Chapter 140. A Fish Out of Water
First, after calming down Shine—who was throwing a full-on tantrum—I calmly retraced the current situation.
“It can’t be wrong, right? Next time we meet, you absolutely have to say it. If you don’t, then…….”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m a dog. A dog. Okay? So stop it already, gah.”
Unbelievable……
Forgetting was my fault, sure, but thinking about it again, I had plenty to say from my side too.
To be honest, we didn’t even have Infinite Chain in hand yet, and there were all kinds of other things to worry about.
Anyway, back to the Infinite Chain matter.
I stuffed the rabid dog Shine into a corner of the room and kept thinking.
‘For now, the junior head has bitten the bait, but…….’
Even if the bait had been bitten, it wasn’t a situation where I could relax.
That’s how fishing is.
Does it end the moment the fish bites the bait? No.
Sometimes clever fish snatch only the bait and slip away, and big ones often snap the fishing line clean.
Of course, I wasn’t saying the junior head was clever.
If anything……
‘……He’s the big-fish type.’
What I was worried about was the junior head snapping the line with a casual tug.
No—“slip away” wasn’t quite the right phrase.
“Slipping away” implies the junior head deliberately running, and he didn’t look like someone that faithless.
But still.
“……I just don’t like it.”
“What is it?”
I lifted my head at Parun’s voice.
Parun had gone out briefly and came back holding two coffees. I naturally reached out to take one.
No—I tried to.
“That one isn’t yours.”
Saying that, Parun downed the cold coffee in one go.
“…….”
Parun sat on my side with the remaining cup in hand, and watching it made my faith in humanity go cold.
Still, I guess the consolation was that Parun hadn’t bought coffee only for himself? Anyway.
“So what is it you’re uneasy about? Didn’t everything resolve well according to the plan?”
I awkwardly pulled my hand back and nodded.
“For now, yeah.”
Of course, the phrase “according to the plan” wasn’t quite right.
From the moment we arrived at Lortel up until now—
Not once had anything flowed the way I planned.
A sudden encounter with the Third Sword, for starters, and the rude, ill-mannered uninvited guest being Lortel’s junior head?!
It was a nonstop sequence of shocks, moment after moment!
But—
‘If you look only at the result, it did go as planned.’
Either way, I had proposed a deal to the junior head.
And the junior head had responded positively.
So what was the problem?
“The junior head bit the bait, right? The hook is properly set in his mouth.”
“And?”
Thinking back carefully, there was exactly one thing I hadn’t calculated.
“The fishing line could still snap.”
“The line snaps? You mean the junior head breaks the deal? It didn’t seem like he would.”
“Why wouldn’t he?”
At my question, Parun took a sip of coffee and answered without hesitation.
“He didn’t seem like someone without good faith.”
“……Good faith?”
I tilted my head at an answer that didn’t sound like Parun, and Parun gave a small smirk.
“It’s a joke. What feeling is more mirage-like than ‘good faith’? Still, from the junior head’s perspective, there’s no reason to increase enemies.”
Ah. A joke.
Not funny at all.
But setting aside the bleak joke, Parun’s words had logic.
“Right. No need to add enemies. He won’t want to pick a fight with secret organizations like the Mage Tower or the Sword Institute.”
The Mage Tower and the Sword Institute—at first, they were groups I’d made up as a stopgap, but as the conversation continued, they’d gained unintended credibility.
From the junior head’s or the Third Sword’s perspective, probably……
‘Magap Kalium.’
A hidden implement never revealed to the world—
And—
‘The background behind the fall of House Impir.’
Deculan’s wickedness.
Wouldn’t we look like a group with vast information power that knew those two things?
They wouldn’t believe it one hundred percent, but they’d keep the possibility in mind: what if the Mage Tower and the Sword Institute really exist?
Meaning, without intending to, I’d effectively threatened them like this:
- Oh, you won’t keep your promise? Then we won’t just sit still, you know?
No matter how much he was Lortel’s junior head, it would be seriously troublesome to make enemies of secret organizations like that.
But.
“Somehow…… I feel like that might be the problem.”
“What do you mean?”
It was like this.
“Let’s set aside the junior head, who’s blind over Deculan. And the Third Sword will follow the junior head’s decision, so he might not think the Mage Tower and Sword Institute matter much.”
If you think only that far, our big-fish junior head wouldn’t snap the line.
But there was something I hadn’t considered.
For our junior head, regardless of the Mage Tower or Sword Institute, he only needs to eat the bait hanging on the line.
Because Deculan is the goal anyway.
But—
‘……This pond called Lortel doesn’t only have the junior head.’
In this pond, there was a creature far, far bigger than the junior head.
No—not a fish.
The ruler of the pond.
“……How would Lortel’s Head of House see this situation?”
“Lortel’s Head of House?”
“I mean, think about it. One day, your son comes in carrying something huge. Magap Kalium! The background behind the fall of House Impir! From the Head of House’s perspective, what would it be? Would he think, yes, perfect?”
“That…… hm.”
Parun couldn’t answer easily.
“A difficult question. But…… he’d be curious about the source of the information.”
“Right? And that source is supposedly the Mage Tower and Sword Institute—secret organizations no one’s ever heard of. If it were you, what would you do?”
“If it were me…….”
Parun sank into thought for a moment.
And it wasn’t long before Parun spoke.
“Rather than Infinite Chain or the background of House Impir…… I think I’d become curious about those two secret organizations.”
Yes. Exactly.
In the pond called Lortel—
The junior head is a fish that only needs to fill his belly, but Lortel’s Head of House is the pond’s owner.
He has to do more than fill his own belly—he has to widen the pond called Lortel, and fatten the fish inside it.
And to a Head of House like that, the Mage Tower and Sword Institute are an extremely interesting topic for fattening the pond.
So if I were the Head of House……
‘I’d snap the line.’
Nullify the deal entirely.
And then—
‘I’d walk out of the pond, and instead of eating the bait, I’d eat the fisherman holding the bait box.’
Oh, and for the record, the owner of the pond can operate on both land and water.
I only used fishing as an analogy—neither the junior head nor the Head of House were actually fish.
“Do you get why I’m uneasy?”
“……You mean the negotiation table could be flipped. And not only that……”
“The negotiation partner could change.”
If that happened, it wouldn’t be negotiation anymore.
It would depend on the Head of House’s personality, but……
‘……If it were me, I’d tear the fisherman to shreds and scatter him into the pond.’
Of course, that was the worst-case scenario.
If the Head of House stepped in, that uncertain risk—‘we might make enemies of the Mage Tower and Sword Institute’—would no longer restrain him.
If anything…… the more risk he sensed, the more he’d drool.
‘Places that stink of danger always have a lot to gain.’
Just as I reached that thought—
“But isn’t that getting ahead of ourselves? Wouldn’t it depend on how the junior head handles things?”
“That’s true. But…….”
As I trailed off, Parun spoke.
“I understand that unexpected variables created a new risk. If everything had gone according to plan, you wouldn’t have needed to invent such fictional groups.”
“Right.”
If things had gone according to plan, we would’ve stayed as the rats who stole Deculan’s Scarlet Flame—nothing more.
To the pond’s owner, we wouldn’t have looked very appetizing.
The information is impressive, sure…… but we’d be nothing more than small fry worth noting.
“But just because the risk comes from an unexpected variable, there’s no guarantee it will happen. And even if it does, what can we do about it?”
“There’s…… nothing we can do. Yeah. You’re right.”
Just because it’s a risk derived from an unexpected variable doesn’t mean the event will necessarily occur.
Meaning, the owner crouched at the bottom of the pond might not pay us any attention.
But for some reason—
A sudden, ominous possibility.
That possibility clung to my mind and kept tickling at my heart.
……And two days later.
Late at night.
I realized that this anxiety would not end as mere possibility.
Knock knock.
“……Looks like I’ve come to the right place.”
Did he send people to find us?
Even though there was still one day left until the promised date, the Third Sword came to the inn in person.
Judging by the oversized robe pulled over him, it was clearly a secret matter.
Well, our meeting itself was secret, but it didn’t feel like it was only because of Infinite Chain.
As I stared at the Third Sword in puzzlement—
He opened his mouth.
“There is someone who wishes to see you.”
At that moment, I understood.
‘……Damn it.’
The fishing line had snapped.
The owner of the pond had come onto land.
First, we made a brief set of preparations and followed the Third Sword.
“If it’s someone who wishes to see us, then surely…….”
“……Yes. It is the Head of House.”
At the Third Sword’s answer, I had to swallow a faint sigh.
‘How is it that ominous premonitions never miss?’
But only for a moment did I feel dejected.
I decided to think as positively as possible.
‘If it’s the pond’s owner, he’d tear us to pieces and fatten the pond…… but, you know, that’s only if it were me.’
Now that I admit it, I know my personality is trash.
If you gathered a hundred ill-tempered bastards and lined them up, wouldn’t I confidently land in the top handful?
……That thought lasted only a moment.
I let out a faint sigh.
‘……No way.’
Not top handful—I’d probably struggle to even rank in the top hundred.
Even with my hope circuit running at full power, the chance that Lortel’s Head of House is nicer than me is extremely close to zero.
At this point, I at least needed to know the circumstances.
“So…… why does the Head of House, lofty as the sky over Lortel, wish to see us?”
“Hm. I believe he is interested in your proposal.”
“What did the junior head say?”
“That…… hm.”
Walking ahead, the Third Sword trailed off. His steady stride faltered for reasons unknown.
He recovered quickly, but that brief hesitation was more than enough to pour oil on my anxiety.
Right after, the Third Sword spoke.
“……He reported it exactly as it was.”
Yeah, right.
He definitely added flesh to every bone.
From the junior head’s perspective, this deal had to happen.
And if possible, he’d want to strike Deculan while also knocking down whatever the hell the Eight Elders were.
To do that, he would’ve inflated the source of the information, and in the process, the Mage Tower and Sword Institute would’ve become mysterious organizations of unrivaled mystique and staggering power.
As that thought reached its end, my gaze naturally sharpened.
It wasn’t long before the Third Sword spoke again.
“You seem to be misunderstanding something…… The junior head did his utmost to keep the promise with you. In the process, he stimulated the Head of House’s interest. That is all.”
Ah. I see.
Then it seemed the conversation between the Head of House and the junior head had flowed differently than I expected.
Rather than inflating us to make his words more convincing, he likely inflated things to emphasize the necessity of keeping the promise with us.
But even so, the situation wasn’t hopeful.
Because—
‘……The Head of House was planning to swallow the bait and pull out.’
One thing became clear.
Lortel’s Head of House is a personality-ruined degenerate who knows nothing of good faith!
Then why would such a degenerate call us?
‘Not good. Very not good.’
No matter how I thought about it, nothing good came out.
As we followed the Third Sword through winding alleys toward Lortel—
Stop.
That was when the Third Sword halted.
“……?”
“Wait a moment. I have something to organize in my thoughts.”
If we left this alley, we’d immediately be at Lortel’s castle, and yet the Third Sword stopped abruptly.
He closed his eyes and sank into thought—and in that timing, I had to decide something too.
‘Three against one.’
The Third Sword is off guard.
If we throw the first punch……
Could we still back out, even now?
Of course, if we did that, Infinite Chain would be gone—but we could avoid the monster called Lortel’s Head of House.
At least we wouldn’t become fish food right away.
In the end, it was a choice between Deculan in the future, or the Lortel Head of House right in front of us.
That was the question.
And it didn’t take long for me to decide.
‘Alright. I’ve decided.’
My choice was……
But around then, the Third Sword turned around.
With a solemn expression like he’d steeled his resolve, he looked at us.
“Bringing you here was the Head of House’s order. However, the junior head gave a separate order.”
“……?”
The nuance is strange.
As if the junior head issued an order that opposed the Head of House’s.
And my expectation was exactly right.
“The junior head left a message along with the order.”
What was that message?
The Third Sword spoke the junior head’s words.
“‘Go back.’”
And—
- The promise will be kept, no matter what.
When I heard that, I thought—
‘……That settles it.’
If we meet the Head of House, we are absolutely f—ed.
No doubt about it.
