On My First Day Undercover, the Organization Collapsed - Chapter 337

—————
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 337
A Command from the Imperial Palace?
There was one fact Ziel did not know.
The underworld and back alleys naturally harbored countless organizations, but their numbers and scale had recently exploded exponentially.
The reason was the downfall of Black Sky.
Black Sky was a kind of “sky”—a reference point.
It was also an organization that suppressed the underworld through incalculable terror.
In other words.
Ziel’s involvement in Black Sky’s collapse had inadvertently triggered the machinations of various factions vying to fill that void!
Even Siren’s grand scheme to establish an assassination guild would have been unimaginable without Black Sky’s downfall.
Of course, this was all hindsight.
Had Ziel known these facts, he would naturally have involved himself in Black Sky’s collapse all the same.
It was necessary for him to escape that life.
Since his brainwashing was undone, Ziel’s measure had always been himself.
If there was one more thing to add, it would be his students.
“My apologies for the wait. I had to fetch someone who knows how to appraise items.”
“Mm.”
In the meantime, the proprietor ushered in another man. He had an unremarkable appearance.
But Ziel immediately sensed the mana surging through his body.
A mage.
One who stood ready to convert fluctuations into magic and unleash it at any moment.
‘He’s far weaker than Zephyros,’ Ziel thought.
Even as Ziel completed his assessment and calculation, Gilbert asked.
“Ahem. Is this the gentleman who will appraise our precious item?”
“Indeed. Please show me the piece.”
“Ah, are you quite certain this is the right person?”
The proprietor bristled.
“This gentleman possesses considerable knowledge regarding magical artifacts. Mind your tongue!”
“Ah, so he’s a mage, is he? Very well.”
Maintaining his act, Gilbert casually set the Phase Mirror on the counter.
The moment the man saw the hand mirror, his eyes gleamed.
“This is…….”
“What do you make of it?”
He sensed something.
Ziel did not miss the slight tremor at the man’s fingertips.
‘He knows something.’
Unless it were a family heirloom, such a reaction to what appeared to be an unremarkable magical tool was indeed strange.
He clearly knew something.
Ziel committed the man’s face to memory.
So that he might apprehend him decisively in the one-sided battle about to unfold.
“Well then. How much are you asking for this?”
Gilbert feigned ignorance in his reply.
“That depends on the buyer, doesn’t it? Since it’s a precious item, we intend to sell it to someone who appreciates its value.”
“So how much exactly…….”
“You seem to have a discerning eye. Why don’t you make an offer? We’ll consider it.”
Ziel was somewhat impressed.
Gilbert’s negotiation skills appeared quite refined.
Though the audacity behind it came from knowing Ziel stood at his back.
“Ahem. It appears quite ancient, and the mana contained within it is considerable…… What of two hundred thousand Cel?”
Gilbert snatched the hand mirror from the counter in a flash.
The startled man reached toward Gilbert at once.
“Ah, ah—why would you do that?”
“Three million Cel would be a fair price, and you offer two hundred thousand? You take me for an ignoramus to cheat so brazenly? Hmm?”
“Ah, I understand. Please, compose yourself—I apologize. That was merely a slip of the tongue, you understand?”
“Ahem!”
The mage set the hand mirror back on the table as if yielding reluctantly.
The proprietor was dismayed.
‘Is this really worth that much? Blast, I should have handled the negotiation myself.’
Recognizing an item’s value was the duty of a superior.
Negotiation was his domain.
Ordinarily, such situations arose rarely.
One either paid a reasonable price and purchased, or made off with the goods by force.
But upon seeing this piece, he had lost his composure considerably.
‘Could it truly be something leaked from Black Sky?’
If so, it would be worth three million Cel—no, thirty million Cel to acquire!
Of course, after acquiring it that way, he would recover the thirty million Cel as well.
Having reached a conclusion, the proprietor hastened to intervene.
“Forgive me, there was much discourtesy. Ha, ha. In the presence of such valuables, everyone’s tongue gets tangled. So…… what of five million Cel?”
“Ahem. Mm. A sincere mistake, truly.”
“I understand, I do. Very well. I shall double it. Six million Cel!”
Even Gilbert faltered at that sum.
“Six million Cel…….”
Of course it was an act.
Gilbert was no fool.
If the boss was right, this item was worth not six million but sixty million Cel!
There was no shortage of wealthy people in this world.
Would such people remain idle upon hearing that a piece possessed this power and had belonged to Black Sky?
‘Could it reach a hundred million?’
But there was no reason to raise the price so high.
The most important thing was to draw them out.
He had already settled this with the boss.
“Ten million Cel. I will not sell for less than this price.”
“……Very well.”
The proprietor nodded as if considering the matter.
Inwardly, he rejoiced.
‘You’ve taken the bait, you bastards.’
He had no intention of paying ten million Cel.
He might part with a thousand Cel as consolation money.
“However, as it is quite a substantial sum, I’m afraid I cannot provide it immediately today.”
“Look here, don’t try any more tricks…… Surely you’re not asking us to leave it here?”
“My goodness, how could you suggest such a thing? We are reliable in our dealings. Come back at precisely this time tomorrow, and we’ll have it prepared.”
They would not return.
The moment they stepped out of this shop, their lives would cease to exist.
Forty men were already lying in wait, positioned in advance for this very purpose.
Former assassins.
Former members of Crow.
Former knights.
And mercenaries besides.
A portion of the organization’s vaunted combat unit had gathered here.
Even a master-grade opponent would find escape difficult.
“That promise—you’ll need to honor it.”
“Of course. Don’t worry; come again tomorrow.”
“Ahem.”
Gilbert turned, maintaining his performance to the end.
And right on cue, Ziel whispered softly.
“Attack formation is set. You’ll be ambushed the moment you leave.”
“Shall I handle about half of them?”
“No. You’ll handle all of them.”
“……!”
Ziel did not bother saying he would step in if things grew dangerous.
Were he to say it, the other’s mindset would shift.
“……I’ll see it through.”
“See that you do.”
The moment the two stepped beyond the door after their brief exchange.
Clang!
As Gilbert drew his sword, he parried three daggers that came flying at once.
It had begun.
Thud!
While Gilbert identified his first target and charged forward, Ziel stepped back inside the shop.
“C-customer?”
The proprietor was bewildered.
He had not expected them to return so soon.
He thought they’d either die at the entrance or flee to fight!
“You’ve laid a trap. Forty men.”
“……!”
“Did you mean to kill us and steal the Phase Mirror?”
“So…… I was right after all!”
The mage grew excited at the mention of the Phase Mirror!
“That’s down to thirty-eight now.”
“What?”
“My subordinate handled them.”
“How is that even—”
There was no further conversation.
Intense mana erupted around the mage’s hands, transformed into fluctuations that came flying with force enough to tear Ziel asunder.
A cold smile was spreading across the mage’s lips when it happened.
Whoosh.
It vanished.
The magic that had been flying at him.
“Wh-what?”
Ziel withdrew the Phase Mirror from his pocket and showed it.
“This mirror appears to react to the wielder’s power. Magic of your caliber can be easily neutralized.”
The backlash does draw the owner’s mana, but for Ziel that was scarcely a price at all.
The Breath of Extreme Night was ceaselessly drawing in the surrounding mana.
“That’s thirty-five now.”
“This is…… ridiculous.”
“My subordinate might be in danger, so I’ll restrain you both for a moment.”
Ziel vanished before their eyes in an instant—
“Gack.”
“Ugh!”
Both collapsed where they stood.
They could not move.
They could not cry out.
“Wait here. They’ll come soon.”
Those words fell like a death sentence.
Ziel emerged again and climbed to the roof.
“Die.”
Clang!
One man rushed at him the moment he rose, but Ziel did not so much as blink before parrying the incoming blade—
Slice!
“Gack!”
—and cut him down with the Bloody Moon.
No blood spattered.
‘I wonder where the absorbed blood goes,’ Ziel mused.
Next, he leaped to the opposite roof and slashed the chest of a mercenary about to loose a crossbow bolt.
A cut so swift there was no time to react!
“Huh?”
The mercenary whose chest had been cut had no idea what happened and stared blankly.
No blood sprayed, so for a moment he thought he hadn’t been cut at all.
But the pain that soon came seized his chest, and he collapsed.
Ziel fell into contemplation again.
‘The absorbed blood isn’t being emitted backward either. I cannot fathom how this works.’
There was Ziel, gravely pondering the laws of physics!
Even as he thought, his body moved with terrifying speed, methodically eliminating threats aimed at Gilbert from range.
“Twenty-five left now.”
Gilbert fought well.
The habit had taken hold—he did not kill, merely slashing or piercing limbs with precision restraint.
His expression showed no particular strain.
‘Is this the fruit of training?’
His opponents were all formidable.
At minimum, they had reached the early Expert grade.
Whatever organization they belonged to, they possessed military strength comparable to the Knight Order!
Yet Gilbert felt no difficulty whatsoever.
In fact, he could see exactly how their attacks would come and when they would arrive.
‘Is this what the boss felt?’
During training, he faced what seemed an insurmountable wall.
Just when he thought he might overcome it, it would leap higher still!
He wondered if his opponents felt the same way now.
“Surround him!”
The ones who had first thought him insignificant finally rushed him all at once.
Early Expert grade at minimum, many of them Mid-level proficiency.
‘Where did they gather such people?’
Mid-level talent like this would find welcome at any knight order.
Even as they fought, Gilbert’s mind raced sharply.
‘If the boss were to consume an organization this full of such individuals…….’
Dominating the entire Empire might cease to be a dream!
‘Not one of them can die.’
Whoosh, crack!
As Gilbert’s blade flashed without cease through the chaos—
“All sorted.”
Ziel had finished off all the ranged threats aimed at Gilbert.
“Who…… who are you exactly…….”
The last man to fall asked as if wronged, and Ziel answered.
“The Dark Ghost.”
“The Dark Ghost……? Could you be…… the one who won the Swordsmanship Tournament……!”
“Yes.”
“Was it an order from the Imperial Palace…….”
He murmured vacantly before losing consciousness, and Ziel answered anyway.
“No.”
Sadly, the man heard nothing.
Ziel looked down below once more.
Gilbert was struggling somewhat, but his victory was assured.
“He’s grown.”
When they first met, Gilbert had been early Expert grade, around Mid-level proficiency. Now he had reached the High-level echelon.
It was the price paid for enduring training like hell itself.
‘Kelvin’s going to be jealous.’
And then the final man fell.
“Gack…….”
All were alive.
They merely could not move, or lay unconscious.
“It’s finished, Boss!”
At Gilbert’s call, Ziel descended.
“Well done. You’ve grown.”
“Truly?”
“Yes. Subduing them was far harder than killing would have been.”
“That’s only thanks to your excellent instruction. Besides, we can make use of them later.”
“Mm.”
Though it had begun in misunderstanding, the result was a sound judgment!
“Now we must question the leaders.”
It was time to enter the general store again.

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