The noble gave a nod before saying, "It's very simple, you can either join on your free will or you can join through other means."
I slowly asked, "What do you mean by other means?"
After a pause where neither of us spoke, I suddenly said, "If you're planning on threatening the people that I care about…"
Before I could finish, the noble suddenly raised his hand to cut me off before saying, "Do you really think that we're that brutish? Do you really think that we would have to resort to violence so quickly?"
I was surprised when I heard this, but I was also relieved.
It was just too bad that before I could even let out a sigh of relief, the noble said, "We have more compelling methods than that. Violence is only used by brutes who don't have any intelligence at all. Do you really think that we would use such a foolish method?"
I once again felt a chill run down my spine when he said this, but I didn't say anything as I waited to see what else he had to say.
The noble looked at me with a smile that could be considered friendly, but that smile didn't reach his eyes at all. He just looked at me with those eyes that seemed as empty as the void.
Then the noble said, "You should know what kind of influence the Shadow Garden organization has, right? It would be more than easy enough for us to take care of you with just a few orders to our subordinates."
I didn't know exactly how strong Shadow Garden was, but this was an organization that directly reported to the king and was erased from history when it was destroyed. That was a testament of its power.
So I gave a gulp and a nod.
Seeing this, the noble's eyes relaxed a bit before he said in an almost teasing voice, "Of course, if you really want, I could just get the king to send down a decree for you that orders you to join Shadow Garden."
I trembled when I heard this and I looked at the noble to see if he was joking or not.
He wasn't…
It was at that moment that I realized…that I had no choice to begin with.
From the beginning, he had already planned on making me his subordinate and he hadn't planned on taking no for an answer…
He had already planned for everything that I might have said, so from the very beginning, I was trapped from the moment that I came to this place.
In the end, I could only reveal a bitter smile as I looked back at the noble.
He could see that I understood, so he said with a teasing smile, "So, what do you say?"
I just gave a bitter chuckle before saying, "Do I get to say anything?"
The noble shook his head and said, "Nope."
With a sigh, I said, "Alright, I give up."
The noble said with a smile and a nod, "It's good that you can accept this defeat."
I just looked at him with the same bitter smile without saying a thing.
The noble gave a nod to Shaka who went over to the side to bring a package over. Shaka came over to where I was sitting and he put the package right in front of me before heading back to the noble's side.
As he moved away, I looked at him with a gaze that was filled with blame, but he completely ignored it.
I'm sure that I was imagining it, but it was almost as if there was a trace of schadenfreude that was in his eyes…
No, I had to be imagining it.
After he put down this package in front of me, I looked carefully at it to find that it was a bunch of papers, along with a token.
I looked over it and it was an actual introductory package to the Shadow Garden organization. There was a lot of information that made it clear that this was something that was only given to a member, such as the organization of the groups.
In the Shadow Garden organization, there were six different directors that were in charge of various groups under them.
With this kind of division, it was no wonder there was an internal power struggle that caused Shadow Garden to collapse.
When I finished reading the package, I looked up and asked, "So who am I going to be placed under?"
The noble revealed a faint smile and said, "Naturally you'll be under me since I'm the one that discovered you. Is there a problem?"
I looked at the noble and asked, "You're a squad leader? And I'll be a part of your squad?"
The noble's smile became wider as he said, "Did you really think that I was just a squad leader? I'll have you know that I'm one of the six directors."
I couldn't help revealing a surprised look when I heard this before asking, "Are you sure?"
At this, Shaka couldn't help giving a chuckle when he heard this.
When he heard this, the noble immediately glared at Shaka who quickly revealed a stone cold expression on his face.
The noble then looked at me and said, "Yes, I'm one of the six directors and you'll be a squad leader under me."
"Squad leader?" I said with a shocked voice.
The noble gave a nod before saying, "That's right. You'll be taking Shaka's place as the leader of his squad and he will be your vice squad leader. In reality though, Shaka will run the squad and you'll just have that title so you have a title."
Shaka slightly knitted his brows when he heard this, but then they relaxed as he remembered what had happened earlier. With the strange things that Zwein had pulled out, it wasn't strange that he would be made a squad leader.
He was certain that the noble had his own thoughts.
I still couldn't help revealing a doubtful look, while also paying attention to Shaka's reaction out of the corner of my eyes.
I was surprised to find that he didn't have a reaction at all since no matter how you looked at it, this was considered a demotion. I had just joined the organization and I was promoted to become his superior, so there should have been some kind of bitterness towards me.
But there was nothing at all.
There was only a calm look that was on Shaka's face when he faced this news.
The noble just ignored the look on my face and said, "So, the first thing that we have to do now is come up with a codename for you. You already know Shaka's codename, which is just Shaka and my codename is Scar, don't ask why. So what codename should we give you?"
My lips couldn't help twitching when I heard this…
There should have been much more important things to discuss, but they wanted to discuss this?
I couldn't help asking, "What will my assignment be?"
Scar was surprised to hear this, but he said, "Most members don't have assignments on a usual basis and are allowed to do what they would normally do. But there will be assignments that will come to you, so you can just wait for those."
The look on my face became bitter when I heard this…
Just what was this organization that was so relaxed even though it had so much power?
As expected of an organization that fell to internal struggles…
It seemed like I really needed to find a way out of this organization still.
Shaka suddenly said, "We already have the perfect codename for him."
Both of us looked at Shaka with a surprised and confused look as he stood there without saying a thing.
Then once again, he suddenly said, "Remember his weapon?"
Scar thought about it for a bit before suddenly revealing a look of understanding and enlightenment. He revealed a wide smile as he slapped his fist in his hand and said, "That's right, there was that!"
I still had a confused look on my face when I heard this, so I asked, "What about my weapon?"
"Big Purple, that will be your codename." Scar said with a wide smile.
The moment that I heard this, I really wanted to dig a hole and hide myself in it.
This was without a doubt the last nickname that I wanted…
But the look on their faces seemed like they had already decided on this…