The Failure Marquis Is A Genius [EN]: Chapter 156

Chapter 19: Ruins: The Contracted Scoundrel

The encounter with the Merman King was over.

Prime Minister Illyna offered me a place to stay in the palace as a perk for becoming the Merman King’s direct warrior, but I declined, making excuses that I already had a place to stay.

I didn’t want to live in a place where an octopus head was king, and there were several other unsettling reasons.

I left the palace.

Walking down the main street of Poseidon City, I told my companions everything that had just happened.

The first to raise a question was Old Man Orneo.

“It’s fortunate that we found out where the Merman King’s Orb is, but it’s a headache that the Merman King is specifically targeting it. It’s strange in the first place that the Merman King doesn’t have the Merman King’s Orb.”

Sion, who was next to him, added a word.

“When Master met the Merman King, he went around the palace collecting information. But there are more than one or two strange things about the Merman King.”

The first factor that Sion pointed out as strange was the fact that there were no martial arts tournament winners among the palace guards.

In the meantime, martial arts tournaments to select the strongest in each district have been held steadily, and winners have been produced every year, but no one actually works in the palace.

Even if you ask the court ladies, they all shake their heads, saying they don’t know. Where did all those winners disappear to?

The second factor was, of course, the Merman King.

The Merman King ate too much. He was a king whose overeating was routine. Even his tendencies are violent. Everyone working in the palace is afraid of the Merman King.

Nevertheless, the reason why this system is maintained is thanks to Prime Minister Illyna. She takes charge of all the major and minor affairs on behalf of the Merman King, who has neglected state affairs.

The questions Sion and Orneo had were questions that could be asked because they didn’t know the Merman King’s true identity.

However, in my case, knowing that he was a giant octopus who liked to eat, I could roughly guess why the Merman King was like that.

‘Rather, it’s Illyna who’s strange.’

Looking at her, she seemed like a smart woman, so why is she actively defending the Merman King?

In addition, there were one or two awkward parts in today’s test. I did my best with the determination to deliberately drop the martial arts tournament winner, and when I failed, I shed tears.

Even the Merman King said that it was the first time she had ever lost. Could it be that Illyna couldn’t have a winner? I have all the puzzle pieces, but I feel like I can’t put them together properly.

While I was pondering, the voice of the Heavenly Demon was heard in my consciousness.

-Young one, I feel the energy of the Golden Branch.

It’s surprising and welcome news. As expected, the Golden Branch was in Poseidon City.

“Which way is it?”

-I’ll guide you. It’s not far from here.

When I told the group that I had found the Golden Branch, everyone was as happy as if it were their own business and followed me.

How long did we walk following the Heavenly Demon’s navigation? A wide and seemingly wealthy house appeared before my eyes.

-I feel it from that place.

It was a bit unexpected.

The Golden Branch is a fragment of the World Tree.

It’s that precious of a treasure.

I thought it would be in a remote place like a deserted island or a place with many guards like a palace warehouse, but it seems that just a rich person owned it.

Could it be that the fish people didn’t know the true value of the Golden Branch? Anyway, it’s a good thing. If I go in and negotiate well with the homeowner, I should be able to get it easily.

“Hello! Is anyone there!”

I knocked on the shell door. There was no response for a long time, but soon an old fish person in a butler’s uniform appeared.

“What’s going on? Huh? Human race?”

“I would like to see the owner of this place.”

“My master doesn’t meet just anyone.”

“We are the winning team of the Northern District Martial Arts Tournament. I am the MVP, and I just met His Majesty the Merman King. I would like to have a light conversation, but how about it?”

I got this title to use it at times like this. I used it without hesitation. The butler’s eyes changed when he looked at us. From some unknown human race riffraff to the martial arts tournament winner. Our status was elevated.

“Please wait a moment.”

After a while, the butler came out again.

“Come in. My master is waiting for you.”

As expected, it worked.

Excited, I went inside.

In my head, I was checking various situations and lines, thinking about how to win over the owner and what gifts to give to get the Golden Branch. I kept looking for treasures to give while touching the subspace pocket [a pocket dimension for storage].

Finally, I met the owner.

“······”

The owner’s identity was shocking. The plan I had worked hard on was neatly reset.

“This is quite a coincidence. How did you know about my house?”

The owner was Prime Minister Illyna.

How could this happen?

It’s an incredible coincidence.

“Please come in first.”

I was served tea by her. Unlike her glamorous appearance in the palace, Illyna had a plain appearance with no makeup at home. Perhaps that’s why she felt even more unfamiliar.

“What’s going on?”

Originally, I was going to ask about the Golden Branch directly. But I found out that the homeowner was Illyna. I have a feeling that it would be a loss to spit out the main point right away.

For now, I decided to change my plan and test the waters with light topics, but…

“I was going to call you first, but since you came first, you saved me the trouble. To be blunt, give up your mission right now and leave the underwater city.”

Illyna pushed the main point without hesitation.

“I’m a little embarrassed. Suddenly leave.”

“I’m saying this for your sake. I don’t know what you came here for, but if you stay here, you’ll never see anything good.”

“Is it because of the Merman King?”

“!!!”

When I brought up the story of the Merman King, Illyna’s pupils shook violently.

“Why are you so surprised? Even if you only look at him for a moment today, you can tell that the Merman King is not normal. What is the Merman King’s true identity? Is he really the Merman King?”

Illyna was hesitant. She seemed to be wondering how much she should reveal to a stranger she met for the first time today. I went out strongly to give her more confidence.

“I have a hypothesis that I’m thinking about. Would you like to hear it?”

“Please speak.”

“The Merman King is not the real Merman King, but a monster pretending to be fake, and Illyna is either a descendant of the real Merman King or a family that protects him. Isn’t that right?”

“Gasp.”

Illyna lets out a scream. She looked at me with eyes that saw a ghost. She must want to ask how I knew that.

It was easy to deduce.

I knew that the gluttonous boy acting as the Merman King was a giant octopus monster. Then that octopus must have pushed out the existing royal family and sat in that position.

If all the royal family didn’t die, I expected that they would continue the lineage somewhere and aim for a revival movement or a chance for restoration.

Illyna’s actions were typical of a royal family left in a ruined country.

While taking care of the fish people by managing major and minor affairs, she constantly hovered around the Merman King and tried to stop his impulsive actions. She was properly keeping the saying, ‘Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.’

“I’m sorry if my hypothesis is wrong.”

“No. You saw it accurately. The current Merman King is Kraken, the demon of the sea who was released from the seal a thousand years ago.”

Illyna shuddered as she recalled the Kraken. Her eyes were filled with clear fear.

“He has lived for over a thousand years, and our royal family is working like slaves, guaranteeing their survival.”

“So you were a member of the royal family.”

Illyna sighed deeply.

“Now that everything has been revealed, there’s nothing to hide. Please give up the Merman King’s Orb, Khan. If the Orb goes to him, something irreversible will happen.”

The Merman King’s Orb was famous as the best treasure in the underwater city. It was a powerful energy source, so the gluttonous Merman King was constantly aiming for it.

Fortunately, the Merman King’s Orb was stored in a ruin with strong magic and difficult traps.

The Kraken, who could not approach the ruins because of the magic that rejected evil monsters, urged Illyna’s ancestors.

Several expeditions were formed, but all failed. The ruins were quite difficult. With mediocre talents, they couldn’t even go beyond the middle and were all annihilated.

Only then did the Kraken realize that he needed a real expert and ordered to select the strongest from all over the underwater city.

That was the whole story of the birth of the martial arts tournament.

“From some point on, our ancestors, including me, kept defeating the martial arts tournament winners.”

“I guess it’s because if experts started to gather, the Kraken would order them to find the Orb.”

“That’s right. It was necessary to show the Kraken that the tournament winner was weak. But…”

Suddenly, Illyna burst into tears. Clear tears like jade beads flowed down her white cheeks.

“So many winners were sacrificed because of me. The angry Kraken said that the winners who lost to me were useless and ate them all.”

Was the reason why the martial arts tournament winners disappeared without a trace also because of the Kraken? I think I know why Illyna cried so sadly after losing the match with me.

“Then, following my mother, I became Prime Minister, and for the first time, an expert who passed the test appeared. The Kraken, who had been waiting for a long time, ordered them to go even if it was just the two of them.”

I comforted Illyna.

“It’s not the Prime Minister’s fault. The Kraken is a monster that can’t fill its hunger no matter how much it eats, so why do you feel guilty?”

“Thank you for saying that. Now that you know the situation, give up your mission and go up to the ground. There is an escape route for you humans, even if you are fish people.”

I’m sorry to Illyna, but I can’t give up like this.

Even if we go, Old Man Orneo had to get the Merman King’s Orb, and I had to get the Golden Branch.

“I would like to make a suggestion to the Prime Minister.”

“What kind of suggestion are you talking about?”

“In fact, we also need the Merman King’s Orb.”

“As expected. I didn’t think that a strong human like you would accidentally come to the underwater city.”

“If you allow us to have the Merman King’s Orb, we will go straight to the ground. Naturally, the Kraken will also lose the opportunity to get the Orb.”

Illyna flatly rejected my suggestion.

“That’s not going to happen. The Merman King’s Orb is our royal family’s treasure. How can we release the Orb to the ground to escape from the Kraken?”

It’s hard as expected.

I think I would have refused if I were Illyna.

At this rate, there’s a high possibility that she won’t give me the Golden Branch either.

What should I do?

While I was pondering, Illyna spoke first.

“But… it’s not impossible. Only if one condition is met.”

“Please tell me the conditions. I will listen carefully.”

“It’s simple. Get rid of the Kraken. If you do that, I’ll give you the Merman King’s Orb.”

Get rid of the Kraken. It’s easy to say, but the content is not at all.

“It’s difficult. How can I get rid of a monster that has lived for a thousand years?”

“To be honest, I am evaluated as being strong enough to be in the top ranks among the members of the royal family. But you were strong enough to play with me with one hand, Khan.”

“I didn’t play with you.”

“Anyway, if it’s not now, I’m saying this out of anxiety because I don’t know when an expert like you will appear here again. Please help me.”

I recalled the power of the Kraken I saw in the Golden Branch test.

The enormous strength from the enormous body and the extraordinary biting force from the sharp teeth. The agile and sharp attack unique to cephalopods [a class of marine animals including octopuses and squids].

A powerful suction force is generated from the suckers attached to the legs, and if you fight wrong and get stuck here, you will not be able to move and you will have to cut a ticket to the afterlife [die].

Moreover.

He had a powerful ultimate.

It is the sticky ink that is spewed out of the nose. The moment it hits, it hardens like cement and turns the opponent into stone.

The most important point is that all this combat data is from a thousand years ago. There’s no telling how much stronger the Kraken has become and what new skills he has learned over the long years.

“Okay. I’ll get rid of the Kraken.”

Nevertheless, I accepted Illyna’s suggestion. Because if it’s not me, I don’t think anyone in the underwater city can get rid of the Kraken.

I was the one who knew the most about him among the people left in this world.

Besides, the opponents I will be dealing with in the future are huge figures such as the Demon King Baal and the Twilight Cult leader. If I’m blocked by a mere octopus head, the world will be destroyed anyway.

“Really?”

“Yes. Instead, I would like to add one more condition.”

“Please speak comfortably.”

“First, I will secure the Merman’s Orb buried in the ruins first. Getting rid of the Kraken is next.”

This condition was a preventive measure to prevent Illyna, who had solved the urgent poop [problem] after getting rid of the Kraken, from saying something different.

She nodded as if she understood the intention of my suggestion.

“Do that.”

“Second, I want to have one more treasure from the royal family.”

“What kind of treasure is it?”

“Is there a tree branch with a sacred energy here?”

“Are you talking about the fragment of the World Tree?”

It was surprising that the fish people knew the identity of the Golden Branch accurately.

“That’s right. I need that tree branch.”

“If you get rid of the Kraken, I’ll give you the fragment of the World Tree as well. It’s a precious thing from the ground anyway, so it’s right to return it.”

Illyna and I shook hands firmly.

With this, a verbal contract was concluded.

“I hope it works out well.”

“Me too.”