On My First Day Undercover, the Organization Collapsed - Chapter 328
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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 328
An Extraordinary Gift (2)
“Ah. You mean Zephyros?”
“Yes. He said he needs a Research Laboratory. Since the Dormitory grounds are spacious, we’ll start construction as soon as we return.”
“Understood, Boss.”
Gilbert found himself suddenly curious.
While working as a kitchen assistant and the Unlimited Dining Table was on break, what was Zephyros doing?
When he heard that Zephyros would rest during the Break Period, madness gleamed in his eyes.
‘Surely he hasn’t caused any accidents.’
With a Cover Identity, one had to live quietly.
Gilbert was no exception.
Back when he was with the Crow, he moved about freely enough, but now he was being as careful as possible.
Until I finished my Revenge against the Red Shadow, there was no other choice.
‘Well, surely not with the Boss around?’
Since only the return journey remained, I would soon be able to meet both Zephyros and Theo.
In the meantime, the dishes Ziel had been waiting for began to emerge once more.
Food Ingredients urgently procured from the surrounding Territories!
Of course, there was no way to know when Ziel’s appetite would be satisfied.
The meal concluded near midnight.
The Lertrung Family’s household members fulfilled their duty of gratitude, remaining at their seats until the very end.
Amil found himself in the same position quite unexpectedly.
He had never imagined the meal would last this long.
‘How could I omit such crucial information?’
He had reported everything else about Ziel, yet somehow failed to mention that he was such a big eater!
It was naturally rude to stand up before others had finished their meal.
Amil, as the Northern Council’s chairman, might have been able to do so, but unfortunately his counterpart was Ziel.
He had to win Ziel’s favor by any means necessary!
“This has been a truly extraordinary meal experience, Teacher Ziel. Teaching Assistant Gilbert, Assistant Lecturer Kelvin—the grace you three have shown our family, I shall never forget for as long as I live.”
The beer journey toward the Lertrung Family concluded with this final farewell.
The beer had been enjoyed without restraint, and the yeast had been obtained. Several barrels of beer to drink during the journey were received as gifts. Of course, along with carts.
“Ah, we’ll just pull it. Hey, Kelvin. Should we just take turns pulling it one person at a time all day?”
“Y-yes, that’s good. I-I’ll go first.”
Compared to all the Hell Training he’d endured with Ziel, pulling a cart was nothing at all….
“No, I’ll pull it.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s my beer.”
…I thought so, but unexpectedly, Ziel stepped forward saying he would pull it himself.
There was one more reason.
“You all will do different Training on the way back.”
“P-please let us pull the cart, Boss!”
“That beer is mine.”
“C-cart! I love carts!”
“Yes! Yes! Yes!”
“I said that beer is mine.”
Amil stared blankly at the three bickering instructors.
‘What on earth are these… Teachers doing?’
Three individuals utterly incomprehensible from any ordinary perspective!
In the end, it was decided that Ziel would pull the cart while the other two would repeatedly practice handstand walking.
“Handstand walking…”
“M-my arms will snap off.”
“I’ll burst before they snap…”
That was when Amil approached.
“Teacher Ziel, I have something I’d like to discuss with you.”
“Amil Renfield, Family Head. What is it?”
“It’s nothing complicated…”
Amil’s objective was straightforward.
First, win Ziel’s favor and establish a reasonably close relationship.
Then surpass Ziel and draw him completely to my side, conquering the Northern Region perfectly.
Though Lombardt and Bernstein suffered defeat in this council election, their family still possessed formidable power!
After all, strength in the Northern Region simply circulates among the same families.
What must be secured before the next election is overwhelming military force!
“Would you perhaps be interested in a villa?”
So I had prepared this.
“I shall grant you a fine piece of land in the Northern Region, Teacher Ziel.”
Land in the Northern Region itself.
Moreover, land so excellent that one could build a villa, establish a household, and still have plenty remaining!
Gilbert’s mouth fell open.
“F-flies will get in.”
Kelvin crunched loudly, shattering the moment, though the emotion hadn’t truly dissipated.
‘Land? Just like that?’
What is land?
An entity impossible to own unless one is a noble or a wealthy merchant.
Most people spend their entire lives farming on noble-owned land before they die.
Possessing even a single plot of one’s own land is a kind of dream and hope!
Of course, few farmers ever achieve this.
‘But why land? They wouldn’t give me useless, worthless land…’
Such land bleeds money just from ownership. One must pay taxes to the Empire.
But naturally, it wouldn’t be that kind of land, so there must certainly be a price.
“If I grant you the land, you could build a villa there and develop it however you wish.”
Even considering it was in the Northern Region, it was an extraordinary proposal.
No matter how harsh the Northern Region might be, good land still yields crops, and where crops grow, people can settle, and where people gather, communities form and taxes flow.
‘Of course he’d accept it.’
According to my investigation, the Steelheart Family has already collapsed—they’re essentially gone.
So this would be an incredibly tempting proposal.
The problem is, the other party is Teacher Ziel.
Unless he’s a fool, there’s no way he’d accept something this enormous without any justification.
He’d naturally be suspicious—
“Understood. Thank you.”
“Pardon?”
“You mentioned giving me land. I’ve been wanting to build a villa, so this works out perfectly.”
The suspicion…
“Good Swordsmanship instruction and land given freely? You must have considerable wealth.”
“Well, that is…”
“This kind of favor isn’t bad at all. I think I read somewhere in a novel that you can buy favor with money.”
He should be suspicious, but…
“Thank you, Amil Renfield. I’ll gladly accept the land.”
“…”
“Unfortunately, it’s difficult right now. I need to head back soon.”
“I, I understand.”
Think slowly, take your time.
‘Give it to him first, and since he’s human, he won’t just let it slide. Later, I can use that as leverage to request cooperation…’
“I’ll accept it the next time I visit the Northern Region.”
“Understood, Teacher Ziel.”
It was a sight that would make anyone—whether a Unit Member of the Renfield Knight Order or any Northern resident—doubt their own eyes.
The Council Chairman looked as though he’d been caught with some weakness!
That’s when Ziel felt a slight doubt.
“For a favor, that’s quite substantial.”
Suspicion that came only now.
“I’ve heard land is very expensive.”
“Yes, that’s true.”
“Why would you give me land good enough to build a villa on? I’ve given you nothing.”
“That is…”
Amil quickly offered his answer.
“You’ve given me enlightenment in Swordsmanship.”
“So that’s why I grew stronger bit by bit through your instruction.”
“Ah, you were aware?”
“I felt it. When training ended, you’d become approximately 1.5% stronger.”
What basis could possibly produce such a figure?
Still, it’s surprising he felt that I’d grown stronger.
“That is my repayment. I couldn’t find a path forward in Swordsmanship for a long time. Perhaps I would have remained stagnant, never growing stronger at all.”
“I see.”
This was genuine.
I harbored sufficient gratitude for having grown stronger.
Even if the tuition for that had been steep.
“And there’s one more thing.”
“What is it?”
Finally, the main point.
“I’d like to request future cooperation. Nothing grandiose—simply that our Family and Teacher Ziel maintain a good relationship, and whenever either of us needs something, we help each other. That sort of arrangement.”
Gilbert tensed.
‘Of course, that’s what the Council Chairman would do.’
In politics, there are no gifts without a price.
If you accept a gift, you must repay its value.
Accepting someone’s favor means exactly that.
‘I wonder what the Boss will think.’
The Ziel that Gilbert knew had no interest in politics whatsoever—only in The Organization and his students!
‘Of course, if it’s for expanding The Organization… it would be an excellent proposal.’
Just as I was trying to predict what answer would come—
“Do you need such expensive land to do that?”
“Pardon?”
“I don’t think you need such expensive land to maintain a good relationship between people. I’m favorably disposed toward you. You likely feel the same. Not because you gave me land—simply because I’m favorably disposed.”
“….”
Amil became a man who’d taken a direct hit.
His political maneuvering laid bare for all to see!
If he were standing naked, would it feel like this?
“I’ve heard that human relationships are sometimes determined by money or gifts, but in this case, it seems unnecessary.”
“…My thinking was shallow. If I’ve offended you, I apologize.”
“You haven’t offended me. I was merely curious.”
Amil finally understood.
This man.
He possessed political acumen several moves—no, many moves—ahead of himself.
The moment he revealed even a hint of his intentions, to be overwhelmed like this without him even being overt about it.
“Even without such things, I can maintain a sufficiently favorable relationship with you and your Family. You’re not a Parent, after all.”
“Ah….”
The ‘favor’ that Ziel conceived was probably different from the favor Amil imagined.
In any case, with this, Amil had managed to achieve at least part of his objective.
‘Now I have a connection.’
“I’ll accept the land you’re offering. Thank you.”
“….”
“I’ll need to build a grand villa.”
Of course, he had to give the land.
Because I promised to.
Amil was experiencing an inexplicable sense of profound defeat.
* * *
Ziel pulled the cart while Gilbert and Kelvin walked on their hands, diligently heading westward.
“My goodness, my goodness. What on earth is that? What kind of spectacle is this?”
“I can’t even explain it… Why are they going like that?”
A single man pulling an enormous cart.
Two men walking on their hands.
No matter how you looked at it, an inexplicable combination!
“B-b-boss. We’ll c-collapse.”
Ziel nodded at the sight of Gilbert stammering like Kelvin.
“The training is progressing well.”
Kelvin had exhausted himself so thoroughly that he’d said everything he could.
“M-master. I hate this.”
“So when the intensity is high, you hate it? Good. Keep hating it then. I’ll specially permit it.”
“Ah.”
Their complaints ended there.
Because Ziel was accomplishing something far more extraordinary.
‘How in the world is he pulling a cart loaded with twenty barrels of beer….’
‘And he’s not even tired….’
Walking on one’s hands.
Pulling a cart laden with twenty full barrels of beer alone.
The former seemed preferable by comparison.
Of course, Ziel understood perfectly the strain placed on the body and the importance of rest.
“Today, you won’t do handstands.”
“Yes!”
“Yes!”
“Your arms need recovery.”
Being able to walk on two legs felt this blissful!
“Instead, today you’ll run.”
“Ah.”
“Oh.”
That was right.
The training never stopped.
They persevered through their tears, doing their utmost.
The joy of growing stronger!
They were experiencing it.
In fact, from their battle with Valentin, the two had gained some profound understanding.
The higher one’s realm, the more difficult growth becomes.
In that sense, this opportunity was truly precious.
‘When I extend the sword and execute the recovery motion, is this the right way? No, if I had done it that way at that moment….’
‘A greatsword is heavy. So it cannot be fast. Yet in that instant, it seemed undeniably swift… why was that?’
Repetitive physical training engrosses the mind in such contemplation.
And without one’s awareness, it causes Mana to stir restlessly within.
‘They are growing.’
Ziel sensed the Mana surging within both their bodies through the Polar Night Breathing Technique and smiled.
They were undoubtedly becoming stronger.
It seemed the path toward becoming a Master was opening before them.
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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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