Taming the Protagonist

Volume 3

Chapter 11: Which Faust Is This?

"Dragon teeth, dragon bones, dragon hide... giant dragon materials for sale, giant dragon materials for sale!"

"Celestial Conquest Dynasty treasures, newly unearthed Celestial Conquest Dynasty treasures!"

On the busy, interconnected streets, all sorts of strange calls rose and fell one after another.

Anselm Hydra, holding his hand on his sword hilt, walked through the crowd, with Marina, dressed like a thin adventurer, following closely behind him—a very standard pairing of an adventurer and a traveling attendant.

Anselm Hydra checked into an inn immediately after arriving in the West Kingdom last night and did not walk outside.

Excluding the one time he went to find Fafna, it was only now that he had truly set foot on this land again.

The hot wind of the West Kingdom blew rough dust and noisy shouts.

The seemingly somewhat chaotic streets were surging with Ether that exceeded any region of the Empire.

Transcendent materials that usually required purchase at specialized shops were casually placed on roadside stalls, shouted out with overly exaggerated slogans, and any passerby on the road could have been a Transcendent.

This was the West Kingdom, the Land of Miracles and Strife.

"Hey, friend."

A dark-skinned youth suddenly squeezed through the bustling crowd to Anselm Hydra's side and whispered, "Just arrived at Strife Fortress? Need a guide?"

Anselm Hydra tilted his head to look at him and twitched his mouth: "You followed me all this way just to ask that?"

"Just confirming the client's situation, you know." The youth grinned without embarrassment.

"I saw you coming out of the teleportation array and walking straight toward Cyclops, so I thought you had been here before. But looking at your current... Well, in a leisurely strolling manner, it doesn't look like you've been to Strife Fortress."

Cyclops was the name of the inn where Anselm Hydra was staying, an inn that was not the most outwardly affluent in Strife Fortress but actually offered the best practical experience.

People who were new to Strife Fortress generally would not necessarily stay there.

"You should have continued staking out the teleportation point or the entrance of other inns."

Anselm Hydra, whose appearance had shed some of its former youthfulness and was now fully that of a young man, glanced at the youth: "Instead of wasting time on me, wouldn't it be better to find a more suitable customer?"

The youth just chuckled: "I might not be able to stake out a new customer, though."

Whether he was afraid he could not find a new customer, or whether he did not want to miss this sheep who looked extremely fat, was hard to say.

Anselm Hydra turned with amusement to look at Marina, dressed as an ordinary adventurer, grasped his sword hilt, and lightly tapped her lower leg with the sword blade.

"Ganlei, someone wants to steal your job, what do you think?"

Marina pressed her brown beret, looked up to meet the gaze of the dark-skinned youth, and calmly said: "The sir does not need another guide. I apologize, you wasted your trip."

"Hmm..."

The youth stroked his chin: "You're the attendant who followed this friend into Cyclops, right... You're from out of town but very familiar with Strife Fortress?"

"..." Marina narrowed her eyes slightly. "Just pointing the way is all. It's easy if you prepare. Is that difficult?"

"Ah, no, no, no... 'Guide' doesn't mean just that."

Upon hearing this, the youth showed a confident expression: "Is your master here in Strife Fortress for sightseeing? As a Transcendent with such... outstanding demeanor, how can he miss the little-known wonderful places in Strife Fortress?"

He reached out to Anselm Hydra, his smile simple and honest: "Allow me to introduce myself, Stinger, a professional route finder in Strife Fortress... All places in Strife Fortress with special requirements can be entered through my introduction."

"When it comes to being a 'guide'..." The youth, who called himself Stinger, looked back at the gloomy-faced Marina, "I'm far more professional than this mortal attendant who wants to take you sightseeing in Strife Fortress."

"So, you have a lot of influence?"

Anselm Hydra did not shake his hand, or even look at him, merely asking the question casually.

"No, no, no, of course not me, it's my boss... the master of the [Raven’s Nest]."

When he spoke the two words "Raven’s Nest," he specifically monitored Anselm Hydra's expression, but saw not the slightest fluctuation, as if he had never heard of the name.

"Your job," Anselm Hydra stopped and paused in front of a stall, examining the objects on display, "is to find a fat sheep like me, then drag them into some dark corner to fleece them... How much for this?"

"Hahahaha... You're too fond of jokes, friend."

Stinger laughed loudly. He moved closer to Anselm Hydra, trying to put his arm around the fat sheep: "How could there still be such an idiot these days—"

A fierce, cold, and malevolent aura forced Stinger to stop, but he flawlessly continued the sentence he had paused: "Idiots who like to destroy the market by draining the pond? We'd clean them out ourselves, you wouldn't need to. This really affects business..."

While Stinger was rambling, Anselm Hydra exchanged a scale for an exquisite necklace.

"A businessman who won't cause trouble?" He turned to glance at Stinger.

"That doesn't sound like an adventurer."

Stinger shrugged, "But who would oppose a powerful Transcendent for a few resources... I trust your strength because I trust my judgment, that's how I make a living."

"Adventurers are more calculating than businessmen; they fight for money, we fight for our lives, don't we?"

As he spoke, the corner of his eye stayed on the blue scale, which the stall owner kept rubbing, nearly licking it.

Trading a Blue Lost Dragon scale for a physical strength necklace that any third-tier alchemist could make...

Stinger did not think the man in front of him, who radiated danger, was an ignorant fat sheep.

Quite the opposite, his excellent eyesight allowed him to instantly recognize the undisguised composure and casualness.

He did not fail to understand the value of the item; he just completely disregarded whether he was being wasteful—too lazy to haggle, perhaps even too lazy to fish out gold coins.

At the same time, this was a display, an open and unreserved exhibition of the capital he possessed.

Saying he was a fat sheep, yet so casually producing such a valuable material—this kind of spontaneous generosity would not appear on an ordinary adventurer.

However, his exaggerated "imagined adventurer's outfit" and the way he brought an utterly clueless mortal attendant along for sightseeing did not suggest an experienced adventurer.

A young master out to experience life, yet not an idiotic type, but one with a high overall level?

Stinger was temporarily undecided, but regardless, he would not abandon this client.

"It's hard to find good stuff in a market like this, friend."

Stinger tirelessly promoted himself: "Top auction houses, material shops, and even..."

"Lead the way."

After handing the necklace to Marina, Anselm Hydra said so casually.

"...And top alchemy workshops—huh?" Stinger was stunned. He did not expect Anselm Hydra to agree so suddenly. The warmth of his smile instantly rose several degrees, and he immediately reacted, nodding repeatedly, "Good, good, good. Is it the auction house, the shop, or..."

"A brothel."

"Okay, a bro—"

This time, Stinger was stunned for more than just a moment.

After pausing for several seconds, he scrutinized Anselm Hydra with a very strange look for a while before finally showing an "I understand" smile.

"I didn't expect, friend, that you liked to get straight to the heart of the matter... I can do that! Only honest men deserve to eat meat!"

He leaned into Anselm Hydra's ear and chuckled: "The services in Strife Fortress are different from other places; I guarantee they'll be an eye-opener for you, friend—Oh, right, I haven't asked your name yet..."

"Faust."

"Oh... Faust."

***

In a spacious, pale blue room, Anselm Hydra sat on a soft large bed, resting his chin on his hand and looking at the various, well... tools that seemed out of place with the room's decor, while Marina sat properly beside Anselm Hydra with her legs together, head bowed in silence.

"Marina."

Anselm Hydra, looking at the special equipment, suddenly said, "You actually know no less about Strife Fortress than that man. Why did you act like... you only knew so little?"

"Because a mortal should only know so little."

After arriving at this place called "Dream Island," Marina, who could finally speak to Anselm Hydra, breathed a sigh of relief and immediately replied obediently:

"What I must do is cooperate with your intentions and actions to ensure your will is best executed, rather than rigidly adhering to a plan and conversely making you follow me... that would be both presumptuous and ridiculously absurd."

"But what if I intended for you to refuse him then?" Anselm Hydra asked with a light laugh.

"Then your tacit acceptance of his trailing and your conversation with him would have been meaningless," Marina replied without hesitation. "You needed to utilize him for a purpose I am not yet aware of, so what I naturally had to do was keep him—although even if I showed him my knowledge of Strife Fortress, he might not have left, pretending to know nothing was the best choice."

The young woman paused, then said in a matter-of-fact tone: "It's impossible for ordinary people to know Strife Fortress so well, and if I knew it too well, it would prove that you were extremely well-prepared, and at the same time, my background... That is, your background was not simple. This would lead him to form a preconceived notion of you."

"But whether you wanted Mr. Stinger to think that, I couldn't be sure, so I couldn't allow myself to become a factor that influenced his judgment of you—although this is inherently an influence, the degree of influence is much smaller than the former, and is at least regulated by you."

"In this way, the 'you' in Mr. Stinger's eyes is the image you deliberately presented."

This was Marina's understanding of her duty as a secretary.

All the preparations she made and all the contingency plans she designed were never meant to dictate what Anselm Hydra should do, but rather, based on the existing preparations and according to Anselm Hydra's intentions and choices, to let everything proceed exactly as Anselm Hydra wished... perfectly.

"Then what do you think..."

Looking at Marina, who was composed yet held a hint of confidence, Anselm Hydra could not help but smile:

"What is my purpose in coming here now?"

Marina's expression stiffened slightly, and her gaze involuntarily shifted towards the various toys in the room. Her tone also became a little elusive:

"Well... Adventurers indulge in reckless living and love to frequent places like this. Moreover, those who can afford to spend here must meet at least one criterion: strength, status, or wealth. Perhaps you are looking to find competent adventurers here to gather some information."

"Or, since you dislike the slave trade, you want to investigate the inner workings of this brothel to understand the entire black industry of Strife Fortress, and if they cross your bottom line, you intend to uproot and completely eliminate them."

Both answers were well-reasoned, but Anselm Hydra reached out and stroked Marina's cheek, whispering in her ear like fondling a beloved pet:

"What if I really came here just to relax and enjoy myself?"

Marina's body trembled slightly. She lowered her head, slightly retracted her neck, and tightly gripped her trousers. After about two or three seconds, she said in a very small voice:

"I... I hope you will abandon that decision. How can prostitutes be worthy of you? If, if you truly need it..."

The young woman shyly bit her lip, and her soft body slowly leaned towards Anselm Hydra: "I will do my best to satisfy your desires. Please do not let those women defile you, Mr. Faust."

"You wishful-thinking girl."

A sudden cold female voice appearing in the room immediately startled Marina rigid.

The voice... She was very familiar with it.

The secretary slowly turned her head.

At the other end of the bed stood a tall, cool beauty.

Her narrow eyes, painted with black eyeshadow, added a disturbing, sinister quality to her cold beauty.

"...Nailan, Lady Nailan?!"

Marina unconsciously exclaimed in surprise, but Nailan, who had conducted her interview, ignored her.

Instead, she knelt on one knee in front of Anselm Hydra in the blink of an eye and said with utmost respect:

"My Lord, the Strife Fortress's..."

"Stop."

Anselm Hydra waved his hand: "You should know why I told you to wait here."

"..." Nailan lowered her head and did not speak.

Seeing this, the young Hydra helplessly rubbed his brow and turned to look at Marina.

"Marina, tell me, what exactly do I want to do?"

Marina quickly recovered from her shock and furiously worked her brain, desperately piecing together the existing fragments of information to try and see the whole picture.

It was perfectly normal for Lady Nailan, as a person from Shadow Swamp, to be lurking in Strife Fortress... But why did Mr. Anselm Hydra wants to see her now?

And why did she not show up just now, waiting until Mr. Anselm Hydra finished asking me questions before appearing?

...Wait a minute.

Mr. Anselm Hydra didn't want to see her himself? He wanted... me to see her?

"I..."

Marina opened her mouth, first glancing at the kneeling Nailan.

Sitting on the bed, she subconsciously wanted to stand up, but a certain stirring in her heart prevented her from doing so.

The young woman, who had only spoken one word, paused for several seconds before cautiously answering: "I will presumptuously make a guess. If it's incorrect, I hope Mr. Anselm Hydra and Lady Nailan will not be angry."

Under Anselm Hydra's smiling gaze, Marina gained a little confidence.

She took another three or four seconds to organize her words, then said seriously:

"My current... position was entirely obtained through the archives in the Garden vault."

"I saw Mr. Anselm Hydra's multiple arrangements for the West Kingdom region and extracted keywords like [Grand Princess] and [Zero Point Labyrinth]. Since the Grand Princess's Spiritual Essence is related to space, I naturally connected this to the frequent activation of the Zero Point Labyrinth in the West Kingdom recently... thus providing a reason for Mr. Anselm Hydra's special attention to the West Kingdom."

"On this basis, I used Lady Rhine's thirty-fold acceleration field to gain a sufficiently clear understanding of the entire West Kingdom situation within a limited time, and thus made timely plans, which earned Mr. Anselm Hydra's approval, but..."

Marina, realizing a critical issue, had a complicated tone: "But these are, after all, just the archives from the Garden vault."

"The real-time situation in various parts of the West Kingdom, the new changes occurring constantly, and new intelligence to facilitate Mr. Anselm Hydra's judgment are all... unknown to me."

"But since Mr. Anselm Hydra approved my application, it means Mr. Anselm Hydra recognized my preparatory work... He did not bring me along for some frivolous purpose but agreed to accompany me because he believed I could indeed be useful."

Speaking of this, the young woman's gaze slowly fell on Nailan, who was like a sculpture.

"On this premise, it's impossible for Mr. Anselm Hydra to keep me completely ignorant of the situation in the West Kingdom; he must have instructed that the intelligence be handed over to me.

"Since it's only the second day, I haven't been able to detect this issue, but since Mr. Anselm Hydra brought Lady Nailan here, it means Lady Nailan... was unwilling to hand over Shadow Swamp's intelligence to me. No... You definitely wouldn't act rashly and defy Mr. Anselm Hydra's wishes. You would use another way to realize your own ideas."

What was Nailan's idea? This was extremely easy for Marina to guess.

—She did not believe that she had the ability to handle affairs for Anselm Hydra, nor did she believe she was qualified to take on this position, and was therefore unwilling to hand over the crucial intelligence and numerous affairs obtained by Shadow Swamp for Marina to manage.

So, how could she still hand over these matters to his "secretary" without defying Anselm Hydra's wishes?

There could only be one answer.

Marina's eyes drooped slightly, and her voice was faint:

"Lady Nailan, do you want to... replace me?"

—As long as she herself became Anselm Hydra's secretary, she would be able to handle all sorts of affairs perfectly for Anselm Hydra. The woman kneeling on one knee before them must have been thinking this.

That was why Mr. Anselm Hydra brought me here. He wanted Lady Nailan to see my abilities.

In less than a day, Mr. Anselm Hydra personally addressed this issue directly...

Regarding this crucial aspect, there was no waiting, no sitting by.

Before Marina even had time to realize she had been "blacklisted" by Shadow Swamp, Anselm Hydra had already noticed Nailan's unusual behavior and brought her directly here to deal with it.

Marina was both impressed and grateful for Anselm Hydra's efficiency and decisiveness.

Impressed that Anselm Hydra could see everything clearly at a glance, even without constant supervision; grateful that Anselm Hydra chose her, even in this situation, instead of an old subordinate who had followed him for a long time.

But Marina also knew very well... that Anselm Hydra's approach would not convince Nailan.

"This is still not enough, My Lord."

Sure enough, the young woman heard Nailan's slightly hoarse voice: "To handle all of this for you, mere 'cleverness' is far from enough. If you need a secretary, I can serve. If not me, you should also choose a member of Shadow Swamp."

Yes, far from enough. Marina whispered this in her heart.

She had not noticed Nailan behind her when chatting with Anselm Hydra, and she would not have known they had been watched if Anselm Hydra had not mentioned that Stinger had been trailing them for a while.

Marina Lansmarlos was not a Transcendent. This fact alone could negate everything about her.

But at this moment, facing Nailan who wanted to deny and even replace her, Marina did not feel much anger—even though she had spent countless efforts to obtain this position.

Because if Nailan were in her place, Marina would have made the same choice—how could she hand over such a heavy responsibility to someone who was not even a Transcendent?

Even if Anselm Hydra was still in charge of everything, this position should not be held by a mortal with only a bit of "cleverness."

Marina even felt some admiration for... Nailan's courage.

"This was a decision I personally made, Nailan." Anselm Hydra looked down at the woman who remained kneeling and unchanged, his tone somewhat indifferent. "Are you defying me? Just because of your 'self-righteousness'?"

"Because you have never been a self-willed tyrant."

Nailan finally raised her head at this moment, staring into Anselm Hydra's eyes: "What you want has never been blind obedience."

Blind... obedience.

Yes, I also know a mere mortal should not bear such a position, and I would have the same thoughts as Lady Nailan.

But could I, like her, so outrageously... defy Mr. Anselm Hydra's wishes when faced with a decision he had already made?

Marina's mind was a little fuzzy.

Her younger sister's determined words and resolute expression that day... seemed to be right before her eyes.

While she was lost in thought, Anselm Hydra and Nailan stared at each other for a few seconds, then he shook his head with some helplessness and sighed softly:

"I sometimes wonder if I indulge you all too much."

Although he said this, he showed little intention of opposing her.

"You see, Marina." The young Hydra turned to the somewhat dazed young woman beside him.

"If all the intelligence from Shadow Swamp goes directly to me without passing through you, then you're practically no secretary at all. And Nailan's concerns do indeed have some merit."

He spread his hands: "What do you think should be done?"

"I..."

Marina, recovering her wits, was silent for a moment, then looked down at Nailan, her gaze gradually hardening.

"Lady Nailan," Marina said with utmost seriousness, "what exactly must I do for you to recognize me?"

"Not me, but the entire Shadow Swamp."

Nailan looked at Marina expressionlessly: "Since My Lord assigned this task to us, we will not let it pass through the hands of the Garden."

Marina was stunned for two seconds, then said with some disbelief: "You... you care about that?"

"Of course it's more than that. Your being a mortal is your biggest limitation. As for the distinction between the Garden and Shadow Swamp... do you think we only care about internal struggles?"

The woman sneered: "Struggles do exist, but the root cause is that the operating styles of Shadow Swamp and the Garden have absolutely nothing in common, and are even... mutually exclusive."

"You, who grew up in the Garden, are destined to be unfit for this job, even if you become a Transcendent, Miss Lotus."

...Lotus.

Nailan had also used "Lotus" to mock Marina after that simple test.

A nameless fury surged in Marina's heart.

She could always recognize reality and accept reality, but that did not mean she truly never felt any grievance or anger.

She could just... accept it.

Those emotions never vanished into thin air; instead, they required a long time to be painfully swallowed and digested in a corner where only she existed.

Whether it was the Garden or the Shadow Swamp... everyone looked down on her.

She requested the archives access, and adjusted the time flow to such an exaggerated speed; did Rhine truly not notice anything suspicious at all?

It wasn't that she didn't notice; she simply believed that Marina did not have the ability, much less the audacity.

Shadow Swamp was even simpler and more direct—you are simply incapable.

These people had their reasons for doing this and their capital for thinking this way, but was she really completely useless?

If she had only wanted to become a Transcendent, she would have been one long ago.

But what she had always wanted was not just transcendence, but the position closest to Anselm Hydra.

"Miss Nailan," Marina's voice gradually turned cold, "I do not want to hear this. I only want to know what exactly Shadow Swamp requires to hand over the intelligence Mr. Anselm Hydra needs to me for processing."

"Impossible," Nailan answered without thinking. "You will mess everything up, and we will not stand by and watch that happen."

"Taking care of My Lord's daily needs is enough. You don't need to interfere with other matters."

Marina's clenched fists were so tight from excessive force that her knuckles turned white.

She had no room to negotiate with Nailan. This irresistible condescension stirred an unprecedented... malevolence in the young woman's chest.

They would not hand over matters to her even if she became a Transcendent?

Why?

***

"So, you sent the person to Dream Island?"

At the headquarters of the Adventurer's Guild, [Raven’s Nest], Stinger was reporting to his boss.

The leader of the Raven’s Nest, [Queen Bee], was a beautiful, mature woman. At the moment, she was standing on one man with her foot and had her other leg crossed, slowly saying: "What's the quality like?"

"Top-tier." Stinger gave a thumbs-up. "My judgment is never wrong, Boss, you can rest assured."

"Did you check his identity?"

"It's hard to check. He's another guy who calls himself Faust."

"...Heh, another Faust."

Queen Bee sneered: "What number Faust is this month?"

"Uh, six... no, seven, or maybe eight? I forgot, but this one is definitely stronger than the previous ones."

"Did you test him?" the woman asked carelessly.

"I tested him before I knew his name. He's at the Fourth-tier level, possibly Fifth-tier. But since he didn't immediately chop off my head, he's definitely not Faust."

"Fifth-tier? A Fifth-tier impersonating Faust to go whoring?"

Queen Bee couldn't help but laugh: "Mash, don't be so imaginative. Just introduce him to more of our friends. Oh, right, about Bayebop—"

Before she could finish, the crystal on the table suddenly flashed.

The woman slightly narrowed her eyes and snapped her fingers. The crystal projected a tall, thin, pale woman holding a pipe, wearing dark black eyeshadow, and with scarlet lips.

"If it isn't Sister Attendant Snake." Queen Bee propped her chin on her hand and smiled flirtatiously, "Why the sudden call?"

"That guy Stinger brought in."

The woman Queen Bee called "Attendant Snake" said coldly, "He killed two people and ran off."

Queen Bee's expression immediately froze, and Stinger was also stunned.

What made their expressions even more dramatic were Attendant Snake's following words:

"One was your person, and one was Bayebop's person. You figure it out."

The projection disappeared, and Queen Bee slowly cast her gaze onto Stinger's bloodless face.

"You said he didn't kill you then?"