Chapter 18 - Catching the Wolf's Tail
Edwin was suspicious.
How could you.
How could the Youngest Son.
After winning the gold coin bet, he had thoroughly investigated the Fifth Son.
The result that came out was that the Fifth Son's confinement order had been lifted, but nothing more.
At that time, that was certainly the case.
Now, after a few weeks had passed.
The Fifth Son reappeared and declared he could give him a Stationmaster's badge.
As if he could give away the position of Stationmaster like a snack, as long as he provided information to his liking.
The Stationmaster, the highest authority under the heavens of the council in the Dusk Citadel.
Of course, being a scion of Millesdusk, it wasn't unreasonable for him to say so.
But the problem was that the scion was the Fifth Son.
“……”
Nevertheless, Edwin's mouth did not voice his suspicion.
Hadn't he experienced a life-or-death choice with a gold coin at stake when he did so before?
Even if the circumstances were different this time, he never wanted to do it again.
The Youngest Son said.
“Whether you heard it from the Stationmaster or predicted it. This terror attack was not an act personally carried out by an organization in the Citadel. There must be someone's instigation.”
To know that instigation, one first had to know the identity of the terrorist organization.
The Branch Manager's head must have been busy narrowing down the list of suspects from the moment he heard about the Stationmaster's badge.
Even if his mouth was shut tight, his mind wasn't.
It was that very list of suspects that I needed.
To get it, I had to boost the Branch Manager's courage.
“As I said before, Jubel Maxman is in a cooperative relationship with me. And as soon as he and I extended our hands into the Citadel, this kind of large-scale obstruction came in.”
“…They do this even to you, my lord, a scion of the family. What dangers would befall someone like me, who is nothing.”
“No. That's not what I'm trying to say. Do you still not get it?”
“……”
The Branch Manager seemed to have caught on, but he lowered his head and kept his words to himself.
So, I made a firm conclusion from my side.
“It means that I, now, have washed away my past powerlessness to the extent that a powerful opponent has to borrow the hands of their underlings.”
“…Are you saying you can protect me as well with that not-so-powerless strength?”
“No one knows that the Fifth Son of the family has come here anyway, and you are not the type of person to blab about it.”
If it went well, he becomes the Stationmaster, if not, then not.
It was a deal with nothing to lose.
The Youngest Son said.
“A world that your superior can't even look at has now become my enemy. Because if it's not a world of that level, it's difficult for them to even stand as my opponent.”
It was the Fifth Son saying such things, so something about it felt ticklish, but those crimson eyes were flat, without a hint of a smile.
“But to put it differently, that world is not your enemy. If we take one more step from here, I, who have won against that world, will definitely be on your side.”
His ears perked up without him realizing it.
…That sophistry.
It was the devil's mouth that had added to the confusion in his head during the coin toss as well.
But it was also the devil's mouth that ultimately got what it wanted.
“If that information saves me time, then I will gain the power to re-establish a Stationmaster and I can help you. Just as you helped me today.”
It was a sweet temptation.
It was so enchanting that he couldn't even think about the Stationmaster's warning from the morning.
He didn't even dream of reaching the council; he only wished to become a Stationmaster.
He thought he might be able to sit in that position in 10, 20 years.
But to be able to arrive there in an instant just by flapping his lips a few times now.
Didn't this make it seem like even the council position was within reach?
The name value of being a direct scion of Millesdusk made even a young Branch Manager dream of a council seat.
For some reason, looking at those red eyes, an unfounded belief that it would really happen surged within him.
“…Haa.”
Edwin sighed, clutching his throbbing forehead.
It was a sigh filled with an anguish he had never experienced before in his life.
But it was also an anguish of a difficulty he had experienced sometime before.
When was that?
Ah. It was the coin toss with the Fifth Son.
Edwin's heavily sealed lips opened.
“…Listening to your words, my lord. There is one place that comes to mind.”
“Tell me.”
A major organization within the Citadel that a big shot would contact.
A working method that did not shy away from murder, did not hide it, and induced fear and terror.
And if a scion of the family was involved in the competition, it meant the employer had also been established in the East for a long time.
Such people liked familiarity, so they did not trust relatively new organizations.
The answer was out.
“It's the Black Wolf Brigade.”
***
“It's the Black Wolf Brigade.”
“Right. The nobility has favored those guys for almost a century.”
Inside the ship, Marvin and Jubel finished identifying the culprit.
There weren't many organizations that would commit indiscriminate terror against the Maxman Merchant Troupe, and there was no reason to do so now.
They hadn't even announced to the world what business they were going to do, they had only hired laborers, and they killed them.
They even stole the necessary materials.
It was a request filled with someone's emotions, and since he said there was friction with the Fourth Son, they thought the employer was the Fourth Son as well.
Until the business partner entered the ship owner's room.
“Your deduction up to the Black Wolf Brigade was good, but if you think the one behind it is my older brother, you are mistaken.”
“F-Fifth Son…!”
Marvin was startled.
For no particular reason other than this was an airship.
Due to the unexpected attack, the employees were put on the ship, and the Mariella was floating in the sky.
But he had come this far without the Merchant Troupe Head and Vice-Captain knowing.
How could this be….
“Questions later. For now, the Black Wolf Brigade is the problem, so crushing the Black Wolf Brigade is the primary goal. Is it not.”
Jubel nodded.
“You are right, my lord. But their base is difficult to specify, and even if we do, it will be spread out in several places, so….”
Yes. Complete annihilation was difficult.
But the purpose should not be in cleaning up trash.
Right now, the person who threw the trash was the purpose.
The Youngest Son said.
“You can't be distracted. The purpose we are trying to achieve in the Citadel is the mass production of the defense against the Plague Demons. The Black Wolf Brigade is just one of their insidious moves.”
“I also agree that we must continue to push for mass production. But how about hiring sorcerers first, rather than laborers.”
“This side seems like it would be cheaper than sorcerers.”
A map of the Dusk Citadel hung on the office wall.
He pointed to a spot in G-District.
“There is a firearms shop here that deals with magitech machinery. If you put in a request, they will prevent other insidious moves from reaching out while or after I deal with the Black Wolf Brigade.”
“W-wait a minute.”
Marvin, who had not been able to follow even half of the Youngest Son's words, stopped the conversation.
“It's strange enough that a firearms shop handles magitech, which even the dwarf artisans of the north can't handle at will, but you're saying you'll take care of the Black Wolf Brigade, my lord…?”
“Is there a problem.”
“N-no, it's not that….”
His words said no, but his eyes still couldn't erase the doubt.
It was understandable.
This body now belonged to the problematic Youngest Son who had come out of his room just over a month ago.
But I was different.
“Don't worry about the Black Wolf Brigade and the materials, and if you're going to focus on security, contact that firearms shop. It's Levering Firearms.”
After finishing his words, I turned around.
“I-if you're leaving, I'll have a small hot air balloon prepared.”
“Stop it, Marvin. Do you think the Fifth Son came here empty-handed when he arrived?”
“B-but still….”
Rattle─
After the unexpected guest left, a certain large body was seen through the wide-open window.
It was a griffin, descending with its red feathers fluttering.
“Th-that griffin was yours, my lord?!”
“You're going to burst my eardrums. Why do you think a violent griffin would conveniently catch only the Leviathan and then leave? You should have expected some connection.”
“D-don't act like you knew everything…!”
Regardless, Jubel's eyes were only looking at the district the Youngest Son's hand had pointed to.
“Levering Firearms in G-District, huh. I'll have to go and see.”
“Shall I send someone?”
“No. I'll have to go myself. Since it's an establishment the Fifth Son recommended, it's better to go in person.”
“You know we were just attacked by the best murder squad in the Citadel yesterday, right?”
“If there's gold there, we have to go. There's no choice.”
…A bastard crazy for money.
Marvin muttered quietly and prepared a small hot air balloon.
***
Lubosch waited for the Youngest Son near the Citadel.
Unless he was returning to the mansion, he couldn't ride the griffin again.
He set aside the weight and pressure of his important mission for a moment and killed time.
Before long, a red dot appeared in the sky.
The dot repeatedly grew larger and then landed, kicking up dust.
“Was there any progress?”
“There was progress. And what needs to be done has been decided.”
“Should we just annihilate the Black Wolf Brigade?”
That was the general idea, but annihilating a slaughter group that had survived for a century in a short period was a difficult task.
The fortunate thing was that the Branch Manager knew the location of one of the tails they had spread.
“We'll go to the place the Branch Manager mentioned first. Secretly.”
“That's a field I'm confident in.”
Confidence filled Lubosch's face for the first time in a long while.
.
.
.
A Branch Manager, a position that could be called a person of power within the Dusk Citadel.
Although they run at the bottom among the powerful, a person of power is a person of power.
Such a person of power could gather most information with just a little money and time.
The same went for one of the Black Wolf Brigade's branches and the password that allowed entry to it.
But when I asked why he knew this.
─It's not my proudest moment, but I became a Branch Manager at a rather young age, and maybe the Stationmaster felt inferior…. He gave me a hard time, so to speak, yes….
He had looked into a contract killer to kill his superior but decided it wasn't right and stopped.
He was a man who was ambiguously evil and ambiguously good.
The tail of the Black Wolf Brigade he pointed out was here.
We entered one of the pubs in the city and headed for a corner inside.
It was a particularly old door, but there was no handle to open it from the outside.
Knock, knock.
I knocked on the door.
Not long after, a voice was heard from behind.
“The wolf.”
A thick voice, as if scraping the larynx.
In contrast, a strangely low tone with a hint of youthfulness replied.
“Deceives the shepherd.”
Rattle─
The door opened.
The inside was gloomy, perhaps because it relied on only a few dim lights.
A normal person would have been reluctant to enter, but the two were not normal people.
The noble of blood and the intelligence agent strode inside.
The door was connected to a staircase leading down to the basement.
In the basement, unlike the pub's customers, were real contract killers, and they were the Black Wolf Brigade.
The members were killing time with a bottle of alcohol or dice on the table.
Freelancers without work generally looked like that.
Of course, not all freelancers laid out lethal weapons next to them.
The doorman who had opened the door explained the basic rules.
“Choose a guy you like from these fellows here, tell them what you want, and negotiate the payment yourselves. The precautions will also be guided separately.”
Just as the doorman was about to turn around.
Slam─
Someone closed the door that separated the basement and the underground stairs.
It was the customer who had been in front of here just a moment ago.
“My lord. Please give the order.”
The other customer brought his hand to his hood.
Fingers of a not-so-thick line took off the sunglasses inside the hood and put them in his pocket.
In the darkness within, crimson eyes shone brightly.
It was the exact same color as the blood these murderers saw almost every day.
Unlike his pale skin, his red lips said.
“The Maxman Merchant Troupe attack. The whereabouts of the materials. Keep killing until someone who knows about these things comes forward.”
“As you wish, my lord.”
A sorcerer who lives in the shadows of a great family and extends his blade from the shadows.
Chwaaaaaak─!
Long needles flying in a fan shape extinguished all the candles inside.
The basement went dark.
The pros of the contract killing business drew their knives instead of panicking, but dark adaptation was a necessary procedure.
Unlike the bloodkin who had just taken off his dark glasses