In the border town between the Rigaland Republic and the Hodgkin Federation, Rude.
Overseeing one of the largest shops in town, O’Brien hurried through his backyard. In the yard stood a handsome cottage, often used for tea parties admiring the proud garden.
Contrary to its elegance, the cottage housed brutish men.
“Brother Gordon, there’s no need to rush like that.”
“But Jiggit, what if that b*stard gets killed while we’re taking it easy?”
“He’s joined the Federation’s ranks. There’ll be fewer fools picking fights. We still haven’t pinpointed the location. Just wait for more info.”
The man addressed as “Brother” was unmistakably of Warwick descent. His imposing figure shook the building with every impatient move. In contrast, the man trying to calm Gordon down was slender with long hair, his eyes vigilantly scanning the surroundings.
This Warwick man was Gordon, the first seat of the Disaster clan. The other thin man was Jiggit, ranked fifth in the clan.
Knock, knock.
As the knocking echoed, O’Brien, the rightful owner of the cottage, entered. Seeing him, Gordon eagerly inquired.
“Hey, any new information?”
“Yes, sir. Upon organizing the information, it seems likely they’re in Dudur Valley.”
“What? They killed our brothers and just stayed there?”
“Well, that’s… yes, that seems to be the case.”
“So, those Durham folks just left our brothers to die?”
“Well, that’s…”
“They want us to wipe them all out!”
“Sir, that’s reckless!”
Gordon’s rising anger prompted O’Brien to hurriedly calm him down. At that moment, a man burst into the room with a gust of wind. He had an unremarkable appearance, average build, a slightly thin face reminiscent of a Liken, but his silent entry hinted at his significance.
“You’re quite agitated, brother.”
“Ah, you’re back. Just heard O’Brien’s report. It seems this guy called Shigeto killed Carton and is holed up in Dudur Valley.”
“Ah, as suspected. We’ve gathered quite a bit of information too.”
“Oh? So, what’s he like?”
“Well, to put it simply, nobody knows.”
“What? Nobody knows?”
Gordon became animated again at Bodick’s words. But Bodick himself remained unaffected.
“This Shigeto guy just arrived through a transfer. And word is, his guardian spirit and abilities aren’t anything special. The Republic has asked him to join as an intellectual, so it must be true.”
“What!? That guy killed Carton? Impossible!”
“That’s why there must be something. Plus, he reportedly went from the Sky Temple to Galal Blue.”
“…What do you mean?”
“He chose that place to descend to the lower world after the transfer. It doesn’t make sense, right?”
“Alone?”
“We’re not sure about that. There were rumors of another person, but even if there’s one more, it’s still unusual for a newcomer to survive there. Something abnormal is going on.”
“…I see.”
“Well, abnormal powers always come with corresponding weaknesses. If it’s just killing, that’s always doable.”
“Yeah. If we know where he is, anything is possible.”
Gordon smirked wickedly and downed the contents of his cup.
“Coming to this world, he might not know much, but he’ll learn there are things he can’t get away with not knowing.”
Disaster’s reputation for covert activities was too widespread. But among them, Bodick, ranked fourth, was a man without any remarkable features. He blended in, unnoticed. Utilizing his lack of distinctiveness, he excelled at disguising himself and stealthily approaching targets.
Bodick was the only one in Disaster who was useful in gathering information on Shigeto.
And O’Brien, a merchant, also used his business network to investigate Shigeto’s whereabouts.
O’Brien had built up the Sims Trading Company single-handedly. He had done many dirty deeds to achieve that. For O’Brien, Disaster was an indispensable ally who could dirty their hands in his place.
With O’Brien’s help, crossing the border into the Hodgkin Federation should be no problem. But it wasn’t without risks.
He sighed inwardly.
Originally, the connection with Disaster served as an excellent appeal to manipulate the Celestial positions. But now, those Celestial positions had fallen.
…Could they reclaim those Celestial positions?
— Is it time to cut ties?
Staring at the mess of his proud cottage with overturned bottles and disheveled bedding, he began to calculate in his mind.
The next day, Gordon and Jiggit sneaked into the Hodgkin Federation in a cargo carriage. Bodick continued his disguise and entered the Federation through a different route.
With their own motives in tow, malice began to swirl.
(TLN: It seems the second volume of the light novel edition came out in January, I’d like to add illustrations from that as well, but I can’t really find them and amazon JP doesn’t like my cards, so no guarantee on that.)
