Surprisingly, the old man I’d given a ride to was the boss of a massive criminal organization based in Nordenark.
With his shabby coat and wide-brimmed leather hat, he didn’t look like someone from the underworld.
I really thought he was just a farmer, you know?
That’s how plain his attire was.
“I was in such a rush that I didn’t even introduce myself properly. Nice to meet you. I’m Jaren Burgess.”
“Huh?”
When the old man revealed his identity, Derrick showed a surprised reaction.
As I looked at him curiously, he quickly whispered a short explanation in my ear.
“He’s an incredibly famous figure. Known as the Viscount of Darkness.”
“A noble?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Why would a viscount, of all people, run the underworld out of some lacking?
But I couldn’t resolve that question right away.
Since I’d been introduced, I had to respond in kind.
“Ah, yes. Nice to meet you. I’m Abel Carius.”
“……”
Jaren Burgess’s face, which had been wearing a faintly benevolent smile, stiffened slightly.
It felt like dry clay crumbling away.
He seemed far more surprised than I was.
Ah, yeah, that makes sense.
How often would he encounter a duke of the empire in such a remote place?
That reaction was inevitable.
“I-is that true? No, really?”
“Why would I lie about something like that?”
“Ahem! I’ve been quite rude. To receive help and delay my greetings like this.”
“Don’t mention it. The sun’s setting, so could you clear the way first? We need to find lodging.”
“Of course……. No, how could I, Jaren Burgess, treat my benefactor like that? Please come to my home.”
“No, there’s no need to go that far.”
“Don’t feel burdened; make yourself comfortable.”
It was hard to refuse when someone who looked well over 70 was earnestly pleading.
So I just nodded.
It was just staying one night; what could happen?
Interesting connection, though. Meeting the boss of the underworld on the road.
It felt like something I’d seen somewhere.
You know those stories?
Like helping an old man on the way to an interview, and he turns out to be the company’s president.
Of course, this was a bit different.
In this case, the one I helped is like the group chairman.
As I followed Jaren Burgess and glanced at the organization members, I felt them flinch.
Jaren Burgess spoke lowly to those members.
“Ah, you all go back. I’ll handle the talk with Antoine myself.”
“Yes! Boss.”
With one word, hundreds of members moved in perfect unison.
It was practically more private soldiers than an average small-to-medium lord had.
Of course, none had learned aura, but that many could handle one or two sloppy knights.
Am I getting involved in something bad unnecessarily?
At that thought, Derrick quickly explained.
“In Nordenark, the underworld doesn’t have a particularly bad image.”
“Why’s that?”
“Well……. Actually, the lords exploit more. Those guys just take moderately.”
“Oh?”
“Moreover, this place started as a slash-and-burn village. Built by people who fled nearby territories.”
Listening to Derrick, I nodded involuntarily.
Nordenark was where four territories met.
In the past, it was a battlefield where they fought claiming it as their land.
It was a strategic point for crossing into opposing territories.
But as the empire stabilized and even territorial wars were restricted, land grabs fizzled out.
While the lords lost interest, those fleeing exploitation gathered one by one, and it developed into Nordenark.
Basically a lawless city. The underworld is a necessary evil for maintaining order.
Jaren Burgess asked for a moment’s pardon and went into the inn district.
Soon, he came out walking with some man.
It seemed the talk went well.
“There was a slight misunderstanding. My subordinates thought I’d been attacked by Antoine. But it was just a mistake while driving the carriage.”
I tried to nod in acceptance but ended up tilting my head.
No, a big organization’s boss driving a cart alone through a blizzard?
That explanation lacks credibility.
Sensing the doubt in my eyes, Jaren Burgess lowered his voice.
“There are many ears now, so I’ll explain later.”
“Alright.”
I just nodded vaguely, not really wanting to press.
I didn’t need to know about underworld power struggles.
But not long after.
I learned this was my business.
Soon, we arrived at Jaren Burgess’s mansion.
While the party unpacked, I heard the hidden backstory.
“So the carriage didn’t fall by simple mistake.”
“Yes, I lied back then just in case.”
“And the culprits are definitely from the Sordin Order?”
“Yes, I clearly remember the outfits of those shooting crossbows.”
Jaren Burgess, returning to Nordenark by carriage, had been ambushed.
In that life-or-death moment.
If he hadn’t swiftly opened the door and escaped, he’d have fallen hundreds of meters off the cliff.
Sharing the fate of the coachman riddled with crossbow bolts.
“But why did they attack you, Mr. Burgess?”
“The reason is simple. They want to swallow Nordenark too.”
“No, not that. Why is a religious order meddling in underworld affairs?”
“Ah! Coming from the capital, you might not know.”
“Know what?”
After a brief pause, Jaren Burgess continued with a grave face.
“There are no longer any clerics in the Sordin Order. Moreover, they’re clashing with us while claiming to open a new world.”
It was an utterly incomprehensible answer.
A order that doesn’t serve a god?
Just how far have they fallen?
The next day.
I left Jaren Burgess’s mansion early in the morning.
Because it felt like I couldn’t delay even a moment.
The Sordin Order’s grand temple was further northeast.
At least half a day’s distance, so monitoring Nordenark was impossible.
Then I’d need to send someone skilled in espionage separately.
“Sir McNeil?”
“No way. Right? Your Grace?”
“I think that ‘no way’ is probably a yes.”
“But I’m supposed to provide close protection…….”
“Don’t you want to return to Midias as soon as possible? If you keep being uncooperative, the business trip will keep extending.”
“Uwaah! N-no!”
As expected, the beauty salon’s lover was a sure weakness for Cordell McNeil.
When his slick instincts met the desire to see his lover soon, what happens?
Naturally, the latter wins.
But this guy wasn’t moderately crazy; he was quite the lunatic.
“Then let’s go a bit later. Whatever.”
“Huh?”
“Either way, it’ll take months anyway.”
“Wow! You’re more immense than I thought.”
“I’m quite manly. Hahat!”
He wasn’t someone to handle with words.
How could he lack learning ability after so much real education?
Swish.
When I drew the communication rod, Cordell McNeil finally spread his hands and said,
“Ehey! It was a joke. How could I defy Your Grace’s order?”
“Please, just listen the first time? At this rate, my fist might come out before words.”
“Ahaha! I’ll b-be careful.”
“Before I crush your dreams and hopes, hurry and depart. Stay in Nordenark and find the Sordin Order’s assassins.”
“You mean monitor the whole vast city? Alone?”
“Just focus on the underworld bosses. There’ll be assassination attempts besides Jaren Burgess.”
“Ah!”
“You’re great at being slick, but why doesn’t your head turn?”
“Well……. It’s a hassle to use?”
“Ugh! This guy, really?”
Whoosh!
Swinging the communication rod produced a tremendous wind sound.
It meant that much emotion was loaded.
“I-I’m off!”
Cordell McNeil hurriedly returned to the city.
Then Shugl, who had been yawning lazily, suddenly sent a telepathy.
—This town’s a bit weird.
“In what way?”
—I felt the messengers of gods in the empire.
“There was an Aramid Order temple nearby.”
—But here, I feel nothing.
It connected to what Jaren Burgess said.
That there were no clerics left in the Sordin Order, and they no longer served a god.
Shugl’s senses pierced people’s inner thoughts relatively accurately.
As long as this guy wasn’t lying, it was credible.
—What now?
“What choice? The easiest way is a frontal breakthrough.”
Even if the order had degenerated, they couldn’t have moved the temple.
Why abandon such a large building for another place?
I headed straight for the Sordin Order’s grand temple.
But from the entrance, a bizarre scene unfolded.
Normal temples were bustling with visitors.
Countless people came for divine healing or prayers.
But this place was practically ruins.
“How is there not a single person?”
Even if the order was corrupt, there’d be unaware visitors.
Like us.
But it didn’t seem just abandoned.
Then suddenly, Shugl perked up his ears.
—Huh? I feel it.
“What?”
Just now, there was a presence. This is definitely a spiritual movement!
What this guy meant by spiritual movement implied involvement of gods or demons.
Then, the Sordin Order’s clerics might still be alive.
“Good. Going in should give some answers.”
The emperor’s religious reform didn’t mean wiping out the orders entirely.
He wanted clerics to function normally.
While removing the trash who profiteered off divine power during crises like plagues.
That meant restoring the Sordin Order to normal was also my job.
Creak! Puff puff!
Stepping on the blackened stone stairs sent an ominous dust swirling.
As if hinting at a dark future.
But right at that moment.
Tssss!
“Hmm?”
—?
With a heavy pressure, the air shimmered.
Soon, something black and massive appeared before me.
That indistinct form spread a strong aura and shouted,
—You bastard! Daring to step on the land of a dead god; you must want to be turned to dust!
I frowned at the voice booming in my head.
Shugl also seemed extremely displeased, clutching his head and wriggling.
Ah? That’s why no one’s here?
Just the first step, and this reaction.
Someone with weak nerves might faint outright.
But to me, it was just annoying, not really threatening.
The reason I frowned was because I knew this guy’s identity.
“What are you doing here?”
—You damned wretch…
“Hey, Feltron. Why so low-class? Aren’t you embarrassed?”
You know, in movies.
To exorcise a demon, you need to know its name.
Imagine someone tagging you on SNS and archiving your dark history.
Even the most evil person would want to run away immediately.
—Th-this crazy!
Feltron was the same.
He stopped emitting the unpleasant energy and vanished abruptly.
I looked at Shugl and lightly shrugged.
Seriously, what’s with that guy?
“My thoughts exactly.”
I didn’t know what he was plotting, but one thing was certain.
Now was the time to shatter that guy’s plans.
Feltron is like team rocket at this point