episode_0119

For a while all we could hear was the sound of everyone checking the list.

Today, Sheila and the general were quiet, and Midas was nowhere to be seen.

He’s probably busy eating food in my room.

“Sylvia, what does this mean?”

Among the office-related materials, there were quite a few terms that were difficult to understand.

Every time that happened, I asked Sylvia, and Sheila and the general followed suit.

Meanwhile, Lund had already transformed into his original form.

His eyes didn’t seem to be blurry, but he was checking documents while wearing glasses that he didn’t know when he’d taken out.

‘You really look like a grandmother when you do that.’

At that moment.

A light came from a tiny chip on Lund’s temple.

Several times at short intervals.

“Chris, I have something to say.”

“…What is it?”

I wondered if he was trying to tell me some more bad news.

This must be news from the anti-Lidocaine forces.

“The youngest uncle is also interested in this matter.”

“…Oleg?”

“Don’t call someone else’s uncle by his/her name.”

“Uncle Oleg?”

Lund was even more impressed by the subtle change in title.

“Mr. Lund, so what’s your point?”

“You requested a video conference.”

It wouldn’t be just video communication. Considering Maguspol’s technological prowess, it would be holographic video communication.

“What, what’s not possible?”

“If Chris says so, I agree too.”

Sylvia and I agreed. There was no reason for Sheila and the General to object.

“Okay, I’ll connect then.”

Blue mana gushed out from Lund’s terminal.

The hologram, consisting of a mana field, took the form of Oleg.

“Uncle.”

“Lund.”

Oleg, who joined our review in the form of a hologram.

Lund was the first to show courtesy to his youngest uncle, and Oleg responded as if it were only natural.

…but it seemed like things had changed a little.

“Oh, you look more fierce than the last time we met.”

“Chris, watch your words.”

Despite Lund’s words, Oleg’s face was covered in fresh scars.

“A wound that a vampire’s regeneration can’t handle. What a surprise.”

“A lot has happened in the meantime.”

Judging by Oleg’s attitude, it didn’t seem like it was a big crisis.

“What happened?”

“Destroyed the weapons they had.”

For vampires, physical regeneration is a concept that is taken for granted, just like breathing for humans.

A weapon that blocks such regeneration.

It was none other than vampires who were trying to use it against other vampires.

Could there be another contradiction like this?

“Then we don’t have to worry about anything.”

“Of course not all. There are probably more. They are the ones who are the ones who lead the dragon.”

“Ah….”

It was a waste of time. After all, the second place has lived for so long that it doesn’t seem like one or two weapons like that would end.

“Sylvia, Sylvia.”

“Why is that?”

“I heard something from #1… Should I tell Oleg too?”

“….”

Sylvia took me to my room for a while.

I felt like I needed to do at least a minimal amount of verification to feel reassured.

“What was the brief conversation?”

“1st place says that 2nd place has something else in mind.”

“…Can you give me an example?”

“You are the new sage of the North?”

Sylvia’s expression when she heard the answer was spectacular.

I know it, and Sylvia knows it too.

The number one thing is that he is a conspiracy theorist.

The circumstantial evidence she presented is that she has yet to subdue me and the anti-Lidocaine forces and is stalling for time.

Of course, considering her information power… she might know.

I have caused the various branches of the Lidocaine Association to fall, or taken away the branch leaders or deputy branch leaders entirely.

In addition, the damage they suffered from the counterattack by Oleg and the anti-Ridocaine forces.

***

“It’s hard to believe right away.”

“I see, right?”

“I don’t think it’s necessary to tell Mr. Lund and Mr. Oleg.”

“But I’m sure you both know the second place. How about asking?”

“…hmm.”

Sylvia must have thought that what I said made sense, because she took me back out into the living room.

“Chris, then please explain it as simply as possible.”

“Yeah!”

I told him what I talked about when I met the number one person today.

Of course, I didn’t forget to explain the current situation to Oleg.

“…So what do Lund and Oleg think? As #1 said, the probability of #2 doing something like that···.”

“I think it’s nonsense.”

Lund didn’t even hesitate.

Wanting to be in second place is like being a blood relative. Saying that you are not a wise person.

“Oleg, is Lund right?”

“….”

Oleg did not answer clearly.

And he didn’t even open his mouth.

“Uncle?”

“Well, that guy always kept a lot of things hidden from us brothers. I don’t think it’s strange that he’s suddenly aiming for the position of a wise man.”

It seems that within the Rangabes family, the title for the second-ranking person is ‘that guy’ or ‘that bastard’.

Lund’s negation and Oleg’s affirmation. It was difficult to know who to trust.

“Chris, since we have no way of knowing if it’s true or not, let’s just check the list first.”

I nodded at Sylvia’s words.

“Uncle, here you are.”

Oleg’s hologram began remotely viewing the documents Lund had handed him.

“I have a question.”

“What is it?”

“What percentage of these offices are black?”

“Black?”

Ah, I just had a feeling for a moment.

But when it came to the office and the black stuff, the answer was simple.

In Maguspol, there was a slang term for the nature of the office’s commissions.

White, black, gray.

White is an office that primarily handles requests through local law enforcement offices.

Black, on the other hand, is an office that mainly carries out various illegal commissions without going through the security maintenance office.

Finally, gray is a color between white and black, and our Blue Heart office was strictly classified as gray.

“I haven’t checked everything yet… but I wouldn’t say the black ratio is low.”

“Not bad. I recommend building a team around black guys.”

“The black guys?”

The color associated with an office is obviously not about distinguishing between good and evil in that office.

It was classified solely based on legal nature.

That’s understandable, since the Public Safety Maintenance Office’s requests aren’t always clear.

In some cases, they not only killed innocent people, but there were also cases where they even took over the cleanup work for the company.

“But wouldn’t it be better to have a moderate amount of black?”

“…Listen carefully. Even the dullest stone will become sharp after going through a rough storm.”

***

Who would call him Lund’s uncle?

When I put the two together like this, they looked like a total piece of cake.

“Black would have done a lot of dangerous things…”

“Usually stronger than white or gray.”

Sylvia and I did not object to Oleg’s argument itself.

“I don’t know about other situations, but what we need now is black experience and power.”

Of course, the second place and lidocaine association could have been aiming for that point.

By infiltrating a few suitable black offices.

“Well, I guess we’ll have to filter that out later.”

“How about making the representatives coming under your command part of Chris’s family?”

One face comes to mind when Sylvia speaks.

Psylocke.

Once a proud leader of the Lidocaine Association… but now a clown in my ranks, responsible for the smiles of David’s children!

“But it’s not just one or two, so that might be a bit difficult.”

“I think it’s not a bad idea to limit it to core power among the subordinates.”

Oleg added a condition to my lukewarm response.

“That’s okay!”

Oleg’s presence was more helpful than I thought.

It feels like you get immediate feedback on small details?

“Chris. This may be a bit out of the blue, but do you know why so many people are trying to get under you this time?”

“…First of all, I think there are three major things.”

The first one is, of course, because it is a rival to the second and third places.

As news of what I did today spread, it was clear that those who were dissatisfied with the second and third places were flocking to me.

Second, the Tetracaine Society of Lund, Oleg’s Procaine Society, and other anti-lidocaine forces.

The fact that you have a lot of collaborators and supporters.

The third is… I am actually the bloodline, but to the outside world, I am the true ancestor.

Just as the second place laid the foundation for the Lidocaine Association, I too was able to bestow upon those who were loyal to me the grace of becoming a vampire.

It is not immortal, but it is becoming an immortal being.

Even these days, the conflict between the church and vampires has ended, so there is no need to scream and die at the hands of the church’s vampire hunters.

“This much?”

Oleg’s hologram nodded calmly to the three reasons I had mentioned.

“Yes, so I think it wouldn’t be a bad idea to take the representatives of the organizations that will become core forces as your subordinates. It’s to show in advance the grace that those who follow you will receive.”

“Hmm… Okay. I guess it’s okay in terms of blocking traitors.”

If you become my subordinate, you will never betray me like Psylocke.

She couldn’t do anything that would harm me in any way. Even the stubborn Lia had a reason for choosing to cooperate with me.

It wasn’t originally this strong…

I am not a typical Jinjo, but a blood lord, so in a way, it was a natural phenomenon.

Since then, we have discussed things with each other and come up with the best possible result.

It didn’t end in one day.

We gathered every few days, whenever we had time, and picked only the best from the list.

“Hello!”

Now Midas is naturally greeting Oleg’s hologram.

“Oh, you’re a well-mannered pet.”

Oleg’s reaction was also quite interesting.

***

“Chris, I have a question.”

“Huh? What is it?”

“The head of the Blue Heart Office said.”

“Why Sylvia?”

Oleg suddenly started talking about Sylvia.

It was quite the odd timing, as she had just stepped away from her post.

“It’s like he’s acting like your guardian.”

“Are you the guardian?”

“…What?”

I never said anything like Sylvia Maman in front of Oleg.

“Because I feel like a mother!”

“….”

Looking at Oleg’s expression, it seemed like his image of me had changed.

From a strange old monster who pretends to be young… to a strange old monster who pretends to be young and follows a woman much younger than him like a mother.

But Oleg didn’t show any particular reaction to that.

I don’t know how far Oleg’s tolerance goes, but I thought it was about the level of Daehae.

Meanwhile, Lund shook his head as if he felt sorry for me.

“This old lady!”

“It’s noisy!”

It seemed that he had completely stopped trying to save face in front of his uncle.

Exactly one week after that meeting with the number one.

On the second floor of the Ajit building, in the Blue Heart Office, I met in person those who wanted to become my subordinates and had something like an interview.

These are the people who were already chosen from the list once…

Because there are things you don’t know until you meet them in person.

When that day arrived, quite a large crowd gathered around the hideout.

The orcs of Grove Avenue were, of course, not pleased with this development.

but….

From famous problem solvers to corporate executives.

They were not the type of people who could do nothing about it.

But among them, there was one person who stood out.

There was a saint who dealt with top-tier troubleshooters within a week and rose to the 5th place in the troubleshooter rankings herself.

“No, why did the saint come to a place like this?!”

“I don’t know either.”

“First of all… wouldn’t it be better to contact Frank?”

“….”

Me, Lund, Sylvia and Oleg.

We, as the interviewers of this interview, couldn’t help but feel flustered.

Even Oleg turned off the hologram with a calm expression.

First, I did as Sylvia said.

….

“…Frank isn’t answering the phone?”

They say that even dog poop doesn’t need to be there when it’s needed.

Oh, then I’ll totally get kicked out?