My Disciples Became Scoundrels - Chapter 70

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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If I took first place, then Bella would show me proper respect as my younger sister. That was the stakes.
Bella watched Arkel for a moment, blinking once. She paused to choose her words before speaking.
“I understand. I’ll show proper courtesy from now on. Arkel.”
“……What?”
Arkel’s eyes narrowed. Yet Bella answered his expression without a trace of shame.
“What’s the matter, Arkel? Should I be even more respectful?”
Her tone was formal and gracious. And yet Arkel looked thoroughly unsatisfied. Jenia whispered to Bella.
“Sister, I think he wants you to call him ‘brother.'”
“That wasn’t part of the bet. I was only supposed to show respect.”
When Arkel couldn’t lodge further protest and fell silent, Cesare chuckled.
“You really are easy to cheat, aren’t you?”
“Why are you laughing about?”
“Because you didn’t get to hear her call you ‘brother.’ Since I can’t hear it either, you shouldn’t get to either.”
Bella was smirking when she suddenly felt a gaze and turned. Dein was watching them.
There was no urgency, no pressure. Just then, a sandstorm swept in.
Bella approached him. She drew her cloak up to shield his face from the sand, then spoke.
“I went under Garcia for a different reason, you see.”
She continued in an even tone.
“We were conducting an internal investigation when Garcia caught us—that’s how we all ended up dead.”
“What were you investigating?”
“We went in looking for Hayden. We had information he was under Garcia.”
Hayden Balanus. Dein recalled his last disciple. Violet eyes glimpsed between tousled black hair.
The quietest of all his students. A disciple who was always hidden in shadow.
“Garcia said he’d never seen anyone so mad.”
At the mention of Garcia, Dein’s eyes grew sharp. So even Garcia, who once ruled the underworld, would speak that way.
“He even planted informants to watch Hayden, and they all came back as corpses. It looked too dangerous, so I tried to find him alone……”
The sandstorm subsided. Yet Bella continued to shield the evening light with her cloak as she whispered.
“I don’t want to search alone anymore, Master.”
The desert sun quietly set. Dein’s shadow touched Bella’s shadow with gentleness.
“You will never be alone again.”
Dein looked toward something. Following his gaze, Bella saw her siblings standing there.
Even having heard her story, their expressions barely shifted. Dein spoke to them.
“Shall we head back?”
Shadows are meant to be solitary, yet today was different.
Five shadows walked across the desert in a line, none moving ahead or falling behind.
The shadow was no longer alone. And yet for Dein, it was not enough. There was one more who had to be there.
Hayden Balanus. The last disciple of Balanus was essential.
13. Truth and Deception
Four days had passed since they left the desert. In the distance, the sea came into view.
Kalimera, famous as a resort, was a city where the sea was visible from anywhere.
Buildings with white walls and indigo roofs rose in stepped tiers along the cliff. From a distance, it looked as though waves had solidified into a city.
In the harbor, ships with white sails were moored in neat rows. We could see them even before entering the city.
Standing before the gate for an hour had started to make the view grow tedious, though.
“How much longer are they going to keep us waiting? And why is this line so absurdly long?”
Cesare grumbled, eyeing the people ahead of us. A glance backward showed even more people queued behind.
We had come to Kalimera, where Hayden was reportedly spotted. We couldn’t enter yet because they were conducting an inspection.
Arkel asked Bella.
“Is the inspection usually this strict in this city?”
“No. It’s a resort, so inspections aren’t usually this thorough. Arkel.”
“……I wish you’d drop the courtesy.”
“Fine.”
Arkel seemed to have gotten the short end of the bargain. Meanwhile, Jenia, riding on Cesare’s shoulders, spoke.
“But you know what? Hayden ran away. Do you think he’ll want to see us?”
“He left a note telling us not to look for him.”
Among the five disciples, he had been the most mysterious. Why had he left? Arkel said.
“He always had a rather nihilistic streak. Never quite fit in with us.”
“That’s true. He was as pessimistic as Bella.”
He was the kind of child who often spoke of the futility of it all, the pointlessness of anything. Perhaps that’s why he and Bella had grown fairly close.
Listening to two children talking about death and despair wasn’t pleasant, but Bella pouted her lips.
“If a Regressor’s managed that much, it’s actually optimistic. Our turn’s up. Let’s go.”
Our turn came faster than I’d expected. The soldier sitting at the checkpoint before the city wall regarded us askew.
“We’re conducting an inspection. Do you have means to prove your origin?”
“Balanus Domus.”
I handed over a metal badge—a Silver Badge engraved with Balanus’s name. I’d received it as a reward for the Scorching Conquest.
The moment he saw it, the soldier’s casual posture straightened slightly. His expression shifted too. Clearly, treatment differed from Silver Rank onward.
“Silver Rank, I see. By any chance, does anyone here use Movement Scrolls or Movement Magic?”
“Yeah, I use magic.”
At that, Cesare was dragged off by soldiers, only to return shortly wearing a bracelet around his wrist. He grumbled.
“A Restriction Bracelet for Movement Magic. They’re being overly cautious, truly.”
They’d stripped away any means of escape. I’d sensed it from the checkpoint itself—something had happened in the city.
I looked at the city gates. They were scrutinizing those trying to leave far more carefully than those entering.
“That’s everything. Let’s go in. There are so many people.”
As we entered the city, crowds of people came into view. Being both a major city and a resort destination, the thoroughfares were packed.
I was supposed to find Hayden here now. I asked Bella about it.
“Do you have any other leads on Hayden? It seems difficult to track him down by appearance alone.”
“There’s a more reliable method.”
With that, Bella approached a flower cart in the plaza. The young man who appeared to own it smiled brightly.
“Hello. Are you here to buy flowers?”
“Yes. It’s a gift for my lover. We’ve just decided to get married.”
Bella was chatting away with a gentle smile. Her expression aside, the content was suspicious. Arkel whispered to me.
“She can’t possibly have a lover. I’ve been watching her closely.”
“Bella would be furious if she knew.”
It was definitely a lie, but looking at her face alone, you couldn’t tell it was an act at all. Meanwhile, Jenia stared at Bella so hard her eyes seemed ready to bore through her.
“Big sister has a lover. She’s getting married. When you marry, you’ll leave, right? Creating a new family.”
A peculiar glint flashed across Jenia’s eyes—something unsettlingly murderous.
“If the lover disappears, big sister can’t get married, right?”
“Sometimes you scare me more than your brother.”
In the meantime, Bella returned with a large bouquet of roses. Jenia immediately latched onto her.
“Sister. You’re getting married? Who is it? Where is he?”
Tentacles began to creep out visibly. While Jenia tried to shield them with her body, Bella attempted to push her away.
“I’m not getting married. I’ll be with Balanus forever.”
“Really? Then why did you say something strange just now?”
As the tentacles began to coil around Bella’s thigh, she whispered urgently.
“A code, I’m saying! It’s an information source over there.”
Bella thrust the bouquet into my arms. I unfolded the Message Card tucked inside—the contents were unexpected.
「A Bounty Order issued by the Lord of Panos.」
「Black-haired male with purple eyes. Mid-twenties.」
「Tattoo on the left shoulder.」
I read the contents aloud to my disciples. Cesare’s expression grew strange, while Jenia withdrew her tentacles.
“Judging by those traits, that’s Hayden, isn’t it? Is the city closed because of him?”
“Possibly.”
An ominous feeling crept over me. A lord issuing a Bounty Order and half-sealing the city.
He must have done something quite serious. Arkel took the Message Card and spoke.
“There’s no mention of the reason for the bounty. Normally, they’d publicize the crime and hand it over to the security forces.”
“It seems he either has a personal grudge or intends to handle it himself.”
To have made an enemy of a noble—and not just any noble, but a lord.
What if the lord caught Hayden before we did? It didn’t seem like things would end well. Jenia asked Cesare.
“Can’t we just ask the lord? Why he’s looking for Hayden?”
“Would he tell us that? The lord would have no reason to meet with us.”
She was right. This bounty order was likely an unofficial request, not through the Management Bureau. But there was a way.
“There is a method to meet with nobles.”
I drew out an object I’d kept with me. The same thing I’d shown the soldier earlier.
I produced the Silver Badge engraved with Balanus’s name.
“This has considerable use, even unofficially.”
* * *
Panos’s Manor was situated where the sea was clearly visible. The building, constructed of white marble, gleamed in the sunlight.
Yet despite its beautiful exterior, the interior of the manor was filled with a dark atmosphere.
It was likely due to the expression of the Lord of Panos. The lord, who appeared to be in his fifties, had sunken eyes—clearly he hadn’t slept in days.
He alternated his gaze between the Silver Badge I’d handed him and myself. His eyes were sharp and piercing.
“A Silver Rank organization—so they’ve got actual skill, not just street rabble.”
We had applied for a commission that the lord had been quietly recruiting for. We could only make contact through Bella.
At first, the steward had seemed reluctant, but his demeanor shifted the moment we showed him the Silver Badge. Though that likely wasn’t the only reason.
“You’re outsiders, then?”
“Yes. We operate out of Aspenheim.”
The lord gazed at the Silver Badge for a long moment, his eyes betraying the weight of his deliberation—whether he could trust us. He looked at me with the hollow face of someone who hadn’t slept in days.
“Once you finish the job, leave this city. And never return. That’s my condition.”
The lord feared rumors spreading. In a way, outsiders suited him perfectly. Desperation had its part to play as well.
By this point, I found myself wondering what exactly Hayden had done.
“We’ll need more information about the target. Is there anything else distinctive about him?”
At that, the lord of Panos glanced toward his steward, who promptly brought forth a canvas.
The portrait painted there was quite elaborate, rendered with color that lent it a vivid, lifelike quality.
I found myself looking at the face of a young man who appeared to be in his mid-twenties. He wore a subtle smile.
Soft black hair, eyes that gleamed with a violet hue.
The upward slope of his eyes bore a striking resemblance to Hayden. Even the mole beneath them was in the same spot.
Though his features had changed considerably from childhood, his face alone suggested it was Hayden. Seeing him as an adult stirred something complicated within me.
“His name is Gaida. Use this portrait as a reference to find him.”
“May I ask why you’re searching for him? What has he done?”
“You don’t need to know.”
The lord spoke sharply, his face haggard. I studied the portrait in silence.
“Understanding what he’s been doing will make tracking him easier. I’ll keep whatever you tell me in confidence—even if it concerns the lady of the manor.”
“What?”
The lord’s eyes widened. He began to speak, stumbling over the words.
“Now, what nonsense are you—!”
“My apologies if I’m mistaken. But for a Bounty Order, this portrait is far too exquisite.”
It was a painting that showed considerable effort. And Hayden’s expression was far too tender—not the look one gives a rival or a stranger.
“Typically, commissions like this use a beloved as the subject. That’s why I wondered if it might concern the lady of the manor.”
If there was indeed an affair between the lady and this man, it made sense that her husband would search for him in secret.
The lord of Panos was silent for some time. Then he ground his teeth and slammed the table with a bang.
“…Whether I’m grateful or furious for hiring someone so perceptive, I can’t say.”
He lifted his head sharply. His eyes brimmed with rage and despair, glistening slightly with tears.
“Yes! That bastard laid his hands on my wife. That damned swallow!”
A swallow.
I had anticipated something, but hearing that word made my vision swim.
My disciple had become a swallow—one who seduced another man’s wife.

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