[Trantor - Peptobismal]


    [Proofreader - Max]


    Chapter 42


    Rumble!


    The entire Lair shook with Bahamut''s aura.


    He said to Saturn Draker,


    "Entrusting me with the method to kill dragons? I knew you were a despicable man, but I didn''t know you were insane."


    Despite Bahamut''s killing intent, Saturn stood before him, unwavering, and continued,


    "Chronos agreed with me. You know the reason better than anyone, Bahamut."


    Bahamut raised his head and roared,


    "Chronos has been beguiled by humans and lost his standards as a mediator! I don''t believe that nonsense prophecy he spoke of!"


    Bahamut bared his teeth at Saturn Draker.


    "Get out of my Lair at once. Otherwise, I will kill not only you but all the humans in the Chronos Kingdom."


    "If you do that, Bahamut, you won''t escape Karma''s sanctions."


    "Because of that Kaisir fellow, there are too many humans on this continent. Do you think killing a few tens of thousands of you would disrupt the bnce of Karma? On the contrary, leaving you to multiply like insects is the path to imbnce!"


    As Bahamut reacted violently, Saturn helplessly took something out of his pocket.


    It was an old pocket watch.


    Saturn showed the pocket watch to Bahamut.


    "Chronos said, ''The Ruler of the Sunset will never ept my request.''"


    With that, Saturn opened the lid of the pocket watch.


    ck miasma rose from Bahamut''s body.


    "Do you think you can do anything to me with the power of Chronos?"


    He spread his four giant wings.


    The ck miasma gathered and formed sharp spears.


    It seemed as if those spears would fly towards Saturn at any moment.


    That''s when it happened.


    Whirr!


    The pocket watch started spinning rapidly.


    Bahamut, who was about to attack Saturn, froze in ce.


    Seeing Bahamut suddenly be unresponsive, Zeke realized that the pocket watch Saturn was holding had used some kind of power.


    ''A watch imbued with the power of Chronos?''


    That''s when it happened.


    Rumble!


    Bahamut started moving again, twisting his body and roaring.


    "Gwaaaaaaaaah!"


    It was a scream as if his soul was being ripped apart.


    Barely calming down, Bahamut red at Saturn and said,


    "You... what have you done to me?"


    Saturn closed the pocket watch and said,


    "I only made you experience a part of the prophecy Chronos spoke of."


    Bahamut red at Saturn, exuding an even denser killing intent.


    However, he dispelled the ck spears that seemed ready to beunched at any moment.


    He folded his wings and approached Saturn.


    "Damn it. Making a contract with a human was a mistake."


    "I think so too. Humans should have risen with their own power, not with the power of dragons."


    Bahamut exhaled roughly and said to Saturn,


    "Give it to me. That damn Dragon yer technique or whatever it is."


    Saturn took out a booklet from his pocket.


    The booklet floated up and opened before Bahamut''s eyes.


    After reading the entire contents, Bahamut red at Saturn and said,


    "You actually created this kind of thing."


    "It''s to protect this world."


    "Nonsense. It''s for humans, not the world."


    The book in front of Bahamut turned to ash and scattered.


    Bahamut said to Saturn,


    "I''ll keep this. If the prophecy Chronos spoke of doesn''te to pass, this will never see the light of day."


    "Even without the True Dragon Sword Skill, humans are finding ways to be stronger to kill each other more efficiently. Given time, they will eventually learn to use Aura on their own."


    "If that happens, I''ll have to personally step in and kill all the humans. This power is too dangerous for humans to possess."


    Saturn Draker said to Bahamut,


    "Someday, you too will find a soul contractor. Then you will understand Chronos'' heart."


    Leaving those words behind, Saturn Draker departed from Bahamut''s Lair.


    Bahamut, left alone, curled up again and sank back into the abyss.


    However, Saturn Draker''s words lingered in his heart for a long time.


    He thought to himself.


    That he would never take a human as his contractor.


    ***


    "Gasp!"


    When Zeke regained consciousness, he was standing with his sword in hand, having lost consciousness.


    Although it was brief, Zeke vividly experienced a fragment of the past where he became Bahamut and met Saturn Draker.


    It seemed that the True Dragon Sword Skill created by Saturn Draker was passed on to Bahamut, and then its secrets were passed on to Bahamut''s contractor, Terakan Draker.


    It was puzzling why Bahamut, who disliked humans, had changed his mind and made a contract with Terakan Draker, then passed on the True Dragon Sword Skill.


    There were no proper records left, making it impossible to understand what had happened.


    ''I wonder if the head of the Draker family knows about this past secret.''


    With all traces of Terakan Draker erased, there was no way the story of Bahamut and Saturn Draker would remain.


    Just then, Zeke felt a change.


    ''Did my ether hall get bigger?''


    He could feel that his ether hall had expanded significantlypared to before practicing the True Dragon Sword Skill.


    Woooong!


    The amount of mana he could handle increased, and the conversion to Aura became faster.


    Zeke tried using the Elemental Sword.


    Whoosh!


    When he activated the fire attribute, mes erupted fiercely from the sword.


    With the increased amount of mana he could handle, the power of the Elemental Sword had also increased.


    "I still have a long way to go to reach King  Kaisir''s level, but with this much, I won''t die a tragic death anywhere."


    The Southern Continent was dangerous from the moment one set foot there.


    It was a ce where he couldn''t let his guard down for a single moment, so he needed to build up his strength as much as possible before going there.


    Zeke started swinging his sword again.


    ***


    As Zeke continued his training, going back and forth between Valha and the training ground, the contact he had been waiting for finally arrived.


    The first contact was from Cliff.


    It was to inform him that the preparations for Zeke''s first request wereplete.


    The second contact was from Kay of the Syndicate.


    She informed him that she would ept his proposal.


    To deal with the Syndicate matter first, he disguised himself as Zeke Murray and met with Kay.


    It was a high-ss lounge bar operated by the Syndicate, a ce that thoroughly guaranteed the anonymity of its users.


    When he entered the bar, a guide was waiting for him.


    "Mr. Zeke Murray. This way, please."


    It was a ce where only VVIPs, not ordinary customers, could enter.


    All sorts of security magic were in ce from the entrance of the area.


    As he entered the lounge, Kay was sitting in the middle, waiting for him.


    "Wee."


    Kay happily greeted her partner, Zeke.


    Zeke sat next to Kay.


    "I didn''t know there was a ce like this in As."


    When Zeke hade to As in his past life, it was after As had be a territory of the Empire.


    Thendscape of As, heavily damaged by the war, was quite different from now, so it felt new to him.


    Kay poured alcohol into Zeke''s ss and said,


    "It''s one of the Syndicate''s side businesses. Everyone doing business in the shadows needs a ce to talk in secret."


    Zeke nced at the alcohol Kay had poured and shook his head.


    "I don''t drink alcohol. I''d prefer it if you prepared tea next time."


    Kayughed, surprised.


    "Don''t tell me you''re not drinking because you''re still underage?"


    "It''s just that I don''t drink because I don''t feel anything even if I do."


    Even in his past life, Zeke didn''t particrly enjoy drinking alcohol.


    Moreover, now, perhaps due to the Healing Factor, he didn''t get drunk no matter how much he drank.


    There was no point in spending money on expensive alcohol, so he thought it would be better to drink tea, which he liked.


    Kayughed and pped her hands, and an attendant entered the room. Kay ordered tea for Zeke.


    Drinking the high-quality tea that was served quickly, Zeke made a satisfied expression.


    "The service is good."


    "Let me know if you need anything else. The desserts and food here are delicious too."


    "I don''t need anything else. Rather, I thought it would take longer, but you made up your mind sooner than I expected."


    Kay changed her posture and made a serious expression.


    "I had many thoughts, but I made up my mind after seeing the items from the Northern Bank.


    I had a strong feeling that you would actually pull it off."


    Kay downed the strong liquor in front of her in one gulp.


    "Whew, I''m going to make the biggest bet of my life."


    He refilled Kay''s ss and clinked his teacup against it.


    "I won''t let you regret that bet."


    Zeke took out the documents he had brought and handed them to Kay.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "What''s this?"


    "Do you know the Reinhardt Company?"


    "Reinhardt? They''re the ones growing rapidly in Alencia, right? They have branches in the North and South too."


    "I''ve secured a clean spot through them, so I n to operate from there when I go down South this time."


    Kay nced through the documents Zeke had brought at his words.


    "Deputy Branch Manager of Reinhardt Company''s Southern Continent branch?"


    "It''s a cover identity. I''ll move to the South through Reinhardt''s route. Let''s meet at their spot when we get there."


    Zeke needed to avoid the eyes of the Drakers, and Kay needed to avoid the eyes of the Syndicate.


    A safe house arranged by Reinhardt, who had no connection to either of them, would allow them to avoid both.


    Kay nodded and put the documents away.


    "So, let''s say you meet Don Juan as you said. What''s the n after that?"


    At Kay''s question, Zeke put down his teacup and said,


    "Do you know anything about the Fav Cartel?"


    Kay shook her head at Zeke''s question.


    "No, not much is known about them. I just know that they''re unlucky rough guys."


    Zeke nodded at her words.


    "That''s no wonder. They''re ex-pirates."


    "What?"


    Kay was surprised by Zeke''s words.


    "Pirates? Those bastards settled in the South and are doing Soma business? That''s ridiculous. Pirates would never do that."


    "That''s why no one noticed the true identity of the Fav Cartel. Otherwise, how could they run such a huge organization in the small Southernnd without revealing their identity?"


    Zeke''s words made sense.


    As she realized this, Kay''s expression distorted.


    "Don''t tell me the Fav Cartel has been putting pressure on us... to get their hands on our transportation route?"


    "Bingo. Those South Sea pirates are bastards who would do that."


    "Sigh."


    Kay, who learned the identity of the Fav Cartel, sighed.


    Currently, the Syndicate executives were in heated debate about whether to continue trading with McCain or switch to Fav.


    If they had switched to Fav without knowing anything, they would have lost their transportation route to the pirates and faced retaliation from the McCain Cartel.


    In fact, in the timeline before Zeke''s return, the McCain Cartel had noticed the true identity of the Fav Cartel and sent hitmen and killers to wage war against them.


    Thanks to that, the Syndicate wasn''t absorbed by the Fav Cartel, but they had to be subordinates of the McCain Cartel as a result.


    Zeke said to Kay,


    "What do you think would happen if you told Don Juan this? That the Fav Cartel is a group of pirates, and the Syndicate executives are trying to deal with them."


    Kay was surprised.


    "Are you telling me to be an informant?"


    "You can just wipe out the executives and be the boss yourself, so what does it matter if you''re an informant or not?"


    Zeke said terrifying things casually.


    Kay finally realized what she had gotten herself into.


    She thought for a moment, then grabbed the bottle of alcohol and gulped it down.


    "Whew. Okay, let''s do it."


    "Good. Then there''s something we need to do first."


    "Something to do?"


    Zeke looked at Kay and said,


    "The Soma you brought in from McCain. Tell me where the warehouse is where you''re keeping it."


    [Trantor - Peptobismal]


    [Proofreader - Max]