Chapter 53
Chapter 53. Partner (1)
The 5th floor swampland of the Labyrinth Demon Realm that had been the Black Fang Gang's stronghold.
In the squelching darkness.
There was a group of people.
With hoods pulled down so they couldn't see each other's faces.
"Mm."
The only boy in the center who wasn't wearing a hood indifferently examined the tragedy that had occurred here.
The corpses of outlaws that had rapidly decayed thanks to the high temperature and humidity.
Because mangrove tree roots had extended and entangled with the corpses, they looked like grotesque works of art.
It was an eerie sight that would make even seasoned adventurers frown, but the boy with delicate beauty kicked the skulls with the tips of his feet as if looking at rolling pebbles.
"It seems even Priest Gerak was defeated."
"That is correct, Archbishop Hamel."
"Who could have done this?"
To the question of the End Order's archbishop, Hamel, a believer finished their report with a trembling voice.
"We searched for traces to identify the culprit, but no proper traces remain. Even reading the death echoes yielded no useful clues."
"At least we obtained the clue that the opponent was thorough enough in their cleanup."
Archbishop Hamel sighed.
The End Order were martyrs who sang their faith while being persecuted.
Members of the order dying was not a day or two old occurrence.
But Gerak was a priest.
Even if his combat power was insignificant, he was someone who could preserve his own life even in most accidents.
Yet he died a sudden death without leaving any news.
What this implied was…….
"If the cleanup was this thorough, we can't rule out the possibility that the Church or the royal family acted directly."
Church, royal family.
Either way, they were opponents the order's believers didn't want to face.
"Then, Archbishop. What happens to our 'grand design'?"
Priest Gerak had infiltrated the outlaw group to gather information ahead of the 'grand design.'
But the information Gerak gathered wasn't transmitted, and there was an unidentified enemy in the shadows.
"Devout faith is always tested by wicked crowds. For the most faithful servant, trials are like flames that temper belief. I will inherit the mission Gerak couldn't complete."
"Oh, you yourself, Archbishop……."
"We shall overcome impious resistance with piety and enlighten the unbelievers."
Hamel clasped his hands together and smiled brightly.
"Until His glory descends."
***
As the calendar turned, it was already July.
Just hearing about it, you'd think the northern region would only have snow all year round, but summer came to the North too.
Especially Nortaris, surrounded by mountains, had a summer notoriously hotter than other northern regions.
"It's getting muggy."
"Ugh, I hate summer. This year seems especially hot."
Penelope repeatedly wiped away sweat with her handkerchief and lamented.
Next to her, half-sprawled on the table, a fan was rattling away blowing cool air…….
But it didn't seem to provide much comfort.
"This is the North, you know. If it's the North, summer should be cool too, right? It's only July. I can't believe it'll get even hotter from here."
It didn't seem that bad yet…….
Actually, from Jurgen's perspective, northern summers were quite cool.
Not to mention the South, even the capital was a steamer in summer.
……He swallowed those words and empathized instead.
"Miss Penelope's outfit does look hot."
"Right, these clothes are the problem. What's with all that etiquette nonsense? I'm dying of heat."
Penelope grumbled and gulped down cola, then went limp and sprawled on the table again as if drained of energy.
"The cola's already gotten lukewarm……."
"I'll add some more ice."
"Thanks……."
Jurgen glanced at Penelope while adding ice.
In winter, she walked around just fine wearing only fluttering dresses.
As strong as her cold resistance was, it seemed she took double damage from heat.
She must sweat a lot constitutionally, going through five handkerchiefs a day.
Even during work, she'd frequently leave saying she'd just wash off the sweat.
"If you're really struggling, go lie down and rest."
"What are you saying? This is my work too, I can't do that."
But this summer's heat didn't just torment Penelope.
The beverage business and weather were always closely related.
When the blazing sun made the ground sizzle.
When just walking, sweat beads form at your chin and drip down.
Wasn't it natural to want a drink cold enough to make your head tingle?
In other words, summer was also cola's promised peak season.
Y&P was devising various strategies to pump this peak season up to a golden age.
Like distributing ice boxes so people could drink colder cola.
Or placing 'vending machines' everywhere for promotion.
Of course, both high-efficiency ice boxes and vending machines that instantly dispensed cold drinks required new technology…….
'I'll do it!'
'I can do it!'
'Yes! Just leave it to me!'
Thanks to Serena, who became a viscount and avoided marriage, brimming with motivation, things were progressing smoothly.
Additionally, Keystone Company's cola factory, with which they'd signed a bottling license contract, was scheduled to be completed soon.
Under Belheim's abundant financial support, Y&P Trading Company was on an unprecedented growth trajectory.
Though Penelope really, really hated summer, she decided to take comfort in this fact.
Looking back at her life, what summer has been more splendid than this year's?
However, the biggest event of this summer still remained…….
"Dear, are you going to see the welcoming ceremony today?"
"You mean Red Moon?"
That's right, Red Moon.
The monster wave that naturally occurred once a year in the Demon Realm.
A phenomenon where massive quantities of monsters were generated throughout the Demon Realm and became violent.
It wasn't just the commonly seen Minor Disturbance, Alert, and Crisis Class monsters running wild.
Even Disaster and Destruction Class monsters that normally stayed only in the depths below the 7th floor crawled out and caused havoc.
The scale and timing of occurrence differed by Demon Realm, but in the Labyrinth Demon Realm, it usually started on the full moon in July.
The duration varied wildly from one day to two weeks.
No one knew the cause.
But everyone knew the result: if you just watched without acting, the monsters would surge into the city like sewage backflow.
"According to Demon Realm scholars, this 'Red Moon' will be quite large in scale. Rumor has it many prominent figures are coming. Even just looking at our hotel's guest registry shows that."
"Oh? Who's coming?"
To prevent this, not only did local adventurers and nobles launch a large-scale subjugation, they also invited the continent's top experts.
In modern sensibilities, it was like an all-star world raid event.
"Various people. Kaylus the Silent Sword Saint is coming, and Ravina the Beast Empress too. Idris the Abyssal Compass, ah, and the Saint is coming too."
Penelope rattled off the names of heroes participating in this Red Moon.
The lineup with their brilliant epithets was indeed 'all-star.'
Among them were several comrades who had undertaken the 'Great Subjugation' alongside Hanbin in the past, which was welcome.
Just as Jurgen was about to indulge in memories for a moment.
"Ah, it seems Mr. Hanbin isn't coming this time either. I heard he used to participate in Demon Realm subjugations before."
Jurgen flinched at the sudden shoutout.
"……Hanbin is probably on vacation."
"Hanbin? Jurgen, you should say Mr. Hanbin, not just Hanbin."
Penelope occasionally brought up Hanbin's name.
And each time, she even showed respect, which was often quite awkward.
At this point, he was getting curious.
"You seem to like that…… Mr. Hanbin quite a lot."
"Of course. I'm a proper 5th Rank alchemist too."
"Not all alchemists admire Hanbin……."
"Ahem, Mr. Hanbin."
"……I'm just saying not all alchemists respect Mr. Hanbin. There are other great alchemists too, aren't there?"
If discussing purely the realm, Hanbin's Unique Code 'Creation' was the realm of gods, but that didn't mean there weren't alchemists comparable to Hanbin.
Depending on the school, there were alchemists who evaluated Hanbin negatively.
"Hmm……."
After thinking briefly, Penelope gave an unexpected answer.
"……I don't want to say."
"Hm?"
"I should have at least one secret too. You're hiding things from me too, aren't you?"
Jurgen flinched at her mischievous eyes.
It didn't feel like her usual playful teasing, but rather, how should he put it, there was a clear air of probing quite meaningfully, which made him even more flustered.
Could she have noticed?
If so, this wasn't something to just laugh off.
Initially hiding his identity and pursuing the culinary revolution was just to avoid being caught by Lily and dragged off as Minister of Internal Affairs.
But facing the past he'd tried to forget, he clearly realized.
Hanbin's past was not settled at all and still piled up like sediment.
The moment a connection between the culinary revolution and Hanbin was discovered, that sediment would come pouring down.
Hanbin might not have a big problem.
But what about Penelope? Serena? What about the culinary revolution?
There would definitely be obstacles.
Therefore, even to Serena, who had inevitably seen part of his abilities, he hadn't revealed his true identity, and he kept silent to Penelope, who showed no signs of suspecting yet.
He planned to continue that way.
This world was full of all kinds of wicked methods to extract information.
In short, ignorance was bliss.
"Miss Penelope, what do you mean? That I'm hiding something."
"Wh-what? Why are you suddenly serious……."
"Tell me. This is important to me."
At Jurgen's serious questioning, Penelope was a bit flustered.
And also a bit offended.
Penelope's expression became pouty and she grumbled.
"Why didn't you tell me Serena proposed?"
"……?"
"Is that such an important matter?"
This was the complaint Penelope had been harboring lately.
She'd been waiting for Jurgen to bring it up first, but he still hadn't.
Actually, she'd already heard the truth from Serena's mouth, so whether Jurgen told her or not didn't matter at all.
But somehow it kept bothering her.
'If I probe a bit, he'll tell me, right?' she thought, but for him to react this way…….
"It was for Miss Serena's honor. It wasn't even a real proposal."
Jurgen was relieved that his identity hadn't been discovered.
"……."
And that expression made Penelope even more irritated.
She was aware this thought was childish, but…….
The very fact that he was hiding something from Penelope was the point of hurt.
"Still, we're partners, aren't we? Don't you know trust is important for partners?"
"That's true, but Miss Serena is a partner too, isn't she?"
"……!"
At Jurgen's words, Penelope made the expression of a hamster poked on the nose.
Stunned.
That expression would be perfectly apt.
Penelope, who had frozen like that for a moment, slightly furrowed her brow and stood up.
"Haa……. Fine."
"Miss Penelope? Where are you going?"
"……I'm sticky and can't stand it. I'm stopping here for today and resting."
"Don't we need to review the free beverage provision for the subjugation force?"
At Jurgen's call, Penelope, who had gone out of the study, opened the door again.
"Do it with Serena! Since she's your partner!"
Then she slammed the door shut again and exited.
"Oh dear……."
Jurgen smiled bitterly.
First and foremost, he was most relieved that his identity hadn't been discovered.
"I should prepare something nice for dinner too……."
As Jurgen pondered what menu would soothe Penelope's sulky heart, he suddenly noticed a white note.
It was a note with a corner sticking out between the drawers.
"Hm?"
Did Miss Penelope leave this behind?
Jurgen's face, which had casually unfolded the note, hardened stiffly.
[Hanbin Ainsworth, come to the plaza clock tower belfry by midnight]
His identity had been discovered.