The Top-Tier Butler of the Marquis Family Chapter 11 : Chapter 11

Chapter 011

After observing their movents for quite a while, I was able to arrive at an answer.

“A frontal assault is not going to work.”

The bastards did not budge from their posts in the slightest. They gave off the feeling of being fairly elite. In films, guards were always drinking and playing cards, but there was not the slightest sign of that here.

At the sa ti, waiting until the changing of the guard felt too frustrating. The n on duty now might well remain there until morning.

“There has to be another entrance.”

There was no way a warehouse that large would have only one door. Figuring there had to be a few more entrances serving as ergency exits or the like, I began to move quietly.

There were no streetlights here.

This was not a civilization that used electricity.

Torches burned here and there, but they were far too feeble to dispel the pitch-black darkness. There were plenty of shadows where I could hide my body.

Following those shadows, I circled around the building.

When I reached the back, I saw one ard man. There were two guarding the front, and it seed only one was guarding this side.

“If I am going to force my way in, the back will be much easier.”

Perhaps I was lucky, because the man standing watch behind the building was yawning and nodding off. The back door was of a reasonable size, wide enough for two people to pass through.

Was it locked?

I was too far away to tell.

Should I move closer after all?

Wait, could I...?

A brilliant thod occurred to . I closed my eyes and concentrated for a mont. Then I drew part of that mysterious force churning in my heart upward and toward my eyes.

Soon, the mysterious power settled into them.

Slowly, I opened my eyelids.

“Incredible!”

A shiver ran through my entire body. Distant objects began to enlarge, as though they had been pulled right up in front of my nose.

Just how far could this power be applied?

Once again, goosebumps ran down my back.

When I had ti later, I would really have to study this power thoroughly. It felt similar to electricity in so ways, but I still had no idea what it actually was.

When I got the chance, I ought to build a simple chanical device or two.

In any case, I really was a genius. At this point, there was no denying it.

I did not know how long I would be able to maintain this vision, so I quickly took in the shape of the door, the position of the lock, and its other features.

A mont later, the mysterious force vanished from my eyes.

“There is no special lock. It is a key-operated door, and it looks wooden. I should be glad it is not made of iron. If I am lucky, it might even be unlocked.”

If it had been an iron door, it would have been heavy and made a great deal of noise from the friction. If it was wooden, I could pull it open lightly, which ant there was a much better chance of slipping in unnoticed.

For a mont, I stared at the guard and thought.

In my head, I was already tracing out the route.

All those hours I had spent playing tal Gear Solid in my past life were about to pay off. Let move like Solid Snake and pull this off cleanly.

Slip through the route of entry, ease through the back door, suppress anyone else inside, seize the docunts or ledgers, and escape the sa way I ca in.

And if I failed?

Honestly, there was no chance of failure. With the unprecedented power flowing through my heart, I was confident I could knock them all down.

Even so, I did not want anyone else to suffer because of . If I was terribly unlucky and got captured, there was a high chance Rohan would get dragged into it.

Tug.

I tore off the badge pinned to the left side of my chest. Then I carefully buried it beneath a large tree. Once the mission was over, I would retrieve it and head back.

After that, I put on the black face covering I had prepared in advance. I intended to subdue them, not kill them. In that case, it was much better not to let them know who I was.

Once more I concealed myself in the darkness and watched the man standing sentry at the back door.

It would be nice if he sank into a deeper sleep.

How perfect it would be if he leaned back against the wall and simply passed out.

But that did not happen. He rely kept nodding off as though greeting , never actually sinking to the ground.

How much ti passed like that?

At last, I felt it was ti to move.

Carefully, I began to step forward.

The guard did not notice at all, even when I ca very close. If he had not been drowsy, he might have sensed my presence.

I gripped the sword tightly in my hand and approached without making a sound.

Before long, I had closed to within three steps of the man. And to my left stood the door. I took the handle in my left hand and applied pressure carefully.

Hm? It is not locked?

I was pleased for a mont by the fact that I would not need the wire after all, but only for a mont. The fact that the door had not been locked was also a sign that there might be other n inside.

Either way, it did not seem as though I would be able to achieve my goal without a confrontation.

And so I cracked the door open and slipped inside.

***

Once I had shut the door behind , I crouched low and waited there for a mont. Then I heightened my senses.

I could feel no sign of anything.

That ant I was halfway there.

If they had detected my intrusion, there would already have been a commotion. But there was no unusual sign either outside or in.

On the contrary, hearty laughter from n could be heard farther in.

Were they having a drinking party or sothing? They certainly lived comfortably.

Keeping my body low, I looked around.

It was a very large space. On one side, stacks of goods prepared for delivery had been piled up, and on the other, lights blazed brightly.

The n amusing themselves were probably gathered over there.

Judging by how rry they sounded, my movents would be all the easier.

For now, I moved toward the stacked goods and approached the area where the ingredients were stored.

When I pulled back the covering cloth, I found it cramd with fresh ingredients.

“I was right. These bastards really were skimming from the bottom.”

The condition of the ingredients was excellent. If these had gone to Rosetta, Chef Ramsay would never have had a single complaint.

The ones who already had plenty were always the worst.

That was why people said rchants could never be trusted. They were always trying to squeeze out a little more.

Still, suddenly I found myself wondering.

This was the territory of the Adeline Marquis House. In other words, it was land ruled by the Marquis of Adeline. So why would they dare pull a trick like this? If they were caught, their heads would roll.

Could it be... the prelude to so greater incident?

As soone who loved conspiracy theories, I could not help thinking that way. It would fit perfectly in a scene from a film, would it not?

A sudden unease crept over .

Where, exactly, were these ingredients going?

They would probably be sent either to another noble house nearby, to a famous restaurant, or beyond the border of the territory and into another region.

To confirm that, I would have no choice but to see the ledgers.

If I was lucky, I might even uncover the identity of another force connected to the Arkain rchant Company.

But that was not my objective right now.

I cast the thought aside and shifted my gaze toward the brightly lit area.

Voices drifted over.

“Damn it! Why am I getting such rotten hands tonight? I have the worst luck.”

“Hehehe! That is not bad luck, it is just your lack of skill.”

“What did you say, you bastard?”

I edged my head out slightly.

I was standing among the piled goods. It did not seem like the kind of place where docunts would be kept.

The ledgers were probably hidden in the office space on the other side.

I once again poured the mysterious force into my eyes.

Four n sat around a round table, playing poker. It was not only cards and money laid out on the table. There were liquor bottles there as well.

They must have drunk an absurd amount, because the floor beneath the table was filled with empty bottles too. The n were pleasantly drunk.

I withdrew my gaze and began moving around the area, learning the interior layout.

The warehouse was divided into three large sections. The largest space was packed with goods covered in cloth. It seed to be used to store items awaiting delivery.

One of the remaining spaces was an office, and the other was a strangely empty room. I could not tell what it was used for.

The n were holding their little ga inside the office.

They were so absorbed in gambling and drinking that they failed to notice entering from outside. Their voices were so loud that even if I dealt with them, it did not seem likely anyone outside would co running to help.

Shing!

I drew my sword.

“Damn it! Another no pair? Are you even shuffling properly? You are not cheating, are you?”

“Hmph. If you are that unhappy, why do not you shuffle yourself?”

“Damn it!”

“Freeze.”

At my single word, the n’s hands stopped cold.

As though the screen had paused.

A mont later, they turned their heads toward .

My heart began pounding.

Even so, I smiled with ease and approached them.

“Who are you?”

“A passing traveler. I ca because I thought I might beg a drink from the liquor over there.”

“What?”

The black mask I was wearing made that explanation dubious, of course. Sensing that the atmosphere was not ordinary, the n exchanged glances and grabbed their weapons.

“Get that bastard! Do not kill him, just cripple him enough that he is half useless!”

Two of them charged first.

I was already prepared. I had transferred the force roiling in my heart into the sword, and my blade was now giving off a faint blue glow.

Hummm!

The sword began to resonate.

For a brief mont, I felt as though I had beco a Swordmaster.

It did not matter that the sword was a defective piece no one used. Now that it had been infused with mysterious power, it would easily overwhelm the likes of their weapons.

And then the attack began.

What was the most effective way to fight multiple enemies?

Anyone who had done mob hunting in gas would know.

Reduce the area of combat.

I moved imdiately so my back was against the wall.

That way, the advantage of numbers beca aningless.

My rear was safe.

“Diiie!”

One of them thrust his sword at .

In my previous life, I would have done nothing but stare blankly and take it.

But things were different now. Every aspect of my physical ability had improved, and I could follow the man’s attack with my eyes.

So I casually knocked his sword aside.

Clang!

“Aaagh!”

The man scread and dropped his sword from his hand.

What an exaggeration. Anyone hearing that would think I had cut his arm off.

I drove a powerful kick into his stomach.

Thud!

“Ghk!”

As one man tumbled to the floor, another rushed in.

This ti, I swung first. He tried to block my blade.

Craaang!

His sword snapped in two.

I twisted my blade slightly and smashed the flat of it into the side of his head.

Whack!

That felt refreshing. Today was the first ti I learned that a human skull could make a sound like a cracking waterlon.

The man collapsed unconscious on the spot.

That left two.

After seeing my martial prowess, the remaining two did not dare rush blindly the way the first pair had. They adjusted their grips on their weapons and watched cautiously.

“W-what the hell are you? Which side sent you? So kind of assassin?”

“I told you, I am not an assassin. I do not have ti for this. Big brother is busy, so let us finish this quickly.”

I had no intention of giving them any opening. If one of them managed to send so kind of signal outside in a way I had not anticipated, the whole thing would beco troubleso.

I put force into my legs and leapt.

Clang! Clang!

After disabling one man’s weapon, I kicked him in the stomach as well. Hard enough that he would not be standing again for a while, though not hard enough to kill him.

Suppressing the last one was quick too.

Swinging the sword felt dull by then, so I kicked the table instead. The man took it full-on, broke his nose, and went down in a flood of blood.

“That was easier than I expected.”

Judging by the lack of movent outside, it seed no one had noticed the disturbance inside.

I looked down at the sword still throbbing with power and smiled.

“This is completely absurd.”

It might simply be that the n lying on the floor were weak.

The knights were probably stronger. And there were surely plenty of hidden masters living in seclusion as well.

I could not afford to let my guard down, but even so, I was satisfied. I felt I had gained at least a rough understanding of the force of the power I possessed.

I would have to develop it even further from now on.

I sheathed the sword.

All that remained now was to search this office and secure the ledger.