Chapter 74: The Incident (2) (2/2)

—The Altar added the ‘Manastone of Extinction’ as part of the bounty, and I’m willing to give you 15% of it. I only need your puppet and Gerek.

“…”

With the Manastone of Extinction now included in their negotiations, she grew a bit greedy.

Zukaken grabbed that opening.

—You only need to lend your puppet. On the right side of the road, you’ll see a red-haired middle-aged man smoking a cigarette.

Arlos looked in the provided direction, finding a driver wearing a suit and doing what the intel said.

-He’s ‘Jeff.’ Deculein’s driver. We’ll subdue him, so you pretend to be him with your puppet.

“Deculein has a history of noticing my puppets, you idiot.”

He was the first person to ever see through her magic.

Of course, thanks to the hint he gave her, her puppets no longer emitted ashes.

—Deculein doesn’t pay much attention to his servants since he thinks of them as tools. It’ll be fine. I can guarantee you that much.

She didn’t answer.

—We’re talking about a mana stone of the highest quality here, Arlos. A gem equivalent to a mana diamond humans hasn’t touched or tainted yet. Don’t you want it?

“…”

—I estimate the value of the mana stone they offered alone to be at 100 million Elnes. I’ll give you 15% of that. 15%.

After thinking for a moment, she replied, “20%.”

─…

Zukaken grew silent. Either way, Arlos had nothing to lose.

She had a personal grudge against Deculein, but she didn’t want to turn the entire Yukline family into her enemy.

—Damn it. It’s a deal. I, Underworld Ruler Zukaken, promise a 20% reward to the money-eating hippo Arlos.

“Great, but don’t be in a hurry.”

—Opportunities don’t come very often. Today is the best.

Arlos nodded. After that, she went inside [Klein].

“I need your ID, please.”

“Here.”

“Yes. Solette. Confirmed.”

There were many people in [Klein], Haylech’s auction house. Most of them were beautifully dressed, seemingly trying to declare their aristocracy. They were probably aiming for ‘Homeren’s Fragmented Ring’ like her.

But she had no intention of handing it over to anyone.

… 2 hours later.

“Congratulations on winning your bid for Homeren’s Fragmented Ring, Solette. The owner of the good is waiting here.”

Arlos nodded, having been guided by the staff to the auction house’s backstage after accomplishing her goal.

The owner was standing with his back turned in the middle of the backstage. For some reason, she thought his silhouette was familiar.

“The successful bidders have come.” The staff member said.

When he looked back, his identity surprised her, but she didn’t show it.

Deculein.

He looked at her with his back to the sun, creating quite the dazzling scenery.

“Congratulations on winning the bid.” He said, carrying an object in one hand.

Arlos approached calmly. She had nothing to be nervous about. Deculein didn’t know her true form.

“Thank you.”

“Was your name Solette?”

Arlos nodded. As he looked at her, he smiled.

That gesture was familiar for her. Men could never stop themselves from smiling whenever her beauty blessed them.

However, she still grew a bit reluctant since who she was up against wasn’t just any ordinary person.

“Here’s Homeren’s Fragmented Ring. It was a good deal.”

“Indeed.”

As she received the item that cost her 20 million Elnes, Deculein looked past her with surprise in his eyes.

“… Sylvia?”

“Yes.”

Arlos also noticed her a little too late.

It really was Sylvia, the daughter of the Iliade family.

“… ‘Loterin’s Pumpkin Brooch.’ Was it you who bought it?”

“Yes. With the pocket money I’ve saved so far.”

“Shouldn’t you be busy with the final exams?”

“It’s okay.”

Arlos watched the strange combination for a moment. Deculein looked perplexed, Sylvia was expressionless, but she emitted a strange glow.

“I’ll take my leave now.”

Arlos went out.

—The brooch is pretty.

—…

—Professor. Have you had dinner yet?

—I did.

—Oh.

She thought it would be rather nice if she dragged time…

* * *

After the auction, I got into the car.

“Keep safe.”

Sylvia bowed outside the window, her hair decorated with [Loterin’s Pumpkin Brooch]. She stayed with me backstage for nearly 30 minutes.

“Thank you. The brooch suits you well.”

“Oh.”

Sylvia’s cheeks puffed up as I closed the window.

“Let’s go back to the tower.”

“Yes.”

Today’s driver was Jeff.

The vehicle slid off its parking space. As usual, I leaned against the back of my chair and pulled out a thesis.

[Solda Drent Thesis: Earth Rotation]

This was the thesis Solda-ranked wizard Drent asked for corrections during career counseling last week.

My correction was so highly valued that I didn’t just accept anyone asking for it.

—I want to be Professor Deculein’s assistant!

Drent agreed to apply under my command. He seemed to have reflected on himself a lot, so I took it as part of the contract.

[The core circuit of [Earth Rotation] is to be set up in this way, considering its role is…]

“It’s inefficient.”

I laughed at the first paragraph of it, discovering an inefficient circuit from the very beginning of his paper.

“Too naive.”

The flow of its circuit, its knots, and its connections were loose. It was because the effect of [Earth Rotation] itself was too difficult.

“Your ability is insufficient compared to the goal you’ve set.”

I continued to read his thesis.

“It’s strange that he came to me, but…”

However, his idea for his thesis wasn’t as bad as his execution, so there was room for development.

“… He needs proper teaching.”

To be honest, he had too much talent to be under Deculein…

*****

Arlos drove Deculein’s vehicle.

Zukaken kidnapped Jeff as planned, and she imbued her puppet with Jeff’s image and her soul.

“…”

She looked at Deculein in the rearview mirror, who was reading some documents. She couldn’t see what was written on it, though.

‘With this distance between us, he won’t notice me.’

Arlos swallowed a sigh of relief.

Her puppets were no different from humans.

Moreover, she perfectly took on the appearance of his driver. Combining that with the intel that he couldn’t care less about his servants, she thought he would never notice.

However…

“It’s inefficient,” Deculein said.

Arlos’s heart pounded. Instinctively, she gripped the car’s steering wheel tightly.

What did he mean by inefficient?

Arlos looked at Deculein in the rearview mirror, and he continued calmly.

“Too naive.”

Arlos clenched her teeth.

“Your ability is insufficient compared to the goal you’ve set.”

She was certain.

He had seen through her puppet.

For Arlos, it was a humiliation in itself, and it was a question.

How was this possible? Was there any magic that could grasp her puppet at once?

‘Our plan failed.’

Arlos tried to convey the words to Zukaken, but something was wrong. She felt a strange sense of discomfort.

Even though he already noticed it, why wasn’t Deculein showing any hostility? He expressed his extreme agitation within her barrier back then. Was he just talking to himself right now?

“It’s strange that he came to me, but he needs proper teaching.”

Teaching.

As she pondered about it, his arrogant tone made her bite down on her lower lip.

She had finally realized.

She didn’t know if their plan had been leaked and if there was a traitor among them, but it didn’t matter now. Deculein had fully anticipated their operation and even probably already knew who was behind it.

He had been waiting for this meeting long before they even planned it.

Arlos’s breathing became rough, but she soon calmed down. She could just get out of her puppet anyway.

‘Zukaken. If this guy quietly comes with me… The rest is up to you.’