Chapter 422
Episode 422. A New World (3)
Samuel blankly stared at Arthur, who was about to go out.
At that sight, Arthur beckoned him.
“Let’s go together.”
“Together?”
At Arthur’s words, Samuel made a sour face. Had there ever been a time when things were easy for him after getting tangled up with Arthur?
“Don’t forget we just returned from a death ground.”
“What exactly are you trying to say?”
“I mean that when it’s time to rest, you should rest. Call it a great pause before the next grand picture.”
“And where exactly are you planning to place this great pause?”
“I intend to stay in Aintrier for the time being. I need to treat the aftereffects of the portal, too.”
“Well, if that’s the case, I suppose there’s no helping it. A shame, really. I was planning to enjoy the festival.”
“Festival…?”
At the word “festival,” Samuel, who had been leisurely stroking his mustache, froze.
Arthur nodded as he packed what he needed from the lodging before leaving.
“The grandest festival in history will soon open. Haven’t we suffered until now for this day?”
“Everyone will eat, drink, and enjoy themselves.”
“…Well, alcohol is not my taste. For cultured men, tea is preferable to—”
“Elves will be attending too. Ah, you know Lady Nella used to be from the Blue Rose Madame, right? I’ve spoken about you to her quite a bit.”
“H-Hey, Boss!”
Shouting “Boss,” Samuel hastily followed after him.
“Hunt is one.”
“So suddenly??”
“Hrmm, so when do we depart?”
“You just said Hunt is one. We need to gather the remaining companions too. I wonder what Lily is doing right now?”
“Lily…”
As Samuel’s face darkened rapidly, Arthur left him behind with a faint smile and stepped out of the room.
Lochter and Lily were still in the fortress.
Arthur planned to take them along to the city of vagrants.
Since both of them were very well-known within Aintrier, he only needed to grab any passing servant to learn their whereabouts.
Arthur called out to a maid cleaning the hallway. Recognizing him, she jumped in surprise, bowed deeply, and paid her respects.
When Arthur asked about the two, she answered,
“Lord Lochter is in the training hall.”
As expected of the training fanatic, his location was obvious.
The question was about Lily.
“Um, Lady Lily is…”
For some reason, as soon as Lily’s name left her lips, an awkward look flashed across the maid’s face.
Almost as if she was reluctant to speak about her.
“Has something happened to Lily?”
As Arthur furrowed his brows and asked, the maid waved her hands frantically.
“N-No! Not at all! These days she often goes out, but she always returns by evening.”
From what she said, Lily left after breakfast, returned around sunset, and had dinner.
The explanation itself wasn’t odd, but judging from the maid’s expression, there seemed to be more behind her outings.
“I can understand that maid’s expression.”
“You, Samuel?”
“You wouldn’t know. Just how frightening a being she is.”
Samuel let out a sigh as he walked further away.
It seemed he had been tormented by Lily quite a lot.
Well, I expected as much.
The only one who could restrain her was Lochter, but there was no way he would bother with her, so she was probably roaming around as if the city was her playground.
Given her personality, part of the city might already be in ruins.
Sometimes, even Arthur found her unpredictability terrifying.
“Excuse me.”
“…Yes? Y-Yes!!”
“What time does Lily usually return to the fortress?”
“A-Around 6 p.m.! She has never once been late for dinner, so if you come to the first-floor dining hall around 6, you’ll be able to meet her!”
As Arthur walked away, he glanced back once more. The maid still stood clutching her broom, nervously waiting in case he called her again.
I shouldn’t keep calling her.
Being in the position of Aintrier’s ruler, this sort of thing always felt uncomfortable.
“Samuel, let’s meet at the port at 7.”
“Planning to take the Ship Gridment?”
“With such a fine means of transport ready, why not use it?”
“And how do you even know the schedule??”
“Have you forgotten who owns this city?”
He had ordered the transport ship to deliver supplies to the city of vagrants and return to Aintrier right away, so it should have already arrived by now.
Samuel nodded and leapt toward the window.
A breeze fluttered in through the wide-open window.
After facing the cutting winds of Reruze, the air here felt soft as down.
Looking up, he saw the dawn had passed, and the red sun was just beginning to show its presence.
Although there was still plenty of time until evening, Arthur had things to do before leaving here.
As Arthur walked around the fortress, word of his presence quickly spread inside.
He had already intended to meet with the executives regarding the spy-hunting incident in Reruze, but now he didn’t even need to go to them.
“Ah, Lord Arthur!”
Executive No.1, having heard the news, hurriedly came to find him.
His expression as he ran carried a mix of emotions—he clearly had much to say.
Arthur welcomed him with a smile.
For Arthur also had much to say to him.
The VIP reception hall on the second floor of the fortress.
Since Arthur had transferred Aintrier’s management rights to the Black Market, this place had often been used as a meeting space for the executives.
Entering the lavish and elegant room, Arthur sat at the seat of honor where No.1 guided him.
No.1 sat in a corner seat and ordered the servants to bring food.
Although the Black Market now acted as the master of the fortress, both the executives and the long-serving servants knew well who the true master of this place was—the man sitting before them.
Arthur calmly sipped tea and looked around.
It had been some time, yet only No.1 was present. Strange.
“Where are the other executives?”
“An urgent matter arose, so they are all away.”
“An urgent matter… is it related to Reruze?”
“Yes, but… how did you know?”
Having witnessed the spy hunt at Reruze Square firsthand, not knowing would have been stranger.
Since the Black Market had deployed many people to Reruze, the damage this time must have been severe.
Now Arthur understood why the executives were absent.
“The Sword Demon personally rooted out the spies, and most of them lost their lives there.”
From No.1’s mouth came details of what had occurred in Reruze Square.
From the battle over the Black Star, to Rengua’s new doll, to the explosion of the fortress wall—listening quietly, Arthur realized the information was even more detailed than expected.
“Impressive.”
Arthur was greatly surprised by the Black Market’s intelligence network.
Barely three days had passed since the incident, yet their details of the square were nearly as complete as Arthur’s own observations.
That meant the Black Market had deployed considerable strength in Reruze, and perhaps the Sword Demon had moved first knowing those spies would become a threat if left alone.
“How many survived?”
“About twenty percent. They said even that was only possible thanks to luck.”
Luck.
Since the explosion collapsed the northern wall and halted the purge midway, survival could indeed be called luck.
“Any other information? Anything new regarding the Black Star?”
“Is there a particular kind of information you desire?”
“Not yet…”
It seemed they hadn’t yet learned anything about Kamel. But soon enough, once Kamel revealed his presence in Prime Root, Arthur planned to use the Black Market more aggressively.
Now that he had confirmed their intelligence network was quite reliable.
Arthur quietly stared at No.1.
Under that gaze, No.1 swallowed dryly.
“You know what I want. Setting aside information on Rengua, what about Azolet?”
“T-That is…”
“No harvest at all, then.”
“She rarely ever leaves, so…”
“That’s enough.”
Clicking his tongue, Arthur picked at the food on the table.
Though it was a quiet meal, the silence pressed heavily on No.1, whose life was being held as collateral by Arthur.
After finishing, Arthur poured tea into his cup and spoke.
“It seems the Black Market’s losses were great. Does that mean you can no longer investigate Reruze?”
To No.1’s ears, this question probably sounded like, So the Black Market is useless now.
His expression turned urgent.
“N-No! Nos. 2, 3, and 4 are devoting themselves to restoring the destroyed intelligence network. The Reruze information net will soon be rebuilt! Please wait a little longer, and you’ll surely get the information you want.”
“You must remember why I spared your life and handed Aintrier’s management rights to the Black Market.”
“O-Of course! I will never disappoint you!”
“Even trivial information about the Black Star—report it to me the moment you hear it.”
“Understood!”
Once Kamel revealed himself, Arthur intended to concentrate all of the Black Market’s power on him.
Leaving the VIP room, Arthur glanced at No.1, who followed behind, and asked.
“Where is the Ship Gridment right now?”
“One is docked at Aintrier’s port, and the other is waiting at a harbor near Demtor.”
It seemed only one had returned.
Seeing that one ship still remained near Demtor meant that Karl had yet to return.
Did Karl meet the Lord of the Ivory Tower?
Recent reports said that Gram of the Black Tower had blockaded every path to the Ivory Tower, isolating it.
There had been no word yet on whether the supplies Arthur sent had safely reached it.
But if it was Karl, Arthur believed he would somehow manage to deliver them.
He was certainly capable enough.
“I plan to take the Ship Gridment to the city of vagrants today. Make preparations.”
“I’ll immediately notify the port.”
“And if you need help, tell me.”
“…Pardon?”
“The Reruze investigation won’t be easy. I’ll speak to Lenon of the workshop, so if you need additional funds, ask him. He’ll help.”
“T-Thank you!”
At the mention of financial support, No.1’s face brightened.
The losses from Reruze had been astronomical, and he had been losing sleep over how to gather recovery funds.
Since the Lenon Workshop was famous for having achieved its greatest success by backing Arthur, he expected great help.
Arthur nodded as No.1 bowed repeatedly.
After all, this is about digging up information on Kamel.
Considering the opponent, even the Black Market couldn’t manage it without help.
He had to strengthen them properly.
Leaving the reception hall, Arthur headed for the training hall to meet Lochter.
When he arrived, sharp sounds echoed.
A man with a solid build was using the training hall alone.
Lochter, his well-balanced upper body exposed, silently swung his twin swords.
Arthur quietly observed his training.
Swish, swish!
With each movement, countless beads of sweat scattered in the air.
Steam rose from his body.
The surrounding air felt hot enough to press against the skin.
Arthur looked at the floor of the training hall.
Footprints were pressed into the sand, left by Lochter.
Curiously, the footprints filled only a certain area around him.
A radius of three meters.
It seemed to be Lochter’s absolute domain, created by the Voice of the Sword.
Arthur shook his head at the countless footprints within that range.
Hundreds, thousands of prints.
The floor within that zone had sunken so much it looked like another space had formed inside the training hall.
Just how many times had he swung his swords here?
They said they never saw him in the lodgings, didn’t they?
Which meant ever since gaining the Voice of the Sword, he had been living in this place—eating and sleeping here.
“Truly extreme.”
Even Retonicalus commented quietly at the sight.
[That persistence is worthwhile.]
“Any more than twice and my bones would shatter.”
[You could do it dozens of times and still be fine.]
“You just want to see me go insane?”
[That will never happen.]
Arthur let out a hollow laugh and ignored him.
Unlike Lochter, such repeated physical training no longer held much meaning for Arthur.
Such was the overwhelming advantage of the Undying’s body.
His physical adaptability had already surpassed common sense.
What mattered to him now was raising his assimilation rate through Retonicalus.
Arthur quietly focused on Lochter’s training.
It looked like it was finally reaching its end.
A moment later, Lochter, staring into empty space, clashed his twin swords together.
Kwaaang—!
A heavy shockwave rippled out from him.
Lochter’s figure, dyed in crimson, dashed like lightning and carved a sharp arc.
Bwoooom!
The fierce strike raised a cloud of sand that obscured the view.
The same accelerated counter that had cut off Richard Volpent’s head.
Blindingly fast.
Could Arthur block that technique head-on?
He wasn’t certain.
Arthur stepped closer to Lochter.
Through the heavy dust, a faint aura shimmered around him.
The master of a Divine Name.
The ability of a Divine Name Hunter.
Through his opened eyes, Arthur could clearly see Lochter within the dust.
In that instant, Arthur froze.
“…Wait a moment.”
Arthur suddenly recalled Kamel.
Kamel Blazer, who had appeared after freezing the walls of Reruze.
Amid the confusion of his unexpected return, Arthur had overlooked one fact.
Nothing emanated from Kamel’s body.
“No trace of a Divine Name?”
Through his opened eyes, Arthur had clearly seen it—Kamel was not the master of a Divine Name.