Chapter 132 : Chapter 132

Chapter 132 - Alliance Formed

The Fourth Son’s territory, the Black Giant Castle.

Recently, there had been a lot of news that made one clutch their stomach.

“Hahahat! My brother! You really came back alive!”

The youngest, who had caused a major incident by completely destroying the Blue Volcano and extinguishing the Blue Flame Spirit, was summoned by the Family Head.

Everyone thought he would receive death or a punishment equivalent to death, but he walked out perfectly fine.

After that, he had brilliantly subdued the two robbers who came to take over his empty house.

“The ghost bitches didn’t use their family sorcery, but they admitted defeat and stopped their attack. What I’m reading right now is true, right?”

“Of course, Young Master.”

“Heheheh. My brother. When did you grow up so splendidly? To even know how to crack those women’s heads!”

The Chief Secretary stood guard behind the Fourth Son and quietly gestured to him.

Because the report did not end there.

“The family business led by the Fifth Son-nim is said to have reached a state of completion with the full cooperation of the Land General Manager and the Construction General Manager.”

“That Dark Elixir business, has it started operating too?”

“I understand that it has not started yet. It seems they are waiting for the Fifth Son-nim, who disappeared with the young ladies.”

“Looks like something’s missing! My brother went to find the last piece of the puzzle, and seeing that he took the young ladies with him, those women must have the piece.”

He popped a shell-shaped chocolate into his mouth with a nom.

Eating something sweet made his head spin fast.

The Fourth Son, who had completed the picture of the situation in a flash with just a few incidents, even licked the chocolate off his fingers.

“Hmm. It seems he deliberately made his house look empty to lure in the young ladies, don’t you think?”

“Pardon?”

“You know what I mean. To get the piece the young ladies have, he obviously needs the young ladies. And he probably couldn't get it through normal negotiations.”

“…!”

The Chief Secretary’s shoulders trembled slightly.

“Are you saying the Fifth Son-nim foresaw all that…?”

“It doesn’t make sense otherwise. It’s stranger to think that this whole situation came about by luck, isn’t it? Oh, can you get me some iced tea?”

“……”

The hand pouring the tea trembled more than usual today.

To think that the Fifth Son had deliberately left his house empty to lure in the young ladies, subdued them, and then made a favorable negotiation.

However, the negotiation probably didn’t happen just once.

“The Potion Development Department, with the Forest Witch as its General Manager. Was that a negotiation with the Family Head-nim?”

“Yeah. The Family Head-nim saw that the new institution led by the Forest Witch was useful. And it was actually assigned a task right away. Something about a flame resistance potion.”

His voice was composed, but his tone was lower than usual.

The target he was trying to catch was getting farther and farther away.

He had certainly gotten closer, but the closer he got, the slower his steps seemed to become.

Now, the Forest Witch had become a person that even a sibling could not kill carelessly.

In less than a year of becoming an Elder, she had participated in a family business and even taken charge of a new family institution as its General Manager.

“Now I’m starting to feel self-conscious about just pushing through recklessly~. What should I do~”

The Fourth Son’s body slid down in his chair.

His body, drooping like clothes on a clothesline, unconsciously ate only chocolate.

The Chief Secretary quietly took out a handkerchief.

“You shouldn’t eat with it all over your face.”

“Okay, okay. Sorry.”

The Chief Secretary, who had once again cleaned his mouth, added.

“What would Lady Moirena have said at a time like this?”

“…Mother?”

“Yes. Right now, the lady has gone to the reconstructed Hojeopgung and is not here, but still, you would know, Young Master.”

“Hmm, if it were Mother.”

He thought, resting his chin on his hand.

Because after returning from the youngest’s Dark Moon Grand Castle, his mother had become a little strange.

But that strangeness did not come across as bad at all.

Rather, it felt more comfortable, more free, and the time spent together in the castle was not uncomfortable at all.

So he could also guess what his mother would have said.

“Yeah, yeah! I know what I have to do!”

The Fourth Son shot up.

The little giant of Millesdusk moved his feet.

“The more time passes, the harder it will be to catch the Forest Witch anyway! Then this very moment is her weakest state.”

If he hesitated, it would be too late.

He had to strike first to be able to do anything.

Every moment was an opportunity, and hesitating itself was a loss.

“Let’s go! To the Blue Volcano! If I’m under that gloomy sky, I’ll probably think of something!”

“As you wish, Young Master.”

The Chief Secretary smiled and stepped back.

Yes. The little giant did not suit gloominess.

A giant, like a giant, was right to trample on anything that stood in its way.

He didn't know who would be broken, but the Fourth Son lifted his foot.

***

“H-how did you get that.”

Faye couldn’t take her eyes off the Youngest Son’s hand.

“The blessing was supposed to come to our tribe!”

The crystal stone held in that pale hand was something she had not been able to obtain even by giving up her own daughters’ bodies.

The young ladies also froze stiff at the word ‘blessing.’

Amidst the gazes of astonishment, jealousy, and greed, he spoke.

“This is not something to be casually called a god’s blessing.”

His bloodshot eyes looked into the crystal stone.

Even so, other people couldn’t see anything, but a player’s eyes were different.

──「Blessing Crystal of the Archipelago」──

[Description]

: The ghost born of the shipwrecked who drifted to the archipelago, their hunger, and the yin energy of the sea gave a blessing that would prevent starvation.

But be warned. If you continue to bury things other than what you first planted in the blessed land, you will hunger for another kind of hunger.

It is an empty hunger that can never be filled, no matter how much you eat or how wealthy you become.

[Effect]

: Bestows a blessing on a plot of land of a certain size or larger.

: What is planted in the blessed land continues to grow in the form of a fruit.

─────────────

Right now, Faye was intensely starved by the hunger the system spoke of.

An unfulfillable hunger had taken root in that sorceress’s body.

“Any miracle drug in the world will cause problems if you don’t follow the dosage instructions. A god’s blessing is no different.”

“……”

He rolled the crystal stone on his hand.

“Since it’s a blessing I received, I’ll be taking this. It’s necessary for the family business, and I have no intention of using it for personal gain, so please be at ease.”

“Kuk…”

A small laugh that no one could ignore escaped.

The corners of her mouth, turned up, were directed at the crystal stone and its new owner.

“You think you’ll be any different? You think you won’t end up like this!”

The Youngest Son readily admitted it.

“That might be so. But.”

His bloodshot eyes turned to the young ladies standing beside him.

“Isn’t it family that corrects you when you’re heading down such a wrong path?”

“Yeah. That’s right.”

Nod, nod.

The Youngest Son smiled back at her sneer.

“Come to the mainland and see for yourself what I plant in this land and how it changes. You can watch your daughters grow up too.”

“…I told you not to try and teach me. You Millesdusk chick.”

Faye left only those words and turned away.

Now it was time for the direct-line siblings of the family to leave as well.

“Sisters. Let’s go now. If my magic sword committed any rudeness, I apologize.”

The Second Daughter shook her head.

“No, it’s fine. I was called pea-sized because I’m pea-sized. There’s nothing to be upset about.”

[…That woman is lying.]

He didn't know who was lying, but the three of them boarded the Ashen Queen.

The ship looked a bit bigger and sturdier than before, likely due to the plunder and the title.

Before that, he had collected the grown bloodstones from below and also recovered the root bloodstone.

‘With this, I’ve gathered enough bloodstones to plant as seeds in the ground.’

He had achieved all the purposes of coming here.

Kuuuuuuuuung─

The ghost ship gradually ascended and turned its bow towards the Blue Volcano zone.

And instead of departing, he approached the Third Daughter.

“Younger big sister. Would you be the captain this time as well?”

“…!”

Nod!

One big affirmation.

The Third Daughter ran with her long, doll-like legs.

Her older sister, carried on her back, dangled with her running steps.

Shwaaaaaaaaaaa─

Under the Third Daughter’s lead, the Ashen Queen launched.

The journey was not exactly comfortable, but there were no worries.

At least this time, there was no chance of being hit by a curse.

“When we get to the volcanic zone, I’ll tell you why I came here.”

“…You came to the archipelago assuming you would get the blessing, not the blessed land, from the start?”

“That’s not it. I didn’t know my sisters would protect me, nor did I know what would happen after being hit by the curse.”

Looking down at the pitch-black sea below, he told a lie.

To be precise, he mixed lies and truth, but to the other person, it all sounded like the truth.

“Well. That’s true. And…”

The Second Daughter nodded her head and then hesitantly approached.

At her gait, the youngest answered first.

“I’m not angry. Thanks to you, sisters, I even got a blessing like this, and I know best that there was no malice.”

“Thank… you.”

The mouth that was about to apologize conveyed thanks instead.

“I saw that you solidified the blood to plant it. How do you do that?”

“It’s a trade secret.”

“Tch. You’re not telling me this one.”

“Secrets are beautiful when they are secrets. If you tell me your height, sister, I’ll tell you mine.”

“Secrets are beautiful when they are secrets.”

The siblings, perfectly in sync, passed through the waters.

From this point on, the Youngest Son took the helm.

He steered the ship towards the volcanic zone, and as he did, he thought about the next step.

‘Once the required amount of bloodstones is gathered, the Potion Development Department will start operating around that time. Then, work will flood into Hexa, and I’ll be able to use more of the family’s resources.’

Even if she was an Elder, the amount of resources consumed by a single person and a family institution was on a different level.

Under the pretext of public funds, resources and manpower would be poured in to produce the flame resistance potions that had been ordered.

‘On top of that, if I release Dark Elixir into the sorcery world, I can rake in a hefty sum of cash with no commissions or taxes.’

Because the master of Hexa’s tower, Forest Witch Elder Lorelin, and the General Manager of the Potion Development Department were the same person.

Moreover, with the Youngest Son as the person in charge of the core business, there were only a handful of places for money to leak out.

‘The sorcerers will be suspicious at first, but it won’t be long before they get hooked, just like Teacher Ransis.’

This was one thing he could be sure of.

So, the steps towards the volcanic zone were light, and the wind was only refreshing.

However, that too did not last long.

“…Youngest. That.”

“It seems we have a guest who arrived first.”

The Ashen Queen was not the only thing floating in the air.

The same went for the Black Floating Castle over there, using the clouds as its ground.

The Fourth Son was below.

“It seems my second-oldest brother has rolled the dice.”

Saying so, he put his foot on the anchor.

“Are you planning to go down?”

“Yes. That is the land I am in charge of.”

“…You could die.”

Unlike a moment ago, there was not even a faint smile on the faces of the Second and Third Daughters.

Because they were serious.

And the Youngest Son also agreed with that opinion.

[Warning]

[A probability of death exists ahead.]

The phrase he had started seeing frequently recently shimmered before his eyes.

“I knew my second-oldest brother would do this sooner or later. And to prevent the land I once broke from being broken again, I need the two of you.”

The Youngest Son smiled and gestured.

“Will you follow me?”

“You don’t even have to ask.”

The young ladies extended their large and small hands simultaneously.

“Of course, we’ll go. Right, Melaine?”

Nod.

Under the Third Daughter’s affirmation, a new system window popped up, pushing aside the Usurper of Death.

[An alliance has been formed.]

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