Chapter 30: First Come, First Served (5)
It’s common knowledge that palaces have secret passages. Even a farmhouse in the countryside is bound to have a secret door or a hidden storage room. However, even if it’s an open secret, it becomes a riddle if you don’t know how to use it.
A riddle, after all, only has meaning if it’s hidden. Secrets, like poison, are only effective when their concentration is high.
So, it’s natural for her to think carefully when asked to reveal such a secret, no matter how generous and easygoing she is.
To be honest, I’m not expecting much. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll have to mobilize Levidian or others, but going directly is much better.
Daisy said, her red eyes sinking deep,
“In a way, it’s something that would benefit the royal family right now. But Risel is still an outsider. Fine. Let’s negotiate. Tell me what you’re planning to do.”
“Confidentiality?”
“At most, to my brother or Aila.”
“The second one bothers me. Since when did you two become so close?”
“It’s rude to ask a lady about her secrets. Now, tell me.”
I scratched my head. Of course, I had prepared countermeasures for this, but it wasn’t easy to use them. But Daisy’s attitude is generous, not harsh. After all, that secret passage could be misused.
“Okay. First, this.”
I took out the paper I had prepared. It was a copy of part of the Azot information document I received from the Thieves Guild. It listed the connections between the nobles and Ast’s Seven Violent Organizations.
She read a few pages and narrowed her eyes.
“This is……?”
“Information I’ve gathered. Surprisingly, the puppet strings held by the anti-empire faction also have violent organizations dangling from them. If there are violent organizations, other things are possible too. Of course, it’s useless as evidence for an accusation since it would take too long to find concrete proof. It’s a clue with unshakeable suspicion but no physical evidence.”
“So? Because there’s this connection?”
“To fight, you need to be in the same place as your opponent. It’s a good thing the Knights were there. If they were only guarding the nobles, Empire Culture Street would have been a mess. There’s no guarantee this won’t happen again. So I had a thought.”
“What?”
I leaned back on the sofa, clasped my hands, placed them on my folded knees, and said confidently,”If there isn’t one, make one.”
“If there isn’t one, I’ll make one.”
“Make one?”
I nodded.
“Yes. I will make one.”
“How?”
I explained.
“It doesn’t really feel like a secret passage.”
“Right?”
I said, pulling Levidian out. We are currently in a cemetery park near the royal palace. Somewhere in this cemetery, there’s a tomb that leads to a secret passage into the palace.
I quickly closed the tombstone that served as the passage, making sure no one saw. Then, I lowered my posture and slowly left the cemetery.
“It’s spooky.”
“I know, right? What if a ghost appears?”
She spoke with a worried look, and I was momentarily relieved to see that she had a feminine side to her. To be afraid of ghosts, that’s a perfectly normal feeling.
“You can’t cut them with a normal sword, right? They’re scary opponents.”
Relief canceled. This is someone who could attend a ‘Cemetery Ball’ and dance splendidly.
Anyway, Daisy understood and agreed with my explanation.
Although she made a dumbfounded expression, she still guided me to a secret passage that ordinary people could use. I took that path and came out with Levidian.
Of course, I explained my thoughts to Levidian, and she, like Daisy, made a ‘does that make sense?’ expression.
I have no hobby of challenging the impossible.
I challenge what’s possible.
It was this kind of thinking that allowed me to bring Levidian into my sphere of influence.
“So, do you know where we need to go?”
“Of course I do. We need to go to ‘Morian’s Tavern’, 15 minutes from here. But before that……”
I took out the disguise tools from my backpack.
They belonged to Daisy – an unusual item for a princess of a nation – but she explained that she would sometimes use them to disguise herself and walk the streets like an ordinary girl when she wanted to relax.
Well, she’s a daring princess who raids the royal shelter’s warehouse when she wants a drink, so it’s not strange that she has a few things like this. It’s not fitting, but not strange.
The disguise tools were simple: a skin-coloring cream and a wig. Maybe because she’s a woman, there was no beard, but I have something more distinctive than a beard, so it doesn’t matter.
“My eye reveals the truth.”
I muttered as if whispering, and the color of my right eye changed. I checked my appearance in the mirror, confirming the disguise.
In an instant, my appearance transformed into a young man with tawny skin and short black hair. With a cloak on top, it was quite a convincing disguise. I also gave Levidian a mask and a hood to complete her disguise.
“Master, just act as you did before.”
“I understand. As Risel’s escort, right?”
“Yes.”
“I understand. But……sigh. I still don’t like crime. Even if it’s Risel’s request, facilitating it doesn’t align with my own values.”
So please, let this be a one-time thing. Otherwise, I’ll be disappointed in you.
Her eyes were saying that.
I also don’t want to use her, who has her own pride, for this kind of work. If possible, I’d like to do it alone, but if I had the skills from 10 years in the future, I would have come alone.
Of course, this will be the only time I involve her. However……there’s no guarantee that this kind of thing won’t happen again.
“Let’s go. Oh, right. Do you need a disciple by any chance?”
“Well, I don’t think I’ll find a disciple as fun and rewarding to teach as you. Why do you ask so suddenly?”
“As an apology for this incident, I’ll find you a more talented disciple later. What? You don’t believe me?”
Her eyes held disbelief and suspicion. Does she think that highly of me? But there really is such a person, someone with more talent than me.
“Yes, I don’t believe you. People with talent like yours are rare.”
“Please look forward to it. I’m sure you’ll be satisfied. Oh, when that time comes, please don’t abandon me after comparing us. I’ll be sad if I’m abandoned by you, Teacher.”
“It’s okay. Once a disciple, always a disciple. Alright. It feels like a deal, but if you introduce them out of goodwill, I’ll consider it. But remember, the passing standard I seek is very high.”
She said with shining eyes. Although she said that, her expression showed interest. I smiled and nodded. Now that her mood seems to have improved, let’s move.
Ast doesn’t just have seven organizations.
If you include the small organizations of two or three people, the number is close to three digits, and some are not connected to the nobles.
The core of my plan is to make them a counterbalancing force against the anti-empire faction’s seven powers. And in the process, I intend to bring one person into my sphere of influence.
Actually, the latter is the real plan.
She and I entered Morian’s Tavern. It felt like a quiet bar with few people. The interior was dim, and a few people were sitting, talking in low voices, enjoying cigarettes and alcohol.
I went straight to the bar and sat in front of the bartender. Levidian stood behind me, perhaps thinking she was faithfully fulfilling her role as an escort.
“What are you looking for?”
“Is the Master here?”
The middle-aged bartender put down the polished glass and spoke with deep-set eyes.
“I am the Master.”
“Not you. Jeyrael. Commonly known as Jay, the All Master.”
“I don’t understand what you mean……”
“Heard you’re short on funds lately? You’re flapping around uselessly in this small pond. Looking at you trying to cling to a mere Baron.”
The middle-aged bartender’s expression hardened, and his hand slowly lowered. I smirked and took out the Iperfect hidden on my left wrist. The sharp light of the dagger reflected in the candlelight.
“Ugh……”
“Stop. Slowly put both hands on the bar. That’s right. Now you feel like talking?”
“Who are you?”
“An investor. A guide. Whatever. I won’t ask you to do anything bad. So call Jay, Old Man Behind.”
Jay and Old Man Behind.
The names of those who will unify Azot’s underworld in the future. However, a year after unifying the underworld, they will die in an all-out war against Manya, who is called the Black New Moon.
If Jay is the action leader who goes out front, Old Man is the brains.
Their breathing is outstanding, and Jay can execute everything Old Man thinks of. That’s why he’s called the All Master. And because he was behind Jay, Old Man Behind.
They created and exchanged these names after meeting each other, but it will be five years before these names become famous.
However, whether Levidian’s three years were long or not, their five years are also long.
Old Man lowered his head and chuckled softly. The middle-aged man with a slightly thin face cast a shadow over his face for a moment and looked at Levidian behind me. Surely Levidian is confronting him in silence.
Old Man said,
“She’s quite strong. Already a completed powerhouse. Why does she follow someone weaker than herself?”
“Aren’t you too old to view the world solely through the logic of power?”
Levidian said coldly. However, her beautiful voice was not diminished at all. It was like the voice of a beautiful ice sculpture. Old Man turned his gaze to me this time and asked,
“You, who know my name, what do you want from me?”
“I’ll show you a dream.”
“Excuse me?”
“Old Man, what is your dream? I’ll show you that. What I want is not betrayal, not blades, and not fleeting death.”
Solid trust, a helping hand, a life with a dream.
I looked at him with sincere eyes. Sincerity without a speck of falsehood. Now, Old Man, what are you going to do?
Old Man lowered his eyes and chuckled softly. He said,
“You’re a fool. A fool who suits Jay well.”
“Hey, Old Man, don’t call people that.”
At the sudden voice, I turned around. There stood a blond man in his mid-twenties. He was about 180 centimeters tall, even taller than Levidian. But when did he get here?
“How……”
Words of surprise escaped even Levidian’s lips. She couldn’t even sense his presence!
I asked in a low voice,
“Are you Jay?”
“You ask after finding me? Fine, since Old Man acknowledged you, I’ll ask too. What’s your purpose?”
The handsome young man with blue eyes that suited him well leaned against the bar and asked. I calmed Levidian, who was about to put her hand on the hilt of her sword, and looked at him.
The one-year night king who will unify Azot’s underworld in five years gave me the feeling of looking at an untempered, fine sword. It felt like it would become a great sword if it were refined a little more.
I twisted my lips into a smile. What I had been thinking about since before coming as a member of the diplomatic mission had perfectly hit the mark.
“Indeed, nothing is lacking.”
“What?”
He tilted his head. Ignoring him, I spoke to Old Man.
“Whiskey, with water.”
“Yes, sir.”
Old Man bowed politely and prepared the drink. Jay said with a bewildered expression.
“Hey, you……If someone asks you a question, you should answer. Otherwise, I’ll kick you out right now.”
Jay seemed to have a bit of a hasty personality. He had a dissatisfied expression, and soon I heard the sound of chairs being pulled and people getting up. I wondered, but as expected, are they all members of the organization?
His somewhat hasty personality will be refined by Old Man later. The problem is that I need to create the situation for that to happen. It would take five years if I stayed in Ast. He seemed like the type to ruin things because of his personality, despite his good skills.
“Here’s your drink.”
“Ah, thank you.”
“Wait, Ri……”
Ignoring Levidian’s words, I picked up the glass and drank about half of it.
He might have poisoned it, but I believed him. He wouldn’t use such a trick. If they were the type to poison someone who came knowing who was here without even listening to their story, they wouldn’t have come in the first place.
The liquor was quite good. The clean taste was nice.
“Delicious.”
“It’s made at the Southern Joiptun Brewery.”
“Hey, you……”
“Be quiet. I’m talking to Old Man right now. Impatient brat.”
I gave Jay a sideways glance and a jab. Jay gritted his teeth and glared at me, but Levidian subtly stepped in front of him.
Old Man didn’t even glance at Jay and said,
“Whiskey is good when you’re thinking about something. Adding a little water makes it easier to drink.”
“That’s right. Looking at the color calms the mind.”
I lifted the glass and looked at the whiskey reflected in it.
In the royal shelter, Daisy said that if it’s already decided to be mine, it’s common courtesy in the world to eat it before others do.
If there are others who have restarted(regressed) besides me, like in Breedpo, it’s natural that time won’t flow as I expect.
I can explore why that happened later.
Right now, since I know there are such people, I need to expand my sphere of influence as much as possible and bring the necessary people into it.
It doesn’t matter how many competitors there are or how many years of memories they have. I don’t want to fight them, but the important part is that I have to compete with them for my own purpose.
In other words, this is a land grab, dividing up the land of people with the stick of time.
I need to gain an advantageous position somehow. Because I don’t want to be played around by others anymore without knowing anything. So I’m going to gather as many people as possible.
Isn’t there a saying like this?
First come, first served.
Of course, if you eat anything, you’ll get an upset stomach. You’ll get sick if you overeat too.
Only what you can eat, as much as you can eat, only as much as you can digest.
To do that, you have to eat the best, as selectively as possible.
Jay and Old Man are the first targets of my resolution.
“Jay.”
“Tsk. What? What are you going to say now?”
Looking at Jay’s sullen expression, I smiled. And then, in the most serious tone, with all sincerity, I said to him,
“I want you.”
First come, first served.
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