“……”At my arrogant tone, the guards’ faces hardened.I took my eyes off them and looked at the eyes of the gargoyle statue decorating the government building’s main door.The eyes of the gargoyle statue glinted red like rubies.Those eyes were a magic tool that watched the outside; if I caused a slight disturbance here, there would be a response from inside.After confirming the gargoyle’s eyes, I added one more line to the guards who were clenching their teeth.“Go to your master and tell them this: I’ve brought what they need.”“Hmph, nonsense.”When I kept pushing my demands, the guards moved first.Whoosh-.They swung their huge halberds and pressed them toward my mask in a threat.“Stand back. We will not tolerate any further discourtesy.”Two halberds aimed at my neck.The sharply ground blades of the halberds reflected the brazier’s fire and blazed with a fierce light.Looking down at them through the holes in my mask, I swallowed.'…A little scary.'It was my first time seeing such large weapons up close. Where would a modern person like me ever see such murderous things?No matter how much Aegis protected me, it seemed I couldn’t help a primal fear of cold steel.I forced down the fear, then lightly pushed the halberds aside with my hand and spoke.“If words won’t work, there’s no helping it. I’ll have to resort to force.”Flutter-.When I flared my cloak and took a stance to attack, the guards moved as well.“Strike!”Whish-.They spun the halberds they held and struck at me with the blunt shaft on the back instead of the axe blade.It looked like they intended to subdue me properly without killing me, but even so, if that shaft hit me, a rib or two would snap easily.Of course—Twang-.“!”“What the—?”The shafts they thrust stopped in midair without touching my body.The two guards were flustered when something invisible blocked their attack.I used that opening and struck both guards in the solar plexus with my fists.Bang-!- Trait, the additional effect of [Alchemy] penetrates a certain portion of the opponent’s defense.Along with the notification log, a powerful tensile force pierced the armor and transmitted straight into their solar plexuses.My personal strength was pathetic, but with a bit of potion doping I could easily subdue guards like these.“Guhk.”Caught off guard, the two guards clutched their stomachs, gagging, and collapsed to the floor.Clang-.I picked up the halberd the guards had dropped.“……”A heavy, cold sensation in my hand.After weighing it, I slowly brought the blade near the neck of the guard lying on the floor.“Urk.”As the vicious blade drew near, the two guards hunched up in fear.I smirked at them, then struck their sides once each with the halberd’s shaft.Thwack-.“Keuk.”Hit in the side by the shaft, the guards gagged in pain and fainted.Subjugation complete.Clang-.Then I threw the halberd in my hand to the floor and looked up at the gargoyle statue by the door.As if to say this was proof enough of my ability.The gargoyle’s eyes still shone red.“……”While I was in that strange standoff, locked in a staring contest with the gargoyle statue—Creak-.The tightly closed main doors slid open to either side, revealing the path inward.One way or another, I had succeeded in entering the Panopticon’s government building.I looked at the light inside the doorway.Tap- tap-.Then I walked first through the main doors, passing between the guards who had fallen to the floor.“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”Rize, who had been hiding behind me, bowed repeatedly in apology to the fallen guards, then scurried after me.As she followed me, Rize drew close to my side at some point and quietly whispered in my ear.“Are you perhaps an incredibly powerful mage, Loen-nim? Or someone incredibly high-ranked?”Hearing that, as if she were full of expectation after watching me easily subdue the guards and barge straight into the Panopticon’s western branch, I merely let out a hum instead of an answer.“Hm.”Contrary to Rize’s hopes, I was neither someone incredibly high-ranked nor a great mage.My bloodline was House de Valis, but that fact didn’t mean much in this underworld.After thinking for a moment, I gave an answer that was appropriate for the two of us.“Not yet. But I will be soon.”“?”“There’s no need to force yourself to understand.”With the tilting-headed Rize, I walked down the corridor lined with a red carpet.Passing suits of armor arrayed menacingly on both sides of the corridor, a splendid hall appeared before us.A red-and-gold interior, a lavish chandelier hanging from the ceiling, and a central fountain.At a glance it looked more like a luxury hotel lobby than the den of a mafia.As I was briefly looking over the splendor of the hall, a troop descended the stairs.Clack-clack-.A man appeared, accompanied by dozens of guards in black armor.A neatly trimmed ash-gray beard and slicked-back white hair. A golden monocle over one eye.An appearance like a dignified actor straight out of a movie.An elderly man hiding bursting muscles beneath a fine black suit.It was an entrance with the very presence befitting a mafia boss.Clack-.Striding forward with his guards, the old man stopped in front of me and asked in a solemn voice,“So it is you. The uninvited guest who came without notice to the Panopticon seeking this seat?”Radiating a huge sense of pressure, the old man looked down at me from up close.His fierce ash-gray eyes bore into me.Facing him in reality instead of on a monitor, my hands naturally grew sweaty and my whole body felt tense.But I borrowed the power of my traits, revealed nothing, and answered calmly.“So the Panopticon leaves guests standing in the corridor, I see.”“Heh. I wasn’t yet sure whether you were a guest or an intruder. For now… you seem the latter.”He jerked his chin toward the two guards lying outside the doors.“It was self-defense. And I held back my hand.”“I know. If you hadn’t, you would already be dead by this one’s hand.”Crack-.The old man curled his massive fist in threat, but I only shrugged nonchalantly.Perhaps understanding my intent, he got straight to the point.“Anyway. Enough trifling small talk. This one is a busy man. Who are you, and why have you come here? Your treatment will depend on your answer.”“……”For someone greeting an uninvited guest, the old man’s tone was rather polite.Likely because he hadn’t yet identified my exact identity.It was not yet the time to reveal who I was, so I maintained this advantage in information.“Who I am is unimportant. What I brought matters more.”“Indeed. I hear it is something this one needs. Then, let us see it.”Rather than probe my identity, the old man told me to take out what I had brought.He intended to infer who I was from that, or judge whether it was something of value.But what I had brought was not a tangible thing, and there was neither a need nor a way to show it here.I evasively sidestepped the answer.“There are too many eyes for that.”When I glanced at the guards beside him, as if to tell him to clear the room, the old man let out a dry chuckle.“Heh. Many demands, aren’t we. It seems you still haven’t grasped your position.”Clack-.When he raised his hand, the guards waiting behind him leveled their halberds at me.Flash-.Compared to the two posted at the door, these were far superior fighters.Judging by the grim atmosphere and the twitching flow of mana, they looked ready to rush me and subdue me at any moment.“Ugh.”As the guards took an attack stance, Rize hid tightly behind my back.Buoyed by his guards’ momentum, the old man posed his question once more.“What will you do? If you keep being stubborn, you will meet an ugly end. Hand over the item nicely and reveal your identity. This is this one’s last warning.”The old man’s eyes glinted coldly as he spoke.“This one has already been very patient.”Vwooom-.At the same time, a powerful, intangible aura poured out of him.I couldn’t explain it, but when that aura brushed against me, my whole body seemed to shrink and lock up on its own.'So this is the battle aura (tuqi) a martial artist exudes.'In the game it was just a debuff that reduced a few stats, but experiencing it in real life, the pressure was tremendous.“……”I received the old man’s powerful aura with my whole body and swallowed dryly.Gulp-.This truly was inside the tiger’s jaws.If I slipped even a little, everything would come to nothing.Not only would I fail to achieve my modest objective, I could die.I did not have the ability to subdue these people now.But if I hadn’t been confident I could break through this situation, I never would have come here.As long as things proceeded according to plan, there would be no problem.I already knew very well what relationship this old man had with the master of the Panopticon’s western branch.I calmed my mind and murmured in a low voice.“No. Your calculation is wrong, Alfredo. On the contrary, I’m being considerate of you.”“You… are being considerate of this seat?”Alfredo’s eyebrows twitched.“That’s right.”Then, so the old man would clearly understand, I spoke with weight.“I did say clearly that I don’t speak with ‘underlings.’”“!”For an instant, a peculiar light flickered in the old man’s eyes at my words.He had grasped the meaning hidden in my words.I didn’t let it slip and drove in the wedge.“If no one else, you should understand me, Alfredo.”When I fell silent there, the old man sank into thought for a moment.“……”A strange silence continued amid a standoff with dozens of guards.It was so quiet I could hear someone swallow.“Everyone, withdraw.”After a brief silence, the old man nodded slightly, then dismissed all his subordinates.“As you command.”At his order the guards all vanished, and the hall where a heavy mood had lingered became empty in an instant.With not only the guards but the servants all gone, the old man quietly asked me,“How did you know?”Outwardly, Alfredo played the role of the Panopticon’s western branch chief, but in truth, he was not the master of this place.As a grizzled veteran of the game, I of course knew this, and I had used that information to pressure him.From within the mask, I let my eyes gleam and answered evenly.“There are no eternal secrets in the world. I want to meet your master.”“……”The old man looked at me and Rize for a moment, then smirked and bade us follow him.“Heh. Whoever you are, you’ve got nerve. Come along. I’ll show you to the young lady.”

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