The Failure Marquis Is A Genius [EN]: Chapter 63

9. Relic: Contracted Bastard

I was stunned to learn the identity of the kidnapped old man.

“You’re the mayor?”

“That’s right. I am Yuron, the mayor of Liang.”

“But the current mayor is…?”

“He’s a fake impersonating me.”

I had a feeling I knew who the fake was.

Wasn’t there a Twilight executive who disguised himself as Hilton’s strategist and committed all sorts of dirty deeds behind the scenes, both during the last territory war and during the demon summoning?

As Pahel, the mysterious young man, had informed me, Greed was acting as a fairly high-ranking official in Liang.

To be precise, he wasn’t just fairly high-ranking, but the highest.

Yuron then recounted in detail what had happened to him, and I quickly summarized it.

“In short, an unidentified force proposed to the mayor to open a slave market, and when he refused, they committed heinous acts?”

“That’s right.”

I understood the mayor’s situation well.

Then, a question arose.

I understood the plan to make Liang the mecca of the slave trade, but where were all those slaves?

I had occasionally seen people dragging slaves around the main square, but even from what I was hearing now, it wasn’t just one or two being traded, yet there was no sign of a slave market.

“Hehehe, do you think I’d tell you that?”

When I asked Harman, who seemed to know the answer, he smirked and resisted.

Frankly, I welcomed Harman’s lively reaction, like a fresh, wriggling fish.

Having a deep conversation with someone who had shut their mouth was always a pleasure.

“Take your time. The night is long, so let’s enjoy it slowly.”

The torture began.

Harman’s screams echoed.

An hour later.

The office floor was a mess.

Harman’s spilled blood, sweat, and excrement.

Yuron’s vomit at the gruesome scene.

Even Campbell’s drool as he dozed off, bored with the torture.

It was covered in all sorts of filth.

“Hoo… I’ll talk. So please, stop.”

“No, you can hold out longer. You seemed so calm from the start, I thought you could last at least a day, but it’s no fun if you raise the white flag so quickly. Let’s do a little more.”

“No! I’ll confess everything, so please have mercy!”

He spewed out everything he knew, babbling like he had a motor in his mouth.

“So… underwater cave?”

“That’s right. All the supplied slaves are locked up and stored in an underwater cave.”

“Then how do the people who buy the slaves get there? Do they have some kind of diving skill?”

“In the southern part of Liang, there is a crescent-shaped bay where the tidal range is severe. Especially on nights with a full moon, the tide recedes completely, revealing the underwater cave inside.”

“A cave that can only be entered on a full moon. Since the entrance only opens then, it must be easy to monitor those trapped inside.”

“That’s right.”

In addition, Harman added that a special token was required to enter the slave market, and it was more of a black market selling not only slaves but also various rare items.

“Okay, I get the picture. Now, explain Greed, who is impersonating Mayor Yuron.”

Sooner or later, I would have to confront Greed anyway, so I wanted to find out his weaknesses and create a strategy to attack him.

“The Apostle… no, Greed is a master of curses and summoning. Especially his illusions are at a divine level, and if you make eye contact with him, whether you want to or not… Keuheok!!”

Suddenly, Harman clutched his head.

At first, I thought he was faking it, but the way he stared into the air and tore at his face was too real.

“What on earth is going on…?”

“Everyone, get away!”

No sooner had Tom spoken than Campbell and I moved away from Harman, and Sion also grabbed Yuron and jumped back.

At the same time, Harman’s body swelled up like a balloon and then exploded brutally.

Peoeoeong!!!

A gruesome sight of internal organs raining down.

I was deeply curious about Greed’s mental state, being able to inflict such a terrible curse on others.

Tom, who had been scanning Harman’s remains on the floor with his foot, shook his head.

“It’s a brand curse. The trigger is activated the moment you reveal information that harms the owner to others, causing the body to explode.”

Sion and Campbell were dumbfounded when Tom, who had seemed so innocent, suddenly spoke like a seasoned sage.

However, I knew that Tom was just a kid on the outside, but inside he was a veteran with over 20 years of experience, so I calmly asked.

“Tom, if Harman died because of the curse, is there no way to know if Greed has noticed anything?”

“I don’t know exactly, but he would have sensed something. Isn’t the communication crystal ringing?”

Sure enough, the communication crystal was flashing. Campbell rolled up his sleeves and headed towards the crystal.

“Damn it! I have to destroy that.”

“Leave it.”

Tom’s serious voice was as delicate as a boy’s, but it contained a strange power that was hard to resist.

Tom, who had stopped Campbell, took something out of his pocket that looked like a moisturizing cream for the skin.

Tom smeared the cream all over his face and finally swallowed a strand of hair from the dead Harman.

Then, an amazing thing happened.

Tom’s face became exactly like Harman’s!

“Eueok!”

Campbell, who was so surprised, stammered, and Sion, who was known for his calm reactions, widened his eyes slightly.

Tom, with Harman’s face, brought the crystal ball close and poured mana into it.

Then, the ball lit up and a gentleman in a fedora appeared on the other side.

Even though it was the first time I had seen his face, I instinctively knew he was Greed.

Tom pressed his face close to the crystal ball, showing the sense not to be seen from the other side.

“This is Harman.”

Unbelievable.

Even his voice was the same as Harman’s.

I don’t know what that cream was, but the effect was amazing.

-Was there anything wrong?

“What are you referring to?”

-Really, nothing at all?

“If you’re talking about the black market, there’s nothing wrong. It will open normally on the full moon.”

He was skilled at diverting the topic.

It wasn’t his first time.

Tom, disguised as Harman, was so calm that Greed was confused and tilted his head.

-Okay.

“Rest easy.”

-Wait.

Greed grabbed Tom, who was trying to end the call in a hurry.

“Is there anything else you need?”

-I was curious about the name of the high elf that will be auctioned off this time. What is her name?

A high elf, that’s news to me.

Of course, it would be the first time Tom had heard of it.

Even in this crisis, Tom’s face didn’t change as he brazenly said.

“As the Apostle already knows, but to reiterate, it’s Sasha.”

-…I see. After the transaction is complete, transfer all the remaining slaves to the basement of the market office.

“Understood.”

Tuk.

The communication was cut off.

The group, who had been holding their breath, simultaneously let out a sigh of relief.

“Hoo! I thought my heart would stop.”

“Tom, you’re no ordinary boy.”

Sion and Campbell each said a word while looking at Tom. However, Tom’s gaze was only directed at me.

“Henon, you seem to know who I am, roughly. Is that right?”

“That’s correct.”

“Hmm… maybe that sword told you?”

He even knew the identity of the Demonic Heavenly Sword.

His insight was extraordinary.

Tom beckoned to me.

“I have something to talk about alone, so come with me.”

There was no reason to refuse a private meeting with Tom.

After entrusting Sion and Campbell with cleaning up the corpses and guiding the mayor, as well as various other tasks, I entered an empty room with Tom.

Tom, who had his face in the moonlight shining through the window, maintained silence with his hands behind his back.

It was awkward to just stand there, so I spoke first.

“That’s an amazing cream. I don’t know what principle it uses to change faces.”

“Why did you come to Liang?”

He was quite direct.

Then I decided to go with a direct approach as well.

“Tracking Greed. And discovering the Golden Branch.”

It was confidential that I was a druid, but somehow my intuition whispered that Tom would be okay with it.

“Tracking Greed must be related to the demon that appeared in Lord Lloyd’s territory recently. And if you’re talking about the Golden Branch… are you a druid?”

As expected, he knew the connection between the Golden Branch and the druid.

“That’s right. But it seems like I’m only talking about myself.”

“If you’re concerned, let’s answer one question at a time. I asked the question just now, so it’s your turn to ask.”

“I want to know what the cream you used earlier is.”

“That’s not a difficult question. It’s an ancient relic.”

My eyes widened at the word ancient relic. I myself had an interdimensional gourd hanging around my waist, wasn’t that an ancient relic?

“What is an ancient relic?”

“One question is over, and now it’s my turn to ask. Is it true that you really killed the demon? I mean, isn’t the rumor exaggerated?”

“The rumor is true. I personally dealt with Dantaleon. I’ll ask the question again. What is an ancient relic?”

“The Aslan Empire that existed tens of thousands of years ago. You can think of it as a precious object passed down from that time.”

Amazing.

Could the reason why my system window is so responsive to ancient relics be related to the technology of the Aslan Empire?

I can’t know the details right now.

“How did you know the name of the high elf in the conversation with Greed earlier?”

“Why are all the questions you ask so uninformative? It’s my turn to ask, but I’ll answer because it’s not a big question. I was searching the room while you were torturing Harman. And I found the slave ledger. I learned the name Sasha from there.”

“I see.”

“Likewise, Greed knew the name of the high elf. He just suspected me because the brand curse was lifted, so he checked. So, I created an atmosphere for Greed that I knew the question, but I would answer it.”

The more I talked to Tom, the more I realized that he was not just a boy on the outside, but a sage with close to insight.

He was quite interested in the fact that I was a druid and mainly asked what abilities druids had.

So, I showed him a demonstration of Bind, which makes tree trunks rise from the ground, and Stone Lance, which makes stone spears rise from the ground.

Meanwhile, as I expected, Tom was one of the Seven Stars [a legendary group of powerful warriors].

He said that he participated in the final battle 20 years ago with the same boyish appearance as now.

For a while, Tom, who had been asking about his old comrades Gordon and Karina, smiled happily and then turned serious and returned to the main point.

“So I want to make a proposal.”

“What kind of proposal?”

“The Golden Branch. I’ll give it to you.”

My mouth dropped open.

Even the first Golden Branch was obtained after falling into the crevasse and going through all sorts of hardships.

But the second Golden Branch was just in Tom’s possession, so I couldn’t shake off the bewildered feeling.

“How do you have that?”

“Didn’t I say? I am a pilgrim following the footsteps of the ancient Aslan Empire. I traveled all over the continent, and in the meantime, I had the chance to obtain the Golden Branch by chance.”

I see.

My heart swelled with the expectation of obtaining the Golden Branch. Tom, who noticed my psychology, shrugged his shoulders.

“I’m sorry, but the Golden Branch is not currently in my possession. I have to take it out separately. Above all, I don’t intend to give it to you right now.”

“Why?”

“Grant me one favor. Then I’ll give you the Golden Branch.”

As expected, he wouldn’t give it to me easily.

I decided to hear what the favor was.

“It would be helpful to you, not harmful.”

“I’m curious what the favor is.”

“Help me to assassinate Greed.”

Surprisingly, Tom’s goal was also Greed.

“I’m sorry, but my goal was not to catch Greed, but to find clues. It can be said that my mission entrusted by Lord Lloyd is over here.”

“I know. But I have to execute Greed for personal reasons. But looking at the situation, it’s not a size I can handle alone. Since you’ve come along, I’d like you to help me finish it.”

Tom’s judgment was accurate.

Right now, he was hiding the fact that Harman had died, but in a few days, strange things would pop up here and there.

In that case, there was no way that the suspicious Greed wouldn’t notice.

Since there was no time to call for reinforcements, he had to make a decision in a short period of time with only the personnel here.

“Okay. I want to eliminate Greed too.”

“Good. Then I’ll tell you my plan…”

“But! There are conditions.”

I can’t just help.

I put conditions on Tom.

“Tell me.”

“Give me the Golden Branch in advance.”

Tom’s eyes narrowed when I said I would receive a down payment.

“I won’t take the Golden Branch and wash my hands [abandon the mission]. I swear on my family. Above all, I get stronger every time I acquire the Golden Branch. It’s because of the characteristics of the druid. I just want to be fully prepared before facing Greed.”

My argument was plausible.

Tom, who was somewhat convinced.

“Okay. I’ll give you the Golden Branch in advance. In addition to this, if you succeed in catching Greed, I’ll give you a pretty useful relic as a gift.”

“Thank you.”

“No. It was fun to see Gordon’s son after a long time.”

I firmly shook Tom’s hand.

The contract was established.