Chapter 69

Amethus left the ruined fishing village.

Shadi Shandor also followed behind, leaning on her subordinate Untes’s support.

Commander of the 11th Legion Niko Nereyades watched them leave and then quietly muttered.

“It’s rare for those from the capital to come this far. Even more so for the Special Operations Unit and the next emperor’s confidant.”

Niko asked.

“What do you think is going on, Bukenos?”

“Well. His words about looking for someone sounded true.”

Bukenos, the chief of staff of the 11th Legion, was a man with a prominent aquiline nose.

His eyes were sharp, giving him the impression of a bird of prey.

“Isn’t the Security Bureau’s fortuneteller such an honest man? He is not one to lie.”

“You said you learned in the same place.”

“I was his senior by three years.”

“Did you ever duel him?”

“I was defeated without even being able to move my hands.”

“What do you think it would be like now?”

“I often took up a pen as a staff officer, and that friend always held a sword.”

Meaning the difference had widened even further than before.

Niko Nereyades scratched his salt-laden beard a couple of times and then said.

“How would he compare to me?”

“The next emperor’s favor would not be without reason.”

“You’re right. That’s probably it.”

Niko’s eyes rippled gently.

He had noticed it the moment he first met Amethus.

That jade-eyed man, though not yet thirty, possessed a strength comparable to a Cordis Legion Commander.

“Her Highness Marina’s, Debius’s horn would not be blunted just by missing a few fingers.”

There was a time when Secundus’s mother, Marina, was called the Seven-Forged General.

Niko had seen Marina at that time.

No matter how old she had gotten, no matter that she had lost three fingers to Yosef Haider, she was still Marina Debius.

It would be a lie to say he didn’t hold a bit of admiration for Amethus, who had defeated such a Marina.

If not for this slight favorable impression, he would have beaten him and driven him away the moment they met.

That was Niko Nereyades’s way, the Hobel man’s way.

“That man, can he be stopped?”

“No way.”

“Let him in at an appropriate time.”

“Yes.”

Bukenos nodded his head.

He was an excellent man.

Since he knew how to choose both the time and the method, all that was needed was to give the order.

“And to receive guests, we can’t leave things dirty. We’ll have to pull up Sillemol’s nets.”

Niko stared intently at the coast.

The swarm of fish, though caught, were neither eaten nor released, and were giving off a terrible stench.

The fish’s eyes were blankly decaying, and Niko also looked at them without any emotion.

“When was the last time they were pulled?”

“It’s been about six years.”

“Was Kifkos imprisoned at that time?”

“Yes. He was said to have served about eight months and then escaped prison.”

“We’ll have to overlook it this time.”

Amethus was the confidant of the next emperor.

Before he entered Hobel Bay, all the dirty things had to be cleared out.

For instance, places like the free market of the autonomous city, where all sorts of people and illegal activities run rampant.

“Contact Kifkos. Tell him that we’ll be pulling up the nets, so have two, no, three executives ready to be arrested in his place.”

“What about the personnel for pulling up the nets?”

“Five centurions are more than enough. Pick them from the closest available.”

“I will do so.”

The Commander of the 11th Legion ordered the subjugation of the Sillemol Free Market and his chief of staff would execute it.

It was a black market that had flourished under the Empire’s tacit approval.

Now that the Imperial Army was acting, it would become clean.

At least, it would appear so for a while.

Niko Nereyades rarely interfered with the Sillemol Free Market.

He had lived a long time, and he knew that not all places where people lived could be clean.

And also, gathering garbage in one place made it easier to clean.

“The idea of making Sillemol a place to cast nets was the work of your previous chief of staff.”

Sillemol was a haven for smugglers and the trash can of Hobel Bay.

It was a place where gangs who thought their power was greater than the law easily swaggered.

Niko, once every few years, would use even greater force to drag out such people and make them pay for their lawlessness until now, and he called this ‘pulling up the nets’.

“It wasn’t entirely welcome, but it wasn’t bad either.”

Niko’s voice carried no particular emotion.

It wasn’t strange.

It wasn’t something he did just once or twice.

Even if he pulled up the nets, other foolish people would soon fill their places, but then he would just clean it up again.

“By the way.”

“Is there something else?”

“You said your mentor was still at the Imperial Academy, didn’t you?”

“If you are referring to Master Horaimos, then yes.”

Niko let out a small groan.

There was something that had been bothering him all along.

Amethus’s pupils, the strange, jade-green light that emanated from them, would not leave his mind.

“Investigate the Security Bureau fortuneteller’s school days through him.”

“May I ask the reason?”

“No.”

“Understood.”

Bukenos did not ask any further.

He held feelings closer to reverence than simple loyalty towards the man named Niko.

Anyone born in Mekeros would be the same.

Because they knew how Niko Nereyades, this whale-like old man, had protected Hobel Bay throughout his life.

“I will be here, so send a messenger just before you pull up the nets.”

Niko headed back to the sea.

He was more accustomed to pulling nets than wielding blades.

“It’s been six years since they were pulled… a lot of fish will be caught.”

***

“Preparations are complete.”

“You said five days, but it took twice that long.”

“The quality is assured, precisely for that reason. Here are the three bottles of Horem Amrita you ordered.”

I spoke curtly, but Kifkos, without backing down in the slightest, retorted.

The gold-toothed man handed me three small bottles.

The regressed prince opened the lids and checked the contents.

The smell, the color, and even the overflowing vitality throughout my body when I took a slight taste.

It was undoubtedly Horem Amrita.

“I thought I would get angry, but I can’t, it’s truly top-grade.”

“It will definitely revive those who are half-dead, if not the truly dead.”

“Hmm.”

I shrugged my shoulders.

Kifkos’s words seemed to contain no lies.

I put the bottles into my pocket, or more precisely, into the opening of Valziart that I had kept open inside my pocket.

The price had already been paid on the first day.

“Any inquiries about the product?”

“None.”

I, Shion Pollinglight, smiled faintly.

I had achieved the most important purpose of coming to Sillemol.

“Thank you for the good deal, Mr. Kifkos.”

“The pleasure is mine, Mr. Pasionus.”

Pasionus Peleus, my fake name.

I, Shion Pollinglight, was the Fifth Prince Zionis, and now I was also called Pasionus.

I sometimes got confused, but it couldn’t be helped.

Having many secrets, the regressed prince truly couldn’t help it.

Kifkos and I shook hands and exchanged greetings.

One was a gold-toothed gang boss, and the other was a thirty-year-old regressor with an eleven-year-old’s face and a fifteen-year-old’s build.

Still, it was clear to both of them that it had been a satisfactory deal.

“By the way……”

I turned my head.

A few men, including Gloriosus, were moving very busily.

They seemed to be collecting expensive items and important ledgers from Kifkos’s room.

“…Why are you so busy?”

“Ah, there’s a small matter……”

“It looks like you’re planning a midnight escape.”

“…That’s not wrong.”

Kifkos touched his thick lips.

He seemed to be agonizing over whether he should say what he wanted to say.

The agony was not long and he soon opened his lips.

“A large-scale inspection will begin soon.”

“You’re afraid of inspections, yet you’ve been acting like a boss until now?”

“It would be an ordinary inspection. This time, they’re sweeping the entire area. If anything goes wrong, it won’t just be jail time.”

I stroked my chin.

“Wait. But if it’s an inspection, from where?”

“Where else? The 11th Legion. What did he say again, that the next emperor’s confidant from the Imperial Family came down and that’s why……”

‘As expected, is it you again, Amethus?’

I muttered softly.

I had thought he wouldn’t be able to enter Sillemol due to the 11th Legion’s checks, but to think he would influence it this way.

“It was quiet outside, though.”

“Because it’s top-secret information. But it’s certain. Mr. Pasionus, it would be better for you to leave quickly too. Shouldn’t we have another good deal?”

“Hmm……”

My blue eyes narrowed.

‘…He’s overflowing with confidence. The information is also excessively detailed. To think a mere street gang has connections with the 11th Legion……?’

Something suddenly came to mind.

Gold-toothed Kifkos, boss of the Sillemol Free Market gang, former centurion of the 11th Legion.

“Ah.”

The pieces fit together.

“That’s right. That’s how it was.”

“What is it?”

“I always had questions. No matter how powerful their faction was, how could a mere street gang handle Horem Amrita, I wondered.”

Horem Amrita could be used as a powerful military drug depending on its usage.

That’s why it became a top-secret forbidden trade item, and the Empire strictly forbade the handling of Horem Amrita anywhere other than the Imperial Academy of Magic and the military.

“It was the 11th Legion that was in charge of the business from the beginning. Mr. Kifkos, you’ve been their stooge even after your retirement. You’re trying to escape because you feel like you’re about to be cut loose, aren’t you?”

“…You, you’re quick-witted.”

“It seems it was a business started by someone quite high up.”

“Hmph, now there’s nothing to hide.”

It was already a situation where he was planning to escape anyway.

Still, because he was scared, Kifkos spoke in a low voice.

“…It’s led by the Legion Commander.”

“The Whale of Hobel Bay!?”

I had known him to be a very strict man.

Kifkos, as if he had expected me to be surprised, nodded his head and continued.

“I received an offer when I retired. He asked if I would be willing to manage the Horem Amrita business, saying he would cover my back if I was going to do shady work anyway. It felt a little unsettling, but I couldn’t refuse in front of Commander Nereyades, so I accepted.”

As he recounted the old story, complaints poured out.

It seemed he had more pent-up frustration than I thought.

Kifkos himself was surprised.

“The business was good. The earnings were good, and I could throw my weight around in Sillemol. Even serving occasional jail time so as not to arouse suspicion of being a stooge, well, that was somewhat alright.”

Even the prison was under the operation of the 11th Legion.

There was no way any harm would come to Kifkos, who was serving time at the Legion Commander’s command.

Rather, it was almost like a vacation.

“But I really couldn’t bring myself to sell out the young guys who came to see me. Gloriosus also says, ‘How long do we have to keep catching and selling each other out?’ He says, ‘When we were soldiers, we didn’t sell out our comrades, did we?’”

“…You were truly engaged in a mutually agreed-upon betrayal.”

“I’m really done now. I’m going to quit. I’ve earned enough money, so I’m just going to leave altogether!”

Kifkos strongly shook his head.

“What will Niko Nereyades do once I’m out of Hobel Bay? No matter how much he is Commander Nereyades, will he, a busy Legion Commander, chase after this gold-toothed man?”

“Where are you planning to go?”

“South. They say the Hanchamus Islands are very good for living. Ah, the warm southern country!”

“The Hanchamus Islands, you say.”

I smiled faintly.

“Then you can drop me off in Mekeros in between, won’t you?”

“…Pardon?”

Kifkos scratched his neck.

It seemed he was remembering the time my ‘Fantasy Finger’ had choked his neck during our first encounter.

I, without hesitation, took out a couple of jewels from my pocket and held them out.

“I’ll pay the money.”

“No, still, we’re in a desperate escape……”

“I’m paying.”

“…As you wish, then. There are plenty of seats anyway.”

What would he tell his subordinates?

Even his lover, he had threatened to cut off her wrist if she needlessly increased the number of people.

I, who had heard his muttering, quickly said.

“Well, I’m young, but there would be nothing strange about introducing me as a skilled bodyguard, right?”

“You damned brat, you don’t know when to keep your mouth shut and when not to! Is it all about money and power, you little bastard!”

‘Yes. Of course. How could there be any doubt? I will serve you faithfully for what I have received.’

“Mr. Kifkos. It seems your thoughts and words have changed?”

“I did that on purpose, young and rich Mr. Pasionus.”

“Hmm. So that’s how it was, parvenu Mr. Kifkos.”

“Uh-oh, just talk, let’s be civilized… Keuk! I understand, you little brat… Kyaaak!”

He was asking for trouble.

Gloriosus, who was packing his belongings, shook his head.

The gold-toothed man was hanging in the air, and I smiled faintly.

“I hope you have a pleasant journey.”

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