NOVEL NEXT Chapter 125: Important people
"Didn't I say no more games?" She slammed her fist on the table to show her anger, but seeing the playful smile on Louis's face, she forced herself to lie back down.
That guy wasn't going to stop, so she was forced to return to the subject.
"What are you trying to do with all this? You're making a lot of moves that haven't been made in this place for a long time. That's dangerous, you know?" She tried to scrutinize him as she said this.
Louis simply shrugged.
"Well, the churches are certainly problematic and seem to be against my actions. Just yesterday, I saw a march that said: 'Death to Carwine.' They started it, you see? Do you expect me to remain silent when I see that?" He excused himself.
"They started it? According to the news, you shot one of the businessmen from the North."
"That's right." Louis smiled. "From the north, you said. He came here to cause trouble, and we were all threatened. You expect me to keep quiet?"
She stared at him suspiciously. "That sounds... very suspicious."
"Don't you trust me?" He tried to look slightly harmless, but she turned her head away.
"Tsk, stop acting like that. It doesn't suit you."
"Hahaha."
"Tsk. The point is, the churches aren't the problem."
"Then what is the problem?"
"Don't you know you can alert Aster Mane? If that guy decides to cause trouble again, I'll accuse you in court as the cause. Even the Emperor will come to put you in shackles."
Louis stared at her with a look of doubt in his eyes and, being totally sincere, spoke:
"Who the hell is Aster Mane?"
Although she looked at him as if he were an idiot, she thought that he was a foreigner who was said to have only recently returned to the Empire. It was entirely possible that he really knew nothing about that legendary man.
"He's a dangerous man. You should know his identity if you're a mobster and lead the mobs. The most legendary man in the mobs, Aster Mane, is the Emperor of the Underworld. That's him."
"Emperor of the Underworld? Is there such a person here? Why doesn't he do anything about the idiots who want to insult the mafia, then?"
"I don't know. That's why I'm telling you not to alert him. The last time that guy made a move, the three Northern Castles were shaken, and we lost a lot of money."
Louis felt intensely interested in this. A man capable of shaking the Castles is something impressive. Furthermore, he is known as the Emperor of the Underworld. Technically, he has been working to achieve a similar status in the future.
So they have something in common. He would like to meet him.
She didn't let him speak, as she had more to say.
"I heard that Miss Amber was already on the move, so you've attracted enough attention for now. My father has told me that if it's money you want, he can give you as much as you want."
"And if you plan to lure Aster Mane into action... he recommended that you not do so. If Aster Mane moves, the church could take advantage of the time to make the civil war untenable. That will affect us too much."
Louis leaned back in his recliner and began to rock slightly. He appeared to be playing, but in reality, he was thinking.
Amber. He had heard of her.
She was a powerful woman from the Upper District. She was a mobster and was said to have her fingers in all the mob houses' businesses. He verified this because her name appeared on various lists, and there was a photo of her in the main room of the House of Shadows.
This woman was no ordinary person.
If she had decided to take action, he would soon come into contact with her.
'It will be dangerous,' he thought. 'Should I avoid attention for a while?' he thought.
If he considered it carefully, it was a good opportunity to hide away and study magic with Professor Hardrial and Laura. He needed to improve his magic.
His strength was fine, but a mage without magic is useless. No matter how strong he was, the energy inside him was not unlimited. He could fire many magic shots with mana, but with physical strength, he could barely fire a few.
And recently, he had been attracting a lot of attention, so it wouldn't be long before he started running into those dangerous people.
Being just a Level 1 Mage who took a long time to make runes, this was more bad than good.
The only reason he "earned" the "loyalty" of these mafias was because of his power. If people more powerful than him suddenly appeared, that loyalty would naturally disappear.
To remain the leader of this place, he needed to become more powerful.
That's why he nodded to her.
"Since you ask, I'll be more careful. But don't expect this war to end," he declared.
"Hm?" She stared at him. "Why? I don't think a war would bring you much monetary benefit."
He smiled. "Really? I recently acquired a blacksmith capable of mass-producing weapons among my subordinates. Do you really think it's useless to me?"
Finally, she understood everything. So it's about selling weapons of war... that's very clever of him.
She had to commend him on that. They had never been able to enter that market, as it was almost entirely occupied by other important families and, to a certain extent, by the Evergreens.
But he was already taking advantage of it.
'Tsk, this bastard is good at business,' she thought.
Although that wasn't really why this war had started, at the same time, it was. The rumors that he was a revolutionary who wanted to bring about real change hadn't come out yet because it wasn't the right time, but he was already preparing everything for it.
He won't just make money selling weapons when the real war breaks out. He'll also make money from missions. That's the most important thing.
Peace is no good to him. His only missions earn him 1 coin when there's peace and quiet. He needs to complete 10 missions to earn a measly 1 point.
While it's incredible, since he's the only one who can do it this way, he could be getting more, as long as chaos exists.
But to create chaos, he must have a proper plan and the right cover, because if he makes a misstep, it could end very badly.
So the reasons for the start of this war are something no one will know.
Now, it was fine for them to think like Rebecca. It was a good facade, just like being a revolutionary.
"Tsk. I can't deny that. The thing is, I don't think those sales are enough to cover all the expenses of a war," she said.
"Well, certainly. But it will all be worth it if I finally manage to conquer the North," he said. "And before you think that's the only reason I say the war won't end, I'm telling you it's not."
"If you have other reasons, why don't you say so? Stop being so mysterious," she complained, grumbling.
He smiled. "The North keeps trying to bother me. Marches, banners, and they've even sent people to kill my people recently. They've all failed, but I can't imagine that when I'm not here, someone won't succeed. So, while I can calm the situation down a bit, we won't stop."
Finally, Rebecca fell silent. She couldn't say anything to him if the situation was so complicated.
'I have to talk to my father about this,' she thought.
Well, she wasn't so opposed to the war continuing because she could have fun causing trouble there. The thing is, her father wasn't interested in a war because it would affect businesses, and she could understand that.
Without those businesses, she wouldn't have money to spend playing around, so she was in a dilemma.
Which kind of fun was more interesting? With money or with mobsters?
'Tsk, how complicated.' Although she knew she was being childish, she didn't care.
Just then, a commotion woke her from her silly thoughts.
Louis looked toward the door curiously. "Someone important has arrived," he said.
"Some businessman?" She took a sip of the cold coffee on the table.
"No. It's a member of one of the Great Houses."
"Cough, cough..." She suddenly choked on her coffee and forced herself to swallow quickly. "Someone from the Great Houses? You know people that important?"
"Haha, not really. But one of my business partners is the brother of someone who works for them. Do you want to go say hello? This house is interesting," he said.
They both stood up at the same time.
"Well, if someone from one of the houses came, then, as a representative of a Castle, I must see them. But we can't go downstairs. It would cause a commotion if they saw me there."
He looked at her and nodded. "You're right. Let's go see him behind the dressing rooms then."
Instead of going out the front door, they both went out the back door. Although they were in the offices upstairs, this place had several doors to escape through if necessary.