Chapter 118
Chapter 118
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 118
Chapter Title: The Party Begins
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Soon after, I found myself in a three-way meeting.
Though I had finally entered the heart of Liberta as I'd so desperately wanted, Nick was not happy at all.
He just stared at Abigail, an expression of utter disbelief on his face.
The truth was, something had happened to warrant such a reaction.
He had finally discovered the identity of the enemy he'd been chasing.
“This old lady is Judy? N-No way!”
“What did you say? Have you lost your mind?”
As he shouted in denial, she shot up from her seat, infuriated.
It seemed the term "old lady" had set her off.
But then, Abigail suddenly flashed a meaningful smile.
“Huhu! If you don't believe me, I suppose I'll have to show you myself.”
Shrugging, she left the private room.
A moment later, Nick grabbed me by the collar and yelled.
“It's a lie! Mister, please tell me it's nonsense. I demand the truth from Liberta!”
Of course, given his small frame, it was the fox-kin who ended up shaking more.
I scratched the back of my head with an awkward expression and replied.
“I didn't know it could go that far either.”
“What in the world could go that far?”
“There's this thing. Our own special... what should I call it? A tingly...”
“Tingly?”
“A d-disguise art?”
“What kind of disguise art can change your entire race?”
“That's what I'm saying. I didn't know it was possible.”
*Slam!*
Just as I was trying to calm down the agitated Nick, the door to the private room burst open.
We whipped our heads around and witnessed an incredible sight.
The form of a beastkin with rabbit ears poking out from above ashen hair.
“Oh... Judy?”
Nick's eyes had gone wide.
It seemed her appearance matched that of the beastkin woman he had been searching for.
But the voice that came from her was...
“Hmph! What did you call me just now? Old lady?”
It was unmistakably Abigail's voice.
A moment later, a heavy silence filled the private room.
Nick, in particular, seemed to have received a massive shock, frozen stiff.
It wasn't that Abigail had actually transformed into a beastkin.
She had simply used the Seven-Joint Face-Changing Technique to its absolute limit.
She had made her physique and skin as similar as possible and attached the ears.
If you were to push back her hair and look closely, you could tell it wasn't real.
But at a glance, the resemblance was so striking that one could mistake her for a beastkin.
Plus, the fact that Nick was viewing her through rose-tinted glasses certainly helped.
The strange atmosphere that had persisted for a while was shattered by the Black and White Twin Elders, who had briefly stepped out.
“Oh! What a fine beastkin lady. Have you ever considered working at our establishment?”
“I imagine there would be a clientele with a suspicious amount of money.”
I could only shake my head at the two elders' casual remarks.
Then, a huge question suddenly pierced my mind.
“Hey, Nick.”
“What is it?”
“Didn't you say you were chasing an enemy? Your reaction just now seemed more like... you were hurt after discovering your lover's true identity?”
“I was.”
“But you said she was your enemy!”
“There's such a thing as a lover who's also an enemy.”
“...Is that true?”
I turned to Abigail with a look of disbelief and asked.
She answered nonchalantly.
“We were dating on the surface. I was just trying to get information.”
“Th-Then everything we shared was a lie?”
Nick shot up from his seat and rushed toward Abigail, his face filled with rage.
But she was a former top intelligence agent of the Rantzverger family.
Though weaker than an assassin, she was still a formidable combatant.
She was far too strong an opponent to challenge relying on beastkin traits alone.
Needless to say, Nick was the one who got wrecked.
*Thump!*
Abigail slammed the fox-kin to the ground with a satisfying thud.
Then she shrugged and turned to me.
“I'll take care of this one and be on my way. What will you do, Young Master?”
“I'm planning to stay here and help Liberta for a while.”
“I think that's a good idea. They're still part of Illec's establishment, but their influence has waned considerably these days.”
“So, we'll see each other at the imperial palace next time?”
“If you can make it, Young Master.”
“Huhu! I'll pay a visit soon enough.”
“I'll look forward to it.”
Abigail hoisted the unconscious Nick over her shoulder and left the private room.
But the Black and White Twin Elders, who had been watching, smacked their lips in disappointment.
“A beautiful beastkin chef would have drawn in even more customers...”
For some reason, I felt a headache coming on.
***
Although things had been a bit chaotic, the matter between Nick and Abigail was resolved smoothly.
And soon, Abigail left for the empire to carry out a new mission.
Nick, on the other hand, surprisingly remained by my side.
To be precise, I had deliberately kept him around, as he had lost his purpose and was wandering aimlessly.
After all, he was still a very useful information broker.
“I'd like to get a status report. I need to know how things are going if I'm to help.”
“There's no need for that. Just go back to being the Assassination Guild's lackey.”
“Haha! Listen to this punk's mouth. Haven't you had enough of a beating yet?”
“...Ugh.”
Derick still had a face full of complaints, but he had no choice but to dutifully assist me.
It was because of a strict order from the Black and White Twin Elders.
Soon, Derick began to explain Liberta's strength and the reality they faced.
“...To put it as simply as possible, this is the situation. We are at 4, Wolf Fang at 3, Felton at 2, and the rest is an unidentified force.”
“You're holding up pretty well, then.”
“However, this is a summary of our strength excluding Wolf Fang's Diachenko and Felton's Shadow Knight. The situation is likely different now.”
“So, which do you see as the biggest threat?”
It was a simple question, but Derick couldn't answer easily.
Felton was certainly troublesome, but Wolf Fang was the larger organization.
Besides, hadn't the two organizations been conducting joint operations recently?
It was only natural that he couldn't make a decision easily.
But then Nick, who had been listening to the briefing, suddenly shot his right hand up.
“In my opinion, Wolf Fang should be the priority.”
“Why?”
“Because their real headquarters is in the Veldam States Union. It's much farther away than Felton's.”
“So their reinforcements will inevitably be delayed?”
“Yes, we'll probably only need to worry about the ones already in Illec.”
After hearing Nick's full response, I immediately turned back to Derick.
But the leader of Liberta had a slightly different opinion.
“Our forces are too weak for that. And it's not like we can reveal... no, *our* secret techniques.”
The number of members was comparable, but the reality was that they were severely lacking in top-tier fighters.
The Black and White Twin Elders couldn't show themselves on the front lines at all, and Derick also had to keep his Sun and Moon Thrust Sword sealed.
It seemed that relying solely on the modified One Star Flowing Fire Sword was too much to ask.
“Even with me here?”
“You think you can take on the top fighters of Wolf Fang and Felton? Hmph! There's a limit to boasting.”
Derick snorted and glared at me.
To be sure, Diachenko and the Shadow Knight would not be easy opponents, even for me.
Still, you're not the one who should be saying that.
“Wow! The guy who got his ass kicked is openly disrespecting me. Does this make any sense?”
“...”
At the mention of their one-sided spar, Derick clamped his mouth shut.
It was a fact that he had been beaten even after using the Sun and Moon Thrust Sword.
His face turned bright red, as if the memory of that moment had resurfaced.
“Gather everyone. We're going to strike soon.”
“Strike where?”
“Why drag this out? We'll just crush them both.”
“...What?”
I pushed the dumbfounded Derick aside and looked down at Nick.
“You remember what we talked about before? Today's the perfect day to set it off.”
***
A man wearing leather armor, an iron helm, and a red cloak entered the tavern.
He surveyed the empty seats and approached a table near the entrance.
Judging by the burn scar that ran up to his neck, this man seemed to be Diachenko, the leader of Wolf Fang.
Soon, Diachenko sat down, a displeased look on his face.
He had come by invitation, but the setting was quite uncomfortable.
A moment later, a middle-aged man with an ordinary face walked out from the back of the tavern.
“Ahem! You must be the Shadow Knight.”
“Huhu! That is correct.”
The leader of Wolf Fang and Felton's hidden sword.
It was a meeting of the rising powers who were causing significant ripples in Illec.
Unlike the somewhat brusque Diachenko, the Shadow Knight was at ease.
And for good reason—it was the sly, middle-aged man who had arranged this meeting.
“No need to be so wary. Though it was unintentional, we have coordinated a few times, have we not? Please, relax.”
“Hmph!”
Felton and Wolf Fang had never officially joined hands.
They had simply received intelligence about opportune moments to strike Liberta.
Since they had often ended up cooperating, a meeting between their leaders also came about quite naturally.
If they hadn't found themselves joining forces so often recently, they likely would never have met face-to-face.
“Have you given it some thought?”
The more proactive party was Felton, the slightly smaller faction.
At the Shadow Knight's subtle question, Diachenko nodded.
It seemed they had already engaged in some under-the-table negotiations beforehand.
“Tear apart Liberta and the information guild and split Illec between us? Before that, how can I trust you won't betray me?”
“There is a way. We strike different places at the same time. That way, our forces will have to be divided.”
“And we each keep the gains from our respective targets?”
“Of course. What do you say?”
“...Not bad.”
After long consideration of the rather reasonable proposal, Diachenko finally showed a positive reaction.
At this, the Shadow Knight spoke with a satisfied smile.
“Let's just agree on the time and keep our targets private.”
“Fine.”
The two big shots of Illec stood up and shook hands.
In the world of underworld organizations, grand contracts were utterly useless.
They were people with no trust to begin with, so what good would a piece of paper be?
They probably didn't expect the other to keep their promise either.
“Let's begin tomorrow at midnight.”
“Agreed.”
Soon, Diachenko, the leader of Wolf Fang, left the tavern, feeling unburdened.
The displeased expression he had worn at the beginning was completely gone.
That was how satisfying today's negotiation had been.
Left alone, the Shadow Knight smiled faintly and spun his teacup like a top.
“Let the grand, chaotic party begin.”
Then, the aquiline-nosed middle-aged man's face began to twitch and transform.