episode_0026

The capital of the Grand Duchy of Germania, Germania, the World Capital.

This city, whose country and capital shared the same name, leaving no room for confusion, was, contrary to its ambitious self-proclaimed title of ‘World Capital,’ a place where even seemingly normal people could easily go mad.

The entire city was obsessively vertical and colossal, like a gigantic prison filled with a gray, austere grandeur.

At its center, military facilities that effectively ruled the Grand Duchy rose like a spire. It was a panopticon-structured surveillance city, designed so that the entire radial city could be overlooked, with the central facility acting as the ‘eye of the observer.’

Even now, plainclothes secret police mingled throughout the streets. Even if there were no secret police, a system of mutual surveillance, where people watched each other, was accepted as a daily norm. It was, quite literally, a place where the entire nation functioned as one giant prison.

The sole purpose of the structures built in the city was to ‘overwhelm’ people. The prevailing sentiment, which did not prioritize practicality or efficiency in the slightest beyond this, further highlighted its desolation.

We were walking down that uselessly grand, desolate gray road. With the already gloomy gray sky pouring down heavy rain, I felt like I was getting neurotic myself.

“Two packs of cigarettes, any kind.”

“Just two?”

“…No, three.”

“Tsk tsk, you’ll get holes in your lungs doing that.”

“Make it five packs to finish the job.”

“…”

So, truly having no choice, I stopped by a general store on the way, bought cigarettes, and put one in my mouth.

In front of the store, Aria waited, dressed from head to toe in black, her umbrella also perfectly matched in color. She was with Alice, a blonde girl in a frilly Gothic dress.

“You’ll get holes in your lungs, Commander-nim.”

“…”

“Should I look into a skilled High Elf healer in the Great Forest beforehand?”

“…Please do.”

“That’s right! Cigarettes are bad for your body, Commander! People who smoke a lot even start tasting strange! They’re absolutely useless!”

“I’ll try.”

Their concern for me was truly appreciated. They were so kind I almost cried.

And so, we crossed the street in attire that wouldn’t look out of place at a funeral.

Leaving behind the I had just acquired and the enigmatic notes written within it.

Just in time—to see a subordinate currently staying in this city, along with a new ‘prospective member.’

The mysterious shadowy organization and villain group, the Black Serpent, appearing in the Heroic Century.

Ultimately, they were just villains appearing in a game, not phoenixes.

When it’s time to die, they die.

It might sound foolish, but it’s true.

It was commonplace for them to be eliminated and replaced one by one by the protagonist in each series. I didn’t even know the faces of all the subordinates who were culled and replaced each time.

Fortunately, the man before us was different.

A familiar face.

Even if he wasn’t considered a regular, he had made quite a few appearances throughout the series, asserting his presence.

Nevertheless, if it had to be him, I’d rather have seen an unfamiliar face instead.

“It’s an honor to meet you like this, Sir Rain.”

He was a handsome man with slicked-back blonde hair, wearing a golden monocle.

A long chain ornament dangled ostentatiously from beneath his monocle, and his seemingly neat suit was adorned with quite a few golden embellishments here and there.

At the same time, the multitude of golden decorations stopped just short of feeling slightly excessive, subtly hinting at an exquisite appreciation for the aesthetics of restraint.

Furthermore, in the pouring rain, there was a valet by the man’s side, holding an umbrella for him. It wasn’t a person. It was a human-shaped machine that moved on its own, an automaton.

“My esteemed leader of the Black Serpent.”

“…Golden Mirror.”

“Ah, I never imagined you would call me by that name. I truly don’t know what to do with myself.”

I briefly called him by his alias.

The man known as Golden Mirror Robert, or ‘Marquis.’ He held the third highest rank within the organization, immediately after Aria and me.

However, behind Golden Mirror’s skilled courteous smile, one could sense an unmistakable lingering resentment and bitterness.

It couldn’t be helped.

—That man was formerly the organization’s No. 1 in rank.

Moreover, when he led the organization as its head, it had a completely different name and identity.

The Golden Shining Dragon Society.

A secret society with religious, political, and economic objectives, active in the shadows and connected to influential figures across the continent, just like its name, the shining dragon.

Its objective was also perfectly clear and easy to understand: world domination.

Bluntly speaking, they were villains who seemed more than capable of serving as an evil organization and shadowy mastermind in their own right.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Rain Grey and Aria appeared and took over the entire organization.

Thus, the golden shining dragon lost its brilliance and fell, becoming a dark, black serpent.

Afterward, the Black Serpent absorbed the information and networks established by the Golden Shining Dragon Society, transforming into its current elite, small-group form. And the only one who survived through that process, protecting its past glory and treasures, was—.

Golden Mirror Robert.

This much was the secret origin story of the Black Serpent, known through the old versions of Heroic Century.

Furthermore, why Rain Grey didn’t kill him but spared him, and not just spared him but even allowed him the rank of No. 3, I couldn’t know.

And that was—the reason I wasn’t killing him right now.

“Lately, it seems I’ve been hearing a lot more about Sir Rain.”

Golden Mirror said with a smile. In the pleasant and elegant voice of a handsome man. Very gently.

“As I recall, wasn’t the Black Serpent, led by Sir Rain, an organization that valued secrecy as a virtue?”

“…”

“Perhaps there’s been a change in direction that I’m unaware of?”

He didn’t even use the title ‘Commander.’

“Robert.”

It was then. Standing in front of me, who remained silent, Aria spoke.

“As a dear comrade of the Serpent, and as a superior of higher rank, may I offer you a piece of advice, Marquis?”

“Ah, I would certainly like to hear it.”

In a voice entirely devoid of her usual coldness or aloofness; instead, it was gentler and softer than ever.

“Please, I am speaking with utmost sincerity, never again, under any circumstances, no matter what happens—.”

Aria spoke, breaking off each word as if gently scolding an elementary school child.

“Do not, arbitrarily try to fathom, the Commander-nim, or his intentions. Understood?”

Only then did I realize that this was the absolute limit of Aria’s patience in front of me, and that her seemingly normal demeanor was an illusion, a result of her being so utterly mad that she’d come full circle.

“My dear Lady Aria of the Black Blade. Unfortunately, I do not fathom anything.”

Golden Mirror Robert replied with a feigned smile.

“Because I am a fool.”

A fool.

“I, you, we are all the same fools. Incapable of doing anything on our own.”

“…”

“We are all just fools who can do nothing without Sir Rain’s will, yet Lady Aria seems to be wary as if we ‘think and act on our own.’”

As if projecting his own anguish onto others.

Aria did not reply. Robert continued speaking, unconcerned.

“As if trying to fathom meaning in every single piece of a fool’s nonsense.”

“Now, you’re saying that to me…”

“That’s enough.”

I had been silently listening to their conversation, then finally opened my mouth. Aria bowed her head and silently retreated. Robert also bowed his head with a slight smile.

Meanwhile, Alice was silently listening to their conversation behind me.

Unlike usual—with eyes blacker and more unfocused than ever.

“Did you call me all the way here for useless nonsense?”

I asked, leaving them behind.

“Please forgive me, Sir Rain. I apologize, but the individual I wish to introduce to the Black Serpent requires your presence at my manor.”

I didn’t bother to reply and simply nodded silently.

Only then did Golden Mirror Robert bow respectfully and speak to the automatons assisting him.

“Please, serve them with utmost respect.”

In a voice gentler and softer than ever.

“For these are guests whose humble lives cannot even begin to compare to yours—.”

“Understood.”

At his words, a few automatons approached us, attempting to serve. I silently gestured with my head, dismissing them. Aria and Alice were no exception.

At the same time, a carriage approached us. At first glance, it appeared to be an ordinary horse-drawn carriage.

Except the horses pulling the carriage were not ordinary.

Infamous for necromancy and military dictatorship, yet also a symbol of the technological prowess the Grand Duchy of Germania boasted.

Furthermore, it wasn’t limited to just one Grand Duchy; it was the crystallization of the Zeitgeist that the great powers of the continent were eagerly competing to advance.

They were not living animals, but horse-shaped mechanical devices made of clockwork and steel components. Instead of snorting, they vigorously puffed out steam.

It was an automatic carriage from Mercedes Corporation, drawn by two steam-horses.