It was a clear early afternoon, and I decided to conduct the interview of Nina that I had promised Kouga previously.
She was the woman that the stupid Kouga, who was like a useless dog in heat, had pushed for to be the clerk of Wild Tempest after being seduced by her charms.
Other than Nina and me, Leon, the sub-master was in the reception room. Kouga was working part-time at Nina’s home, Alma was currently working with Mirage Triad, and Hugo was in the middle of working at my request.
Nina was a beautiful woman. I was concerned that she was a little blunt, but she had a delicate glasswork-like beauty. It was no wonder Kouga was in heat. Leon, who was sitting beside me, also had an expression that said that things had fallen into place the moment he met her face-to-face.
「You’re smart」
I put a stack of papers on the desk and said.
The stack of papers were all test papers answered by Nina that tested mathematical ability and necessary knowledge, as well as general knowledge and personality traits. Since they were tests that were created by me, I was able to completely grasp Nina’s ability and personality by looking at her answers.
「However, you lack flexibility as you’re overly-particular. It appears that you have trouble with personal relationships because of that. What are your thoughts on such characteristics of yours?」
「I’m well aware that I can’t go through life smoothly like other people. However, I learned from my mother――working at my home that I can be much more efficient than others if I methodically list the work that I should do and their priorities beforehand」
「I see」
There were no signs that she was blind to her own faults or that she had become pessimistic. On top of knowing her own shortcomings, she also understood how to make the most of her strengths. Only looking at her in terms of ability, there weren’t any problems in hiring her as a clerk. Next was the problems of the side hiring her.
I began asking her questions for the sake of reconciling the terms of employment. I had mostly made up my mind to hire Nina. I asked about when she could start work, her expectations in terms of treatment, the kind of timing if she quit, and so on. Nina was also eager to work, so it seemed best to hire her as soon as possible.
However, there was one last question that I had to ask no matter what.
「Do you have feelings for Kouga? Needless to say, as a person of the opposite sex」
「……Huh? Th, that is……」
Nina’s pale cheeks turned red. She still wasn’t showing much emotion compared to other people, but even so, it was a dramatic change. Her gaze darted about as if looking for a path of escape, and she was grasping the fabric of her dress tightly. Without even hearing her answer, her true feelings were as clear as day.
「It’s okay. I asked a mean question」
As I said that with a sigh, Leon let a chuckle escape next to me.
By rights, romance within the clan was prohibited. I had understood from my Blue Beyond days that nothing good would come of it. However, as Nina was a clerk, even if a romantic relationship developed between her and Kouga, it wouldn’t have a particularly significant impact.
「That's it for the questions from me. Is there anything that you would like to ask?」
「N, no, not really……」
「Is that so? In that case, you’re hired. Work hard for the sake of our clan」
「Th, thank you very much!」
I nodded at Nina, who had bowed her head, and got up from the sofa.
「Leon, I’m counting on you to give Nina an explanation of the work using the manual」
「Alright. Leave it to me」
The clerk’s scope of work had all been summarized in a manual. Leon, with his good leadership, was also good at teaching others. Under Leon tutelage, Nina would likely learn the job quickly as well.
When I exited the reception room, I received a communication from Hugo via communication stone.
『Noel, is now a good time?』
『It’s fine. Did you find him?』
『Yeah, I found the child in question――the information broker’s brother』
The information broker he mentioned referred to Loki.
I had been entrusted with his brother by that guy. It had been a while since Loki infiltrated Lorelei, but there was still no word from him. It was reasonable to infer that he was already dead. There was still a chance that he was alive, but it was certain that the mission had failed.
It wouldn’t be wise to go to his rescue. I was sure that Loki wouldn’t want that either. What he had asked of me was to arrange it so that his younger brother could live on even if he was alone. That was why, relying on the information about his hideout that I had heard from Loki in advance, I had Hugo use his puppet soldiers to search for him.
『He’s being taken care of by the servants, but their employer has gone missing. At this rate, they’ll probably walk away from their jobs. If you want to help the child, you should act quickly』
『I’ll go in person at a later date. Until then, I’m counting on you to keep watch using the puppet soldiers』
『......I'll ask you just in case, but you have no intention of rescuing the information broker, right?』
『None』
I declared without hesitation.
『The ones who have captured Loki are undoubtedly Lorelei. Even if he’s alive, he’s in those guys’ hands. Marching into Lorelei with our current strength is simply suicide』
『Is that so? Hopefully, that’s the case. It’s you that we’re talking about, so I had been sweating bullets over whether or not you would march into Lorelei by yourself, but I’m relieved to hear you say that』
At Hugo's words, I smiled wryly.
『What do you take me for?』
『I trust you, clan master. But it’s because you don't seem to care about shortening your own life. It’s dangerous and I have to keep an eye on you』
『That kind of thing is called not trusting me』
When I told him that in a scandalized tone, Hugo laughed merrily.
†
†
I left the clan house and headed downtown. Then, I entered a restaurant specializing in oriental dishes that operated in a back alley and gave the employee the password.
「I’m here to pick up the super spicy deep-fried chicken that I ordered」
「Understood, sir」
「Did you use peanut oil when deep-frying it?」
「Of course. Come, this way please」
I was guided to the back of the store by the employee. After entering the kitchen and going down a flight of stairs that led to the basement, I found myself in a spacious laboratory. A variety of equipment used for alchemy, such as a synthetic kiln and an extractor, had been set up, and the walls were lined with the dead bodies of Monsters that had been immersed in formalin.
「Aiyaa! Mister Noel, thank you for coming!」
The person who had greeted me in the laboratory was an old Gnome with a long beard. He was wearing Oriental clothes and had a peculiar way of speaking.
In fact, this old alchemist――Rigaku was from the Orient. It seemed that he had flourished as an alchemist even over there, but he now resided in the imperial capital. Because of that, he was also well-versed in alchemy that was unheard of in the Empire, and was capable of transmutations that surpassed the norms here.
Albert, who was the Don of the Gambino family, had his eye on this old man and was having him make the custom-made stimulant. Although it had dangerous side effects, it was a fact that it was a stimulant with extremely high purity.
For that very reason, I thought of making use of him as well.
「The thing that I requested, does it look like you’ll be able to make it?」
「As a result of careful analysis, I’ve understood that there are no problems. The material that Mister Noel brought is the best. If I use that, it’ll be easy to make the medicine that you asked for」
When Rigaku signaled the employee with a look, he brought a black cooler over.
「My specialty is transmuting using Beast materials. To this day, I’ve handled a great many Beast materials. Of course, Lord materials too. Even among them, this is a first-rate material. I’m itching to try my hand at it」
However, said Rigaku with an inhuman smile.
「The side effects are very severe. Do you still want it anyway?」
「How severe are they?」
When I asked, Rigaku explained the side effects in detail. After listening to his explanation, I nodded. Certainly, the side-effects were severe, but they were within the scope of my initial expectations.
「It’s fine. Start work immediately」
「Hyahahaha! That’s what I thought you'd say! Mister Albert was also not right in the head, but Mister Noel is in a different class! You’re completely out of your mind! Same as me!」
Rigaku broke into high pitched laughter and opened the cooler. Cold mist spilled out from the cooler. Before long, the cold mist faded, and the material that I had left with Rigaku could be seen.
「It's beautiful……. To think that I can cut this up to my heart’s content, it’s really the best. Even my shriveled member has become big and stiff」
You damned Mad Scientist.
In my heart, I cursed Rigaku, who had a rapt expression on his face.
However, if he’s motivated, then there’s no need for me to say anything. He’s the type that makes me sick, but I’ll let him live while he’s of use to me.
From behind Rigaku, I looked inside the cooler. Inside the cold cooler was the head of a man with beautiful features. The man’s long blonde hair glowed with a faint phosphorescence.
†
†
Preparations for the operation to eliminate Lorelei are in the process of being completed. Once the medicine that I had requested from Rigaku has been completed, it’ll finally be time for the decisive battle.
The lack of information about Johann is a problem. The extent of what I had heard from Dolly is that Johann has a secret that I don't know about. But Loki, who I had been counting on to discover that, is missing. Seeing that Loki failed, it’s absolutely impossible for other information brokers.
In that case, do we join forces with Dolly?
No, that’s no good. Dolly has an overwhelmingly higher standing compared to us. Even if we join forces with her, we’re certain to end up being taken advantage of.
Above all, in order for Wild Tempest to become one of the Regalia with certainty, we must prove that we can defeat Lorelei by ourselves. If we asked Goat Dinner for help, it’ll end up diminishing the point of defeating Lorelei.
I’ve been able to put us in an advantageous position by laying plans and acting behind the scenes. For all that, in terms of the strength of the clans themselves, Lorelei remains far superior. For that very reason, if Wild Tempest wins against Lorelei, not only will we become one of the Regalia, it’ll also become a tailwind leading us to the top of Regalia.
I won’t compromise. I’ll swallow Lorelei whole with only the power of Wild Tempest.
No matter what kind of monster Johann is, we have a good chance of winning. That’s because, just like how I don't know Johann's secret, Johann and Lorelei also don't know about the『power』that I'm trying to obtain.
I don't feel like I’ll lose. I’ll definitely win. No matter what is sacrificed.
「……Noel?」
When I was walking while thinking about the future, my name was suddenly called. Turning back, I saw a blonde-haired woman in a black dress looking at me.
I didn’t recognize her at first. The woman was well-dressed and she wore a number of expensive accessories. The black dress showed a lot of skin, had a plunging neckline, and deep slits in the hem. It showed off the woman's glamorous body liberally.
「I suppose it’s been a while」
The blonde-haired woman had a cold smile on her beautiful face.
So I smiled too.
「Long time no see. ――Tania」
Badaboom! It’s the surprise return of Tania! As long as they were still in the imperial capital, it was something that would have happened eventually, but here we are!
Rigaku speaks in an accent, which is expressed by the author by using katakana in parts of his speech instead of the usual hiragana, which means he technically speaks normal, just sounds off. However, that “Aiyaa!” at the start is most likely the Chinese exclamation, “哎呀!”, hence he’s probably “Chinese”, like how Kouga is “Japanese”. By the way, his name has the same pronunciation as the Japanese word for “science”. Lol But that’s Noble Blood’s head, isn’t it? What kind of “medicine” is Noel making? Something to solve his rank up problem? More side effects? I feel like Noel is becoming the “covered in blood and wounds but still pushes on” kind of character.
And unfortunately, I bear sad news. Won’t mince words, this series is now on hiatus. Author has had many issues in his life recently, first among them, corona really affecting his work, and then when his father was hospitalized, there was simply too much on his plate. Right now, WN is on break indefinitely, LN volume 2 will be released before autumn, and vol 3(which will wrap up the conflict with Johann) will be very thick, but it will definitely be published.
As for how this affects us, the avid fans... Author actually deleted chapters and had the WN end on chapter 45, but thanks to nenenenemas on my Discord, I’ve got everything he had published before the deletion. So this will continue on until chapter 82, after which, this will go on hiatus. Of course, I’ll jump right back on should the author resume the WN in future.
And so, 5 more chapters to go. Thank you for reading so far and please enjoy the remaining chapters as there are still many twists, turns and amazing developments! Stay tuned!
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