Chapter 93: Briber (1)

Lan opened her mouth grimly, only to close it seconds later.

She had no confidence she could offer a reward greater than what Gadum had promised them. No compelling reason came to mind that might make them stay.

Perhaps no reason would be enough. Pleading for honor or justice would just sound like childish whining.

In the end, the words she could say were already decided.

“I will respect your decision.”

“Sorry it turned out this way.”

“That’s how it is. I won’t ask you to understand.”

“I have no excuses.”

“My Lady…I apologize. Please stay safe.”

“You know my family’s situation!!! Don’t look at me like that!!!”

“…”

“…”

Lan sat at her desk, deep in thought.

The worst possibility she had feared had come to pass—Gadum had contacted the three powerful figures.

Lan didn’t doubt their friendship or their honor. But she knew that, as representatives of larger groups, they sometimes had to prioritize those obligations over such “trivial” ideals.

Gadum must have approached them with that in mind. And so, Lan couldn’t stop them.

“Please…”

There was only one thing she could do now.

Pray that the conditions Gadum offered were something she could endure.

“Lady Lan.”

A short while later, her butler entered to announce the return of the three powerful figures.

Lan immediately left her office to greet them. She composed herself, meeting them as naturally as possible so they wouldn’t feel burdened.

“Uh.”

“…Ahem.”

“…”

Still, an awkward tension hung in the air between the four of them.

Eventually, the three exchanged glances. Shakan stepped forward to speak on their behalf.

“Dame Lan. Could we have a word?”

The time had finally come to face the truth.

“Of course.”

Lan forced a calm expression and led them back into her office.

With both sides understanding that pleasantries would be meaningless, the conversation began at once.

“Actually, Councilor Gadum approached us with a proposal. He asked us to credit him with eliminating the cultists.”

Just as she’d expected.

“…What did he offer in return?”

“Well…”

As they continued, Lan clenched her teeth. The conditions Gadum had promised were far more extravagant than she’d imagined.

Lan had none of Gadum’s vast wealth, his illicit supply routes for rare items, or his political leverage to compel cooperation from other powerful houses…

She simply didn’t have the means to make a comparable offer.

Lan opened her mouth grimly, only to close it seconds later.

She couldn’t think of a reason why they shouldn’t leave her and side with Gadum. Perhaps no reason would be persuasive enough.

In this situation, appealing to honor or justice would be no better than a childish tantrum.

From the start, there had only ever been one thing she could do.

“I will respect your decision.”

Councilor Lan hung her head weakly.

“Wait a—”

“No, you have no reason to make excuses to me. As I said, I respect—and understand—your positions.”

Her trembling voice wasn’t meant to convince them. It was to convince herself.

Lan’s clenched fist quivered. Misery and despair welled in her chest as she waited for them to leave.

“No, that’s not it. We…we rejected his offer.”

“?”

Lan looked up, utterly stunned.

“Wh-why did you make such a decision…?”

She didn’t realize it, but her voice bordered on interrogation. She looked as though no explanation would satisfy her.

“Risir…”

“Ah.”

But the moment Valrod said that name, Lan gave an unconscious nod. It was the result of repeated experience.

Her sense of values, she realized, had grown a little skewed.

“We agreed that the right to judge this matter belongs entirely to him.”

“What?”

“After all, we did nothing in the hunt.”

“…”

It was a statement she should have strongly refuted. She should have told them that wasn’t true.

But Lan could only awkwardly avert her gaze.

It was true that Risir had led the hunt by providing crucial information. However, it was the three powerful figures who had actually exerted force during the hunt.

If Risir hadn’t been there, the elimination of the cultists would have failed nine times out of ten.

But if they hadn’t been there?

The room fell silent.

Maybe…it still would’ve succeeded. Even with Risir alone.

There was no proof, but it felt plausible enough.

If a certain elderly mage had witnessed this scene, he would have given a nod and remarked, “It’s not quite the same. But yes, this is Risir’s doing too.”

“So, let’s wait for Risir’s decision.”

They all exchanged sheepish glances.

Knock-knock.

“Mm?”

As usual, Risir was practicing swordsmanship in the garden adjacent to his room.

At the sound, he moved toward the door.

“My apologies for disturbing you, Lord Risir. If you don’t mind, could you spare a moment?”

It was the maid assigned to serve him during his stay at the manor.

“What is it?”

“Councilor Gadum has sent a gift.”

“Councilor Gadum…?”

Risir’s eyes narrowed.

That name—he remembered it from the reports on Bondalles.

As chief commander of the city guard and a key figure in Bondalles’ aristocracy, Gadum was one of the most powerful people in the city.

Even Miss Lan has to yield to him, doesn’t she?

Such a man had sent him a gift.

Guess it’s finally come.

Risir recalled the conversation he had with Shakan the day before.

-Councilor Gadum might approach you soon, hoping to snatch the credit for the cultist hunt from Dame Lan. It’s entirely your call, so do as you see fit.

So basically, Gadum’s courting me, while Lan’s on edge. That’s the situation in a nutshell.

On the surface, two of the city’s power players were vying for his favor—an incredibly exciting situation. But looking deeper, the matter was anything but simple.

Risir had familiarized himself with all relevant information to conduct himself properly as an honorary mage of the Gray Tower, which included the political situation in Bondalles.

Miss Lan is as upright as she is powerless. Gadum is as powerful as he is…

He knew well the unsavory rumors surrounding Gadum.

I’m here representing the Gray Tower. I can’t stain its name by mingling with the wrong crowd.

His mind was already made up. Even so, there was something that worried him.

Risir didn’t consider himself a morally flawless person by any means. He wasn’t some noble ascetic.

What if he offers more than I can refuse?

Would he still make the right decision?

A shadow passed over Risir’s face.

Watching his silence, Dan’Galeon—who’d been arguing with Clana just moments before—suddenly turned on the maid and started yelling.

-You wench!!! How dare you trouble Mastah!

“…!”

The maid jumped in fright. As a mere servant of the manor, she had no idea about the talking crystal orb.

Risir spoke to reassure her.

“Ah, don’t be alarmed. It’s nothing special, just a sealed devil. As you can see, it has no mouth, so it can’t bite even if it wanted to.”

“A-a devil…!”

-Wench!!! Did you not hear Mastah tell you not to be alarmed!!!

“I-I’m sorry…! I’m sorry!”

“Could you just…stay still?”

-You heard! Wench, cease all actions immediately! Until Mastah gives the order, even the slightest inhale is forbidden!

“That’s not it…”

Risir sighed and headed towards his bed. He lifted the blanket and sealed Dan’Galeon underneath it.

-This place…! The bed where Mastah sleeps?! What a sudden reward, Mastah…! Dan’Galeon is at a loss for words!

<Is that why you ended up a crystal orb? Because you were so dumbfounded?>

-Hahaha!!! You inanimate object! You envy me! Because I occupy Mastah’s bed!

<What is this imbecile saying? Why would I envy that? He put you there to shut you up because you’re noisy. Don’t you get it?>

-Mmm!!! I can clearly feel Mastah’s warmth, something a certain inanimate wench cannot!

<Disgusting bastard. Feel it all you want. Hey, Risir. Let’s go.>

-Mastah!!! If you take that wench, you must take me too!!!

“…”

Risir rubbed his temples.

The childish bickering between the murderous fiend and the sealed devil had been going on for days. One insisted he practice swordsmanship; the other demanded he study magic.

He had no intention of letting it spill into his daily life as well.

With a weary expression, he shoved Blue Lotus under the blanket, too.

<Hey!!!>

-Mastah!!! Why! What did this inanimate object do to deserve the same reward as me!

Risir left the room with the maid, leaving the cries of the two objects behind.

Eventually, they arrived at the manor’s reception room, where the three powerful figures were already seated.

“You’ve arrived.”

Gadum’s representative, who had been speaking with the others, immediately stood and bowed to Risir.

Risir returned the gesture and turned to the three.

“What were you discussing?”

“We were talking about you.”

After being turned down in the previous meeting, Gadum had upped the ante, offering the trio even greater rewards—this time, including compensation for Risir himself.

Because of that, their expressions were particularly complicated.

“Please, take a seat, Lord Risir. As you’re busy, I will get straight to the point.”

As Risir sat, the representative turned the box on the table so that its opening faced him.

“Councilor Gadum, representing Bondalles and the City Guard, expresses his gratitude and sincerity for Lord Risir’s contribution to the cultist hunt. Please accept this gift.”

Risir didn’t miss the implication in the phrasing.

Representing Bondalles and the City Guard…

Accepting the gift would mean acknowledging the hunt as an achievement recognized by Gadum and the Guard.

In doing so, Lan would lose any claim to the credit.

Trying to buy people off right in Lan’s own manor…

Risir found the move quite brazen, to say the least.

He hesitated, his thoughts darkening.

I really don’t want to be involved with this kind of man…

That was one concern.

But seriously, what if that box contains an offer I can’t refuse?

The representative opened the box and began explaining its contents.

“…!”

The three powerful figures gasped.

It wasn’t something an individual could own. This was a treasure worthy of a mage tower, something that could elevate the capabilities of an entire institution.

They immediately grasped Gadum’s true intent.

He’s not just trying to win over Risir…He’s targeting the whole Gray Tower!

Risir was also presented with an offer impossible to refuse if he considered the faction he represented.

And sure enough…

“…”

Even someone as extraordinary as him couldn’t hide his surprise at what lay inside the box.

“You do recognize it after all. Yes, that’s right—it is the core of a high elemental.”

Meanwhile, in Didoa’s laboratory at the Gray Tower…

“Mm?”

A young wolf, basking in the sun on a couch, suddenly sat up straight.

The wolf transformed into a girl and—

“Kack—Kehek! Kack!”

Coughed up a single bead onto the floor.

“Are you okay, Feryn?”

The half-demon girl, Didoa, rushed over from nearby and gently patted her back.

“It’s been a while since you coughed up a core, hasn’t it?”

“Well, I haven’t seen that guy for quite a long time now.”

“Maybe that’s why the density seems a bit low. Should I classify this as intermediate?”

Didoa opened a drawer with three compartments, each filled with clicking, clinking beads. At first, she’d been flabbergasted by how many cores there were. Now, she barely blinked.

The mages of the Gray Tower—who had been engrossed in researching plague cures using Feryn’s cores as catalysts—couldn’t hide their astonishment when provided with a second core…

But when provided with their third core, their reactions began to change.

-Risir’s done it again…

-…Ah!

Didoa placed the core in the middle compartment and closed the drawer. The other beads inside rattled in response.

“…This is a gift from City Councilor Gadum. Are you truly refusing it?”

Risir’s refusal stunned the representative.

“Risir, you…!”

Valrod was no different. As a mage, he knew exactly what kind of treasure had been offered.

Risir could only offer a bitter smile.

Our elemental at home coughs these up on a regular basis, you see.

Unable to say that aloud, he opted for something vague.

“I believe this is the right decision.”

Shock registered plainly across the three faces.

Valrod finally broke the silence, awe in his voice.

“…A young mage like you is making me reflect upon myself.”

“?”

“I see…that’s how it is…Hiding behind the justification of prioritizing my people, I turned my eyes away from the greater cause…”

“?”

“Damn it, Risir…If you’re going to act like that, what does that make me…?”

“…?”

The three powerful figures suddenly glowed with emotion, their eyes shining.

What the?

Risir could only smile wryly in confusion.

“…”

Meanwhile, Gadum’s representative left the room, scowling.

“He refused my gift?”

Gadum couldn’t believe it.

That whelp of a mage, does he have no sense? How could he reject something like that?

Still, his surprise didn’t last. Gadum was already moving to the next phase of his plan.

If persuasion didn’t work, he just had to resort to something else.

“Summon Cadogan.”

Cadogan, shaman of the White Scale tribe. She was the inheritor of Spirit Treading—a tribal arcana passed down through her tribe for generations.

Spirit Treading was the power to glimpse the karma of the target.

Gadum had long used her talents to uncover weaknesses in his political enemies and steer negotiations his way.

“…”

In the prepared basement, Cadogan began the ritual. She scattered beast blood in all directions as she completed the sorcery circle.

At last, standing in the center, she whispered her target’s name.

“Risir…”

In her hand, she held a strand of Risir’s hair, which was provided by an informant planted inside Lan’s manor.

She focused her mind for a moment, then chewed and swallowed the hair.

“…!”

Cadogan awakened in a world of suffocating, bone-deep chill.

Where…?

As she strained her eyes, peering through the thick fog, shapes began to emerge.

A legion of the dead.

A n-necromancer…!

A terrifying figure advanced, leading the dead.

And then—their body passed through hers.

“…!”

In that instant, the shaman managed to glimpse the emotion reflected in the necromancer’s clouded eyes.

But those weren’t the eyes of someone leading an attack.

Soon, the fog cleared, and the shaman belatedly discovered something standing where the necromancer had come from.

The shaman quickly understood the situation, but it took considerable time to accept it.

A necromancer…fleeing?

Connecting the two concepts felt impossible. And yet, this was merely a fragment of the karma that man carried.

“Huff…!”

Cadogan snapped out of the trance, forcibly breaking the ritual. She couldn’t bring herself to see any more.

The shaman’s pupils trembled violently as she swore under her breath.

“Gadum, you mad bastard. What have you gone and provoked…?”

The shaman hastily began packing her things.

It wasn’t too late. She knew where she needed to stand.