Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Underworld Bigshot (1)
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"A ring? What on earth do you mean?"
Eri's voice, always so gentle and soft, rose sharply.
My eyebrows twitched at this uncharacteristic side of her.
"Exactly what I said. I received a great favor from Her Highness, and I wanted to repay it somehow."
"......"
Pink strands of hair swayed faintly in the night breeze.
The woman showed no reaction even as she touched the corner of her eye.
She simply stared at my mana, now shifted to a green hue where blue and gold had merged.
Eri knew that the imperial family possessed transcendent-grade elixirs.
And that they never gave them to anyone outside the royal bloodline.
In other words, Camillia—that lioness cub—was scheming to elevate Derek to royal status.
And since she'd fallen for the scheme herself, she'd gifted him the ring.
Eri staggered, then slumped powerlessly into my arms.
I hurriedly supported her and asked,
"Are you alright? You look pale."
"I'm fine......"
The descendant of the prophet from the scriptures she'd been watching so closely.
She'd planned to topple the ruling class together and build a new utopia.
Yet now, she was on the verge of being stolen away by the enemy's wealth and honor.
'This is my mistake. I've been too absorbed in novels and failed to win the warden's favor.'
Eri lightly tugged at the arm she was leaning on.
Then she gazed up at me with clear, pitiful eyes.
"Derek, are you being sold off to the imperial family?"
"......Pardon?"
I stared at her distant eyes with a bewildered expression.
It felt like Eri was under some grand delusion.
"You mustn't be fooled. There are rumors that many royals have twisted fetishes."
"Fetishes? Surely not the noble ones?"
Maybe it was her novelist imagination running wild.
I waved it off, telling her not to worry.
"Besides, it's not like I'm being sold. I just received a gift from Her Highness and returned the favor."
"Why would she give you that gift? It was your body price."
Eri reached for my neck, pressing her cold hand against it.
As if checking whether a collar had already been fitted.
"Thank you for your concern, but it's not some lewd implication."
I shook my head confidently.
I didn't know about the other royals, but Camillia was highly regarded even in the game.
She was a staunch celibate with zero interest in men.
Sure, she enjoyed bizarre novels, but wasn't that just cute?
Even if they were adult novels, they'd probably just be about passionate love.
"She probably just wanted to lend her strength since I'm her first close aide."
"......"
Eri gripped the hem of her long skirt tightly with both hands.
She averted her gaze, hiding her disappointment.
Her complexion was growing darker by the minute.
The more I looked, the more she reminded me of Anje back at the prison.
"Then as her first close aide, you'll soon be reassigned to the palace."
"Are you worried about me leaving?"
The pink-haired woman fell silent at my question.
Realizing her slip, she unconsciously touched her lips.
"......Yes. You're my first friend from the North."
"No need to worry about that. I plan to stay on as warden."
"Really......?"
"Yes. There are people there I need to look after."
A stray pink lock poked out from her lush straight hair, bouncing excitedly in her stead, as her face remained impassive.
"So you plan to spend your whole life in the North."
I hadn't meant it quite that extremely.
As I tried to correct myself, Eri pressed even closer, gazing up at me intently.
With eyes as captivating as a blood-red full moon.
"Without going anywhere else."
"......At least for the next few years."
Eri's lips curved into a satisfied smile.
Then she murmured in a tiny voice,
"I see. That means I still have a few years to erase that 'mark'."
I tilted my head, unable to hear clearly, and Eri stepped back slightly.
She clasped her hands behind her back and spun lightly in place.
"I'll have to visit often during those few years."
"You might never go to the palace at all, so don't worry."
She smiled with crinkled eyes, like a literary girl savoring a favorite passage.
Though no one knew which novel that passage came from.
"Of course. I know you 'can't' go."
Eri tidied her wind-tousled hair, preparing to leave.
"Heading back?"
"Yes, I have a carriage to the North tomorrow."
I nodded calmly.
I'd have offered to go together if there was a carriage, but I'd blown all my money preparing the ring.
I'd have to squeeze more from the factions I'd reunited with back at the palace.
"Understood. Have a good night."
Eri bowed lightly in farewell.
Then she walked straight toward her quarters.
I watched her retreating figure in silence.
Well, as a fallen noble, it was natural for Eri to fear the royals.
Plus, she had no one in the North to talk literature with.
If we met again after I returned, I should treat her even better.
Pushing aside the lingering regret, I sat cross-legged once more.
I began to soothe the essence of Andalusia now rooted in my body and mind, turning it into my own power.
This life, I might grow stronger faster than in any previous run.
"......"
While the warden immersed himself in meditation.
The literary author with her refined features was heading leisurely to her quarters.
However, her footsteps soon veered not toward the entrance, but into the shadowy woods.
A girl in school uniform waited there.
"What's with that face?"
The Sword Sage of the East, arms crossed over her sword.
At her question, Eri's hair began turning stark white.
"Did you mess up with Derek? I told you, he's already got someone in his heart."
Myoran shrugged, as if she were that someone.
Her twintails swayed pleasantly in the breeze.
But then.
A sharp dagger plunged into the girl's chest.
"Derek gave the princess a ring today."
The man she'd thought had only her in his mind had proposed to a princess, no less.
"......What?"
The Sword Sage's twintails drooped limply, their dance halted.
Instead, her pupils dilated like a black cat's.
"Camillia, that wench, apparently gave him an imperial elixir as a gift. Weak-willed Derek had no choice but to offer the ring in return."
"Hah, she acted like she had no interest in Derek. In the end, she pulled a power play worthy of her status?"
The hair ties binding Myoran's twintails snapped with a ping.
The Sword Sage's unbound black hair framed a face as chilling as the Heavenly Demon's.
"This won't do. Good thing Heavenly Jade is starting to submit, making me far stronger."
Myoran placed a hand on her sword hilt.
She exuded yin-laden inner energy, as if ready to hunt a lion right then.
The chill made the surrounding leaves frost over.
"I know how power players operate. They shove irresistible gifts at you, putting underlings in a tough spot."
"Exactly. Then they'll say, 'After all I've done for you, you still won't obey?' and toy with you as they please."
With Heavenly Jade's power surging after so long, the soul within finally spoke.
"Should I just slice that damned palace to ribbons?"
Her momentum suggested carving the towering palace like a cake, straight to the ceiling.
The soul danced excitedly at the thought of unleashing its power.
But.
"No, there's a better way."
The saintess, now back to white hair, proposed an alternative.
Heavenly Jade's expression soured instantly.
"What is it? If it's something lame, I'm smashing the palace right now."
Anje narrowed her eyes.
She licked her lips like a white snake with deadly venom.
"Derek said he'll stay in the North for the next few years. That wench princess can't do much in the meantime."
Myoran shoved Heavenly Jade aside, showing interest in Anje's words.
Indeed, the two of them spent more time with the warden closer than the princess did.
"So in that time, we just need to mark him anew so he can't go to the princess."
"What's this marking thing?"
At Myoran's question, Anje gazed at the night view sprawling beneath the annex.
Countless buildings blazed with light even late at night.
The empire's long golden age had drawn people and cultures from everywhere.
Talents from foreign lands poured in, technology advanced.
But not all talents were loyal.
There were plenty whose personal desires trumped patriotism.
And when those desires peaked, they formed groups like mafias.
Some grew stronger than royals by coveting treasures.
"Derek gave the princess a ring, but he wasn't wearing one himself."
"So the rings aren't a pair?"
"Exactly. We just need to slip a different ring on his finger first."
"I think I get it."
Myoran smirked.
She released her grip on her sword.
"We make him someone the princess can't easily marry."
The Eastern Sword Sage surveyed the glittering night streets with Anje.
The two soon conceived a clever scheme.
How to become someone a royal couldn't easily wed.
By becoming an underworld bigshot.
The next day.
I left the annex early in the morning to return to the prison.
Camillia was away on morning duties.
Waiting for a farewell would take too long, so I excused myself and departed first.
I'd already received the precious elixir; I couldn't shamelessly hitch a ride too.
In the end, I left a note and slipped out quietly.
Then I rented a carriage and leisurely headed north.
However, leaving from the bustling capital meant heavy traffic.
Prrrng......
And the horse I'd rented looked in poor shape.
No wonder the rental boss had a sour face.
With the Minster name's notoriety, he'd probably given me a sick nag on purpose.
"Sigh...... At this rate, I might have to switch carriages midway."
Frustrated, I opened the window and let out a deep breath.
That's when my eyes met those of someone in a carriage trotting alongside.
The window opened, revealing noble young men glaring coldly at me.
They screamed highborn lineage.
"Who'd have thought—it’s that guy from yesterday's hearing."
"Can't even afford a proper carriage, Minster scum? Why're you crawling along like that?"
Part of me wanted to jump out and bash their skulls in.
But as the princess's close aide now, I had to maintain decorum.
Acting aloof wasn't my style, but I had to endure for now.
"Get out of the capital already."
The young nobles snickered and tried to pull ahead.
But their carriage screeched to a halt, blocked by someone up front.
"Wh-what the...?!"
"Are you insane? What's the driver doing?!"
The nobles scowled, ready to berate the coachman.
They hopped out the back and peered forward.
But that instant.
"......"
The two men froze like they'd spotted a bear.
The reason the carriage stopped wasn't driver error.
Someone had blocked the road.
I, too, sensed something off and slowly stepped out of my carriage.
The moment I saw the roadblock.
I could only blink in stunned silence.
"Good thing we weren't too late."
Dark-skinned men built like black bears.
They'd parked their carriages ahead and were filing out in a line.
"An honor to see you before you leave the capital."
The suited men stood at attention before me.
Their rugged faces were covered in fresh scars.
"Do you have business with me......?"
I pointed at myself in bewilderment.
Then they all dropped to one knee in unison.
"Yes, we have something to present to Derek Minster, young master."
The capital's largest mafia syndicate, Grizzly Bacar.
Their black-haired boss proffered a ring to me.
"......Please, accept it."
Not just the nobles who'd insulted me, but the surrounding commoners too—all eyes on the mafia and me.
A silver-haired youth of fierce visage forcing massive black bears to kneel.
'What the hell.'
The commoners murmured.
Toward the man released from the hearing due to insufficient evidence.
"Hey, get up. What's this in the middle of the road?"
"No, please accept it—that's how we survive!!"
The black bear wailed desperately.
Glancing frantically around.
Even the mafia ruling this district trembled in fear.
At the sight, the young nobles who'd mocked me moments ago paled in terror.
They'd finally pieced together why the hearing witnesses never showed.
The Minster family had become an underworld bigshot dominating the mafia.
"Argh, just stand up already!!"
The rotten mafia elite—one of the empire's key players in continental ruin.
I hauled their leader to his feet.
This life, enemies kept throwing themselves at me unbidden.
As if rewarding all my past sufferings.
"People will think I'm the boss!!"
My shout made the citizens flinch and huddle.
"Haha, folks, it's nothing. Go about your day."
I tried smiling it off like no big deal, but they fled at my awkward grin.
As if spilling what they'd seen meant death.