“……”
“……”
A silence fell over the room after Jerry’s final words.
Jerry sorted through the past mories that his answer had brought up.
Eliya, on the other hand, was so shocked by Jerry’s answer that she couldn’t figure out how to continue the conversation.
‘…No way.’
As she was well aware that the relationship between the Beastkin and the Vampire Clan was atrocious, Eliya had thought from before she even asked that Jerry’s reason for commanding them wouldn't be a positive one.
However, even so, she hadn't thought it would be for a purely evil reason.
She had thought she could reason with Jerry, and before learning he was a descendant of the Vampires, she had considered him a bit gloomy but not a bad person.
…Crucially, he was also soone U-jin called ‘partner.’
‘…To think it was really for that kind of reason.’
But Jerry’s answer was the very thing Eliya had considered the ‘worst-case scenario.’
『…It’s not a special relationship. They are simply individuals I purchased from the slave market to satisfy my personal desires.』
Personal desires, Beastkin slaves.
There was only one purpose for Jerry that could be inferred from those two phrases.
And with that answer, Eliya realized.
He might be soone U-jin had brought in as a ‘partner’ for now.
Kadeuk—
But the man before her was also, undeniably, soone who had belonged to the ‘Demon King’s Army.’
‘…I was too complacent.’
The Vampire Clan was now known to have been driven to extinction, completely annihilated by the hands of Vampire Hunters.
But it was the infamous ‘Count Dracula’ and his Vampire Clan who had once betrayed the Beastkin, defected to the Demon King's Army, and led the charge in the War against Demons more than anyone else.
Moreover, according to U-jin, he was a direct descendant of their leader, Count Dracula.
…It was Eliya’s mistake to have carelessly expected him to be a decent person; in fact, the expectation that he was good was completely wrong from the start.
‘…It’s a relief I found out now.’
This was a man who spoke unflinchingly of using nurous Beastkin slaves for his own personal desires.
She had no idea what U-jin was thinking, forming a ‘partner’ relationship with such a person.
In Eliya’s mind, Jerry was already rembered as such.
They were together now, but he was soone who could backstab her at any mont without it being strange.
As expected, soone ‘from the Demon King’s Army’ was still ‘from the Demon King's Army.’
“…The first question seems to have been answered.”
It was Jerry who broke the silence.
“…So, should I now talk about the Beastkin-related issue I discussed with our partner?”
Without batting an eye at the scornful look Eliya had shot him along with her reaction, Jerry asked her.
If he should continue speaking.
At his unwavering voice, Eliya suddenly felt anger welling up from the depths of her chest, but she barely suppressed it and nodded.
If it were up to her usual personality, she would have stord out or confronted him without a second thought, but this wasn't a situation where she could just do as she pleased.
…Since this was a person U-jin had brought himself, he was still soone she had to be careful around.
“…It seems he didn’t tell you in advance.”
Starting off quietly, Jerry answered Eliya’s second question.
The ‘story about the Beastkin he had with U-jin.’
“…Our partner plans to gather the Beastkin in this territory.”
“……!!!”
And that, too, was a story that ca as quite a shock to Eliya.
“Gather the Beastkin?”
It was a completely unexpected answer for Eliya.
Of course, she had been curious about ‘why U-jin bought the Guild House and the dormant territory,’ but she had not expected the answer to be this.
“…That is what I said.”
“No… what do you an all of a sudden?”
Although they had sohow succeeded in acquiring the dormant territory with Jerry’s funds, getting this dormant guild territory re-approved and formally establishing a guild was a problem on an entirely different level.
Discovering this dormant territory must have been difficult, but passing the gateway to establishing a guild, which had been blocked due to Isaac Einstein’s atrocities, was twice as hard.
After that incident, not a single new guild had been established for over 100 years.
And on top of that, he was bringing in ‘Beastkin’ out of the blue?
“…I’ll say this in advance to avoid any misunderstanding. I was not the one who requested it.”
“……”
“In fact, I also didn’t know our partner had such a plan until we purchased this place.”
With the situation already chaotic and directionless, Eliya’s head began to ache, wondering just how big of a picture he was painting.
“…What on earth is this man.”
The problem wasn't just the establishnt of the guild and the Beastkin.
U-jin’s current status was also an issue.
If it weren't for the ‘hero-slaying’ incident on the Shandong Peninsula, he would have probably received a 1-star ordination and beco a proper, official Hero.
If so, the story might have been different.
But his current status was, without any excuse, that of a ‘prisoner.’
A felon imprisoned in the underground dungeon for breaking a Commandnt.
His status as a Hero had already been lost the mont he was captured in Shandong.
‘……’
Of course, from her last conversation with U-jin, she had learned that even that was part of his plan.
But even so, it was difficult to imagine a positive outco in such a tangled situation.
Kadeuk—
Restoring his Hero status, establishing a guild.
Just these two hurdles alone were in the realm of the virtually impossible, with a success rate of maybe 1%.
And on top of that, he was adding a ‘territory for the Beastkin.’
To Eliya, this was a desperate situation that couldn't be fully expressed even with the phrase ‘making matters worse.’
“…Bringing in Beastkin wouldn't just an bringing one or two. Then, don't tell …”
Nod—
“…I haven’t heard it from his own mouth, but as far as I can tell, it seems he is planning a picture similar to the ‘rebuilding of the Beastkin Nation.’”
“……”
Eliya was certain.
This was 120% impossible.
What was the point of ranking things that already existed in the realm of impossibility, but if she had to, rebuilding the Beastkin Nation was far more difficult than the previous two.
At least for the first two, Eliya could think of a few theoretical thods, but the mont she heard the words ‘rebuilding the Beastkin Nation,’ only ‘hopelessness’ ca to mind.
“…Of course, I know best that it’s practically impossible. There isn't just one or two problems to solve, and it’s not an area that can be resolved by sheer will in the first place.”
“……”
Even without Jerry giving specific examples, Eliya could naturally recall what he ant by ‘problems to be solved.’
There had been movents for Beastkin independence before, but beyond the simple matter of will, the structural difficulties the Beastkin themselves faced were so complexly intertwined that even the Order found it difficult to resolve them directly.
‘The Order's permission for establishnt’ was itself part of the problem, and the issues Eliya brought to mind, such as ‘solving the illegal slave problem’ and ‘unifying the Beastkin,’ were not much different from the obstacles Jerry had presented to U-jin in the Master Room.
“…It would be a miracle if even one of those things worked out.”
As Eliya chuckled with a hollow expression, Jerry continued.
“…I had a similar thought. The goals our partner is thinking of are all absurd.”
“……”
“But.”
Eliya’s head lifted slightly at the emphasized conjunction.
“……?”
“Our partner’s plan certainly had structure.”
“……”
“It didn’t seem like a plan made impulsively overnight. Of course, that plan was also based on absurd assumptions… but if things go exactly as he told , it didn’t seem entirely impossible.”
Holjjak—
Jerry, who moistened his throat with a sip of the tea in front of him, put the teacup down with a *dalgeurak—* and added again.
“…As far as I know, the reason our partner entered the Darkest Dungeon is ultimately in the sa context. He went to bring back a person necessary for unifying the Beastkin.”
“…A person?”
“…Tom Hardist. Have you heard of him?”
Eliya’s brow furrowed at the na Jerry brought up.
“……”
The mory was on the tip of her tongue.
She felt a sense of familiarity, as if she had heard it sowhere before, but the fact that it didn't co to mind imdiately suggested it was a na she hadn't heard recently.
As Eliya scrunched up her face, trying to dredge up the elusive mory, Jerry threw her a hint.
“…Would you know if I said, Vampire Hunter.”
“…Ah!”
The hint Jerry threw filled the empty puzzle piece in Eliya’s mind.
Tom Hardist.
There was indeed a Vampire Hunter with that na who had entered the Darkest Dungeon.
It had been so long ago that the mory didn't surface imdiately, but she had heard it once while studying about the Darkest Dungeon during her ti as an apprentice priestess.
That there was an unusual individual who did not co out despite having completed his entire sentence.
She could clearly recall him because he also had another distinguishing feature: the title of ‘the last Vampire Hunter.’
“I think he had the nickna, the last Vampire Hunter.”
“…So you know.”
Holjjak—
“…Our partner went in to get that guy.”
“…”
“If he succeeds, it will certainly be a great help to our partner’s plan.”
Eliya thought so too.
It was hard to find soone among the remaining Beastkin who was as renowned as him, and as one of the most skilled veterans among Vampire Hunters, his personal combat ability would be at a considerable level.
She didn't know the exact details of U-jin's plan, but if he brought back a Beastkin leader of that caliber, it seed he could receive plenty of help in terms of influence.
That is.
…If he succeeded, that is.
“…Is that even possible?”
“……”
“I’m pretty sure… he’s staying there of his own will, even though his sentence ended long ago….”
The Darkest Dungeon was not a place where a normal person could live.
That was why it was called the ‘underground dungeon’ in the first place.
If he was insisting on living in such a place despite his freedom being guaranteed after his sentence ended, he must have a firm conviction, for whatever reason.
If bringing him out had been possible, the Order would have done so long ago.
To the Order, which was suffering from a shortage of manpower in the War against Demons, Tom Hardist was a coveted talent that would be worth paying a fortune for.
Nevertheless, the fact that he was still holed up in the Darkest Dungeon ant that he had a conviction strong enough to overco the Order’s needs.
Eliya couldn’t understand how on earth U-jin planned to bring him out.
“…I don’t know the specific thod either.”
“……”
“However. There are two reasons to have faith.”
Jerry said to the tilting-her-head Eliya.
“…One is our partner’s track record so far.”
“……”
“The other is…”
Holjjak.
“…the fact that he probably can’t resist a cigar.”
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