The Three Evils, with Cale as the hidden boss.

And the place’s original boss, Dark Ghost Lupe.

“Human, was that Lupe’s territory over there?”

“Yeah. It’s still his territory now.”

Count Lupe.

He had been killed by the Demon King’s side, and as a result of an experiment conducted by the Transparent Blood family, he had become a New World NPC.

“Young Master Cale.”

Cale, crouched atop a tree in hiding, did not even turn his head toward the sound. But Clopeh Sekka was not the sort to be shaken by a reaction like that.

“I heard the situation in that territory is rather complicated.”

“It is. Very.”

Count Lupe was one of the owners of one of the three greatest merchant guilds in the Demon World, and the richest man in the Demon World.

-Rich!

Cale ignored the reaction of the Miserly Destroying Fire.

Aurora of the mediator group had said:

‘It has all but been confirmed that Count Lupe is dead, but his body was never found. In effect, his status is closer to missing, and that has caused quite a few problems.’

By eliminating Count Lupe, the richest man in the Demon World, the current Demon King’s side had intended to consolidate its power and, beyond that, seize his wealth and the merchant guild he owned.

‘If the current Demon King’s side had found Count Lupe’s secret vault and the deed proving ownership of the merchant guild, they would have cleaned everything up neatly.’

But they had not found the deed to the merchant guild.

Which meant the Demon King’s side had failed to take possession of the greatest merchant guild in the Demon World.

‘Because of that, Count Lupe’s territory, Dioriel, is currently without an owner.’

To put it simply—

‘They still haven’t been able to choose the next lord.’

Because the Demon King had failed to obtain what should have been his.

‘If the next lord were to find Count Lupe’s secret vault, that person would become the owner of the merchant guild, so the Demon King has been delaying the selection of a new lord.’

The excuse for that was ‘the possibility that the missing Count Lupe might return.’

“Young Master Cale, I heard Count Lupe’s missing status is about to be lifted.”

“Yeah. That’s right.”

But they could not leave the lord’s seat vacant forever.

So the current Demon King had set a limit on that missing status.

“...They said about a month remains.”

In about a month, the missing status would be lifted, Count Lupe would be officially converted to deceased status, and the selection of the next lord would begin.

“Yes. So Aurora said that once the new lord is chosen in a month, that will be when they plan to enter the lord’s castle.”

Count Lupe’s secret vault.

It was inside the lord’s castle.

And inside that vault was the deed to the greatest merchant guild in the Demon World.

‘Young Master Cale, after discussing things with Count Lupe—’

Aurora had given Cale a rough outline of how they would steal the deed.

‘Whether the new lord is a demon from the Demon King’s side or not, the current close aides of the Demon King who are guarding the lord’s castle will withdraw.’

Even after guarding the castle for years, they had failed to find the deed. Once a new lord appeared, they would step back for at least a while, if only to solidify that demon’s authority. If the new lord turned out to be one of the Demon King’s own close aides, then his hands and feet would withdraw all the more quickly.

There would be no reason for them to stay.

“I heard it’s expected that one candidate from Count Lupe’s collateral line and one candidate from the current Demon King’s side will compete for the position of next lord.”

When Cale nodded, Clopeh continued.

While Cale had been meeting Choi Jung Gun, Clopeh had gathered information about the Demon World from Aurora.

“According to Aurora, the balance between those two factions is tighter than expected.”

“That’s surprising.”

Cale kept his eyes on the wall where Dioriel’s city gate stood, and on the lord’s castle far beyond it.

“It’s because of the nature of Count Lupe’s family, apparently.”

Clopeh pointed east.

“As long as that river and the overland route exist, the power of this city cannot be controlled by the Demon King’s authority alone.”

Outside the lord’s castle to the east, an enormous river was flowing.

It was so wide it looked as if several major roads had been fused together. Countless ships moved across waters so deep their depth could not even be guessed.

And to the north of the territory—

there, a broad road as wide as that river carried countless freight wagons back and forth.

“The mines, right?”

“Yes. There are several fairly large mines in the northern part of Count Lupe’s territory and in the neighboring territories.”

The minerals excavated from those mines passed through this city, then spread throughout the Demon World along the river.

“Count Lupe’s bloodline owns shares ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) in each of those mines. I also heard that quite a few merchant guilds with stakes in transport are tied to them.”

That was why the power of the Lupe family within Dioriel was so strong. Of course, they could be pressured, but the current Demon King, who outwardly claimed to stand for an ‘open-door policy,’ could not do that so easily.

“Hmm.”

Cale’s gaze drifted downward.

“So the Order of the God of Chaos is in there, is that it?”

In his hand was a square stone.

A bloodstained stone.

“And not just any force. A force from the Order of the God of Chaos large enough to move two fighters around Choi Jung Soo’s level and a whole group of high-ranking holy knights all at once.”

If the Pope was really in the Demon World too, just as they predicted—

“What a mess.”

Dioriel.

That wealthy city of commerce and mines would be chaos itself right now.

“One thing is certain.”

At Clopeh’s words, Cale answered at once.

“Yeah. Whether it’s Count Lupe’s collateral line or the current Demon King’s dogs, someone joined hands with the Order of the God of Chaos.”

“That is correct. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for a force of that size to infiltrate quietly.”

Cale came to a conclusion.

“We need information.”

He recalled one more thing Aurora had told him.

‘Count Lupe said there was a reason he kept the location of the secret vault to himself.’

Count Lupe had not told even his own bloodline where the vault was.

‘There were people whose greed ran too deep, and he feared they might try something if they knew.’

Cale kept those words in the back of his mind.

Then—

“Human, human.”

Raon, On, and Hong approached and whispered.

“You know where the secret vault is, don’t you?”

Clopeh, who had been listening, suddenly had shining eyes.

So did the average ten-year-olds.

“Yeah. I do.”

At Cale’s answer, all four sets of eyes gleamed fiercely.

Raon declared with conviction.

“First we save Sui Khan! Then we can think about looting the place!”

Cale answered indifferently.

“I never said I was going to loot the secret vault.”

“Human, do not lie to yourself!”

Ha.

Cale stared at Raon in stunned disbelief.

Where does he learn things like that?

Whether Cale approved or not, Raon, On, and Hong quickly started deciding what each of them should do.

“The city’s probably chaotic. Hong and I should be the ones gathering information.”

“Noona, I can get close to the merchants and steal information from them!”

On and Hong worked out an information-gathering plan based on what they had learned from Ron.

“Human, Clopeh. Both of you, look at me.”

Raon, meanwhile, handled his part on his own.

“I’ll dye both of your hair.”

Even without being told, Raon did what needed to be done.

“We caused a huge uproar in Primordial Night, so the Order of the God of Chaos definitely got information on our human and the others! We have to be careful!”

Bzzzzz—

Even here in the Demon World, Raon drew up black mana.

Mana was always around Raon, whose attribute was the present.

Whoosh—

A gust of wind brushed past, and Cale pulled back his hood.

Black hair slipped over his hand.

“It’s been a while.”

It had been a long time since he had black hair.

For some reason, it reminded him of his days as Kim Rok Soo.

And because this body was now in its early twenties, it made him think of Kim Rok Soo’s life around that age too.

“Hehe. Excellent.”

Of course, next to him, Clopeh Sekka was smiling too, now wearing black hair as well.

Cale did not feel good about that in the slightest.

“Hehe! Both of you are my color!”

At Raon’s words, Cale simply shut his mouth.

The kid liked it. What was he supposed to say?

*****

“Ohhh. Are you all from the same family?”

“...Yes. That’s right.”

Cale gave a half-hearted answer.

“Wow, black hair isn’t common, so it’s amazing that your whole family has it!”

With that, the official raised his stamp.

Thunk!

A city passage permit landed in Cale’s hand.

Along with it, Cale received four identification tokens.

“Hehe. Are you cousins?”

Cale opened his mouth. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

But Clopeh answered faster.

“We are full siblings.”

“!”

Cale was startled.

The official continued chatting with Clopeh.

“Then I suppose you’re the eldest brother?”

“Haha, I hardly deserve the title, but yes.”

“Hm? Hardly deserve it?”

“Haha, never mind.”

Clopeh introduced himself as the eldest brother.

“And this is the second.”

He gently patted Cale on the shoulder.

“This is the third.”

On.

“And this is the fourth.”

Hong.

Today, On and Hong also both had black hair.

“And there’s a fifth, the youngest as well—”

“Didn’t they come with you?”

“Haha.”

Clopeh simply smiled.

-Human, I’m the youngest! Clopeh Sekka is kind of okay right now, no, actually a little crazy right now! He’s even including invisible me!

Hehe.

Raon was delighted.

-He says we’re all full siblings! Hehe! There’s a huge age gap between me and you, human! Clopeh is funny!

“Pfft.”

“Hehe.”

As On and Hong tried to suppress their laughter while watching Cale’s face—

“Haah.”

Cale let out a sigh and walked naturally into the city of Dioriel.

Using the identification tokens Aurora had prepared, they entered the city with ease.

“So that’s the lord’s castle over there?”

Cale asked Clopeh.

“Yeah.”

And Clopeh answered immediately.

“...?”

Cale’s gaze shifted to him.

“What?”

Clopeh looked genuinely, seriously puzzled.

“...Nothing.”

“He’s acting right now.”

On whispered.

Cale nodded at that.

-That’s right, human! Clopeh is doing well right now! This place is basically enemies in every direction! The only allies we have are the five of us! We have to act properly and stay hidden among ourselves! If we want to save Sui Khan later, we have to do even better!

Raon came to Clopeh’s defense.

“Here’s the map.”

Moving into a corner of an alley, Cale unfolded the map and studied Dioriel carefully.

“Second, that castle ahead is the lord’s castle.”

“I know that too.”

“I still wanted to tell you.”

“Shut up already.”

“......”

When Clopeh finally went quiet, Cale looked toward the small castle located in the northern part of the territory.

A small old castle.

The place where Count Lupe’s bloodline had lived for generations.

It was said that the collateral line aiming for the position of next lord, along with their supporters, was staying there.

“Let’s start there.”

“Why?”

Cale ignored Clopeh.

“I am curious about the reason.”

At On’s question, Cale answered.

“This.”

He pulled the bloodstained stone from his pocket.

The coded slash-marks carved into it.

“A waypoint.”

Team Leader Lee Soo Hyuk had not judged this place to be the final destination.

When he left this behind last—

he had considered this place a waypoint.

“If you go out through the north gate, there’s forest again.”

If the path they had chosen was correct—

“the marks will continue. If we’re wrong, we come back into the city.”

Cale’s group walked out through the north gate with their faces fully exposed.

And when they entered the forest leading toward the old castle, Cale approached a tree by the roadside.

“Found it.”

He had discovered Lee Soo Hyuk’s mark.

“Urgent.”

That was what he had left behind.

“Looks like he’s being chased.”

Cale lifted his gaze to the sky.

Before he realized it, the sun was starting to set.

Perhaps because of that, the broad road with forest on either side held neither wagons nor people.

Only silence remained.

Whoooosh—

The wind swept by, and Cale became certain.

“It’s here.”

Team Leader Lee Soo Hyuk was in this forest.

“Before night falls, we find Sui Khan first.”

Cale was wearing the same black hair Kim Rok Soo once had.

But the Cale of now was not the Kim Rok Soo of his childhood.

Bzzzz—

The golden top vibrated faintly.

Mana here was different from the mana of the world Cale had once lived in, but—

“I need a favor.”

The wind elementals were here too. The area had simply been too vast before, but within a forest of this size—

he could ask them.

“Find the person I’m describing.”

Whoooosh—

Whoooosh—

Whoooosh—

Several streams of wind shot into the forest all at once.

The wind elementals moved according to Cale’s will to search for Sui Khan.

And he asked them for one more thing.

“If there are any other living beings besides him, let me know.”

Raon asked:

-Human, who are we looking for now?

Cale answered in an indifferent voice.

“We need to find the enemies too.”

Sui Khan.

And the bastards chasing Team Leader Lee Soo Hyuk.

They had to catch them too.

Cale’s eyes burned with a cold, sunken light.

A slow grin spread across Clopeh’s lips as he watched.

Bzzzz.

His sword trembled faintly.

Like a snake stalking prey in secret, and at the same time bearing within it the darkness that would become the shadow of light and guard that light—Clopeh’s sword quivered bit by bit as it waited for what was about to unfold.

Take good care of him.

Choi Han had warned him.

And you should grow as well.

He had advised him too.

You’re a genius.

And he had acknowledged him.

Clopeh Sekka, acknowledged by Choi Han for his talent with the sword.

This time, he harbored a desire—no, a conviction—that he himself would truly become the Hero’s companion.

“I will lead the way.”

“Yeah.”

Clopeh stepped off the road and into the forest instead.

The reason was simple.

Whoooosh—

I think there’s something here!

One of the wind elementals had shown Cale the direction, and Cale had pointed that way.

Whoooosh—

The sound of wind wrapped around Cale and the others.

Tap!

Beneath the sunset, Cale’s group melted into the forest where night had already arrived ahead of schedule.

Cale said:

“Raon. Fire a signal into the sky.”

Clopeh spoke.

“Won’t that let the enemy know we’re here?”

“It’s fine. As long as they don’t know who we are.”

How could the enemy possibly know it was Cale just because they saw a signal flare?

They would only think Sui Khan’s allies had arrived.

That much was necessary.

“We’ll announce our presence.”

To the enemy and to their allies.

To the bastards from the Order of the God of Chaos.

And to that irritating Team Leader causing all this trouble.

“We need to let them know we’re here.”

Cale declared it boldly.

That he was looking for them.

That way, would not both enemy and ally turn their attention to them?

Of course, even as he did so, Cale kept his eyes open in all directions.

Marks.

His eyes were working harder than ever, searching for signs Lee Soo Hyuk would have left in an emergency.

-Human, I’m firing the signal flare!

Bzzzz—

After a brief vibration—

Fweeeeeee—

A streak of light shot through the forest and rose into the red sky.

*****

“Huff. Huff.”

Sui Khan stood leaning against the base of a tree, dragging in breath.

“Damn it. Persistent bastards.”

The ones chasing him really must have been true zealots. They were far too persistent.

“This body still doesn’t have much durability.”

A body that had not yet fully reached adulthood was still weak.

Damn it.

If he had not made that mistake, he would not have been injured.

But after seeing what those bastards were doing—

How was he supposed to hold back?

For a moment, he had failed to restrain his emotions, and because of that, the place where he had been hiding was exposed.

He had always made mistakes like this, ever since long ago. The fact that he had never bothered to fix that stubborn flaw of his was a problem too.

“Huff. Hhk.”

Rough breaths spilled from Sui Khan’s mouth.

Fweee—

Then he heard it.

Some sound from far away.

“!”

Sui Khan quickly climbed the tree.

Then he looked up at the sky.

“Ha, haha!”

A White Dragon was rising into the sunset-covered sky.

Back when he had been Team Leader, there had always been two people assigned to come find him.

Kim Rok Soo, who found the marks and served as the guide.

And Choi Jung Soo, who handled the fighting and the smashing.

A white dragon climbed into the sky.

Though this was not Choi Jung Soo’s.

“Mana.”

That was a dragon made of mana.

Which meant—

“Raon.”

And there was only one person who would fire something like that and call it a signal flare.

“Kim Rok Soo, you bastard—”

Just as I thought, you came.

Lee Soo Hyuk started moving toward the direction of the flare.

That smart bastard had deliberately revealed himself.

Which meant he was ready to deal with everyone, enemy or ally alike.

“If he’s calling, I should go.”

Sui Khan tightened the bandages around his wounds—the strips of cloth he had made by tearing up his clothes—then moved quickly.

Tap. Tap-tap.

His steps, leaping from tree to tree, were light.

*****

Cale said to his companions,

“From today on, we’re Wanderers.”

Now that he had shown himself openly, Cale intended to pose before the enemy—before the Order of the God of Chaos—as a Wanderer.

“We’re the Three Emperors’ lack— no.”

For a moment, the speech habit from his days as Kim Rok Soo under Team Leader Lee Soo Hyuk almost slipped out.

“We’re subordinates of the Three Emperors. Got it?”

“Got it!”

“Understood.”

“Yes, Young Master Cale.”

After Hong, On, and Clopeh—

Raon said,

“I understand, human! We’re the Three Emperors’ lackeys!”

Cale squeezed his eyes shut and reflected.

Watch your language.

“...No, we’re subordinates of the Three Emperors.”

“Right! I understand, human! We’re subordinates of the Three Emperors!”

“...Good.”

At that moment, Cale felt very deeply that his influence on the average ten-year-olds’ vocabulary was rather large.

His eyes were still squeezed shut.

Whoooosh—

And into the forest heading toward night, toward the place where the signal flare had gone up—

both ally and enemy began to move.