Chapter 166
Zeke finished his business at the Graham residence and headed to Mycenae with Rick and his party.
Despite Duke Graham and Catherine's request to stay longer, Zeke left the mansion, saying he had to go on a mission.
He had to track down Abyss by following the Nostra clan, but the biggest reason was that he felt burdened by Lady Angelina, who visited him every day, requesting tea time with sparkling eyes.
Unlike before, a railway was now built in Mycenae, so they could travel by train from Phantas.
Rick and his party, riding in a luxurious express compartment for the first time, looked around with curious expressions.
"My lord, can we order room service?"
When Zeke nodded, Jason and Claire excitedly ordered all the food and drinks on the menu.
Rick and Arin fidgeted as they watched Jason and Claire.
"Rick, Arin, don't worry so much. Relax."
At Zeke's words, Rick and Arin also reluctantly added the menu items they wanted to eat.
Luxurious dishes that could only be found in high-class restaurants began to appear, and Jason and Claire devoured the food and drinks.
Rick and Arin, while being cautious, also ate their share.
Chewing on the tender steak, Jason asked Zeke,
"My lord, what's your relationship with Lady Angelina? She even gave you a handkerchief when we were leaving."
Rick almost spat out the wine he was drinking at Jason's sudden question.
Zeke, who was looking out the window, replied with an indifferent expression,
"I have no relationship with Lady Angelina."
"But, the way Lady Angelina looked at you, my lord... Ugh!"
Rick, unable to stand it any longer, kicked Jason's shin.
Zeke chuckled as he saw Rick and Jason.
Then, remembering something, he asked Jason,
"By the way, Jason, you called me the 'Knight of Salvation.' What does that mean?"
Jason nodded excitedly at Zeke's question.
"Yes! There are a lot of articles about you in the news these days. There was a headline that said, 'The Genius of the Dragon Slayer Clan Conquers Even Curses!' and since then, many places refer to you as the Knight of Salvation."
Usually, when a knight was promoted to Blue Knight or higher, they were given a title.
That's why Cali Draker had the title Silver Knight, and Abel Draker had the title Lion Sword.
"Knight of Salvation. It seems that lifting the curse left quite an impression."
"Even in myths and legends, there are always scenes where a great knight drives away spirits or curses with their spirit. They used that kind of image for the headline to increase sales."
Zeke felt that Jason's words made sense.
'Knight of Salvation. I think I'll be able to use that someday.'
Zeke and his party enjoyed the train journey with lively chatter and arrived in Mycenae.
Mycenae was changing rapidly after the curse on the Agamemnon clan was lifted.
With the railway now built and the increase in people coming and going to the city, it was developing into a hub connecting Midland, the central kingdoms, and the Northern Continent.
'I heard they're also installing a portal terminal soon. It'll cost money, but it'll be worth it.'
It was none other than Zeke who provided the largest funding for Mycenae's development.
He used the assets he obtained from selling the ancient items found in the Dragon Slayer's Tomb and the astronomical wealth he gained from successful investments in Mithril mines as investment funds for Mycenae's development.
The more Mycenae developed, the greater Zeke's influence and wealth would become.
Zeke, looking at the scenery of Mycenae on the path of development, headed to Agamemnon Castle with Rick and his party.
***
"You bastards! What are you doing! Run more! More!"
The first thing they heard as they entered was Sister Clone's shouting.
Currently, the joint training of the Black Sword Knights and the Rose Knights was taking place at Agamemnon Castle.
Farel and Clone were in charge of the training, pushing the executive candidates hard.
Liam, Felix, Diego, and Aster were crawling around the training ground with expressions of near-death.
Zeke smiled with satisfaction as he saw the trainees who were half-dead, and Rick and his party watched them with bewildered expressions.
"Jason, w-we're not going to be trained like that too, are we...?"
"Nah, it won't be like that. They're all knights. Only Rick will have to do that."
While Jason and Claire were whispering, Clone and Farel, seeing Zeke arrive, approached with joy.
"Sir Zeke!"
"Hey! Zeke! Long time no see. You look even more radiant."
The combination of Farel with his upright impression and Clone covered in tattoos was certainly unfamiliar.
Zeke smiled at the two.
"Thank you both for your hard work."
Clone laughed heartily and waved her hand.
"No, no. It's fun to train those bastards."
"Good. Here are some new trainees. Take good care of them."
Rick and his party's faces turned pale at Zeke's words.
Jason, among them, gathered his courage and said to Zeke,
"M-my lord. W-we're mages, but that's knight training, right?"
Zeke shook his head.
"No, that's general training. After the general training, the knights will receive separate aura training under Sir Farel's guidance. There's also separate training for mages, so don't worry. Claire will participate in the knight training as well."
Claire, Jason, and Arin's faces turned ashen, like those about to die, at Zeke's words.
Zeke was planning to entrust the mages' training to Princess Arina.
The Lubern children he rescued this time would also receive magic training, and he thought they could learn from each other.
Rick and his party, seeing Clone and Farel excited about training the new trainees, realized that they had boarded an express train to hell.
***
Zeke entered the round table conference room of Agamemnon Castle.
Those who were already seated in the conference room stood up as Zeke entered.
Boris, who was in charge of the Southern Cartel, Kay of the Syndicate, Feynon, the representative of the pharmaceutical company, and Arina Lubern of the Rose Knights were already present.
Once Zeke sat down, the other executives also took their seats.
"It's been a while, everyone. How have you been?"
Although he asked how they were doing, except for Arina, they all looked tired.
Kay grumbled at Zeke,
"Really! There's too much work these days!"
Kay, who had to handle not only the Syndicate's operations but also the incoming Soma supply from the south, felt like she needed several more bodies.
Zeke laughed off Kay's complaints and started the meeting. After hearing about the situation of each organization from the executives, Zeke verbally addressed only the urgent matters.
Then, he brought up the main topic.
"We need to take down the Nostra clan."
The first to react was Kay.
She exclaimed in a loud voice,
"Nostra clan? You know what kind of place that is, right?"
Zeke nodded.
Kay sighed.
"The Nostra clan is different from cartels. They've been around since the Holy Empire, so their history is longer than most kingdoms. That means it's impossible to accurately grasp their roots and true nature."
Zeke agreed with Kay's words.
The Nostra clan was particularly secretive among the central continent mafias.
It was because of the 'Oath of Silence' that the mafia members took.
Although the identities of the leaders of the 'Red Eye,' an armed group composed of vampires from the Northern Continent, and the 'Crosstel,' a beastman gangster organization based on the western and southern borders, were known, the true boss of the Nostra clan was still unknown.
Then, Boris, who was listening to the conversation, added to Kay's words,
"Boss, the Nostra clan is an organization that has been rooted in the Empire for a long time. And even those proud Imperial knights can't touch them. It's because of the Nostra clan's unique bloodline ability."
"So you're saying the Nostra clan is a bloodline with a bloodline ability?"
"Yes. I heard they accept people with strong bloodline abilities from outside as members of the clan to create even stronger abilities."
The power of the bloodline ability accumulated over dozens of generations was unimaginable.
In fact, Zeke had experience clashing with the Nostra clan in his previous life.
He had carried out a mission to assassinate a mid-level boss of the clan under Don Juan's orders.
Since Zeke was the only hitman in the McCain Cartel capable of assassinating someone at the Blue Knight level, he infiltrated the Empire and attempted the assassination.
Although the assassination was successful, it was a mission where Zeke almost died as well.
'So those guys who used strange abilities back then were bloodline ability users. I thought I was just unlucky.'
If there were many bloodline ability users in the Nostra clan, they definitely needed to carefully plan their tactics.
Zeke nodded in understanding and looked around. He could see the worried looks in the executives' eyes.
Zeke, who knew the power and influence of the Nostra clan better than anyone else, understood their concerns.
However, he needed to use the Nostra clan to investigate their connection to Abyss.
Without saying much, Zeke handed the executives the files he had prepared.
The files contained the details of the mission he had requested from the Draker clan.
Kay, looking at Zeke, said,
"A human trafficking organization? Are you saying you'll use them to infiltrate the Nostra clan?"
Kay, who ran a criminal organization, immediately understood Zeke's thoughts.
Zeke nodded and opened his mouth.
"Yes. The final target is Dario Tottrino, the famous Steel King of the Empire. He was revealed to be one of the bosses of the Nostra clan. It's difficult to attack him directly, so I'm planning to step on the lower organizations and gradually climb up."
The base of the human trafficking organization was in Heli, one of the major cities in Midland.
Heli was the midpoint connecting Atlas and the Rom Empire and was managed by the Siemens clan.
If Zeke took on the Draker mission to eradicate the human trafficking organization, even the Siemens clan wouldn't have any justification to stop him from sweeping through Heli.
Everyone nodded in understanding of Zeke's plan, and Zeke, looking at Princess Arina, said,
"And Princess, I'd like to ask for the Rose Knights' help in this mission."
Arina smiled beautifully and said,
"Of course. I'm happy to help you, Sir Zeke."
Zeke nodded at her acceptance and, after a brief thought, said to Princess Arina,
"Princess, I learned something while investigating Dario Tottrino."
He continued slowly,
"It seems that the organization that finds the Lubern bloodline and hands them over to the Holy Kingdom is connected to Dario Tottrino."
Princess Arina's expression changed instantly at Zeke's words.
Her spring-like smile disappeared, and her face hardened coldly.
Woooong!
White light flashed from her hand.
Kay and Feynon, the mages, turned pale at the ominous power.
Arina calmed her excitement and smiled brightly again.
"Oh my, I've acted my age and made a mistake. I apologize, everyone."
Kay and Feynon, 5th Circle mages, realized that Arina, despite her delicate appearance, was a mage of tremendous skill.
Zeke looked at Arina and gauged her power.
'It seems she has fully mastered the latter part of the light magic. At least the 6th Circle, maybe even the 7th Circle.'
Considering that the current Master of the Magic Tower was an 8th Circle mage, one could guess how powerful Arina was.
Arina looked at Zeke and said,
"Sir Zeke, we've also dealt with the Nostra clan before due to territorial disputes. Our Rose Knights will do our best to help you with this mission."
Although she looked like an innocent young girl, Arina had led an underground organization against the Holy Kingdom and the Empire for decades.
She knew the workings of underground organizations better than anyone else, so it seemed like he could get a lot of help from her.
The meeting continued for a while after that.
After discussing each organization, Zeke decided to organize the matters and inform them later, and then adjourned the meeting.
Returning to his room, Zeke sensed someone's presence.
"Shadia."
At his call, Shadia, the disciple of the Old Man of the Mountain and the assassin dispatched from the Assassin's Guild, emerged from the darkness.
Shadia appeared with a completely different face than when he first saw her.
"I felt it back then too, but your disguise skills are excellent."
Shadia didn't reply to the compliment and simply bowed to Zeke before opening her mouth.
"I've investigated the matter you mentioned, Boss."
Zeke had Boris ask Shadia to investigate the traitor within the organization.
It was to get an objective view of the situation from an outsider's perspective.
Zeke asked her,
"Did you find out who the traitor is?"
Shadia approached Zeke and whispered the name of the suspected traitor.
Zeke nodded after hearing the results of the investigation. Then, he remained silent for a long time.
Shadia, waiting for his words, said to Zeke,
"Would you like us to take care of the traitor? We'll handle it cleanly without leaving any traces."
After some thought, Zeke shook his head.
"No, I'll leave them alone for now. I thought of a way to use them in reverse. I want to give the Assassin's Guild another task."
"Please speak."
"Investigate the Northern Duke of Himonas."