On My First Day Undercover, the Organization Collapsed - Chapter 309

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

First Day of Infiltration, The Organization Was Destroyed Episode 309
Journey to the Northern Region (4)
The conversation continued.
The man shrugged his shoulders as he moved past the long history of enmity between Harmatan and Ligron, discussing the Northern Region’s political system and the key issues of this Council Leader election.
“In any case, this Council Leader election is quite fascinating. Thanks to it, there’s more to talk about, so the tavern’s heavy drinkers are multiplying. What could be more meaningless yet stretch on longer than political discourse?”
The man asked.
“Are you interested too? If you dig into the political history of this Northern Region, there’s no end to it, but the moment you support either Lombard or Bernstein, things get interesting. I hear they even fight with their own parents and siblings?”
It seemed my careful attention had caused a misunderstanding.
I wasn’t interested.
The three of us were interested in only one thing.
The current situation of the Harmatan Family, which we were scheduled to visit.
And two of us had interest in something else as well.
Ziel’s expression.
‘If we’re not careful, this could turn into something serious….’
‘Are we getting dragged into a war?’
The Boss, or rather my Master, had said so.
We shouldn’t get entangled in problems.
‘This is a Northern Region issue. It’s a matter between Families, so it will definitely… be difficult.’
‘Even during my mercenary days, conflicts between Families were always troubling commissions….’
As our worries deepened, Ziel finally picked up his beer mug again.
Gulp.
Ziel emptied his twenty-first mug and set it down, saying one thing.
“We move now.”
“Wh-where to?”
“To the Harmatan Family. We’re going on a home visit.”
“…Boss.”
“Nothing has happened yet. Even if it does, it doesn’t matter.”
Ziel asked the man.
“When a ‘struggle’ breaks out between Families in the Northern Region, what happens to their members?”
“Ah… in this case, it’s a matter of ‘voting rights’ at stake, so they’ll fight to the death against each other.”
Voting rights.
A very precious privilege in the Northern Region.
A Family’s prestige is determined by whether or not they possess voting rights.
The Harmatan Family is a special case, but most Families with voting rights are among the most influential in the Northern Region.
“The condition for obtaining voting rights is this: seizing the opposing Family’s main banner.”
A Family’s main banner.
It’s kept in the most important location within a Family.
For example, inside the Family Head’s residence.
Losing it means the Family has fallen.
The other side will do everything in their power to prevent that….
“One side will probably be destroyed, right? That’s why everyone’s on edge. Fighting over voting rights is rare even in the Northern Region. Usually, it ends with a duel between Family Heads.”
One side will inevitably be destroyed.
Harmatan and Ligron.
One of them will soon have their name erased from the Northern Region’s map.
“Harmatan will probably fall. They had their glory days, and I hear their Young Master is a genius, but what can you do? In the Northern Region, yesterday’s star becoming today’s stone is common. With Renfield’s backing, what can Harmatan possibly do? Lombard and Bernstein have no justification to help Harmatan anyway.”
At that point, Ziel stood up from his seat.
“We’re leaving.”
“N-now, Boss?”
“Yes. We need to complete the Home Visits as quickly as possible.”
For Ziel, what mattered was Efficiency.
If we delayed any longer, the Family conflict might prevent us from conducting the Home Visits.
But to Gilbert and Kelvin’s eyes, it looked like this.
‘Of course… he’s going to help Yurio!’
‘Truly our Master!’
“By the way, Boss? What organization are you affiliated with? It’s not the ‘Dark Brotherhood,’ is it?”
At the man’s question, Gilbert nearly burst out laughing.
“There are people who use a name like that?”
“Well, be careful not to mock them like that anywhere else. They may have a ridiculous name, but their power is formidable.”
Just like the Robson Family in the Capital, criminal organizations exist wherever you go in the Northern Region.
“What do they do?”
“Well, they do all the dirty work in the Northern Region. Kidnapping, attaching themselves to various Families and bleeding them dry, and in times like these when Families try to use each other, they profit from the gaps and make their own place…”
The man made a scissors gesture with his fingers in the air.
“Be careful of this Identification Token. Anyone carrying this token belongs to them. There are counterfeits, but it’s never bad to be cautious.”
“The ones who should be careful are not us, but them.”
“Huh?”
Gilbert glanced at Ziel once, then shook his head.
“No, it’s nothing.”
He was certain that whether it was the Dark Brotherhood or the pitch-black brotherhood, if they touched the Boss, their Destruction was guaranteed.
Gilbert was convinced of this.
“This Dark Brotherhood must be quite formidable.”
Then Ziel spoke up.
The man tilted his head.
“You know of the Dark Brotherhood?”
“I don’t. But I can speculate they’re formidable. They’re all brothers, aren’t they?”
“…?”
“At minimum, there must be hundreds of them, all connected by the same blood as brothers, right?”
“Uh…?”
“Whoever their Mother is, she must be remarkable.”
Ziel had made a strange misunderstanding.
In any case, our destination remained unchanged.
The Harmatan Family.
Whether it was their internal struggle or the Northern Council elections, it had nothing to do with me.
What mattered were two things.
Home Visits.
And the safety of my Students.
“Boss, if you happen to get caught up in the Harmatan Family struggle… what will you do?”
“It’s none of our concern.”
I spoke with finality, then added one more thing.
“But if Student Yurio Harmatan is in danger, we’ll extract him from it. That’s what Teachers do.”
Did I just say Teachers?
Gilbert nodded without realizing it, struck by a peculiar warmth.
“I shall follow your will, Boss.”
“I, I too shall follow Master’s will.”
And the Man watching this scene tilted his head in confusion.
“Are you all perhaps… some kind of Organization?”
Gilbert was momentarily startled.
‘This fellow has sharp instincts.’
Kelvin was somewhat extreme.
‘Should I, eliminate him?’
At this moment when all the Northern Region watched intently.
I stepped into the whirlpool.
A single gust of wind that had begun at the Academy and crossed over the Trenia Mountain Range.

* * *
Yurio Harmatan passed through the Trenia Mountain Range.
A path his Family had pioneered.
Noble Families located in the Southern Section from the Northern Region typically prepared such pioneer routes in advance.
Refined and supplemented over long periods, these paths allowed for faster and safer passage through the mountain range.
Every Break Period, Yurio had traversed this very route.
Even as he walked this path to cross the mountains, his heart swelled with pride.
Victory in the Swordsmanship Tournament.
And selection as Valedictorian of his grade level.
It had been the same in his First Year, and entering his Second Year brought even more joyous occasions.
‘Father will be delighted, won’t he?’
He wanted to become an asset to his Family.
He wanted to restore the Harmatan Family to its former glory.
It was Yurio’s long-cherished dream.
Though the Family now amounted to little more than a voting bloc, Yurio was determined to revive it in his generation.
‘In this Northern Council election, where will Father cast his support?’
The Harmatan Family was a House no one paid attention to anymore.
That had been the case ever since Lombardt and Bernstein began taking turns holding the position of Council Leader.
The Families with voting rights had fallen into a pattern of rotating their votes without needing to court anyone, rendering the smaller voting Families irrelevant.
The problem was that this period coincided precisely with when the Harmatan Family had begun its decline.
‘Not in my generation.’
I can do this.
I’ve even secured the top position at the Sword School.
After graduation, I will restore my Family.
“It would be wonderful if we could maintain good relations with the Rigron Family.”
Yurio returned home brimming with such ambitious dreams, only to receive shocking news.
“Yurio, my son. I regret to inform you of this immediately upon your return, but the Rigron Family has declared a Succession Challenge against us.”
“Ah, Father….”
“Should things go poorly, return to the Academy. Shameful as it is, seek assistance from Teacher Ziel.”
Rangl pressed something into his son’s hand.
“It is the Family Crest. I entrust it to you.”
“Father, this is….”
“I am sorry to burden you with this responsibility.”
The Family Crest.
The symbol of the Family Head, something only the Family Head could possess.
That he had placed it in Yurio’s hands meant….
“Do not forget, Yurio. You are my only son and the sole heir to carry on this Family.”
“Father.”
“So if things go wrong, escape through the secret passage in the Mansion and return to the Capital.”
….
Yurio still could not accept it.
Father’s words sounded as though they had completely sealed the Harmatan Family’s destruction.
“I will fight as well, Father.”
“A Family can exist without an Emblem. But without people, a Family cannot exist at all, Yurio.”
“Father, I achieved Valedictorian this time. Top of the entire Second Year class. The Teacher even acknowledged me….”
“This is not a Swordsmanship match between friends at the Academy. Many will lose their lives.”
At those resolute words, Yurio understood once more.
That the Harmatan Family faced a grave Crisis.
“Father, our Family possesses Voting rights. Since Renfield is rising, what if we pledge our support to either Lombardt or Bernstein and draw out their assistance?”
It was a sufficiently viable idea.
Yet the matter was not so simple.
The burden of aiding Harmatan was far too great.
While a single vote was precious in this situation, aiding Harmatan here meant collision with Renfield.
With the Northern Council election approaching, if we checked Renfield and lost momentum, we would only be doing others’ bidding.
“Neither Lombardt nor Bernstein will aid us.”
“…!”
“So speak no further. You must never fight. The Emblem has already passed into your hands. I will bear everything.”
Rangl’s Will was unwavering.
Harmatan had declined.
Perhaps today was Harmatan’s final day.
Yet there was never Surrender.
Surrender had never existed in Harmatan’s history.
Moreover, in the Northern Region, Surrender meant the Family’s annihilation.
Being absorbed by Ligron and vanishing into history.
Northerners regarded fighting and dying to the end as virtue. Rangl was no exception.
Yurio was the same—
‘You must not die here, my Son.’
Even in the harsh North, there was always one thing worth protecting, even if it meant abandoning one’s Beliefs.
That was his Son, Yurio.
“Some Money and my Letter. Return to the Academy and lie low for a time, then once things quiet down, seek out the Armuz Family in the Capital….”
It was then that Rangl continued his earnest instructions.
“Family Head.”
The Head Butler burst through the door without knocking, his urgency evident.
Rangl’s heart sank.
‘Finally, those Ligron bastards….’
Two days ahead of schedule.
Renfield must also be in a hurry….
“Family Head, there is grave news.”
“The Ligron dogs have come. Prepare swiftly….”
“Teacher Ziel Steelheart has arrived.”
“…What did you just say?”
Only then did I notice the Head Butler’s expression, brimming with bewilderment.
“Teacher Ziel, Teaching Assistant Gilbert, and Assistant Lecturer Kelvin have arrived… for Home Visits…”
Rangl and Yurio.
The two of them stood frozen, their eyes fixed blankly on the Head Butler.
Home Visits.
At this moment.
The most unwelcome guests had arrived.

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