The Son-In-Law of the Magician Is a Transcendent Sword Master - Chapter 137

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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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Chapter 137
A few days before the Great Mage Alliance Council convened, I met Victor Otto, commander of the Steel Legion, in Orelion and invested in his venture.
I borrowed the investment capital from Renia, and the place that multiplied it several dozen times over was none other than this casino, the Crimson Sapphire.
In truth, I’d wondered whether my name might have been added to the blacklist after my last rampage here….
“You may enter.”
Even for a casino, it seemed unlikely they’d have the audacity to ban a Benheim mage from entry.
“I’ve heard rumors that Miss Renia enjoys gambling… could that be the reason for your visit?”
At Sheril’s probing, I averted my gaze. It wasn’t entirely inaccurate, after all.
From what I’d heard, in the week following the Council meeting, Renia had won nearly thirty million Livres.
Like an unbridled wild horse sweeping up money, there were even rumors that whenever Renia appeared in the Entertainment District, the casinos would lock their doors in unison.
I’d heard it had been quite some time since she last visited, but I couldn’t say for certain what the truth was. Recently, I’d even seen Steren looking troubled over Renia’s increasingly extravagant spending habits.
“…In any case, Sheril, let’s go inside first.”
I stepped into the casino.
I would have liked to seek out the manager immediately, but there was no chance a mere customer like us would be granted an audience.
Still, there were ways around that.
“Sheril, do we have sufficient operating funds for the Magic Tower?”
“Not particularly abundant, I’m afraid. Someone saw fit to drain the Treasure Vault.”
Sheril’s gaze was fixed upon me.
“Surely you’re not blaming me?”
“I’m merely looking at Reagan. Please don’t presume my intentions.”
“You were the one who told me to plunder legitimately.”
“I hadn’t anticipated you’d uproot the very foundations of our finances. I hear that cube you’re carrying is a Divine Realm artifact. They say its value is whatever the seller demands….”
“You told me to take it.”
“I simply didn’t know its worth.”
Sheril grimaced at the sight of Andvari’s Cube nestled in my possession.
Fortunately, she didn’t seem inclined to reclaim what she’d already given me.
In any case, I had taken Andvari’s Cube along with numerous other treasures from the Shadow Tower. Of course, I had no intention of returning them. So I decided to indulge Sheril’s complaints to some degree.
“Fine, Sheril. Then let’s earn some operating funds for the Shadow Tower.”
“…What on earth are you talking about?”
“You have money on you right now, don’t you?”
“I won’t give it to you.”
“Lend it to me. Just about five hundred thousand.”
“That’s the money for my daughters’ sweets.”
Sheril tried appealing to sentiment, but it fell on deaf ears.
Reluctantly, Sheril handed me a stack of crumpled bills, which I promptly exchanged for chips. Her sigh during the process was entirely predictable.
I took my place before the roulette wheel.
—Clink.
Exactly ten minutes later.
I had won sixteen million Livres.
* * *
As the table erupted in commotion and the dealer’s face drained of color, several well-dressed, muscular men approached.
“Our manager would like to invite you both upstairs.”
We were escorted into the VIP room.
“Hello, it’s been a while.”
“….”
The moment the door slammed shut, Gustavo, the Casino manager, dropped to his knees on the luxurious sofa.
With an expression as though he might cry at any moment, Gustavo slammed his head against the marble table as if performing penance.
The arrogance he’d displayed a year ago had vanished without a trace.
“Why are you doing this to me?”
“I told you to stop tampering with the roulette wheel. I can see everything.”
Admittedly, he had subtly improved the magical mechanisms of the roulette compared to a year ago. However, it wasn’t sophisticated enough to deceive my naked eye.
“Why do you keep coming back to torment me!”
“I came because I need a favor from you. And to make some money while I’m at it. Right, Sheril?”
“Of course. I have always trusted Reagan’s choices.”
Sheril nodded with a bright smile. In her possession was several times the five hundred thousand livres I had lent her.
Perhaps it was the result of financial recovery. Her expression was brighter than anything I’d seen before.
“…Then you should just come upstairs and ask politely! Why are you destroying my establishment like this!”
“Just bored, I suppose. And I find cheating for money distasteful.”
At my casual response, Gustavo’s face flushed red and blue.
“Anyway, I’m looking for two people.”
“If you’re looking for people, wouldn’t a detective agency be more appropriate….”
“You seem more capable.”
“Eeeek!”
They say praise makes even whales dance. Upon hearing my compliment, Gustavo convulsed and writhed.
“If that’s too difficult, I’ll head back downstairs and gamble. I have sixteen million right now, you know? If I bet it all and multiply it by thirty-two times, you’ll have to close for a while. You understand that, right?”
“….”
Despite his current state, Gustavo was Orelion’s finest Casino manager.
As the overseer of this place where the underworld’s financial flows intersected, the intelligence network he controlled far surpassed any ordinary back alley detective agency.
Gustavo poured a full glass of strong liquor as if to suppress his anger, then downed it in one gulp. He then leaned back against the sofa and asked candidly.
“Sigh…. So, who exactly are you looking for?”
“Simple. I’m looking for two people. Twin sisters in their early twenties with black hair, black eyes, and wearing black robes. That should be enough for you to find them, right?”
However, Gustavo’s reaction to my words was subtle. He furrowed his brow deeply and studied my face.
“…Could you be talking about… the Demons in Black?”
“Demons in Black? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Recently, there’s no one in the underworld who doesn’t know that name. Two women have been destroying every establishment around Orelion. Do you have any idea how much trouble they’ve caused me?”
“…Are these Demons in Black women mages?”
“It seems so. Mutilated corpses were scattered everywhere the demons went, but there wasn’t a single trace of a weapon at any of the scenes. Moreover, the cut surfaces were so clean, as if made by a cutting machine.”
Upon hearing that explanation, I exchanged glances with Sheril. Sheril nodded briefly.
Invisible blades.
The traces left behind by a Dark Mage’s shadow magic.
It’s unmistakable. Vera and Sierra’s handiwork.
“Good. I intend to capture those two. Can you cooperate?”
“If that’s the case….”
A calculating expression flickered across Gustavo’s face.
“Rather, we should be the ones asking for your help.”
Gustavo seemed to find the situation favorable. After all, these were troublemakers who kept ransacking his establishments, and now a Benheim mage was personally stepping forward to resolve the matter.
“I’ll arrange a location for you. If we spread word through my people, we should be able to lure out the Demons of Darkness.”
Gustavo immediately summoned his subordinates to compile the latest information and began mapping out the anticipated routes where the Demons of Darkness would likely appear.
It didn’t take long before a plausible plan emerged.
Once the operation was roughly established, I opened my mouth.
“Gustavo.”
“Yes?”
“I’d momentarily forgotten something.”
With a cascade of sound, I dumped the chips onto the table.
I poured out the sixteen million livre worth of chips I’d won earlier onto the table.
“Cash them in for me.”
Gustavo’s expression darkened more than ever before.
* * *
Half a day later, we were inside a shabby cabin located in a secluded spot outside the Orelion Walls.
This cabin was apparently an underground operation that produced bootleg liquor.
Based on Gustavo’s information about the recent movement patterns of the Demons of Darkness, this location was the most likely next target.
To be absolutely certain, we’d spread false rumors that the distillery held treasures of gold and silver, and drove out the small-time thugs who originally guarded the place.
Now, only Sheril and I were hidden inside the cabin, lying in ambush.
“(These Demons of Darkness you mentioned—what do you think, Sheril?)”
I carefully opened my mouth from the corner of the dark attic.
“(Well, they certainly are demonic women, as the name suggests.)”
Sheril answered flatly.
Sisters who were once family. Though their relationship wasn’t good, it wasn’t a bond that could be cleanly severed.
“(Do you have no lingering affection? After all, they were your sisters.)”
“(…I can’t say I have none at all. We grew up together from childhood. But….)”
Sheril’s black eyes turned cold.
“(If they’re committing this slaughter of their own volition… then as the Shadow Tower Lord, I will pass judgment upon them.)”
Just moments ago, Sheril had learned from Gustavo that several branches of the Dark Mage Guild had also been attacked.
Dozens of Dark Mages had died in the process. No matter how much the Dark Mage Guild fell outside the Shadow Tower’s jurisdiction, Dark Mages were being brutally murdered without cause. For Sheril, as the Tower Lord, this was an unforgivable crime.
Thus we remained vigilant, and midnight finally arrived.
“(…Reagan, someone’s coming.)”
Sheril sensed the presence first. I too soon became aware of the shift in the air’s current.
“(Yes. I smell blood.)”
A thick scent of blood was seeping in from outside.
It seemed Gustavo’s prediction was correct.
Squelch, squelch.
Irregular footsteps treading through the muddy ground.
Two of them.
Yet Sheril and I refrained from acting rashly. Our quarry were Covert Mages. Any careless movement would alert them, and they’d flee.
Creak.
Finally, the Cabin door swung open.
But those who entered were not the twin sisters we’d been waiting for.
“(…Vagrants?)”
The figures stumbling about with unfocused eyes were drunks dressed in tattered rags.
They’d apparently come searching for bootleg liquor at this late hour.
“(…Tsk.)”
Sheril clicked her tongue softly—a reaction mingling disappointment and irritation.
“(Should we just chase them out?)”
“(No.)”
I raised my hand, stopping Sheril.
“(…I just told you. I smell blood.)”
That was the moment.
Whoosh!
The two vagrants loitering below jerked their heads upward in an eerie, unnatural motion.
Directly toward the attic where we were hiding. The vagrant’s mouth opened.
“Aha! Found you, sister.”
The voice flowing from the vagrant’s lips was that of a sharp-tongued woman. As if in response, a chilling voice emanated from the other vagrant’s mouth.
“Yeah. Found them. The little rats were hiding.”
Just a day prior, I’d witnessed Senior Investigator Gideon use a vagrant as a contact, so the shock was somewhat dulled.
But there was a crucial difference from that time—these vagrants were not moving of their own volition.
‘…Mind control? No. It’s… different from that.’
A thick, pungent stench of blood assaulted my nostrils.
The pale faces of the vagrants, drained of all color and sickly blue.
And finally….
“Ah.”
An alarm bell rang in my mind.
“Sheril! Get down!”
I shouted toward Sheril and detonated my aura, bursting through the shattered Cabin ceiling and leaping outside.
In that instant, the bodies of the two vagrants standing below swelled grotesquely like balloons—.
Kaboom!
With a horrific explosion, their bodies ruptured. The Cabin caught in the blast was utterly obliterated, collapsing into rubble.
Had we escaped even a moment later, we would have been consumed by that explosion.
“W-what on earth is that!”
Sheril, who’d landed in the nearby grass, gasped in horror.
The vagrants who’d been speaking with Vera and Sierra’s voices had suddenly exploded like human bombs.
Sheril’s bewilderment was understandable. No ordinary magic could intentionally detonate a human body.
But this was no ordinary magic.
“Sheril, I’m afraid your siblings have mastered some rather sinister dark magic.”
“Are you saying that’s dark magic, sir?”
“Yes.”
When I first witnessed them manipulating the homeless like puppets, I suspected it might be a variant of the mind control magic Malik once wielded.
But I was wrong. There were no signs of life in those homeless men’s bodies.
In other words, they were both corpses.
Having seen this much, I could only reach one conclusion.
“…Corpse manipulation, corpse detonation.”
Alongside Chimera Sorcery, it was among the most troublesome and vile branches of dark magic.
“Necromancy.”

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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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