Chapter 85 : Chapter 85

Chapter 85 - Experiment Time

A three-way meeting.

Three people sitting at one table.

Their awkwardness varied according to their respective positions, statuses, and situations.

Dante Black Millesdusk.

Anthia Black Millesdusk.

And Jubel Maxman.

The merchant and the collateral branch member sat side by side, and the direct line member sat on the opposite side.

The two sitting next to each other, being strangers, sized each other up.

‘…Jubel Maxman, the family’s great merchant. They say he’s in a cooperative relationship with the Fifth Son, but his reliability seems to be more than just a relationship.’

‘A collateral branch. He obtained Eclipse, but his manpower is still lacking. It’s not a bad measure to take right now, but.’

To say it was for manpower, Anthia’s mercenary company had a total of twenty members.

‘There wasn’t much to dig up about the collateral branch blood relative, Anthia, herself.’

She has no dirty corners.

No place for dust to come out.

This is because, unusually for a collateral branch, she is the type to have gone out into the world with only her innate strength.

‘It’s a characteristic if you can call it that, but that can’t be the reason.’

The answer to that question had to be given by the Youngest Son in front of them.

Because the answer was surely intertwined with the second job.

I wanted to hear the story quickly, but the young butler’s hands here were slow.

“Ughh.”

Carefully, carefully. Anxiously, anxiously.

He holds the teapot with both hands and gently tilts it towards the cup.

“Phew…”

Even though the stream of water trembled, it didn't spill.

As a result, the tea was poured neatly.

Clap, clap.

The Head Maid took the teapot with a light applause.

“Excuse me. Please continue your conversation.”

“Continue your conversation!”

The Butler left with her, a very proud expression on his face.

The Youngest Son smiled faintly and caressed the cup he had poured.

“My apologies. He’s still in training.”

“It’s alright.”

“I-it’s alright.”

Both the great merchant and the collateral branch merchant shook their heads and accepted the apology.

They had no choice.

The boy who had just poured the tea.

Goat horns curled from both sides of his head.

It was proof of his identity, and I barely managed to hold back a bout of breathlessness.

“He’s gotten much better, though. At first, he used to melt the teapot all the time. Molten metal flowed instead of tea water.”

“Haha, hahaha… I’m curious. What that would look like.”

Anthia smiled nervously, glancing at the two of them.

Since she couldn’t cry or look serious, she just smiled.

To get to the point.

The money-grubber moved on from the story of molten metal to the story of business.

“I heard it was the second job. Did I hear correctly?”

“You heard correctly.”

“Ooooh…”

Jubel’s body trembled.

He trembled as if thrown out in the middle of winter, his fists clenched tightly.

“I would like to hear the details.”

“……”

The second job.

The collateral branch blood relative seemed to know what the merchant was curious about.

She was sure she knew.

Especially since the Youngest Son’s eyes were directed this way.

“Anthia.”

“Yes.”

“Tell me about the second job.”

Jubel’s head snapped around.

No way. This collateral branch, no way.

Had she heard the plan before this great merchant?

The money-grubber’s eyes turned as sharp as a knife, as if he hadn't expected that.

In terms of martial power, he was just an ordinary person who could handle a little bit of magic.

“You said your name was Anthia-nim. Please tell me. The second job. About its true nature.”

An untargeted fury that shone brightly from both eyes.

Right now, he was still because he had no reason to be angry at anyone.

But an active volcano wasn’t safe just because it was quiet.

…My throat is dry.

I moistened my throat with what the butler had just poured.

One sip was not enough, so two.

Only then did I find the courage to open my mouth.

“The second job is to stage a coup d'état in a certain kingdom.”

“A coup… d'état.”

In other words, treason. Or rebellion.

Whatever word was used, it was all a crime punishable by extreme measures and the death penalty, and the crime was so severe that even the family would be strung along and burned.

But the money-grubber’s mind was different from others.

“The munitions industry. Are you suggesting we sell weapons?”

“That’s also correct, but the story is different. The ultimate goal I want is.”

The blood-red eyes turned to Anthia once again.

She sighed and spoke for him.

“A change of kingship.”

“……”

This time, even Jubel swallowed a groan.

“The initial investment seems too high. The chances of sustainability also seem low. Is the target kingdom ‘Julsin’?”

Of course, it was a groan with a different meaning.

He was a money-grubber, and he thought of money first.

As the Youngest Son nodded.

Anthia was startled, and Jubel offered his opinion.

“There is no justification either. The most important thing in such matters is justification, but there is no legitimate heir to put forward, and the current king’s public sentiment is not bad either.”

Anthia also quietly nodded in agreement.

The Youngest Son did not deny it either.

But. What if.

In life, two words always tend to interject.

It was the same this time.

But what if.

“There is a legitimate heir to put forward.”

“…?”

“The king’s public sentiment plummets to the bottom.”

But what if.

“The entire nation supports us and becomes our side.”

Slurp.

The tea moistened his mouth.

“And along with that, if we recruit one of the ten elders of Millesdusk to help us from the shadows.”

What do you think?

The Youngest Son asked the two of them.

The money-grubber and the collateral branch blood relative muttered without realizing it.

“…It seems possible.”

“…It’s possible…”

The affirmations continued.

But it was still not enough.

The most important thing remained.

“So, who is that legitimate heir?”

The blood relative’s red lips drew an arc.

“It’s someone you know well. I’ve called him here, so you should be able to see him soon.”

“Someone I know.”

Jubel naturally began to guess who it might be.

And there was still someone here whose questions had not been answered.

“Excuse me, Young Master. May I ask what you intend to use our mercenary company for?”

Since it’s a mercenary company, it would naturally be used for military action.

But the number was only 20.

It wasn’t an assassination squad, so it was ambiguous to extend a dagger.

So I was curious.

What that Youngest Son, who spoke of a coup d’état so casually, would say this time.

“You will know when the time comes.”

“…?”

The words did not continue.

Instead, there was a knocking sound.

“Young Master. They have arrived.”

“Let them in.”

.
.
.
Turning the Magic Sword into a staff.

I had entrusted it to the master of this underground floor, and a reply came a day ago.

[Damn it….]

From the moment the reply came, Enad had been on edge.

It was tension and, at the same time, intuition.

The Youngest Son could also tell by intuition what the content of the intuition was.

I could tell as soon as I saw the changed Enad.

“How is it…?”

Josephine, standing next to me, asked with a nervous voice.

Before stating my personal opinion.

“Could you explain it once.”

“Y-yes. That would be better.”

Enad, the Magic Sword, placed on the anvil just like when I first saw it.

Now it was Enad, the Magic Sword and the staff.

The Magic Sword, which had been given a concurrent position by the artisan’s hammering, expressed its current self bluntly.

[It feels like I’ve grown another arm.]

It feels bad.

But it can do as much work as one arm.

It can perform more defenses. It can perform more attacks.

The artisan’s explanation was not much different.

“I connected the Bloodstone to the end of the hilt. It tried to just suck blood even with decent gloves, so Lady Lores got me some usable gloves.”

“So that’s why it took longer than usual.”

“Uh-huh.”

As she answered, she held up both hands.

The thick, light brown gloves on them were made of leather and filled with intricate characters.

The gloved hand moved down and caressed Enad.

“A staff, unlike a person who is born to play various roles, is born solely to concentrate and release magic, right?”

“Right.”

“But this Magic Sword here is not like that. It can do various things depending on whose hands it is in, not just destruction. It’s precious.”

[…….]

When I first created it, I loathed my carelessness in having created a Magic Sword.

But what’s important is not its use, but how it is used.

I learned that by watching him.

“As long as this is in Dante’s hands, the Magic Sword will endlessly become good, even though it was born a Magic Sword. It will become a kind child.”

[…Tell her to say such nonsense to herself.]

“He’s embarrassed.”

[Y-you bastard!]

No matter what you say, the delivery is my responsibility.

Josephine smiled faintly.

“Its use fits well with a staff, but this isn’t as simple as a staff. I hope Dante remembers that.”

“I will remember.”

“Then, now hold it.”

I grasped the hilt.

Swoosh─

I lifted it so that the tip of the sword pointed to the sky.

The sensation that wrapped around my hand along with the smooth, black blade.

It was a sword for only one person, and a sword fitting for a demon.

Swaaaaaaaah─

Magic flowed from my body to the Magic Sword.

His magic was no different from blood.

The Bloodstone did not know its identity, but it was very sensitive to blood.

The staff that used it as a heart sucked in magic even faster, stronger.

As if the Bloodstone craved blood.

The Magic Sword, with its tremendous suction power, began to take more than what was given.

“You want to go at it?”

[Try to endure it.]

Endure it.

“I will win.”

Squeeeeze─

Veins popped out on the back of my hand.

I gripped it as if to break it.

A battle of wills. Or a tug-of-war.

We both grab the rope called magic and try to pull it to our side somehow.

But which side had the upper hand was revealed in my arm.

Drrrrrrrrrrrumble─

The color of the popped veins changed.

They gradually turned red.

[You’re not using much power. There’s no need to go to a Battle for Dominance.]

“D-Dante.”

Josephine’s blue pupils trembled anxiously.

“It’s fine. It just took a long time to reach.”

[…Reach?]

The synchronization of the Bloodstone and the Magic Sword.

It had finished its preparations for operation, but turning on the machine’s power was a human’s job.

Now, I turned on that power.

“You are not on my side, but what is attached to you is completely on my side. You felt it as soon as you saw it, didn’t you.”

I activated the Bloodstone.

I didn’t know how to do it before, but now I had a control device called the Magic Sword.

Even the Magic Sword, whose specialty was destruction, could not defeat a vampire when it came to blood.

“Cool your head a bit.”

Kwooooooooooo─

The blood magic assimilated with the blood stored in the Bloodstone.

So twice. Three times. And even four times.

The power was amplified, easily surpassing Enad’s operational capacity.

[Damn it.]

“I’ll have to challenge you to a Battle for Dominance later. You’ll need to study.”

[…….]

I had completely lost the power struggle.

That’s because I don’t know how to use the power.

However.

Even if years or decades pass here, I cannot surpass the understanding of a blood relative.

Because not only the Magic Sword, but he too, grows.

The wildly rampaging energy subsided, and Belir became quiet again.

“Is-is it done?”

“Yes. It’s safe now. More importantly, where is Reggie?”

“Uncle Reggie? He should be at the firearms shop. Why?”

“When I saw his blood a while ago. It seemed like that uncle was next in line.”

“Aah…”

Josephine naturally nodded her head.

Then she wiped away the tears that were forming in her eyes with the back of her hand.

“Thank you. I always seem to be receiving from Dante.”

“You just attached the Magic Sword and the Bloodstone. Don’t say that. I’m receiving enough too. And I plan to receive more this time.”

Swoooosh─

I returned the Magic Sword to my forearm.

Now it was time to go to him.
.
.
.

A village built on a mountainside.

It was peaceful.

The biggest incident, if any, was that the aunt next door’s chicken ran away today.

But did that chicken know something?

The chicken, as well as the birds in the sky and the dogs in the yard, and other beasts, began to bark, cry, and make noise.

As if they had heard something.

As if they had felt something.

But a dog barking was not a strange thing.

They would cry like that sometimes when an outsider visited the village.

Sure enough, an outsider came.

The outsider looked around as if looking for a house to stay in.

Then he muttered.

“It won’t be bad for an experiment.”

Let’s think of this place as a kingdom.

Let’s assume it’s a miniature version of what’s to come.

“It will be a disaster for the villagers.”

Poor things.

Boooooooooom─!!

My palm touched the ground.

The ground split open, and a purple light shot up from between the cracks.

The hideous forepaws of a beast reaching out as if to grasp that purple light.

“Come out. Hounds of hell.”

Show me what you can do.

Show me how many of you need to gather to save me.

Tip: Tap/click the left or right side of the screen to go to previous/next chapter.