Reincarnated as a Genius Prodigy of a Prestigious Family - Chapter 246

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Reincarnated as a Legendary Talent Genius of a Noble Family Episode 246

162. Why Don’t You Try Being a Merchant This Time? (1)

For now, I didn’t let go of my suspicion.

Mother had told me so.

An assassin must do their best to deceive someone if necessary, and strike at that opening.

So without lowering my guard, I floated several mana arrows in the void so I could subdue the man at any time.

“…Were you a mage?”

“Something like that.”

I said that while observing the man.

The fellow who introduced himself as ‘Codename Tuba’ was emphasizing his lack of intent to attack by completely dropping both arms.

But I also knew that posture was one of the assassin stances used to put opponents at ease.

Good grief.

I wondered if living as an assassin meant having to live a life of constant suspicion like this.

Anyway, I asked the fellow.

“How did you recognize this symbol?”

“That symbol is a kind of proof given only to the most outstanding assassins. Whoever possesses it becomes someone that any assassin must help, no matter who they are.”

Mother hadn’t given it to me for nothing.

Then Mother was the most outstanding assassin, and she gave me the symbol she received that way.

“Do you know the owner of this symbol?”

“I know well. And I also don’t know well. Exchange between assassins is officially forbidden.”

“Did your senior teach you?”

“Yes. She’s the one who made it possible for me to earn a living as an assassin.”

He muttered with an expression as if dreaming.

“She was the greatest assassin… Now she’s become a legend too…”

Actually, I still can’t imagine it.

That such a loving person was a legendary assassin.

Well, seeing how she changes diapers in 2 seconds and approaches without Father, who’s Hexa-class, noticing, it makes sense…

Anyway, listening to the continuing story, it went roughly like this.

“So you’re continuing an assassin’s life after retirement?”

“I use assassin techniques, but officially no. As you can see, I’m living by taking requests from nobles.”

“Is there a reason you have to?”

“My skills have gotten rusty, but I have a large debt.”

A large debt.

Well, what other reason would retired assassins have for doing nobles’ dirty work?

Unless they had their weakness caught.

“May I ask you one thing too? What is your relationship with the owner of the symbol…”

“That’s a secret.”

“As expected… I thought it would naturally be so. But I’m envious. To receive that symbol… You seem more than qualified too. No matter how retired I am and how rusty my senses have gotten, I’ve never had my back caught twice like this.”

Of course.

Because assassins die the moment their back is caught.

Therefore, I’m quite by assassin standards.

If it weren’t for Count Altair’s matter, I would have eliminated him right away.

In that sense, I asked.

“More than that, what’s your intention?”

“To steal mana stones and experimental equipment to interfere with Viscount Otier’s research, and steal the research results to make them Count Altair’s business.”

Being so frank is rather good.

“Then Count Altair won’t stop.”

“If necessary, he’ll even order Viscount Otier’s assassination.”

Certainly, he’s that kind of man.

His reputation behind the scenes wasn’t good either.

Having monopolized business to that extent so far, could he have always used only legal methods?

Even if they appear splendid and fair on the surface, the secret struggles of nobles are dirtier than anything else when you look inside.

“You said you’d follow exactly what the owner of the symbol says according to the old covenant.”

“That’s right. Even if it violates the iron rule of assassins.”

The iron rule of assassins.

Do not betray your client.

He’s probably talking about this.

“And even if that weren’t the case, I would have helped you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Because you inherited the position of my senior, codename ‘Black Point’.”

I can’t know exactly what Mother meant to this fellow called Tuba, but one thing seems certain.

She meant a great deal.

“Then let’s do it this way.”

I told him while recalling the move I had been thinking about all along.

Count Altair barely woke up.

It was thanks to three priests clinging to him and showering him with divine power for over an hour.

Thanks to that, he was in a position to pay an enormous ‘donation’, but if Count Altair had worried about such things, he wouldn’t have come to the temple in the first place.

“Ugh… I’m dying.”

“Count, are you conscious?”

A knight from Count Altair’s estate asked. But Count Altair showed an irritated reaction.

“The mana stone… No, where’s Tuba?”

“He didn’t follow. He explained your symptoms to us saying you were in critical condition, then went back.”

“Right, he had no choice.”

Count Altair understood.

What kind of items those were.

He had barely woken up, but fortunately those would still be there.

“What kind of damned bastard made those things…”

But that’s that and this is this.

“You almost died.”

As the priest said, he suddenly had a seizure and almost suffocated to death.

There were several types of medicine distributed by Count Altair’s house, but it was the kind of seizure where taking them was useless.

That’s why he came to the temple prepared for an enormous ‘donation’.

It was fortunate he survived, but getting angry was unavoidable.

‘Damn. I didn’t know such magic was installed. No wait, it might not be magic. I’ll have to examine it thoroughly and research it as soon as I return.’

Though he was angry, Count Altair’s heart quickly calmed down.

With just that mana stone, the research he couldn’t proceed with could be completed.

If he completed the formula and prepared bypass equations that could be implemented with ordinary mana stones, he could resume the research that had been stopped.

His heart pounding again.

But Count Altair faced an unexpected scene at the mansion he barely managed to reach.

“Wh, what is this…”

The laboratory he went down to alone was empty.

Tuba, who should always be guarding his position, wasn’t there, and neither were the mana stone and experimental equipment.

They had vanished like smoke.

“No way.”

Count Altair urgently attempted communication.

But the mana signal toward Tuba was cut off after going a few times.

It’s one of three things.

There was a problem with his safety.

He was in a place beyond mana’s reach.

Or—

He had betrayed him.

“That can’t be.”

In the world of assassins, betrayal meant immediate death, loss of trust, and never being able to work as an assassin again.

Even for retired assassins, that rule still applied.

That’s why Count Altair had trusted Tuva to a surprising degree…

“Count! You’re awake.”

Just then, the Head Butler rushed down to the laboratory.

Having returned in such haste, he heard the news that the Count had passed through the main gate and gone straight to the laboratory, so he hurried over from his other tasks.

“Head Butler. By any chance, were there any intruders?”

“Pardon? No, there weren’t. How could there be? I received no such reports from the guards. How are you feeling? I’m so relieved you’ve recovered.”

The words of comfort didn’t register.

“Oh, and a priest from the Grand Temple came to visit…”

“Those damn priests show up whenever I least expect them. I’m sure you handled it appropriately and sent him away?”

“Yes, that’s right. It didn’t take long and the donation was also…”

“Fine, fine. I’m sure you handled it properly. Damn it, but Tuva has disappeared. Did he give you any hint by any chance?”

“You’re saying Tuva has disappeared?”

In fact, this matter had proceeded without the Head Butler’s knowledge.

In other words, only he and Tuva knew about stealing the mana stone and experimental equipment from Viscount Otier.

‘Damn it.’

Count Altair gnawed at his fingernails.

Perhaps his fingernails wouldn’t survive the day.

And Tuva returned when it was nearly midnight.

“I apologize, Count. I’m a bit late.”

“Where the hell did you go? Damn it, I tried contacting you so many times!”

Tuva immediately reassured Count Altair.

“The opponent was a professional. I had considerable trouble tracking and eliminating him.”

“What? What do you mean…”

Count Altair’s eyes widened as he saw the mana stone and experimental equipment that Tuva produced.

“You, you recovered them!”

“I apologize for being late. I was thinking I had to deliver them to you as quickly as possible.”

Count Altair’s expression immediately brightened.

“No, no. You did well. Very professional indeed. Well done, well done.”

The mana stone.

The experimental equipment.

This was all he needed.

But greed arose.

This wasn’t enough.

The capacity of the mana stone that didn’t have much left anyway.

Once he used it all, this mana stone would become useless.

So he needed more.

“Wait, if you tracked and eliminated him… was he perhaps someone that fellow Viscount Otier hired?”

“He wasn’t. It was a third party.”

“A third party?”

Come to think of it, that made much more sense.

Someone like Viscount Otier wouldn’t have hired a professional assassin to retaliate.

His daughter’s life could be at stake if he made a wrong move.

“Hmm. Then we’ll just keep watch but don’t need to worry about it particularly.”

“That’s right.”

Count Altair decided to stop worrying about Viscount Otier, who had lost both the mana stone and experimental equipment.

He didn’t know how that fellow had obtained such a mana stone, but since he’d stolen it, that was that.

Rather, now was the time to investigate this third party.

“But a third party, tell me more details.”

“It was a secretive force that professionally manufactured those mana stones.”

“What?”

Count Altair was surprised but soon became calm.

No matter how he thought about it, it was strange.

Mana stones of this efficiency had never existed before.

Naturally someone must have created them, and it definitely wouldn’t be an individual.

‘There’s no way someone could have developed mana stones of this efficiency alone. There must be some massive force behind it.’

Then how did Viscount Otier obtain it?

If he eliminated that fellow, wouldn’t he be able to find out more easily?

“I found this on the man I eliminated.”

But he realized there was no need for that.

Count Altair’s eyes lit up as he received the note Tuva handed him.

“This is…”

A time written along with a date.

Something was written below it, but it was in code.

But he could guess.

That it was a ‘location’.

‘Is it a rendezvous location for selling mana stones? Or a rendezvous location for purchasing them?’

Whatever it was, one thing was certain.

He couldn’t miss this opportunity.

“Well done, Tuva.”

Count Altair grinned as he gathered the documents.

The time was two days away.

He just needed to decode the cipher and go to the location within that time.

And there he would pay whatever amount and obtain mana stones.

“Hehehe. With this, expanding the business to the entire continent is no longer a dream.”

Drenik’s pharmaceutical technology wasn’t much different from Alteon’s.

Therefore, if he could just advance one step further, buyers would line up in Drenik as well.

Though they were officially hostile, private trade near the border and maritime trade were already secretly taking place.

If done well, he could dominate Drenik’s pharmaceutical market through smuggling, then begin full-scale expansion once diplomatic relations resumed.

“The timing shows signs of improved relations… and even an unexpected blessing from the Grand Temple. It seems the whole world is helping me.”

Count Altair smiled, recalling the secret rumors that the Imperial Palace was pushing for normalization of diplomatic relations with Drenik.

“…”

Meanwhile, Tuva was inwardly very surprised.

That fellow who had written the note that was now making Count Altair so excited on the spot.

Though he wore his hood pulled down so his face was completely unrecognizable, that person who had at least superior skills to his own.

Things were flowing exactly according to his intentions.

Precisely as planned.

‘It’s frightening.’

What could his true identity be?

What was his relationship with his senior?

Questions kept arising one after another.

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