episode_0140

“Haaa··· ”

I take a deep breath and slowly look at the paper.

I returned home after a long time, but the official documents I received from the kingdom were filled with not-so-pleasant content.

[···Fulfill your duty as a nobleman and investigate the incident that occurred in the area.]

To summarize the details, it was simple.

As the Demon King has become more active recently, this is something that you, as a noble, must investigate.

“Of all places, it had to be the most annoying.”

The place written in the document was a place that any honest person would be reluctant to go.

A place where everyone from people making money illegally to heinous criminals can be seen.

It was an underground city, the so-called underworld.

“It’ll be hard to finish it simply.”

The Underground City is not an officially recognized place.

It was a place that naturally arose as people who had escaped for some reason or as criminals gathered.

As a result, it naturally became a place where all kinds of crimes commonly occurred.

‘Who should I bring with me… ‘

First of all, Karin wasn’t really suited to this kind of work.

She is better suited for clerical support, like a secretary.

So, there were three options left.

Agnes, Melissa, and Leia.

‘Since Leia is already investigating the Demon King’s army, it would be a bit strange to take her separately, but Melissa…’

Melissa was a talented woman, but her personality was not a good fit.

Given her interest-oriented and spontaneous personality, it was obvious that she would not be very interested in this kind of investigation.

Squeak-

When the candidates were practically narrowed down to one, the door opened and the person in question entered the room.

“You came at a good time, Master.”

A knight with beautiful blonde hair.

Agnes, who was renowned for her swordsmanship skills in the kingdom, looked at me with a puzzled expression.

“What’s going on?”

“It’s nothing special, I just received an order from the kingdom to go to the underground city.”

“I’ve been given quite a headache.”

She approached me slowly, her delicate forehead furrowed slightly.

The underground city’s notoriety was so great that even she, with her honest personality, expressed her displeasure.

It was to the extent that it was said that all crimes in the kingdom started there.

“So, can you come with me and help me?”

“Of course. But what command is it?”

“There seems to be a suspicious group there recently.”

The documents handed down from the kingdom stated that strange movements had been captured.

A fairly large group, not the small-scale criminal groups commonly seen in the underworld.

Moreover, it was overly systematic and secretive for something that had been created so recently.

“I definitely can’t just leave that alone.”

“Besides, I think the kingdom thinks there are collaborators among the nobles.”

The kingdom’s suspicions were reasonable.

Because it was an impossible move for a criminal group that was suddenly formed.

If so, then there is a high probability that someone is controlling it from behind the scenes.

“Then··· there must be a reason why he chose Eugene himself.”

“Well··· something like that.”

Currently, I am a very unique being among the nobles in the Kingdom of Lumis.

There are many nobles who are only nominal and do not rule over any territory.

But among them, there is not a single person who has a strong influence except for me.

They had no or very few soldiers or knights under their command, and were naturally too weak to take on such a task.

“It would be better to send the Royal Guard or something similar”

You suspect that there is a traitor among the nobles, yet you entrust me, a noble, with this troublesome task.

No matter how much trust I had, I couldn’t help but feel a strange feeling.

But Agnes shook her head quietly.

“That’ll probably be difficult in its own way. It hasn’t been that long since I’ve been aiming for the princess’s seat.”

“That’s true··· That’s true too.”

An incident in which an attempt was made to swap the royal family of a country.

If he is not an ordinary member of the royal family but someone with the right to the throne, it is not surprising that the country would be turned upside down.

Although it failed in the middle, it was natural to prioritize the protection of the royal family.

‘But I had a great time at the villa with you, you know…’

Of course, this was something that was done without anyone knowing, and it was possible thanks to Sylvia’s trust and a bit of persistence.

I think it’s on a completely different level from openly moving the kingdom’s direct forces.

“In the end, one way or another, I was the right person··· ”

“Besides, the underground city is not suitable for deploying soldiers.”

“What does that mean, Master?”

For a moment, I had a strong feeling that Agnes’ words were going to make things more annoying.

What I know about the underground city is very limited.

Since it is so famous, I only found out about it naturally.

“It’s like a maze, so it’s hard to deploy large numbers of troops, and even if you do deploy them, there’s a risk of them being destroyed individually or by traps.”

“Ugh··· ”

Is there really a reason why the government cannot mess with it, as it is a den of criminals?

Certainly, it would be inefficient to deploy large numbers of troops in such a space.

Especially if there are hostile criminals swarming there.

Her wicked majesty the queen must have decided that a small, elite force would be the most efficient way to solve the problem.

“Haa··· ”

Another deep sigh escapes.

This is definitely a hassle.

But there was no veto.

“I’m only getting hurt because of that Demon King guy.”

If it weren’t for that guy, I wouldn’t be a part of the kingdom and would be enjoying a lazy and debaucherous life to my heart’s content.

I stand up from my seat, muttering meaningless complaints.

“Well··· There is no separate period, so I guess I can just work and have fun with the teacher”

When our eyes met, Agnes answered with a bright smile.

A beautiful smile filled with sunlight.

I felt pleasure surge through me at the sight of her noble face flushing red and bashfully looking away.

“Okay, then let’s go before it gets any more annoying.”

He gently grabs Agnes’ arm and pulls her into a hug.

She came into my arms without any resistance, and the sweet scent of fruit tickled my nose.

*****

“What you said is true, right?”

A nobleman’s office filled with luxury.

Even though it was an early hour and most of the servants were asleep, the two beings were conversing with each other.

Still, it wasn’t anything special since one of them was the noble Sorian, the owner of the office, but the one on the other side of him wasn’t one of them.

“Don’t worry. ”

A being with an appearance that looks like a mix between a turtle and a human.

He was a member of the Demon King’s army, and anyone who saw him would recognize him as a monster.

But Sorian’s attitude was calm, as he already knew that fact.

“A poison that can even kill a dragon··· I never thought I’d use something like this.”

Sorian looked closely at the red liquid in the small bottle.

An item that not only ordinary people but even royalty do not have.

If it were him in the past, he wouldn’t have even looked for such an overly strong poison.

“This is an item that is hard to obtain for us as well, so it would be better to use it when you are sure.”

“If we fail anyway, we’re both dead.”

Sorian, a nobleman of the Kingdom of Lumis.

He was the most influential figure among the nobles.

But recently his influence has been noticeably diminishing.

There is only one cause.

Eugene appeared.

‘If it weren’t for that son of a bitch, I wouldn’t have made such a risky deal.’

Sorian wasn’t very happy about dealing with the Demon King’s army.

But there was no other way to maintain his power.

As Eugene, who was allied with the royal family, became overly active, the royal power grew stronger day by day, and the status of the nobles was diminishing accordingly.

‘I will definitely cut off your life with this.’

To him, Eugene, who suddenly appeared, was someone he would rather beat to death.

He felt a stomach-churning anger for the first time in his life as the power he had built his whole life crumbled like a sand castle overnight.

If only he had been weaker by force, they would have tried to assassinate him, but Eugene was the most powerful human in the history of the Kingdom of Lumis.

In fact, the record of subduing Lich in other countries proved it, and it was impossible to kill Eugene alone.

‘If I just kill him with this, everything will go back to how it was before.’

Sorian had no intention of joining hands with the Demon King’s army until the end.

Dealing with them is only until they kill Eugene.

For now, we are just cooperating for a while because our interests coincide.

“Now let’s start preparing to welcome him.”

There was a creepy smile on Sorian’s face.

Eugene’s investigation into the underground city was also a trap he had set.

A once in a lifetime opportunity.

He felt that now was a heaven-sent opportunity.