Chapter 438
Step— step—
A dark basement.
Dust was swirling so thick it was hard to breathe, the stench of mold filled the air, and someone was walking here.
No, to be precise, being dragged here.
A still youthful blond-haired teenage boy. His arms were gripped firmly by burly men in suits as they forced him forward.
Moments later, the boy arrived at the very depths of this basement. Only then did the men release his arms and step back.
Chii—
From within the darkness, a flame rose up. The sound of someone inhaling smoke— then, fwooo, long smoke drifted out.
“You’ve come, Malcolm.”
The basement lights clicked on, and the surroundings came into view. Seated on the sofa was a middle-aged man the boy knew all too well.
The leader of the “Randolph Gang”, one of the three great gangs of the Dark Alliance, and also the boy’s father.
Margel Randolph.
“……Father.”
And the boy’s name was Malcolm Randolph.
And special admission student, No. 10, of Keyzen.
“You’re cold, Malcolm. During this rare vacation, you vanished without even showing your father’s face.”
Malcolm kept silent, then slowly raised his head.
“For what reason have you called me, Father.”
Margel drew on his cigar again with a hiss.
“Seems I am indeed a parent, something from Keyzen was sent my way.”
Malcolm’s expression twitched. In Margel’s hand, shaking lightly, was Malcolm’s first-year report card from Keyzen.
“Let’s see.”
Margel narrowed his eyes half-shut.
“At admission, you entered as special admission No. 10. And by the end of your first year……”
Margel’s lips twisted.
“128th.”
“……”
From 10th, down to 128th.
With a hardened face, his fist trembling, Malcolm shouted.
“That was—!”
“I know.”
Margel cut him off coldly.
“Your specialty, ‘Doppelgänger’, is black magic that creates clones to increase numbers. At the start of the year, perhaps it worked, but by the latter half of the first year, its strength naturally fades. Your rivals, meanwhile, keep learning, keep growing.”
It was exactly as Margel said.
By the middle of the second semester, every Keyzen student had at least one area attack spell. They also learned tracking black magic or curses capable of identifying the real body among doppelgangers.
—When fighting Malcolm, all you need is a ‘Coloring Curse’.
That rumor spread everywhere, and the methods of defeating him were shared.
In the first semester, no one wanted to face Malcolm the Doppelganger in a duel evaluation. By the second semester, he had become everyone’s punching bag.
“T-that’s not the only reason!”
Sweat beaded on Malcolm’s forehead. He had to excuse himself somehow.
“The liquid bombs I used as main weapons…!”
“They were banned, I heard.”
Margel replied as if waiting for it.
The Randolph Gang’s special ‘Liquid Bombs’, imbued with Darkness to cause explosions. Combined with Doppelganger, they were powerful.
But after Keyzen’s review, they were declared to violate multiple duel evaluation regulations and banned from use.
“And isn’t that simply your own doing.”
Margel leaned forward as he said so, and Malcolm realized his mistake.
‘Damn it.’
Even if beaten to death, he should never have used that as an excuse.
“Do you remember? The duel evaluation against Special Admission No. 1, Simon Follentia.”
Of course he remembered.
Impossible to forget.
“In that duel, watched by royals and countless high officials, you threw around those liquid bombs.”
The Randolph Gang had carried out countless acts of terror using those bombs. By it, they earned astronomical sums, and ruined many rival organizations.
It was an extremely sensitive item, yet Malcolm, desperate to defeat Simon, used the liquid bombs and caught the eyes of the kingdom officials present.
In the end, all the unsolved bombing cases that the Randolph Gang had long denied were reopened.
The result was irreparable damage to the gang.
The four kingdoms seized the organization’s businesses, imposed massive compensation and endless penalties. Even other gangs victimized by the bombs attacked them.
“If you have something to say, say it. Your damned school play endangered the organization.”
“……”
“And your grades aren’t even good. That Simon Follentia you fought, he maintained rank 1. With no family support, nothing, purely by his own strength.”
Margel rested his chin in his palm.
“……I wanted a son like that. His father must be so happy, he’d dance for joy.”
“Kh…!”
Groaning, Malcolm could say nothing.
Margel spoke icily.
“It’s over now. Do not return to Roke Island.”
“……!”
He meant to quit Keyzen. Malcolm snapped his head up in panic.
“Father! I—!”
Smash!
Malcolm couldn’t finish. A sudden black figure darted out and struck his jaw upward.
Baaak!
Crunch!
Figures appeared at his sides as well. Blows to his abdomen, flank, thigh, pain piercing him. He couldn’t breathe.
In an instant, bloodied, Malcolm collapsed to his knees. Two of Margel’s doppelgangers grabbed his head and slammed it hard into the floor.
Bang!
Crunch— his nose shattered.
“Still haven’t come to your senses.”
Meanwhile, the real Margel remained seated calmly on the sofa. The subordinates watching swallowed dryly.
‘That’s Margel’s Doppelganger……!’
The doppelgangers forced Malcolm’s head up. Blood streamed down his face from his smashed nose and forehead.
And Malcolm saw it.
Margel, seated in command of the darkness, eyes flashing with a terrifying light.
No wonder he was the boss of one of the three great gangs. Margel was always ruthless, unforgiving. Even to his own son.
“Your school play is over. Do you understand?”
Faced with absolute terror, Malcolm could only nod.
Then, Margel’s doppelgangers flung Malcolm to the floor and dissolved into the air.
“Your new assignment.”
Flap.
Several photos dropped before the fallen Malcolm.
“Bring me the item in the pictures.”
The photos showed a monster’s skeletal remains, its teeth set with pure gold. It looked extremely valuable.
“It’s in Deimos Museum on the Pharonna Peninsula. And while you’re at it, take any other expensive things you can.”
Malcolm sat up and examined the photo.
“……And what other forces will be with me?”
“You go alone, Malcolm.”
“Alone, stealing that item in secret is impossible.”
“There will be chaos.”
At Margel’s gesture, four men struggled in carrying something heavy, setting it down on the floor with a thud.
A metallic object, knee-high, with a blazing red core at its center.
“Since the liquid bombs can no longer be used, we developed something new.”
“……A replacement for the liquid bombs?”
Margel nodded.
“High-ranking monsters emit a special wavelength when commanding their lower kin. The lesser creatures obey absolutely.”
“No way……”
“Correct. This device replicates the wavelength of the ‘Naga Queen’, summoning nagas in swarms.”
Margel sneered.
“Once it’s activated, countless nagas will gather on the Pharonna Peninsula. Malcolm, in that chaos, you will infiltrate the exhibition hall.”
“Father!!”
Malcolm sprang to his feet.
“The Pharonna Peninsula is celebrating a festival now! If monsters swarm, the devastation will be enormous…!”
“Do you still think you’re a Keyzen student, my son.”
Malcolm flinched, closing his mouth.
“See to it.”
Margel interlocked his fingers, glaring coldly at Malcolm.
“Do not disappoint me twice.”
* * *
After leaving the port of the Pharona Peninsula, Simon’s group immediately went to change clothes.
And thanks to Maelyn’s strong insistence, since they had come all the way to Pharonna, they decided to rent and wear the local traditional costumes.
“What, what is this?”
Dick looked down at his flowing clothes and spoke.
The silk garment, plastered with moon-flower patterns of the Pharonna Peninsula, draped down below the knees, and underneath, white pants had to be worn separately. Finally, with a bamboo hat on the head, the outfit was complete.
Dick’s expression was full of discontent.
“……What’s with flowers on men’s clothes. And this isn’t even a skirt, why is it so frilly?”
“I think it’s not too bad.”
Simon was also dressed in the traditional outfit. Holding the brim of his hat to cover one eye, he tried a pose in front of the mirror.
“This is 100% a rip-off! Three-day rental for clothes like this, 900 silver! With that money, I could eat twenty bowls of hearty beef noodles!”
“We’re here~”
Maelyn and Kamibarez arrived.
Simon and the grumbling Dick turned their heads.
‘Wow……!’
A bluish-green silk dress that flowed down beautifully like a gown, with slits at the sides revealing white pants. And instead of a man’s broad hat, a smaller, daintier one perched on her head.
Maelyn clasped her hands together, raised one leg in a lively pose.
“How do I look? Does it suit me?”
Kamibarez, hands on her chest, smiled shyly.
“O-oh, I feel nervous for some reason.”
Simon’s face flushed red, unable to take his eyes off the two of them. As if spellbound, he nodded.
“You both look wonderful. Truly.”
“No, how is this fair?”
Dick couldn’t bring himself to say they didn’t look good, so instead he glared at his own clothes.
“The women’s outfits are that pretty, but the men’s are garbage? This is discrimination!”
“If you don’t like it, you can wear women’s clothes yourself, you fool.”
Maelyn covered her mouth, giggling.
“And look at your best buddy right there. Doesn’t it suit him well?”
Indeed, even the shop clerks couldn’t take their eyes off Simon. Dick shook his head.
“That doesn’t count. He gets praised even when he only wears a plain white shirt.”
“……That’s not really praise, is it?”
And so, the four of them came out onto the streets in the Pharonna Peninsula’s traditional outfits, setting the mood.
“Woooow!”
There was an enormous crowd. Nearly half the tourists wore the same traditional clothes as Simon’s group.
“It’s beautiful!”
The streets were already in the middle of the Moon-Flower Festival.
Moon-flowers in full bloom swayed in the wind, countless street stalls gave off delicious smells, luring the visitors.
“Dick, where’s our lodging?”
“About thirty minutes away by carriage from here? But first we need to shop a little.”
“Let’s grab some roasted food here at the market to take along.”
Simon and Dick discussed their plans.
“Kami! Over here! The moon-flowers are blooming so much here!”
“That place looks pretty too!”
Maelyn and Kamibarez were wholly absorbed, enjoying the festival to the fullest.
“Simon! Simon! Look here!”
Simon, who was looking around at dinner options, turned at Maelyn’s voice.
Maelyn had nestled herself between bluish-green moon-flowers. Popping her head out with a shy smile, she asked,
“Guess where I am?”
“……!”
Simon’s face turned beet red, helpless against such games.
“Ahhh, Lady Maelyn!”
Dick strode over, knelt in front of the flowerbed where Maelyn was, and picking up a stone, wailed,
“Lady Maelyn! Where has your body gone, only your head has come forth……!”
Maelyn’s spinning kick sent Dick flying in an instant. Simon burst out laughing.
“Simon~ Simon~”
This time, Kamibarez pointed to a stall with her fingertip.
“Shall we have skewers over there?”
“Of course. My treat.”
“Ah, no! I should……!”
Simon grinned.
“Let me. I’ve had some income during the break.”
He still had the 10,000 gold given by Lady Israfil for the Holy Federation mission.
Thus Simon, though enjoying a happy time with his teammates at the festival, still carried a trace of concern.
‘How should I bring up the student council matter.’
He was planning to make his proposal tonight.
As he followed along with the group, agonizing inwardly—
Bump!
Amid the bustling street, someone collided with him.
“Ah! S-sorry!”
The passerby bowed hastily, reaching out a hand. When Simon came to his senses, he was on the ground.
“Are you hurt anywhere? I’m really, really sorry!”
Simon’s eyes widened.
‘What was that just now?’
He hadn’t even activated Darkness, but Simon’s physical endurance was far greater than an ordinary person’s. Even distracted, he shouldn’t have been knocked over so easily.
Simon looked up at the passerby.
A boy with tidy, youthful red hair. His forehead wide open, his thick hair tousled like a lion’s mane.
‘Doesn’t look intentional. Really seems like an accident.’
Simon took the boy’s hand and stood.
“Once more, I’m truly sorry!”
The boy apologized repeatedly.
“No, it’s fine. I wasn’t watching either, lost in thought.”
The red-haired boy bowed again and again before disappearing into the crowd. Wrapped in a robe, something long, bundled in cloth, was strapped to his back.
“Simon! Simon! Where are you?”
“Ah, sorry. Coming right away.”
“Ugh! Ow ow~”
The red-haired boy who had left the crowd rubbed his shoulder with teary eyes.
—Something happen?
From a crystal orb on the fence, a woman’s voice came.
“I just bumped into someone by chance, and magic triggered. If the other guy fell, but I’m feeling this much pain……”
He scratched his head.
“Normally, I’d be the one sprawling on the ground! Ahaha!”
—Didn’t I tell you to stop being so careless? Mercenary King.
The boy, called Mercenary King, replied sheepishly.
“Ugh! That title still feels heavy for me.”
—Then get used to it~ How’s the situation?
“It’s quiet so far.”
The boy’s expression turned serious as he scanned the street.
“But are you sure? About the Randolph Gang launching a raid?”
—Not sure. But whatever happens, raid or no raid, we still get paid. Better if nothing happens.
“Mhm.”
The boy stroked the hilt of the sword strapped on his back, then suddenly remembered something.
“Ah! Right! I bought an amazing souvenir at the Pharonna market!”
—Souvenir?
Digging through his pockets, he pulled something out.
“This! It’s a magic artifact that helps you spot fallen coins on the road if you carry it! Only 10 gold!”
—……
There was a long silence from the crystal orb.
—Good grief! You really believed that? Even if you picked up every coin dropped for a lifetime, you’d never make back 10 gold!
The boy’s mouth fell open.
“S-so I got scammed?”
—Idiot!!
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters