Chapter 80

Stirring Up Trouble (1)

A Hidden Quest. As the word “hidden” suggested, it meant a special quest concealed from view. This was my first time receiving one, so I had no idea how these quests were hidden.

◆If you ask what a Hidden Quest is, it’s only natural that we answer!

The translucent text, quiet all this time, seized its chance! A stream of relevant information appeared before my eyes.

* * *

A Hidden Quest is a quest that is not explicitly displayed to the player. Such quests begin only when specific conditions are met, such as visiting a particular location at a particular time, building a relationship with a particular individual, or possessing a particular item. However, the player is given no information on how to fulfill these conditions.

As such, the player’s insight and reasoning are important. These quests offer “special rewards” unavailable through ordinary quests.

* * *

◆In other words, Hidden Quests give you the joy of exploring your surroundings in detail and making discoveries through deduction!

◆They also offer rewards worthy of your efforts and creativity, so let your adventurous spirit shine!!

Just when I thought the messages had settled down, they went right back to making a fuss. ... I’d thought they were being awfully quiet lately. Still, thanks to them, I quickly understood what a Hidden Quest was.

Which brought me to the Hidden Quest that had just appeared.

==[What a Fine Day to Stir Up Trouble]==

[Objective] - The Fall of Violess

[Reward] - Ian’s Journal

[Upon Failure] - No penalty

“Ian’s journal?”

That was no ordinary reward. Ian’s journal? I wasn’t even sure such a thing existed, and even if it did...

‘How could they give it to me as a quest reward?’

But thinking it over...

‘Quests are one of Ian’s abilities, after all.’

I didn’t know what mechanism they operated on, but quests were definitely Ian’s ability. And he had certainly intended to give me everything. He had even tried to give me his ability to return to the past. It was entirely possible that he had left a message for me within his abilities.

‘So that’s what it meant by rewards different from ordinary quests.’

Now I fully understood both the mechanism behind Hidden Quests and their reward system.

BOOM, BA-BOOM!

At that moment, another explosion erupted from the black market.

“It’s a monster!!”

“R-run!!”

The black market’s merchants came streaming out in terror. As they fled in every direction, colliding and tripping over one another, Violess descended into pandemonium in an instant. Then—

“An intruder!!”

“An unidentified intruder has appeared in the black market!!”

A group poured into the edge of my vision amid loud shouts. The Ashen Mask Visters—the Dark Merchant Company’s Acatas.

‘They’re responding faster than I expected.’

On closer inspection, I could see some fairly high-ranking Acatas among them.

Evangelistas, meaning evangelists, equivalent to parish priests. Custodes, meaning guardians, equivalent to assistant priests. There were even a few of these middle-management Acatas mixed into the group. Their response was not only swift but exceedingly thorough.

Even Isolde would have trouble taking them all on at once. I dismissed the Hidden Quest window floating before me and checked that the Covenant of the Abyss—the ring proving I was Avarus—was securely on my finger. Finally, I adjusted my mask firmly into place.

“You there!”

I called the rushing Acatas to a halt. When I held up the Covenant of the Abyss—

“... Executor?”

They recognized me immediately and all stopped.

“Where are you going?”

“The black market’s attack alarm sounded. We were on our way there.”

A perfectly obvious answer. There was nothing to fault in it, but...

‘It’s been a while since I ran a disruption operation.’

Disruption operations (Harassing Tactics): tactics that threw the enemy into internal confusion to weaken them. During my time with the allied army, I had carried out countless such operations—disabling key imperial army facilities, infiltrating and destroying supply depots and armories, cutting off supply routes, weakening enemy forces, and so on.

All that experience and those memories remained intact in my mind. Recalling the numerous operations from my previous life, I roared,

“You fools!!”

* * *

Isolde tore through the black market, smashing every structure in sight while freeing the slaves immobilized by chains.

“Run. Quickly.”

“Who the hell is that bastard?!”

“Get them! Don’t let them escape!!”

Each time she did, the Dark Merchant Company members stationed throughout the market pursued her relentlessly. She hurled herself out of their reach, but there were limits to how long she could evade them. Strictly speaking, this was a mage’s domain.

WHIIIIINE!

Hexagram barriers of unknown significance etched themselves into the air all around her, and dark red electricity burst out of them.

CRACK, CRACKLE!

Lightning magic shot toward her at tremendous speed, carrying an immense electrical charge. ... She couldn’t dodge this.

Isolde clenched her gauntleted fists and gathered her divine power. Then she thrust a fist forward.

BAAANG!!

The compressed divine power burst outward in a wave.

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!!

The wave triggered further explosions, destroying everything it touched.

Divine Martial Fist. Lumentius Style.

Divine Wave Burst.

The divine explosion struck the dark red electricity and the barriers.

CRAAASH!

The barriers shattered in an instant.

But the very moment they broke—

CRRRASH!

The remnants of the broken magic and fragments of the barriers showered in every direction, like stray arrows.

She could easily dodge them. But—

“Eeeek!!”

“S-save me!”

The black market’s slaves. In other words, people would get hurt. Isolde leaped forward without hesitation, crossing her arms and expanding her divine power.

WHOOOOSH!

A divine veil spread from her crossed arms, enveloping her and the surrounding area.

Divine Martial Fist. Celestia Style.

Celestial Guardian.

CRAAACK!!

The flying shards of magic battered the divine veil.

“Urgh...!”

Isolde staggered from the impact. Her blood churned as though her insides had been shaken apart.

Fortunately, her injuries healed quickly, but there was nothing she could do about the pain. It chipped away at her mental fortitude. Of course, this much pain wasn’t enough to seriously affect her, but...

‘There are too many.’

No matter how many magical barriers she broke, there was no end in sight. To put it bluntly, the black market was plastered with them. Just as a drizzle could eventually soak one’s clothes, the pain of dealing with them would accumulate. She didn’t know how long her mind could hold out.

“Th-that monster...!”

“More importantly, wasn’t that divine power just now?”

“When the hell are the standby units getting here?!”

On top of that, the Dark Merchant Company’s forces were no pushovers. None were particularly high-ranking, but even the strongest could be overwhelmed by numbers. A mass attack would be difficult to handle. Yet she couldn’t use any large-scale techniques. There were still plenty of slaves throughout the market who hadn’t escaped—who still couldn’t escape.

The slaves weren’t members of the Dark Merchant Company. They were its captives, its victims. She had to protect them.

As expected, rampaging through the heart of enemy territory was too much, especially with so many constraints. Just as Isolde bit down hard on her lower lip—

“They’re here!! The standby units are here!”

“Hurry up and get that bastard!!”

To make matters worse, reinforcements had arrived. But—

“What?! Why are you the only ones here?!”

... There were surprisingly few of them?

* * *

The Acatas flinched at my shout.

“... Pardon?”

“Does this truly look like an attack on the black market to you?”

“Of course it—”

“You fools!!!”

I unleashed the foul temper I’d learned from Iratum. They didn’t just tremble in fear; they even took hesitant steps back. Considering Avarus’s position, it was only natural.

Only one person here in Violess outranked Avarus: Iratum, a Revelator-rank Devotee, equivalent to a cardinal. In fact, even across the entire order, the people who outranked Avarus could be counted on one hand.

“Look over there.”

I raised a hand and pointed toward the black market. I didn’t overlook the little detail of deliberately using the hand bearing the Covenant of the Abyss. Sure enough, their eyes went to the ring—

BOOM, BA-BOOM!

Then snapped toward the black market at the explosions erupting from it.

Isolde was rampaging like an ogre. Of course, she was too far away for us to see her. But the way she was single-handedly tearing through the entire black market really was no different from an ogre.

“What idiot would attack the black market alone?”

“Do you mean...?”

“That is a disruption operation.”

Disruption tactic number one: disinformation.

“Where is Lord Iratum at present?”

“He should be in the Ruins District.”

“The Ruins District?”

“He said he was procuring the homunculus materials you requested, Executor...”

“Ah, yes. Of course.”

The Ruins District was a slum on the outskirts of Violess. In other words, it would take some time for word of the current commotion to reach Iratum. That was also why I had asked him for a hundred homunculi.

I’d originally planned to stir up trouble on my own, and it would have been quite inconvenient to have Iratum remaining in the black market. In short, things were looking very good.

“Then I will take command here until Lord Iratum arrives.”

Disruption tactic number two: breaking down the chain of command.

“U-understood.”

“But what did you mean by a disruption operation?”

“Look. The intruder is simply smashing up the market without any particular objective.”

“That is true, but...”

“Doesn’t it seem like a deliberate attempt to focus our order’s attention on the black market?”

“...?”

“Does it...?”

The Acatas tilted their heads uncertainly, but—

“Are you questioning me?”

They all flinched at my icy tone.

As long as they firmly believed I was Avarus, my word was truth. The Devotees of the Fallen Souls were an order that worshipped the Sovereign of the Abyss as a god. To them, Avarus, who had been granted a “true name” by that Sovereign, was no different from their god’s representative. How could they question the representative who conveyed their god’s voice?

“N-no!”

“How could we possibly question your word, Executor?!”

“Not at all!”

And so, my disruption operation proceeded smoothly.

“That is a diversion.”

Disseminating false information and spreading rumors.

“The true objective lies elsewhere. Perhaps our order itself is the target.”

Tactical disruption through misleading orders.

“We must also consider the possibility that the Crimson Soiree and the Black Grasp have joined forces.”

Driving a wedge between factions.

“Therefore, I will hold off the intruder in the black market. You will return and prepare for any contingencies.”

“Yes!”

“Notify the other standby units as well. Tell them to guard their assigned areas rather than the black market.”

Canceling requests for reinforcements.

“There may even be a traitor within the order, so keep communication between units to a minimum.”

Fomenting internal discord and conflict.

“And as a precaution, we must relocate the black market’s funds somewhere safe. You there. Are you an Evangelista-rank Acata?”

“Y-yes, I am!”

“You will come with me.”

Seizing supplies.

“The Custos-rank Acatas will evacuate every slave in the black market to safety.”

Securing civilian safety.

“Pardon...? Why the slaves—”

“Don’t be an idiot!!!”

Interrupting.

“Do you have any idea how expensive those slaves are?!”

Bulldozing objections.

“If any of them are injured or killed, the losses will be enormous!!!”

Throwing a tantrum.

“Or shall I grind you lot up and turn you into homunculi?!”

Making threats.

“Eek!”

“W-we didn’t think it through!”

“We’re sorry!!”

The Acatas hurriedly bowed their heads, afraid they might end up as homunculi. Judging by their reactions...

‘Looks like he’s done it before.’

Apparently, Avarus had taken Acatas he disliked and turned them into homunculi.

Then again, he was the lunatic who had turned the entire Veneron viscounty into homunculi, so what else could I expect? Thanks to him, my disruption operation went all the more smoothly.

“The remaining Acatas will return to guard their respective areas.”

Weakening enemy forces by dispersing them.

“What are you waiting for?! Get moving!!”

“Y-yes!”

With a spirited reply, the Acatas streamed back the way they had come. And just like that, the great mass of Acatas was gone.

“We should get moving too.”

“Th-this way, please!”

With the Evangelista-rank Acata guiding me, I headed for the Dark Merchant Company’s piggy bank.

* * *

The Dark Merchant Company’s reinforcements had arrived at the black market. For some reason, though, there were very few of them—and that wasn’t all.

“Where are the other reinforcements—H-huh?!”

“What are you doing?!”

“This is no time to worry about some worthless slaves!!”

Despite their already meager numbers, the reinforcements were evacuating the black market’s slaves. Just as Isolde wondered what was going on, a shout rang out.

“These are the Executor’s orders!”

Isolde’s mind snapped into focus.

“The Executor’s orders...?”

“Yes! The Executor ordered us to minimize the damage to the black market!”

“Wh-what are you...!”

“Shut up unless you want to become a homunculus!”

“What...?”

“There’s only one intruder anyway!”

“The Executor will be here soon. Just follow the orders!”

One by one, the slaves made it safely out of the black market. Only then did Isolde understand the full situation. It seemed she had fallen into another enormous misunderstanding.

Adrian Whitewolf. The name known as the wastrel of a count’s house. His actions—deceiving the Dark Merchant Company, plotting to stir up trouble—were certainly those of a wastrel to anyone watching. Yet the scent she caught from him was unmistakably human.

The lips Isolde had bitten so tightly had curved into a faint smile before she knew it. Now there was nothing left to hold her back. What reason did she have to hesitate?

Isolde squeezed out her divine power, concentrating it in each part of her body. This was the technique she had nearly used at the end of her fight with Adrian—the technique that was still incomplete.

Focusing her mind, she forced divine power into every strand of muscle fiber, every single nerve cell. Then she unleashed it all at once.

ROOOOAR!!!

Fueled by the exploding divine power, Isolde’s physical abilities surged out of control. Muscular strength, reflexes, stamina, speed—her combat prowess, built upon those physical abilities, instantly “transcended” human limits.

Divine Martial Fist. Isolde Style.

Divine Ascension.

A golden aura shimmered around Isolde. She no longer looked human, but like a transcendent being.