Chapter 129

Chapter 129: The First Mission (2)

‘It’s already over?’

I frowned as I watched the doors of the grand chapel in the distance swing open.

Through the open doorway, ordinary worshippers and various clerics poured out together in a noisy rush.

‘With it this crowded, there’s no way I can pick out the clerics who go in and out of the Imperial Palace.’

After a brief moment of consideration, I pulled the hood attached to the cleric robe down low.

‘Still, should I take a look first?’

To avoid drawing attention, I approached the grand chapel as carefully as possible.

Fortunately, most of the people had already left the chapel.

‘A bust.’

I didn’t think it’d be easy to find them, but to waste such a good chance.

‘At this point, it’d be faster to search the quarters where the clerics stay instead….’

It was then, as I was looking for another method.

Someone standing a few steps away snatched my attention at a glance.

‘That person.’

He was definitely one of the clerics Catherine told me about.

‘Clerics with scars on their faces aren’t common.’

I stared at the cleric who was speaking with worshippers in the gentlest manner in the world.

Eyes cold and detached from the smiling curve of his mouth, a stiff face, hands that looked like they’d done hard labor for a long time. No matter how I looked at him, none of it belonged to a cleric.

‘And it’s still only a guess, but that man….’

The instincts I’d honed over decades in the underworld were telling me.

He was giving off an aura that was far too ominous for a cleric.

And most of all, he carried the scent of my own kind.

The stench of death that clings thickly to the body, something ordinary people can’t sense.

‘Kayden, I think I understand a little why you asked me to identify the temple people.’

I narrowed my eyes and slowly erased my presence, bit by bit.

Now that the target had appeared, it was time to track him.

‘If I follow him, the other targets will show themselves too.’

***

The great temple located in the Imperial Capital of the Empire of Ventrume.

Inside the temple’s grand chapel was a secret room.

A secret room known only to those granted permission to enter.

“The next emperor’s seat seems like it’ll be decided soon enough.”

“Isn’t it too early to be sure?”

A man who’d thrown open his cleric robe completely picked up his cup.

The temple was a no-drinking zone, but he looked like he didn’t care about rules like that at all.

After filling his mouth with wine and swallowing, he twisted his face in disgust.

“Come on, it looks like the Emperor’s keeping an eye on the Third Prince. Among some nobles, there’s even talk he might replace the First Prince.”

“Ridiculous. The reason the Emperor cherishes the First Prince is because the blood of House Crowner runs in him.”

The man seated across from him pointed out in a sharp voice.

“And you think he’d put forward the Third Prince, whose mother’s from a fallen country, as the First Prince’s substitute? Just so the noble faction can tear him apart?”

“Well, I guess you’re right about that.”

“But it’s also true that more forces have started watching the Third Prince.”

Another man in cleric attire clicked his tongue.

“I’m telling you, it’s all just a momentary whim. One win at a hunting competition can’t change this board.”

“Still, wasn’t his sword dance at the Founding Festival impressive too? The way he moved, it looked like he’d learned proper swordsmanship.”

“So what if he learned a little swordsmanship this late? Do you think he can compare to the Second Prince?”

The man holding the cup snorted and shot back.

“And even if, by some chance, the Third Prince catches the Emperor’s eye, it doesn’t matter.”

His eyes, half-reddened with drink, rolled wildly.

Wiping the wine from the corner of his mouth, the man muttered slyly, “We just need to make sure the Second Prince takes the throne, that’s all.”

All of the men were mercenaries hired by House Radcliffe.

They weren’t professional assassins, but their motto was that they’d do anything as long as they got paid.

“Well, that’s true.”

“Shit, though, how long do we have to keep hiding in a place like this? I’m itching to death.”

“That’s because you’re the type who doesn’t believe in God.”

“And you do?”

“Of course. I’ve got to avoid going to hell when I die.”

At his companion’s joke that wasn’t really a joke, the man burst out laughing.

“Pwahaha! Coming from a guy who kills people for money! You really don’t have even a hair’s worth of conscience!”

“Enough.”

Then, another voice came from a corner of the hidden room.

The owner of the voice was the man with the striking scar on his face.

“Don’t be mistaken. Our client isn’t only House Radcliffe. Until we finish the mission commissioned by the Holy Kingdom, we can’t leave here.”

“Come on, Captain, we all know that. Why are you getting mad and making a fuss….”

The man, pleasantly drunk, grumbled to himself.

Then the other man, the one who claimed to believe in God, shot him a glare and turned his head toward the one called Captain.

“But Captain, about that mission the Holy Kingdom gave us. Is it really okay to do it?”

“What is it you’re trying to say?”

He said with an uneasy face, “No, it’s just… no matter how I think about it, it seems way too risky. Telling us to deliberately release monsters. It doesn’t look like something people who believe in God would do….”

“Good grief! You’re still going on about God? We just do the job for the money we took! Whether the Holy Kingdom creates monsters, or tells us to release them into another country, that’s got nothing to do with us!”

For a moment, the Captain’s expression darkened slightly.

He was the type of man who believed that if you received a fair commission, you carried out the request without complaint.

But even he had a faint doubt about the request the Holy Kingdom had given them.

‘And it wasn’t just any monster, either.’

The first commission the Holy Kingdom ever gave them was to find monsters and implant the monster stones they’d delivered in advance.

The monsters that received the monster stones grew larger and more ferocious, and they repeatedly attacked places where humans lived as they hunted for prey.

The Empire was no exception.

“Still, I’m a little worried too. Last time, that scary young bastard caught us, and we almost got completely wrecked.”

“Hah, the King of the Adamant Kingdom. I’ve never seen a human that absurdly strong in my life.”

Before the Founding Festival began, the Holy Kingdom had sent down orders to release monsters at every route leading into the Empire.

So they prepared in secret and succeeded in releasing the monsters at the choke points.

But the problem was that the first opponent they ran into was the King of Adamant and the knight order under him.

“Fuck, even thinking about it again makes my knees go weak.”

The drunk man shuddered as if just recalling that day made him sick.

“Sweeping away all those monsters at once. I started wondering if he’s even the same kind of human as us.”

“True. Thanks to him, we almost got swept away too.”

Looks like the title of the continent’s strongest knight wasn’t just empty talk.

The young King of Adamant killed dozens of monsters with a single strike.

The mercenary band, watching that spectacle from hiding, had no choice but to flee without even thinking up another plan.

“Captain, you don’t think the Adamant side is still searching for us, do you?”

“It’s not impossible. They followed us all the way until we hid in the temple.”

They’d never seen a pursuit that relentless.

After cutting down countless monsters, the King of Adamant spotted them and chased them like a madman.

He came after them with such terrifying momentum that, if the entire mercenary band tried to run together, it felt like they’d be caught a hundred times over.

In the end, they chose to scatter in all directions, and with the Holy Kingdom’s help, they barely managed to hide in the temple.

“Even now, when I think about that, I jolt awake in the middle of the night.”

“Me too.”

Even after the King of Adamant stopped the chase, the pursuit aimed at them continued.

It was still horrifying to remember how hard it was to shake off the Adamant knights who followed behind them, silent and persistent.

They say a dog takes after its owner. In sheer ferocity, those knights felt like nothing less than the King of Adamant’s clones.

“Don’t worry.”

Then the Captain, who’d been silent, opened his mouth.

“No power in this land can dare violate a sanctuary.”

No matter how formidable the King of the Adamant Kingdom was, he wouldn’t be able to touch the Holy Kingdom.

Not unless he wanted to make enemies of the nations across the continent that believe in God.

“And as for the Adamant Kingdom, I hear the Holy Kingdom plans to impose sanctions soon enough. So you don’t need to dwell on it.”

“Now that’s good news. Yeah, who’d have the guts to do something that insane? Unless they’re living some bottom-of-the-barrel life with nothing to lose.”

The drunk man muttered like he was talking to himself, then shifted the topic.

“By the way, when is House Radcliffe going to pay the commission? We extended the contract period too.”

“They said they’ll send someone within a week if it’s fast, and within a fortnight if it’s late.”

“A family that rich, and whenever it’s time to pay, they always get vague as hell.”

Clicking his tongue, the man took another swig of wine.

“Captain, and speaking of which, is that guy coming again this time?”

“Who are you talking about?”

“You know. That young punk who struts around even though he’s not even a Radcliffe. That viscount bastard, something like Million or Mille.”

He scratched his head roughly, then scrunched his brows.

“Was his name Ian?”