Chapter 25: Full Moon Festival (2)

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System Message

[ Main Quest is renewed! ]

[ Main Quest ]

[ The villain is trying to capture you! ]

[ Skilfully overcome this ordeal! ]

[ The faster you resolve it, the better the reward! ]

[ Reward: Branch benefit from the main scenario! ]

Seeing the pop-up, I looked at the person in front of me.

Marquis Galdier Riverback, also known as the Purifier.

'…To be honest, this guy is nothing special.'

He was but a puppet that moved as he was told.

He was just a clever little worm, not worthy of being a Chapter 1 boss with the enormous status of a Marquis.

Nonetheless, he was still a successful transport businessman and a famous philanthropist, who also ran a charity foundation that was well-known even within the empire as a whole.

Their slogan was to give opportunities to talented individuals who were unable to develop their potential due to their circumstances and undesirable environment.

'He's very articulate in this sense.'

But in fact, this was simply to lay out the groundwork.

He built trust with the people, then slowly gaslit them into listening to everything he said.

Naturally, this resulted in uncountable deaths.

Take the people he brought with him right now as an example, all of whom looked strong.

More than that, they were willing to sacrifice their lives for his sake. All it took was just one word from Marquis Riverback.

I secretly glanced at the tattoos on their necks.

It was the seal of the PURIFIER, a group of devil worshipers.

'Is it one of the factions?'

The main enemies of the scenario were devils and the devil worshipers they influenced.

Basically, they hated humanity and peace and considered unleashing chaos and evil in the world as their lifelong goal. They had nothing else to do.

And the PURIFIERs were especially obsessed with the Tristan Family.

The story going around was that a devil lived in the Tristan Family's bloodline.

They were aware, to some extent, of the fact that the resurrection of the Grey Devil was related to this lineage.

They were the ones who threw a boulder at Eleanor on the train, sneaked professional assassins into the academy, and even detonated the bomb at the freshman welcome party to release the caged monsters.

"Lady Tristan, long time no see."

Seeing him smile as he saw Eleanor, I really wanted to applaud his straightforward brazenness.

Meanwhile, when Eleanor entered the restaurant and saw Marquis Riverback, her expression hardened even more.

'Pretty sure they aren't on good terms.'

Marquis Riverback was one of the representative political opponents of the Tristan Family.

He was acting as a liaison for a group, that was secretly working behind the scenes, to be exact.

"It's been a while, Marquis Riverback."

"Yes. How have you been?"

"If you're just going to talk nonsense, would you please step back? This is the least desirable time for me to get disturbed by you."

But despite her chilling tone, Marquis Riverback continued to smile and even beckoned to the people around him.

"I want to respect Lady Tristan's wishes, but I have something to do in this place, unfortunately."

Then, he snapped his fingers and the men standing near him moved in unison.

It was basically him telling us to follow his direction, otherwise…

"I'll borrow this man for a moment, Lady Tristan."

"Who says—"

Eleanor was about to raise her voice but suddenly stopped midway.

I came closer and whispered something in her ear.

"…"

After that, I smiled at Eleanor, whose eyes slightly widened.

"It's fine."

"…Dowd? That's—"

"It will be over soon, it won't take long."

"…"

Eleanor mumbled something under her breath.

'Uh. It will be over really soon.'

In the first place.

It might already be over.

"It seems like you're on good terms with Lady Tristan?"

Marquis Riverback said so with a smile.

"Yes. Is there any problem?"

Across him, Dowd Campbell opened the tray lid while slightly frowning at those words.

He was about to start eating.

He had thick nerves, seeing as he didn't even pay attention to the fact that he was invited by a person with unknown intentions. Much less, reading the atmosphere.

'…He looks incompetent.'

Marquis Riverback thought so as he glared at the other party.

He had heard several reports of this person being strangely close to the Hero candidate, and his target, Lady Tristan.

So he was expecting, at least, something special from the man to warrant this phenomenon.

However, the man in front of him was disappointing.

He was the embodiment of a talentless fool... so much so that it was almost unbelievable.

'But the Prophet…'

He swallowed drily at the thought of his Master.

A being called the Prophet by the devil worshipers.

All devil worshippers, including the PURIFIERS, were merely tools to that person.

Marquis Riverback's position as a Marquis and his reputation as a prominent businessman in the empire were all due to a single word from the Prophet.

The Prophet's influence, power, and evil had already seeped like poison into the three hegemons, and its tentacles had reached every corner of the continent.

Compared to that person, Marquis Riverback's position as a Marquis was nothing but that of an insignificant bug.

"…"

And yet, such an existence was interested in this insignificant man in front of him.

Marquis Riverback couldn't figure out why, but one thing is clear.

His original plan of approaching the Hero candidate was changed to approaching this man because of the Prophet.

"Do you know why I called you here, Mr. Dowd?"

But first, he had to encourage this man to his side, just like what he intended to do with the Hero candidate.

To be exact, it was to blackmail him into cooperating with them.

'Things are going perfectly.'

He didn't know what the hell this man in front of him was thinking, but he delivered their main target, Lady Tristan, in front of their doorsteps.

It was currently the Full Moon Festival so the security was at its weakest due to the festive atmosphere.

'The grace of God shall descend to this Heaven and Earth.'

Devil energy was sensitive to chaos and fear. So if blood and death drowned this festival, the slumbering devil inside Lady Tristan would definitely respond.

The Prophet had professed the Tristan family's lineage as related to a devil.

Now, all his extensive preparation and years as a Marquis was finally culminating today.

'The plan is perfect.'

The Prophet had bestowed the position of Marquis upon him for this very moment.

There was no room for error, not the slightest mishap.

"…"

Now, this Dowd person.

If he didn't comply, then Marquis Riverback could just threaten him with death. And since he seemed to have a good relationship with Lady Tristan, they could use that as bait as well.

He was like a dung beetle rolling around in manure.

As Marquis Riverback was deep in his thoughts, Dowd, who had been munching on a piece of meat, suddenly looked back at him with a blank stare.

"What?"

"…"

Hearing such a lax tone, Marquis Riverback sighed inwardly. It felt so stupid.

Why did the Prophet have him meet this guy?

But he suppressed the pathetic feeling and continued.

"I asked if you knew why I called you here."

"Ah, that."

Dowd Campbell's voice was still relaxed.

"Aren't you just going to babble about resurrecting a devil or something?"

He said those words with such leisure.

Meanwhile, Marquis Riverback unknowingly held his breath at this sudden turn.

"…What?"

"It's currently the Full Moon Festival where the security is at its weakest. Aren't you aiming to create a bloodbath to resurrect a devil?"

He was casually listing out information as if he had read Marquis Riverback's mind.

"Since the Marquis deals with the transportation business, you should have no problem in smuggling the goods inside the Golden Triangle. You can easily disguise the monsters as something else in the transport."

This was his plan that, other than the Prophet, was kept hidden, even from the devil worshipers' executives specifically for security reasons.

"You set up bombs all around and detonate them at once, and unleash the monsters. Meanwhile, the knights on standby will have to deal with the assassins."

Everything flowed out of his mouth without pause. It was no different than an attitude one would use to chat while eating a delicious meal.

Dowd took another bite and continued.

"The multiple assassination attempts on Lady Tristan and the monster stampede at the welcome party don't really matter. In the first place, the fact that the monsters and assassins successfully caused a disturbance meant that the basic conditions for using them were met. You were initially just testing the waters. "

It wasn't just his plan, but even the moves he had taken and his intentions. This guy had seen through everything accurately.

The same plan that he thought was perfect until now.

The plan that only he and the Prophet knew, and worked hard to perfect for many years.

In just a few seconds, everything was laid bare by the man he thought of as nothing but a fool.

"It's obvious, really."

"Ah, this sauce is fucking delicious."

Dowd Campbell said with a smirk.

Still.

It looked like he was more interested in the meal than that kind of thing.

Watching this, Marquis Riverback unconsciously clenched the armrest of his chair.

A thick drop of sweat ran down his forehead to his nose, but he didn't have time to pay attention to it.

"You, just who are you?"

"Aren't you always the reckless and aggressive type? What are you pretending to be polite for?"

Despite his growling, the response from the other party remained composed. It was as if he had always known him.

Like he knew him well from long before.

"Well, as for what I just said, I've taken care of everything."

"…"

"The Headmistress even personally moved the knights for me, after I reported this matter."

Marquis Riverback gritted his teeth.

'…I've miscalculated…!'

The intention was to raise devil worshipers by sponsoring and nurturing the empire's talents. However, the alarm was ringing in full volume right now.

He didn't know how, but this man had seen through and foiled the entire plan on his own.

It was no different than him taking a leisurely stroll.

A rustling noise sounded.

'…I was the fool in the end.'

This guy was a monster.

He wasn't exuding any sort of aura like that of the Hero candidate or Lady Tristan, but he was probably more dangerous than both of them combined.

Typical monsters were like brilliantly burning flames, impressive both in appearance and their ways, and always exuding an intimidating presence.

But, this guy.

He was like frozen steel.

One wouldn't know just how cold it was until they actually touched it. It didn't appear dangerous in the least.

But the moment one messed with it, it would eat up your flesh without mercy.

He now understood a little bit about why the Prophet wanted this guy.

'They're birds of the same feather…!'

He looked harmless on the outside but insidious on the inside, like raising dozens of snakes inside a small hole.

He controlled the very scenario itself!

"…I admit it. You're no ordinary person…"

Then Marquis Riverback grabbed his necklace.

"But you should know that..."

He pressed a button embedded into it which sent a signal to all those wearing the same necklace.

"Everything is not in your palms."

He smiled slyly.

As with all schemers, every plan had to have insurance added in the back.

This guy would never be able to stop this.

–Let's see if you'll have the same conviction after this.

Looking at Marquis Riverback, who was smiling triumphantly, I couldn't help but think so.

System Log

[ Skill: Fatal Charm has been Activated! ]

[ The villain is in awe of your slyness! ]

[ Rewards Available! ]

"…"

'What slyness?'

'Seriously?'

Well, anyway.

"My men should already be on their way downstairs to subdue Lady Tristan. They are the cream of the crop that has been selected through the House of Purification project."

Marquis Riverback said with a look of composure.

I guess he was talking about the guys from before.

"You may have disrupted my plan, but we can still proceed with it as long as you're here. They are all strong individuals who are comparable to the knights. Even Lady Tristan will ultimately be subdued."

He seemed confident in himself.

'…Well, they're not really bona fide knights.'

Knights were so powerful that even the rumors of them having monster blood running through their veins seemed believable to the masses.

Regardless, if Marquis Riverback's men were comparable to the level of a knight, then it was understandable where he got such confidence.

It was just that I had to interrupt him in his tracks.

"Try it, then."

When I said that, Marquis Riverback was bewildered once again.

"…What are you talking about?"

"Try it."

I brought Eleanor to this place for a reason.

Even if she was the final boss, there haven't been many opportunities to see her majesty properly until now.

In the first place, she was always suppressing her madness because of mental limitations.

However, as far as I knew.

'…It's better to let it loose sometimes.'

Considering the context, it was just right.

It wasn't that there wasn't a way to get rid of it completely, but it was currently impossible.

Until then, it was generally better to let it out every now and then.

More importantly, these were devil worshipers, so she could proceed without any guilt.

"…"

If she could release it without any restraint, one would see why she was the final boss.

"It's good that they're elites."

Simply because…

"They'll be good punching bags for Eleanor."

Eleanor wasn't trapped with them.

They were trapped with Eleanor.

You can read 255 chapters for $20. p.atreon.com/casca02