[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
Chapter 90
The Altara Casino, where Muhammad led them, was famous for being the largest and most luxurious casino in the Dorta Republic.
Zeke and Paynun were guided to a suite room in the Altara Casino Hotel.
"Sir Zeke, please make yourself at home and use it comfortably," Muhammad said with a smile.
Then he whispered to Zeke, "I've also taken care of what you mentioned earlier, Sir Zeke."
Zeke expressed his gratitude to Muhammad.
The next morning, someone came up to Zeke's room.
It was none other than the Black Yaksha, who had crossed over from the south to the Dorta Republic.
What Zeke had asked Muhammad was to allow the Black Yaksha, who was currently unidentified, into the Altara Casino.
Despite the strict identification requirements of a top-tier casino, Muhammad made a special exception for Zeke's request.
The Black Yaksha greeted Zeke and said,
"It's been a while, Black Yaksha. No, I should call you Boris now. How are you finding the south?"
Zeke called the Black Yaksha by his new identity's name.
Boris replied with a haggard face, "It's fine."
He seemed to be having a harder time under Simon than when he was a public enemy of the continent in Delfoa.
Zeke said to Boris,
"You're roughly aware of the situation, right?"
Boris nodded.
"Yes, I heard there will be a deal between the Empire and Abel Draker."
"Yes, has there been a deal of this scale before?"
Boris shook his head.
"Not that I know of."
Zeke's eyes changed.
"That means the relationship between Abel Draker and the Empire is unusual."
"It's more than that. Even allied nations rarely make deals like this."
It was surprising that the Empire, which rarely made deals even between nations, was making such a big deal with an individual like Abel Draker.
'Not only Abel, but Siemens must also be involved in some way.'
Zeke was still concerned about Cain having both the Siemens surname and the name of the Imperial clan.
"Does the Siemens clan have separate connections with the Imperial clan?"
"I'm not sure about the Imperial clan, but I know there are quite a few joint ventures between Siemens and the Empire."
"Hmm."
Zeke explained the operation plan to Boris.
"There will be a celebratory banquet at the casino starting tomorrow. You attend the banquet and blend in. And if you see anyone from the Empire, keep an eye on them."
"Okay."
After Boris joined, Zeke began the operation in earnest.
Paynun and Boris installed wiretapping magic circles throughout the casino.
It took a lot of time to install them with double and triple security measures so that the Imperial mages wouldn't discover them.
And starting the next day, a luxurious banquet hosted by the Zayed clan was held at the casino.
Thump, thump, thump, thump!
Muhammad knew how to have fun. He rented out the entire club in the basement of the hotel and invited all the young wealthy people in the Dorta Republic.
Zeke, as the main character of the banquet, mingled with them, drinking and having fun.
Although he pretended to be drunk, he wasn't drunk at all thanks to his Healing Factor.
While dealing with the children of influential clans in the Dorta Republic who wanted to get close to him, Zeke kept an eye on the movements of Abel and the Empire.
It was the second day since the banquet began.
-"Master, the Imperial Intelligence Agency Special Forces have appeared."
Zeke, hearing Boris's report through communication magic, tensed up and looked around.
Using his Dragon Eye, he could clearly see a few people who were different from the others.
The Imperial Special Forces were elite agents who had undergone special training in the Intelligence Agency.
'The fact that the Special Forces have appeared means that the Empire's consuls are involved.'
The consuls were the real power behind the Empire, directly moving it under the Emperor.
The Imperial Special Forces only moved under the orders of these consuls.
'This might be a bigger deal than I thought.'
Zeke pretended not to care about the Special Forces and continued to laugh, chat, and drink with the young wealthy people.
***
"I hear Zeke Draker is down there."
William said to Abel.
Abel looked at William and said,
"Do you think he came because of our deal?"
William shook his head.
"I heard he was invited by the Zayed clan. It's plausible since he's the winner of the martial arts tournament."
Abel sat down in front of William and said,
"The Zayed clan... Zeke doesn't have the power to mobilize that clan. Cali might be able to, though."
William was surprised at those words.
"No way? Even so, it's the Zayed clan. Even Cali Draker can't handle them so easily."
Abel glared at William and said,
"William, as I always say, you lack imagination. That's why you can't deal with Cali Draker."
William closed his mouth at Abel's words.
Abel tapped the desk and asked,
"Is it possible to change the meeting place?"
William made a troubled expression.
"If we suddenly change the meeting place, it will offend the Empire. It might make us look unprepared."
Abel wanted to move the meeting place to another location, but as William said, considering the Empire's disposition, it was likely to cause a negative reaction.
Moreover, the other party in this deal was none other than Julius, one of the most powerful consuls in the Empire.
'It's not easy dealing with that stubborn old man.'
As Abel made a troubled face, William looked at his watch and said,
"There's not much time left before the consul arrives. It's practically impossible to change the meeting place now."
Abel nodded at William's words.
"We'll proceed with the meeting as scheduled. But deploy more guards around the area and tell the mages to thoroughly check for wiretapping devices."
Abel felt an unusual sense of anxiety.
As William said, it wasn't strange for the winner of the martial arts tournament to be here, but the fact that Zeke was at the casino at this time made him feel uneasy.
'It's hard to see it as a mere coincidence...'
Just then.
"The consul has arrived."
The consul's arrival was earlier than expected.
Abel and William went down to the conference room they had prepared in advance.
As they waited, Julius entered, escorted by the Special Forces.
Julius, dressed in the Empire's characteristic attire, was an old man with a hooked nose and a sharp expression.
Despite his age, he had a large build and exuded an aura of dignity.
Abel admired Julius.
'As expected of the Empire's war hero.'
Julius wasn't a Black Knight, but he was a great general of the Empire with excellent tactics and leadership.
At the same time, he was known as the only person who could currently control the Emperor in the Empire.
Julius approached Abel and offered his hand for a handshake.
"Nice to meet you. It's an honor to meet the Lion Sword of Draker in person."
Abel also shook Julius's hand and greeted him.
"I've heard a lot about your reputation, Consul. It's an honor to meet a hero."
After exchanging pleasantries, the two sat down.
As soon as he sat down, Julius immediately brought up the main topic.
"I believe the Lion Sword is well aware of the situation. Concerns about Karus are growing."
Abel nodded at those words.
"I'm well aware. Although I have a deep friendship with Prince Karus, I believe it's time to make a big decision for the sake of the Empire's safety and future."
***
Zeke, who was enjoying the banquet, signaled to Muhammad.
Muhammad pretended to be completely drunk and dragged Zeke into the VVIP room.
There was a separate secret passage in the VVIP room, allowing them to go up to the guest room without being noticed.
'This should be enough of an alibi to avoid Abel's suspicion.'
Zeke, who came up to the room through the secret passage, listened to the wiretapping device with Paynun.
Zeke's expression gradually hardened as he listened to the contents of the deal.
The consul and Abel were talking about the complex power relations within the Empire.
It was about the matter of electing the next emperor after the current emperor died, and it seemed to be a problem because the votes for the first and second in line to the throne weren't much different.
Moreover, there were concerns that the votes for the second prince, whom Julius supported, would be divided with Karus.
In the end, Karus was a troublesome existence for Julius and the other supporters of the second prince.
The problem was that Karus had the most legitimacy among all the princes.
If they directly intervened to deal with Karus, it could lead to internal conflict within the Empire, so Julius decided to take the risk and meet with Abel to make a deal.
Paynun looked at Zeke with a hardened expression and said,
"Master, this... this is no ordinary matter..."
Zeke put his finger to his lips, signaling Paynun to stop talking.
'This is bigger than I expected.'
It was a matter that the consul himself had come forward for from the Empire's side.
The consul was offering Abel resources to persuade the Draker elders in exchange for taking care of an Imperial prince.
If this were revealed, it would surely cause a huge scandal.
Zeke quickly asked Boris,
"Did Prince Karus come here as well?"
Boris replied,
"I'm not sure if it's the prince, but there is a place heavily guarded by the Special Forces."
Zeke recalled the 3rd Continental War from his previous life.
'Certainly, Karus didn't die and led the battlefield alongside Abel.'
In his previous life, he thought Karus was a man driven mad by bloodlust, but seeing this situation, he wondered if Karus might have been brainwashed after being taken to Abel and Siemens' side.
He said to Paynun,
"Mr. Paynun, take these records to Muhammad right now and go to Iason. I'll ask the Agamemnons for an escort. This record must be delivered directly to Cali Draker."
"Okay. Aren't you coming with me, Master?"
"I'll take Prince Karus with me."
Paynun's face hardened at Zeke's words.
He sensed that this could escalate into an incident that would shake the entire continent.
"Please be careful."
After Paynun left, Zeke contacted the Agamemnons.
Then, he stored Bahamut in his inventory and took out other swords and daggers.
He put on a mask and exited through the hotel window.
Whoosh!
Using the power of wind to climb down the hotel wall, Zeke used his Dragon Eye to find where Prince Karus might be.
He found a VIP room where a large number of people presumed to be Special Forces were gathered.
'That seems to be the place.'
Zeke went up to where the VIP room was and entered through the window.
Then, he used the Concealment skill he obtained when he captured the Gaguk.
Just as the Gaguk blended into the darkness and hid its form, Zeke's body melted into the darkness.
'It's a good thing I devoured the Gaguk back then.'
Zeke, clinging to the ceiling and concealed, passed the Special Forces and entered the room.
Soon, he could hear a loud voice from inside the room.
"You insolent fools! Get out of my way!"
Karus shouted at the Special Forces.
Despite this, the Special Forces agents were blocking Karus from leaving.
Karus gritted his teeth and threw things in the room at the Special Forces agents.
"How dare you stop me! Get out of my way! Can't you hear the call of the casino?!"
He was throwing a tantrum because he wanted to go to the casino and gamble.
Zeke looked around the structure of the room.
'I don't see an escape route.'
He didn't know when the deal between Abel and the Imperial consul would end. This was the only chance to escape with Karus.
Zeke took a deep breath.
And he waited for the enraged Karus to come further inside the room.
"You rude fools! As soon as we return to the Empire..."
Whoosh!
Zeke, descending from the ceiling, snatched Karus.
Then, he drew his sword, imbued it with strength, and struck the wall.
Crash!
A large hole was blasted into the hotel wall.
Zeke jumped through the hole with Karus in his arms.
“Kyaaaak!”
Karus, tucked under Zeke's arm, screamed.
Whoosh!
Zeke, using the power of wind to slow their descent, landed in the hotel garden.
―"Boris! Detonate the smoke bombs in the casino and get out!"
Following his command, Boris activated the smoke bomb scrolls he had installed in advance.
Fwoosh!
Not only the casino but the entire hotel was filled with smoke.
“Fire! Fire!”
Others, thinking there was a fire, panicked and tried to escape outside.
Thanks to this, the Special Forces were also blocked by the crowd and couldn't easily get outside.
Zeke, wearing a mask, held Karus.
“Wh-who are you?”
“Your Highness, listen carefully. Julius and Abel are trying to kill you right now.”
Karus said in surprise,
“W-what do you mean? Julius is my loyal subject, and Abel is my friend!”
“If that's true, Your Highness, why would the Special Forces be forcibly holding you?”
Karus's face hardened at Zeke's words.
He, too, had felt something strange since arriving in Dorta.
He felt more like he was being held captive to prevent him from escaping rather than being protected.
‘Could it be that Julius and Abel really...?’
Zeke said to Karus in an urgent voice,
“If you stay here, you'll surely be killed or brainwashed. We need to move to a safe place, so follow me.”
Karus still had an expression of disbelief, but he decided to follow Zeke for now.
Just then, Boris came outside, riding a horse.
“Boss! We need to get out of here now!”
As Zeke and Boris joined forces and were about to leave the hotel, knights who had been waiting outside rushed towards Zeke.
They were none other than Abel's knights.
[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]