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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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Chapter 167: You Decide for Yourself
Aguro immediately pressed a small bell placed on one side of his office. Soon, one of his subordinates, who had been on night duty, entered.
"You called, sir?"
"Is the head of the administrative department in his seat?"
"I'll check."
Aguro hesitated for a moment before asking,
"How many employees are in charge of issuing entry permits in the administrative department?"
"Including contract workers, I believe there are three."
"There's a Crazy Mage Squad from the Samael Clan on the low-level entry permit list. Find out who issued their entry permits and bring them here. Tell the head of the administrative department that I ordered it."
The subordinate glanced out the window before replying,
"Understood. I'll bring them as soon as they arrive tomorrow..."
"Now."
"Now, sir?"
"This is an urgent matter. Bring them here now."
"Yes, sir."
His face pale at the mention of an urgent matter, the subordinate immediately bowed his head and went outside.
Left alone, Aguro continued his paperwork for a while longer, then leaned back in his chair and looked out the window.
He wore a thoughtful expression.
It was at that moment that he heard footsteps outside the door.
Knock, knock—
"Sir, I've brought the person in charge."
"Come in."
The door opened, and the subordinate entered, followed by a young man with a fearful face.
"Y-you called for me, sir? You said it was an urgent matter..."
"Did you hear what happened?"
"Yes, yes, sir. You said you had questions about issuing entry permits..."
Aguro looked out the window again and replied,
"The Samael Clan's Crazy Mage Squad. I heard they were all issued low-level entry permits."
"Yes, yes, sir. I always keep records."
"And there was nothing unusual?"
"May I ask what this is about?"
His words strangely irritated Aguro.
"Just answer my questions."
"Oh, yes, sir. There were no major problems. However... that is..."
Suddenly, Aguro turned his head again and looked directly at the young man.
Aguro's eyebrows twitched as he realized that the young man's face was familiar.
"Aren't you the one who...?"
The young man who had come to Aguro with a strange report some time ago.
Aguro remembered him clearly because he had heard the absurd story about a magic orb being broken.
Suddenly, the young man started speaking rapidly.
"The entry permits were issued according to regulations. I didn't do anything wrong. It's all accurate. However... there’s what I told you before..."
"Stop beating around the bush and tell me clearly."
"One of them... is the person whose magic orb was broken..."
"What?"
Aguro's heart sank.
"So the magic orb breaking wasn't a coincidence?"
"Oh, no, sir. It was a coincidence. There was nothing strange about it at all."
"I wasn't talking to you. Bring me the records."
One coincidence can happen, but if coincidences overlap, it's highly likely to be inevitable.
The young man took out the record file he had brought and handed it to Aguro with trembling hands.
'Crazy Mage Squad Commander, Ruin Samael.'
Even a superhuman can't easily break a magic orb.
The last color recorded when the magic orb broke was white. In other words, it was someone who should have been issued a low-level entry permit.
Therefore, it's not right to blame the person in charge for simply dismissing it as a defect or coincidence.
Even Aguro himself thought so.
But the fact that someone who was issued a low-level entry permit defeated a Rank 10 monster and obtained the Demon Realm's core...
'He's hiding something.'
He didn't think that Ruin had broken the magic orb with his own strength, but there was something suspicious about it.
Aguro gestured to the young man.
"You can leave."
"I apologize. If there's anything I did wrong..."
"I said you can leave."
"Yes, sir!"
After the young man left, Aguro looked out the window for a moment, lost in thought, then made a decision.
"I think I need to check this myself."
Aguro pointed to his subordinate.
"Go to the Asset Team. They should have the fragments of the broken magic orb. I need to see them myself."
"Understood."
"If this Ruin Samael enters headquarters or any branch office, report it to me. I need to meet him."
"Should I track him down?"
"No, there's no need for that."
"Understood."
"You can leave."
Finally left alone, Aguro sat back in his chair and leaned back.
His gaze turned to the magic circle drawn on one side of the wall.
Aguro got up from his seat and approached the magic circle, pacing back and forth before shaking his head and returning to his seat.
"I don't need to report this to the Floor Master yet, do I?"
Aguro already had a mountain of work to do.
"Sigh."
With a sigh as he looked at the pile of documents in front of him, Aguro closed his eyes for a moment.
***
Returning to the temporary residence in the northeast of Keplan, I took a quick bath and sat around the circular table with my subordinates.
"Did you sort things out properly, Commander?"
"That's not important."
Suddenly, I looked at Haengsu, who was sitting in one of the seats.
He stared intently at me and asked,
"Did you kill Vaph?"
I shook my head.
"He's as good as dead. His Mana Core was destroyed. He won't be coming back to the Alliance."
"I see."
Haengsu nodded and looked at me with an indifferent gaze before suddenly closing his eyes.
"What are you doing?"
"If you're going to kill me, kill me quickly. I don't want to drag this out. You can forget about my request."
The atmosphere suddenly turned heavy.
Looking around, I noticed my subordinates were all exchanging uneasy glances between Haengsu and me.
"Get up."
Haengsu opened his eyes.
"Follow me."
I walked to the front door of the residence without saying a word, opened it, and said, "Go."
Haengsu looked at me.
"Are you saying you'll let me live?"
"I'm saying I won't kill you right now."
"Damn it."
I met Haengsu's eyes.
As I saw it, he was indeed uniquely insane.
He wasn't afraid of death, but he wouldn't beg for his life, and he never spoke respectfully.
A madman with conviction usually has that kind of look in their eyes.
I don't believe that people change, but this guy was a leashed hunting dog from the start.
Originally, I really intended to kill him, but now I've changed my mind.
Past misdeeds aren't absolved just because someone repents. However, I didn't want to be the one to make that judgment.
"You decide for yourself."
"What?"
"Whether you kill yourself or go back to your hometown, it's up to you. Get out of here before I change my mind. Of course, if I hear any shitty news about you later, I might hunt you down and kill you."
"...Damn it. Alright."
I silently watched Haengsu's retreating figure.
I didn't bother asking what his story was or what he did.
Suddenly, Haengsu, who had been walking for a while, turned around.
"Can I take care of the guys below? There are some survivors."
When I didn't answer, Haengsu took it as a yes and disappeared back into the darkness.
I couldn't immediately judge how he would live his life from now on.
However, I hoped that I would never hear any news about him again.
As soon as I returned to the main hall, Arin asked,
"Did you kill him?"
"I let him go."
"...Is that so?"
Arin looked at me with a relieved expression.
The expressions of the gathered subordinates were no different.
"Gather around."
I began to briefly explain to my subordinates about the evidence of Parin that I found at the Blue Magic Tower and the few facts I had deduced.
Throughout the explanation, Zion's expression grew serious, and he said,
"So it's confirmed that there are others. There might be someone stronger than Parin."
"They could be in other clans, or even among the mercenaries. There's nothing we can be sure of yet."
The size, identity, and members of Parin's secret organization.
Nothing has been revealed.
Only two things are certain.
That they are related to the Demon Tribe.
And that the Samael Clan is also one of their targets.
"What should we do, Commander?"
"First, stop everything I told you to do before. It's pointless. Focus on training as much as possible until we enter the Demon Realm."
Understanding what I meant, my subordinates nodded.
If we go around poking our noses into things carelessly, we might give those guys a reason to be suspicious.
Just as they are veiled in secrecy, they also don't know that I have information.
'Clown' and 'No. 7.'
First, we need to enter a high-level Demon Realm.
If the Demon Tribe really does appear, there's a high chance that direct evidence will come from there.
***
Starting the next day, I began to wander around Keplan alone.
First, I went to the Keplan commercial district and sent a secret telegram to Ardehain.
The recipient was Fichte.
I needed to let him know about the evidence I found at the Blue Magic Tower.
Next, I stopped by the Exchange Center and exchanged gold bars for bundles of bills.
After that, I spent time exploring the various districts and alleys of Keplan.
"Oh! Ruin!"
"Wow, you've changed a lot."
"Thanks to you, hyung. Would you like a glass of moonshine?"
Hote's store, which I visited for the first time in a while, was incomparably cleaner than before.
Although small in scale, the exterior and interior were quite well-organized.
"Was the demolition resolved smoothly?"
"It ended well. There was a patrolman who always used to cause trouble, but he doesn't come around anymore."
"That's good."
While drinking the moonshine Hote brought me, I listened to various stories.
Unlike the market streets, in the pubs in the city center, I occasionally saw skilled people who seemed to be from prestigious families.
I drank moonshine at Hote's pub and deliberately spent a few days drinking near those who seemed to be skilled individuals in pubs throughout Keplan.
As a result, I found one piece of information.
A high-level Demon Realm will open soon.
It's Level 1.
After gathering various pieces of information, I completely cleared my schedule for a specific day and visited the Pablo Auction House located in eastern Keplan.
Pablo Auction House.
A landmark of Keplan and the most famous auction house on the continent.
The huge two-story auction house, which occupies an entire section of the commercial district, is so splendid from the entrance that it's breathtaking.
I entered the auction house and looked around the first floor.
Although it's called an auction house, most items at Pablo Auction House have a fixed price.
This is because there are over a hundred professional appraisers who reside in the auction house to assess and sell items.
Of course, since the items that Pablo Auction House selects and purchases are so rare, the prices of the items sold at fixed prices are at a level that most mercenaries cannot easily afford.
"As expected."
I nodded as I checked the purchase prices of the items.
While some items only had prices attached, others that looked valuable at first glance had one more restriction attached.
Contribution points.
Just having money isn't enough to buy things at Pablo Auction House. Just as a merchant is selective about who they sell to, Pablo Auction House is selective based on contribution points.
This is because they believe that while selling items is important, who they sell to also has a significant impact on the auction house's prestige.
But this is just the tip of the iceberg.
I looked at the restricted second-floor area for a moment.
The real reason Pablo Auction House is so famous is because of the special auction held on the second floor on the last day of the second week of every month.
Every month, expensive weapons and cores from Demon Realms, artifacts purchased from all over the continent, and sometimes even sacred objects appear.
Today was that day.
However, I soon couldn't help but feel disappointed.
"You're saying I can't enter?"
"There's a contribution point restriction. Only those who have received permission in advance can enter."
This was because there was a contribution point restriction on entering the auction house itself.
Thinking about it, it was only natural, so it was my fault.
I had no choice but to look at the items that were always on sale on the first floor and then try to leave, but I suddenly stopped and looked at one spot.
A few guys in yellow clothes were coming down from the second floor.
They all had the same yellow skull tattoo on their foreheads.
They were from the Bellusia Clan.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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