Chapter 74
Chapter 74
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 074
Chapter Title: Darren Comes with Me
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-Darren is coming with me.
I had never intended to leave him rotting in Borfeo forever.
Darren was one of the treasures in my possession.
I'd placed him in Borfeo in the first place to protect him.
Now that he'd become a successor candidate for Demorus, it was time to call him back.
-Parfi stays here.
I'd also brought Parfi, the Demorus blacksmith I'd recently taken under my wing, and left her in Borfeo.
-......
Parfi looked utterly displeased.
For someone born and raised in Sector 3, accustomed to clean air and fine food, Sector 8's Borfeo must have felt no different from hell.
-Understood.
But she obeyed my command.
She had resolved, upon joining my organization Semoral, to endure any humiliation and learn whatever she could from me.
-Aaron, you take charge of her training.
-But...
Aaron seemed utterly flustered.
To teach a Demorus blacksmith.
No less.
-You're saying she's Pargen-nim's granddaughter!
The granddaughter of Pargen, hailed as the continent's greatest blacksmith.
It wasn't a mistake that Aaron, who had rediscovered his drive and looked younger, suddenly appeared aged again in that moment.
'Aaron's skills can't compare to those of the Demorus blacksmiths.'
His abilities were certainly impressive, but they didn't reach continental-class level.
However, Aaron had something special.
Torment and collapse.
And the lessons he'd learned from the very bottom to overcome them.
Truth be told, there was an even greater reason than that.
-Produce high-quality armaments here in Borfeo, on par with the upper sectors.
The reason Borfeo had grown into a major city even in Sector 8 was the abundance of excellent mineral resources buried beneath it.
But even Lord Remy of Borfeo had no idea.
A smirk.
Deep underground in Borfeo lay minerals they hadn't yet discovered.
It was something I could sense, thanks to my vast past experiences and abilities.
Yet I hadn't told a soul.
'Who could've known.'
That Orharcon, an ore graded as unique in its raw form, was buried deep beneath Borfeo.
"It's been a while since we've traveled together, huh?"
"An honor, Boss."
Sein set out on the road once more with Darren.
And their destination was.
"Open the gates! Demorus has arrived!"
Antara.
The final city touched by Sein's hand.
The seasoned guards of Antara didn't dare block Demorus's carriage.
The moment they spotted it from afar, they flung open the gates and stood at attention.
Creak. Creak.
Before departing for Chichiron, Sein had sent Cecil ahead to Antara.
They entered Antara just like that.
"Nice."
Tarian had firmly seized control of the commerce district, and Otlmeo was spreading its wings once more.
Perhaps because of Sein's influence, the city showed greater change and development than before.
Swoosh.
The coachman rose, but Sein raised a hand to stop him.
"Welcome back to Antara, Successor Candidate Sein."
The man approaching the carriage and bowing had a familiar face.
"Long time no see, mutt."
Pallu.
He was Otlmeo's low-level informant, the one who hadn't dropped his rude speech even after I'd beaten him like a dog.
"Looking sharp?"
"Heh. All thanks to you, Sein-nim. I still feel sore about that beating, but it got me this position."
Word was, Pallu had risen through the ranks after serving me a few times.
He now acted as Otlmeo's dedicated liaison for me, his status rivaling that of branch chief Britz.
"Britz must have a stomachache."
"He's been promoted too. Thanks to you, of course."
"So."
Sein's tone remained the same, but his eyes darkened.
"Why have we come all this way?"
"The Leech has been kidnapped."
*
*
*
Leech.
That was Cecil.
Pallu had first suggested it after hearing me call her that a few times.
-How about that as her code name?
I'd thought it wasn't a bad idea and approved, and now Otlmeo fully referred to Cecil as the Leech.
"Long time no see, Barus."
"I have no face to show you."
Tarian's caravan master Barus bowed his head deeply as he spoke.
He looked a mess.
As if he'd fought a brutal battle, his clothes were torn to shreds.
"Recovery?"
"Not yet."
Even with his bishop-level divine power, wounds littered his body that refused to heal.
"You guys, really."
At Sein's words, Barus bowed even deeper.
"Location?"
Sein asked Pallu casually.
"We're tracking it, but it seems to be in Anshik."
"Iron Cross or those guys."
Why did they always hole up there?
Well, the reason was obvious.
"What about the ones I mentioned before?"
Sein turned to Barus.
"I've selected them."
Barus, who posed as a slave trader.
His operation was massive, and thanks to me, it had grown even larger.
Especially after profiting big from the demon incident in Contra, he'd expanded his influence not just in Antara but to other sectors.
I'd given him one instruction.
-Buy up every slave matching the traits I described.
Slaves.
-Even if not, fully trained ones too.
What Sein wanted in Antara was people.
Barus was gathering the people Sein desired.
"...Sein-nim. They're not to be taken lightly."
Barus said cautiously.
"You need to move now. The Saintess is in da—"
But Barus fell silent upon seeing Sein's yawning face.
Crunch.
Barus ground his teeth.
Was the Saintess's value to Sein truly this low?
He'd accepted the proposal knowing that.
"Heh. Look at that face?"
It was the only path to survival, yet he couldn't help resenting it a little.
Thud!
Barus slammed his forehead to the ground.
"She's as dear to me as my own life!"
The girl entrusted to him by Gallio, who was like a father.
Barus had spent the most time caring for her every need.
Practically a father figure.
-Abba.
It was the first word from Cecil, who suffered from mutism.
"Please, I beg you! I'll carry out any order you give from now on! I'll do anything! Save the Saintess... Save Cecil!"
Knowing his position, Barus could only plead.
"Hey."
Sein addressed Barus.
"Don't worry."
*
*
*
Cecil, kidnapped by mysterious assailants.
The culprits were obvious enough once you thought about it.
And their hideout afterward was no different.
"Impressive."
The Iron Cross Knights, heretic inquisitors—they had been annihilated by Sein.
But the temple wasn't short on heretic inquisitors, nor were they the only remnants in the temple forces who might target Cecil.
The Saintess's existence had already been exposed once.
"How many times is this?"
"The second."
Second after Iron Cross.
The previous one had been handled by Barus, but not this time.
Before the fallen Anshik.
A sprawling sacred magic circle there barred outsiders.
Crackle! Crackle!
A mid-rank sacred magic circle that promised divine punishment to any uninvited intruder.
"Sigh."
Sein sighed at the sight.
"You have bishop-level divine power, and you can't handle this?"
Barus merely bowed his head at Sein's words.
It couldn't be helped.
The temple forces, splintered and fending for themselves, weren't receiving ongoing support.
"I'll sort out the sacred magic circle materials and send them your way. Learn them."
"Thank you."
With that, Sein slowly drew Bastion and pressed it to the sacred magic circle.
The circle, which had repelled all approaches until now.
Crackle!
Vanished in an instant.
"......!"
Barus watched in astonishment.
"Seintryne."
Seintryne.
"Isn't that the temple's magic corps?"
"They're the only ones using barriers with this magic structure."
Sein led the way, followed by Barus and Tarian's combat troops, finally entering Anshik.
Far off.
"The holy sword will be here!"
"The Saintess can find it!"
"Even if Anshik has fallen, the holy sword can't be destroyed!"
Desperate pleas.
Their urgency was palpable.
"If we can just find the holy sword..."
"Saintess, please trust us, not these false ones."
Voices begging Cecil.
Snicker.
It would be a lie to say the laughter didn't come.
Every word from them.
"What a spectacle."
It was truly a spectacle.
"Who the hell are you!"
"How did you breach the seven sacred barriers?"
Their startled panic was a sight to behold.
Even their reaction to Barus.
"You!"
The one who'd fled after defeat had returned here.
And before him stood unfamiliar figures.
"......!"
Black robes, the emblem on their chests.
"Demorus!"
They seemed to think Barus had brought in Demorus.
Those who, just moments ago, had knelt before Cecil pleading.
Whoosh!
They seized Cecil, pressing a sword to her throat.
"Don't come closer!"
Threats.
"Any closer, and we slit the Saintess's throat."
They'd never truly seen Cecil as a saintess to begin with.
Likely just a tool, evidence to rally the temple remnants.
Facing death, they'd abandon everything to save their own skins.
"No wonder they failed."
As the one responsible for their downfall, it was a statement I shouldn't make, but what could be done.
"Here for the holy sword?"
"......! How do you—"
"This is the holy sword you're looking for."
Sein dangled Bastion carelessly as he spoke.
Confusion and greed in their eyes.
"And..."
But Sein's words weren't over.
"How long you gonna play dead, Leech?"
In that moment, Cecil reacted for the first time.