On My First Day Undercover, the Organization Collapsed - Chapter 412

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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 412
Toward the Western Region (2)
The journey westward was undeniably different from what he remembered before.
“Word must have spread that the Boss was coming, but seeing conditions like this, it’s clear that poverty and hunger are truly fearsome.”
The faces of the people they passed held none of the vitality that had once lingered there.
Whenever Ziel’s party drew near, people would stop what they were doing and simply stare blankly into the distance.
There was neither strength nor hope in their eyes.
“Not every place is like that, though.”
“Places worth living in.”
Meanwhile, in territories that were faring reasonably well, people would wave their hands in greeting, and some would even offer food when they visited.
Yet that wasn’t solely because of their better fortune.
“It seems the Boss is quite handsome.”
“What do you mean?”
“When people see someone handsome, their spirits lift, so they naturally show goodwill like this.”
“I see.”
For those who had no leisure to notice such things, only indifference greeted them; yet among those in somewhat better circumstances, he garnered genuine favor.
Ziel found himself marveling anew at the power of appearance.
“Boss, couldn’t you make me a new Human Skin Mask in that case?”
“No.”
“Ah.”
“It draws attention. Besides, you don’t need to wear it anymore now, do you?”
“It’s just that I’ve grown used to wearing it…”
“Wear it too long and it damages your skin. If you’re not careful and it fuses with your flesh through burns, treatment becomes difficult.”
Gilbert gasped in alarm at those words and immediately removed the Human Skin Mask.
“W-why didn’t you tell me sooner!”
In an instant, all of Gilbert’s resolve—built up while wearing it even in front of the students—crumbled to dust.
And Ziel drove the final nail home.
“Hm. It does look better without it.”
“S-same thought.”
“……”
Thus Gilbert removed the Human Skin Mask and reverted to his former self as Erso.
It was a name he’d abandoned now, and he had no intention of using his original one again, so from here on he would simply be Gilbert.
‘Am I really that ugly?’
Every morning when he looked in the mirror, he felt admiration—so why didn’t anyone else see it!
“Is there perhaps a handsome Human Skin Mask? One like the Boss’s face, for example…?”
“Even if there were, I couldn’t make it. The creator said it’s impossible.”
Gilbert’s shoulders sagged.
Well, if one could create a Human Skin Mask with the Boss’s face, it would have caused a sensation among the nobility.
In any case, as they passed through village after village—sometimes drawing looks of suspicion, sometimes receiving goodwill—the party pressed onward toward the Western Region.
And occasionally, something like this would happen.
“Teacher Ziel Steelheart!”
Nobles came rushing out in flustered haste.
“Ah.”
It made sense.
News of the Steelheart Family’s restoration had spread far and wide throughout the Empire.
They’d all been waiting eagerly for whenever he might arrive, and surely had sent scouts to watch for him.
‘Now that I think about it, I did feel watched these past few days.’
Since the Boss hadn’t said anything about it, Gilbert hadn’t stepped forward, but he’d noticed it too.
“My, what an honor! You’ve graced the Western Region with your presence! I’m truly humbled to meet you like this.”
It was a touching performance of feigned surprise.
“Since you’ve come all this way, please allow us to receive you at our family mansion. We’ve prepared delicious cuisine and comfortable lodgings!”
The intent was transparent.
In truth, there was nothing surprising about it.
Right now, every noble in the world was scrambling to forge some kind of connection with Ziel.
The man who had rejected the Emperor’s own offer of Guardian Knight status and lived to tell of it—and had even had the audacity to propose a Sparring match, which was accepted!
Second only to the Emperor, and above everyone else!
When you spoke of such a person, it was unquestionably Ziel.
“I haven’t received a prior invitation. According to Imperial custom, I was taught that approaching someone’s home without a prior invitation is discourtesy, not propriety.”
The noble, who had introduced himself as the Family Head of Rumglass, flinched. To his ears, it sounded like a roundabout refusal.
Yet a chance like this could not be squandered.
“So isn’t this why I’m inviting you now, even as we speak? Consider it—from the Capital to here…… my, even riding at full gallop, it takes four days. You must be exhausted from the journey, so please don’t overexert yourself. Rest well! I’ve heard you’re fond of drink, so I’ve prepared something quite special.”
Special drink!
Ziel’s eyes flickered.
He didn’t deliberate long.
“Very well.”
The Rumglass Family Head exulted inwardly.
He could see the golden future unfolding before him as clearly as if it were written.
The moment he’d heard that Ziel Steelheart had left the Western Region, he’d scrambled to prepare—again and again.
Drink, food, and gifts besides!
He’d scraped together the family finances without hesitation—what of it?
Simply by forging this connection, immense profits would flow to him in time!
“D-drink!”
“Drink’s wonderful.”
“When both of you appreciate it, I’m happier than words can say.”
And so Ziel and his company set out toward the Rumglass Family Mansion.
But along the way, Ziel witnessed something rather peculiar.
‘They hate him.’
It was an atmosphere he’d sensed while passing through the territory where the inhabitants lived, on the way to the Rumglass Family Mansion.
“That bastard…… doesn’t even know we’ve been starving for days…….”
“Who in the hells are these people?”
“Shh, be quiet! Don’t let them hear!”
By then, having opened his senses through the Polar Night Breathing Technique, Ziel had captured every murmur of resentment the territory inhabitants directed at the Rumglass Family Head.
Then, as the mansion drew near, Ziel’s steps halted.
“I will not enter the mansion.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Gilbert, Kelvin. We’re turning back.”
With that, Ziel swiftly departed. The Rumglass Family Head watched his retreating form in a daze before rushing after him, but of course he couldn’t match that pace.
“Wh-what is this…….”
Victory had been within reach, only to vanish like a mirage.
Faced with this absurdity, despair washed over him.
‘D-did I make a mistake? What did I do wrong?’
No matter how he retraced his steps, he found nothing—yet the reason remained a mystery.
And now Ziel and his party had already receded beyond the reach of sight.
“B-Boss, maybe we should slow down!”
“We can slow down now.”
Only after confirming their distance did Ziel ease Potato’s pace. Gilbert’s question followed naturally.
“Was it…… a trap, perhaps?”
“No. That Family Head lacks the ability to lay such a trap.”
“Then why did you suddenly…….”
“If we ate that food and drank that wine, we would become complicit in the suffering of his territory inhabitants.”
“Pardon?”
Gilbert hadn’t heard the murmurs of the territory inhabitants. He’d simply been too focused on the prospect of drinking and resting.
But Ziel had heard it all.
“I won’t become someone who torments the innocent alongside others.”
“Did he…… rob the inhabitants of their provisions to give to you?”
“Something like that. He was taking everything his territory inhabitants possessed to provide me with drink and food.”
“I see.”
Gilbert understood anew.
His Boss was a man utterly foreign to nobility.
To look at his face alone, one might mistake him for Imperial Family rather than a mere noble—yet his actions and his thinking were neither noble nor common.
An ordinary noble would have known but turned a blind eye, barely sparing a thought.
After all, it wasn’t his own territory, and the worth of inhabitants was simply to maintain the lands.
And since the master of that land was noble, it was only natural—perfectly ordinary!
“I understand what you mean, sir.”
Had he never learned of it, it would have made no difference.
But knowing it now, Ziel could not bear to be party to it.
“We move on.”
“Yes, Boss.”
This time, no misunderstanding arose.
Gilbert and Kelvin’s respect for Ziel deepened even further that day.
* * *
The journey continued.
Throughout the way, Ziel rejected every invitation the Rumglass Family extended to him.
“Please, don’t be like that…….”
“I decline.”
…….
Fortunately, Ziel possessed enough authority that no one dared harbor ill will toward him, even when he refused so bluntly.
Or perhaps it was something closer to power.
‘He’s simply not giving them any opening at all.’
“You’re showing compassion for the poor, then.”
“No. I simply dislike it. It would be the same even if the other party were a noble.”
“I see.”
There was, however, one exception.
“Good day, Teacher Ziel Steelheart. I come from the Rihart Family.”
The Rihart Family, no less!
“The Family Head sends word that, if it would not be an imposition, he would humbly like to receive you and speak carefully with you regarding the current state of the Western Region and the future management of our territory.”
“I see.”
Ziel followed the messenger without hesitation.
“Boss, is this a home visit, then?”
“No. The Rihart Family has money.”
…….
“But if we arrive and they’ve stripped their territory inhabitants bare just to entertain me, I’m leaving.”
Fortunately, that never happened.
The Rihart Family did indeed have money.
Once, Gilbert had mentioned in passing to Celia that they frequently undertake relief projects for the poor within their vast territory.
“Welcome, Teacher Ziel.”
Daren came out with quite a number of people to greet him—the entire family, in fact. Joshua, whom Ziel had seen before at the Exchange Tournament, was among them.
“Teacher Ziel Steelheart, it is truly an honor to offer you a proper greeting.”
Joshua exchanged greetings with Ziel, his expression quite nervous. It was understandable—Ziel’s reputation had spread throughout the entire Empire.
“Please, come inside, Teacher. Our daughter unexpectedly remained in the Capital and couldn’t join us, which is regrettable—but Celia is doing well, I trust?”
“Yes. She’s driven by a desire for revenge.”
“Re, revenge?”
“Yes, because she failed to become valedictorian, she’s determined to claim the position next semester.”
“Ah…… Well then, could the current valedictorian be…….”
“Delev Kundel.”
“……I’ll make sure he becomes valedictorian. Even if I have to go to the Capital myself soon!”
“Yes, understood.”
After his brief moment as a father rather than as Family Head, Ziel was shown into the mansion.
The interior of the mansion felt somewhat sparse. There weren’t nearly as many family knights or soldiers as one might expect to see.
Ziel’s party received courteous treatment that made their earlier rejections of other families seem almost unnecessary.
The main discussion began near the end of the meal.
By that point, Ziel had already depleted roughly half of the Rihart Family’s food stores.
“……You seem to be eating even more than before.”
“Yes. My digestion has adapted.”
“And if it adapts further, what exactly will……happen?”
She understood now why this teacher had bothered to open a dining room in the Faculty Dormitory.
Pour.
As the teacup was filled, Daren finally spoke.
“Teacher Ziel, I have urgent matters regarding the Steelheart Family to discuss with you.”
“I see.”
“Yes. In fact, on the way here, we received word from several families we encountered, and I didn’t particularly wish to obstruct your path if I could avoid it.”
It seemed the news had been transmitted quite quickly.
“Some reckless Family Heads exist. Those who think that if they entertain Teacher Ziel once, they can wield that fact as leverage to forge connections or go about boasting somewhere. I, too, am a noble, and nobles live and die for such things—but I chose my contact poorly.”
“Yes. I declined them all.”
“I think I can guess your reason. You probably didn’t want to create unnecessary pretexts that…….”
“I didn’t wish to torment the territory inhabitants along with them.”
“……Pardon?”
“The Rihart Family didn’t seem to be tormenting their territory inhabitants in order to entertain me, so I accepted.”
Which meant that if the Rihart Family had instead scraped together their meager resources and stripped everything from their already-impoverished inhabitants…….
“Ah, I…I see…….”
“Yes. So what is it you wished to discuss regarding my territory?”
Daren drew a heavy breath.
And the story that followed was rather shocking.
“As of yesterday, the Steelheart Family Territory has fallen under the control of a bandit gang.”

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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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