“Everyone, I bring very good news.”
The morning after Lady Hestia staggered out of the office with a heavy gait—
“All of you will be glad to hear that the Saintess has finally decided to join our plan.”
Aside from Sasha, who had collapsed after carrying food all night, and Alfred, who cleverly excused himself by volunteering to nurse her, the rest of the senior mbers—Lunelle and Parsha—had been summoned back to the office. With a broad smile, I delivered the good news.
‘The expenses were steep—if this had failed, I’d be in deep trouble. Glad it worked out.’
Between the dwindling finances of House Ringaarden, Sasha working herself to the bone until nightfall, and the noble sacrifice of my father’s beloved wine cellar, it had co at no small cost.
Still, success was success. I felt like raising a toast to it.
‘Not that it matters... Parsha’s going to multiply our fortune anyway. No need to worry.’
Even if funds for future operations were running dangerously low, I had Parsha on my side.
“So, are we storming the Academy right away?!”
Just as I turned to gaze fondly at Parsha, she raised her hand high and threw out a rather ominous question with sparkling eyes.
“Haha. We’re not going to conquer the Academy, Parsha. We’re just taking the Saintess to the Hero.”
“Ah, sorry! I got a little too excited.”
The mont I reminded her of our actual objective—before she could start drafting a plan to assault the Academy—she scratched her head sheepishly and nodded.
“...Still, I do recomnd taking control of the Academy as soon as possible.”
“Eh?”
“Plenty of Demon Kings—err, rulers—have failed simply because they couldn’t breach the Academy.”
That made think of a certain noseless, unnaable Dark Lord who got vaporized after failing to take a school.
But wait a sec—when did she start treating like a Demon King?
Surely, her total devotion to redia in every route hadn’t just been her way of playing so Demon King-raising sim?
“And from a strategic standpoint, it makes sense to start with the education system. That’s how you begin the indoctrination—”
“Haah, Parsha. Let’s stay focused on our current plan, shall we?”
I tried to chide her gently, thinking to myself that simply saving redia and reviving my house was already more than enough.
“Actually, the defeat of the First and Second Demon Kings at the Academy siege was a key turning point. I even taught a tactics course at the knight’s school based on a simulation of the Academy assault—”
“Sigh...”
Right on cue, Lunelle chid in from beside her with a dead-serious expression, and I couldn’t help but let out a deep sigh.
“...Therefore, if the young master intends to seize the Academy, he must plant agents inside from the beginning.”
“Wow. I was worried, but you really do have what it takes to be a senior mber!”
What happened to the Emperor’s Hound and redia’s only tactician? Now I’ve got a wannabe Hero otaku and a delusional middle-school strategist holding a heated war council in front of .
“...Actually, I believe that was the true hidden intent behind our master’s plan.”
“R-Really? I knew it...”
“Ladies.”
If I listened to them any longer, I might actually have to invade the damn place.
“I am still speaking, you know?”
With a quiet but firm voice—and still smiling—I issued a warning to the two who had started muttering to themselves.
“...Yes, sir.”
“...Understood.”
Flinching, Parsha and Lunelle raised their heads and responded obediently with sullen voices. At least they listened when it counted—maybe that was enough.
“Anyway, now that I’ve been appointed as a judge for the upcoming Prodigy Selection Tournant at the Academy and have the Saintess on board... it’s ti to move to the next phase.”
“Ah, wait a minute.”
Just as I was about to shift to the main topic, wearing a wry smile—
“There’s sothing we’re missing before we move on.”
Parsha raised her hand again, this ti with an unusually serious expression.
“And that would be: information.”
“Mmm.”
I had a good idea what she ant, so I listened quietly and nodded in agreent as she spoke.
“First of all, the young master’s na has only recently gained traction in the Empire. Naturally, the Academy board will question your qualifications.”
“...That’s true.”
“Which is why, as a judge, you should at least have background information on the contestants.”
Yeah. When she gets serious, she’s unbelievably reliable.
“We also need to understand the layout of the event site—rest areas, guard assignnts, all of it. That way, we reduce the risk of the Saintess’s identity being discovered.”
“......”
“Of course, so of that will be given to us as standard info for judges, but...”
She was pointing out every single weak spot in my plan—word for word.
“...The Academy isn’t likely to be very cooperative, is it?”
“Exactly! To them, you’ll look like a total parachute appointnt.”
To be fair, I am a parachute appointnt. But she’s right.
“The Academy is a notoriously closed system. They’ll look for any excuse to drag you down, and it’s unlikely they’ll share information willingly.”
“What if we ask the Prince?”
“Hmm. But can we really count on him to bring back reliable intel?”
She’s even figured out not to take Princess Katarina’s information at face value—even if she’s technically on our side now.
Now I was starting to feel guilty for ever calling her a delusional middle-schooler.
“Then... do you have a solution in mind?”
“I could handle the intel gathering if you entrust it to . I’ll do my best...”
So I asked, just in case she’d co up with an alternative—but her reply was guarded.
“...But information costs money. And right now, with the investnts I’ve made using House Ringaarden’s funds, we have very limited assets available.”
So even Parsha found our asly fortune a headache.
“How long until the investnts start paying off?”
“Well, it’s a long-term plan, based on your strategy...”
“Right. That doesn’t matter for now.”
Still, it wasn’t like this made things hopeless. After all, Parsha’s specialty wasn’t the legwork—it was analyzing what was gathered. I shouldn’t expect more than that.
“My next plan was always to resolve our greatest weakness: the information gap.”
Yes. That’s why—it was ti.
“Let’s get ready to head out.”
“Right now?”
“Yes. There’s sowhere we need to go.”
Not just intel for this operation—but information on the black mages we’ll face in the future, redia’s curse, the anomaly in my white magic...
And the countless future obstacles we’ll need to prepare for.
“Our destination is beyond the Empire. The heart of the underworld.”
It’s ti for the final piece of my dream team.
“There’s one man out there I need to find.”
It’s ti to make contact with the player’s informant—Bergen.
***
Several hours later, in the Empire’s underworld—
‘So, we made it, but...’
After getting off the carriage and walking for quite so ti, I found myself standing in the sa kind of backstreet I had encountered back when we first recruited Lunelle. I glanced around at the grimy streets of the underworld, sighing as I stifled a laugh.
‘...Yeah. Still hopeless.’
Unlike with Parsha—who could only be secured thanks to a very lucky Alfred intervention—Bergen’s whereabouts were actually sowhat known.
The problem was the number of potential locations he could be in.
To be more accurate, the entirety of the underworld was fair ga.
‘He’s probably aimlessly wandering around in despair by now, so I guess we’ll have to check every tavern.’
In the original ga, the player first t Bergen in a bar, half-drunk and making a scene during an unrelated investigation.
It was vague and daunting, sure—but the one thing I could take comfort in was that Bergen wouldn’t be leaving this district any ti soon.
Which ant, if we spent a few days lodging nearby and investigating every possible spot, I’d find him before the Prodigy Selection Tournant began.
“Well, truly admirable judgnt, I must say.”
“Ah.”
“Imagine... the heir of a count’s house stepping foot in this wretched place. Are you trying to give this old man a heart attack in his final years?”
Just as I was about to head off, a sulky voice beside made stop with a dry chuckle.
“Haha, Alfred. I’m technically the one in charge of the estate now.”
“And that’s precisely why you shouldn’t be here.”
After knocking Parsha on the head and leaving Sasha’s care to her, Alfred had insisted on accompanying us. I did feel a little bad for dragging him along, but whether it was Parsha or Alfred, neither of them had any business being in a place this dangerous.
“But Lunelle’s with us. That should be enough for basic security, right?”
“I may not be what I once was, but I can still wield sword aura to so extent. It will be fine.”
Honestly, if I hadn’t secured Lunelle beforehand, I might’ve lost hope entirely. Watching her emit sword aura again—even with her mana circuit not fully restored—was enough to make feel inadequate as a swordsman.
“Still, you mustn’t underestimate this place. Here in the underworld, anything can—”
—Grandpa! I told you, let go instead!
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
“You hush. So long as there’s breath in , you won’t set foot here.”
Despite his warnings, Alfred was still fussing, irritated by the voice that ca out of the communication crystal in his hand—Parsha’s voice.
—Then when you’re six feet under...?
“Tsk, such wicked thoughts for soone so young.”
To search for Bergen, we needed all eyes and ears on alert. Parsha’s surveillance was being handled via one of my father’s ludicrously expensive communication crystals.
Just one of those cost as much as three months of our estate’s operating budget. I could only pray nothing happened to Alfred.
“Alfred, please be sure to stay close to Lunelle and , alright?”
“...I may be old, but I can take care of myself, you know.”
“Haha. You and your jokes.”
Even so, I insisted again—Alfred only grunted in return.
“So, where will we be heading first?”
“Hmm, let’s try that place.”
Though he looked a bit skeptical, I scanned the area and pointed to the most approachable-looking tavern for our first search.
“But, um... the guys at the entrance look pretty nasty...”
That’s when I noticed two towering thugs blocking the door. I hesitated, unsure.
“If they’re in the way, I’ll take care of them.”
“Mm...”
Of course, Lunelle could handle it. But—
“Are you planning to start a fight the mont we arrive?”
Alfred had a point. Causing a commotion right away could make things more difficult.
‘But just avoiding guarded places isn’t practical either...’
Guards were a given in a place like this. My dilemma deepened—
“You two, wait here.”
“...Huh?”
“I’ll speak with them.”
With a sigh, Alfred suddenly handed the crystal and stepped forward.
“Wait, Alfred—”
Knowing full well how dangerous this place was, I tried to stop him in a panic.
“...Young master.”
But then, Lunelle grabbed —a rare look of surprise on her face—as she quietly said:
“I... think it’ll be fine.”
“Co again?”
Whatever she ant, it was enough to stop in my tracks.
“Alfred... might be able to persuade them.”
I didn’t agree—I was just too stunned to say anything.
***
“You two.”
“...Huh?”
At the sa ti, Whitney wasn’t the only one with a dumbfounded expression.
“Step aside. I’d like to go inside.”
A robed old man, his long white hair flowing, spoke calmly yet firmly. The two burly n guarding the tavern turned and looked at him with incredulous eyes.
“Pffft. What the hell is this geezer saying?”
“Hey, old man. If you don’t wanna get planted today, you’d better crawl back where you ca—”
In the underworld, where corpses were dragged out of alleyways daily, such threats were just routine. But then—
“You didn’t seem to understand . So let repeat myself.”
The old man lifted his head slightly, revealing glowing gray eyes beneath his hood.
“If you little minnows want to live another day, I suggest you get out of the way.”
That was the mont the two thugs realized exactly who was standing before them—and their faces went pale, despite their hulking size.
They scrambled aside without a word.
“Young master, they’ve agreed to let us through.”
“...Seriously?”
Just a few minutes later—
“Haha. Kids these days sure are easy to reason with.”
The news that a retired godfather of the underworld had returned began to stir the alleys of the Empire’s outskirts.
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