Chapter 45
“What do you think of Ahmad Triain?”
“Well, our active periods didn't overlap... but I've seen him and heard stories, so I know a bit about him. Interestingly, though... I've heard he's practically the exact opposite of Kaiser.”
“Kaiser?”
“Yeah. Kaiser's class is Crusader, while Ahmad's is Necromancer. Light and dark, warrior and magic—they're perfect opposites.”
“Oh. You're right.”
“And unlike Kaiser, who's pretty devious and schemes despite his class... Ahmad Triain... I hear he's a no-holds-barred man's man. They're practically polar opposites.”
A no-holds-barred, manly necromancer...
That's a pretty strange combination, isn't it?
**
I was about to speak, reminded of my conversation with Zephyros, when—
“Good eveni—”
“Oh, did you know?”
“Pardon?”
“They say people in the Latin-speaking world don't distinguish levels of politeness as clearly as Koreans do. For us, even plain speech is polite by default.”
What was he suddenly talking about?
“So when I hear you through a translation necklace, your polite speech sounds like the most formal French imaginable. So awkward it sounds like something you'd say to royalty.”
“Ah.”
“So just speak casually. You're giving me hives.”
“...All right.”
Though the age gap is a bit much for that.
Still, as a guest, I should at least respect the host's wishes.
“You can call me hyung, too.”
He's taking it a step further.
What is with this guy... Is he an E?
“Maybe... once we get a little closer.”
As a hardcore introvert, I instinctively want to keep my distance from his type.
“Shall we get going?”
What kind of car does the world's strongest Hunter drive?
A Rolls-Royce? A Bentley?
Or a hypercar like a Bugatti?
All wrong.
What the hell is this, a tour bus?
“...Is this a car?”
“Yeah, it's mine.”
A tour bus with an incredibly luxurious-looking exterior.
It was even more outrageous inside.
It felt like stepping into some Middle Eastern tycoon's mansion.
It was a whole house, complete with a sitting room and bedrooms.
More absurd still was the driver gripping the wheel up front.
“...A pile of bones?”
A skeleton was driving the bus.
No, this is a bit of a culture shock.
“Sit down. Tea? Coffee?”
“Milk tea.”
I'd developed a taste for it lately, and it was pretty good.
“All right.”
As I sat waiting in the camper's sitting room(?), a skeleton came in from the kitchen at the back, carrying a teacup amid the clatter.
I was even more disoriented.
“What, is it weird?”
“...I don't think this is normal.”
“I know it's a shame they're not pretty women, but isn't a clean skeleton better than a beautiful woman rotting away? Those guys are skeletons I've scrubbed thoroughly and even embalmed.”
“H-haha...”
“If this is enough to surprise you, you'll faint when we get downtown.”
Triain clicked his tongue.
There was something even more surprising than this downtown?
“You said this is your first time in Paris, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Then you have to see the Eiffel Tower and Montmartre.”
I didn't come here to sightsee, though.
Still... well, it couldn't hurt to see them...
In fact, this was my first time in Europe at all.
Looks like this country bumpkin would get to see the Eiffel Tower, after all.
And once we entered the city...
I rubbed my eyes at the sight outside the window.
“...What the hell is that?”
“What do you mean? Skeletons.”
“No... that's a police uniform, right?”
“Yeah.”
Skeletons wearing police uniforms were directing the congested traffic and guiding Triain's bus into the city.
“Do you know how crowded Paris gets? Traffic control is essential if you're going to drive around in a bus this big.”
No, you idiot, why not just drive a small car?
The words rose to my throat, then went back down.
There was something else I was more curious about.
“Don't tell me those skeletons are actual police?”
“Yeah. I do a bit of contract work for the Paris Police Prefecture. It's basically volunteer work. The prefecture's broke. I'm just helping the police out a bit.”
Looking closely, it wasn't only skeletons; it seemed one or two police officers were controlling and using them.
After we drove for a while, I saw a large group of protesters in front of a plaza.
“Those damn protesters... Tsk. You don't have that sort of thing in your country, do you? Those guys are a cancer on society. They contribute nothing, but they sure have a lot to demand.”
Clicking his tongue, he waved a hand, and the group of skeletons in police uniforms facing the protesters simply shoved them aside.
Though they were nothing but bones, the strength of skeletons reinforced with Triain's mana was beyond anything ordinary people could handle.
The protesters were shoved back in an instant and scattered in every direction.
The skeletons indifferently beat them with bone clubs, and the blood that spattered stained the white stripe of the French tricolor held by the protesters red.
I let out a hollow laugh.
So this is the country of liberty, equality, and fraternity?
“Sorry to show you something so rough after inviting you over. Let's hurry and take a look, then head back.”
We saw the Eiffel Tower and the Sacré-Cœur Basilica on Montmartre, but they didn't really register.
“Done sightseeing? Let's go to my place.”
Before long, the bus headed for a building so modern it looked out of place among Paris's old-fashioned architecture.
“I wanted to knock it down and build something new, but the city made a huge fuss. Said it was a cultural heritage site or whatever. What kind of heritage is some moldy old house that's hundreds of years old? Right? I threatened to have my undead flatten city hall first, and only then did they shut up.”
This guy really lived however he wanted, without giving a damn about laws or anything. No brakes at all.
Now I understood why Zephyros had called him a no-holds-barred man's man.
Anyway, why exactly had this guy asked to see me?
“So, what did you think of today?”
“...Out of nowhere?”
“You must've seen and felt something, right?”
“It was memorable.”
Namely, him beating protesters over the head with skeletons.
He chuckled, then reached out, and a bottle appeared from his inventory.
Was it wine?
“It's a 2000 Château Donjon. Literally, a dungeon wine—Donjon, or ‘dungeon.’”
They have wine in dungeons, too?
“Some dungeons in the Bordeaux region have grapevines. Wine made from the grapes that grow there has a flavor you couldn't possibly replicate in the real world.”
So they had grapes.
Still, that's pretty amazing. Of course France would have something like that.
“Could ordinary people make wine like this?”
“...The premise is impossible to begin with.”
How could ordinary people—non-Awakened—get their hands on grapes from a dungeon?
“Exactly. We're on an entirely different level from non-Awakened people. But society keeps saying we're equal. That we're all the same? It's a problem to lift those below us up to our level, but isn't it also a problem to drag those above down to theirs?”
Suddenly he's saying something dangerous.
“That doesn't mean we can make a society where only Awakened people live, either. As long as we're all living together...”
“Ah, of course. Where's the fun in that? People naturally feel superior by making comparisons. If non-Awakened people disappeared, Awakened people would lose those they could feel superior to. Then they'd start comparing themselves to each other instead. No need to make things that way.”
“...What is it you want?”
Triain poured Château Donjon into the two wineglasses a skeleton had set down nearby, then smiled broadly.
“An age ruled by great Hunters like you and me. A world without incompetent politicians or trashy protesters.”
“...I, uh, would rather you leave me out of it.”
I'm not looking to become some psychopathic conqueror.
“You're perfect for it.”
“Why me, of all people? There's Kaiser...”
Now that I'd said it, it did give me the creeps.
Kaiser and Triain joining hands to conquer the world?
Oh, shit.
“We don't need a guy like that old man Kaiser, who's in bed with the establishment.”
I couldn't tell if that was good or bad news.
“Listen, it's not that bad an idea, really.”
Maybe not to you.
“If things go according to my plan, it won't be a bad world for non-Awakened people at all.”
“You mean they'd live with an imperfect god like you over their heads?”
“Throughout history, there's only ever been one reason the ruled resent their rulers: the ruling class exploits them and reaps the benefits. I have no intention of doing that. I have no reason to, either. In fact, I'll give them freedom. Freedom from labor.”
Just then, sirens sounded outside.
Maybe there'd been a fire somewhere.
Hearing them, Triain smiled and said,
“Why should people have to risk their lives putting out fires? What about the police? Or even the clerk at that convenience store over there? What about soldiers?”
“...You'd control all of them?”
Impossible.
Undead couldn't have that kind of individual judgment or will.
No matter how skilled a necromancer Triain was, that was impossible.
The undead he used as police were simply under the control of human officers, who used them like tools.
“Sure I could.”
He paused, then his eyes glinted as he spoke.
“If I had just one item.”
“I'm curious what kind of crazy item could have an effect like that.”
“I've only seen it mentioned in records, but I'm certain. With that item, the world I dream of will become reality. The item is called... ‘Authority of the Mad Emperor.’”
Hmm, Authority of the Mad Emperor...
Mad... Emperor...
That sounded familiar...
My gaze naturally fell to my finger.
...My ring?
“With that item's effect, ‘Imperial Decree,’ I could let inanimate objects control my legion, too. Then it'd be game over. Triain Network owns tons of AI companies. The AI would control each individual undead.”
Was Triain after my relic-grade item?
I tried not to meet his eyes and cleared my throat.
“Ah, I suddenly need to use the bathroom.”
“Go ahead. No matter how serious the conversation is, it can't be more urgent than bodily functions.”
Once in the bathroom, I washed my face first.
I finally feel like I've got my head on straight.
He didn't invite me here because he knew I had the item, did he?
Well, if he did, wouldn't he have tried to kill me first?
He seemed that desperate.
Besides... if he wanted to kill me, inviting me to his house wasn't a good plan for him.
A necromancer is at their weakest when they aren't protected by their undead legion.
He didn't get the title of the world's strongest for nothing, so he was probably pretty strong even without his undead...
But no matter how confident he was, he wouldn't take the risk of facing me alone while trying to kill me.
Still, just in case...
I stayed ready to release my legion at any moment and grab the staff from my inventory.
Then I slowly and calmly returned to my seat and said,
“So, in this world where you call all the shots, what do you want me to do?”
“There'll never be a world that doesn't need strength—especially strength like yours. My undead alone can't keep everything under control. Even if we assume ordinary people can be controlled... controlling Awakened people would require another kind of power.”
“Hmm...”
I probably didn't need to provoke him here.
Relic-grade items were unique, unlike Legendary-grade ones and below.
Legendary-grade items were copies of the original, but Relic-grade ones were the actual relics—the genuine article.
In other words, as long as I held onto this item... there was no chance Triain would get his hands on it.
Nobody must know.
Nobody... must know...
“Well, it's not a bad offer.”
“Right?”
Triain smiled more brightly than ever.
He laughed heartily and raised his glass.
“I'm glad you're receptive.”
“But you know it'll all fall through if you don't have that item, right?”
“I know. So if you happen to find it while clearing a dungeon... give it to me. If you do that... you'll rule the world as my equal.”
“All right.”
“Haha, then we're partners now! Or should I say, brothers?”
He's really happy.
That's why having a brother like you is scary.
Who'd have thought a necromancer who made his fortune in IT would turn out to be a psycho conqueror?
“My new brother came all this way, so I should give you a good opportunity. It's an uncleared dungeon in the Bordeaux area of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Stage 27.”
Nouvelle what?
Anyway, Stage 27 meant I could enter at my current level.
“If you clear it, I'll give you 10% of the total dungeon output from that region for twenty years. The government will probably compensate you with around a billion euros, too.”
“...What?”
What was with this ridiculously generous offer?
This was an incredible reward I hadn't expected.
It wasn't just one dungeon, but an entire region... in France's case, a whole ‘région.’
The scale had to be different.
“Anyway, the pacification effect should boost efficiency by roughly 20%, so I figured you'd need a reward around that size to make it worth clearing.”
“No, that's not the issue... Can you just decide that on your own?”
“All the dungeons in that region belong to me anyway.”
At Triain's words, delivered with a grin, my eyes widened.
“Why are you so surprised? Almost all the dungeons in Korea belong to you now, too, don't they?”
That's... a little different, isn't it?
Anyway, if it's just an uncleared Stage 27 dungeon, I should be able to clear it quickly, right?
It felt like picking up money off the ground...
Perhaps reading that expression on my face, Triain smiled and shrugged.
“It's good to be confident, but don't let your guard down too much. No one has figured out this dungeon's gimmick yet.”
“I suppose not.”
That's why it's a mystery.
“The problem is... it's a dungeon even I can't break through by brute force, ignoring the gimmick.”
...And he's Level 69, the world's strongest Hunter.
He can't clear a measly Stage 27 dungeon?
What the hell kind of place is this?