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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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Chapter 52: The Violent Enemy
There were three main reasons I attacked Klaus.
First, they—much like us—weren’t officially aligned with any major faction.
They seemed to be in contact with the Northern Duke’s camp, but hadn’t pledged formal allegiance yet, which meant I didn’t need to worry about upsetting any bigger players.
Second, they were pathetically weak.
Back when I played World Archive, I’d come across Klaus and remembered the name of its lord—Royce Klaus.
There was no way I wouldn’t remember it.
The guy was basically a joke character—one of the infamous『The Four Nobodies』, a group of nobles so useless their combined stats didn’t even break 100.
Honestly, I only mobilized the full force of our troops to keep collateral damage low.
Klaus was so weak I could’ve taken it with just Dreihart’s warrior unit.
And third, I needed to make an example.
Sure, I crushed Hadem, but if you asked people whether they feared me or Hadem more, most would probably still say Hadem.
Why? That raw power. The brutality. That sense of unhinged savagery, like he could do anything, anytime.
It terrified people.
Me, on the other hand?
I probably looked too tame.
No divine blessing. No wild, bloodthirsty rampages. Just someone who won through tactics.
It made me look beatable.
People would start thinking, ‘I could beat him too if I just got lucky,’ or ‘If I played my cards right, I could take him down like he did Hadem.’
And THAT kind of underestimation?
It invites stupid challengers. Pointless conflicts.
This was a perfect example.
The Blackrose family in the west—clearly well-informed—had the good sense to stay quiet.
Meanwhile, morons who barely knew anything about me pulled stunts like this food-supply raid, thinking they were being clever.
But hey—I learned this in my last life, working corporate:
If you don’t make things crystal clear from the start, people WILL test you.
So I had to make sure they understood:
Cron isn’t some kind-hearted, soft-spoken group.
Cron is justice.
And if you poke the wrong bear, we’ll turn your half-assed little territory into rubble overnight.
Only then will our enemies think twice before messing with us.
Which is why—just for now—
I chose not to be the Beloved Ally.
I became…『The Violent Enemy』.
＊ ＊ ＊
Inside the Klaus Estate’s Office—
The seat of power had been taken.
Calyx now sat at the head of the table—the lord’s seat—where he didn’t belong.
Beside him, Lord Royce and Chamberlain Beric had been forced into their chairs, stiff and silent.
All around them stood Lana and the knights of Cron, their presence as cold as the air in the room.
Tension hung thick as smoke.
Beric, trying to reclaim control, spoke with forced bravado.
“Lord Calyx! Charging in with your army without even a formal declaration of war—what do you think you’re doing?! The Platinum Council will not overlook this!”
Beric knew Calyx as someone who respected the law and abided by the Platinum Council.
He assumed Calyx would grasp the weight of what he was saying.
Calyx replied with a chilling calm.
“Chamberlain Beric… you’re saying some very strange things.”
He stared at him coldly and continued, almost offhandedly.
“There were no witnesses. No one filed a report. So tell me—how exactly is the Platinum Council supposed to find out?”
“Wh‑What?!”
The Platinum Council was powerful—but not omnipotent.
It was like a chimera, a creature made up of too many factions, and therefore always in need of a political anchor.
An incident in some backwater border town, with no survivors and no one left to report it, wouldn’t even register on their radar.
Realizing that Calyx’s message was: ’I killed everyone who could talk,’ Beric’s face went pale.
Calyx ignored him and turned to Royce, who was trembling like a leaf.
“Lord Royce… I’ll ask you only once. Why did you break our agreement?”
The weight of murderous intent in Calyx’s voice was unmistakable.
Royce couldn’t meet his eyes. He just shook, drenched in sweat.
“We had a wheat contract. Payment was made in full. And yet… you didn’t deliver. Why?”
“Th-That’s… um…”
Royce stammered, unable to form words, clearly in a state of panic.
Beric, unable to bear the silence, jumped in.
“Lord Calyx! We’ve already explained the situation. We’re terribly sorry we couldn’t deliver the wheat. But please understand—there was never any malicious intent behind our failure to supply Dreihart!”
The beauty of a food supply attack was in its deniability.
Unlike spears and arrows, which cause immediate, visible harm, withholding food creates suffering only over time—and by then, it’s difficult to assign blame.
Beric had chosen that tactic for that very reason.
Calyx looked at him with an expression of disbelief.
“So as long as you claim there was no bad intent, you think anything goes?”
He stood.
At once, Cron knights stepped forward and grabbed Beric.
“W-What are you doing?! Let go of me!”
“Beric!!”
They dragged him roughly to the far side of the room—about ten paces away—and tied him to a pillar.
Calyx stepped forward so Beric could clearly see him.
“Lana. The bow.”
“Yes, my lord.”
At Calyx’s command, Lana handed him a bow and an arrow, calm and obedient.
Seeing this, Beric screamed in terror.
“Wh-What is this?! What are you doing?! Mmph! MMPH!”
A Cron knight stuffed an apple into Beric’s mouth, silencing him.
Calyx drew the bowstring.
Creeeeak—
“Relax, Chamberlain Beric. I have no intention of hitting you.”
He raised the bow, aiming squarely at Beric.
The sight of the weapon trained on him sent Beric into a full-blown panic.
“I’m aiming for the apple in your mouth. So try not to worry.”
“Mmph! MMPH! MMMPHHH!!”
Beric couldn’t tell if the arrow was really aimed at the apple—or at his skull.
One thing was certain: Calyx’s eyes looked like he wouldn’t hesitate to kill someone right here and now.
Creeeeak— THWUNK—!
“MMMPH!!”
“Beric!”
Thud—
The arrow, fired with all the menace Calyx could muster, zipped through the air, and struck the apple in Beric’s mouth dead-center.
Not a scratch elsewhere.
Beric let out a shaky breath of relief when he realized the arrow had narrowly missed his mouth and struck only the apple.
But even as relief washed over him—he wet himself on the spot.
Calyx handed the bow back to Lana, then calmly returned to his seat at the head of the table.
“So?”
He asked, glancing at Lord Royce.
“Did you feel my intent, Lord Royce?”
“M-My deepest apologies, Lord Calyx! It was all Beric! He made me do it! I never harbored any such thoughts—I swear! Please spare my life! I beg you!”
Royce was terrified—far beyond panic now.
The Calyx he had heard of was supposed to be a righteous, compassionate man.
But the one standing before him now… was a lunatic noble playing games with human lives. A man who found amusement in turning death into theater.
Royce didn’t know which version was the real Calyx.
But one thing he now understood with painful clarity:
He’d picked the wrong person to mess with.
As Royce trembled, Calyx addressed him again—this time in a voice as gentle as honey.
“There’s no need to be so frightened, Lord Royce.”
The sudden softness made Royce shiver even harder.
“We have no intention of harming you. We’re simply here to collect the penalty owed for your breach of contract. Nothing more.”
Calyx then took an apple from Lana and calmly pulled out a fruit knife, slicing it with practiced ease.
“But…”
He continued, never looking up.
“I can’t say what I’ll do… if I sense these kinds of ‘misguided intentions’ again.”
Watching Calyx carve into the apple with that knife sent a jolt of unease through Royce.
Sensing his discomfort, Calyx smiled mildly and added—
“Ah—this is just my favorite fruit knife. I use it every morning to peel apples.”
“Wait… that knife…”
Royce’s voice trembled.
A memory surfaced—he had heard a rumor once.
They said Calyx had killed three assassins using just a fruit knife.
He’d dismissed it as idle gossip, but after witnessing that arrow shot…
There was no way this man was ordinary.
And now, that very knife was out, just inches away.
“It might do you good, Lord Royce, to develop a habit of eating apples in the morning.”
Calyx said smoothly.
“Who knows? It could help in a sudden fight with assassins.”
“A-Assassins!?”
Royce’s mind reeled.
He’d heard whispers—lately, there’d been a spike in assassinations targeting nobility.
Could it be… was Calyx behind those too?
No—impossible. Not even he would conspire with the Bloodkin to pull off something that insane…
But if he just blamed the Bloodkin, then quietly disposed of a few troublesome lords…
With that single thought, Royce’s imagination spiraled into every possible nightmare scenario.
And the more he imagined, the more monstrous Calyx became in his mind.
Until finally, Royce’s heart shattered—utterly crushed by terror.
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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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