Chapter 111

Rupert’s proposal to create theaters where animation can be watched throughout the Empire was certainly intriguing.

“So, you’re suggesting we set showtimes and sell tickets?”

“Yes, and during the off-hours, we could operate in a tavern style featuring troupes or orchestras.”

It certainly wasn’t a bad idea.

Establishing a theater in cities or territories with a certain population would require substantial initial capital, but it had strengths that others lacked.

The opportunity to watch the latest cultural phenomenon—animation, which even nobles couldn’t easily acquire—was a significant advantage, even if it was in the form of viewing instead of ownership.

“However, for that to happen, animations need to be produced regularly. Is that possible?”

“If we animate the works we’ve created so far, we won’t run out of content for a while—”

“—Moreover, after a certain period, we could recycle the showings from the beginning, making it feel like a surprisingly good idea.

“—Plus, if we diligently look for locations and prepare to create a theater from now on, we’d probably be able to open around the time the animation is completed.”

Ultimately, Esteban agreed with Rupert’s plan, and as a result, Rupert decided to invest the entire reward from this Agora, while Esteban committed to investing the association’s reserves.

“You mentioned sharks.”

Given the immense capital required, Rupert’s talk about sharks as a metaphor intrigued Esteban, who had been hesitant.

– In the sea, besides whales, there are also creatures called sharks.

Esteban had never seen a shark, but he had heard of them; large, fierce, and dangerous beasts that fishermen claimed would spell certain death if encountered in the water.

– Do you know that sharks must swim to breathe?

Rupert’s story about how sharks breathe through their gills by swimming intrigued Esteban.

He even mentioned that sharks swim while sleeping to ensure they can keep breathing, likening them to their own situation.

“Right now, we are the frontrunners. But as always, those who follow behind have advantages.”

Esteban agreed with that statement.

The Yuren Merchant Association had reached the rank of the Seven Major Associations precisely because they safely walked the path laid out by the frontrunners after they faced their trials and errors.

“Someone has to keep expanding the market.”

After all, fairy tales and comic books were merely exciting new phenomena.

Thus, they, being the leaders of the industry, had to pave the way for the latecomers, which would ultimately expand the market and bring their own benefits, according to Rupert.

Hearing these words, Esteban felt his heart racing again, just like the first time he encountered Rupert’s fairy tale book.

*

“What do you filthy creatures exist for?”

Dread trembled at the cold voice that echoed through the dark basement.

“They’ve formed an alliance?”

Recently, the branches that Sataniel had spread throughout the Empire were being attacked.

What was even more shocking was that those branches had been taken down without even inflicting significant damage.

Swish.

“Graaaah!!!”

Something flashed in front of his eyes, and suddenly the arm of one of the twelve executives, Lotus, was severed, blood gushing like a fountain.

“Don’t scream; next time, I’ll cut off your head.”

Thud thud.

Sataniel began to slowly walk around the kneeling executives.

At the sound of his footsteps, the nine gathered executives, excluding the three already taken down by the alliance, held their breaths.

Not daring to raise their heads, they simply wished to save their lives.

“Lotus, your arm is regrowing, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is….”

“That’s right; you are the ones I specially chose as lineage bearers when I created the Night’s Kin.”

The executives who received Sataniel’s blood directly after he stole the blood of the true-blooded members of the Night’s Kin.

Could it be that their lineage had indeed granted them a bit of that pure blood?

Lotus’s severed arm was already taking shape and regenerating.

“Even if injured, we recover and don’t age. Our Night’s Kin possess bodies that are far stronger and tireless!”

Bang!

As Sataniel’s voice grew louder, his fist smashed into the basement wall, creating a tremendous noise.

“Is it acceptable to be defeated by such lesser races?”

“No! Just give me one more chance….”

Boom!

It happened in an instant.

Before Lotus could ask for another chance, his head exploded under a single punch from Sataniel.

Gasp!

No matter how much of the Night’s Kin one was, they couldn’t regenerate a head that had been blown off.

Their only weaknesses were the head and sunlight.

Seeing Lotus—someone who was certainly not weak—perish in a gesture from Sataniel rekindled the fear that had been forgotten among the Dark Elves who had become members of the Night’s Kin.

“Stop talking about chances; tell me how to solve this.”

“…I recently reviewed the direction that the alliance’s forces are heading.”

“And?”

“They’re aware of the Blue Flower being in the South, so if we examine the location of their initial appearance, it seems they are targeting a base in the South with their ambushes.”

“Rise and continue your explanation.”

“Thank you!”

As Dread’s comment piqued Sataniel’s interest, he seated himself again.

Then Dread stood up, pointing to the continent’s map and continuing his explanation about the alliance’s movements.

“However, if we look at their recent movement patterns, they seem to be heading towards places unrelated to our branches.”

“Isn’t that just because they don’t know the locations of our branches?”

“That could be possible, but considering the documents they held during their last raid, I think there’s a larger possibility that they know more.”

The branch operated by Jerus, which had been overrun by the alliance, had important files regarding the Blue Flower.

The reason Sataniel was angry now was mainly because of that.

The most important documents ended up in the hands of their enemies, which was simply unacceptable.

“Don’t tell me….”

“Yes, we still haven’t found the location indicated by that document, but perhaps they have already figured it out.”

Crash!

The sound of the armrest of the chair breaking echoed.

Sataniel’s expression changed from anger to panic.

Just the possibility of the alliance reaching the Blue Flower, which he had dedicated his life to searching for, filled him with anxiety.

“However, we’ve already finished searching the nearby area. Therefore, when analyzing their movement paths limited to unsurveyed locations, their destination is definitely… Somerset Territory in the Empire.”

“Can you be sure about that?”

“…Yes. The forest in Somerset Territory is vast, and it was even referred to as the Southern Magical Realm in the past.”

Dread spoke as if there was likely a Blue Flower there, which caused Sataniel to pause for a moment in thought.

Then,

“Gather all personnel from every branch.”

“Yes!”

Sataniel believed that the alliance had been able to achieve victories against their branches due to their scattered forces.

Therefore, he was determined to gather their strength this time to eliminate the detestable alliance and would do anything to find the Blue Flower, even if it meant destroying Somerset Territory.

“Until now, I’ve avoided unnecessary confrontations with humans, but if I get my hands on the Blue Flower, there’s no reason to avoid them any longer.”

Even Sataniel, with the blood of true lineage, found the Empire’s full power daunting, so he had secretly acted as much as possible and avoided direct contact.

But that was now over. Once he obtained the Blue Flower and transcended the Night’s Kin, no one would be able to stand in his way.

*

“What exactly did you teach Aida?”

Oun asked Alain, startled.

“…You won’t believe it, but I’ve never taught her anything like this.”

Alain, looking just as shocked as Oun, responded.

The clear palm print engraved on Oun’s armor and the distorted surroundings, resembling swirling patterns, looked almost like a sophisticated sculpture.

“If it had been just a bit deeper….”

Recalling what had just happened, Oun felt dizzy.

During a normal bout, while Aida was attempting to get away, he had allowed an attack once.

Of course, it was a strategic allowance, not a lapse in judgment.

He rationally thought: How much power could a little girl’s palm slap possibly have?

But Oun had nearly received a fatal wound from that slap.

Gah!

Oun, knocked over by the tremendous rebound pushing into his chest, thought:

“Aida has defeated the witch!”

Thunk!

Lying on the ground, Oun saw Aida, triumphantly raising an arm to the sky and clenching her fist, proudly declaring her victory, with Rach crying out nearby in celebration.

As she struck a brief victorious pose, Aida quickly hopped on Rach and disappeared out of the mansion.

“Did you see how the lady moved back there?”

“Of course! I got chills just watching it.”

Oun had already suspected it was Alain who taught Aida the technique.

He hadn’t recognized Alain’s astounding skills until he climbed to the Expert level and then realized Alain had indeed given Aida training.

“It was a rotation! Before delivering the final blow, she transferred her body’s recoil from her toes to her fingertips in a spinning motion.”

“Just as I suspected, that’s the reason for this imprint.”

Oun nodded, brushing his chest where the swirling palm print was left behind.

“In the East, they call this technique ‘Spiral Shot.'”

“I didn’t know there were techniques like that! I still have so much to learn.”

Even after being defeated by Aida, instead of sulking, Oun felt a thrill at the thought of incorporating the technique he had just learned into his swordsmanship.

Meanwhile, Alain fell into deep thought.

‘I’ve never taught her Spiral Shot. Where did she get that from?’

Alain knew Aida had incredible talent, but he thought she was too young to have acquired such a technique, which is why he hadn’t taught it.

If that’s the case, then Aida must have come up with the technique on her own, showcasing a truly chilling level of talent.

And there was one more thing.

‘While Spiral Shot certainly complements a lack of strength, given the lady’s build, there’s no way she could produce such destructive power…’

The distinct palm print left on Oun’s armor was not something a child like Aida should be able to achieve even with Spiral Shot.

‘Could she have possibly found some elixir in the forest?’

But Alain soon shook his head.

No matter how many elixirs she might have consumed, she wouldn’t reach this level of strength.

Unless she had taken dozens of elixirs at once.

And no matter how good the elixir, consuming dozens would surely lead to side effects.

Unless there was an extraordinarily skilled doctor who fully understood the elixirs and could perfectly calibrate the combinations and dosages of dozens of them.

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