Chapter 35 - A Bitter Taste
“Dammit─!!”
An agitated roar echoed thunderously through the office.
Kwaaaaaaaang─!!
He slammed his fist on the pure white table made of high-quality marble.
Cracks in the shape of tree roots spread across the thick desk.
The office was a mess.
Two knights had collapsed, vomiting, under this desk.
The window behind the desk was wide open.
A pushed-over bookshelf, a gaping safe. An empty interior.
Nothing was normal.
It seemed the fainted knights knew this well.
“S-sorry…!!”
“The intruder launched a surprise attack…!”
They trembled like dogs caught in the rain, burying their heads in the ground.
“…….”
A trembling head slowly turned towards them.
“Isn’t it your duty to stop intruders?”
The knights couldn’t even make an excuse.
It was a fact that the ledger was gone.
It was also a fact that they were caught off guard by a surprise attack.
Although dozens of curses were placed on it, it was no different from having his heart stolen.
“Damn it….”
He gritted his teeth and suppressed his anger.
The smell of grass that filled the room despite the window where the intruder escaped being open for a long time.
It was the smell of the Physicians' Council.
The paralysis poison residue on the knights' lips.
It was the method of the Physicians' Council.
And the identity of the intruders, as testified by the knights, which they themselves had revealed.
It was, absurdly, the Black Wolf Brigade.
“H-hehehehet….”
A laugh trembled with anger.
“Chairman of the Physicians’ Council…. You used your head, but in a truly pathetic way.”
A recently closed shop suddenly robbed the office of the next chairman.
And with a clear purpose, the ledger.
The culprit was undoubtedly the Chairman of the Physicians’ Council.
But the method was strange.
“Disguised as the Black Wolf Brigade to steal the ledger… hah. By subduing them with poison herb extract and even leaving behind a scent.”
The evidence pointing to the Physicians' Council was too obvious for it to be a disguise as the Black Wolf Brigade.
It was as if they were advertising that the culprit was the Physicians' Council.
Hinek’s brow furrowed mercilessly.
This too was the Chairman’s sick taste.
“You think I can’t touch you even if I know you stole the ledger? Heh. Do you think you’re on top now?”
Hinek recalled the Chairman of the Physicians’ Council, who was invisible but had been sitting on that leather sofa not long ago.
The guy who used to rub his palms together and grovel.
As soon as he got what he wanted, he immediately backstabbed him and grabbed his weakness.
Did you think you became something just because you pushed Jubel aside and secured a source of money?
“Oh…. Not a chance, Meryl. Not a chance in hell.”
The ledger, left in a perfectly fine room.
That which was no different from his second heart was protected by the Pandemonium Hall, the Central Building, the Central Building's guards, the bookshelf, the safe, and so on.
The security measures were too numerous to count on both hands.
The bookshelf itself was extremely heavy, and what about the safe?
Hinek’s eyes turned towards it.
It was a safe so sturdy it could be retrieved even if thrown into a volcano, and was even guaranteed by the imperial mint.
“They said it could never be opened by force, and that no human could pick that lock. It was all a lie.”
He let out a self-deprecating laugh.
“Is all I can trust now the curses I cast myself?”
Anyone without curse resistance would bleed from every orifice just by touching it.
Furthermore, the moment one opened the ledger, memorized, or transcribed its contents.
Starting with the eyes that gazed upon it, the brain would melt and flow out through the nose and mouth.
He had confirmed it himself, so he was certain.
“It will take at least a month to dispel the curse. And it will take another month to find a sorcerer capable of it.”
Moreover, there were only a few such sorcerers here in the East, and he knew most of them.
The movements of such powerful individuals between cities were even treated as intelligence.
If he listened carefully, he could trace back to the Physicians' Council headquarters, starting with those sorcerers.
Then he would snatch the ledger.
“I will throw the entire Physicians' Council into a cauldron. And next, Meryl…. it’s your turn.”
Knock, knock─
The aide of the Confederation's councilors knocked on the wide-open door.
Hinek, who was closing his eyes and suppressing his anger, asked in a low voice.
“Have you caught the Physicians' Council bastards?”
“We have captured all those who were dispatched to the branches.”
“Where are they.”
“They are being transported here.”
“Hoo….”
The emotions that had festered in an instant were exhaled in a long breath.
Hinek nodded slowly and continued.
“Contact the information guild and acquire all available information regarding the movements of any sorcerers of interest.”
“Understood. What should be done with those men.”
At the aide’s question, the two knights’ shoulders flinched.
Yes. The anger about the situation had subsided, but the anger towards the knights was still there.
His white hair was slicked back without a single strand out of place.
Beneath it, a wrinkled face with lizard-like features stared intently at the two knights.
Pooooong─!!
Then, they were truly pierced.
Two holes appeared in their bodies, right where he was looking.
Their bodies, pierced through their armor, collapsed without any means to resist.
“C-Councilor…! If you give me one more chance, I will capture the Chairman of the Physicians' Council─!”
Poooooong─
Another explosion followed.
Two corpses with two holes each were created.
Their use also began from now on.
“Chief Secretary. Turn these into Dullahans.”
“Understood.”
Hinek swept back his white hair and straightened his sleeves.
“I need to see the Chairman. Just in case, I must ascend to the chairmanship as soon as possible, even if it’s a day earlier.”
“I will contact the Chairman’s secretarial office.”
“I will go see him now. Aide, just finish the job you were given. If you don’t want to end up like this.”
“…Of course.”
When the old king of the grasslands got a cavity, all his underlings suffered.
The old king put on his coat and narrowed his eyes at the Chief Secretary.
“You know, don’t you? That this matter must be handled with utmost secrecy.”
The moment the other councilors found out that his second heart was wandering outside the house.
It was no different from his lifeline getting just as short.
The Chief Secretary silently nodded his head.
“Good.”
Hinek headed for the Chairman of the Confederation of Malice.
Even though he breathed the same as yesterday and walked the same as yesterday, he felt strangely anxious.
He didn’t know when or where a knife might fly at him, or when or where his neck might be struck.
He could wake up in front of a guillotine.
“First Son…. When are you returning….”
The benefactor who had elevated him from an insignificant branch manager to the position of next chairman.
He had left for the Ash Pile Mountains for personal training and had not come out for nearly a year.
“Please, just come back before my head falls…. I beg you.”
The now-old subordinate prayed to the master he had served for a long time and did what he could.
***
The Fourth Son’s floating castle returned to the Black Citadel.
It felt like he had left something behind, but he had obtained what he wanted.
“Oho! Is this that ledger?”
“Yes, it is.”
The Fourth Son Jamie, and the Butler standing behind him, looked at the ledger held by the Youngest Son.
They just looked.
Just looking at it, they could feel the powerful curses layered upon that book.
The Butler swallowed hard.
“These are curses that activate using all five human senses as a trigger, even just by opening it and looking at it.”
“These are the ones Councilor Hinek cast himself. They are curses cast with time over the years, so it won’t be easy for any ordinary sorcerer to touch them.”
“Yet the youngest one saying so looks very comfortable?”
“It doesn’t really matter as long as it’s not opened. You know this.”
“Mm-hm! The curse resistance of the Millesdusk direct bloodline is incredible.”
As if genuinely proud, the Fourth Son crossed his arms and nodded repeatedly.
The Butler glanced at his master and opened his mouth.
“Therefore, the most suitable person for the task of dispelling the curses seems to be the Fifth Son, who is a kinsman and the one responsible for this matter.
“Uuuhm!”
The Fourth Son rested his chin on his hand in thought, then lifted one eye to look at the youngest.
“The Butler says so. What do you think, Dante?”
“I will do it.”
“That’s what I thought! I’m so relieved! If you had said no or hesitated, I might have been a little disappointed!”
Disappointment. At the appearance of that word, the veteran butler’s shoulders trembled, however slightly.
To be like that just from hearing the word.
It was obvious what the fate of those to whom that word was directly addressed must have been.
The Youngest Son threw the book, which was no different from a Demonic Object, into his spatial artifact and bowed his head.
“I will be on my way. When I return next time, I will bring Hinek’s head as a gift.”
“Hahahat! Yes! I’ll look forward to it!”
The Youngest Son left the Black Citadel.
Unlike when he arrived, he was alone.
“…Young Son.”
The Butler watched the griffin disappear over the distant horizon.
“Is it alright to let him go just like that?”
“Why? Is there a problem?”
The superior asked innocently, blinking his eyes.
Normally, he would have backed down with a whimper, but this time, he had something to say.
“He is dangerous. The Fifth Son is a dangerous being.”
Pfft. The Fourth Son couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing.
“Uncle Butler, what you’re saying is completely different from what you said not long ago.”
He imitated the Butler’s solemn tone.
“Young Son. There is no need to pay much attention to the Fifth Son. Young Son. The Fifth Son is not a competitor. Young Son. You need not worry about what is below. Young Son. Young Son.”
“…Yes. I did. I said that. But that was when I had not yet met the Fifth Son.”
The Butler stood not behind him, but in front of him.
“Two months. It has been a little over two months. Since the Fifth Son passed the trial of achievement.”
“Stop beating around the bush and get to the point. This is getting boring.”
“Kill him.”
“Hmm. This is a bit too straightforward, isn’t it?”
The Butler continued with a resolute expression.
“Once this matter with Councilor Hinek is finished, you must kill him without delay. No, the safest way is right after he dispels the curses on the ledger.”
“Huuuhm.”
The Fourth Son sat on the chair and swung his legs, which didn’t reach the floor.
But he gave no definitive answer.
A sign that he was not at all keen on it.
The Butler added one more comment.
“During the raid on the Physicians’ Council headquarters. The Fifth Son went down alone, subdued the Chairman, and brought back the ledger.”
“He brought a griffin to its knees, so what’s a Physicians' Council to him?”
“Yes. That is precisely it. The Fifth Son’s ferocious magical power that brought even a griffin to its knees. The ripples were faint, but they reached even here at the floating castle.”
What should be noted here was not the Fifth Son’s rapid growth in power.
“It’s the Chairman of the Physicians’ Council, Young Son. Doesn’t that mean he was someone who couldn't be dealt with without the level of power the Fifth Son displayed?”
“…….”
The Fourth Son’s eyes calmly settled. The Butler continued.
“The Fifth Son crushed a powerful individual, whom not many in the Citadel could defeat, in just a little over two months. Do you know what this means.”
That he was the sapling of a great tree.
The Youngest Son, who had wasted 10 years of his short young life.
But he grew at a frightening speed, as if he had used the spit and insults thrown at him as nutrients.
Even during the conversation and as he left the castle.
“Now is the time. You must cut him down now.”
“Uncle Butler.”
The Fourth Son stood up.
With a cup of tea in his hand.
He leisurely stood up and offered it to him.
“Cool your head. You worry too much.”
“…Yes. I understand.”
He drained the tea in one gulp.
The Butler knew the line he was given.
The moment he made the Fourth Son say another word, he would be disappointed.
Only then did the Fourth Son show his innocent smile again.
“My uncle, maybe because you’re my mother’s brother, you think and worry too much? Anyone would think I’m not growing at all!”
“H-how could that be.”
The Butler couldn’t add his next words.
The fastest growth rate.
The title he held in Millesdusk's new generation had been taken by the youngest.
As if the Fourth Son himself knew it.
On his innocently smiling lips, there was a faint, bitter taste.