arrived?”
Familiar faces burst in and bowed their heads.
“Oh, One-Eye!”
Cyclops.
Sein’s first connection in Borfeo, now absorbed into the Derren Family and serving as their martial leader.
And.
Shivering.
A woman trembling like she might wet herself any second.
“The fox bitch showed up too.”
They’d been called Borfeo’s Four Great Commanders of the back alleys, but Sein had only taken in Cyclops and Fox.
“Th-It’s been a while, sir.”
Before their true master, all they could do was stand and tremble.
And that wasn’t all.
“Greetings again.”
Unlike them, one smiled with far more composure.
Aia.
The head of the Glass Trading Company, whom he’d seen during the recent Tanba incident.
With the Derren Family as backing, he’d expanded his influence to become Borfeo’s top merchant.
His guts impressed Sein, especially compared to the other dimwits.
And one more.
“Greetings, Master.”
“...?”
The last voice made Sein furrow his brow in confusion.
Standing there was a burly middle-aged man.
His face was vaguely familiar, but Sein couldn’t place him.
Master?
“Who’re you?”
“It’s me.”
Thud!
The middle-aged man lifted the hammer from his belt and set it down on the floor.
“Aaron—!”
“A…aron?”
He’d heard the name before.
Aaron…
“That old geezer?”
That old man was this middle-aged guy now?
And what was this master nonsense?
“What the hell is this?”
At Sein’s words, Aaron scratched his head sheepishly.
“Well…”
Aaron’s age hadn’t been that advanced to begin with, they said.
He’d just lost his spirit early on, living like a wreck and devoid of will to live.
That’s why he’d looked far older than his years, but meeting Sein had reignited his will, leading to changes.
“That make any sense?”
“Of course, the Glass Trading Company provided a lot of help.”
Derren explained.
“He’s Borfeo’s one and only master blacksmith, and with his skills, we poured all sorts of good stuff into him.”
So that’s how it happened.
“Huh.”
Amid Aaron’s dramatic transformation, Sein nearly forgot.
That this was a world of dreams and illusions.
“Ahem.”
Sein slowly composed his surprise.
Then, his gaze began to shift.
The atmosphere, lightened a bit by Aaron’s story.
Rumble.
Grew heavy.
‘When…’
Those seeing Sein after so long.
They thought they hadn’t wasted time either, but Sein was on another level entirely.
What used to be a faint glimpse was now like pure white mist.
Like something living high in the unreachable sky.
“Derren.”
“Yes, Boss.”
“Anyone we need to kill?”
At Sein’s words, the already heavy mood plunged through the floor.
“Fox, that bitch hasn’t been slacking, right?”
The woman he’d spared because of her reputed resourcefulness.
“Her skills are better than expected.”
Phew. A long sigh, followed by the sound of Fox collapsing in relief.
If only that were the end.
“There are issues with the remaining trading companies.”
Borfeo wasn’t without problems.
“As the Glass Trading Company grew rapidly under our family’s protection, the other companies’ discontent is no small matter.”
Sein had left Borfeo to Derren, but he wasn’t an absolute ruler.
There were others here with power comparable to Derren’s.
A problem that naturally arose.
“Well, life-and-death stuff. Bound to happen.”
Sein stood up.
His vacation.
“Why couldn’t you handle it?”
“...”
Derren closed his mouth briefly, blaming himself for the failure.
But keeping Sein waiting wasn’t polite either.
“They’ve sided with the lord.”
Borfeo’s lord.
That man was the one who could wield power comparable to Derren’s in Borfeo.
“Any other issues?”
“…Just some differences of opinion with the lord’s side.”
He had his task now.
“I’ve been calling myself the underworld’s spoiled brat, in my own way.”
His vacation’s starting point.
“Shall we throw a blood festival?”
The room fell silent.
Crunch.
Only the sound of Cecil munching snacks echoed.