[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
Chapter 36
Kay looked at Zeke with a dumbfounded expression at his confident proposal.
It was hard to gauge how much she should trust him.
"Do you know what kind of person Don Juan is?"
Zeke smirked.
"There's probably no one who knows Don Juan better than me."
During his time as a hitman for McCain in his previous life, Zeke was part of Don Juan's direct cleaning crew.
He took care of all the dirty work of the cartel, killing and threatening the bosses of rival cartels.
Thanks to Zeke, the McCain Cartel was able to solidify its position as the number one cartel in the South.
As Zeke had risen to the executive level, which was rare for a hitman, he knew various secrets of the cartel.
'I know everything from Don Juan's secret vault to the nobles and politicians he bribes.'
It was difficult to bring down all the giant cartel forces with his own power alone.
But if he could use the Syndicate's intelligence network to manipulate the various cartel forces, he could orchestrate their downfall from behind the scenes.
When the cartels weakened themselves by fighting each other, Zeke could simply swallow them whole.
However, it was too risky for him, a Draker, to do it himself.
That's why he intended to use the Syndicate and Kay as his proxies.
He planned to control everything from behind Kay, without revealing himself, and if that happened, he could manipulate the South without leaving any trace.
It was a feasible plan for Zeke.
And to implement this plan, he first needed to meet Don Juan, the boss of the McCain Cartel.
When Kay didn't readily answer, Zeke stood up.
"Think about it carefully and contact me when you've made up your mind."
Zeke left the room without hesitation.
Kay couldn't get up from her seat for a long time even after he left.
No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't understand why this was suddenly happening to her.
She pondered, looking at Zeke's signature engraved on her wrist.
* * *
A week later, Zeke finally entered Valhalla.
A place where talented individuals from all over the continent gathered.
It was a place Zeke in his previous life couldn't even dream of entering.
"Hmm."
Valhalla was almost the size of a town.
And unlike the stifling atmosphere of the academy, Valhalla was very free.
Students were gathered in groups on the campus, laughing and chatting, or lying on the grass, sunbathing.
There were also students reading books on benches, and quite a few people jogging in the morning.
'The atmosphere is very different from what I expected.'
Zeke, who was used to the rigid atmosphere of the Cradle and the academy, found this free atmosphere unfamiliar.
Just then, someone approached Zeke.
"Hey, are you Zeke by any chance?"
Zeke glanced at the person who called him.
A man with flashy hair was swaggering towards him.
Judging by his reddish-brown skin, he seemed to be from the desert region or the Southern Continent.
The man struck a strange pose, patted his chest, and then held out his fist towards Zeke.
When Zeke just stared blankly, the man shrugged and said,
"It'll take a while for our bro Zeke to get rid of that academy stiffness."
Zeke looked at the man and said,
"Are you that Buddy guy or whatever?"
The man mimicked Zeke's voice and said,
"Buddy guy or whatever. Hey, bro, what's up? Peace! Relax a bit."
Zeke wondered if this clown in front of him was really a Valhalla student.
His behavior reminded him of the Soma addicts in the Empire.
The man grinned and led Zeke, who still had a hesitant expression.
"I'm Diego, Diego Villa. Nice to meet you, bro."
Zeke was surprised to hear Diego's name.
"Are you really Diego Villa?"
Diego struck another strange pose and shouted "Peace!"
Zeke looked at him with an even more dubious expression.
'Is this guy the future Knight of Rhymes?'
Diego Villa was one of the five knights who fought in the 3rd Continental War.
Diego Villa, the Knight of Rhymes.
Reina Draker, the Knight of Flash.
Jeffric Solma, the Knight of Smoke.
Bishop Caustic, the Knight of Silence.
Aster Alladolf, the Knight of Illusions.
People praised the achievements of those who played a major role in the 3rd Continental War, calling them the 'Five Star Knights'.
Zeke, watching Diego leading him and introducing him to Valhalla, thought of the other Five Star Knights.
'Except for Reina, the other four weren't Drakers. What if I made all those I could meet in Valhalla my subordinates?'
If he had the Five Star Knights as his subordinates in addition to the Mercenary King Liam,
he would be able to build his forces much faster.
'Valhalla is a treasure trove of talent. There might be hidden talents who haven't gained fame in the future.'
Zeke nodded inwardly, thinking that he might be able to find talented individuals, including the Five Star Knights, to bring into his forces later.
After wandering around for a while, it was time for lunch, so the two entered a restaurant.
"Zeke bro, you have to try the food here in Valhalla."
The place Diego led him to was a restaurant serving Southern Continent home-style food.
Zeke wasn't too keen on Southern food because his memories of his time in the South in his previous life weren't very pleasant, but he took a seat nonetheless.
Soon, a hearty Southern-style meal was served.
Zeke picked up a tortilla and put it in his mouth.
"Hmm? This is delicious."
Diego grinned at his positive reaction and patted Zeke's shoulder.
While eating, Zeke listened to Diego's story.
He was from a small kingdom in the Southern Continent and was studying abroad in the Central Continent.
Diego had been forced to learn the clan's traditional dual swordsmanship from a young age, but he was so talented that he surpassed his father, who was his teacher, at the age of fifteen.
"But I like making music more. Speaking of which, how about joining our club, bro?"
He said it was a club that researched fusion new age music based on the rhythms of Southern traditional music mixed with Central Continent melodies, but Zeke refused, saying he couldn't understand the explanation.
In fact, he wasn't interested in music, and he didn't have the time for it either.
After finishing their meal and chatting, Diego suggested they attend a class together in the afternoon.
"Can we just go to a senior class?"
"Those academy guys! Valhalla is free! Peace! Anything related to learning is allowed, bro. Let's go!"
Zeke was dragged along by Diego and decided to attend the class together.
The place Diego took him to was a liberal arts class with the strange title of 'Special Lecture by a Leading Figure in the Central Continent'.
Zeke, following Diego, sat in the large lecture hall with a sullen expression.
"Bro! Smile!"
Diego said cheerfully to Zeke, and Zeke felt a little tired seeing Diego constantly talking beside him.
'Maybe I can leave this guy out of the Five Star Knights.'
As he was thinking this, the students around them started murmuring.
They were whispering and glancing at Zeke sitting next to Diego. It seemed they had noticed him when he turned around because Diego's voice was quite loud.
Zeke wondered what was going on as he saw the students murmuring while looking at them.
Diego, hearing the students' murmurs, suddenly made a fuss.
"What? Zeke bro, you're a Draker?"
Zeke looked at Diego with a dumbfounded expression.
"You didn't know that until now?"
"I just thought you were from the academy. I thought you were acting all arrogant for no reason, but so that's why!"
"..."
Just then, a group of students approached Zeke.
"Are you Zeke Draker? Nice to meet you. I'm Doug from the Roswell clan. I graduated from the academy in 1025."
It was a clan name that sounded somewhat familiar.
Zeke asked Doug,
"Do you have a younger brother?"
Doug nodded with a satisfied expression.
"You know Durban? Well, I hear there's no one in the academy who doesn't know Durban the Slasher. My younger brother is also scheduled to enter Valhalla next year."
"..."
He thought he had heard it somewhere, and as expected, it was true.
Zeke inwardly wondered if the level of Valhalla was lower than he thought since Durban the Slasher was entering, but in fact, Durban's skills were among the top in the academy, even though he was beaten by Zeke.
Moreover, the Roswell clan was a prestigious clan that had a close relationship with the Siemens, one of the influential Draker clans,for a long time.
It was no coincidence that the brothers Doug and Durban entered Valhalla.
But Zeke ignored Doug's words and was seriously contemplating the level of Valhalla.
And without knowing what was going on inside Zeke, not only Doug, but also the children of other prominent clans in the Central Continent flocked to Zeke.
"Zeke Draker! I'm from a prominent clan in Thebes..."
"I'm from Alencia..."
"I'm the second son of the Central Continent Fruit Guild..."
Everyone was curious about Zeke, the super rookie who had reached the level of a Blue Knight at the age of fifteen.
Zeke was getting annoyed as more and more people gathered around him.
He glared at Diego, who was smiling cluelessly beside him.
Just then,
Clap, clap!
A loud clapping sound rang out, and the people who had flocked around Zeke dispersed and took their seats.
It was none other than Headmaster Flaubert himself, who had come up to the podium.
Zeke finally realized why there were so many nobles from the Central Kingdom in a simple liberal arts class.
It was a class where Headmaster Flaubert personally invited prominent figures and listened to their life stories.
But Diego, who had brought him here, started doing something else, taking out his notebook instead of listening to the lecture. He wrote the lyrics for a new song and showed them to Zeke.
"Hey, bro. How are these lyrics? The rhymes are awesome, right?"
Zeke quietly ignored Diego's whispering.
Flaubert began introducing the guest speaker.
"I had a very difficult time inviting the person who will be speaking to you today."
As he spoke, the headmaster nodded, and the door opened, and someone entered.
Zeke's jaw dropped at the sight of the person who entered.
'Master Duke?'
Duke, dressed impeccably in a Draker suit, walked onto the podium.
Then, the assistants behind him raised a placard on the podium.
《 I, Duke Draker: How I Became a Black Knight from the Academy's Inferior Class 》
The students' eyes sparkled with anticipation at the appearance of Duke Draker, the Knight of the Gale.
The headmaster also stepped down from the podium and sat in the front row to listen to Duke's lecture.
Duke, with a slightly nervous expression, held the voice amplifier.
"Ahem. It's an honor to be invited as a guest speaker to the Valhalla I've always admired. Even though I couldn't become a student here."
The students all laughed heartily at his words.
Zeke, seeing the students reacting to every word Duke said and laughing loudly, could feel the power of true authority.
Unlike when he was with Zeke, Duke was delighted to see the students' immediate and positive reactions.
Amidst great expectations, Duke's life lecture began.
Duke's life story continued for about two hours.
Surprisingly, Duke was quite eloquent.
The problem was that he was extremely talkative.
Although the students were listening attentively at first, Zeke could feel them gradually getting tired.
Since they were knights, they weren't used to listening to other people's stories, except maybe during sparring sessions.
As Duke's life story continued without end, even Headmaster Flaubert, who had invited him, had a slightly troubled expression.
He gestured to Duke to wrap it up, but Duke, immersed in his own story, ignored the headmaster's signal and continued talking endlessly.
"So I said to the head of the clan, 'Think again. This is really not it.' Then Arthur..."
Just then,
The door to the lecture hall opened, and someone walked in.
Clank. Clank.!
A knight clad in silver armor from head to toe.
Flowing platinum blonde hair that didn't match the armor, and a beautiful face like a statue.
The students were startled and rose from their seats.
"Th-the Silver Knight!"
"C-Cali Draker!"
None other than the eldest of the Draker clan's direct descendants had appeared.
[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]