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[Translator - Pot ]
[Proofreader - Kawaii ]
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Chapter 213: The Next Heads of the Two Clans
Returning to our base, we found Venion had already vanished.
"Karzan, the man who saved me… he was probably someone from Grunewald, right?" Nagan asked.
"Yes," I replied.
"He was a powerhouse unlike anyone I've ever seen. Truly unbelievable…"
I couldn't help but wonder what he had witnessed to elicit such a reaction.
"He was the kind of person who instinctively made you feel like you shouldn't know too much about him."
It was a stark reminder that Venion was a figure at the apex of the underworld. In terms of status and skill, it was only natural that Nagan would find him overwhelming.
"He asked me to relay a message that he'd share the details upon our return."
"Understood."
I already felt a sense of pressure.
However, there was no need to worry. That meeting would undoubtedly be for recognizing merit and distributing rewards.
"By the way, Karzan. I'm late in expressing my gratitude."
Nagan bowed his head to me.
"If it weren't for you, we would have never survived this night. Far from avenging our Godfather, we would have lost all our brothers, been mocked, and met a miserable end."
"…Or perhaps we would have fled and plotted our revenge."
"Hahaha, we probably would have chosen mutual destruction over escape."
Nagan lightly shook his head, as if to say there was no need for consolation.
"In any case, 'we' owe you a great debt. And we intend to repay that favor without fail."
Nagan watched his subordinates tending to the injured and clearing away the corpses and debris. A determined glint appeared in his eyes.
"Karzan, I swear to you."
"What is it?"
"If you ever intend to command us from behind the scenes, I will gladly accept it."
"…Saying it like that makes me sound like a figurehead."
"Hahahaha."
Of course, I had used the term "figurehead" without any hesitation when referring to Zizek, but Nagan was a man of higher caliber. Naturally, his treatment should be different, shouldn't it?
Zizek would grumble if he heard that.
"Besides, this isn't a bad deal for me either. Rather, if we can secure a connection with the young master Allenvert, it will be an invaluable source of strength for our organization, which has suffered a great upheaval."
I nodded.
"I guarantee that is undoubtedly true."
"Hmm, but you know," Nagan said, as if a very important matter had come to his attention. "Shouldn't we at least take a loyalty oath? If you wish, I can even write it in blood…"
As expected of someone from the underworld, Nagan was suggesting a formal ritual.
"Let's think about that later. You're quite a busy person, after all."
I calmed Nagan down.
"I suppose so. You're a scion of the great Grunewald ducal clan, after all, not just any other clan."
"Still, I'll put in a good word for you. We'll find a way to make time for you."
"You seem to be held in high regard."
"Of course, I'm competent."
Was this what they called an out-of-body speaking style? I was struggling to suppress my itchy tongue.
'Still, if I'm going to reveal it, I should tell Zizek before Nagan.'
I wondered what Zizek's reaction would be. He seemed to think of me as some noble, lofty, and dignified young master.
"Anyway, I'll leave the cleanup to you. I'll be back soon."
"Understood. And you?"
"I have to return to the city. I have a lot of matters to attend to as well."
I held up Huten's head and said, "I need to deliver this to the Svaltalfar brothers too."
"Hmm. We owe them a great debt as well."
Nagan bit his lip.
"But Karzan, we can dispose of Huten's headless corpse as we please, right?"
"Of course. Burn it in front of the Godfather's grave or fry it in oil, do whatever you want."
I said, "A conclusion is important for revenge too. You can't leave it unfinished."
Especially if the Bisakino Brotherhood was to be reborn through this night.
'In any case.'
With this, I had gained control of a portion of the five major organizations that dominated Grunewald's underworld.
'My efforts have paid off.'
But this was only a small fraction of the rewards I was yet to enjoy.
***
I felt the dawn breaking as I freely leaped across walls, rooftops, and chimneys.
"Peaceful."
As if last night's bloody affair was a lie, the day of those who worked tirelessly was beginning without fail.
"…So you were here."
Ghir and Drak were waiting for me at the top of a deserted clock tower.
"Yo, Karzan."
Ghir, who seemed unusually calm, waved at me.
"Judging by your appearance, it looks like you had quite the fierce battle."
As Ghir said, there wasn't a single part of my body that was unscathed.
"Something like that."
"Hmph, I can still vividly picture your confident demeanor."
"Well, I had to put on a front to persuade you guys."
I grinned slightly.
"Huten was hiding more power than I expected."
"Pathetic. Well, even if you had fallen, Huten would have ended up dead by my hand anyway."
Ghir grumbled, seemingly disappointed that he hadn't killed Huten himself.
"By the way, Ghir."
"What?"
"There's one thing that bothers me."
I pointed to Ghir's eyes.
"Your gaze has become clear. Did you perhaps get your madness treated?"
"You could say that."
Ghir chuckled.
"Suppressing the urge to kill for too long leads to madness. But once you release it at the right time, your mind clears up again."
"So that's how it works."
I nodded.
"In many ways, you're destined to be an assassin."
"Not necessarily. Carefully killing after enduring for so long doesn't satisfy my urges."
"Ah… is that so?"
"That's why I need opportunities to go wild like this periodically."
An opportunity to unleash primal violence, Ghir added.
"In many ways, the assassin's path doesn't suit me. That itself is a kind of divine punishment."
"Divine punishment? For what?"
"Hmm. Let's just say it's the price for being born with an exceptionally superior physique."
"……."
I whispered to his younger brother, Drak, "Turns out your brother is quite the show-off too."
"I think so too."
"Shut up."
Ghir held out his hand to me.
"Hand over the promised item."
"Ah, of course."
I handed over Huten's head.
"It seems like it was a completely unexpected defeat. His eyes are wide open."
Ghir sneered as he looked at the deceased's face, which was wrapped in cloth.
"He scurried around and lived so diligently, only to end up meeting his match and dying."
Ghir, as if he had seen enough, wrapped the head back in the cloth.
"Anyway, this completes the mission."
"You must feel relieved," I said, clapping my hands. "By the way, was your opponent strong?"
"Decently capable."
"For someone who says that, you look perfectly fine."
"My recovery ability is on a different level than yours."
Indeed, with a body that healed quickly even from sword wounds, there wouldn't be much trace of a fierce battle.
"This time, it was a clean collaboration for both sides," Drak said, pointing at his brother.
"Thanks to you, my brother got to rampage properly. It was a better outcome than expected. He'll probably be quite clear-headed for a while now, right?"
I sighed. "It's not like he's a dog that needs to be taken for walks periodically."
"Conceptually, it's similar," Ghir retorted.
"These guys have been saying whatever they want in front of me since earlier."
Ghir snorted. "Wow, look at that docile reaction."
If it were our first meeting, he would have gone berserk, saying he'd kill us both.
"By the way, are you two going back now?" I asked.
"We should. There's no reason to stay any longer."
"Alright, be careful on your way."
"See you next time."
"That sounds a bit ominous," I replied. "You're not suggesting we meet as clients, are you?"
"That won't happen."
Ghir scoffed. "It seems we might have a common enemy."
"!"
Looking at their expressions, I understood the meaning of their words.
"Could it be… you noticed?"
"Yeah. They were like ants."
Coincidentally, he and I had come up with the same analogy.
"Do you know who the head of those ants is?"
Ghir replied as if it were obvious, "It's the Dark King, the de facto ruler of the Flanders Kingdom."
"……I see."
It was strange; this was the first time I had heard the name ‘Dark King’ spoken by someone in this life.
"Did you perhaps know everything from the start?"
"Not that much, but we had our suspicions," Drak answered instead. "Their target isn't just Grunewald. This is also a hidden war between Flanders and Litvaleur."
"Suddenly the scope of the world is widening quite a bit?"
Ghir snorted at my words. "You haven't even started being surprised yet."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
His next words were even more astonishing.
"Listen carefully, Karzan. We plan to win the succession battle and become the heads of Svaltalfar in the near future."
"……Suddenly?"
No, more than that.
"I'm taken aback. Is it alright for you to tell me such a plan so easily?"
"Of course."
Ghir nodded.
"Why?"
"Because we need to unite against a common enemy," Drak answered instead. "Besides, Grunewald and Svaltalfar haven't had any particular grudges against each other for a long time. It wouldn't be a bad deal for your side either, considering our influence and intelligence in the Litvaleur underworld."
"Hmm."
As Drak said, this was a tremendous opportunity.
'If that happens, will I have strong ties to both the Grunewald Duchy's underworld and the Litvaleur Kingdom's underworld?'
"……Alright. I'll speak to the Lord first."
"No."
Drak shook his head. "Naturally, those who will lead the future of both clans should discuss this amongst themselves first."
I asked, puzzled, "So why are you telling me this?"
"Hey, young master of Grunewald."
"What?"
Ghir stared straight at me and asked, "Did you really think we wouldn't notice you were wearing a mask?"
"……!"
A chill ran down my spine, and I foolishly asked, "Damn it, you scared me. How did you know?"
Unless someone was a user of mana sensing on Ulbhild's level, it should be difficult to detect that incongruity.
'It's not like my way of speaking felt awkward to them; Karzan's words and actions are as familiar to me as anything else.'
Then could it be?
"Does your clan perhaps have a technique to recognize such things?"
"Nope?"
"Then how did you know?"
"I was just testing the waters, but it seems I was right."
Ghir chuckled. "Your swordsmanship and many other things were suspicious, so I suspected you were someone from the Grunewald side."
Drak added an explanation, "My brother had a gut feeling that you might be the young master from your side. I doubted it, but it turns out my brother was right."
"……Huh."
I was impressed. "You bastard, turns out you're smart?"
"I'm quite capable."
"Then why have you been acting like such a madman until now?"
"I told you, it's because I have madness," Ghir shrugged. "That's why I'm not suited to be the head. I plan to make Drak the head instead."
The way he spoke so easily, as if taking something out of his pocket, was absurd.
"I've been surprised many times today."
I looked at the two brothers in turn. It was a stark reminder that they possessed extraordinary glints in their eyes.
'Indeed, these are guys who will become even greater in the future.'
If so, it wasn't a bad idea to solidify our connection at this opportunity.
"Do you have any idea who I am?"
"Aren't you the Fourth Young Master Allenvert? There have been rumors about you lately."
"That's right."
I nodded contentedly. "So my reputation has already spread far and wide, even to the young masters of an assassin clan."
"……."
"Anyway, since you've shown me your true colors like this, I have no choice but to reciprocate with trust."
I took off the Mask of Aminicrus, revealing my appearance as Allenvert.
"Oh……."
Drak, who was always composed, gave me a thumbs-up. "You really are handsome, just like the rumors said."
"Hmph! You look like a gigolo."
Ghir spat on the ground.
“I’m tired, I’m tired. I’m tired of being the object of jealousy from ugly men.”
"Bullshit."
"People curse when they have nothing else to say."
"Hmph!"
Ghir snorted and held out his hand to me.
"Enough with the small talk. How about it? Will you join hands with us?"
I took Ghir's hand. "It's an offer I have no reason to refuse."
"Good, for now, this is just a verbal agreement between the three of us."
"But if we win the succession battle and become the masters of both clans, then the story will be different."
"Well said."
Drak took my empty left hand and shook it. "It has to be at least that much to match each other's status."
"Alright. The next heads of the two clans have joined hands."
"Call me if you have another opportunity to rampage. I need a legitimate place to vent my urges."
I nodded. "If that's the case, I won't hesitate."
Perhaps I had gained the best sword and a fighting bull as allies.
'Or perhaps an even crazier underworld dog than myself.'
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[Translator - Pot ]
[Proofreader - Kawaii ]
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