This is my chance!
Aiden struggled to hide his excitement at the arena owner’s words.
It was hard to control even his facial muscles, but fortunately, the mask he wore to conceal his identity covered it all up.
“Drugs, huh. I bet the ones in a place like this are all trash.”
“Hohoho! You’re not wrong! Most of the riffraff here are basically disposable anyway. But not you. You… you’re from Blackout, aren’t you?”
For a moment, Aiden flinched, but he quickly feigned indifference and responded mockingly.
He managed it by instinctively picturing Jun’s face.
“Well, imagination is free.”
“Hoho, you really do keep your mouth shut. But whatever. All that matters is that we each get what we want. It’s just business, right?”
“Business, huh. Fair enough.”
“Well, I’m the one who wants something, so I’ll make the first offer. Here, take this.”
What he handed over was a worn piece of paper with a map drawn on it.
“…What’s this?”
“He’s the most famous herbalist in the market.”
“Never heard of him.”
“That’s because the old man’s real skills are the reason. He’s not someone whose name just floats around.”
“And you’re giving this to me?”
“Think of it as a token of my sincerity. I’d like to keep you around for a long time.”
“Hmph.”
Pretending not to care, Aiden quickly memorized the contents of the map as he accepted it.
“Alright. I’ll take it, for the sake of your so-called sincerity.”
“Hoho. If you ever decide to leave that agent and come work for me, I’ll give you whatever you want. Just remember how sincere I’ve been.”
After the short conversation, Aiden exited the arena and discreetly kept his guard up as he moved in a designated direction.
It was a temporary base set up by the Blackguard Knights.
“You’re back.”
“Took you a bit longer than expected.”
“Not really. More than that, you were in the arena for quite a while. What happened?”
“Well, actually…”
Aiden recounted the conversation he’d had earlier with the arena owner and handed over the map he’d received.
“Amazing! I didn’t expect you to come back with something like this so soon!”
Honestly, they hadn’t placed high expectations on him, but Aiden’s performance had exceeded all their hopes.
The other members still hadn’t managed to fully establish themselves within the Black Market.
“Thanks to you, we’ve got a solid lead. I appreciate it.”
“N-No, sir.”
“No need to be modest. Now I understand why the White Whale mercenary leader recommended you.”
“Thank you, Commander.”
“Good… Now we just need to follow the map. We’ll head out once the rest of the team arrives.”
“Yes!”
“Oh, and your leader has finished up his work as well. I already contacted him, so he should be dropping by tonight.”
“Really?”
Aiden’s lips curved slightly in anticipation. He was already thinking about how to brag about what he had accomplished.
Later that evening—
After returning from dinner, Aiden found Jun eating with Tairdin.
“Hey, Aiden.”
“Senior!”
“You did well out there.”
“Haha, not at all. I learned a lot from my time here.”
“Seems like it. Captain Tairdin told me you gathered some valuable information in the arena?”
“Wha…? You already heard?”
Aiden gave Tairdin a slightly sulky look, but Tairdin, of course, had no idea what that look meant.
“We were just talking about that. You should join in.”
“…Yes.”
Hearing Aiden’s unexpectedly deflated voice, Jun tilted his head curiously.
Was life here really that rough on him?
***
“By the way, where did Priestess Eleanor go?”
“Oh, I sent her off to treat someone. He needed special care.”
Chairlse’s injuries still hadn’t fully healed.
Most importantly, reattaching a severed arm was only possible with a high-level priestess like Eleanor.
Although she grumbled her complaints, she still agreed to Jun’s request.
“What about Maya?”
“The intelligence group I mentioned earlier. She still has things to take care of over there.”
It would still take quite a bit of time before Basai’s teachings could be fully learned, so in the meantime, Jun had assigned Maya to assist Chairlse.
“Anyway… This map. You said the arena owner gave it to you, right?”
“Ah, yes. That’s correct.”
“Hmm.”
Jun stared at the location marked on the map Aiden had brought and fell silent in thought.
He was trying to recall memories from his time as “Lee Jeong-jun”.
The Black Market in Morvaty had been a minor location in the game, so he had a general sense of its geography.
But I don’t really remember anything about this guy.
Unfortunately, this particular area hadn’t come up much when progressing through Viscount Bedron’s questline, so he hadn’t interacted with it often.
“Captain Tairdin. Could I ask for a little time?”
“Hmm? Did something come to mind?”
“I recently acquired Viscount Bedron’s ledger. Since he was involved in slave trading, there might be some valuable information in there…”
“Viscount Bedron? What kind of things have you been…? Ugh, never mind. So, you’re planning to see if this herbalist appears in that ledger?”
“That’s right.”
“Whatever we do, it’s best to be cautious. But remember….we don’t have much time left.”
“I’ll look into it as quickly as I can.”
By now, the count had likely combed through the ledger thoroughly.
Jun immediately sent a letter to the count, and the reply arrived early the next morning.
“…He’s quite a dangerous individual.”
“What is it?”
“He’s been researching illegal drugs in this area for a long time. There are also records in Viscount Bedron’s ledger showing he purchased several slaves.”
“Illegal drugs… Then he might be connected to the ones we’ve been looking for.”
The target was clear.
It might be a good idea to have the Blackguard Knights move in and capture him right away.
Since he had been active in the area for so long, once caught, he could potentially provide valuable information on the criminals the Blackguard had been tracking.
And so, the scattered members began returning to base.
They were quite shocked to learn that the White Whale Mercenary Group had gathered the information before they did.
“S-So quickly…?”
“…Had I known this would happen, I would’ve gone to the arena myself.”
“No, we sent him because it would’ve been too difficult for us, didn’t we?”
“Ugh…”
Some of the members still looked at Jun and Aiden with disapproval, but their number had noticeably decreased.
“Still, thanks to them, this mission will be over quickly.”
“I’d rather hunt down criminals and fight them.”
“You’re right. All this sneaking around is boring and doesn’t suit our honor. We should be thankful it ended quickly.”
While no one would go so far as to say, “Does honor feed us?” most of the members simply wanted the mission to be over as soon as possible.
Now that Jun and Aiden had stepped in and wrapped things up quickly, they offered the two genuine words of thanks.
“I heard he earned a fearsome nickname…‘Golden Demon’.”
“Must’ve been a brutal fight in the arena.”
“It’s a shame we couldn’t go cheer him on ourselves.”
“Let’s acknowledge your honor.”
Aiden’s face brightened visibly as more and more knights gave him their recognition.
“Golden Demon…? What kind of terrifying nickname is that?”
“Ah! It’s nothing!”
And so, the group’s next operation gradually began to unfold.
***
The heart of the Black Market.
Unlike the entrance area, the atmosphere here was ominous no matter where one went. Behind a huge building in the central zone—
A man looked at a nearly collapsed stable and spoke.
“No matter how many times I come here, it’s always strange. Why build an underground laboratory in a stable when there’s a perfectly fine mansion right there?”
He was Beneto, the owner of the arena, who had just yesterday been pressuring Aiden to join.
Inside the shabby stable, there wasn’t a single horse in sight, even though they should have been chewing on hay.
Instead, when the pile of rotted hay was pushed aside, an entrance leading underground was revealed.
He clicked his tongue briefly and stepped inside. The rundown appearance of the stable disappeared, replaced by a clean underground passage.
From the entrance, a sharp herbal scent mixed with the unpleasant stench of corpses filled the air.
“Hmmm… This smell—Beneto, is that you?”
As he moved a bit further in, a low humming voice echoed through the space.
“It is. Enverman.”
“I was just waiting for you. Come on in.”
At those words, Beneto opened a door halfway down the corridor and stepped inside, where an old man greeted him.
“It’s been a while.”
“You’re still as lively as ever, old man.”
“Haha. My goal is immortality….can’t afford to be frail now, can I?”
Indeed, despite his white hair, the old man had a robust build.
He wore a well-tailored suit and white surgical gloves stained with blood and held a scalpel still wet with red.
“Immortality, huh? If you ever succeed, be sure to share the secret.”
“Why wait? It’s already possible—well, about halfway, at least.”
“I’ll pass. I’m not keen on grafting monster skin onto my body.”
“A man who seeks immortality but isn’t willing to sacrifice. What a greedy one.”
“I won’t deny it. Greed’s always been one of my traits. Hahaha!”
As their short exchange ended, Beneto suddenly noticed someone lying on a surgical table to one side.
“Oh? Do we have company?”
“Nothing to worry about. I just finished with him.”
“I heard you’ve been busy lately. Is it because of him?”
“Yes, that’s part of it. But I’ve also been occupied with something else. A rather fascinating specimen came in recently.”
“And that gentleman over there?”
“He asked me to enhance his body.”
“Even at a glance, he looks quite the formidable one…”
Could he somehow be lured into his arena?
As a flicker of desire passed through Beneto’s eyes, the old man shook his head.
“Don’t even think about it. He’s not someone you can handle.”
“Fair enough. I may be greedy, but I do know how to restrain myself. Still, is that gentleman from Blackout?”
Just as the old man was about to answer, the man lying on the surgical table spoke first.
“Yes, sir. I came up recently due to certain events.”
The man, rising from the blood-soaked surgical table, gave a brief answer to Beneto, then turned to the old man.
“Master Enverman, you have earned merit.”
“Are you talking about the surgery I performed on you? Hahaha. Hardly. I’ve long had quite an interest in your body.”
“We’ve both gained something, so I’m sure the One has blessed this encounter. Asura Salvarta.”
Murmuring softly while gripping his heavy prayer beads, the man…or rather the Butcher Monk glanced down at his own body.
“With this, I’ve done all the procedures I can offer. Do you feel any discomfort at the back of your neck?”
“Thanks to your remarkable skills, I’m fine.”
“Remarkable, you say. Still, don’t rely too much on my surgery. It will help you manage your killing intent, but if you push your strength any further, it’ll be too much to handle.”
“If fate allows, the One will guide me. He always has.”
“Then that’s good. By the way, I heard the Old Crone was taken down. Is that why you’re here?”
In response to Enverman’s question, the Butcher Monk nodded without hesitation.
“I encountered some powerful opponents. I’m pushing my training even harder to prepare.”
“I see. I didn’t expect she would go like that.”
“Do you regret your disciple’s death?”
“Not sure I’d go so far as to call her a disciple. I merely extended her lifespan a little according to her wishes. Still, her body was quite interesting. Worth studying. You don’t often come across a curse that alters the body in that way, do you?”
“I see. In any case, thank you. I’ll make sure to repay this favor someday.”
“Then let me perform another procedure on that body of yours someday. This time left me a bit unsatisfied.”
“If I die someday, go ahead. Though that day’s still a long way off. Asura Salvarta.”
With those final words, the Butcher Monk gave a light bow to the two who remained in the surgical room and took his leave.
“Ahem. So, Beneto, what was it you came here for?”
“Ah, I forgot with that monk’s presence and all. A rather interesting fellow showed up at our arena recently. I sent him your way. Just came to ask you to take a look at him.”
“Oh? For you to say that much… I suppose he’ll be a nice addition to my little hobby. I’ve had a setback with a project I was working on anyway.”
Thinking he might find some amusement in a new place now that the Butcher Monk was gone, Enverman smiled in satisfaction.
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