Chapter 436: Don’t count racoon dogs skins before they’ve been caught[1]

Inside a room in a luxurious hotel in Wedgefort City, men who had the same objective gathered.

「Obviously, I want Sophia. I have no other interest aside from that. Do as you please.」

The first voice to speak was the gaudily dressed Earl Hordia, whose unelflike plump physique sank deep into the sofa. This man would not waver at anything when it comes to women. Not that he was respectable in the slightest.

「Ku ku ku ku. The three of you can pay me a reward, and as long as that little boy is killed.」

Seeing the lustful old man that he couldn’t imagine to be of the same race, Forbach stifled his laughter. Now, the Dark Guild 『Moonlight Owl』 will be the main force, he will take charge of the dark guild Earl Hordia brought in from Yggurle Kingdom, and the dark guilds from Samandour Kingdom that Earl Sechnal and Earl Vautarc had hired.

What Forbach wanted was revenge for putting his dark guild. which was at the top in the continent, to shame. Now he could take revenge for his remaining members, and it comes with a reward and strength. That was his perception.

To Forbach, the members of the dark guilds from Yggurle Kingdom and Samandour Kingdom, as well as his combatants in the Moonlight Owl, were all nothing more than disposable pieces to him. Having drunk muddy water as he climbed to the top, Forback’s pride wouldn’t allow him to let Takumi be as is.

「I at least want to get the carriage and that dragon horse.」

「Yeah, I want to investigate that carriage and get the secret behind the magic devices they make.」

What Earl Sechnal and Earl Vautarc were after money to the very end.

Last time, they used dark guilds and mercenaries in order to attack Takumi and his party, they received a harsh retaliation which caused them to lose a vast amount of money.

「Also, that Elven woman will be yielded to Earl Hordia, so I’d like the remaining women.」

「Yes, especially that Foxkin woman who was hired as that brat’s assistant.」

Earl Sechnal and Earl Vautarc were paying attention to the numerous magic devices that Takumi made. Even Samandour Kingdom buys it, though at high price. If they could steal those profits, they would be the top trading company in the entire continent. For that reason, they must secure Laeva.

Laeva’s name as Takumi’s assistant was nothing strange in Volton. And her abilities were widely known. So even if Takumi was eliminated, they would still have Laeva.

The common desire of the people in this room was their decision to kill Takumi.

「Leaving that aside, you are certain that that brat can be killed, right?」

Earl Hordia was asking if Forbach was certain that he could kill Takumi. That was inevitable. He knew from an investigation that Forbach, who commands the Moonlight Owl, suffered severe retaliation after failing to assassinate Takumi.

「Yeah, no problem. Last time, we were using it as an experiment for a drug. This time we will go all out, no holds barred. We also have the extra strength that you all hired.」

「Will you use that drug of yours this time?」

Last time Takumi was attacked, a demonic drug that dramatically increases physical strength which also removes the feelings of pain and fear was used. Forbach intended to use an improved drug on criminal slaves he gathered.

Furthermore, Forbach intended to use something more that he had accidentally acquired as a trump card. Earl Sechnal asked Forbach why he looked like he was so complacent.

「Do you have something that will kill that boy for certain?」

「Ku ku, well, let’s go and enjoy that, shall we?」

(Who would have thought that Sydnia’s corrupt priests would be useful for something. Who knows what’s out there in the world.)

Forbach obtained something by chance. It was something that the underlings of the Light God Faith who escaped to Samandour Kingdom from the Demon Continent after the annihilation of the Evil Spirit.

Takumi and his party defeated the Evil Spirit who fell to darkness and the heretic dungeon collapsed, but that didn’t mean that everyone died. In particular, there were many weak underlings who crossed over to the Demon Continent but did not turn into monsters. Most of them who had been affected by miasma were swallowed up along with the dungeon collapsing, but fortunately or unfortunately, there were some strong enough who survived. In their hand was a smashed up fragment.

That was the fragment of an evil crystal…… the fragment that formed into the core of a human when the Evil Spirit turned them into monsters.

Forbach who obtained this was so happy he was jumping for joy.

That crystal, which released an ominous magic power that made it difficult to even touch directly, gave far more strength than the drug that the Moonlight Owl uses.

(Well, it’s not without problems, either.)

Forbach snickered in his mind. In Forbach’s mind, he envisioned himself obtaining everything.

***

Footnotes:1. Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched