Swallower of Brains, Ganagl Peytan.
He was the most hideous and grotesque monster among the Abyss Priests, a bunch filled with all sorts of dead-end lives.
In the original work, he was probably referred to as the brain-sucking guy, tentacle pig, right?
His physical power was merely average among the executives of the Reverse Heaven Society, but in terms of the scale of his forces, he was the biggest among the Abyss Priests.
So… in the original setting, he was definitely… oh, right. He was the archbishop of some heretical group called the Deep Sea Sect.
After gaining power by contacting what the Abyss Priests referred to as the ‘abyss’, he killed all of his superiors and took the position of leader.
In other words, he was a cult leader who used magic. I don’t really understand why the followers of the Deep Sea Sect worship that kind of monster.
Well, how could I know the thoughts of fanatic cultists? If I could understand them, I wouldn’t be a fanatic.
Anyways, the letter from Argantir contained a command to join the extermination squad and eliminate him, having found a location presumed to be his hideout.
It seems he went into hiding after getting beaten by Heid recently, and somehow I got lucky enough to pinpoint where he was hiding.
“…So, you mean we should take him out first so that Heid can’t proudly return with his head?”
“Uh… I don’t think it’s necessary for us to lend a hand… If we already know the location, shouldn’t we handle it ourselves?”
Friede seemed suspicious of Argantir’s intentions.
Could such an influential figure who controls the underworld of the kingdom really be short on power and need to drag us into it?
“There must be a reason. Maybe he doesn’t want to expose his faction, or he can’t afford to send his key forces out.”
The Shadow of the Eagle is indeed ruling over the underworld of Herbor, but they are, after all, an information and assassination organization.
It’s scary when a knife stabs you from behind or beneath your bed, but if they were to fight head-on, they wouldn’t even be able to overpower a mere Count’s knight order.
I mean, it makes sense. Why would someone with the power of a knight of the kingdom want to live as an assassin in the underworld?
Just knocking on any noble family’s door would get them a lifetime employment contract immediately.
Unless they committed a sin so grave they couldn’t possibly show themselves to others, there was no reason for them to have that skill and live in the underworld, weak and pitiful.
And those who committed such grave sins would become fugitives, chased like dogs and hunted down.
In other words, even if you claim to be someone who runs the underworld, if you look at their actual abilities, most of them are just worthless scum.
Of course, the orphan assassins trained directly by Argantir are capable enough to be called orphan production machines, but… that’s a story for later.
Those guys are still uncompleted assets, so if they were drafted into something like this and ended up dying, it would be a painful loss for Argantir.
Moreover, the last force of the Shadow of the Eagle, the knights loyal to Argantir, would be hard to pull out of the capital.
What if they were secretly sent out and ended up dead?
It’s not like you could allow several knights of the kingdom on vacation to suddenly disappear or be found dead in completely different locations, right?
It wouldn’t be surprising if the knight order was turned upside down.
Argantir probably entrusted me with this job for such reasons.
At the very least, a knight-level force.
It’s easy to use as they’re free from affiliations and backing, and their public identity itself is a cover, making it hard to do a cleanup if things go sideways.
Where else would Argantir find a force more convenient than this?
It’s a rule to outsource dangerous and tricky jobs, after all.
Especially when you can use capable subcontractors for nearly free? Not using them would be downright foolish.
◆◆
“―For that reason, it’s sudden, but I think I’ll have to leave tomorrow morning. It’s an urgent matter.”
After tidying up the letter and parcel sent by Argantir, I decided to inform Veloren that I should start working.
I mentioned that Argantir, who had provided me with a cover identity, had tasked me with a troublesome and tricky job in return.
“…I see. That’s unfortunate. I still had so much to teach you.”
Veloren showed his disappointment openly and sighed. A hint of anxiety and worry lingered in his blue eyes.
It wasn’t quite like the heart of parents leaving their child by the waterside, but at least it was akin to half of that feeling.
“Indeed. I still had much to learn… But, a contract is a contract. It can’t be helped.”
I let out a wry smile, displaying my regret, and shrugged lightly.
If it were up to me, I would’ve liked Veloren to accompany me on the hunt for the Abyss Priest, but unfortunately, that couldn’t happen.
Even though Veloren had officially retired, he had once been a knight so outstanding that discussions of his promotion to Vice-Captain were held.
To leave the living quarters, such a powerful being would need to send a message to the capital, reporting the destination and route for approval.
It was probably a measure to prevent someone from being recruited and secretly causing havoc.
So I had no choice but to abandon the idea.
This was somewhat akin to a secret assassination operation; if I revealed the destination, there would be no secrets left.
I guarantee that it wouldn’t be long before the whole world knew.
The information that former knight of the kingdom, Veloren Esther, took care of the high-ranking Abyss Priest Ganagl would be out in no time.
And if that happened… the aftermath would be as predictable as the sunrise.
Surely the kingdom wouldn’t leave a power as high as a high-ranking knight in retirement. They would definitely try to reinstate Veloren and shove him into a deep dungeon.
Not only that, but in the worst-case scenario, an enraged Heid, having lost his meal ticket, might come knocking with his brainwashing sword ready to confront her.
If he could brainwash a high-ranking knight and manipulate her at will, it would be quite advantageous for him.
If that were to happen, I’d have no choice but to tear Heid into a thousand pieces and scatter him across the land to sate MTR’s grudge.
I’d become a royal and hero slayer, sinking deeper into the bottom of the abyss with my reputation in tatters… but is that my problem? If I’m to sink, so be it!
If I could endure seeing that, then what kind of being am I?
If he’s going to take my comrades, that’s one thing, but taking my mother is something only a soulless monster would commit.
…Well, anyways, that’s why I couldn’t take Veloren along for the mission to eliminate Ganagl.
◆◆
That evening.
“Excuse me, may I interrupt for a moment?”
While I was busy preparing to leave early the next morning, Veloren knocked and came in, handing me something.
“Here, take this. It’s a gift.”
“What’s this…?”
I opened my mouth slightly in surprise as I received her gift.
“It’s Edelmut. It’s a family heirloom passed down from my father in the Esther family.”
It was a sword.
A clean yet sleek longsword with a golden crossguard and a handle about one and a half hands long.
The silver-gray blade looked lighter than steel but seemed at least ten times tougher and sharper, and it even had a faint holy aura lingering over it.
“It’s alloy steel with a durability exceeding that of black steel. Since the iron content is low, it won’t easily break unless you take an ogre’s attack head-on.”
Veloren smiled as she explained the identity and performance of the gift.
“Also, during its manufacturing, pieces of holy garments were burned and consecrated, allowing the entire sword to harbor a faint divine miraculous power. Because of that, it can cast a holy shield three times a day.”
In simple terms, it was an incredibly sturdy sword that dealt bonus damage to undead, and on top of that, it could activate Holy Shield three times a day.
“If you didn’t have any special memories attached to your current sword, I thought it would be better for you to use this new one. Your current sword is excessively old.”
At Veloren’s words, I unconsciously looked down at the black steel longsword I had sheathed at my waist.
The scabbard was so worn out that it lost its luster and looked grimy, with several nicks and a dull blade.
Ugh, is this really a sword?
Compared to the sword that Veloren handed me, the black steel sword of mine was nothing but trash.
Of course, if I threw it to adventurers of the copper or iron tier, they’d probably be grateful to use such garbage.
“What do you think, do you like it?”
Veloren pointed to Edelmut with a smile and asked.
Do I like it?
Of course, I couldn’t help but like it.
Except for one small problem.
“Uh… thank you, but….”
“But?”
“I’m just not sure if I should be accepting a family heirloom…”
A family heirloom! It was something that I, who had no blood relation to the Esther family, felt guilty accepting.
If it were an item of mediocre quality, I would graciously accept it without shame, but this was such a fine item that it felt wrong to take it.
“I didn’t say it was something I was completely giving away, did I?”
Was my flustered reaction amusing to her? Veloren chuckled lightly.
“Uh, so does that mean I need to return it?”
“Of course. After you complete the task entrusted to you and return to this mansion, hand it back to me. Safely and without a scratch.”
Veloren reached out and gently ruffled my hair as she smiled. Since I was nearly the same height as her, it looked a bit funny.
“If you come back even a little hurt, I won’t accept the return, okay? So if the gift burdens you, you’d better not get hurt!”
It was just a joke about returning it, but the gift she gave me was filled with her wishes for me to stay safe and come back without a hitch.
“…Yes. I’ll be careful and return.”
I nodded slightly and replied softly.
“Mother.”
With all the respect I could muster.
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