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[Translator - Pot ]
[Proofreader - Kawaii ]
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Chapter 243: Recover the Ebony Oath
Rewinding time a bit, to when Reinholdt and Georg met face to face.
"Your Grace, I'll speak frankly."
Reinholdt carefully brought up the second matter to Duke Georg.
"Recently, there was a break-in at Valkenhain's secret vault."
"A break-in?"
Duke Georg's eyebrows twitched in surprise.
"That's incomprehensible. To think there's someone who would dare breach Valkenhain's secret vault."
"If Your Grace hears the name of the culprit, you'll probably understand."
"Who might that be?"
Reinholdt said with a stern expression.
"Kreutzel."
"...Ah. I see."
Kreutzel.
He was the master thief among master thieves, said to be able to steal even treasures hidden in the royal palace at will.
"Even the most stringent security and the sturdiest safes are helpless against that man, I've heard."
Head Butler Count Aiden's words made Reinholdt nod gravely.
"Yes, it's both shameful and infuriating. That bastard finally managed to break through even our Valkenhain vault."
"Outrageous. As far as I know, that place has never once allowed external intrusion."
The Duke stroked his chin.
"Kreutzel must be a truly skilled master thief."
The head butler shared what he knew.
"From what I hear, he's stolen even the Archbishop's rosary, the Marchioness's necklace, and the Grand Knight's medal."
"Count Your Excellency is correct."
Reinholdt added to the explanation.
"Countless nobles have put bounties on his head and sent assassins after him, but he's so elusive that he still hasn't been caught."
The head butler asked.
"Does he possess some extraordinary stealth skills?"
"From what we've discovered, that bastard appears to be a mage."
"Ah! Indeed."
Those born with magical talent are extremely rare.
Even among the people of Grunewald, there had been only one person called a great mage Geninghen.
"A thief who can use magic, then it's not so strange that even an iron fortress-like defense system would be breached."
The Duke said.
"Yes, and this is an unconfirmed rumor, but..."
Reinholdt spoke with a somewhat uncertain voice.
"They say he grew up in a circus troupe when he was young."
"Then he'd be even more capable of navigating narrow gaps, high places, and deep underground areas in extraordinary ways."
Count Aiden frowned.
"Outrageous. At that level, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he was born destined to become a master thief."
The Duke let out a slight chuckle.
"So, what did that bastard steal?"
"...The 'Ebony Oath' left behind by our founding ancestor Ernst."
"How convenient."
Duke Georg frowned.
"Of all things, that?"
He now understood why Valkenhain had made such a big fuss about this matter.
"...Was it commissioned by the underworld?"
"We believe there's a high possibility of that."
Both Grunewald and Valkenhain knew well.
Throughout this entire continent, the one who would most desire the Ebony Oath could only be the Dark King.
"In any case, that bastard stole the Ebony Oath and came here."
"There's one thing I'd like to confirm."
The head butler asked.
"How did you know he came here?"
"Actually, our Valkenhain vault has a means to track intruders prepared as a trap. It's a colorless, odorless magical tracking incense."
"Indeed. You tracked that and came all the way here."
The head butler admired Valkenhain's preparations.
"He probably came to meet a fence."
Reinholdt said.
"Here in Grunewald, there's the kingdom's most famous fence."
"...Diamando."
The Duke crossed his arms as he spoke.
"Through him, they say there's nothing that can't be sold and nothing that can't be bought."
It was only natural for such a person to establish himself in the underworld of Grunewald, one of the continent's leading trade ports.
"Then it wasn't directly commissioned by the underworld?"
The head butler expressed his doubt.
"If it were a commission from the underworld, there'd be no need to go through a fence."
"We haven't figured that out either. However..."
Reinholdt shared his speculation.
"Perhaps he’s using tricks to get a higher price."
"Indeed."
Duke Georg chuckled.
"It's a method faithless thieves like to use."
"Yes. If he says he'll sell to a fence, the client has no choice but to pay a higher price."
"To do such things and still keep their head attached. They're certainly no ordinary character."
Duke Georg looked at Reinholdt.
"I understand the situation. It turns out there was something more important than the tournament."
"I'm sorry, but that's correct."
Reinholdt admitted.
"However, since our stirring up Grunewald's underworld is an entirely different matter from the tournament, we wanted to obtain Your Grace's permission."
"It's not like I'm the master of the underworld, so is such permission really necessary?"
The Duke replied.
"Right now, the Red Mist Alliance's godfather Bazalo is the master ruling Grunewald's underworld."
"Haha. Who wouldn't know that it's a throne Your Grace has permitted?"
Reinholdt bowed his head respectfully.
"I'm not so foolish as to not know that the Shadow Division's shadow is much darker and larger than the underworld's shadow."
The Duke nodded.
"Do as you please. But before that, I'd like to ask one thing."
"Yes, please ask."
The Duke pointed at Reinholdt.
"Why didn't you deploy intelligence organizations and instead come looking for them in such a conspicuous manner?"
"...Of course there's a reason."
"Tell me the truth. It won't be difficult to find out."
Reinholdt, who swallowed nervously with a tense expression, said.
"Actually..."
***/
"Ridiculous."
I stroked my chin, mulling over the story the two had told me.
"First, a question."
When I raised my hand, Siena said.
"Please ask."
"What is this Ebony Oath?"
"...It's made by taking solid ebony wood, adding chemical treatment and magical processing to create a plate that will never fade or be destroyed."
"And then?"
"It's an item with a barrier spell called 'Oath' written in ancient characters carved onto it. The Dark King is after it."
"...The Dark King."
I crossed my arms seriously and muttered to myself.
'Why the hell is that bastard showing up here too?'
The whole damn world is full of the Dark King.
Ugh, disgusting bastard.
"Next question."
I asked.
"Do you have a plan? Either way, it seems unreasonable for just the two of you to search through this vast underworld."
"Of course we have personnel prepared in advance. People who will cooperate with our tracking."
Reinholdt answered.
"Oh, really? Then let's go see them."
I said.
"I don't know what it is, but since it's come to this, I'll help you out too."
"...That's actually the thing."
Reinholdt said with an embarrassed and troubled expression.
"They're all dead. Just a few days ago."
"...Huh?"
Seeing my dumbfounded face, Reinholdt quickly added.
"The information must have leaked beforehand, or they were careless and got caught. The darkness of the underworld runs deep."
"I see."
I understood.
"Apart from that fence bastard, the underworld must be desperately trying to recover the item by any means necessary, so they can't afford to be picky about methods."
Haven't I dealt with those bastards once or twice? When things go south, they'll do any damn thing.
"So what were you planning to do from now on?"
At this point, Siena looked at me.
"We were discussing that when you appeared, my lord."
"Ah."
So that's how it was.
"Sorry."
I raised my hand with a not-very-sorry expression.
"Anyway, it's a difficult situation. It's unreasonable for just the two of you to search through this vast back alley."
When I laid the groundwork, both their expressions darkened.
"Well, fine. Since this is also fate, I'll give you some help."
"...Why?"
To the question mixed with doubt and suspicion, I replied.
"Of course it's not free."
Honestly speaking, just being connected to the Dark King is reason enough to get involved in this matter.
Besides, Venion definitely knew all this context and gave me a heads-up meaning I should help out too.
'If I can't even understand this much, I should pack up whether it's the Shadow Division or whatever.'
Should I even cough up the duke's gold?
'Eh, that's a bit much.'
Anyway, I was planning to make an offer the two couldn't refuse.
"I think I might be able to give you two great help."
Siena asked as if she'd listen for now.
"What kind of help are you referring to, my lord?"
"In this giant port city's underworld, there are five major organizations."
I spread five fingers.
"Among them, I'll lend you the power of the Bisakino Brotherhood."
"...What do you mean?"
"Well, a lot of things happened."
I shrugged and dodged the answer.
"My lord, do you perhaps have connections with executive-level members?"
Looking at Reinholdt's expectant gaze, I said.
"No, I'm the godfather."
"Excuse me?"
***
"I'm here."
"What the hell, Karzan."
Seeing us walking into the training ground like neighborhood puppies out for a stroll, Nagan spoke with a dumbfounded expression.
"When did you arrive? Who are those companions behind you? No, more importantly, I have something to tell you."
"Whoa, whoa."
I calmed the curious young godfather and asked back.
"First, setting everything else aside."
"Mm."
"Why do you look like that?"
Nagan had bruises all over as if he'd been beaten up thoroughly.
"Well, I had a guidance match with Brother Knut."
When did those two settle their hierarchy?
Well, Knut was originally strong enough to be on the same level as Ulbhild or Rudgarda, so it wasn't strange.
"To my eyes, it just looked like you were getting beaten up?"
Right then.
"Ow!"
Zizek, who'd been punched and flew all the way from over there to here, spun once and landed near us.
"Getting hit so much that only my rolling techniques are improving, damn it."
Grumbling, Zizek cleared his throat and looked at me.
"Your Grace, no, Boss Karzan. You're here?"
It was still awkward for this guy that Allenvert and Karzan were the same person.
'Come to think of it, Nagan still doesn't know.'
"Allen. You came?"
I looked at Knut and nodded slightly.
"Brother, it's been a while."
"Mm. You've gotten stronger again since I last saw you."
Nagan, who'd been listening to our conversation, looked at me with a face full of questions.
"Karzan?"
I was too lazy to explain, so I looked at Zizek.
It meant you explain it for me.
"Boss, actually this person is Young Master Allenvert."
"...What kind of bullshit is that?"
At this point, I turned to look at Siena and Reinholdt, who'd been standing there awkwardly.
"Sorry about this. We both have a lot to explain to each other."
"It's fine."
When Siena answered calmly, Knut asked me.
"Rarely beautiful and strong. Is she your lover?"
"No way."
I replied.
"These two are Young Lady Siena Valkenhain of the Duchy of Valkenhain, and Grand Commander of the Royal Guard Sir Reinholdt."
"...Wait, hold on."
Nagan, who couldn't keep up with the pace, muttered with a stupid expression.
"Did I understand correctly, no, am I understanding correctly? Karzan is actually Young Master Allenvert, and he brought the Young Lady of Valkenhain too?"
"That's right."
"...Did I get beaten up so badly earlier that I'm having some kind of crazy dream right now?"
That's quite a novel deduction.
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[Translator - Pot ]
[Proofreader - Kawaii ]
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