Chapter 77: Humanity (1)

On the way back after finishing their studies.

Even though the evening had already passed, the weather was cool, so Carl and Laysis decided to take a short walk around the campus.

“Hmm, hmm-hmm.”

Seeing Laysis walking ahead while humming, Carl suddenly found the current situation strangely novel.

‘I thought it would take quite a while before we got this close.’

During the entrance exam, NOX had already compiled a list of the key cadets.

Even if they ignored others, Nerian, Yuria, and Laysis—these three were marked as top-priority individuals.

They had strong backgrounds, great prospects, and promising potential.

Carl firmly believed that building good relations with them in Bayern would, without a doubt, be helpful in the future.

By sheer luck, he had been placed in the same group as her during the entrance exam, and from there, an unexpectedly interesting connection had continued.

As he thought back on that process, Carl realized that since their trip to Flick together, her gaze toward him had softened considerably.

‘Still, the decisive turning point must have been during Instructor Frahan’s lecture.’

What truly allowed him to cross the fence around Laysis’s heart was when he supported her during that very lecture.

For Carl, it had been an obvious investment.

Rather than having some random person take that opportunity, it was far better to deliberately create a situation where Laysis would owe him a favor.

“But Carl.”

While moving along and admiring the flowers blooming in the flowerbeds, Laysis suddenly turned and called out to him.

“Yes.”

“Why do you hide your skills during the practical exam?”

“…Hmm.”

It was an unexpected question that came completely out of context.

Even so, Carl smiled faintly without showing any sign of surprise.

He had, after all, intentionally created a situation where she could notice that fact.

‘A man with many secrets naturally stirs curiosity.’

Carl slowly moved forward until he stood beside Laysis.

Then, shrugging his shoulders, he answered her question.

“If someone’s too perfect, they just come across as unpleasant, don’t you think?”

“…What?”

“If I got a perfect score in theory and also scored high in the practical exam, everyone would obviously start bothering me.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

Laysis burst out laughing.

It was so unlike Carl’s usual demeanor that she couldn’t help but laugh more.

Carl scratched his cheek with a slightly embarrassed smile.

“If you laugh so sincerely at a joke, even I might get hurt, you know.”

“I wasn’t mocking you. It was just funny. You don’t usually make jokes like that, do you?”

“Maybe it’s because it’s exam season.”

In the end, Carl also let out a laugh as they continued walking side by side.

“You’ve heard that I was sick when I was younger because of a plague, right?”

“…Yes, you told me before.”

“I’ve completely recovered now, but my family still sees me as a sickly young master.”

“A sickly young master, huh? For someone supposedly sickly, you’re pretty tough.”

Laysis gave a wry smile.

If Carl’s body truly had been frail, he would have had trouble even entering Bayern, let alone surviving the rampaging monster in the Erendal Forest most recently.

“Because of that, whatever I did, they’d always say, ‘Be careful,’ ‘Stop now,’ ‘Get some rest.’ That’s all I ever heard.”

“Well, they can’t help it. To them, you probably still look like a patient.”

It was proof that they cherished and cared for Carl that much.

Though Carl himself might feel differently about it.

Carl shrugged and continued.

“So I got used to it, and unless it’s truly necessary, I stopped showing my full strength.”

“You’ve adapted to the flow, then.”

“That’s right.”

“That reason’s too flimsy and lacks coherence. You made this up, didn’t you?”

At Laysis’s sharp guess, Carl flinched slightly.

“Was it that obvious? I thought I came up with something decent.”

“You’re good at summarizing lectures, but making up stories? Not your strong suit. You’d make a terrible scriptwriter.”

“Fortunately, I have no interest in that field.”

Carl let out a small laugh.

Then Laysis leaned her face slightly toward him and asked,

“So what’s the real reason? If it’s hard to say, we can just drop it.”

“Hmm.”

Carl scratched his cheek.

Honestly, he had hoped she would just accept the story he had made up, but she had seen right through him.

Was she right—did he really have no talent for fabrication?

So he decided to mix in some truth with his answer.

“When I was about ten years old, I had the chance to talk with a wandering mercenary my family had hired for a beast subjugation.”

“Yes.”

“He told me, ‘You might not notice it inside the mansion, but the world outside is a harsh place. If you want to survive, always hide 30% of the power you have.’”

“Hide 30%…”

Laysis repeated the words, nodding thoughtfully.

What Carl had just said was a famous adage passed down in the Central Plains—akin to “Beware of women, the elderly, and children” and “Always keep three parts of your strength hidden.”

“It’s a profound saying. Depending on how you interpret it, it could have many meanings.”

“And from then on, I’ve kept to it.”

“But you don’t hold back on the brains, do you? You got a perfect score on the theory exam.”

“That’s how much I was hiding.”

“…Ah.”

Laysis gave him a slightly sulky look.

“Do you know something, Carl?”

“What is it?”

“From the day we first met until today…”

“Yes?”

“Just now, you’ve shown the most humanity.”

The first weekend after the Erendal Subjugation.

Carl left a substitute in his dorm and quietly slipped out of Bayern.

To create an alibi that he would be resting in his room all day, he had stayed late at the library the night before, studying.

Even Maximilian and the other cadets had been motivated by his example and stayed almost until closing time.

When they all returned to the dorms, they had looked completely exhausted, so no one would be looking for him today.

With a light session of circulating his Qi to wash away all fatigue, Carl headed toward NOX’s base.

“Master.”

Descending underground through the passage, Queen personally came to greet him.

Her appearance was as beautiful as ever, but even makeup couldn’t fully conceal the weariness that lingered on her face.

“Queen, I told you not to overdo it.”

“I’m still fine.”

“If you collapse, the entire organization comes to a halt. Be a bit more aware of your position.”

“I’ll try.”

Even after he repeated himself, Queen didn’t say she understood, and Carl let out a wry smile.

‘If she keeps this up, she’s going to burn out.’

Queen was still human—eventually, she would reach her limits.

It couldn’t be helped since NOX had been expanding its influence and the workload had increased, but leaving all responsibilities solely to Queen wasn’t a healthy structure.

‘I’ll have to reorganize the system soon.’

Carl walked through NOX’s underground headquarters with Queen.

The members they passed bowed respectfully in greeting.

Carl acknowledged them lightly as he took in the far more comfortable interior compared to before.

“The main passage construction is complete. We’ll gradually branch outward and expand the structure as needed.”

“And the escape routes?”

“As you ordered, we’ve opened thirteen of them as the highest priority. Only you and I know all their locations, and each executive has been put in charge of one.”

Carl nodded.

One of the drawbacks of an underground base was that if an attack came from outside, escape was difficult.

That was why the very first step in digging a mole’s tunnel was to make sure there was a back door.

With thirteen exits, even if an executive betrayed them, they could still escape without much trouble.

It was a precaution taken while assuming the worst-case scenario.

“Are the Black Labels all off duty?”

“Yes. Everyone except Second is off duty. Should I call them in?”

If it was the Master’s summons, they would all return in thirty minutes—fifteen, even.

But Carl shook his head.

“No. Let them enjoy it—it’s probably a rare day off.”

“Understood.”

Queen smiled.

This was one of the things she liked most about the Master.

Organizations working in the shadows like theirs usually enforced strict control and discipline.

But compared to them, NOX had a relatively free atmosphere.

As long as the communication system was in place, they didn’t make an issue of members moving around freely on their days off.

Because of that, not only the Black Labels but even lower-ranked members had their own hobbies, and some even pursued other career paths alongside their work.

NOX approved of this, and when necessary, even provided support.

There was nothing better for morale than that… though, of course, this was only possible because of the deep-seated, absolute loyalty the members had toward their Master.

“Where’s Second?”

“She’s probably sleeping. She was training late last night. She should be waking up soon.”

Carl gave a short nod.

Today, he had come to NOX to take care of the backlog of tasks that had piled up.

While Queen could handle the overall flow, there were still things that, as the leader of NOX, only he could address—

Establishing direction, fine-tuning the flow, and clarifying small details that Queen couldn’t readily decide on her own.

To run the organization well, he had to set those standards clearly.

“Queen, you should go and rest too.”

“I’m fine. I want to stay by your side, Master.”

“Your face says you need rest more than that. Well… fine. Do as you wish.”

“Thank you.”

Seeing the Master side with her in the end, Queen gave a small laugh and stepped out briefly to prepare refreshments.

In the meantime, Carl began sorting through the documents piled up in his office.

Soon, while drinking the tea and enjoying the refreshments Queen brought, he immersed himself in work, and silence settled over the office.

“……”

While turning over documents, Carl’s gaze drifted toward Queen.

She had dragged her chair right next to his and was now dozing off.

For someone of her skill to be unable to fight off drowsiness meant she had been pushing herself that hard.

Carl couldn’t help but feel sorry.

‘Because I’ve been relying on her abilities so much.’

It was an unavoidable structure caused by his enrollment at Bayern.

Normally, with NOX’s size, it wouldn’t be an issue—but since entering the underworld to expand the organization, the workload had exploded.

Now that the other executives had gained enough experience and skill, he could start distributing tasks more appropriately.

Pip, pip.

Carl flicked his fingers lightly, sending out a burst of wind that put Queen into a deep sleep.

He reached out, caught her as she slumped, and carried her over to the sofa.

It was far better than dozing off in a chair with her head against the wall.

As a bonus, he infused a little energy from his divine art—when she woke, she’d feel far more refreshed.

“…Well then.”

Carl returned to his seat and focused on his work again.

He had also stayed up all night, but his mental fortitude could handle this easily.

‘King will be back soon, and Jack should remain there for now.’

The Black Label executives were currently scattered across the continent on various missions.

Some had been dispatched to search for traces of heroes, like Gallon For, while others had been stationed to build lower organizations that would gain fame publicly and act as NOX’s eyes and ears.

Much like the seed-sowing he had done during Killing Veil, they would become the foundation for NOX’s growth.

‘NOX’s growth rate has far exceeded expectations. No wonder Queen’s been overwhelmed.’

It was thanks to everyone’s hard work.

In particular, without Queen, administrative tangles in various places could have led to dangerous situations.

Carl organized all of that as he glanced toward Queen, asleep on the sofa.

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