Chapter 270: You Are Like Sand (11)

Rena insisted on coming with me, and I explained, briefly but firmly, that she couldn’t. Naneow and Sharunian’s expressions twisted immediately.

"That’s ridiculous. We can’t let you go alone."

Sharunian nodded furiously in agreement. "

Meow!

"

"If you’re not there, the two of us can’t do anything. You know that, right?"

Is that a confession?

Rena protested. "But still..."

"No. This whole plan was yours in the first place. Without you, we’re powerless."

Rena didn’t push it any further. Three top-ranking executives wouldn’t have moved just to chase after someone like me. She knew better than anyone that she couldn’t just step aside. She threw a brief fit, but in the end, she still carried the awareness of her position as a T&T branch head.

This human had once hated her own kind and clung to me with a twisted obsession, but she seemed a little more stable in this life. I didn’t mind the change.

"Well then..." Rena muttered, "Take this, at least."

Thud.

She offered me a pendant, and I accepted it instinctively.

Rena’s eyes narrowed slightly. "

Oh?

You took it a bit too naturally, don’t you think?"

I froze for a moment, yet she didn’t seem annoyed. Her voice was light, and her tone was clear, just like the Rena I used to know.

Naneow looked at us as if wondering what we were doing. Sharunian fluffed up her cat fur.

Rena pushed the pendant into my motionless hand. "I’m kidding. Just take it."

The moment I grasped the long chain, translucent messages flooded the air around me, just like before.

"..."

We both knew what this pendant meant. Our gazes overlapped in the air between us. To Rena, it was a vague dream. To me, it was a vivid past, too detailed to be a nightmare. It felt like cold ice settling inside me.

Rena softly explained, "If you show that to headquarters, they’ll provide whatever support that girl needs. Just as you ask."

"Thank you."

"Make sure we meet again. I’ll introduce you to the other executives next time."

It felt oddly unreal, but I nodded anyway. As long as she wasn’t caught up in danger by my side, there was no reason not to let her get dragged along however she wanted.

After a bit more commotion, they left. With their absence, I felt her presence more strongly than ever. The distant lights of the inns flickered with a strange loneliness.

I tightened my grip around the pendant. "Initiate judgment."

Messages floated up, detecting imminent death, noting skill proficiency increased from scenario completion, and listing the special perks granted for all types of crime. None of them were especially significant at my current level.

[...Would you like to change the settings?]

I dismissed the window. Whenever I met Rena, it was inevitable that she would hand me the pendant. It was like a reward for rewriting the past, a divine token imbued with accumulated Affection, and an item with miraculous power.

"..."

However, the pendant wasn’t absolute. Just as Sharunian had failed to predict the Ashen Knight’s appearance, this token also had its limits. Realizing that its usefulness might eventually fade only made me value it more.

I carefully tucked it into my inner pocket and headed straight for the capital.

Snowflakes danced in the wind. Tucked beneath my armor, the pendant seemed to carry warmth. As the sun dipped below the horizon, the snow froze solid. I spotted some stray beasts near the road, but a little intimidation was enough to send them scurrying. They looked like they’d freeze or starve before long anyway.

Further ahead, some travelers had built a campfire. I passed them while in stealth. They didn’t notice me at all, but what caught my eye more than those groups was something else.

This is...

The Venomous Eye skill I’d absorbed from Eland, the Tower Master of Innocence, activated. At the edge of a cliff, wings of grass peeked through the frost, as if the cold suited them.

Hepidus. When rinsed in chilled alcohol, ground to a fine powder, and mixed with oil and an emulsifier, it produced a colorless, odorless poison. Taken in small doses over time, it slowly froze the heart until death came naturally.

I’d passed this place before without a second thought, but now, each leaf carried a new weight. There was also Molina, which numbed the muscles while heightening the senses. Quinata and Ferovshika leaves were also crucial reagents.

A barren cliff near a waterfall I’d never even paid attention to turned out to be a treasure trove of poisons right in the Empire’s heart.

I need to remember this location.

I carefully dug out the roots without damaging them and stored them away before continuing north. The closer I drew to the capital, the deeper I fell into thought.

Duke Biblio was the man set to arrive as the judge, replacing Leandro, who’d been reassigned. I needed to know who he was. Duke Biblio had suddenly appeared and received every honorary title from the emperor.

He was a reclusive old man with no known personal life. Even T&T’s information network had no real details about him.

What should I make of that?

I didn’t want to assume he was some noble-minded, rational judge who’d take Rubia’s side over Leandro’s. If anything, the odds were better that he was wrapped up in the Necron cult, or perhaps even a follower of an entirely different Demon King than Botis. I’d have to confront him myself.

Fwoooosh!

I sprinted. It’d take half a day to reach the capital. Before entering a densely populated area, I wanted to test one particular skill again. I leaned over a non-frozen river and looked at my exposed skull.

Masquerade.

[Skill: Masquerade activated.]

[Temporarily overlays the appearance of a human face.

You will mimic the most striking human you’ve recently seen.

Transforming: Isaac Bel'Homec

Resemblance: 45%

Remaining differences: Randomly filled in.

Time limit: 10 minutes

Time until next activation: 6 hours.]

"..."

A startling face stared back at me, but it made sense. It wasn’t about who made the stronger impression; it was about recency. I had seen Isaac more recently than Leandro. Unlike the marquis, no one was going to recognize a face from three hundred years ago.

I suppose I should consider that fortunate.

[Your appearance is exceptionally attractive.]

I brushed aside the pointless message. That face, one Isaac himself hadn’t yet reclaimed, was now reflected in me.

How would he react if I stood before him like this?

The urge to rush off and take his hand surged up but vanished instantly. Not here, not while I was walking through Narrow Gulch, the very place where betrayal had nearly destroyed me. I wanted to face him when I’d grown strong enough to stand tall.

First, Rubia needed to become a lord.

Whoosh!

Just as I’d planned, I infiltrated the capital half a day later. Towering walls layered in different heights like an antlion’s pit. I leaped over them with ease and slipped inside.

I recalled what Isaac once told me that anyone strong enough to scale or destroy those walls should be allowed into the capital. Maintaining my stealth, I headed straight for Rena’s store.

It’s quiet.

There were no cat cries. The previous cat cafe must’ve been a short-term scheme to prop up T&T’s failing finances.

I looked at the black-painted walls. There was no signboard, just a recessed corner of the block, with a lone, inconspicuous doorknob.

This time, I wasn’t sneaking in. I came as a guest. I revealed my presence just enough. The guards spotted me.

"Do you have an invitation?"

"Here."

I held out Rena’s pendant. They were clearly trained for this scenario. Without hesitation, they opened the door and let me inside. The way to the secret passage behind the gambling hall hadn’t changed.

Creak...

Even the employees working the front of the store looked competent.

"I’ll summon the executives."

Shortly after, I entered the round table chamber. The people inside turned to face me.

There were about ten of them, and not all of them were human. There was a catfolk, a reptilian with rough skin hidden beneath a hood, and even a black-skinned orc. The reptilian's yellow eyes gleamed as he looked at me.

"As long as you have that pendant, you're no different from our division leader’s avatar. We’ll help you without question."

"Isn’t it possible that it was taken by force?"

"That’s absolutely not the case. The division leader alone would never find herself in danger. Didn’t you see who she was with?"

I couldn’t argue. Given that she was with Naneow and Sharunian, it was unimaginable that she’d been robbed. Judging from the atmosphere, it looked like Rena had recruited those who, in the past, would have followed Purson with the sole purpose of destroying the human world.

No wonder their faction has shrunk so much.

I could now see that Rena’s true strength after maximizing her potential lay in these kinds of political maneuvers. I felt proud. Now, every time I met up with Rena, this tightly organized dark force would immediately become reliable allies.

"Then, I shall follow your orders."

Suddenly, a system message popped up.

Ding!

[You have acquired the title: Acting Head of T&T.]

[You can now participate in various activities such as criminal endeavors and guild quests.]

[The more achievements you accumulate, the higher your chance of receiving diverse requests.]

[You’ve gained a high reputation by showing Rena’s pendant.]

[Solving guild members’ problems will increase your reputation.]

[Making unreasonable demands will lower your reputation. Your actions may affect Rena’s reputation.]

[Assimilation rate has decreased.]

[68.94% → 68.65%]

Hmm.

It had been a while since I saw a reputation message. I sometimes felt like the status windows were toying with me leisurely, but more often than not, they clearly reflected the situation. Whenever I became aware of a particular direction or shift, the status window usually responded by over-explaining the situation alongside changes in the Assimilation Rate. It felt almost like it was telling me that this was as much help as it’d give me.

For now, I obviously had no intention of doing anything that would hurt Rena’s reputation. Even without moving the Lurium, there was no telling what adverse effect it could have.

Masquerade.

I removed my helmet.

[Affection with U-Mukool has increased.]

[Affection with Yun-Yopal has increased.]

[Affection with Setek’ Zexchokl has increased greatly.]

[Affection with Krikonki has slightly decreased.]

[Affection with Everda Kedler has greatly increased.]

Apparently, my appearance appealed more to the reptilians and catfolk, while the orcs seemed to have mixed feelings.

"Think of this as my mask. I’ll generally be wearing the helmet."

"Understood."

"Investigate Duke Biblio and Marquis Leandro. Safely. Your first principle is to avoid putting yourself in danger."

It seemed that I hadn’t made the wrong choice, as everyone nodded. Their expressions weren’t bad. They’d been told Rena’s reputation was at stake. They chose each of their words carefully.

"For now..." I hesitated briefly before continuing. "As for Duke Biblio, check whether he has a tattoo on his neck."

"We’ll do just that."

The snake tattoo was Botis' emblem. Those who followed the Necron cult all bore a snake tattoo on their necks, which was a symbol of slavery. From Kirk Ray to Renaud Ridbaren, they all bore it without exception.

If it were a mere underling with no sensitive info, they might not have the tattoo. However, for a high-ranking executive like Count Ridbaren, a snake tattoo would’ve been marked to fundamentally prevent betrayal.

If Duke Biblio had that tattoo, he was undoubtedly an enemy. If his neck was clean, then there was hope. However, the answer came immediately.

"He doesn’t have one."

I gawked. "What?"

Yun-Yopal, the reptilian, pulled back his hood and, as if he had been waiting for this moment, slid out a thick file. "This is a list of high-profile individuals in the capital who have the slave mark of Demon King Botis."

The document was filled with exact dates for when the tattoos appeared.

I couldn’t help but be shocked. "What? When did you prepare all this?"

"Under special orders from the division leader, we’ve been updating this monthly. It’s one of the most vital intellectual reports we produce."

I could only be amazed at the strength Rena had built at the T&T imperial capital headquarters. If I had known this earlier, maybe I wouldn’t have had to ask Daliac directly.

The reptilian saw my surprised reaction and chuckled slightly with his bright yellow eyes. "We last saw Duke Biblio three days ago. He only comes outside about once a week. If you want to verify again, you’ll have to wait a few days."