Adopting the Male Protagonist Changed the Genre - Chapter 267

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Side Story Episode 10

* * *

There’s a saying in Monteo, the Royal Capital: if you want to find someone, go to Sewer Rat.

True to that saying, the Sewer Rats knew every street like the back of their hand, from all the main roads leading to the Royal Palace to every alley that ordinary people didn’t even know existed.

Their information network spread not only through the underworld but also among the common people, so there was nothing they couldn’t find if they set their minds to it.

…If what they were looking for was a ‘person’.

“…Yes, the one you’re looking for isn’t here.”

It had been three years since Jerry inherited the information organization ‘Sewer Rat’ from his father.

Following in his father’s footsteps, he had been maintaining order in the underworld and resolving requests without much difficulty, but now he had encountered the greatest challenge of his life.

“Your Grace, you might be confused, so if you look more carefully…”

“No, that damn bastard isn’t among these.”

At Belinda’s fierce response, Jerry secretly let out a sigh, his spirits dampened. That small breath scattered black cat fur from the table in all directions.

Jerry’s neat and tidy office had long been in chaos with dozens of black cats.

The reason was that what his client Belinda Baluashten was looking for wasn’t a person, but a cat. And not just any cat, but a black cat with no particular distinguishing features.

“Contact me when you discover or capture a new cat. I’ll send Leo.”

“Yes. But, Your Grace, may I ask why you’re looking for this cat…?”

At first, he thought she was looking for a pet cat she had lost.

But there was no way someone looking for a lost cat would have such a murderous and demonic expression.

Unable to contain his curiosity, Jerry finally asked why she was investing all her connections and capital to find a single cat, and had to swallow the hiccup that threatened to escape when he saw Belinda’s face as she turned to look at him.

“I’m going to put a collar on that bastard and imprison him for life in a place where not a single ray of light enters.”

“…Yes, yes, hic, I’ll definitely find him.”

It seemed the black cat Belinda was looking for had earned her tremendous resentment.

* * *

A day and a half had passed since Belinda entrusted Sewer Rat with the request to find Chaser, or rather, the black cat.

Since she couldn’t reveal the cat’s true identity, the only information she could provide was that it was a black cat with golden eyes, but even for Sewer Rat, finding Chaser somewhere in the Royal Capital within two days was impossible.

Nevertheless, Belinda couldn’t just sit still and moved around restlessly.

Not only her, but Leo, the Magic Tower, and even the Temple joined the search for Chaser, but there were no significant results.

In reality, finding Chaser who had deliberately hidden himself in this vast Royal Capital within two days was nearly impossible.

Time passed relentlessly, and on the night before Leo’s succession ceremony.

“Belinda.”

Cesar called to his wife, who had buried herself in an armchair, his face clearly filled with worry.

Belinda, whose complexion had grown haggard from the mental anguish of the past two days, raised her head.

“Any new news?”

Instead of answering, Cesar shook his head.

Belinda pressed her forehead and made a groaning sound of distress.

“What if Chaser really disappears like this.”

It was already the middle of the night. Naturally, the search would slow down once night fell. Anxiety washed over her at the thought that Chaser might really die like this.

“Tomorrow is Leo’s succession ceremony. You need to rest first.”

It didn’t seem like sleep would come in this state.

Nevertheless, when Cesar extended his arms to Belinda, she naturally wrapped both arms around her husband’s neck.

Cesar supported her back and legs, lifting her and carrying her to the bed.

After reaching the bed in just a few steps, he laid her down and spoke soothingly to comfort his wife.

“My lady, I will definitely find that mage. So please rest well for now.”

It wasn’t as if Cesar had any brilliant plan either.

It might have been empty words to reassure her, but at those meaningless words, Belinda felt her taut nerves snap and relief wash over her.

“Yes, you must find him.”

“Yes.”

“When I meet him again, I’m going to beat him to a pulp.”

“Yes. Though it will be basic, I’ll teach you how to properly hold a club.”

“Yes, definitely.”

Sleep came helplessly at the gentle touch caressing her forehead.

“I don’t know why he causes so much trouble.”

With those words, Belinda’s eyelids slowly closed.

Cesar stayed by his wife’s side for quite a while longer.

“Sleep peacefully.”

Careful not to wake Belinda, he took a strand of her hair and gently kissed it before leaving the room.

In the corridor stood Leo, who had just returned, carrying the scent of the night wind.

His face showed expectation that some new news might have come in while he was away from the manor, but soon his shoulders drooped when he saw Cesar shaking his head.

“Leo, you should rest for today too. We need to prepare for tomorrow without any problems.”

“But…”

Leo seemed to have something to say, opening and closing his mouth, when Cesar gently ruffled his hair.

“I’ll find him by tonight, so go on.”

“…Yes.”

His mentor’s safety was more important than some succession ceremony, but Cesar wouldn’t say such things without reason.

Eventually, Leo reluctantly turned away.

Moonlight that had been hidden by clouds entered through the window, illuminating Cesar who remained alone in the corridor.

His eyes, which had been as blue as a lake in front of Belinda and Leo, were now seething as if a meteor had crashed into them.

That intense emotion, strong enough to evaporate the water of a lake, eventually caused the demon beast’s curse to manifest outwardly.

Dry and desolate red eyes filled with light.

Without even thinking to suppress the curse, he left Blanche Manor.

The only thing that could stop Cesar, who had lost his composure enough for the curse to show, was probably his wife.

* * *

In the middle of the night, the Royal Capital with its lights extinguished was dark as pitch.

And in the center of the Royal Capital, there were four silhouettes standing on air. All four had eyes glowing golden like nocturnal beasts.

The Magic Tower elders, who had been examining the residential area below for quite some time, couldn’t hide their anxious hearts and asked the one standing at the front.

“Listen here, young man. Just how do you plan to find our Master Ru? Hmm?”

“That’s right, don’t just keep your mouth shut and say something.”

“Master Ru, *sob*, even if Master Ru becomes Cookie, I will make sure to provide meat dishes three times a day. I’ll gladly become Master Ru’s meat flipper, so please just come back.”

Kiss, who had been half-listening to the elders’ pleas, spotted Cesar keeping watch in the distance and opened his mouth.

“I’ll find him with tracking magic. I learned it from Crumb two days ago and mastered it.”

A moment of silence fell at those words. The faces of the hopeful elders filled with anger and resentment.

“Hey, you brat! Do you think you’re the only one who can use tracking magic! We can all use tracking magic too!”

For the past two days, the elders had mobilized all the mages of the Magic Tower to search for Chaser, or more precisely, the black cat, using tracking magic.

If the search conditions were clear, nothing helped find a target as easily as tracking magic.

However, there were several problems with using tracking magic to find ‘Chaser’.

The only condition available to find Chaser was ‘black cat’, and the range of tracking magic varied greatly depending on individual abilities.

Even though the elders poured all their magical power into tracking magic, they could only cover about one-third of the Royal Capital.

Even then, there were too many cats that met the tracking magic’s conditions to check each one individually.

Ignoring the elders’ outcries, Kiss sneered.

“What could you do with such crude magical power.”

“A mere mortal who took two whole days to learn tracking magic dares to babble!”

“Yes, yes. I heard that self-introduction from another mortal quite well.”

Kiss, who had made the elders’ anger soar by picking at his ear, soon opened his eyes sharply and spoke irritably.

“Now shut up, and when I call out coordinates, just think about using messenger birds to inform the Sewer Rats.”

Soon, an intense gleam began to swirl in Kiss’s eyes.

“This insolent little…!”

The elder who was about to scold him suddenly froze in place.

He could see a massive magic circle covering the entire Royal Capital, spreading wide to the horizon.

It was a crude tracking magic circle that showed no aesthetics or sophistication. The mana was also unmistakably Chaser’s, which they knew well.

However, the result was so tremendous that the elders had never seen anything like it in their long lives.

If mana had a personality, they were witnessing someone who would receive unconditional love from mana itself.

Even simple magic was reborn as tremendous magic once it passed through Kiss’s hands.

“H-how can such crude, messy, rough, and unsightly magic circles create such, such enormous magic!”

The elders didn’t know, but it was only natural. Though the body belonged to Chaser, the heart that created the mana had been Kiss’s from the beginning.

Kiss wasn’t particularly skilled or knowledgeable in handling magic circles, but in one thing alone—his ability to handle mana—he was a genius.

“Calling out coordinates. 3-2 first alley above the trash can, 14-5 above the red roof, 32-9 above the fence…”

As soon as Kiss began rattling off words, the elders quickly summoned their messenger familiars.

Soon, countless messenger familiars informed the Sewer Rats stationed throughout the Royal Capital of the coordinate information.

* * *

Dawn, before the sun had yet risen.

Those who started their mornings earlier than anyone else heard a strange sound. It was the eerie sound of cats fleeing in groups.

People who looked out their windows, wondering what all the commotion was about, couldn’t help but doubt their eyes. Several people were running through the alleys, chasing and cornering black cats.

For the cats who suddenly found themselves being chased by humans, it was nothing short of a bolt from the blue.

When the cats who had been chasing and being chased were cornered in a dead end.

As they say, even a cornered rat will bite a cat—the cats who had endured years of harsh street life bared their teeth at the enemy threatening them.

However, their hissing didn’t last long.

A murderous beast—no, human—with blood-red eyes radiating killing intent throughout his body stepped into the alley. Then winter came to the Royal Capital where spring had arrived.

Cesar bound the cats’ feet with his aura and spoke in a low voice.

“I apologize to the innocent cats.”

Cesar’s red eyes were murderous as he blocked the dark alley.

The cats began to tuck their tails between their legs and tremble at the cursed energy flowing from him.

However, Cesar, who had already half-lost his reason, had no room left to show mercy to the cats’ circumstances.

“Wizard Chaser.”

Gulp. The cats all swallowed dry saliva together and glanced at each other.

“If you made another man’s wife shed tears, you must be prepared to shed tears of blood yourself.”

They surely couldn’t understand human speech. Yet Cesar caught sight of one of them flinching and trembling.

Cesar drew his sword to not allow even a grain of carelessness.

“Wizard Chaser.”

Meow, meow.

“I’m arresting you as a four-time repeat offender on the run.”

Meow.

“When we get back, you’ll first be subjected to the punishment of bathing.”

Kyaaaaa!

At dawn as the sun rose, a heart-rending cat’s cry shook the Royal Capital once.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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