Episode 303: Dizzy
Inside the carriage were , Lily, Keros, Karl, and Lochter.
Because the carriage interior was much more spacious than expected, everyone was able to sit comfortably during the journey.
Though it rattled a bit, I still sat back and looked out the window in comfort.
At the front was an eight-horse carriage, followed by several others in a line carrying our group. With over fifty people, there were about six carriages in total.
The long procession raced down the streets, cutting straight through the heart of the city.
Neigh!
“G-Get out of the way!”
It was an utter nuisance.
The gathered crowd hurriedly scattered to avoid the oncoming carriages, expressing their dissatisfaction, but none dared to block the path.
Even the soldiers were the sa.
Rather, they bowed in respect at the sight of the carriages.
Feels like I'm so kind of noble, I thought.
The one driving the eight-horse carriage was a man wearing a golden mask.
“Hyah!”
As he personally took the reins and led the way, everyone scrambled to clear the road.
Watching that, Karl let out a short whistle and looked at .
“Honestly, when I first saw you, I wanted to punch you in the face.”
“Out of nowhere?”
“The situation was such a damn ss. I endured it by thinking I’d beat the crap out of you. And I wasn’t the only one. Lochter tacitly agreed too, didn’t you, Lochter?”
When I looked at Lochter, he silently stopped polishing his sword, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes.
Seeing his refusal to comnt, Karl let out a hollow laugh, shook his head, and asked,
“But judging from the groundwork laid, you’ve been moving just as busily as us. What the hell did you do before we got here?”
“I’ve been all over the place, honestly.”
“Well, we should know about it too. That way we can respond appropriately.”
I nodded and signaled to Keros before starting my explanation.
At my cue, Keros got up and moved toward the driver’s seat.
Poking his head out through a small gap, he soon began barking vigorously.
“Woof! Woof woof!”
“…Tch! Damn mutt! Get outta here!”
The golden mask, who had been eavesdropping on our conversation through the crack, flinched at the sudden barking and covered his ears, retreating.
He glared fiercely, unable to shout at Keros because of us, but that kind of intimidation didn’t work on our dog.
Woof—!
As Keros’ thunderous bark rang through the air, I gave a brief rundown to the two of them.
The revelation of the World Tree Union.
The eting with Samuel and his group as they were being pursued by a Cleaner.
And how I raised the value of the Leaf and earned a million gold.
Karl let out a quiet exclamation and asked with a puzzled expression,
“You made a million gold off mystique alone, so why reveal yourself now? You could’ve stayed hidden and waited for us.”
“Once you hype a precious product, the next step is to show strength.”
“Strength?”
“To show people not to get greedy over it.”
Probably by tomorrow, word of our identities would begin spreading through Aintrier.
Our nas would be heard throughout the city.
Once people realized the World Tree Union wasn’t an easy opponent, those greedy types would start negotiations before attempting any robbery.
And just as expected, Lord Azonne requested negotiations.
I had calculated things to move in the best direction possible.
“You really conned everyone, huh?”
A legendary con artist—
That was how Karl sumd up my plan in one sentence.
And honestly, I had no intention of denying it.
The enhancents made to the Leaf were indeed a con.
But by now, things had grown too large to back out.
With no retreat, I had to extract exactly what I wanted through the Leaf.
“From here on is the important part. As you know, the biggest backer just bit the bait.”
“Lord Azonne? You think he’ll fall for it? Even rchants called Madas’ Hands lose everything when they talk to that guy.”
“We won’t know until we et. But I won’t be taken down easily.”
“You got a plan?”
“I have to see for myself.”
“What kind of half-assed plan is that, ‘I’ll know when I see it’?”
Karl frowned in frustration, but there was no helping it.
The only way to gauge how Azonne valued the Leaf was to talk to him directly.
At that mont, Lochter, who had been silent, spoke.
“Then, how much of ourselves should we reveal?”
Thanks to Arthur, they had already been completely exposed.
Even now, they were a topic of conversation outside, and their identities would soon spread through the information guilds.
But their strength hadn’t been revealed yet.
People might guess, but their actual power far exceeded what others imagined.
“Not just us, the abilities of the Ghosts and Leafs will also play a huge role here. Are you planning to expose all of it?”
“I will reveal everything. No, I’ll even exaggerate and glorify it.”
“If we show our strength, the pushback will be intense.”
“I have a nest in mind. It’s sturdy enough not to fall easily.”
“A nest? You’ve already secured a base?”
“Not a newly built one. We’ll temporarily use a nest that already has an owner.”
Building a new nest in a city where entrenched powers are well-established takes too long.
In such cases, it’s safer to occupy a well-made one.
Grand rchant Italus.
If it's the base of Aintrier’s second-in-command, it wouldn’t crumble so easily.
Enemies wouldn’t dare to attack carelessly either.
Lochter, after watching for a mont, nodded slightly and closed his eyes again.
It was a sign of trust.
Unlike Lochter, Karl, who had always led the organization from the shadows, looked displeased.
“For an assassin, exposing your abilities is like giving away your life. It’s insane.”
“We’re not assassins.”
“I an it’s dangerous.”
Karl pointed at the carriages following behind.
Unlike them, those people could be in danger.
He wasn’t wrong.
But if I wanted to preemptively stop the worst-case scenario, we couldn’t keep lying low anymore.
“What does exposure an to an assassin?”
“It ans death.”
“Is the World Tree Union sothing that can move secretly?”
“No.”
“The World Tree Union is already drawing attention within Hell Gri. The problem is, that attention isn’t positive. It’s because of prejudice.”
“Prejudice?”
“The Union’s main mbers are witches and non-humans. You know how those two are treated in Hell Gri. You can see people like them being sold into slavery just a bridge away. Now imagine if those oppressed ones gathered into a faction. What do you think people would assu?”
“If we seem easy, we’ll beco prey. In the wild, predators make themselves look as big as possible when facing a threat—to show they’re not an easy target. This is the ti for us to look big.”
“And that’s our real strength?”
“Hiding your power is a defensive tactic when you’re weak. Are we weak right now?”
Karl slightly opened his mouth at my words, then let out a quiet laugh and smirked.
“You’ve gotten pretty cocky, huh?”
“It’s okay to be cocky here.”
“Hm, is that so? Then I guess I’ve got no choice. I was going to lay low if my na spread, but that’s off the table now.”
Karl rubbed his chin and gave a vague smile.
By tomorrow, his na, along with Lochter’s, would be all over the place.
It’d be a pain, but for the sake of the Union, he was willing to endure that much fa.
“People are going to get tired of hearing the na Karl Bastain.”
“Having your na known is such a pain.”
Ignoring Karl’s muttering complaint, I tossed so jerky toward Keros.
Chewing on the jerky, Keros sat down next to Lily, who was nodding off.
A mont later—
“Open the gate! Our guests have arrived!”
As the golden mask shouted toward the tightly shut gate, the heavy iron doors began rising with a deep, rumbling sound.
We had finally arrived at Azonne’s estate.
“Uwaaah!”
A cry of amazent burst out.
Lily and Keros ran around the room with sparkling eyes.
We’d been assigned to a separate building for lodging, but its size was enormous.
More like a small castle than an annex.
Karl looked up at the ceiling and frowned.
It was too bright.
“They sared gold all over the place. If the annex is this fancy, where does the owner of this place even live?”
The interior was dazzling.
An opulent room decorated with incredible amounts of gold and countless gems.
The glass and wood showed the loving touch of skilled artisans, giving off a beautiful and classic vibe.
If this was the guest lodging, then the place Azonne stayed in must be like the Burj Al Arab, the world’s only seven-star hotel in Dubai, famous for oil money.
“Ugh, the food keeps coming! It doesn’t disappear!”
“Woof! Woof! Woof!”
Lily and Keros ran around in surprise because each room had grand feasts laid out, and no matter where they ate, the food would be replenished shortly after.
Of course, it wasn’t actual magic.
Servants were just busy refilling the dishes constantly.
Those two would probably be the first to disappear into their rooms after filling their bellies.
“Uagh! That hurts! D-Dammit, be gentle!”
A commotion could be heard from one room.
It sounded like Karl.
When the healers arrived, he and Lochter had gone into a room for treatnt.
They brought expensive herbs used in Aintrier to prevent the wounds from worsening, but it must’ve stung badly.
“Uaagh!”
Even the Leafs could be heard screaming.
Groans and cries ca from all directions, and the once-white marble floors were now dyed red from the trails of the injured.
In the midst of that, the witch and the dog were tossing food at each other through the air.
Fascinated by how the food replenished itself, they kept emptying plates and throwing them around.
“…The mood feels kind of bizarre.”
We were here for rest, no doubt.
Being treated by skilled healers, washing off the blood and gri, and being served an endless array of fine dishes—All in an extravagant and luxurious building.
And yet—
“W-What the—! An attack?!”
The golden mask, who had stepped away for a bit, returned to the annex and panicked at the grueso sight of bloodstained rooms, shouting for the knights.
The knights burst in, the soldiers moved, and as they did, Lochter got up mid-treatnt and drew his sword.
“I’ll move first.”
“Uueeeh! Kill them all!”
“W-Wait!!!!!! Everyone, calm down!”
From the very first day in Aintrier Castle, my head was spinning.
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