Acting as a Slit-Eye Chapter 70

Chapter 70. Naless Band (1)

Whew, that made

break into a cold sweat.

Honestly, when I offer to make it, why hesitate and ponder so much?

That's why intelligent ones are always a hassle.

In front of Eleanor, I pretended to be nonchalant, but I felt a cold sweat trickling down my palm once more.

To mask my nervousness, I intentionally rubbed my hands together, breaking off leaves or twigs.

'It's about ti to receive a ssage. Is there another problem?'

Around this ti, Tenelon steps down from the position of Archbishop and ascends to the position of High Pontiff in an event.

Trusting that, I had spoken to Eleanor beforehand, and fortunately, she believed my words.

If she had misunderstood my inquiry as to whether she wanted to take the Archbishop's position, and reported to other bishops or Tenelon...

It would have been a situation full of danger.

Especially since I had previously muddled the atmosphere of the Dawn Society by ntioning a 'traitor'.

'There's no need to take unnecessary risks to bring a bishop into this.'

And damn Gerard.

This bastard's ambition is imnse enough to seize control of the future Dawn Society.

I already knew he would stop at nothing to gain Tenelon's approval.

I've even died in the early stages of the ga because of him.

'He must be stopped before he becos an Archbishop. That's why I chose Eleanor.'

ntioning her family was also for that reason.

In the original story, Gerard, who maintained a smooth relationship with 'Yulian', dealt with his political enemies to ascend to the position of Archbishop.

In the process, many commoners and nobles perish.

The system plunges into chaos.

The Black Knight appeared occasionally to stop the Dawn Society and Yulian, but facing it alone was overwhelming, which was imnsely frustrating.

Damn it!

How many tis did I reset?

Ten tis?

Twenty tis?

And when Gerard's ambition persists to the point of summoning the Demon God...

There's no solution.

Ga over. Ti to reset.

But that was just in the ga. Now that I am 'Yulian', resetting is not an option.

Hence, extraordinary asures are required.

***

The day when 'Tenelon' would officially announce his new title of 'High Pontiff' was not far off.

"Sir Yulian, the Archbishop has declared that he will na his position as 'High Pontiff' and conduct the succession ceremony soon."

While tending to orchids in the mansion's study, I looked at the Dawn Society mber stealthily reporting after entering the mansion.

Normally, the report would have been made to Lazlot, but today, the sect mber ca to see

directly.

"I understand."

Nodding my head in agreent left the sect mber looking slightly bewildered.

"... Aren't you going to ask why?"

When I stopped tending to the orchids and turned my gaze back to the sect mber, he flinched.

Even without hearing, I knew enough about Tenelon's intentions for the 'succession ceremony'.

I've played 〈Let's Kill the Demon King Now〉 several tis.

"Is there a reason why I should ask questions?"

"My, my apologies, Sir Yulian!"

The sect mber quickly bowed his head and began to apologize, showing colors of 'fear' hovering above him.

There wasn't any significant aning in what I said.

"I-I beg you... spare my life...!"

Why is he talking about his life?

What did I do?

After finding a way to soothe the panicked individual and seeing him out, I turned my attention to the box Eleanor had handed to .

Inside was a magic tool capable of two-way communication, akin to a telephone, along with a small 'Soul Stone'.

'The Soul Stone from the D'Micelle family.'

Considering that the D'Micelle family originally founded the 'Dawn Society', it's not surprising they have a Soul Stone.

Of course, knowing this is due to the mory of playing the ga.

'Under normal circumstances, one might have sought a place to hide this Soul Stone...'

This ti around, there's no need.

This 'Soul Stone' will serve as the passage fee to the netherworld for Gerard.

His unpredictable actions pose too much of a risk.

'Not just the incident in the banquet but also the attempt to stifle Pintel.'

The root is his overflowing ambition.

An overly ambitious 'Bishop' is problematic.

The 'Dawn Society' needs to remain subrged beneath the surface, at least until the Sword Saint can function properly.

And it absolutely cannot draw attention for my sake as well.

Since my derelict master has abandoned his duties, I've got to play the part of the 'Black Knight' until he fully returns to his rightful place.

Damn it!

'Wise to cut the buds of unease before they grow.'

Thus, I headed to the outskirts of the slums where the so-called 'Naless Band', one might call a 'bud of unease', was located.

Before dealing with the head nad 'Gerard', I had to clip the 'limbs' first.

Before starting anything with the 'Soul Stone' in hand.

Before I begin my work with the 'Soul Stone' in hand.

I ought to keep a leash on them—just enough to make sure the 'Naless Band' can't pull any more stupid stunts.

The Black Knight stands with us!

The Black Knight is our hope!

If crap like that starts spreading, it'll only get in the way of what I need to do.

***

The slums I had often visited recently felt as familiar as my living room due to the convergence of past gaming experience.

I made my way toward the outskirts of the area managed by 'Naless Band'.

Soon, a dirty hut, befitting the term slums, ca into view.

Yulian's body, having an obsession with 'cleanliness,' instinctively resisted heading towards that hut.

'Unfortunate as it is, that's today's destination.'

The hut where 'Baran', the leader of the Naless Band, resided. What I had to say there was simple.

Avoid ntioning the 'Black Knight', and instruct them not to do anything until the Dawn Society's succession ceremony ends.

That would allow the 'Black Knight' so freedom to operate.

Of course, the fellow might not easily heed my words. If he were that easy, there'd be no need for

to personally co here.

'A little warning should suffice.'

If they go around impersonating the 'Black Knight', the 'royalty' might begin to trace them.

Since their primary goal is survival, that one sentence should be enough.

'If not...'

I glanced at the Moonstone Sword at my waist, flicking the scabbard lightly.

Clang—!

I would need to take a firr stance.

'It would be nice if they just stayed quiet until I dealt with Gerard...'

At that mont, an unpleasant sll pierced through the stench of the slums and assaulted my nose.

If it were rely a 'stench', it wouldn't have bothered

so much, but Yulian's body found this sll particularly familiar.

'It's the sll of blood.'

The thought that sothing dangerous might have occurred flashed through my mind.

Upon opening the filthy door with a grinding sound, I entered the hut.

Then, as I pulled the curtain aside with my hand, there was—

'... What is this?'

The man resembling Baran, the leader of the Naless Band, lay dead.

The tallic scent of blood coursing through my mind cleared my head.

One might expect to beco rigid upon seeing a dead body, but instead, vitality surged through my body.

Detecting a potential danger, I drew my sword and checked my surroundings.

Mana Detection—.

Scattering mana to check if anyone was around, but there wasn't a trace of presence.

'Who did this?'

Was it another organization sharing the slums?

No, they're not valuable enough, and the remaining two groups would avoid conflict.

'Is this a good thing?'

The leader of the Naless Band who was impersonating the 'Black Knight' is now dead.

However, after a brief reflection, I realized that wasn't it.

'With the negotiable party dead, this just got more inconvenient.'

Thinking this way in front of a corpse might seem abnormal, but it was the first thought that ca to my mind.

Who in the world did this?

As I sensed the coming troubles, my head began to ache.

'... There's a ss on the desk.'

By the corpse lay a desk with docunts strewn chaotically.

Given the dirty aura of the hut, it seed not out of place, yet my gaze stuck stickily to Baran's dead body.

'Seems like soone was searching for sothing.'

The files that unintentionally caught my eye.

Though none seed important, that fact instead intrigued .

'There aren't any docunts with the Oclean family's seal.'

Baran, the leader of the Naless Band, was originally a private soldier nurtured by 'Gerard Oclean'.

His presence here was part of preliminary arrangents for future infrastructural absorbance of the 'Six Fingers' and the 'Blood Ghosts.'

Oddly, nothing on this desk bore the Oclean family's seal.

'It isn't likely he hid them just before dying.'

Could they be stored elsewhere?

With that thought in mind, I began glancing around, seeking any hidden storage location.

'Wait a second.'

During this, the thought occurred that if I were caught here, it would lead to troubleso consequences.

'The slain leader of Naless Band lying cold.'

And the 'Smiling Executioner' Yulian Cryphart Frason rummaging through there.

A bystander without understanding of the circumstances might easily misinterpret this scene.

'Could it be that, of all tis and incredible timing, soone would walk in—'

Clatter!

"Big brother Baran! Ergency, ergency! Reports are coming in that Yulian has been spotted in our area. Did you pull sothing!?"

A sharp female voice rang from the entrance, prompting

to hastily tuck myself into a corner.

'Oh, shit...!'

Due to being hidden from her sight line, the woman hadn't noticed

yet.

"Huh? Big brother Baran?"

The problem was that this room had only one entrance, and no windows for escape.

"Big brother Baran!!!"

The shrill, anguished voice filled the hut, indicating she had spotted Baran's dead body with her own eyes.

"W-what to do... what to do now? What happened... I need to notify the others..."

With her voice revealing her agitation and intentions to leave, I felt relieved inwardly.

- Maier, recent mana usage is sensed inside the hut...

But relief was short-lived as a different voice seed to whisper sothing.

The faint scent of mana heightened Yulian's perception, identifying the voice as belonging to a 'spirit'.

'Is she a Spirit User!?'

Given this world's setting of magic, mana, and vampires, it naturally includes the taphysical concept known as 'spirits'.

Among the myriad attributes of 'spirits'.

They have an almost supernatural sense for finding the scent of their predecessors, 'mana'.

But how did they know?

Doesn't seem like a high-tier spirit capable of detecting mana within the body.

'... Mana Detection, maybe?'

'Mana detection' had been used to check around for any enemies upon finding Baran's body. That residual trace might have been detected by the spirit.

"W-Who's there!? Co out imdiately!"

Sensing sothing strange from the spirit's words, the woman adopted a belligerent tone as she called out.

'Damn, what should I do?'

Should I go out and explain I'm not responsible for Baran's death?

'... Does it seem feasible?'

No matter how I thought, this scenario with Yulian as the character scread continuity issues to .

From an outsider's perspective.

It could be seen that Baran did sothing wrong, and Yulian provided the 'cleansing' from the royal family.

From her perspective, regardless of my alibi or intention, she'd inevitably beco hostile to this 'slit-eyed villain', wouldn't she?

'Objectively speaking, it feels like the situation will worsen.'

What should I do?

"S-Show yourself quickly!"

While I hesitated on the spot, her exasperated voice echoed once more. Hearing it, I decided subduing her might be the only viable course.

'Ah, there is such an option.'

A special asure streaked through my mind like a flash of lightning.

For this, I employed 'Sombra' to once again fashion and wear a mask like before.

"Before I turn this entire hut and you into ashes! Co out right now or else..."

Upon revealing myself, the woman began to falter in her speech.

"W... What!?"

Soon enough, her initially unrestrained voice began regaining rationality.

Her eyes, once filled with hostility, and the oscillating 'anger' above her head began to diminish.

"B-B-Black Knight, Sir?"