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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]
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Chapter 172: Untitled
***
Rubia’s pupils began to tremble slightly as she gazed at Damien.
“W-who would believe such lies?”
Finally, Rubia spoke up vehemently denying Damien’s words.
“I-I know who all his followers are! B-but I’ve never seen them!”
“I can’t help it. I’m only tasked with secret missions. So only Dorugo knows of my existence.”
“T-that’s absurd! I’ve never heard of any secret missions!”
“Of course, they’re ‘secret’ missions. They shouldn’t be known by just anyone.”
Rubia was speechless in the face of Damien’s counterargument.
“Dorugo has countless plans in preparation. What you know is just the tip of the iceberg.”
Damien’s words were undeniably true.
Dorugo’s aim was to overthrow all kingdoms and ultimately exterminate humanity.
Even though he utilized dark mages, they too were merely tools to be disposed of in the end.
Thus, Dorugo had separate plans to eliminate all dark mages as soon as the war ended.
“Originally, I shouldn’t be exposed to anyone. It’s because of your foolish actions that I have to reveal my identity.”
“I-if you’re his direct follower… why are you killing dark mages?”
Rubia still couldn’t bring herself to believe Damien’s words.
“Yulan disappeared because of you, and this time, you killed Garrot!”
“How would I know Dorugo’s true intentions? I merely received orders and carried them out.”
Damien cut in sharply.
“Perhaps he interfered with Dorugo’s plans, doing things against his will, or stole dark magic ingredients that he shouldn’t know about. It’s just my speculation.”
“Don’t make excuses like that! Are you still trying to deceive me?”
“Excuses?”
Damien’s pupils shifted subtly.
“Then, do you claim to know all of Dorugo’s secrets?”
“T-that’s not it but…”
“Even your master, Sla, wouldn’t know all of Dorugo’s secrets, yet as her disciple, I didn’t expect you to speak so disrespectfully.”
As Sla’s name was mentioned, Rubia’s pupils dilated even further.
“H-how would my master…”
“I just said it, didn’t I?”
Damien raised his chin slightly, speaking with a very arrogant attitude.
“I am Dorugo’s ‘direct’ ‘secret’ agent. Even if you don’t know me, I know you.”
Unconsciously, Rubia took a step back. Then, tripped over her own feet and fell.
“W-wait! I-I’ll ask him through my master and come back with an answer!”
“Asking Sla? A mere disciple like you daring to question about Dorugo’s plans? Seems you don’t value your life much.”
Damien said with a smirk.
“T-then you do it! Show me contacting him in front of me, and I’ll b-believe you!”
“Don’t talk nonsense. Or maybe you haven’t received the information yet?”
Feigning bewilderment, Damien continued.
“Dorugo changed the method of communication long ago to unilateral orders. We can no longer contact him.”
“….Even you?”
Rubia’s words disappointed Damien internally.
Since his return, Damien had been tirelessly searching for ways to communicate with Dorugo.
If he could send out a transmission to Dorugo, it would be possible to trace his location.
So, whenever dark mages died, he tried to absorb their memories to find a way.
But there was no harvest. It was because Dorugo had given the order long ago.
Dispose of all communication means if there is a mission.
He had thought that the cunning Sla might have another way, but it was a futile hope.
“Do you now believe me?”
“….Y-yes, I have no choice.”
“How long will you keep nodding like that?”
With an arrogant expression, Damien said. Rubia immediately knelt on the ground.
“I greet the faithful servant of the Great One.”
***
After that, Rubia broke Damien out of prison.
The soldiers guarding the prison were briefly knocked out by Rubia’s dark magic. Then, she placed a fake Damien’s corpse in the prison and took the real Damien out.
“I’ve disguised it as a death from a heart attack, so no one will suspect anything.”
Rubia whispered as they left the prison.
She even deceived the Master Class with fake the Mercenary King’s corpse, faking Damien’s death would be nothing.
Rubia took Damien to her own tent.
Originally, this was a place where the Mercenary King’s women gathered, so Damien, a man, was not allowed to enter.
Rubia simply solved this problem by charming the female mercenaries guarding the place with pheromones.
“Please have a seat.”
After sitting Damien down, Rubia moved busily, bringing out food and boiling water for tea.
Damien sat in the chair and looked around Rubia’s tent. It was filled with luxurious-looking artwork.
“You have a lot of expensive-looking things here?”
“They were all gifts from the Mercenary King.”
Rubia said, putting tea leaves in the teapot.
“I’m not really interested, but… what can I do? I have to pretend to like them if I want to win his favor.”
“Who planned the Mercenary King’s kidnapping?”
“My master planned it. She wanted to study the blood of the dragon.”
“The blood of the dragon?”
“You know what school my master is from, don’t you? I think she was planning to absorb the power of the dragon. She also gave the order to destroy the Fafnir Mercenary Company on the side.”
This was the fearsome thing about the Grand Dark Mages.
They might not be able to match the Master Class in terms of strength, but his true value was revealed when they worked in the shadows.
“It was really hard, you know. I chased him for over a year to win his favor. And only then was I able to catch his eye.”
Rubia grumbled as she placed a cup of tea in front of Damien.
“I thought once I got into the mercenary corps, everything would be fine. I’m not bragging, but… I’m quite confident in my ability to handle men.”
Rubia’s eyes fluttered slightly. She have a very charming figure.
“But things didn’t go at all like I thought they would. Everyone was afraid of the Mercenary King, so my seduction didn’t work at all.”
“You must have had a hard time.”
Don’t say that, Rubia waved her hand and said.
“But it’s fortunate that the Mercenary King’s kidnapping went smoothly. It’s refreshing to see them fighting each other now that the Mercenary King is gone.”
“Where did you take the Mercenary King? It wouldn’t have been easy to get him out of the Mercenary Company.”
“Oh, you’re curious about that?”
Suddenly, Rubia closed the distance. She leaned her body against Damien’s shoulder and said.
“This is going to be a long story… you might get tired if you sit down to listen.”
So saying, Rubia slyly pointed to the bed.
“Actually, I prefer manly men like you, not lustful men like the Mercenary King.”
Damien did not avoid Rubia’s advances. Instead, he observed her eyes.
Unlike her voice, which was full of lust, her eyes were as calm as a still water.
‘She’s after something.’
Every word and action of Rubia’s was a lie.
There was no doubt that she had another motive.
“If you want something, say it out loud. Stop with this nonsense.”
At Damien’s words, Rubia looked at him with a strange expression.
“I’m sorry to ask this, but… are you perhaps really close to Him?… I’ll just get to the point. I want my name to be known to him.”
“Is that all?”
“That’s all? Do you know how difficult that is? The only dark mages he knows are either giant evils or geniuses among geniuses.”
Dorugo had the ability to discern people’s talents.
Dorugo’s standards were extremely high and strict. Even if a Grand Dark Mage did not meet his standards, he would not pay attention to them.
“If you just promise me, I’ll tell you where the Mercenary King is.”
It wasn’t a particularly difficult request.
Damien was about to say so. Just then, a shadow suddenly rose from the floor of the tent.
“Rubia, I’m back. No one has noticed that the Mercenary King is a fake yet…….”
Kardak’s eyes caught sight of Damien and Rubia, who was clinging to him.
Kardak’s face turned red and blue in an instant. Kardak finally couldn’t hold back and exploded in anger.
“…Rubia, what is this!”
***
Just like Damien, Athena was also imprisoned.
She was imprisoned in a prison that held criminals who had committed terrible crimes.
The floor was covered with rotten hay. The walls were covered with bloodstains.
Even though she was a suspect in the case, it was not a place where Athena, a first-generation pureblood, should be imprisoned.
“Is Damien okay?”
Athena was more worried about Damien than the state of the prison.
She was a pureblood, so they wouldn’t treat her too harshly, but Damien was an outsider.
“What the hell was that story about my father being a fake…?”
While Athena was lost in thought, the door to the prison opened and someone entered. Athena clenched her teeth when she saw the visitor’s face.
“This is convenient.”
Those were the first words that the visitor, Claire Fowler, uttered.
“What is this?”
Athena said in a voice full of anger. Claire Fowler laughed at her and said.
“I told you, didn’t I? You are a strong suspect in this case. You will have to be investigated here for a while.”
“Stop talking nonsense and tell me the real reason. Why did you lock me up?”
“You really don’t know?”
Athena frowned at Claire Fowler’s question.
“What did you just say…?”
“Weren’t you the one who acted like you were above everyone else because you were favored by the Mercenary King? You should have been more careful and made friends with me beforehand.”
Athena said with an incredulous expression on her face.
“Is that all you’re doing this for?”
“……Just?”
In an instant, Claire’s voice rose.
Athena couldn’t help but flinch at the strange pressure.
“Do you know how hard we all work to be favored by the Mercenary King? Especially women like me who are getting old. We have no way to get the Mercenary King’s attention unless we have children.”
The number of women that the Mercenary King had been with was countless.
Considering that Claire Fowler, his first lover, was approaching old age, it was not difficult to imagine how many there were.
“But then you born… You, who have inherited the blood of the Mercenary King the most… You, who have turned the purebloods into fools…!”
The attention of the Mercenary King was focused on Athena. The more the Mercenary King protected Athena, the less attention he could pay to the other women and their children.
“I gave the order to imprison you, but… all the women agreed with that decision. Do you understand now? What do they all think of you?”
Athena was silent for a moment before opening her mouth.
“……When my father wakes up, he won’t sit still.”
“Of course. With the Mercenary King’s personality, he won’t let this go. But that’s only when he wakes up, isn’t it?”
Athena frowned at those words and asked back.
“What are you talking about now!”
Athena shouted. But Claire just stared at her without saying a word.
“Tell me! What the hell do you know? Why won’t my father wake up…!”
“It’s a bit late, but… you really look just like your mother, except for your hair color.”
Athena was speechless at the sudden words.
“What are you talking about…?”
“The regret of my life is that I didn’t kill your mother myself… I’m so glad you’re here, though.”
Claire stared at Athena with dark eyes.
Athena found herself swallowing dry saliva. Claire’s eyes were that creepy.
“Then get some rest.”
With that, Claire walked out of the prison.
***
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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]
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