Chapter 266 |
[As you mentioned, we've confirmed there was no contact with the remaining four families.]
"I see."
[On the contrary, the Yukryeong side is expressing frustration over their proxy vanishing. They insist it was absolutely not their doing...]
"Well, I can understand that much."
The voice had also gathered information on the freelancers renowned outside.
It was well-known that the freelancer known as Mad Manson was far from sane, and that he had some degree of friendship with the mage faction called Firm Thunder.
It was understandable that as soon as Manson made contact with Ban, he vanished. But if their relationship wasn't just the casual friendship rumored publicly but a thorough superior-subordinate dynamic, then it made sense.
And if the voice's speculation was correct, then there was even more reason to be cautious about the mage known as Ban.
"Ban... Ban..."
"He's a tricky one. Has he known from the start that things would turn out this way and been moving accordingly?"
Gathering information on a mage who had openly clashed with the Cartel—and effectively achieved victory—wasn't difficult.
Even after taking the position of outside director, no one believed Ban had been defeated by the Cartel. That alone proved the mage's skill and stature.
It was natural that fantasies, awe, and fear intertwined to spawn countless stories about him.
But among the information the voice had compiled, there was nothing that revealed Ban's true nature.
His identity, origins, past, and inner workings—none of it was properly known, only filled with outlandish rumors.
The only officially confirmed details were those from moments when Ban himself had chosen to reveal them.
In a world that teemed with informants and schemers, the cunning and thorough way Ban controlled information about himself was impressive enough to draw admiration even from the voice.
There had been no special reason for him to set foot in the citadel at that time, yet he had cleverly concealed his true destination amid it all.
[We can fabricate some pretext somehow, but...]
"There's always someone else to push the blame onto."
The voice stated flatly.
"If rumors spread that the Cartel mistreated and expelled an outside director, how do you think the outside world would react? He knows that full well, which is why he's boldly entered the citadel."
[That's...]
"I've heard he's someone who clawed his way up from the bottom, but he seems to know how to make good use of his position and authority."
The tone grew chilling.
The voice murmured softly.
"But the board is already mostly set. He's come too far to muddy the waters alone. I'll watch personally to see how far his arrogance takes him."
*
Once the decision was made, there was no need to hesitate long.
Explaining to Chen's half-sister how he obtained the ticket wasn't difficult.
The woman with her deep navy hair tied back stared silently at the ticket for a long while.
"I've heard the story before."
It didn't take long for a hollow smile to form on her lips.
"That my father, drowning in his desires, even sold off the right to appoint the family's proxy. Who would have thought it would come back around like this?"
"..."
She rose, turning her back to Renok, who had been watching her quietly.
"I'm sorry for making you come all this way, but let's pretend this never happened."
"S-Sister Suryeon...!!"
Chen grabbed her shoulder in surprise as she turned away.
"You can't give up. This is practically a miracle."
"..."
"I don't know why he's offering to help us, but this man is in a league of his own. He'll definitely shatter this board..."
"League of his own...?"
Renok understood Chen's excitement upon hearing the words, but even in the best light, that was a bit of an overstatement.
Renok furrowed his brow at the praise that heated his cheeks, while Manson snickered.
"Chen, you really know nothing, do you?"
But the woman called Suryeon frowned and brushed off Chen's hand.
"I can't accept that man's offer precisely because I don't know his motives."
"That's..."
"I've heard about him too. A mage skilled and resourceful enough to claim a seat in the Cartel—what could he possibly lack that he'd help us?"
Suryeon's gaze sharpened.
"After Father's death scattered even the household members, if I can't protect what's left in my hands, I have no face to show Mother in the afterlife."
"..."
Chen couldn't easily respond to Suryeon's stern words.
It wasn't mere pride; from her perspective, it was the best realistic choice.
Renok understood her position as well.
With little knowledge of Ban, trusting him rashly was hard, and his timely appearance when help was desperately needed felt too convenient.
Renok paused to choose his words before speaking.
"I won't deny that my goals lie elsewhere."
"That's...!"
"But if I thought you couldn't properly fulfill the proxy role, I wouldn't have come to you in the first place."
The surroundings quieted at Renok's low words.
"If you've heard my name, you must have some idea of what I do outside."
"..."
"For a freelancer, the only guarantee of trust is always the commission and contract."
Renok smiled faintly at Suryeon.
"If we clearly state what each wants, couldn't we have a more constructive discussion?"
It was purely a matter of trust.
As someone pursuing traces of the Gido Order, Renok was certain the Oryun Family had no ties to the cult.
But conversely, Suryeon couldn't easily trust Renok.
The solution wasn't hard, though.
Since Ban had openly revealed his face to enter the citadel, proving his actions to Suryeon was straightforward.
At least on the surface, Ban was just a suspiciously capable freelancer hunting for spacetime incantations or artifacts.
If they could verify each other's identities, Renok could become the most suitable proxy right there.
"Sister."
Chen gripped the hem of Suryeon's clothes with a tense expression.
"This might be a chance that truly won't come again."
"..."
"If he meant to kill or betray us, he wouldn't choose such a troublesome method."
"My reputation..."
Was it really that bad?
As Renok muttered awkwardly, Manson's laughter grew louder beside him.
Undeterred by the slightly odd atmosphere, Chen spoke firmly.
"I'll vouch for Ban's identity and abilities. If you want, I'll put it in writing."
"To think you'd go that far..."
Suryeon murmured with a greatly shaken expression before finally sighing.
It didn't take long for the decision to be made.
*
"So, what do you plan to do?"
"About what?"
After accepting the position as the Oryun Family's proxy, Suryeon began gathering the scattered household members with renewed determination.
Clinging to a fallen family was foolish, but an organization resolved to rebuild would surely need people and resources.
Seated on the rooftop terrace of the antique wooden mansion, Renok watched as people gradually arrived at the estate one by one.
"You know those people won't be much real help, right?"
"Realistic assessment."
Perhaps due to his merchant background, Chen's perspective and conclusions differed slightly from others.
The gathering of retainers was for the sake of legitimacy and organizational strength as a family.
Regarding Suryeon's immediate full effort to find a proxy, Chen had already dismissed it as meaningless.
Not because he didn't understand the importance of legitimacy or prestige, but because he didn't see it as truly beneficial in the current situation.
And by not voicing that judgment to Suryeon, Chen showed the qualities of an excellent merchant.
Before responding, Renok pulled a cigarette from his pocket and offered it.
"Want one?"
"...Sure."
With a reluctant expression, Chen took it, and Renok snapped his fingers to light it.
Chen's face twisted oddly at the bizarre sight of the cigarette igniting without being lit or inhaled, but he obediently took a drag.
"Cough!!"
"...If you don't smoke, you didn't have to take it."
"No. I do occasionally."
Chen replied between coughs.
"In business, whether you smoke or not can be important, so I join in sometimes."
"So you don't like it."
"You can't always do only what you want."
Chen gazed at the citadel's night view with a complex look.
"Everyone's like that... It's just a matter of how much you accept and adapt."
"..."
"I couldn't accept it and fled the family. Sister didn't. Some might call it innate, but I knew. She wanted to leave the citadel as much as I did..."
Renok listened silently to Chen's soliloquy.
He had noticed Chen wanted to talk about Suryeon.
"She mastered the family's secret spear art on her own, reaching such a level despite our father abandoning it in his indulgence. She was too precious to rot tied to this decaying house."
Indeed, the spear art Suryeon displayed upon their first meeting had briefly seemed on par with Manson.
Though hard to gauge precisely, at that level, she surely understood attribute shifts in mana.
If she'd reached it through self-study, Chen's words made sense.
"So if you, Ban, help us, Sister might give a different answer."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah. Motives don't matter."
Chen's gaze turned to Renok.
"You're incomparable to anyone I know."
"..."
"You've never fallen from the tightrope, which is why you're in that position now, isn't it?"
Chen's tone was flat, but the content was sharply incisive.
"I've bet on the mage not falling from the wire this time too."
"You've misjudged me."
Renok's lips twisted faintly.
"If you think that, you're not seeing a mage—you're watching a clown."
"..."
Leaving the speechless Chen behind, Renok stood.
"Whatever. Watching from there how long I can stay on the wire isn't bad."
He adjusted his coat and stepped away.
The more wealth and fame he grasped, the higher his position and stature rose.
The expectations and responsibilities weighing on Renok grew heavier.
This man won't fail, this mage will win, this person will surely resolve it.
No matter the disadvantage, absurdity, or unbeatable power dynamics—he'd overcome them.
Delusion.
Renok knew he wasn't that great or capable.
He didn't even know his own future properly; he'd just struggled desperately to survive each moment.
And because he realized that keenly, those expectations and gazes didn't frighten him.
What needed doing was always set.
The resolve in his heart had never wavered.
He might stumble or wander, but he'd never collapse and stop.
That was all Renok could answer himself.
"Wait a second."
Chen, who had belatedly chased after him down the stairs, urgently called out to Renok.
"So, where are you headed?"
"A proxy battle to decide the citadel lord requires balanced numbers, doesn't it?"
Renok replied.
"Among the five families attached to the Ilwon Family, the Yukryeong proxy is already on our side. So, if we recruit the Paldoon and Samyeong families, we can even the odds."
Accepting the Oryun proxy role didn't end things.
Even with confidence in his own power, facing seven other proxies alone was inefficient and reckless.
Fortunately, the Ilwon seemed to think the game ended once they secured a majority of five, but Renok saw plenty of opportunity left.
Chen said with a flustered expression.
"The Paldoon and Samyeong are in completely different situations from us. The Paldoon has poor public sentiment inside the citadel, and the Samyeong's prestige is so overwhelming they hesitated to recruit—but both families have sufficient strength on their own."
"Doesn't matter."
Renok's eyes gleamed sharply.
His left pupil rotated, emitting a vivid violet light.
"Visiting them directly will give us a read on the situation anyway."
*
The eight families of the Eightfold Star Citadel each engraved a number into their name.
At first glance, it seemed like a simple identifier, but it denoted the order in which the families entered the citadel's ruling class.
Thus, it was natural that the Paldoon Family, the most recent addition, held a relatively lower status.
The problem was that even that lower status was incomparable to the Oryun Family's plight.
"Impressive."
Murmuring from a spot two blocks away while scoping the Paldoon mansion through his scope, Renok observed.
The size was similar to the Oryun mansion, but the density of people was on another level.
Dozens of mana users, at least. All battle-hardened warriors, with only a couple of supporting sorcerers.
Two aged mana signatures on the top floor, and one unusually vigorous one.
Likely the Paldoon family head, direct bloodline, and their proxy.
"Can you handle it?"
Chen, tense, and Manson, who had sauntered along boredly, muttered in a dull tone.
[If worst comes to worst, just taking their proxy authority is fine... but that means knocking out the Paldoon forces entirely first.]
A family proxy literally represented the family's will.
But it was possible to seize that qualification through duels between proxies.
This stemmed from the system designed to smoothly handle internal citadel politics via proxies.
To avoid direct bloodline conflicts leading to deaths, and to share gains through proxies in a symbiotic relationship.
Renok's lack of concern for the Yukryeong after meeting Manson was because once a proxy was set, decisions couldn't be revoked for a month.
With the citadel lord battle in two weeks, the Yukryeong had no choice but to fill their quota.
The Yukryeong's misstep in deploying the capable freelancer Manson to boost their prestige.
They probably never imagined Ban held Manson's leash.
Renok stood atop the stone wall at Manson's words.
"With these conditions, it's more than enough."
Whiiiiiing!!!
Mana surged rapidly between his five fingers.
Realizing too late, Chen and Manson paled.
"Wa-wait...?"
[What are you doing now?]
"From the moment Manson attached to me, things were already in motion. If we're expanding the board, better to go big."
Renok replied.
At the same time, he flicked forward the compressed, raging mana wave from his palm.
Common magic of the impact series
[Shockbuster]
Kwaaaang!!
An intense shockwave erupted before the Paldoon's heavy iron gate.
The preemptive strike, far beyond ordinary physical force, crumpled the thick steel in an instant, ripping the gate off its hinges.
Rrrriiiip!!
"Th-the gate!!"
"Who's the bastard?!"
Chaos erupted in the Paldoon front yard as warriors rushed out.
Along with the stunned expressions of gaping Chen and Manson.
Renok grinned as he stood.
"I hope my greeting meets with approval."
It was the start of the proxy battles.