Chapter 81

Stirring Up Trouble (2)

Night in Violess was deeper and darker than anywhere else. Yet that was when the city truly awoke, more dazzling—and more sinister—than ever.

Red light bathed the alleys. Raucous laughter and suggestive cries never ceased along these streets of pleasure: the red-light district.

Brothels lined every street and alley, with women in lavish clothing beckoning customers inside. The most extravagant of them all had a stately facade adorned with sumptuous decorations, making it look like a noble’s grand mansion.

“I-I’m sorry! I won’t do it again!”

A woman without a stitch of clothing was dragged out of the mansion by a group of vicious-looking men.

“I m-must have lost my mind for a moment! I won’t do it again, so please...!”

She pleaded desperately, but the men did not even acknowledge her. They threw her to the ground and began beating her indiscriminately.

THUD! THUD-THUD!

Her skin, pale beneath its heavy makeup, was soon covered in bruises. Her red lips swelled and split, turning redder still.

THUD-THUD! THUD! THUD-THUD!

Even then, the men showed no intention of stopping. In moments, the naked woman was so covered in bruises that she was unrecognizable.

“Enough.”

A voice came from inside the mansion. Only then did the men stop beating her and step back as another woman emerged.

Her hair was red as though dyed with blood, her alluring features enough to stir desire. The red jewel hanging from her neck accentuated her captivating neckline and voluptuous figure.

“God... mother...”

Lyla, godmother of the Crimson Soiree that ruled the red-light district. The bloodied woman crawled across the ground, begging her.

“P-pleashe, spare me... I wash wrong...”

Lyla slowly approached her and slapped her across the face.

SMACK!

The woman’s cheek split as though struck by a whip, but Lyla merely asked, “Who taught you to refuse a customer who picks you?”

SMACK! SMACK!

Unconcerned, Lyla continued slapping both her cheeks. Several blows later, nothing came from the woman but choking, bloody gurgles.

Only then did Lyla irritably shake the woman’s blood from her hand.

“Take her away and make sure she learns her lesson.”

The men dragged the unconscious woman away. Just then—

BOOM-BOOM-BOOOOM!

A brilliant flash erupted with an ear-splitting roar. The explosion was so enormous that all of Violess seemed to shake.

“Godmother.”

A Vister belonging to the Crimson Soiree approached Lyla.

“What did you find?”

“We’ve confirmed that Sarpedon is currently at the gambling den.”

Sarpedon, leader of the Black Grasp, which controlled the gambling establishments.

“It doesn’t appear that the Black Grasp is behind the attack on the black market.”

“Hmm...”

Lyla brushed her long, slender fingers over her lips. The blood she had failed to shake off stained them an even deeper red.

“Then who could it be?”

“They say the smaller Vister groups in Violess have formed an alliance—”

“No.”

Lyla immediately shook her head.

She knew what the black market’s Ashen Mask was capable of. How could they be helpless against some alliance of small-time Visters? Small fry were still small fry, however many banded together. If that were enough to defeat the Ashen Mask, they would have fallen long ago.

This was nothing more than a bunch of lesser monsters scrambling to claim a mountain range with no ogre in it.

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!

Another explosion erupted, even more violent than the last. Far from mounting a proper response, the black market appeared to be taking a helpless beating.

“Something unusual is going on.”

An odd gleam flashed through Lyla’s eyes.

“What about the Black Grasp?”

“They haven’t made any significant moves yet, but...”

Her subordinate gulped before continuing.

“Given that all their Visters, including their officers, are gathering at the gambling den, they’ll likely act soon.”

“So they’re going all in?”

“What should we do?” the subordinate asked next.

Lyla did not deliberate for long.

* * *

BOOM-BOOM-BOOOOM!

An explosion erupted the moment we arrived at the black market. Its tremendous roar practically shook not just the market, but all of Violess.

‘Looks like Isolde’s really cutting loose.’

Anyway.

“This way.”

I followed the Acata to the black market’s piggy bank. Getting inside required a fairly complicated procedure, but I sailed through without any trouble.

When the enormous, thick vault door opened, gold and silver coins—the continent’s standard currency—filled my entire field of view. The sight was so overwhelming that Avarus’s secret vault could not even compare.

“These funds were laundered through Obscura.”

Obscura. Put simply, the word referred to both the method and the place the Dark Merchant Company used to launder money.

The Dark Merchant Company earned enormous sums through black markets across the continent, but those earnings came from illegal activities. In short, it was dirty money. Throwing it around recklessly risked exposing the company’s trail, so it had to be laundered into legitimate funds. That was Obscura’s role.

Violess was one of the Dark Merchant Company’s major bases and operated its own Obscura. The wealth piled before me was the laundered proceeds of its activities here.

‘This has to be well over a hundred million gold.’

And that was a conservative estimate. I would have to count it to know the exact amount.

Just then—

“W-we have a disaster on our hands!”

An Acata wearing an ashen mask suddenly came running in, gasping for breath.

“R-right now...! We’ve received word that the Black Grasp is attacking the order!”

“What?!”

The Evangelista-rank Acata jumped in shock.

“Th-that’s not all...!”

The messenger gulped before continuing.

“The smaller Vister groups in Violess have also formed an alliance and are attacking the order!”

“What do you mean...?!”

The Evangelista-rank Acata looked positively horrified.

The Black Grasp and a Vister alliance. Even the Dark Merchant Company could not afford to dismiss that kind of force. But...

‘The Crimson Soiree hasn’t moved?’

Were they being cautious? Or did they have something else up their sleeves?

‘Hmm.’

I couldn’t tell which yet. Still, it seemed clear that the Crimson Soiree had no intention of acting right away. That wasn’t what I’d expected, but it was fine. An operation could easily encounter unexpected developments, and this was well within the range I had accounted for.

‘I’m a little pressed for time now.’

Even so, things were proceeding according to plan.

“Didn’t I tell you? The attack on the black market is a diversion.”

“O-of course...!”

The Acata looked impressed, as though it had finally dawned on him.

It never even occurred to him that I was the one stirring up trouble. Instead, he had gone beyond trusting me completely to outright worshipping me.

“I’ll keep these funds safe until the situation settles down.”

“Understood.”

The Acata obediently took a step back, only to pause.

“... Pardon? You’ll ‘keep’ the funds, rather than ‘move’ them somewhere safe?”

“How long would it take to move all this? Who knows what might happen in transit?”

“That’s true, Executor, but how could you possibly handle all this on your own—”

Before he could even finish asking...

◆Storing ‘Pile of Gold Coins’ in Inventory.

I opened my Inventory and swept the coins inside, making him jump in place once again.

“Subspace magic...?!”

To other people, my Inventory looked like subspace magic. Avarus was an alchemist and a highly accomplished mage, so there was nothing strange about my using it openly. Except...

“B-but how...? You’re using Transmog!”

Transmog perfectly imitated its target. It copied their appearance, traits, abilities, and even their mind so completely that using one’s original powers became extremely difficult. That was why Avarus had struggled to use magic while transformed into Viscount Veneron.

In other words, casting something as advanced as subspace magic while using Transmog was all but impossible.

“Subspace magic on this scale, with your magical power restricted?!”

The Acata’s eyes, visible through his mask, widened so far they looked ready to tear.

“As expected of you, Executor! Incredible!”

Worship of me blossomed in those stretched-wide eyes. He never dreamed that their wealth was being stolen down to the last coin. Hardly surprising, given his unshakable belief that I was Avarus.

Without the slightest hesitation, I swept up all their wealth.

◆Storing ‘Pile of Gold Coins’ in Inventory.

◆Storing ‘Pile of Gold Coins’ in Inventory.

◆Storing ‘Pile of Gold Coins’ in Inventory.

.

.

.

The wealth flowing into storage truly seemed endless.

“H-how is that even possible...?!”

“Woooow!”

With each addition, the Acatas grew more astounded. It really was far more than subspace magic could hold. I couldn’t say for certain, but even the allied army’s Archmage probably couldn’t create a subspace capable of storing this much wealth. Without the Infinite Inventory, I would have had no way to deal with it all.

As it was, I swept every last bit into my Inventory without a single restriction.

“I’ll go stop the attacker at the black market now. Return to your assigned districts and provide support.”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

The Acatas answered with enthusiasm, unmistakable worship in their eyes as they looked at me. Of course, that meant their hatred and anger would be all the fiercer when the truth came out.

Was that why? Now that I thought about it...

‘The imperial soldiers never had any teeth left whenever they saw me.’

They ground them that hard.

* * *

BOOOM!

A thunderous rampage was rousing Violess from its night. Contrary to Iratum’s expectation that the commotion would soon die down, it had been going on for quite some time.

“...?”

Iratum still had absolutely no idea what was happening.

He was currently in the Ruins District, a neighborhood formed by Visters who had lost the power struggles and could no longer find a foothold in Violess.

Even by the city’s standards, it was a neglected area. The inhabitants were primarily homeless people and the sick, most of them vagrants without anyone to turn to. It was the perfect place to procure the materials for the hundred homunculi Avarus had requested.

Iratum had therefore come to the Ruins District personally to select slaves one by one. Normally, he would not have needed to do it himself, but a hundred was another matter.

What would happen if that many people suddenly vanished? Those nearby would find it suspicious and report it. Covering that up and silencing people would require considerable resources and manpower, making his personal involvement necessary.

Naturally, the whole process was terribly bothersome and distasteful, but...

‘He did say he’d help me find the Valley of Kardun.’

Keeping his mounting anger in check, Iratum selected homeless and sick people who looked suitable for use as homunculi. When he had chosen about fifty...

BOOOM!

He first became aware of the thunderous commotion awakening the Violess night. Initially, he paid it little mind. Vister turf wars were practically an everyday occurrence here.

BOOOM!

When he heard the second blast, he still expected it to stop soon.

BOOM-BOOM!

By the third, irritation began to rise.

“They’re making quite a racket.”

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!

The fourth stirred considerable anger.

“Those little fuckers...”

But the fifth time—

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!

An ominous explosion shook all of Violess.

“Tonight, the true supreme power of Violess will be born! Are you all ready?!”

“Yes, boss!”

“Then we begin! Crush them without mercy!”

Only after witnessing a mob of Visters advancing into Violess like an army did he realize something was amiss.

“... What’s all this commotion?”

A Vister turf war? The scale of this uproar was far too unusual.

“I’ll go find out.”

One of the Acatas read the mood and ran off to investigate.

But...

“...?”

There was no word at all?

“I’ll go check this time.”

Another Acata tactfully stepped forward, but...

“...??”

Again, not a word.

“Then I’ll go find out and return.”

The next one, too.

“This time, I’ll—”

And the one after that. Like offerings cast into the Abyss, none of them ever returned.

“???”

... For some reason, Iratum felt like he was the only one being left out.