Oscar, who had left his office for a guest, found an unfamiliar envelope placed on his desk upon returning.
The envelope was blank, with nothing written on the front or back.
He felt the contents were likely documents and, without giving it much thought, checked them, assuming a subordinate had left them.
As expected, there were over ten pages inside. Oscar’s complexion changed instantly as he read the first page, even though he felt a sense of unease.
This change was possible because he knew for a fact that he was alone in his office. Yet, it was a dramatic change for Oscar, who was known for his excellent poker face.
However, the change in his expression quickly subsided, and he returned to his usual demeanor.
Although Oscar’s complexion returned to normal, his expression became completely blank as he meticulously examined each page of the documents, all the way to the end.
Upon finishing the documents, Oscar placed them back into the envelope and headed to his bedroom as instructed.
In the bedroom, which he expected to be empty, a man clad in black was waiting.
Facing him, Oscar asked in a flat tone, “What is your purpose?”
He had been summoned in such a roundabout way, with information that exploited his weaknesses placed on his office desk.
His question was prompted by the understanding that such a convoluted method was employed precisely because there was room for negotiation.
As Oscar had surmised, the man in black briefly stated his business in a gruff voice. “Withdraw from Smit. That is all.”
“What did you say?”
Oscar voiced his disbelief after a short pause, but he immediately composed himself and was about to speak to begin negotiations.
However, the man in black raised his right hand lightly, interrupting him. “Doubt and negotiation are meaningless. Your only choices are to withdraw from Smit or not. If you do not withdraw, I will naturally take this information to the appropriate place.”
Oscar fell silent at his unyielding words.
While his expression remained unchanged, his mind was racing.
He did not know the opponent’s ultimate goal, but he understood the immediate demand.
If the situation were something he had no knowledge of, he could have rebuffed it. However, because he was too aware of it, he couldn’t.
Oscar entertained a violent thought, but perhaps sensing it, his opponent continued. “Let me be clear: gathering your mansion’s guards and doing whatever you can to me is futile. Even if I were to fall here, my comrades would simply carry out the plan. …You don’t honestly believe I gathered this information all by myself, do you?”
Oscar felt an urge to click his tongue at the opponent’s words, which seemed to anticipate his thoughts, but he managed to suppress it with sheer willpower.
As the man in black had said, he had expected him to have comrades.
Conversely, if one person could gather this much information, it was clear that the mansion’s current guards would be no match for them.
Oscar remained silent for a while, looking into the opponent’s eyes, but eventually, he dropped his shoulders in resignation.
“I understand.”
“Is that so? I’m glad to hear a positive response. Oh, and this transaction isn’t limited to just this matter. See you then.”
“Hey! Wait…!”
The man in black simply said what he had to say and immediately headed for the window, disappearing from sight.
He paid no mind to Oscar’s attempt to stop him.
Oscar had wanted to secure a promise that he wouldn’t use this information to threaten him in the future, but he wasn’t even allowed to do that.
He ended up unilaterally accepting the opponent’s demands without being able to do anything, unlike how he usually handled other nobles.
Of course, it was unavoidable since the opponent hadn’t intended to negotiate in the first place, but Oscar didn’t have the capacity to think about that right now.
All he could do was furiously slam the documents he held onto the floor.
His subordinates rushed in, their faces etched with panic. “Boss! Something terrible has happened! Kurta has been crushed!”
“What?!”
The panicked report from his subordinate caused an uproar among the other members in the room.
Kurta was the common name for a Dark Guild in a neighboring country.
As they were a Dark Guild, their formal name was irrelevant; they only referred to each other by names that were mutually understood.
The destruction of Kurta meant, for them, that they would lose access to information on merchant caravans and military movements crossing from the neighboring country.
A significant portion of their income came from lucrative dealings with merchant caravans crossing the border, so losing access to such information was a severe blow.
This was precisely why they were more agitated than when their Royal Capital base was captured.
Seeing his subordinates’ state, the boss slammed his fist onto the desk in front of him.
“Quiet down!”
The sound of his fist hitting the desk and his voice silenced the flustered subordinates.
Confirming that all eyes were on him, the boss continued.
“You should have realized this when the Royal Capital and Gabont were taken. What’s more important now is to prevent this place from being attacked!”
Perhaps somewhat mollified by his instruction, the subordinates who had stood up upon hearing the report began to sit down.
Seeing this, the boss judged that he had managed to pull himself together and decided to head to his private room.
“Hey! I’m going to my room, so don’t come in for a while! More importantly, make sure this place isn’t overrun!”
“Yes, sir!”
Hearing the spirited response from his subordinates, the boss nodded with a composed expression.
“Damn it all!!!!”
Back in his private room, the boss cursed.
He had merely feigned calmness in front of his subordinates.
The fall of Kurta had damaged the boss far more than his subordinates realized.
It wasn’t just about losing access to information from their allied Dark Guild; it carried a deeper meaning.
He hastily retrieved a discreet communicator from a hidden location and began operating it with caution.
However…
“Go, damn it! Move!”
The communication device did not function properly.
Instead, it emitted a faint red light.
This indicated that either the other party was experiencing some malfunction or that communication was being refused.
At this point, the boss envisioned the worst-case scenario.
It was the complete severance of their connection with the neighboring country, which they had secretly supported until now.
Of course, this alone wouldn’t cause their organization to crumble immediately.
After all, Ichii and Niruni, their primary sources of income, were still operational.
These two bases alone could generate enough revenue to sustain the organization.
However, with only that, they could foresee a future where they would be picked off one by one and annihilated.
Frankly, it was akin to being cut off from retreat, with no escape route left.
From this point on, they had no choice but to defend their remaining bases at all costs.
The boss no longer doubted that the Royal Family’s shadows were behind this crisis.
He desperately considered whether they could survive against the organization that had systematically destroyed the Royal Capital, Gabont Mountain, and Kurta.
However, no bright future came to mind.
This chapter is finally entering its final stages.
Hopefully, it will conclude within twenty episodes… at least, that’s the plan.
