[TLN: I’ve fixed the last bit of Part-1. I misunderstood that the old man was the one who was giving the information and The Blameless Man Of Harbarkele was searching for a source of money, but it’s the other way around. The Blameless Man Of Harbarkele is the one who’s selling information.]
♢♢♢♢
During the night of the day when Chrono left Molly, Lilia, and the others and returned to the capital.
As soon as he returned to his hideout, he chipped away at the wood and created a place to keep his black sword.
“Let’s engrave ‘..President…’”
As soon as he finished, he displayed the sword next to his black armor.
Just as he was looking at it with satisfaction, someone knocked on the door.
“Excuse me.”
Celestia’s beautiful voice echoed through the secret door which led to the basement of the regular house he rented.
“Come in.”
He instantly returned to her desk and started pretending to be busy at work.
He played with his handmade abacus and slid a quill pointlessly onto a piece of parchment.
“I heard you were back, so I came here as soon as I could. We have been looking forward to your return….”
“Well, thank you. I’m glad to see you right after I got back to the royal capital. You’ve come very quickly.“
Celestia’s heart skipped a beat when Chrono stopped his work and smiled at her.
Glad, that one simple word brought her a lot of happiness.
Aware that she was currently blushing, Celestia tried not to be rude as she spun her words.
“…I told mob to… strongly, and thanks to that I received the news immediately….”
“Yeah, I was cleaning my room and when he saw my face when I came back, he started running. He looked like he was scared of something.“
“……”
Chrono admired the busy man who responded with a snap of his fingers.
“The Swamp Demon has joined our organization.“
“What?“
Celestia couldn’t hide her astonishment at her Lord who announced this like it was a mere business communication, without any spirit.
She had no doubt that her master would win.
However, she had never dreamed that the Swamp Demon would join them so easily.
It’s not hard to imagine that recruiting the Swamp Demon must have been harder than defeating it.
On top of that, the one who submitted was the might [Swamp Demon].
“Of course, the Swamp Demon will be my right hand man and your junior. Please take care of him for me, Celestia.”
“……”
Celestia, who was wearing her comfortable cloak colored white and blue, knelt ceremoniously.
“To the great Master Chrono, I pledge my eternal allegiance….”
A jubilant Celestia, who looked like a goddess of purity, pledged her allegiance once more.
“Ah, yes, that’s very good.”
“I’m afraid of comparing someone like myself to you, Chrono-sama, since what I achieved was nothing… I was only entrusted with the royal city…” Celestia’s face clouded and she drooped.
Chrono asked slowly, “Did something happen… while I was away?”
Celestia stood up after a pause, “I want to admit my own inadequacy… but it’s hard for me to tell you…”
“No, no one in the whole of mankind would dare to think that Celestia is unworthy, so why don’t you say it with confidence?”
Celestia, trembling with fear of disappointment and abandonment, carefully chose her words.
“…I am afraid to tell you. The… our funds…”
“Hey, yes, yes, yes. I understand.”
The index finger of Chrono, which had moved in a flash, was placed on Celestia’s lips, and the words that were about to follow from her mouth were suppressed.
The brothel and the gambling house were [Kronos]’s main sources of funding.
While the brothel was doing relatively well, the gambling hall had been losing money due to the Scarlett Chamber Of Commerce over the past few weeks.
Celestia, in tears, decided to tell Chrono about the source of their funds, which she had been keeping a secret till now.
“I see… it was a matter of money….”
Celestia was a little embarrassed, but Chrono folded his arms and continued forcefully to try and cheer her up.
“…You’ve done well.“
“What…?”
“You have proven to be reliable. It’s okay. There’s nothing to worry about. Everything’s going to be all right. Leave the rest to me.“
“Chrono-sama…”
The warmth of his words soaked into her heart, and she was so moved that she couldn’t help but… hug Chrono with tears in her eyes.
Even in the midst of his busy schedule, he was willing to devote some time to take care of a less pressing issue like the gambling hall.
“I’m sorry I made you feel uneasy. Don’t worry. The Demon Lord will take care of it.”
“I’m… happy…”
Celestia surrendered her enviable and supple body to Chrono, who gently stroked her back and comforted her, and suddenly, everything seemed irrelevant.
But…
“……”
♢♢♢♢
I didn’t realize…. That I still didn’t have enough money…
And the way Celestia looked so anxious, it seems there’s a severe shortage in money.
No, of course.
Celestia and the others are working so hard, aren’t they? I think Mob works as hard as a worker ant.
And Lilia and the others are cleaning the Chrono mansion that I built so stupidly large.
They must be paid well.
Perhaps we’ve reached the point where we need to move more seriously.
The organization has become big.
Let’s take this as a good change and work more actively and positively.
♢♢♢♢
“…”
“Sake is good. Not only the aroma and the intoxication it gives, but also the fact that the taste changes depending on the atmosphere and the mood. I don’t know any other drink that has so many faces.”
An amber-colored spirit was poured into empty glasses.
With each splash, a rich aroma reached the old man’s nose.
“I’ll take….”
The master of the bar poured him another shot of one of the costlier spirit, courtesy of the “Blameless man of Habarkele” next to him.
“I’m sure a man of your stature must have a good reason for coming here so many times… money?”
He turned his glass and looked at the color of the spirit, as if wondering if he should tell The Blameless Man Of Habarkele.
“…They have a gambling joint called ‘Arch Qi’ going strong these days. But… there is something mysterious about that place. I don’t recommend it. I’d rather go to Madame, whose… power is still weakening, or to the Angel Cult. Both are shady, but there are ways.“
“Thank you, I appreciate it.”
“We treat all our guests equally. That’s all. There is no need to thank us.“
The old man raised his glass and toasted him, and took a swig.
“Thank you for the drink. Next time, I will be the one treating you.”
“Oh, I’ll look forward to it. Good luck.”
By the time the old man got outside, it was pouring rain.
♢♢♢
The knights, led by Alto and Hakuto, who had left the party, ran through the grounds of the royal castle.
“……”
“Hu, hu, hu…” [TLN: They’re taking in deep breaths due to running.]
Drenched by the cold rain that was seeping through their robes, they pulled up their hoods and headed for the detention tower.
Finally, they turned the corner and the tower came into view.
“……”
Hakuto and the others stopped in their tracks.
The tower, which was once cut in two by the Black Demon King, had been restored to its original state by the restorers who specialized in restoration magic.
Now, however, a… large hole had been made in the first floor of the tower.
Numerous cracks run through the hole, and it looked as if it would collapse at any moment.
It looked as if it had been attacked with explosives, as if a large magical beast had charged into it like a bullet.
The size of the damage was not the only thing off about it. All the knights felt an indescribable feeling of foreboding about the hole.
Even though it was not cold, goosebumps spread on their bodies.
“What in the world is…. going on?”
“I want to be done before the party’s over. Let’s go.”
The Royal Family’s restorer was currently performing a quick survey of the site, using stopgap measures to prevent the collapse of the building.
“What’s going on?”
“Prince Alto, I’m sorry to bother you in the middle of an important party.“
“No problem. Let’s get on with it.”
After finishing basic courtesies, the old knight who was in charge of organizing the party began explaining.
“An intruder has killed seven of our knights. They broke into the tower and took the suspect… Yang of the Angel Cult, and two other criminals that were detained. They then broke down the tower’s wall, and fled.“
“I see.”
As soon as Alto finished listening to the report, he took a step toward the large hole that emitted an eerie sensation.
“Wait! Please wait!“
“What?”
The old knight’s heart jumps more than that of Alto’s, because of the fact that Hakuto and the knights accompanying him dared to shout at the prince.
“I am extremely sorry. I should have told you about this first and foremost.”
“Is there a problem?”
The person in charge, who nearly had his heart stop, explained again.
“Yes. In fact, we have detected a possibility that this large hole is caused by a…. curse.“
A Curse.
“What?”
“A Curse…?”
Hakuto and the knights’ faces changed color at the ominous statement.
Many of them felt impatient and fearful, and even took a few steps backward to get away from the big hole.
“……”
Alto, who had been calm without showing any fluctuations in his expression, raised his eyebrows for the first time.
〜・〜・〜・〜・〜・〜
Note:
…This may be the beginning of a stockpile [TLN: He’s going to take a break and stack up chapters.] period. I will make a decision and update you guys the next time I update.
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