Although things had taken a wild, unexpected turn, I was relieved that the Lord of Blood and Iron didn’t seem to have sensed anything off about .
Or maybe he’d just been so flustered he hadn’t noticed...
Honestly, I wasn’t sure whether this was a good outco or a bad one, but it definitely seed like I’d at least gotten past the imdiate danger.
“Man...”
I looked at ‘Naru’ in the mirror and rubbed my temples. I really wanted to take the mask off, but I couldn’t bring myself to just throw away my current identity.
The Middle Nas. From the way they talked, most of the mbers seed like experts on the Church of Darkness, each specializing in their own field.
One might specialize in searching, another in survival, and another in hunting, like the Lord of Blood and Iron. I didn’t know. But right now, I figured it was best to keep my true self hidden.
Running away is out of the question. The Lord of Blood and Iron already knew who I was, so if I made one wrong move, he would be suspicious.
All I could do was sigh and step out of the restroom.
“...”
But the mont I stepped out, I jumped five feet in the air in surprise.
The Lord of Blood and Iron was standing by the door, staring at .
Did he still have sothing to say?
“Lu... Naru.”
“...Yes, sir.”
“Putting aside your personal preferences, creating a fake identity was a smart move.”
“...”
It’s really not like that at all, I wanted to say. I tried hard to hide my annoyance and asked, “I assu you have so fake identities too?”
“Quite a few, actually.”
“How many?”
“I’ve cut it down to about twenty now.”
“...”
That has to be tough to keep track of.
The Lord of Blood and Iron continued in his usual flat tone, “Are you thinking of joining Heroes?”
“Yes.” It was my most likely next destination, but I wasn’t 100% sure yet.
First, I planned to linger with the Middle Nas today and figure out if I could really hide my demonic energy. Once I was sure I could, I would make a decision. If even these monsters here didn’t catch on, then fooling most people would be a piece of cake.
The Lord of Blood and Iron nodded. “That’s a good idea. Heroes has a structured ranking system, and they give missions to one’s rank. There are risks, but if you survive, you’ll get stronger much faster than you could on your own.”
“I see.”
“And...” The Lord of Blood and Iron’s purple eyes locked on to . “From now on, you are my squire.”
I blink in confusion. “...Squire?” I asked.
However, he did not clarify. He just turned around and left.
He was the sa as always, saying only what he needed to say and then walking off.
His squire, he says...
But that was a long-gone system. It was just a title so wandering knights used to boss around kids. At least it sounded way cooler than being called an underling.
Honestly, “squire” was just another term for a knight-in-training, but it made sense that those kinds of systems had disappeared. It was just the flow of ti. These days, if you wanted to beco a knight, you usually went to train at an academy.
I wondered if I’d get to know what “squire” really ant once I got to Heroes.
“Mm...”
I held back a sigh and swallowed my frustration as I followed behind Lord of Blood and Iron.
* * * * *
* * * * *
The silver lining was that my walk back into the lion’s den felt a little lighter.
Sure, the people in the room still had overwhelming presences, but the most dangerous one had always been the Lord of Blood and Iron. Knowing that I didn’t have to worry about him anymore was enough to put at ease.
Because of that, I almost made a mistake and let my guard down... when I was t with another new surprise in the room.
...The hell is this?
For so reason, there were more people in the room than before.
I panicked for a second thinking there were more Middle Nas, but thankfully, that wasn’t the case. Behind each of the Middle Nas stood—at least one, sotis three—young people. Like they were acting as aides.
I took a closer look and realized that most of them seed to be around my age... and to my surprise, so of them even looked familiar.
Those guys are...
Standing behind Maxim were two familiar faces, Hallo and Ashol.
“Huh?!” Hallo shouted in surprise upon seeing , then quickly lowered her head as attention shifted her way.
Maxim looked between us and asked, “What, do you know each other?”
“Uh, yes. We crossed paths just a little earlier...” Hallo glanced at , face red, but I ignored her and took a seat.
The eyebrows of the young kids standing behind the Middle Nas twitched. Especially the one behind the thug. He had a tattoo on his temple and was glaring my way... As if to say sothing like, Who the hell do you think you are to think you can sit down in a place like this?
Fuck off.
I desperately wanted to sit, so that’s what I did. Then I shot him a mocking smirk, making a vein pop out of his temple.
“What are you doing?” the thug asked.
His underling quickly bowed his head. “...Nothing, sir.”
They really gave off “gang leader and his lackey” vibes.
Anyway, who are these guys?
Not a single one of them looked ordinary.
Although the Middle Nas overshadowed them, I could tell these guys were powerful from the energy naturally radiating off them. At their ages, they were definitely far beyond what could be called normal.
As I glanced around, I suddenly noticed a side door separate from the main entrance.
Oh. So they were waiting in there this whole ti.
I nodded to myself as things started to make sense, and at the sa ti, I started to get an idea of what the Lord of Blood and Iron ant by ‘Squire.’
Shortly after the Lord of Blood and Iron took his seat, Maxim began to lead the discussion. “The traces of the cult leader should still be sowhere in the academy.”
The Lord of Blood and Iron was undoubtedly the most dominant presence in the room, but when it ca to having a say, Maxim wasn’t far behind.
The pirate scoffed, her tone dry and unimpressed. “And we six Middle Nas were called to track down so old traces?”
She was tapping her finger impatiently on the table. Seems she wasn’t lying about being busy.
“It’s eight. The other two are checking sowhere outside the academy.”
“Ah—appreciate the correction. Mister Priest,” she said, talking like she was mocking him.
But oddly, her face didn’t match her voice. If anything, the pirate seed more wary of the priest than she did even the Lord of Blood and Iron.
Co to think of it, I had heard that there were a surprising number of theists, and even more of them were superstitious. It was funny that the plundering pirates believed in a god, but contradictions were just part of being human.
Maxim spoke next. “If the Church of Darkness has been sowhere, cleaning up afterward is just as important. You are aware of the Cristallo Catastrophe, are you not? The Empire thought it had successfully contained the demon lord’s descent only to find a tainted holy artifact too late. Because of that, 2,700 people either died... or ended up wishing they had.”
Maxim was no longer the easygoing macho man from before. His voice had lost all trace of humor, and the pirate, for once, did not say anything back, though she did scowl.
“The followers of the Demon Lord of the Blood-Lit Moon are elusive enough to be called the Church of Assassins. Calling in eight Middle Nas seems more than justified, don’t you think?”
The pirate threw up her hand in exaggerated surrender. “...Sure, fair enough. Except this land is not my domain. I just happened to be sailing nearby, so I stopped in. But I’m setting sail again tomorrow. No complaints about that, I hope?”
“As long as you do your best while you’re here.”
“If I’m doing sothing, I’ll do it right. That’s my motto. You don’t need to worry.”
Maxim nodded, and it was the thug who spoke up next. “Although I don’t plan on sitting around doing nothing, my main goal for this trip is to get noticed by the right people.”
“...”
“So I have to ask, the martial arts tournant will be held as planned, right?” he asked, his gaze directed not at Maxim but at the Lord of Blood and Iron.
That was interesting. The thug had shown nothing but disrespect to everyone here except the Lord of Blood and Iron.
What is this tournant they’re talking about?
I tilted my head, and as if to answer, the Lord of Blood and Iron replied, “Yes. The schedule remains unchanged, as do the rewards.”
“Great. That’s all I needed to hear.” The thug nodded, looking satisfied, and stood up. “Well then, I'll be off. I will get in touch if I get any leads.”
With that, the thug and his lackey walked out. The lackey made sure to glare daggers at right up until he disappeared. I responded by flipping him off at an angle where only he could see.
Once they were gone, the pirate and the priest also got up and left.
“...”
Finally, the witch was left, who was still giving that intense stare. She’d been eyeing in an unsettling way ever since I walked in.
I caught sight of the attendants standing behind her, and they were all young, pretty boys.
...The reason behind her persistent stare seed obvious, now.
“Child, what is your na?” she asked .
“It’s Naru.”
“Naru. What a lovely na.” She let out a chuckle and snapped her finger, and sothing appeared in her hand.
It was a jewel, one that looked quite rare and valuable.
“Would you like this?”
“I’m sorry?” I asked. Her offer had co out of nowhere.
“Don’t think too much about it. I like giving gifts to children I find interesting.”
I wasn’t the type to turn down gifts, but this was too suspicious, so I shook my head. “I’m all right.”
“Are you sure? What a sha.”
The witch flashed a witchy smile, and the jewel suddenly transford into an apple.
Crunch.
She took a bite out of it and stood up from her seat.
“See you around, Naru.”
Her laughter lingered in the air as an eerie mist swirled around her, and by the ti it cleared, she was gone.
Now, it was just , the Lord of Blood and Iron, Maxim, and his two disciples in the room.
The tension eased a bit, but there wasn’t much left to say. I thought it was the perfect timing to announce my leave too.
But Maxim interrupted my plans. “So what do you plan to do now?”
“I’m going to stop by the imperial palace.”
“What business do you have there?”
“It is personal, so I’d rather not say.”
“You and your secrets... Well, I won’t push. But can I ask you sothing else?”
“If I can answer it.”
“Is that kid the one entering the tournant?” Maxim asked, gesturing to . “I could tell from the very beginning that you two knew each other. I apologize if you were trying to keep that hidden.”
“It's fine. Nothing is set in stone regarding the tournant.”
“Really? There’s not much ti left.”
“It is not a particularly important event for .”
Maxim let out a laugh at the absurd answer.
“More importantly, I have a proposition for you,” said the Lord of Blood and Iron.
“You? For ?”
“I am thinking of attending the Abyss Auction. I would like you to co along.”
Maxim looked surprised at the sudden request. “I'm surprised you're going to the auction... and even more surprised you're asking to co with. You must be looking for sothing.”
“I cannot tell you what it is.”
“I didn’t expect you to. But weren’t you heading to the imperial palace?”
“It's late today. I will stop by tomorrow morning.”
“Which ans you are heading to the Abyssal Auction right now.” Maxim grinned. “I don’t mind, but it’s okay if my disciples co too, yeah?”
“Of course.”
“And if sothing catches my eye there...”
“Pick whatever you like.”
“A gift from the Lord of Blood and Iron. What a rare treat.”
While the two Heroes talked, Ashol, Hallo, and I kept our mouths shut...
However, the mont I heard “Abyss Auction,” my face scrunched slightly.
I had heard things about it.
Rumor was that only those with special mbership could attend. What it took to get in, though, was unknown to . But I did know one thing for sure: Money alone would not buy you access.
I was bothered by this because the Abyss Auctions sold all sorts of goods.
It was especially notorious for its slave auctions.
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