Chapter 8: It’s The Perfect Weather To Go Kill

Right after Ludenburger knelt down, I quickly opened my mouth towards him.  

“Stand up. There are too many eyes watching.”  

“…I’ve made a mistake. I was so overwhelmed by the fact that someone as esteemed as you would come to such a humble place.”  

Whether he had regained his composure or not, Ludenburger calmly brushed off his knees and stood up.  

As he coldly glanced around, the gazes that had been drawn towards us scattered in an instant.  

After confirming that the bustling, dirty lights of the city had returned to their usual paths, I let out a faint sigh.  

‘These guys are just too excessively loyal…  

Why is it that everyone around Behirit doesn’t know the meaning of moderation?  

Whether it’s Raphaella or Ludenburger, their loyalty is truly appreciated, but I need to make sure they tone it down in front of others.  

Right now, I hold the position of Grand Duke, and given my status, attracting too much attention in a place like this would do no good.  

…By the way, is this man Ludenburger?’  

Through the narrow gap in my mask, I scrutinized the man before me.  

The eyepatch over one eye and the small scars scattered across his face spoke of countless battles.  

And the unique mana flowing through his body.  

‘As expected, he can wield aura.’  

He seemed to be a highly skilled aura user.  

Without a doubt, he was on par with Matthias, if not higher, as a knight commander.  

He could easily overpower someone like Lucius as if twisting a baby’s wrist.  

Combined with his exceptional business acumen in running the empire’s underworld, he was a force to be reckoned with, matching the strength of a knight commander.  

As I was marveling at this, Ludenburger glanced at the man I was holding and raised a question.  

“By the way, what happened to this guy? His jaw is completely shattered.”  

“He picked a fight on the way here, so I knocked him out. Do you know who he is?”  

“Hmm. He’s Devin Grendal, the third son of the Grendal Count family. To think he’d pick a fight with someone as esteemed as you… Should we wipe out his family?”  

Ludenburger casually brought up a terrifying suggestion.  

I lightly waved my hand at him, who was glaring at Devin with his one remaining eye.  

“Stop. That family is under the protection of the Second Prince. It’s not the right time to touch them. When he wakes up, send him home properly. More importantly, let’s continue our conversation inside.”  

“…Understood. I’ll escort you immediately.”  

Ludenburger bowed respectfully and then took the lead.  

I followed him, stepping onto the stairs leading into the castle built on greed.  

With each step, the sound of Devin’s head hitting the stairs echoed like percussion through the building.  

***

The interior of the building matched the image of a castle in an underground city.  

Chandeliers lined the ceiling of the hallway, 

Casting a faint light befitting the city,

While the red carpet on the floor hid bloodstains left by some nameless drunkard.  

After a while, we arrived at the reception room, guided by Ludenburger.  

I leaned back on the plush sofa and gazed at the line of prostitutes standing before me.  

‘…The scent of females is overwhelming.’  

These were the gifts prepared by Ludenburger, who ran the largest brothel in Orbit.  

As I removed my mask and stared at the prostitutes, they all blushed, fidgeting with their thighs while staring intently at my face.  

As I was scanning them up and down, Ludenburger approached closely, baring his jagged teeth.  

“How do you like them? I’ve prepared only the finest selections for Lord Behirit. Please choose as many as you like. Ah, of course, you can take them all if you wish.”  

He spoke proudly, as if expecting praise.  

Well, I appreciate the sentiment, but honestly, I wasn’t particularly impressed.  

Perhaps it was because I had already seen Yustia, the so-called treasure of the empire, and Lucy, who was no less beautiful.  

My lower half had been unresponsive since earlier.  

‘Hmm.’

Honestly, objectively speaking, they were beautiful.  

By the standards of before I possessed this body, they would have been considered top-tier in a university.  

But since the women I see every day are on the level of the world’s most beautiful, they seem relatively dull in comparison.

“I don’t need women. By the way, have you received the plan from Rafaela?”  

“Yes. The grand plan to establish a new nation—it was deeply impressive.”  

After dismissing the prostitutes, Ludenburger answered as if he had been waiting for the question.  

His one remaining eye sparkled as he stroked his chin and continued.  

“I’ve also heard about your decision to support the princess in the succession competition, but there’s one thing I need to mention.”  

“What is it?”  

“Not long ago, the Second Prince’s subordinate visited this city and hired professional slave hunters. It seems they plan to give the captured elf slaves to nobles to expand their influence.”  

Ludenburger said this while pouring wine into a transparent glass.  

I took the glass he politely offered and sipped the red wine, letting it linger in my mouth.  

“Recently, they’ve been quite aggressive in expanding their influence. What should we do?”  

“…..”

He asked cautiously, glancing at me to gauge my reaction.  

Perhaps it was because of the news he had delivered.  

The wine tasted particularly bitter today.  

This was the incident of the Second Prince Albireo leading an elf hunt.  

Albireo had hired slave hunters for the elf hunt, and the protagonist and Liliana would rescue her younger sister, who had been captured by them, bringing them closer together.  

‘It’s happening faster than expected.’  

Was it because the flow had changed due to my influence compared to the original story?  

I thought I had timed it right, but it seemed the event had been pushed forward a bit.  

‘That damn bastard Second Prince. I’ll definitely castrate him in the name of justice.’  

Albireo was a criminal who would stop at nothing to claim the throne.  

Remembering how he had schemed against Justia in the original story made my blood boil.  

“By now, the slave hunters are probably near the elf autonomous region in the southwest of the empire.”  

At that moment, Ludenburger pulled out a map from under the table and pointed to a densely forested area in the southwest.  

It was the Elfen Forest near the elf autonomous region.  

“If we disrupt this operation, we can deal a significant blow to the Second Prince’s faction. The preparations are ready, so just give the order whenever you wish.”  

From Ludenburger’s waist, two ashen arm-long swords exuded an ominous aura.  

I appreciated it, but this was something I had to handle personally.  

After all, it involved Liliana’s younger sister being kidnapped.  

And since I was more than capable of handling it alone, I didn’t need any additional military support.  

“I’ll go myself. You stay here and prepare for war. We’ll eliminate the Second Prince’s influence spreading through the underground city.”  

“…So you plan to erase the Second Prince’s influence from the underworld. Understood. When will you depart?”  

Ludenburger nodded slightly.  

I stood up, put on my mask, and replied.  

“Now.”  

At my words, Ludenburger rushed out of the room.  

Shortly after, I could hear him shouting in the hallway, ‘Prepare for war! Gather all the executives!’  

Alone in the room.  

I gently touched the longsword I had brought from the mansion and leisurely made my way outside.  

If I encountered the slave hunters in the forest, a battle would inevitably break out.  

I would undoubtedly have to kill someone.  

It’s not that I couldn’t bring myself to kill now.  

Or that I was scared.  

No, it’s just that, unlike Behiritt, I decided not to be swept up by anger.  

“Peace like a river within me.”  

I lightly circulated the mana within my body to shift my mood.  

This was a world where swords spoke louder than words.  

A land where magic was more effective than law.  

In any case, I had no choice but to fight.  

As I descended the stairs, Ludenburger’s subordinates were busily preparing for battle.  

Walking slowly towards the entrance, I saw the guy I had knocked out earlier standing there, having regained consciousness at some point.  

‘Was it Devin?’  

Whether he had received proper discipline from Ludenburger’s subordinates or not, his eyes seemed more docile now.  

I passed by him and lightly patted his back.  

“Devin Grendal. Be more careful from now on, understand?”  

“Gasp! Y-Yes, I understand!”  

I comforted Devin, who was stiff and speaking with a lisp due to his missing teeth.  

Would he really come to his senses?  

I’d find out when I dealt with the Grendal Count family someday.  

As I stepped outside, Ludenburger had already caught up to me.  

“The sky of the underground city is quite impressive too.”  

“Indeed. The light seems particularly bright today.”  

The scenery of countless reddish lights embedded in a pitch-black canvas.  

Whether you could call that a sky or not was debatable, but it captured my gaze for a moment.  

“It’s perfect weather for killing.”  

“Yes.”  

The city where the lights never went out, even at night.  

After taking in the sight of the countless small lights that made up the city, I headed towards the Elfen Forest.