Chapter 120 – Cleanup
#120.
Smart.
-Come in.
Kiik-
When I opened the door and went inside, I saw a woman. A beauty with her red hair showing off her charm, she imitated an elegant and classy image, but seemed to be wearing ill-fitting clothes.
The man immediately bowed his head and took an example.
“Khaldran Orgius, the leader of the Knights of Steel, is meeting Countess Calidora.”
“Hohohoho! No countess. Excuse me. Lord Kaldran.”
Calidora was still her concubine. It was a great disrespect for her Priscilla to call her her countess. It was rudeness that even a flame knight could not just ignore.
“I will be careful next time. May I go inside?”
“Sure. Please let me in.”
With her permission, Kal Dran closed the door and stepped inside her. After examining her surroundings for a while, he nodded her head, and Calidora, who was still crossing her legs, hurriedly got up from her chair and knelt down on her knees.
“My king. Please forgive my earlier rudeness.”
“Done. Did you do that on purpose? In a few months anyway, you will be the hostess of this count’s house. What you just said is a paving stone for him.”
“… I was dumb and couldn’t figure out the meaning.”
“Wake up.”
Calidora stood up. Kal Dran chinned her tea table and she put her ass back on it. Kal Dran sat across from her and she asked straight away.
“What about Sergio Lebreman?”
“When it comes to Priscilla Barrymore’s escort knight, she doesn’t come easily. The love for my master was admirable. I wonder if we can use him, but it’s a bit early for now.”
“Hmm… I’ll have to watch a little longer.
“Yes. Instead, Count Mondrio is already completely within the width of my skirt, so don’t worry. A few days ago, the withdrawal symptoms of the dependent drug were appearing. Sooner or later, you will lose your sense of judgment and become a puppet that does only what you are told.”
Dependency Medicine is a combination of various herbs that grow in the Pandemonium, and when ingested, it has the effect of increasing dependence on a specific person.
When taken continuously, the effect increases, and once withdrawal symptoms occur, treatment is no longer possible.
Calidora gave pleasure with her herbs so that the Count could not escape him.
Since the drug of subordination had not yet spread in the Union, even the doctors and priests who constantly monitored the count’s health could not recognize it.
Kaldran smiled at the idea that the plan he had worked hard on for a long time in Calidora’s explanation finally began to materialize.
“Calidora, this time, a free knight called Hyugaon was commissioned by Priscilla Barrymore. It’s been a year since the accident, so there’s no chance you’ll be able to follow the trail, but be careful. Got it?”
“… Yes. I get it. You are my king.”
The talk ended there. Kal Dran stroked his chin, wondering if his plan would be disrupted by the free article called Hyugaon.
‘That’s not going to happen, but if it gets in the way, I’ll take care of it right away.’
How much would a mere free article do? It’s been a long time since I’ve already cleaned up all the traces related to it for a year.
You can’t imagine that the beast is a doppelganger from the demon realm. The chances of him finding out the truth is close to zero.
Kaldran erased all unnecessary worries from his mind and stood up.
“… Then I’ll just go for it. Madame Calidora.”
“Yes, go. The conversation was enjoyable.”
Kaldran took one last bow and left the room. He groaned and looked inside himself.
‘As expected, it’s still impossible.’
Doppelgangers are a race born from shadows. The moment demonic dwells in the shadow and awakens spirituality, the doppelganger can think for itself.
Such entities can shed their shadows and create doppelgangers that are identical to themselves but different. Such people are called kings.
The current Kaldran Orgius was also a being who realized spirituality alone in the barren land of the demon realm and raged as a king.
However, doppelgangers are a race that is persecuted even in the demon realm. After he lost all his powers in Pandemonium, he jumped into the rift of his dimension with the feeling of gambling and ended up in Union.
3 years since then. After barely gaining this body, it gradually expanded its power, and now it was on the verge of engulfing the county.
‘It’s not long.’
Once you have taken control of the county, it will take a shorter amount of time to devour the smaller forces around you.
However, that causes problems.
Doppelgangers are beings whose shadows are born under the influence of demons. In the case of the king, he divides his shadow to create another doppelganger, but the problem is that the shadow has limits.
Kaldran Orgius is currently in a state of consuming all shadows except for the minimum to maintain its own existence. To fill this, Magi was needed, but it was far from obtainable at this point.
‘I’ll have to go to the capital again soon.’
Near the capital, there is a Demonic World connected to the Demon Realm. There, you can slowly recover your demonic energy. I think I’ll have to go back once I get the perfect count.
‘Everything will be in my hands soon.’
He did not forget what he had experienced in the demon realm. The persecution and humiliation are not easily forgotten. Someday, just as we came here from the Devil World, we might be able to move from Union to the Devil World.
When the time comes, I will tell them. That I’m back The king of the doppelgangers you expelled has become the true ruler!
Dreaming of that moment, he twisted his lips.
***
“Let’s go. It can’t be late.”
“Yes!”
“I see, Master.”
Five days have passed since the day I met Priscilla alone.
In the meantime, he has completed various preparations. The first thing I did was to get a magic tool enchanted with communication magic. Unless you know what will happen in case of an emergency, you need to have a way to communicate at any time.
After that, he replaced all his gear except for his weapons. He had a lot of money, so he didn’t bother and got the best he could get.
Later, he went to the place where the wagon overturned, but he couldn’t get any important information. If we look only at the current results, we can say that the achievement is zero.
There were only two days left until the promised week, but I wasn’t particularly impatient. That’s because he finally found the person he suspected of being his doppelganger.
That person is a man named Jake who leads the guild, and he is said to be a person who has a very workaholic temperament and a mysophobia, so he doesn’t rest well and doesn’t want to be distracted by himself.
He, however, suddenly started going in and out of the bar because of his last ascent eight months ago. Of course, as a human being, he might have had a sudden change of heart, but he couldn’t deny the fact that he was suspicious.
Coincidentally, today was the day he stopped by a bar after a long time. He should never miss this opportunity given the nature of wandering around for several months once he leaves for the upland.
Gaon led the two of them straight to the bar. It is now early evening when the sun is just setting. It’s still time when there won’t be any customers, but there’s nothing to lose by going early and waiting.
The guild members led by Cain, Milena, and Volkar were waiting at a place a little far from here. Probably, the moment the signal drops, a siege net will be spread around here so that no one can escape.
It was a rather cumbersome procedure, but it was unavoidable. They have a considerable presence in this Barrymore estate, and they are bound to be so famous.
If you approach them hastily and they run away, you will be in trouble, so you have to be careful.
Of course, it has not yet been confirmed that he is a doppelganger, but Gaon suspects that he will be correct with a high probability.
After walking about 10 minutes, they arrived in front of the bar.
When I pushed the swing door and went inside, the eyes of those who were drinking inside were caught. However, those eyes didn’t stay for long, probably because he was already hiding himself in a loose robe.
It’s located a little far from the downtown area, so there weren’t that many people.
Gaon led the party and sat in a corner seat out of sight. After he waits for a while, a waiter approaches.
After briefly completing the order, Gaon sent a telegram to Chorin.
-Chorin, do you have a doppelganger here right now?
In response to his question, Chorin took a look inside her and slightly nodded her head.
-Yes, a woman named Madame.
If you add the merchant named Jake, there are two. There were far fewer of them than I thought. Basically, it seems to work in the form of a point organization. There are probably places to connect other than here.
It’s a pity that you can’t capture it at once, but it’s not bad. Anyway, just catching them can bring the subject of doppelganger to the surface.
In that case, it is the doppelganger who becomes impatient in the end. Perhaps the Holy Knights will be dispatched to investigate in the capital city, but until then, will they be watching quietly?
In the end, you have no choice but to choose. In the end, their tails are trampled on and subjugated, or they give up the body they currently possess and run away as mere shadow monsters. Either way, the problem is bound to deepen.
Gaon imagined the near future and waited for Jake to come.
And about 30 minutes passed, and after ordering a few more drinks, Gaon’s party was able to see the merchant who said he was Jake.
“Hey— Daria! Long time no see.”
“It’s been a while… Come on up! I prepared in advance.”
“As expected, I only have you?”
“Cha-am… Stop making weird noises.”
As soon as a merchant named Jake entered, he had a friendly conversation with a madam named Daria, and then started climbing the stairs.
Gaon immediately looked at her Chorin, and as soon as she nodded, she signaled directly to the waiting personnel through her ring on her finger.
The two rings are a pair, and when mana is injected, the opponent’s ring vibrates finely. After waiting for about 30 seconds, Gaon’s ring vibrated this time.
This means that the siege is complete.
Gaon gulped down the beer in front of him, got up from his seat, and followed Daria and Jake upstairs to the second floor.
His hands were enveloped in a black aura.
The second floor was a long hallway with several rooms on either side. In some rooms, each group was already having a drinking party.
Gaon, who was looking around the place step by step, was able to find Jake and the madam in the room at the far corner.
Madam clung to her side, pouring her a drink, and Jake was massaging her thighs. It was just an ordinary pub to anyone’s eyes.
Gaon watched for a while, but he couldn’t guess what he was talking about because the soundproofing was good and, unfortunately, his mouth was not visible from the window.
‘Time is wasted.’
Anyway, it’s not too late to catch the story and listen to it. Gaon immediately opened the door and went inside.
“What, what!?”
Jake exclaimed in surprise. It was not visible through smoke. I’ve never experienced anything like this before, so it’s understandable.
Then Madame put her bottle down and she cautiously approached and bowed her head.
“… Guest, this is a reservation system. I’m sorry, but I hope you can come back next time. At that time, I will accompany you personally.”
“It doesn’t have to be next time. You can hang out right now.”
“Yes? What is that… !?”
Without hesitation, Gaon pointed out Madam’s blood flow. She dug very carefully, especially in the area of her head and brain—and bleeds with a sense of speed.
Although unlikely, there is even a chance that she will give up her physical body and pounce into the shadows. In the end, they are spiritual beings with demons united. If you block the passage of blood, that is, the mana road, you cannot escape.
Gaon, who received Madam’s collapse and handed it over to Ha-yeon, was surprised to see that even Jake, who was stiff, left the bar.
Of course, I used the back door so no one could see.
The party put the two of them in a sacks taken out of the subspace pouch and headed to the Prenewal Guild in a wagon that had been waiting in advance.
