Cale looked at Clopeh Sekka and thought,

This bastard really is insane.

Count Lupe.

Even after he had been missing for a long time, even with his death all but certain, countless people of Dioriel were still waiting for the Count to return.

“So, um, Mr. Kase?”

“Yes.”

“Do you truly mean everything you just said?”

“Yes.”

“Is this gu—, no, never mind!”

The administrator facing Clopeh Sekka barely managed to swallow the thought that almost burst out of him—Is this man insane?

He wiped away his cold sweat and darted a glance around.

Everyone was staring blankly at him.

No, not at him.

At the lunatic sitting in front of him.

Count Lupe.

In commerce, he had left behind achievements that stretched far beyond Dioriel and across the entire Demon World.

Of all of them, one thing the people of Dioriel were especially proud of was the New Business Department.

If you want to start something new but lack the capital, come!

If you have both capital and a clear goal, but need the opportunity to bring it to life, come!

That slogan was the foundation that had allowed Dioriel to become not only a city of mines, but also a city of commerce.

“Hah—”

The man wiping his sweat took pride in working for that very department.

But after Count Lupe disappeared, the New Business Department had no choice but to falter.

In truth, it was not just the New Business Department. Most of the departments in the lord’s castle, the territory as a whole, even the related merchant guilds and mines—

all of them were not merely slowing down, but sliding backward.

This can’t go on. We need to choose the next lord!

That desire had spread throughout the city, and as a result, a new lord would be chosen within the next month.

And yet—

“So let me get this straight—”

After so long.

“You want to buy a mine?”

“Yes.”

“...Not a partial operating right, not a transport business for ore extracted from a mine, but literally purchase the entire mine outright?”

“Yes.”

Kase.

The black-haired, green-eyed man smiled gently.

He wore ordinary clothes, but the way he sat, the way he spoke—everything about him felt anything but ordinary.

More than anything—

Glance.

There was a pouch resting on the counter table.

It was so full of jewels that they were practically spilling out.

And every last one of them looked rare.

“Well—”

A madman had appeared out of nowhere, saying he wanted to buy a mine.

But he certainly looked rich.

“Yes.”

Kase—or rather, Clopeh Sekka—spoke in a mild tone.

“Please, speak comfortably. I heard that if one wishes to start a new business related to the territory, the New Business Department is the best place to visit.”

“That is true, but—”

It was true, but still!

My specialty is small-scale ventures!

Most of the people who come to this counter are inventors looking for investment, small merchant guilds, or merchants hoping to take on minor commissions from the territory!

A mine?

Something on that scale is beyond me!

And not just any mine—

“The mine Mr. Kase wants is—”

“Yes. The Moraka Mine.”

“Hk!”

The administrator sucked in a breath without meaning to. Stammering, he said,

“Mr. Kase, d-do you even know where that is—”

“Of course. I understand it is currently owned by Young Master Jimon.”

“Hk!”

You know that and you still want it?

Not just the administrator—even the people nearby let out groans and shook their heads.

The Moraka Mine.

It was owned by Young Master Jimon, one of the two candidates for the next lord.

At present, he was the sole representative of Count Lupe’s bloodline backed by the Lupe family.

And it’s the mine with the largest reserves right now.

Gulp.

The administrator thought to himself,

This is far beyond anything I can handle.

A bead of sweat ran down his forehead and along his cheek.

Just then—

“Do you think I lack the funds?”

Clopeh Sekka asked gently.

“I can prepare as much money as necessary. Though... hmm. What would be the best way to prove that?”

Everyone in the New Business Department—and the territory residents dreaming of starting businesses—stared blankly at him as he spoke with complete ease.

Then—

Thunk.

With a small impact, the man sitting quietly beside Clopeh set down another pouch.

Rustle.

He opened it.

Clatter—

“!”

Magic Stones spilled out.

Just from a glance alone, they were at least high-grade—magnificent Magic Stones of exceptional quality.

“Haha. It seems my Second Brother was feeling impatient.”

Clopeh looked at Cale with a pleased smile.

“W-well, uh—”

The administrator opened his mouth to say something, but—

Scrape.

He shut it at once when he heard a chair move at the very back of the office.

He turned around.

Clopeh and Cale both looked that way as well.

A stern-looking middle-aged man spoke to Clopeh.

“It seems this matter requires a conversation farther inside.”

Clopeh looked at him, then briefly turned to Cale.

Grin.

He flashed Cale a smile before rising to his feet.

“Second Brother. Come along.”

“Yeah. Big Brother.”

Cale followed Clopeh behind the stern middle-aged man, walking deeper inside.

One of the current Demon King’s close aides, Terosa.

The head of the New Business Department was a subordinate Terosa had brought in.

Cale-nim. The New Business Department seems to be the easiest way to approach Terosa, one of the Demon King’s close aides.

Last night—

after leaving Hong to care for Sui Khan, Cale and Clopeh had spent the whole night in discussion.

Raon had needed to use quite a bit of magic in the process, but thanks to that, they had managed to prepare a great deal.

Because Aurora stepped in.

Once Aurora learned that the place where the Order of the God of Chaos—even the Pope himself—was staying had ties to Count Lupe’s territory, and the moment she understood the danger of gray sickness as well, she had chosen to follow Cale’s will completely.

That’s a relief. Aurora cares more about the Demon World than she does about the current Demon King.

If gray sickness broke out, the current Demon King’s approval would plummet.

The Order of the God of Chaos had intended to use that moment to swallow the Demon World whole, and Aurora herself would have had much to gain if she chose to exploit it as well.

And yet she had decided to stop it.

I shuddered when I saw what the Demon King did. I can’t become that kind of demon.

Once Aurora learned that the current Demon King had turned the souls of demons into New World NPCs, she said she could never do the same.

“Mr. Kase.”

The stern middle-aged man stopped walking and halted in front of a door.

“Would you mind waiting in here for a moment?”

He spoke with a businesslike smile.

“In order to discuss the matter you mentioned in greater detail—”

But Clopeh Sekka cut him off and said what he had come to say.

“Are you going to fetch Terosa-nim?”

“......!”

A crack briefly appeared in the man’s businesslike expression, and Clopeh said with a smile,

“I support Terosa-nim.”

Terosa, one of the current Demon King’s close aides.

Young Master Jimon of Count Lupe’s bloodline.

Soon, one of those two demons would become the new lord.

“.......”

The stern middle-aged man spoke with a hardened face.

“One does not keep close those who reveal their heart so easily.”

It was meant as advice.

Yet—

“I’m not so sure. I merely dream of being a merchant who moves for the sake of money.”

The smile that did not bother to hide its greed only eased the middle-aged man’s expression instead.

“Wait here. You are not the one who decides.”

“Yes. Please, go ahead. I look forward to good news.”

The middle-aged man left the reception room door open and walked away. Clopeh and Cale stepped inside and shut it behind them.

Click.

Then they sat down side by side on the sofa and looked at the empty seat across from them.

Silence settled over the room.

“Second Brother.”

“Yeah.”

“Will you leave everything to Big Brother’s judgment?”

“Yeah.”

After that, the two said nothing more.

Because there was no telling what kind of listening device might be hidden in this room.

Click.

The door soon opened.

The middle-aged man was gone.

Instead, a woman walked in.

She was short and thin.

She looked like a reed that might bend at any moment, and even her face left only a faint impression.

“Nice to meet you.”

Terosa.

She was not the sort of person who inspired any obvious charisma.

But once one saw her eyes, that impression changed.

“You want to buy Young Master Jimon’s mine?”

They were sharp.

Clear as a blade, stiff and straight.

She was known for her brilliant mind.

“Yes.”

Clopeh answered with ease, then continued,

“I heard mining there has been halted for a year. I also heard the reason was cost. If I acquire the mine, I will begin excavation again as quickly as possible.”

Young Master Jimon.

Aiming for the position of the next Count, he had halted excavation at his mine.

His mine had produced a middling yield for this area, and when he stopped mining it, a great many problems followed.

Because it was a Magic Stone mine. Even if its overall output was only moderate, when limited to Magic Stones alone, it could be called the most valuable mine in the region.

“Hmm.”

Terosa quietly observed Clopeh Sekka—or rather, the man who had introduced himself as Kase—before she spoke.

“I’ve never seen you before. I have not yet determined any background ties you may have.”

After saying that, she merely smiled.

It was a frail-looking smile, but her eyes were so clear that she did not seem easy to deal with in the slightest.

At that moment—

Thunk.

Cale set the pouch of Magic Stones on the table between the two sofas.

Magic Stones spilled from the already open pouch.

“!”

The look in Terosa’s eyes changed.

Wearing a gentle smile, Clopeh asked,

“Can you judge their value?”

“.......”

Terosa stayed silent for a moment before finally speaking.

“...Those are top-grade Magic Stones. I have never seen Magic Stones of such extraordinary quality.”

Where could something like this possibly—

She swallowed the rest of the thought.

These Magic Stones had been mined from the mine Cale had obtained from the very first world he visited—top-grade, supreme-quality Magic Stones brought from an entire world, Shaolenn.

Clopeh pulled one Magic Stone from the pouch and set it before her.

Tap.

“That proves capability, does it not?”

With those words, he pulled a single sheet of paper from inside his clothes.

“Who are you?”

That paper, too, was placed before Terosa.

“And where did you come from?”

Smiling at her, Clopeh said,

“You must be curious about everything. So take a look.”

“.......”

Terosa unrolled the tightly rolled paper Clopeh had handed her.

“!”

She shot to her feet.

“You—”

“It is said that Count Lupe left behind no blood relatives.”

He had never married.

And he was known to have had no children.

That was why Young Master Jimon, considered the most promising successor among those with the closest degree of kinship, had come to wield power.

“I have the qualifications.”

Clopeh Sekka smiled.

Terosa did not.

“.......”

The paper was a birth certificate.

And not just any birth certificate—it bore Count Lupe’s own signature and seal, proving that the man before her was his son.

Terosa could not help but stare in shock. If it was a forgery, then it was too perfect. The signature matched Count Lupe’s exactly, the very same signature she had spent the last year seeing over and over again.

And the seal in particular. That looked real.

A seal that seemed to contain the Count’s very own mana made for even stronger proof.

Last night. And then at dawn.

Human! I don’t even know how many times I teleported! I got it from Aurora! Aurora went to New World, met Count Lupe, and came back after preparing everything!

It was the result of a great deal of effort from Cale, Clopeh, and Raon.

“Go verify it.”

“.......”

The smile vanished from Terosa’s face.

It had to.

Because what came from Clopeh’s mouth next was—

“Why? Do you suddenly feel as if you might lose the lord’s seat?”

“!”

Terosa’s eyes shook.

If that certificate was genuine, then a true blood relative had appeared.

But Clopeh did not stop.

He continued in a mild voice.

“You cannot afford to lose the lord’s seat, can you? You must carry on the Demon King’s will.”

The Demon King.

The moment he uttered those words, Terosa’s gaze settled.

Clopeh and Terosa.

The two of them looked at one another.

Clopeh recalled the information he knew about Terosa.

A loyal servant and follower of the current Demon King.

She believed that the current Demon King was the one destined to become the first demon god.

That was a very famous story.

Right. A fanatic.

To her, the current Demon King was already a demon god.

A smile naturally rose to Clopeh’s face.

Ah.

But he suppressed it.

Because it felt as though it might twist into something warped.

“I have no intention of revealing myself.”

Clopeh spoke calmly.

“Give the money to me.”

He pointed at Terosa.

“And you become the lord.”

Then, in a voice low enough to sound like a whisper, he recited,

“Shouldn’t the Demon King’s will—the demon god’s will—be fulfilled no matter what?”

“.......”

The chill in Terosa’s eyes slowly began to change into something strange.

The corners of her mouth started inching upward.

Smiling, she said,

“How dare you speak of the Demon King’s will as though someone like you could possibly know it?”

At first glance, she looked angry.

And in truth, she was.

How dare he mention the Demon King in front of her.

But when Terosa looked into Clopeh’s eyes, she was overcome by an odd feeling.

Clopeh answered,

“I may not know. But you do.”

Clopeh’s serious gaze.

The bizarre heat burning inside it.

“You alone must be walking that path with him.”

Terosa’s heart pounded.

Because there was sincerity in his voice.

Neither of them could look away from the other.

Wow.

Watching from the side, Cale thought.

If Raon were here, he would probably say something like this—

Human! Both of their eyes have completely flipped!

Cale simply stayed quiet.

Clopeh Sekka’s the one pulling double duty, not me.

Playing the role of a Wanderer from Five Colored Blood.

And on top of that, handling even the smallest details of pretending to be Count Lupe’s only blood relative.

Watching Clopeh Sekka take care of everything on his own, Cale relaxed and let himself drift with the flow.

This kind of comfort—

it was a first.

And Clopeh thought,

I know too.

Just like that demon called Terosa.

I know what I must do, because I am walking the path Cale-nim will take.

The Order of the God of Chaos.

And the Demon World.

The hunters.

Amid the disorder and chaos they would create, only the path Cale-nim walked stood out with perfect clarity.

The heat that had been lingering deep in Clopeh’s eyes gradually began to show itself.

If Raon had seen it, he would have said he was twisted around 1,245 degrees.

Unfortunately, Cale did not notice.