“I’ll report now.”
At Nigel’s words, Landgar simply nodded slightly instead of replying.
Nigel, kneeling on one knee and keeping his gaze on the floor, somehow knew of Landgar’s gesture and promptly began his report.
“First, regarding the Undead. We’ve secured a proper offering to summon an Undead comparable to the Knight of Green Flames we lost last time.”
“Who?”
“…Members under my command.”
“…Next.”
Though anyone listening would recognize this as dangerous information, Landgar didn’t bother asking further.
“The elixir is also complete. We’re now capable of mass production.”
“It seemed to cause some severe side effects, didn’t it?”
At this, Landgar remembered the incident with Cain Hover, a first-year student from not too long ago.
A student who couldn’t control the surging power and eventually went berserk.
Landgar was fully aware that the cause of Cain’s berserk episode was due to the excessive use of the potion they were developing.
“Mana surges should only occur if it’s overused. Beyond that, smaller side effects shouldn’t pose any significant problem during battle.”
“Hmm.”
Landgar had a pretty good idea of what Nigel meant by “smaller side effects.”
Classic symptoms included becoming far more aggressive than usual or struggling to control one’s emotions.
All understandable reactions, given that the suppressed potential was being awakened.
“So, preparations are complete then. And the Undead summoning?”
“It’ll be ready without issues by the execution date.”
“Good. That’s on you now.”
Though Landgar would’ve liked to oversee the proceedings personally, he decided to give Nigel this one last chance and stopped worrying further.
Still, there were plenty of other matters demanding Landgar’s attention.
Since the start of the year, they’d dealt with various issues, but their most important plan was proceeding smoothly.
The day their organization would reveal itself to the world and declare war on all who stood against them.
‘Wonder if the others are prepared as well.’
Pausing a moment, Landgar thought about how the Elder Ones were faring with their own tasks.
They were probably all doing fine.
Especially the Second Elder—after all, the old man had been so critical at the last meeting. Surely he was doing a good job.
“What about the drugs being distributed to the students? What’s the plan?”
“Hmm. For now, we keep distributing. Cutting them off suddenly could cause unpredictable results.”
“Understood.”
Landgar was fully aware of how addictive their drug could be.
Though not physically addictive, it would be hard to give up the overwhelming power that came with taking it.
Especially for students still in their prime growing phase.
“Until the date of the plan, we’ll remain quiet. Keep the kids under control.”
“Yes, sir.”
With a whoosh, Landgar looked at the spot where Nigel had been standing just a moment ago.
Something felt uneasy.
‘Is it just because things have been busy lately?’
Based on Nigel’s report, everything seemed to be going smoothly, yet an unpleasant suspicion lingered.
“Hmm.”
This prickling discomfort stayed with Landgar for some time, gnawing at his mind.
—
“Her?”
“Yeah. That purple-haired one.”
“…She’s not planning anything strange on the students, right?”
“Nope.”
“Then… some kind of love scam or something?”
“No.”
Erica’s voice was filled with playful mischief, which is why I regretted asking her in the first place.
“Definitely, following her around, you’ll run into someone suspicious. High chances she gets offered candy.”
“Candy?”
“Yeah, but probably something more like… a drug.”
“A drug?”
“Yeah. It probably makes you temporarily stronger or something.”
“Hoo.”
As we were talking, Cynthia had walked further into the distance.
If she kept going, she’d soon disappear into the crowd.
“You coming?”
“What? Now?”
“Of course. You can’t predict who she’ll meet when or where.”
“But this is too sudden. I was planning to stroll around the city a bit.”
“Didn’t you just spend the last few days chilling and doing nothing?”
“Come on. It’s different when you’re alone versus with you. When we’re together, I don’t have to spend money, right?”
“…This is kind of serious, you know?”
After following Cynthia for two days and reaching my limit, I decided to tap into my network.
Enter Erica, who recently finished a large bounty and was resting.
Tracking and tailing someone was one of Erica’s specialties, so monitoring an academy student was child’s play for her.
“Ugh. I thought you wanted me to hang around the city and have fun.”
“Next time. For now, just do a good job following her. Nothing happened in the last two days, so the odds are high that something interesting will occur soon.”
“Alright. But you’ll cover me, right?”
Erica formed a coin shape with her fingers and wagged it playfully.
As much as I wanted to, her teasing was making me reconsider taking care of her.
“…You watching me?”
“Do you really think I’m cheap labor, Leader?”
“Fine. Go already. Don’t lose her.”
“I already tagged her. She’s 234 meters ahead, walking.”
“…Nice.”
Don’t know exactly when she did it, but it was reassuring to know.
That’s Erica.
“So, this is on you?”
“I’ve got my own things to look into. If my side goes well, you won’t need to keep following Cynthia.”
“Hmm. Alright, then good luck with that.”
Erica nodded, waved goodbye, and started to walk in the direction Cynthia had gone.
Even though she said that, there was no doubt she would do her best to monitor Cynthia.
‘So, Cynthia’s side is covered.’
Looking over to where Erica had blended into the crowd, I turned my gaze back.
Just because I handed this over to Erica didn’t mean I planned to lounge around and do nothing.
‘Annoying.’
The more I thought about it, the more it annoyed me.
If I were right, the “candy” Cynthia had eaten was likely the same kind of potion Cain Hover had taken.
Definitely not something they could sell through official channels—some bizarre concoction involving unconventional ingredients.
Spreading such things among students?
And not just any students, but people I know?
Sure, I wasn’t exactly the model of righteousness myself, but this felt like over the line.
Especially since I’d already caught onto the situation.
And wouldn’t you know it, we also had a bonus side quest objective.
If they were distributing these types of potions to academy students, it must’ve involved no small organization.
Meaning, a little poking around in the underground world might yield some information.
‘If you so much as try to dodge me…’
Just as the weekend started, I had a feeling it was gonna be busy.
—
Crescent, capital of the Crescent Empire.
For years, the underground world of Crescent had been a battleground between two rival organizations: the Black Ravens and the Ten Arms.
Appearing around the same time, both grew similarly while maintaining a competitive relationship.
When Black Ravens missed out on a huge assignment and suffered multiple combat losses recently, it seemed like their days were numbered.
But Black Ravens were far from collapsing, thanks to their formidable leader.
In fact, the essence of both organizations wasn’t their wealth or the number of members—it was the combat prowess of their leaders.
Toby of the Black Ravens and Berolli of the Ten Arms were rumored to be strong enough to rival Imperial Knights.
The kind of strength that, if these two ever clashed, it might cause a city-wide ruckus.
“So, you both claim ignorance?”
“Yes.”
“We don’t know anything.”
Two figures, reputed as strong as an Imperial Knight, were kneeling side by side.
“Do you really not know?”
Flinch.
As the cloaked man in black sat in front of Toby and Berolli with a raised hand, both instinctively recoiled.
“Yes, sir! We truly have no knowledge. Even if we did create the potion, spreading it inside the academy is…”
“Not to mention, we don’t have facilities that can handle anything like that!”
Toby and Berolli were earnestly protesting.
They were genuinely terrified.
How could they not be?
They knew exactly who was sitting casually in front of them beneath that dark mask.
Not a mere urban group limiting themselves to a city, but one of the most famous across the globe.
The Leader of the Black Shadow Guild.
Anyone in this line of work would know who they were.
The sheer overwhelming aura felt the first time they met this figure was unforgettable.
Defiance was out of the question.
“So… that’s how it is, hmm?”
“That’s absolutely correct! I, Berolli, would never…”
“Shut up, b*stard. If someone messed with this, it’d be you.”
“Aah. Quiet.”
At the command of the Black Shadow Guild Leader, both Toby and Berolli immediately clamped their mouths shut.
“Find me some information, then.”
“Excuse me?”
“What kind of information?”
“Cain Hover.”
Toby and Berolli both focused intently on the name.
They knew the Hover family well—it was a reputable name in its own right.
“Look into his info first. There’s bound to be someone behind whoever delivered the drug to him. You claiming ignorance doesn’t sit well with me. As professionals in this trade, you should have better intel. You’re supposed to know everything happening in this city.”
“…”
Toby and Berolli had no retort in the face of the Black Shadow Leader’s reasonable expectations.
“Find out who’s making and distributing this drug. I’ll be back in three days.”
“Three, three days?!”
“Why, a problem?”
“N-no, sir!”
Both shivered under the overwhelming aura emanating from the cloaked figure, instinctively vowing to dig up something substantial.
