The Failure Marquis Is A Genius [EN]: Chapter 146

Chapter 18. Mermaid: The Price Paid

To me, the Twilight Church was an enemy to be eliminated at all costs. Especially the Seven Archdukes, the pillars of the church, were top priority targets.

On the other hand, Sloth was ambiguous.

She was Zion’s biological mother and tried to kill me.

Based on this fact alone, she is clearly an enemy, but she has also helped us in many ways.

She told us the location of the Golden Branch obtained from the Holy Kingdom, enhanced Zion’s skills, and revealed Lust’s identity.

Of course, I later learned that Zion had worked hard to uncover much of that information herself while training as an assassin under Sloth.

Still, Sloth provided the initial lead, enabling us to obtain the information.

It helped, even if unintentionally.

In the end, it was like giving a disease and then providing the cure.

A being who is neither an enemy nor an ally.

In a word, an ambiguous relationship.

“Zion, I have a question.”

“Please, tell me.”

“Is there a possibility that Sloth will betray us to the Twilight Church or leak information?”

“She doesn’t think like most people. Don’t worry.”

We chatted as we walked deeper into a back alley.

Eventually, we arrived at a rundown bar.

The bartender, wiping a wine glass, greeted us with an indifferent voice as we entered.

“We’re closed for business. Please leave.”

There were still many customers inside.

Most were burly men covered in scars.

“There seem to be a lot of customers?”

“We are closed.”

“I have business with Night Spider.”

The entire bar went silent at the mention of Night Spider.

After a moment, laughter erupted.

“Puhahaha!!”

Everyone acted as if they couldn’t believe what they’d heard.

The bartender slightly raised the corners of his mouth.

A palpable murderous intent enveloped me.

My skin tingled unpleasantly.

“Crazy bastards. Carelessly mentioning that person’s name in the Empire’s back alleys.”

“You could say they’ve given up on living.”

It turned out all the bar’s customers were members of Sloth’s guild.

Maces, daggers, kukris [curved knives], axes, shields.

Unlike knights who typically wield longswords, they brandished all sorts of miscellaneous weapons.

The guys licked their lips, looking at the bartender.

The bartender seemed to be the branch manager here.

“I’ll ask you one thing. Tell me the real reason you’re here.”

“I came to see Night Spider.”

“This is your last chance. Why did you come?”

“Are you deaf? I said I came to see your boss.”

“If you insist on a penalty shot, so be it. Attack!”

A swarm of piranhas, craving blood, rushed in.

But piranhas are just piranhas.

Just mere fish.

And this was land, not water.

Thwack!!

I swung the Demonic Heavenly Sword in its scabbard.

Even Demonic Heavenly Guidance [a sword technique] was overkill.

Their movements were like snails, and they were full of openings.

As the sword swung, the critically hit slumped down, groaning.

“Keuheok!! He’s strong!”

“Damn it, I can’t see his movements!”

“Don’t be scared. He can’t do anything if we all attack at once!”

The boss bartender shouted to encourage them but soon fell silent.

That’s how overwhelming my power was.

The same was true for Campbell and Zion, who accompanied me.

Campbell, who hadn’t fought thugs in a long time, was excited and throwing punches.

“Euryah! Euryaaa!!”

Every time his pot-lid-like fist swung, the opponent flew away unconscious. It was a monstrous strength I couldn’t get used to, even after seeing it repeatedly.

On the other hand, Zion only knocked out enemies with minimal movements. Every time she reached out, the burly guys hit in the Adam’s apple or the back of the neck collapsed powerlessly.

Eventually, the situation was over.

The guys who rushed in, trusting only in their numbers, were defeated.

The bartender greeted us with an attitude 180 degrees different from before.

“Welcome, honored guests!!”

“You said we had given up our lives earlier.”

“I’m sorry! We were the ones who had given up our lives!!”

Still, thieves are good in this respect.

If they think the opponent is strong, they immediately bow their heads and lower their tails.

If it were a knight, they would have been beaten more while talking about pride and loyalty.

“Are you the branch manager here?”

“Yes.”

“Bring Night Spider here right now.”

“I understand.”

The branch manager left in a hurry.

Only the three of us were left.

“Zion, did we really have to use this method?”

“Sloth’s location is top secret, so there’s no other way. This is also a hideout I barely found.”

Campbell, who was next to me, said.

“Vice-captain, shall we make a bet?”

“What’s the bet?”

“Will the branch manager really bring Night Spider? Or will he not come to his senses and bring a lot of other guys?”

“I’ll bet on the latter.”

“Me too. The bet can’t be established.”

The branch manager returned shortly after.

As expected, Sloth wasn’t there, and he brought backup.

The branch manager, emboldened, pointed at us.

“Those guys! They dared to mention the guild leader and committed all sorts of rudeness.”

Surprisingly, the person the branch manager brought was just one person.

A man with brown skin and flowing white hair.

His eyes were bright yellow.

His hair and eye color were so unique he was memorable.

“You are… Pahel, right?”

The man’s eyebrows twitched when I guessed his name.

“Do you know me?”

“I’ve seen you before.”

I had seen him after the Albus territory war ended.

At that time, Pahel introduced himself as an informant for an unidentified group.

He was quite fond of money and worked under Sloth.

In my memory, he was quite strong.

He was similar to Sebastian, who was on the verge of becoming a Sword Master at a young age.

Back then, I had to use druid skills and swordsmanship to fight Pahel to a draw.

But what about now?

Even considering simple swordsmanship skills, I am equal to or better than Pahel.

Pahel’s face hardened as if he felt the subtle aura emanating from me.

“Where did this guy suddenly come from?”

Pahel, flustered, scanned my companions, and his gaze landed on Zion’s purple hair.

“Ah, it was Zion.”

He didn’t recognize me because I was disguised as Khan, but he recognized Zion right away.

If he was an adventurer traveling with Zion, he would have known who I was.

Pahel suddenly hit the branch manager in the back of the head.

Thwack!!

“Ack! Why did you hit me?”

“Being able to distinguish between guests and enemies is also a skill. You should have noticed if you were a branch manager.”

Pahel stepped forward and greeted us.

“Welcome. Zion, Campbell, and… Khan. I will guide you to the guild leader.”

From then on, everything went smoothly.

Only the branch manager, who had to clean up the broken furniture and tend to his beaten subordinates after being hit in the back of the head for no reason, looked tearful.

* * *

I followed Pahel’s guidance.

I was once again impressed by Osdin City’s enormous size.

We went around in circles through the complicated back alleys.

It was to the point where even someone with a good sense of direction would be confused.

[Life Control]

[Vision Sharing]

Of course, I was an exception.

The skill proficiency of Life Control had greatly improved as I became a high-level druid.

The detection range of vision also increased, and the targets of vision sharing became more diverse.

In addition, I could borrow the vision of several plants and animals simultaneously.

Thanks to this, I memorized all the escape routes even with my eyes covered.

Nothing would happen, but I had taken out insurance just in case, as complacency was forbidden.

“We have arrived. Please take off your blindfolds.”

Light pierced my eyes.

As my vision cleared, a classic interior was revealed.

A feast was spread out before me.

On the long sofa opposite me, Sloth greeted us, half-reclined.

“Welcome.”

Glutton Campbell was already drooling.

He didn’t care that he had entered enemy territory and looked at me, wanting to taste the food as soon as possible.

He looked like a puppy about to poop.

“Eat.”

“Alright.”

Campbell ate voraciously.

Zion looked at him with a pathetic expression.

Anyway, I left Campbell alone and faced Sloth.

It was our second meeting.

“It’s been a while. You seem to have become stronger in the meantime, or is it my imagination?”

As expected, Sloth’s discernment was sharp.

“I had some enlightenment. You taught Zion. As her master, I express my gratitude.”

“There’s no need to thank me. That was also part of the contract with Sebastian.”

Sloth, who took a grape and put it in her mouth, asked in a dry voice.

“So, what brings you here today?”

“I came to make a deal with you.”

Sloth is the master of the best information guild in the Empire, .

She is also the best assassin on the continent.

“You know how expensive my services and time are, right? By the way, if you can’t pay the price, you will die here. No exceptions, even if you are my daughter. Because you violated the contract.”

I’m not worried about the price.

I have a huge fortune in my subspace pocket, full of treasures you can’t even buy with money.

The important thing was whether she could give me useful information.

“What do you want?”

“I received a prophecy from Bellanus.”

‘To get what you want, go to the lowest place. Find the most thirsty person in the biggest country.’

I told her the prophecy.

“That’s amazing. Countless people have lied about receiving a prophecy, but you’re telling the truth.”

“Of course. Because it’s the truth. Do you have any idea about this?”

Sloth put a grape in her mouth, chewed it, and pondered.

“I don’t know. The biggest country would be the Calon Empire. Seeing that you came to me, you must have figured that out.”

“Of course.”

“The lowest place… If you want, I’ll find out the lowest area in the Arnia continent. But my intuition tells me it’s the wrong answer.”

Is Sloth, who holds all the information on the continent, helpless?

Just as I was about to give up, she continued.

“I don’t know, but I know someone who might know the answer.”

“Who is it?”

“Duke Orneo.”

Sage Orneo.

One of the Seven Stars [powerful mages or figures].

He currently resides in Osdin.

“He deals with all the mysteries and secrets of the continent, making him more of an expert in this field than I am. There’s a reason he’s called a sage.”

Sloth’s words made sense.

I got an answer, so it was time to give a reward.

I wondered what to give and took out a revolver from my subspace pocket.

[Ancient Relic]

[Revolver]

[Remaining Aura Bullets 1/6]

It was a revolver given by Pilgrim Tom.

It was a rare item from the Aslan Empire that could never be found on the continent.

Sloth tilted her head at the weapon she had never seen before.

“What is that?”

“It’s a weapon called a pistol. Inside, there is an arrowhead wrapped in aura. The arrowhead is called a bullet.”

Sloth immediately recognized the weapon’s danger.

“If what you say is true, it’s a weapon that even a ten-year-old child can kill an expert master with. It’s attractive. Do you have more bullets?”

“I only have one bullet at the moment.”

“That’s a shame.”

Sloth handed the revolver to Pahel, who was next to her.

“It was a sufficient price. To be exact, it was too much. So, I’ll give you additional information that corresponds to the price. Tell me what information you want to know.”

Since I was given the opportunity, I decided to ask about the question that had been bothering me since I arrived in Osdin.

“Currently, Crown Prince Reynold is dead, and the entire Empire is in turmoil. I want to know how the situation is unfolding.”

Sloth immediately answered my question.

“It is certain that Crown Prince Reynold is dead.”

“What was the cause of death?”

“Penetrating wound due to assassination.”

As expected, it wasn’t a disease or an accident.

“Do you know the culprit?”

“Of course.”

“Who is it?”

“There is a person who planned the assassination and a person who carried it out. I’ll only tell you one of them. It’s not enough to tell you everything.”

I took out a gravity field generator from my pocket.

It was a piece of scrap metal that had already used up all five opportunities, so it didn’t matter if I gave it away.

Even if it was trash to me, it was still an ancient relic, so it would be sufficiently amazing for Sloth.

I added 10,000 gold coins that I took out from my subspace pocket.

“That’s enough.”

“I want to know the person who planned the assassination first.”

“The person who planned the assassination is Alex von Aulschmantz Calon, the Empire’s 2nd Prince.”

The 2nd Prince killed the 1st Prince.

The motive was obvious.

A bloody storm was brewing around the throne.

“Who was the person who carried out the assassination?”

“It was me.”

“…What?”

“It was me. I killed Crown Prince Reynold.”

Sloth was chillingly calm even though she had killed the Empire’s next Crown Prince.

Judging by her tone, it was as if she had just gone for a walk.

“I didn’t know your skills were that great. To kill the Crown Prince and not have any repercussions.”

“The 2nd Prince cooperated. The Crown Prince trusted the 2nd Prince, so there was an opening.”

“Did the 2nd Prince ask you to do it? It seems like it would have cost a lot.”

“The price is not enough. Pay the price if you want to hear more.”

It’s absurd.

I gave two relics that only high-ranking pilgrims have.

Not only that.

I paid an information fee equivalent to 13 billion won [roughly $10 million USD], but the price is still not enough.

If it wasn’t for Sloth, who is thorough in her calculations, I might have suspected her of being a scammer.

“By the way, this information cannot be estimated with simple money. I will only accept a treasure at the level of the pistol you gave me earlier.”

It’s not like revolvers or gravity field generators grow on trees.

No matter how many treasures I have, I don’t have a dozen ancient relics.

I only have one wormhole generator left.

However, it was going to be used for long-distance travel, so I didn’t want to give it to Sloth.

“You seem to be 고민 [agonizing].”

Sloth said in a languid voice.

What should I do?

I really want to know that information.

Sloth made a suggestion as my head became complicated.

“How about this? There is a treasure you possess that I want. Give it to me.”

“What is it?”

Sloth slowly raised her hand.

The tip of her finger pointed to my waist.

The Demonic Heavenly Sword was tied there.

“I’ll tell you if you submit that sword as the price.”