Wizard of the Deep Sea

TL/ED – Miso

After a moment of deliberation, I shrugged and replied.

“I have quite a bit of experience. It was rough getting all the way here.”

In truth, excluding the Fallen, I had almost none, but it seemed necessary to bluff. When I pushed a little harder, Cheon-hwa fell silent for a moment.

She was difficult to read, but what filled her gaze now was unmistakably something that could only be called worry.

But only for a brief moment. Returning to her usual expressionless face, she replied lightly.

“…That’s fortunate. Even so, you’ll rarely need to act directly.”

“Why?”

“I can’t let you handle your first mission alone. Decay will accompany you.”

I immediately frowned. “It seems you’ve met him before.”

“We had a bit of friction before I came here. Anyway, what am I supposed to do with him?”

“Recently, these things called the Vigilante Corps have been causing trouble, so we need to suppress their momentum.”

“Vigilante Corps…?”

It was the first time I’d heard the term. When I tilted my head in confusion, Cheon-hwa clapped her hands as if suddenly remembering something.

“Ah, come to think of it, you wouldn’t know the recent developments in the Empire. Have you ever heard of the Wax Wings?”

“Ah, yes. I’ve heard of them.”

I remembered encountering them at the Imperial Palace before. A newly established organization created to hunt down and kill the Fallen, if I recalled correctly.

Now that I thought about it, since the Crimson Circle was also entirely composed of Fallen, their operations would naturally fall under the Wax Wings’ jurisdiction. While I was wondering why this was coming up here, she added an explanation.

“Recently, the Wax Wings Knights Order formed an alliance with the Priestess they had opposed and received endless support, growing without limit. And they have been primarily targeting not us, but the Discarded Pieces.”

“Discarded Pieces? We have something like that?”

“I’m talking about the low-quality thugs in the back alleys.”

Ah.

She seemed to be referring to the underworld organizations. Since the Crimson Circle had taken over most of the boss positions, virtually all of the Empire’s underworld was in their grasp.

Cheon-hwa continued with a fierce scowl, clearly displeased.

“They’re pathetic, but at the same time, they’re pieces we absolutely need to reach The Final Act. The Priestess probably knows this and declared war on crime… but the speed is impossible.”

“The Princess, I mean, the Priestess is exceptional, that’s true.”

“It’s beyond that level. Even accounting for all of the Priestess’s abilities, something is strange…”

She glared at the map on the desk with a suspicious expression.

“No matter how capable the Priestess is, how could she reclaim half of what we built over ten years in just one month? And then slow down afterward, as if she’s intentionally stopping? This isn’t the kind of thing that’s possible even with access to our information.”

I swallowed hard and struggled to maintain a calm expression.

That was probably because of me. During my time in the Lower Tier, I’d planted backdoors while pretending to complete missions and passed on all the information.

Right now, the Princess was playing poker with cheats that let her read minds, see the future, and even know her opponent’s hand. Cheon-hwa, being a false Priestess herself, seemed to possess remarkable insight, but against such an opponent, a poker face was useless resistance.

“Perhaps there’s something internal…”

“So I just need to eliminate the Wax Wings Knights Order with Decay?”

“Hmm, no. You won’t confront them directly.”

When I quickly asked a question to prevent her from continuing her train of thought, she shook her head in denial.

“It’s too early. All of this is to maintain the organization, but if we rely on individual prowess, it only obscures the essence of the matter. If we keep chasing after the Wax Wings Knights Order, we’ll only suffer losses given our vastly inferior numbers.”

“Then what do we do?”

“We exploit the Priestess’s greed.”

“…Pardon?”

Sharmia being greedy?

She was probably the furthest thing from greedy. While I tilted my head in confusion, Cheon-hwa arranged several pieces on the Empire’s position on the map with a weary expression.

“The Priestess made two mistakes. First, she failed to kill her father and seize the Empire. Because of that, she didn’t obtain absolute power. The Second Princess is alive, trivial as she may be, so even the coronation isn’t certain.”

“How is that greed?”

“Failing to grasp everything in her hands is undoubtedly her fault. She allowed public opinion, the worthless drivel of insects, to bind her.”

“…”

I opened my mouth slightly, then closed it again.

When Lump had taken over Elysia’s body and caused chaos in the Empire, the Princess had clearly demonstrated absolute, unquestionable power by detaining all the prominent noble houses in the Empire for investigation on charges of treason.

But she had to bear the burden of that decision. If it had truly been absolute power, there would have been no complaints even if no evidence was found.

“Second, in the process of empowering the Wax Wings, she allowed too much freedom.”

-Slide… Cheon-hwa dragged the knight piece placed on the Empire, along with a slightly smaller knight piece, with a cold gaze and placed them in a certain city.

“The Wax Wings Knights Order, having become a rising star, absorbed countless talented individuals. Naturally, they had to train them, and they chose the most efficient method available.”

“What’s that?”

“Real combat.”

Cheon-hwa dragged a piece from another direction this time and placed it in that city.

“The Wax Wings knights deployed their recruits in actual combat. Under the escort of skilled Heaven’s Judgement Knights, of course. Even if the recruit panicked on the battlefield and stood there trembling, unable to do anything, they could freely build their skills under the protection of knights strong enough to ensure nothing went wrong…”

Tap.

The pieces collided.

“However, if an accident were to occur in that combat so safe it’s boring enough to yawn at.”

“…The Wax Wings Knights Order wouldn’t be able to avoid criticism.”

“Their negligence would become the responsibility of their master, the Priestess. Naturally, their activities would shrink.”

The small knight piece toppled lightly and rolled across the map.

Cheon-hwa’s expression still showed no emotion.

“Of course, I don’t think this alone will stop them. There are dozens, hundreds of other ways to diminish the Wax Wings Knights Order’s power, and all of them will be assigned to the Lower Tier as commissions.”

I was both impressed and horrified by Cheon-hwa’s deep scheming.

If they had to avoid all-out war, she would make sure the enemy couldn’t take the offensive either.

It felt like watching politicians play their calculated games firsthand.

“Your task is simple. Make sure this incident isn’t attributed to us.”

“What do you mean?”

“If it becomes known that the Crimson Circle’s Upper Tier directly assassinated them, their guilt would be diminished. The Wax Wings must lose a young, promising talent because they underestimated the underworld, took it too lightly. That’s the ideal scenario. And that’s where your ability comes in.”

“…Current Sense.”

“Exactly.”

If what she said was true, the Wax Wings Knights Order’s recruits received the utmost protection. But they couldn’t stay together forever, so she planned to exploit those brief gaps… That was where she wanted me to use Current Sense.

“I understand what I need to do.”

“Then I’ll tell you the location.”

“Before that, there’s one thing I’d like to ask.”

“Hmm, what is it?”

I asked casually, as if in passing.

“Do I have to kill this talent?”

“Why do you think I asked if you’ve killed someone before?”

“I see. Understood.”

“…However.”

“Yes?”

“If circumstances don’t allow it, crippling them so they can never hold a sword again will be sufficient.”

Cheon-hwa added as if it were nothing.

“Will such a situation even arise? In my world, if I’m alone with someone, I can kill them anytime.”

“That’s why I said if.”

“Hmm.”

I met Cheon-hwa’s eyes.

After a moment passed, she grew irritated.

“Why are you glaring at me like that?”

“It’s nothing. When should I go?”

“Get lost right now.”

Watching Cheon-hwa’s irritation, I turned my suspicion into certainty.

How to put it… Cheon-hwa seemed to have a soft spot when it came to children.

…Though the bred children being held outside would protest if they heard that.

***

Two days later.

“Urgh, bleeeech…!!”

I rolled on the ground, vomiting up everything in my stomach.

I was a decent horseman, but riding non-stop for two full days was an entirely different matter.

My body was drenched in sweat, and my muscles felt like they were being torn apart.

Of course, there had been a faster way to get here, but…

“Either ride Lump, or take a horse. But if you take a horse, you won’t be able to sleep at all.”

“What do you mean ride Lump? Can he transform into a horse and run?”

“No. So Lump would eat you here, then Lump would reassemble as you over there, and Lump would revive in another body.”

“I’d literally rather die than do that.”

“Then you’ll have to walk. It’ll take at least two days of riding.”

“…Can’t we call Void and have him transport us?”

“His ability to tear through space has limits. Even Void usually travels by riding Lump.”

“Have you ever ridden Lump, Cheon-hwa-nim?”

“Over my dead body.”

We were in agreement on that point.

As a result, I ended up lying against the city walls, covered head to toe in dust.

“Tsk tsk, poor young thing…”

“Leave him. All his limbs are fine, he should be working.”

Looking like a complete beggar as I leaned against the busy city walls, people apparently thought I was one and tossed me coins.

I didn’t feel bad about it. In fact, just watching people go about their day made me feel at ease.

I must have been constantly on edge without realizing it, living among the Crimson Circle all day. But that brief peace was interrupted when ice shards fell among the coins in front of me.

It wasn’t Decay. It was a slightly older middle-aged man, and it didn’t seem like Lump in disguise either.

“A boy who doesn’t seem like a boy. How literal. I’ve come to deliver a message.”

Instead of answering, I picked up the ice shards.

I felt an unusual chill from them. Watching the Deep Sea around those ice shards slowly freeze, I forced myself to stand.

“Where’s Decay?”

“Shh.”

The messenger lowered his voice in warning.

“Decay is too famous. If he came out to a street like this, he’d definitely be recognized, so he’s hiding deep in the city right now.”

“Then he could just come out in disguise…”

“It’s probably related to his Burdens. Still, you arrived right on time. Almost too perfectly on time, actually.”

“What?”

Instead of answering, the messenger hurried toward the edge of the walls.

When I activated Current Sense, I noticed there was a hole in the wall in that direction. Sighing, I followed, and as he entered the city through the hole, he locked eyes with a guard directly ahead.

“What are you looking at?”

“…”

But when the messenger shouted confidently, it was the guard who hastily averted his gaze.

Before that, I noticed the guard’s eyes had caught the scorpion tattoo on the messenger’s shoulder, which seemed to be the mark of the underworld operating in this city.

“Don’t worry. We have this city firmly in our grasp. We have no intention of fighting you people.”

“How rotten.”

“Hmph, how else are we supposed to survive in this crazy world?”

The man headed confidently toward the city walls.

Naturally, there was no resistance. He quickly made his way to the watchtower, waited anxiously for something, then looked outside through a telescope and spat.

“Damn it… They really came. Take a look.”

I pushed the telescope aside, shook my head, and activated Current Sense.

“No need. I can see…”

“Damn, to think the Wax Wings would come all the way to our city. Why would they bother with a backwater like this…!”

“…”

“Hey, if we cooperate, our Scorpion Faction can really survive, right? We stayed instead of fleeing because we trusted the Crimson Circle. I’d like some confirmation.”

“Goddamn it…”

“W-What?! You mean you won’t?!”

I ignored the messenger and sighed.

When I heard that the Princess was supporting the Wax Wings Knights Order. When I heard that talented people were gathering there. I’d had a nagging feeling, a suspicion.

There’s a saying about that.

Bad premonitions always come true.

「Wow, wooow! The city looks so pretty! Unni, after we deliver divine punishment, can we play around for a bit? We can, right?」

「Linmel. How many times do I have to tell you? Call me Sir Karos when addressing me. And what is divine punishment supposed to mean? We are here to learn. This place is a classroom, and this is lesson time.」

She had a point.