Translator: Wan ED/PR: Fan
Chapter 68. Let’s catch the rat (2)
The reason the Ratmen joined hands with the Hand of Void was simple.
They were attention seekers.
Because evil draws more attention than good, they chose the Hand of Void.
And in the novel, they achieved their goal by becoming an official organization recognized as evil by the country.
Lucion spoke up.
“You’re attention seekers who think they’re so great, right? So you’re messing around with nobles. I’ll prepare a stage for you and support you in creating deeper, wider and more complex burrows.”
There was no bigger turning point than a villain becoming a non-villain.
As if saying it was the right answer, the red thread became taut.
However, the bastard’s eyes became fierce.
“Hate it?”
Rip.
Without a hesitation, Lucion ripped out a page and placed it in front of the bastard.
The bastard pounced like a madman and ripped the document with his own hands, shred it to pieces, and put it into his own mouth.
The bastard’s eyes belatedly grew bigger.
“I don’t know how many years you spent gathering this information, but it’s quite thick, so there is a lot to shred. But it will run out at some point, right? How long will you be able to endure?”
When Lucion’s hand touched the documents again, the bastard urgently pointed to the Darkness blocking his mouth.
Confirming that the red thread was taut, Lucion asked.
“You want me to take it off?”
At those words, the bastard nodded.
“You’re going to scream, aren’t you? Do you take me for a fool?”
The bastard violently shook his head.
“You don’t?”
Lucion grabbed a bunch of pages.
Just at a glance, it was about half of them.
“I believe this much should be enough to serve as collateral. How about it, do you agree?”
Lucion was completely in charge here.
If you hate it, you shred it, that’s it.
Knowing that, the bastard nodded.
He didn’t even have time to think of how the warlock in front of him knew about this place.
Lucion gave Hyum a glance.
After Hyum grabbed the bastard’s nape, Lucion removed the Darkness.
“Who… are You?”
The bastard carefully asked.
“The person who wants your obedience. That’s the only thing you need to know right now.”
“Can’t You tell me the reason for this?”
“Ah, you’re asking for a reason? Good.”
Lucion’s mask was dyed blue.
“There is nothing.”
“… Yes?”
“Why would I need a reason? I just want to do it.”
The bastard asked with a confused look.
He was asking if he really entered someone else’s place and brandished violence for no reason at all.
“It’s truly laughable. Bastards without dignity are making so much more noise.”
Lucion suddenly laughed seeing the bastard like this.
“Then why are you doing this? Do you want to become officially recognized as evil by the country? Or because you’re drunk on your greatness?”
[… Wait. It feels so real that it’s giving me chills.]
Thinking that the reasons Lucion brought up were real, Russell felt a chill run down his spine that he couldn’t endure.
“You have to accept what is there to accept. You’re under me. You’ve failed. You’ve probably thought for a moment that you’re a king in those maze-like tunnels, but you were caught by me. Together with those documents you treasure the most, no, the documents that are like your life.”
Lucion shook the documents.
The documents this bastard treasured so much.
The power of the Ratmen were the papers documenting the weaknesses of others, and the foundation that supported everything.
The nests had the information, but the groups that could move freely and were completely owned by him were much more efficient.
This is enough to make it worth using the Ratmen.
“So, I’ll make use of you. Weaknesses? Capture it. Mess with anyone you want. I’ll provide you with necessary money.”
Gulp.
The bastard unknowingly swallowed dry saliva.
“Are You really… really interested in us?”
“If I wasn’t, would I come here? I came here to see you.”
Lucion spread both of his arms.
“Then You’re really going to take u-us in?”
Lucion stared at the bastard at his question.
The sudden change in attitude was too suspicious.
“I knew that such a day would come.”
The bastard laughed brightly, like he was really touched.
“The day when someone recognizes our value! Because we’re awesome!”
[Is he… for real?]
Russell secretly raised a finger to his head and twirled it.
[I agree.]
Bethel also nodded, fully agreeing.
“However, there are limits to how much we can grow the organization with our power alone. We were feeling those limits these days, so we decided to make one last big bet and mess with Luteon Bank that was on the rise.”
‘… What? You mean you were just trying to mess with them before dying?’
Lucion was ashamed of himself for thinking it was a serious problem.
“The results were satisfactory. We got our hands on Luteon Bank’s clientele list, and now, if Luteon Bank will announce the fact it was robbed by us ‘Ratmen’, it would be perfect!”
Each and every word directed at him was full of pride and joy, and not one of them sounded like lies.
Lucion was honestly embarrassed.
There really existed fools who would recite all their plans?
‘… This flow isn’t good.’
But, regardless of that fact, the taut red thread sank.
Lucion had no plans of quietly letting go of the flow.
“How fun it was!? We have only one life. Shouldn’t we live with fun and thrill?”
The bastard licked his lips.
“Thrill. Yes, I need this thrill. I believe that chill makes us feel alive.”
At the sight of the brightly smiling bastard, Lucion shook the documents.
“Then I’ll give you what you want. If you rip all of it with your own hands, won’t you be overflowing with thrill?”
“… Yes?”
The expression of the bastard, who was so lively, froze instantly.
At the expression that said he couldn’t understand why the conversation was suddenly going this way, Lucion smirked at him.
“I gave you one choice. Obey me.”
Rip.
Lucion ripped out a page and threw it to the bastard.
“What I wanted to say…”
The bastard was about to say something, but the moment he saw the document, he threw himself into ripping it into pieces like a madman.
Rip.
Just when the bastard was about to come back to his senses, Lucion ripped out another page.
“Thrill? I’m not playing right now. I’m making a huge gamble with my life on the line.”
Lucion took the ripped page and threw it.
Then, he made the bastard watch what he did.
The amount of documents continued to visibly decrease over and over.
The bastard’s eyes, which twinkled with a strange thrill, gradually filled with terror.
“Wait a moment.”
Rip.
“I have something to say.”
Riiip.
“Wa-wait.”
Riiip!
“Wa-wa-wait…”
Riiiiiip!
The bastard blankly stared at the documents he ripped.
Thrill?
What does it matter now?
The documents he offered his life and time, that were like his life, were disappearing.
“Wait. Please, wait just a moment, please…!”
The bastard shouted with desperation.
Even his voice sounded cracked.
“Why? Are you scared now?”
There was a quiet laughter mixed in Lucion’s voice.
The mask Lucion was wearing turned yellow, as if ridiculing the bastard.
“I… I was a shithead.”
The bastard trembled and admitted his defeat.
It seemed he was bowing out of fear for the first time in his life.
What could be more terrifying than a fear that someone could steal your whole life while you were still alive?
Lucion deliberately instilled that fear in him.
“Those documents. I can restore them.”
At that moment, Lucion threw him a lifeline.
A lifeline to help him escape the fear he felt right now.
“Then will you obey me? Or will you rip all of it and your own future with your own hands?”
“Did You put a cu…curse on me?”
The bastard at last recognized those unimaginable actions.
That person was a warlock, and he could use a curse, a well-known black magic.
“Yeah.”
Lucion replied.
The voice mixed with laughter sounded like a roar of a monster to the bastard’s ears.
“I’ll ob… obey.”
The bastard prostrated himself like a dog.
Snap.
He became certain that that obedience was real when the red thread snapped.
‘It’s done.’
Lucion suppressed his laughter.
Now the Ratmen were his.
“Name.”
“He… Heroan.”
Tap.
Lucion took out the communication item.
“Okay. Take this, your subordinates, and the information, then leave.”
“But this place…”
“Heroan.”
Lucion spoke up with a heavy voice.
“Do you want to start over all alone again?”
At the words that everyone will be killed, Heroan sucked in a breath.
It was possible if it was a warlock.
“Heroan.”
“…Yes.”
Heroan couldn’t look at Lucion.
“I won’t repeat it twice, so listen well.”
Lucion’s mask was dyed red.
“I’m Hamel.”
Because of the Darkness kindling around Lucion, Heroan felt a sense of oppression.
That person was nothing but scary now.
“I only kill traitors.”
“I… I’ll keep that in mind.”
Heoran unknowingly spoke up.
“Don’t worry too much. If you don’t betray me and don’t play useless jokes, you will be fine. Ratmen have to obediently stay in holes like rats, isn’t that right?”
Lucion’s mask turned from red to yellow again.
Tap.
Lucion threw a pouch to him.
“Get out of the central region right now, and temporarily settle somewhere. Don’t forget to hide until I contact you.”
“Can I open it?”
When Heroan realized it was a money pouch, his eyes changed.
Lucion was happy to learn that he for certain desired money.
Wasn’t it the most honest desire?
“It’s your money now.”
Heroan carefully opened the money pouch at Lucion’s whisper-like words.
At the sparkle of jewels, Heroan’s eyes changed.
Wasn’t that an instant proof of his power?
Money was necessary for the growth of the organization.
That truth was the same for any organization.
But the important fact right now was that that warlock handed him this money pouch.
This was already a proof of trust.
How generous is that guy called ‘Hamel’?
“What do you want?”
Lucion asked.
“I want to dig out people’s dirty secrets. After digging them up, I want to make those bastards’ secrets well known, so their expressions twist so much they really can’t hold it back.”
“What do you need?”
“I need power. To dig up secrets, I need power to protect ourselves.”
“Okay. I’ll give it to you.”
At Lucion’s words, the gaze Heroan was looking at him with changed.
They planned to use the experience they had to enter the nobility.
It was because they could keep the organization safe and sound. It was separate from their individualistic desires.
“Am I not disgusting?”
Heroan asked.
“That’s your strength. Do it. Find the secrets you want. But when you want to spread those secrets, you need my permission. Can you do this?”
At the voice that sounded unconcerned, Heroan’s eyes shook slightly.
The nobles that he visited all said the same thing.
Don’t do useless things and obediently go around gathering information.
He wasn’t a dog.
He was a rat crawling in dirty places.
Hamel wasn’t asking him to become a dog.
He said he could live like wanted, as a rat.
“I can endure this much. Thrill. Yes. I can think of it as a thrill.”
Heroan licked the corners of his lips.
Just thinking about it gave him a chill.
“Let’s go.”
At Lucion’s command, Hyum let go of her hand on Heroan.
— Can Latta move now?
Lucion nodded at Latta’s question.
— Good, we’re going!
“Hamel-nim, I’ll obediently wait for You to contact me, as You’ve asked.”
Heroan bowed his head towards Lucion, who was enveloped in the Darkness and disappeared.
It was the most thrilling moment in his life.
***
“Hyung-nim.”
“Yeah, Lucion.”
The moment Carson saw Lucion return to the villa, he sighed in relief.
“If I didn’t hear from the coachman, I would be looking for you.”
“Young Lady Tella is in danger. There is a place I have to bring the knights.”
“Okay. Get in the carriage.”
Carson didn’t ask for a reason and nodded.
When they got into the carriage and headed towards the central square, deliberately going around the street, Russell spoke up.
[Isn’t that that bastard Roberio?]
— Where? Where? Latta wants to see too.
Latta responded to his words, and Lucion looked out through the carriage window.
“It was today, huh?”
At that moment, Carson spoke up.
“Today?”
“Count Roberio was apprehended, and today his family was scheduled to be executed in the square. But it seems the ceremony has already ended, huh?”
At that moment, Lucion’s gaze changed to a plotting one.
“You have a weak stomach, so I didn’t inform you. Don’t be sad.”
“I never thought about that.”
Russell once told him it takes from an hour to a day for a dead person to become a ghost.
‘He should be a ghost about now, right?’
Lucion put a macaron in his mouth and bit into it.
*~*~*
Translator’s note: If it was true pre-19th century, and we considered the price of all this paper, then Lucion would really be throwing a lot of money on Heroan.
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