On My First Day Undercover, the Organization Collapsed - Chapter 417

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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 417
The Price of Exploitation
The Lim Family Territory was not far.
Kelvin and Gibson accompanied him.
Potato was with them too, though not exactly a person — a fact that seemed to disappoint Gibson more than a little.
“Had the Steelheart Family remained whole, we would never have come with such a shabby retinue…….”
“Why shabby? Kelvin alone could destroy the Lim Family. Unless they have a Master-level warrior, which they don’t.”
Formality and custom were of no concern to Ziel.
“But sir, it damages the prestige of the Steelheart Family!”
“Do you serve me as your master?”
“I do, sir!”
“Then think of me — not the Steelheart Family.”
……!
Gibson trembled in his saddle as though struck by lightning.
“I understand your meaning perfectly, master. Prestige and formality flow from the person, not the name!”
The logic was slightly skewed, but he’d grasped the point well enough, so Ziel let it pass.
“M-master. The Lim F-family. Destroyed?”
“Not yet.”
At those words, Gibson swallowed hard.
‘So the master has come prepared to annihilate the Lim Family entirely!’
Now it made sense.
The order to calculate the exploitation carefully and completely!
The sum was staggering.
Over the past ten years, exploitation had occurred — and even as territory residents fled one by one, unable to bear it, the total reached a full two million Cel.
Typically, a small territory’s entire annual revenue was only one hundred thousand to three hundred thousand Cel!
The Steelheart Territory had been a mid-sized holding originally, and even after its collapse maintained small-territory scale. It was this that the Lim Family had bled dry.
Two million Cel.
When the highest interest rate set by Imperial Law and ten years of compound interest were applied…….
The calculation came to a staggering twenty-two million Cel.
Naturally, no amount the Lim Family possessed could cover such a sum.
‘So he means to use that as the pretext to utterly destroy and consume the Lim Family. The master is a truly terrifying man!’
Gibson trembled, having grasped the true intent.
A genuine hero of the Empire, after all!
Some might imagine heroes as spotless paragons, yet heroes sometimes need a ruthless side.
No — this was the very definition of fair justice.
The Lim Family’s years of exploitation!
How many tears had been shed for that humiliation.
Now came the time to repay it, thoroughly and completely.
‘If the master even seizes the Lim Family Territory……!’
And so at last they arrived at the Lim Family’s territory.
The Security Guards stiffened.
It was proof they recognized Ziel.
“W-what brings you here, sir?”
“I’ve come to meet the Lim Family’s head.”
…….
Whether they’d been tipped off or not, they fumbled before giving their answer.
“The Family Head is currently away in the Western Region on urgent business.”
Gibson’s voice rang out with fury.
“You dare lie to my face? Just yesterday I overheard the other Family Heads who visited the Steelheart estate speaking among themselves! They said your great Lim Family Head was frantic and beside himself, not knowing what to do!”
“Lower your voice! This is Lim Family territory! Have you no shame?”
“It’s far more shameful to tell a lie that will fall apart in an instant just to escape a moment’s trouble!”
Kelvin quietly covered his ears.
“L-loud. Mana.”
Ziel nodded in agreement and turned to Gibson with a question.
“Head Butler Gibson, do you know what the Lim Family Head looks like?”
“Of course I do, sir. Might I borrow your ears for a moment?”
“I cannot lend my ears. I have only two of them.”
Gibson was momentarily flustered, but then laughed, thinking: of course, this is my master.
“Making jokes even in such a moment! How composed you are, sir!”
It had not been a joke, but before Ziel could say so, Gibson was already whispering.
“A very sordid impression. He keeps a goat’s beard and wears a heavy golden wig to hide his baldness. On windy days, the wig sometimes trembles.”
A golden wig.
A goat’s beard.
Specific enough to identify.
“From this moment forward, the Steelheart Family will exercise our lawful rights against the Lim Family for exploiting the residents of my territory and collecting unauthorized taxes.”
The Security Guards naturally had neither the right nor the ability to stop Ziel. They were merely pitiful guards following orders.
“Oof!”
“Ugh!”
The guards pretended to resist, then simply collapsed forward!
Their acting was masterful.
And so Ziel’s party entered the Lim Family Territory!
Gibson led the way.
His stride radiated fury.
Though no family had destroyed Steelheart, now came the reckoning against those who had exploited Steelheart’s territory—the reckoning Steelheart itself could not claim.
Yet Gibson’s pace was gradually slowing.
‘If they’ve exploited so much… why in the world…?’
Even accounting for the outer reaches, the condition of the territory residents was appalling.
Roads of squelching mud instead of proper pavement.
The stench of filth assaulting the nostrils.
The people they passed watched Ziel’s group with hollow eyes, their appearances equally grim.
‘No. I can’t weaken now. The Steelheart Territory must survive!’
Moving deeper in did little to improve matters.
Only as they neared the heart of the territory did they glimpse people living in anything resembling comfort—though it was comfort only by the most modest measure, hardly prosperous.
A poor harvest had indeed struck the Western Region, but not like this.
Which meant only one thing….
Into that grand mansion visible ahead was where it had all gone.
The Knight Order Members they encountered at the mansion’s entrance were different from mere Security Guards.
“Halt. This is the Lim Family Mansion. Those without prior appointment or invitation cannot enter. Turn back.”
Gibson bristled and straightened his posture again.
“Not even asking who this man is, his name, or his business—and speaking like that! You clearly knew our Master was coming to call!”
One of the knights flinched at the sharp observation, yet unlike the guards, he did not yield.
“For whatever reason, you cannot enter. Show proper courtesy!”
“You bastards!”
Then Ziel stepped forward.
“Does the armor and sword you wear belong to the Lim Family?”
“…?”
The knight, failing to grasp the intent behind the question, tilted his head in confusion before another query struck.
“I asked whether that sword and armor belong to the Lim Family.”
“They do, but—”
“Then I shall have to confiscate them.”
It was instantaneous.
Two knights fell.
“Gibson, go fetch a cart.”
The moment his words ended, Ziel stripped the armor from both knights and seized their swords.
“Kelvin, gather them up.”
“Y-yes, Master. Right away.”
The levy against the Lim Family Mansion had begun.
First came the knights’ armor and swords.
“The main gate is wrought iron. That too shall be confiscated.”
Scrape.
Bang!
Drawing his sword, he cut through the hinges, and the iron gate toppled backward.
“It will do nicely melted down.”
Behind the fallen gate lay a well-tended garden, a fountain, and statues.
“Kelvin, are flowers worth money?”
“F-flowers? Not much value.”
“Uproot them.”
Next came the statues and fountain.
“This will require workers. We’ll detach everything for now and gather it all later.”
Scrape, crack.
The statue was cut down in one clean stroke and set gently on the ground, while the fountain was left untouched.
The gardeners tending the grounds scattered in panic at the sight.
“Quite ornate.”
Ziel Steelheart narrowed his eyes as he surveyed the mansion’s full façade.
It was expansive.
Immaculate, and—
“These wretches funneled everything they skimmed into their own coffers!”
“No. The design displeases me.”
“Sir?”
“I prefer simplicity. That’s true art. This mansion is not.”
Yet even as he spoke, there were no exceptions to his intent.
“I’ll repurpose this mansion’s materials for rebuilding my territory.”
“A wise decision, sir!”
Ziel possessed some knowledge of architecture.
He’d learned it during his assassin days.
To assassinate enemies.
Sometimes one could topple a building to kill a target.
Though he could never bring himself to slaughter the innocent.
Just then, someone came tumbling frantically from the mansion.
“There! He was inside, sir!”
The Lim Family Head.
Rolth Lim.
“Z-Ziel Steelheart, sir—that is you, isn’t it? I am Rolth Lim.”
“Ziel Steelheart. Official teacher of the Edelwein Academy Sword School’s incoming Third Year class and lord of the Steelheart Territory. So you’re the Family Head.”
“Y-yes, but… what… what is the meaning of this sudden v-visit? Why have you…?”
A transparent ploy was unfolding, and Gibson moved to intervene, but Ziel spoke first.
“I’ve come to collect the taxes your family has plundered from my territory over the past ten years.”
Ziel gestured toward the severed statue, the iron gate, and the flowers Kelvin was energetically uprooting.
“Prepare a cart. I’ll deduct that as well from the debt.”
Rolth’s eyes bulged wide.
“B-but that statue is a masterwork by Immarion!”
“Then it must be valuable. I’m taking it.”
“Those flowers are worth ten thousand Sel per bulb!”
Rolth’s voice had risen to near a shriek.
“Th-this is absurd! I merely took pity on the territory’s residents, who had lost their lord, and offered them care—surely I deserve some compensation for my efforts!”
“Did the Imperial Palace grant you permission?”
……
The Steelheart territory had lost its master.
The Lowerc Family, which had destroyed Steelheart, soon collapsed as well. In the end, both the Steelheart and Lowerc territories fell under direct Imperial ownership.
Such was Imperial Law.
Of course, masterless lands were traditionally managed by neighboring families—that was the custom, if one could call it that.
But law stands above custom.
“If the Imperial Palace had granted you permission, then I would be the one at fault. Is there any such record?”
There could not possibly be.
“Th-that would be….”
“You’re attempting a lie.”
“Sir?”
“Your heartbeat rises. Cold sweat beads at your back. You’re licking your lips.”
……
Rolth and the Lim Family knights stared blankly at Ziel.
Ziel turned his attention to the nearby knights and issued a command.
“Remove your armor and lay down your weapons. Fail to do so, and—”
The knights tensed.
It was a surrender ultimatum.
Otherwise, they would be—
“—I’ll strip you by force and confiscate everything.”
……That wasn’t a surrender ultimatum at all, was it?
“The current debt owed stands at twenty-two million Sel.”
Rolth’s mouth fell open.
“Twenty-two million Sel?! That’s impossible! Two million Sel! No, even less than that…!”
“Family Head Rolth Lim! Imperial Law provides for compound interest!”
At the triumphant cry, Rolth’s mouth nearly split with a grin.
“C-compound interest…….”
Money was like that.
When you took it, you were delighted—but when you had to give it back, you wept blood.
Such was Rolth’s fate.
“L-Lord. Surely we can’t just…….”
At the Knight Order member’s question, Rolth had no answer.
The opponent was Ziel Steelheart.
‘Should I have just left with the other families when I had the chance?’
It was a meaningless regret.
Not because it was too late.
Even if he had, Ziel would have stripped him clean regardless.
An efficient man who never took a loss!
“Twenty-two million Cel?! Then our territory is ruined!”
It was then that Ziel suddenly recalled a particular clause of Imperial Law.
“Your calculation is wrong.”
“Isn’t it?! This is preposterous! If you take all that, our residents will become paupers, and if we face an attack from another family……!”
“The territory residents aren’t my concern.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“I won’t touch anything belonging to the territory residents.”
Ziel pointed to the grandiose, ornate mansion of the Lim Family.
“I’ll take everything from here. Gibson.”
“Yes, sir!”
“What should I take?”
Gibson glanced around and a smile spread across his face.
“You may take the entire mansion, sir.”
“Understood.”
Scrape.
Ziel drew his Ether Enforcement Sword.
‘I’ll need to summon Zephyros.’
Then he swung it toward the lower section of the mansion.
Just as Gibson suggested—
Crunch.
“……!”
To tear it away whole.

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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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