On My First Day Undercover, the Organization Collapsed - Chapter 317

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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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First Day of Infiltration, The Organization Was Destroyed Episode 317
The Tea Is Delicious
“You bastards, you bastards! The Dark Brotherhood will not forgive this!”
“The Raut Family will not forgive this either!”
Amid their senseless ravings, a mountain of clothing burned brightly.
“Warm, isn’t it.”
“It’s like spring, Boss.”
“M-my hands are melting, Master.”
Ziel and his companions stood side by side in amicable silence, warming themselves by the flames.
“I’m getting sleepy, Boss.”
“Sleep when we make camp later.”
“Couldn’t we just sleep here and deal with them afterward before catching up?”
“Inefficient.”
“Understood.”
The warmth brought drowsiness creeping in, but unfortunately it had to be resisted.
Besides, the fire wouldn’t last long either.
If only they’d added some firewood, but cloth fragments burned quickly—there was no way it would last.
Watching the fuel turn to ash in moments, Gilbert wore an expression of genuine regret.
“From this moment on, you are targets of the Dark Brotherhood! How dare you insult us like this!”
And gazing upon the forty bandits thrashing about in nothing but their undergarments, Gilbert’s face grew sorrowful.
“Doesn’t your mouth hurt?”
“Shut up!”
Ziel’s orders prevented him from killing them outright, but these creatures were so insufferably loud he wanted to silence them immediately!
“Boss, couldn’t we just eliminate one as an example?”
“We can’t afford to get caught up in something major. Bear with it.”
The man speaking was the very same person who had caused an enormous upheaval in Northern politics just two days prior.
“The Dark Brotherhood or whatever might come looking for us.”
“I don’t care.”
Indeed.
What did it matter who came looking?
‘Absorbing them might not be a bad idea? We’re expanding the Organization into the Northern Region anyway.’
If he absorbed these so-called brotherhood members, it seemed like it could prove somewhat useful.
“Let’s go, Boss. We have a long way to travel.”
“You bastards! Let us go!”
Gilbert sighed, then approached the one shouting at the top of his lungs.
He drew his dagger and cut away the man’s undergarments.
“W-what kind of atrocity is this!”
Whoosh!
As he tossed them into the ash heap, the remaining embers ignited, and the yellowed undergarments burst into brilliant flame!
“Make a sound one more time, and I’ll burn the rest of your clothes too.”
“I, I….”
“Boss! Don’t open your mouth!”
“Without underwear, we’re dead!”
Truly admirable loyalty.
Of course, underwear was important.
The Northern Region was cold, the wind fierce, and the snow hadn’t fully melted….
It seemed Magical Beasts even inhabited this area.
‘Maybe it would be better to just kill them?’
Though living and rolling in filth was supposedly better, Gilbert had no desire to be discovered by anyone in his current state.
“Release me and gooooooo!”
As they moved further away, Ziel’s group walked on amid the distant, fading screams.
It felt good to be warm, even if only briefly.
For some reason, I had a sudden feeling that my connection with these people wasn’t over yet.
“By the way, Boss, there seem to be more students from the Northern Region than expected.”
“According to Department Head Berhal Abue, the Second Years have the most students from the Northern Region. Four of them.”
“What about the other grades?”
“Third Year has none at all, and Fourth Year has one. I don’t know about Fifth Year, Sixth Year, or First Year.”
The Northern Region’s characteristic insularity made it rare for families to send their children to the Academy.
The larger and more powerful a Family House, the rarer it became.
They simply couldn’t find a reason to venture beyond the Northern Region.
Rather, it was mostly Families with less extensive influence—like the Harmatan Family—who sent their children to build external connections and gain experience.
In that sense, the Nihalis Family we’re visiting now falls into that same category.
‘Lenoa Nihalis… not a particularly standout student.’
There were a hundred students in the Second Year alone.
So for Gilbert, who couldn’t remember every single student in detail, Lenoa was just an ordinary student.
“Kelvin, do you remember Lenoa?”
“N, not particularly memorable.”
Kelvin felt the same way.
Of course, Ziel was different.
“Student Lenoa Nihalis. She works hard, but her talent is lacking compared to other students.”
A cold assessment followed.
“If she could just abandon her timidity and inferiority complex, she could grow sufficiently.”
That was precisely why Lenoa had gone unnoticed until now.
“She did go unnoticed….”
“She was trying to go unnoticed.”
She participated in classes and group activities, but had never become a leader or group leader.
She was one of the students hovering in the lower tier, and among them, her timidity was particularly noticeable.
This was also a key purpose of today’s home visit to the Nihalis Family.
“Why was that? Have you tried consulting with her?”
“This is my first parent consultation. The Family Head of the Nihalis Family has never visited the Academy.”
“Hmm.”
What was unusual was Rangl Harmatan crossing the mountain range to visit his son—the Family Heads of the Northern Region rarely left their posts.
Unless, like Amil Renfield, there was a special circumstance such as a vote for the Northern Council position.
“I’d like to understand why she’s so timid while we’re at it.”
“L-Lenoa. I’m… similar to her.”
At Kelvin’s words, Gilbert pondered for a moment before shaking his head.
“No matter how I look at it, you’re not timid.”
“Then… what am I?”
“Just… strange?”
“You’re the weak one.”
“Want to fight? Huh?”
And so Ziel’s party headed toward the Nihalis Family Mansion.
Though it took several days to travel, we had sent word ahead and quickened our pace, so we arrived without delay.
And finally, we came face to face with the Nihalis Family Mansion.
“It’s slightly larger than the Harmatan Family estate.”
“The Harmatan Family has better practicality.”
Enough with the assessments.
The Family Head of the Nihalis Family and his sons came out to greet us upon hearing the news.
“Welcome, Teacher Ziel. Thank you for making the arduous journey all the way to the Northern Region.”
Family Head Alton Nihalis and no fewer than fifteen direct family members were gathered in one place.
“I am Ziel Steelheart, official teacher in charge of the 2nd Year at Edelwein Academy Sword School. This is Gilbert, who serves as Teaching Assistant for the 2nd Year, and Kelvin, who serves as Assistant Lecturer.”
As Ziel made the introductions, Gilbert suddenly understood why Lenoa had no choice but to be timid.
‘There are so many children.’
Since there would be no collateral relatives at such a gathering, there were as many as thirteen children.
Among them, Lenoa stood nearly at the very end, unable to meet anyone’s eyes and keeping her head bowed.
Judging by how she stood somewhat apart from her siblings, they didn’t seem particularly close.
Several of her siblings were regarding Ziel with curious gazes.
“Are you surprised? Our family is quite large, haha.”
This seemed to be a point of pride for the Nihalis Family.
For a single generation to form such a large extended family through direct descendants alone was rare, even for wealthy noble houses.
“Please, come inside first. We can conduct the home visits gradually, but let’s first relieve you of your travel fatigue.”
The hospitality was considerable.
It was natural for the Family Head to come greet us personally, but even accounting for that, the hospitality was substantial.
Even the Northern servants were trembling as they received Ziel’s party.
It seemed the Family Head had given them thorough instructions.
“We’ve heard the news, Teacher. You defeated Family Head Amil Renfield with a Single Strike and changed the course of this election.”
As expected.
There was a reason for everything.
“You’ve accomplished something extraordinary. It’s truly rare to find precedent for an outsider wielding such influence in the Northern Region.”
Alton Nihalis’s eyes were gleaming.
As if he were facing some tremendously important benefactor!
“If I may be so bold as to speculate, do you perhaps harbor ambitions for this Northern Region? For instance… might His Imperial Majesty share such sentiments?”
Ziel stopped mid-stride in the corridor.
Alton also realized his misstep.
‘Did I come on too strong from the start?’
Alton’s intentions were transparent.
He wanted to see the Nihalis Family take flight at this very moment.
Someone overhearing might point fingers—after all, relying on external forces rather than practicing every man for himself in the Northern Region was hardly admirable.
But Alton gave no weight to such concerns.
In the North, everyone deceived and was deceived in turn anyway.
Thus, this home visit was an opportunity.
The Nihalis Family, which had never particularly stood out in Northern history, finally had its golden chance to….
“I harbor no such intentions.”
“Pardon?”
“I merely conducted supplementary classes with the student.”
Alton was momentarily stunned by Ziel’s calm yet resolute response.
‘Ah, I see. Since there are listening ears, he speaks in such terms.’
Alton, like so many others, misunderstood.
‘I’ll need to have a separate conversation with him in the reception room later.’
Alton was determined to seize this opportunity relentlessly.
Why else would he have fathered so many children?
At least one of them would possess talent.
Surely one of them would do something for the Family!
There was a time when Alton resented the world.
In this brutally unfair Northern Region, he had watched his Family struggle since childhood.
Those days were over now.
‘If I use this connection, I can forge ties with the Capital….’
The three were thus shown to the reception room.
“Please, do enjoy. These tea leaves are quite rare, even in the Northern Region.”
Slurp.
Ziel’s eyes sparkled as he took a sip of the tea.
“Excellent.”
“Is that so? I’m delighted it pleases you.”
Tea leaves prepared with great conviction for this very occasion!
Just yesterday, he had urgently procured an entire box.
For a sum of tens of thousands of Sel!
An enormous expense, but it mattered not.
If he could win over Teacher Ziel.
“Um, Teacher Ziel. About what you said earlier….”
“Would you care for more?”
“Pardon?”
He’d finished that entire cup of hot tea?
“Ah, yes, of course. I’ll have more tea brought out.”
“Yes, Lord.”
A steaming tea cup was placed before Ziel.
“There’s a distinctive aroma beneath the earthy fragrance. It’s a scent I’d like to continue experiencing.”
Up until this moment, Alton had no inkling of the catastrophe about to unfold.
“One more cup, if you please.”
“Ah, yes. I understand. You seem quite fond of the tea.”
“Yes. It’s the finest tea I’ve had since arriving in the Northern Region. Though if we’re counting beverages overall, beer would be the best.”
“Oh, you enjoy beer?”
“I’ve only come to like it since arriving in the Northern Region.”
“I see. Well, you can have beer later at mealtime. For now, please, drink as much tea as you’d like.”
Ziel’s ears perked up.
“As much as I’d like. Understood.”
Two cups.
Three cups.
Four cups.
By the time he’d passed seven cups, something felt distinctly off.
“….”
Gulp.
Ziel drank.
He kept drinking.
He never rose from his seat.
He simply continued drinking.
Like parched wood absorbing water, he sipped without pause.
‘This… this is going to…’
“Since you said to drink as much as I’d like, I’ll have another cup.”
By the time he’d surpassed twenty cups.
Alton whispered to a servant, asking quietly.
‘How much tea is left?’
‘We’ve already steeped half of it…’
‘What? Already? But I bought a whole box?’
‘You instructed us to brew it strong, Lord…’
Alton wanted to weep.
“Ahem, well then, Teacher, what do you typically discuss during home visits? If it’s about Lenoa’s growth, I think a brief overview would suffice…”
He desperately wanted to end this.
He wanted to move to the main topic and discuss the future of the Nihalis Family.
But Alton still didn’t realize.
That Ziel had truly come for a home visit.
“Please summon Lenoa Nihalis. Home visits are conducted according to protocol—with both the student and their parents present.”
It seemed unlikely that Alton would achieve his objective.
Moreover, the precious tea leaves were dwindling by the day.

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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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