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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Pot]
[Proofreader - Kawaii]
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Chapter 156: The Art of Interrogation
I stood before the secret passage that Jeffrey’s father had told me about.
“Wow, I can’t believe it was here.”
An underground cheese storage room.
In the darkest corner of this storage room, which looked to be over a hundred years old, there was an old, unused tunnel. It was covered in cobwebs and bore the marks of long years of neglect.
‘I heard it was originally used for transporting small goods.’
Thinking about it, that’s a bit strange. If that were the case, why go through the trouble of digging such a hole?
‘This was probably used for smuggling.’
In any case, this passage, once favored by smugglers, had long been forgotten and was now used by small animals like foxes and weasels to find food.
It was discovered and sealed off by Wilfred, the fox hunter, while he was exterminating pests…
‘I’m so grateful.’
Wilfred had told me the location of this passage on the condition that I block it to prevent foxes from entering.
‘I didn’t show it, but he probably had a hard time convincing me.’
In any case, this was a stroke of luck for me.
‘No royal guard, no security guard, not even other servants would know about this place.’
Yes, not even Verdzig.
‘Even I struck out at the other two passages.’
Actually, Wilfred had told me about three locations. One was a hole behind the banquet hall, and the other was a drainage ditch located behind the garden.
‘But the first one was too narrow, and the second was so overgrown with weeds that it was impossible to get through.’
In any case, finding one proper path was enough.
“Phew.”
I fiddled with the bracelet on my wrist and checked the Mask of Aminicrus I had tucked inside my clothes.
‘Nothing’s missing.’
I was even dressed entirely in black, with a mask to conceal my identity. I was now the perfect thief, assassin, infiltrator, and midnight intruder.
‘Let’s go.’
After strengthening my night vision, I crawled through the narrow tunnel.
‘It’s disgustingly narrow.’
In the darkness, I could see clumps of what looked like fox fur scattered here and there.
‘How did the foxes even find this hole?’
Sometimes, the wisdom of animals surpasses that of humans.
“Damn, this is long.”
After crawling uncomfortably for a while, I finally reached the exit.
‘…Where is this?’
Pushing through the bushes covering the exit, I found a secluded path.
With the long castle wall behind me, I faced a steep coastal cliff. In short, it was a place where people rarely came.
‘Definitely. They must have done something shady here.’
It was probably used to smuggle goods or bring something in secretly.
“Well, anyway.”
As a later beneficiary, I’ll let the long-buried scandals of the past remain buried.
‘Instead of disguising myself as Peter, using Peter and Bridget as contacts, or asking Rudgarda for help…’
I had found a fourth way to connect with the outside world, and for now, it was the most perfectly safe method.
‘Jeffrey finally earned his keep.’
After brushing off the dust, I pulled the mask over my face.
“Now then.”
Shall I enjoy the freedom of the night?
* * *
I ran through the night of Grunewald, combining the lightness of the Scarlet Cloud Ghost Path technique with the stealth of the Whispering Snow in the Night.
Like a swift cat, I ran across rooftops, leaped over walls by stepping between bricks—
“Hup.”
I even crossed chimneys like stepping stones and cast shadows between the lights guarding shops and houses, walking over drunkards.
“Haha.”
It was my first time combining stealth and lightness techniques. Yet, the execution felt so natural and skillful that no one could see me.
‘I am a snowflake riding the wind, traversing the city’s night.’
Since starting my second life as Allenvert, this was the greatest freedom I had ever held in my hands.
Perhaps my body, confined to a small room for seven years, was rejoicing in this carefree stroll, free from prying eyes and responsibilities.
In that sense, I was no different from a neighborhood puppy experiencing its first walk.
“Ah, this is exhilarating.”
At some point, I forgot my original purpose and began running around the city like an owl ruling the night sky.
Each step I took combined the secrecy of stealth and the agility of lightness, and when I let the wind carry me like a snowflake, I felt like a small sailboat navigating the night sky.
‘If I can use this combination of footwork and stealth in battle to disappear from the enemy’s sight, even for a moment, it could become a trump card.’
I habitually studied the combination of martial arts or practiced it by weaving through drunkards.
How long had I been fooling around like this?
‘Hmm?’
I suddenly stopped at the sensation of someone’s gaze.
‘What, who is it?’
But I couldn’t tell whose gaze it was.
“…Hmm.”
Judging calmly, if it had been hostility or killing intent, I would have felt a stronger chill.
Perhaps it was just a small warning to the noisy intruder disturbing the quiet night.
‘Well, I have been running around for a while.’
After running around like a madman and washing something away, I realized how stifled I had felt.
‘This is why people need to take walks occasionally.’
Anyway.
I don’t know who sent that gaze, but they were clearly a master who could detect my stealth.
Perhaps it was one of the “eyes in the dark” my father had planted, or maybe it was the gaze of someone ruling this underworld.
‘In any case, I should stop here for today.’
I tested a new application, and in the process, my mastery of the Whispering Snow in the Night deepened naturally. I gained something and felt refreshed, so now it’s time to return to my original purpose.
To shake off the owner of that invisible gaze, I suddenly jumped down into the night market below.
“Huh?”
“What was that—”
As soon as I landed and deactivated my stealth, people who sensed my presence looked around.
But I had already blended into the crowd and pulled the mask over my face.
The Mask of Aminicrus, absorbing mana, altered my physique and face within the loose black robe.
In an instant, I became Karzan.
‘I’m not yet skilled enough to use stealth while wearing the mask, so I have no choice.’
It’s a bit awkward, but for now, I have no choice but to switch appearances by putting on and taking off the mask like a cheating gambler.
By the way.
‘Good. They lost me with that move.’
I no longer felt the gaze.
‘Once you lose someone in such a crowded place, it’s over.’
I strolled leisurely through the night market. Karzan’s rugged face not only deterred troublemakers but also subtly made people give way.
‘These guys are disgustingly polite. Did I really look that scary?’
Such is the cold reality of appearance-based judgment.
Anyway, walking like this reminded me of the time I came here with Venion. Back then, I had worked hard to find the bizarre task of locating Countess Webern’s tiara.
‘Speaking of which, how is that going?’
I suddenly became curious. I’ll have to ask Venion when he comes to teach me the technique.
.
.
.
I arrived at Zizek’s hideout after walking through dark alleys.
‘Huh?’
There were unfamiliar faces in the open space, each swinging their swords and making a fuss.
‘They look dead serious.’
Their stances were still clumsy. New recruits?
“Spread your legs wider. You’re not putting enough strength in your core, so your movements are sloppy.”
I tapped the shoulder of a scrawny man and gave him some advice.
“S-sorry!”
“And you, relax your shoulders. Why is your head turning when you swing your sword?”
“Ah, was that me?”
“Yeah. You’re acting like an idiot, so fix it.”
“Got it.”
By the time I pointed out the posture of a few more people, they started to feel something was off and stared at me.
“But who are you?”
“Me? Al- no, it’s Karzan.”
It had been so long that I almost slipped up.
“Karzan? Whoa!”
“Then, you’re the one that Boss Zizek serves—?”
“Yeah, yeah. That’s me.”
“It’s an honor to meet you, Big Boss!”
The dazed newbies greeted me, and only then did the original members recognize me.
“Boss!”
“You’re here?”
“Yeah, it’s been a while.”
I casually waved my hand.
“It’s been way too long, hasn’t it?”
“Not that long. Call Zizek over.”
“Right away.”
“What’s Rob up to?”
“Ah, he’s handling business at the general store—”
“Oh? He’s moving up in the world.”
“But what brings you here now?”
“Too much has happened. It’s been exhausting.”
While I was catching up with my subordinates, Zizek hurriedly rushed out.
“Hey, Boss!”
“Zizek, long time no see.”
I casually waved and greeted him.
“Wow, how long has it been? I almost forgot what you looked like.”
Zizek grumbled as soon as he saw me.
“How could you leave us hanging like this?”
“You used to complain about me coming too often, didn’t you?”
“Everything should be done in moderation.”
“This is ridiculous.”
But it was true that I hadn’t been around for a while this time.
“Anyway, anything major happen while I was gone?”
“A lot. We even went to Haglandere and met some of young master’s maternal relatives.”
“I know about that. Anything else?”
“Nothing much, but something came up today.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Zizek lowered his voice and whispered.
“Well, we caught someone who was spying on us and were interrogating him.”
“Spying? Who’s spying on you?”
“The higher-ups were investigating us.”
“Why would they?”
As I asked, it suddenly hit me.
“Wait, wait. So the Bisakino Brotherhood sent spies?”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
“Wow.”
This is absurd. The Bisakino Brotherhood is involved here too?
“This is giving me chills.”
“Why?”
“Those bastards were caught trying to bribe the third young master of Somerset with alcohol and women, and it caused quite a stir in the Grunewald faction.”
“What?!”
Zizek was shocked and asked, “They dared to mess with the young master of the Grunewald? Those guys have some serious guts.”
“Thinking about it, I doubt the entire organization was involved. Maybe just some rogue elements, right?”
“Hmm, yeah. Probably. Some hotheaded executive must’ve caused trouble. That place is a mess too.”
Then this must be as Ludan predicted.
“Do you have any idea who might’ve pulled this off?”
“Well, there are a few radical guys among the executives.”
Zizek furrowed his brow and looked at me.
“Boss, do you happen to know the name of the guy who pulled this stunt?”
“No idea.”
I shook my head and asked, “Who’s the guy you caught spying?”
“His name’s Huten. A real piece of work. He’s also an inspector.”
“Huten?”
It was a name I’d never heard before.
“……You don’t think both incidents are connected, do you?”
“Nah, no way.”
We stared at each other and blinked.
“But isn’t it suspicious?”
“Yeah, it is.”
* * *
“So, this Huten guy joined as an executive about ten years ago from outside.”
On the way to interrogate the spy Zizek had caught, I quickly gathered information about this Huten guy.
“What exactly makes him such a piece of work?”
“Well, you see……”
After hearing a few stories about Huten, I nodded.
“From what I’ve heard, he sounds like your typical resourceful, cruel, and smart but bloodthirsty underworld executive.”
Those who become desensitized to slaughter and violence are often punished with inhumanity. Perhaps Huten had already received that punishment long ago.
“That’s probably why his underlings are so tight-lipped. They absolutely refuse to talk.”
“Interrogation is my specialty, so don’t worry too much.”
Zizek gave me a skeptical look.
“You’re not planning to make the eyes and ears odd numbers and the nose and mouth even numbers, are you?”
“Do you usually enjoy that kind of stuff, you trashy bastard?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Anyway, just wait a bit.”
I pointed to a shabby door.
“Now, I’ll show you what a proper interrogation looks like, Karzan-style.”
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Pot]
[Proofreader - Kawaii]
Join our Discord for release updates!
https://discord.com/invite/dbdMDhzWa2
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