The time was exactly one year ago.
A point not long after Evan had been possessed.
If counting only the months, it would be more accurate to say a few months prior.
For Evan, it was a moment of crisis even greater than when Lapis suddenly returned with a golem.
“Young master. You must leave the mansion for a while.”
“…Yes?”
“His Grace the Duke has ordered that the young master begin the successor test.”
It was the loyal chief attendant who served Duke Cabaro directly who came down to deliver the message.
Dolph had long since been sent on (forced) vacation.
In the end, Evan had no choice but to be half-forced into heading to the underworld.
Fortunately, the loyal knight commander accompanied him, so there was no worry about his life being in danger, but the problem was the future.
If he couldn’t prove anything here?
He would be immediately expelled.
Evan had absolutely no confidence he could survive.
Regardless of whether it was scary or not, this was such a harsh world.
Even in South Korea, where absolute poverty had been solved, wandering the streets with nothing could lead to a silent death.
He absolutely could not be expelled from here…!
“Damn it. What do I do here?”
So the path Evan chose was to make use of the alchemy he possessed, even if just a little.
He worked as hard as possible to create golems and research means to protect himself.
In truth, that was only half the focus.
The knight commander’s realm was said to be just before Sword Master, but Evan knew.
He had already surpassed the Sword Master realm.
It wouldn’t be strange for him to leave the family and become independent long ago.
Whether he went to the underworld or the imperial family, he would receive treatment above count.
That was the value of someone who had reached the realm of Sword Master.
But the knight commander remained with the family.
Purely because of his loyalty to Cabaro.
“I am still lacking, young master. As you well know, even among Sword Masters there are divisions of realm. I have only just stepped onto the path leading to the very end.”
He roughly understood.
If compared to mages, it was about equal to 7th-rank.
Above that, 8th and 9th ranks still remained.
‘Even 7th-rank level is honestly more than enough.’
At least to survive in the underworld.
Here, the power of the title that Evan held and Sword Master carried more weight than the 7th-rank realm itself.
Successor to Duke Cabaro.
At the very least, riffraff wouldn’t dare touch him.
The strong were fundamentally people who knew basic courtesy.
Most despised ugly fights and, though cruel, had a more gentlemanly side.
They kept minimum etiquette.
They didn’t crudely seize someone and threaten them.
Unless they were some cheap criminal.
‘…The problem is how to prove myself.’
The first successor test.
There was only one way to pass it.
To have an alias or name called in the underworld.
Or at the very least, to reach a level where he was recognized.
It would be nice if a strong enemy appeared at the right time…
‘That’s already ruined.’
Duke Cabaro’s dignity, prestige, the way he managed this world, and so on.
In many ways, such a person was hard to appear.
Even if one did appear, he would quickly turn them into an ally.
That was one of the powers of Duke Cabaro, called the Drug King.
“No choice.”
There was only one way to live.
To utilize alchemy.
One of the few talents possessed by Evan Alkart’s body.
Even if he hated it, if he wanted to survive by making things like elixirs, he had to increase his skill.
Evan made his decision.
He would use alchemy.
‘Don’t make anything bad.’
Absolutely no drugs.
Before modern common sense, manufacturing drugs carried far too great a risk.
Drug sellers had the most dangerous lives.
Of course, since they stood at the front.
The next most dangerous.
A manufacturer whose identity was openly revealed was even more dangerous.
What if he suffered a bomb terror attack?
He could endure it, sure.
But Evan was not Iron Man.
That guy was fine even falling from the sky or being swept up in explosions just by wearing a suit.
Evan had no confidence he could do that.
He had to live quietly.
‘Something good for the body, something good for the body…’
If possible, toward cures.
If done well, good samples might accumulate.
He might even be able to cure someone as congenitally frail as Evan.
So he went around doing some charity work.
At first, everyone cursed him.
Saying he was trying to test on them.
He didn’t particularly resist.
It was the truth.
He had to survive first!
Still, when doing clinical trials, he paid a lot and only did it within safe limits.
That way, starting from minor colds, he cured accumulated toxins in the body, light drug addiction, erectile dysfunction, and… hair loss.
“Wait a second.”
Aegis raised her hand.
Her eyes shook.
“?”
“Wh-what did you cure?”
“Yes? Hair loss.”
“||”
“Are you actually insane?!”
Aegis shot up and grabbed Evan by the collar.
Evan made kek kek sounds with his ever-expressionless face.
Contrary to his expression, he was panicking inside.
No.
No!
Why all of a sudden?!
“How did you cure that?!”
“The remaining… hair cells were cloned and placed back…”
“So how did you do that!! It’s easier to just resurrect the dead!”
“H-honestly, it was eas…”
“What part was easy!”
Aegis shook Evan by the collar.
Evan had said it so casually, but in reality, it was not an easy task at all.
It was to the point people said it would be better to revive the dead.
Reviving the dead only required calling back the soul and regenerating the body.
But hair—he had regenerated only that.
With nothing but alchemy!
“Really… you… be honest. Are you a homunculus?”
“Yes?”
“You’re another alchemist pretending to be Evan!! There’s a super old alchemist inside this body, right?!”
No, what kind of rejuvenated master was she talking about.
Would I be that kind of person?
Evan was dumbfounded, but Aegis was serious.
She shook his collar, shouting not to lie.
Unbeknownst to them, Evan’s complexion was slightly worsening.
Shrrrrrr—
Pure white threads shot out and firmly bound Aegis’s body.
Lapis glared sharply and yelled.
“Let go of that hand right now!”
“No…!”
“Evan can do anything! He could just bring the dead back to life!”
“That’s illegal.”
“Who cares about that! If Evan wants to do it, he does it!”
Lapis was serious in her own way.
Even Felix, sitting in the corner, nodded.
No, why are you nodding?
You should deny it.
This was maddening.
It was when Evan’s head was hurting.
“But Evan.”
“?”
“I understand your ability is outstanding, but then why weren’t you called by another name? Why Drug Manufacturing King?”
Lapis scratched her head as if she didn’t understand.
“What does that have to do with drugs…?”
Yes!
That’s what I wanted to say!
“I wonder the same… probably because His Grace the Duke’s title is Drug King.”
In truth, Cabaro was called Drug King because it was an alias given early on; it no longer suited his current style.
Rather than Drug King, something like Shadow Emperor would fit better, wouldn’t it?
He was called king beyond simply “managing” the entire underworld.
The underworld would only grow larger.
This world would continue expanding without stopping, fundamentally reaching a size similar to the continent.
Someone who could manage all of that?
The current emperor of the empire?
His ability might be good.
But that was all.
He fundamentally lacked experience.
Experience ruling and managing such an underworld.
Because he was a born ruler, adaptation would be fast, but fast adaptation was not enough to govern a newly established nation.
It had to be perfect from the start.
That was why Duke Cabaro was praised.
Because with innate ruling power, insight, and ability, he perfectly governed the underworld.
“That might be it.”
Aegis nodded in understanding but sidled closer and asked quietly.
“So Evan.”
“?”
“How exactly did you cure hair loss?”
“You have to see it directly. It’s custom-made medicine. If there is not a single hair left, then even that—”
“It’s impossible to revive.”
“Yes.”
Grab!
“But if the hair roots remain, it works?”
Aegis grabbed both his hands. She asked with a serious expression.
“Evan. I’m seriously proposing. Come to the Mage Tower and I’ll give you an elder position.”
“…?”
“You know too, hair loss is an incurable disease. Reviving already dead hair is on the same level as attempting <Resurrection of the Dead> directly.”
But it was not taboo.
Only the difficulty was similar.
In other words, he possessed skill worth challenging a taboo.
“If it’s you, you can go from elder to tower master. No, you definitely will. Come to our Mage Tower!”
“…I’m not sure if I said this before, but I have no plans to go to the Mage Tower.”
Evan said in a calm voice.
“I will remain here.”
“That’s a tremendous waste of talent! If only you come, our Mage Tower can become enormously huge! As tower master, you can do anything you want! Even if you say you want to make elixirs, we can support everything!”
Elixirs?
Evan’s eyes trembled slightly.
Elixirs were a different story.
Elixirs were one of the three pinnacles of alchemy and also Evan’s goal.
Freedom from this frail body and an unknown lifespan.
He didn’t desire extended lifespan, but at least he didn’t want to live a life with a time limit.
‘The ending is important, but…’
Honestly, at this rate, he even wondered if the ending mattered.
Three sins had already gathered.
Plus all the connections he had built.
He would have to see if the sins would all be rehabilitated.
But before the ending even arrived, he had to avoid the ending of using up his lifespan and dying.
Knock knock.
At that moment, someone knocked on the carriage Evan’s party was riding.
Felix stood up, opened the door, and spoke in a stiff voice.
“What business do you have here, Sir Danning? I believe the lord clearly told you not to come.”
He had said not to come?
Evan immediately realized who the visitor was.
The third-in-command.
His name… ah, yes.
Ahort.
He had suddenly come.
“I believe I told you not to appear before me again.”
“I… apologize, young master. However, the ‘Godfather’ wishes to meet you.”
“The Godfather?”
One of Evan’s eyebrows rose.
The Godfather.
Why was that stubborn old man…?
***
The return of Drug Manufacturing King, Evan Alkart.
Everyone cheered, but from the third-in-command’s position, it was honestly something he did not wish for.
“The young master has arrived?”
Third-in-command.
Originally, he should have taken the second seat after the second-in-command died.
But because Duke Cabaro was busy and absent, and had not officially passed it on.
So he remained the third-in-command.
In truth, even if not third-in-command, it was the same.
Unless he took the seat of first-in-command, Duke Cabaro, he always had to bow to those above.
That was even more true for a successor who could inherit the first-in-command’s seat at any time.
‘Of all people, Evan Alkart…’
Evan Alkart.
The alias used to call him.
The prince said to succeed the Drug King Cabaro.
Drug Manufacturing King, Evan Alkart.
In just one year—no, merely a few months—he had made his infamy known, and now he was returning here.
It was actually scarier.
If he had scattered drugs indiscriminately?
He would have been called a tyrant.
A tyrant could be called king, but not emperor.
As if showing he was destined to become a ruler in the future, he showed not a single flaw.
A request came to meet such a person.
The Godfather.
The oldest figure in the underworld and one who had lived since Cabaro’s time, possessing wisdom.
He did have the flaw of once being addicted to drugs, but now even that had been overcome.
‘Is he coming to keep Evan Alkart in check?’
Yes! This was it.
This was the level needed to keep him in check.
So the third-in-command gladly brought the Godfather to Evan.
A person who had shown an extremely cold attitude to another successor candidate who visited earlier.
He believed it would be no different for Evan.
Thud!
“Please, please bestow medicine upon meeeee!”
No.
Godfather…sir…?