75 – Aguilem (10)
The man’s reaction seemed as if he knew she would come looking for him.
At first, Bella thought it might be the subordinate she had encountered in the casino who had contacted him, but she quickly dismissed the idea.
The timing seemed too calculated.
Even when the man had seized control of the underworld and obtained Heukya, he had shown little interest in Heukya.
When something concerning Heukya arose, he delegated the task to the subordinate he had given authority to, never personally showing his face.
Or perhaps, he had never shown his face at all.
But he, at this moment, in the black night, showed his face.
Rather than considering it a coincidence, it felt more like an intentional act.
And seeing that reaction, the speculation turned into certainty.
In other words, the man knew she would come looking for him tonight.
However, that wasn’t strange.
The man was the actual ruler of Agilrem.
The true king of Agilrem who even controlled the mayor, who served as the leader of Agilrem, as he pleased.
It was unpredictable to what extent his gaze reached, not even Bella could predict that.
Perhaps there were not many places within Agilrem where his gaze did not reach.
Even on ordinary streets, his eyes were watching.
For him to predict that Bella would come looking for him wasn’t that difficult, unless Bella had deliberately hidden her whereabouts, which she hadn’t.
“…I’ve come to fulfill the promise.”
Although it was unsettling how the man acted as if he knew everything, that wasn’t the most important thing right now.
“Hmm. Seeing your confident expression, it seems you’ve gathered everything.”
At Bella’s words, the man smiled.
“Yes. I’ve brought the amount you mentioned.”
Bella reached into her pocket to take out the check.
But.
“Just a moment.”
Stopped by the man, her actions came to a halt.
“…What is it?”
“Well, you seem a bit hasty. Instead of discussing it here, how about we move to a different location?”
“Is that really necessary?”
“It is. Other members of the black night should also be aware.”
“…Even so, I think it’s a matter that can be dealt with gradually.”
“If we trivialize the matter, the plan won’t proceed smoothly, will it?”
“…Alright.”
The current black night was one of the largest groups within the dark alleys of Agilrem, boasting a massive scale.
Handling the succession of such a group could seem odd to outsiders.
Of course, Bella, who planned to overturn everything as soon as she took over, wasn’t concerned about it, but there was no need to confront the man in this situation.
Even if he loses the black night, he will still be the master of the dark alleys and the actual ruler of Agilrem.
If he sets his mind to it, he could easily obstruct her and the black night’s future.
Therefore, there was no need to confront him.
It wasn’t pleasing, but it was a situation where she had to show compliance.
Of course, she had no intention of always being cautious of the man.
She was planning to establish a base in another city and relocate the entire black night when the opportunity arose.
Until then, even if it wasn’t pleasing, she must not provoke the man.
With that in mind, she decided to follow his suggestion.
“Alright. Shall we gather the members then?”
The man gestured with his eyes.
Upon which, one of the officers politely bowed his head and left his seat.
“Hmm. The location should be… the training ground seems better.”
The man stood up and started walking, followed by the officers.
Bella also followed them from the back.
The place where they stopped was the largest space in the Black Night’s hideout, the training ground.
Since there was no other space in the hideout where all members could gather, it was a natural choice.
Shortly after Bella and the man, along with the executives, arrived there, members began to reveal themselves one by one.
Among them, there were those who stood with the man, looking at Bella with widened eyes.
They were the ones Bella had encountered at the entrance a while ago, the ones who had been with the Black Night before it transformed into an assassination group, people who were like family to Bella.
They looked at Bella with puzzled and worried eyes.
Bella faintly smiled at them, reassuring them not to worry, and slowly nodded her head.
“Is everyone here?”
“Yes. Except for those currently on a mission, everyone else is here.”
“I see.”
The man lightly nodded in response to the officer’s report.
Then he addressed everyone who had gathered.
“Listen up.”
It was not a forceful command, just a casual tone, but his voice echoed throughout the training ground.
It was a technique using magic, not particularly impressive in itself, but the energy it carried was unsettling.
Bella trembled just listening from the side.
Though she was confident in her abilities, it was evident how much pressure the other members must be feeling.
Sure enough, the members looked at the man with fearful or trembling eyes.
It was because they had caught a glimpse of his prowess.
“Ten years ago, I made a promise with Bella Leblus who is here.”
At the sudden statement, the members showed eyes of not understanding, but no one revealed it outwardly.
They knew well how unpredictable the man could be.
In the quiet atmosphere, the man continued.
“Within ten years, if you gather 20,000 gold coins, I promised to hand over the Black Night to her.”
Murmurs arose.
With that one sentence, the room buzzed.
The members’ faces couldn’t hide their astonishment.
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Even the officers looked surprised with widened eyes.
It seemed the man hadn’t informed the officers about the deal either.
Their reaction was expected.
The condition of 20,000 gold coins, the stake of owning the Black Night, making such a promise ten years ago.
And among all that, the most surprising part would be, indeed, concerning the ownership of the Black Night.
The Black Night, which had drastically changed from its inception.
Once just a group of commoners, the Black Night had now become one of the prominent assassination groups representing Agillem.
Handing over the ownership of Black Night. It was an unbelievable tale.
Among those gathered, everyone was taken aback, especially those who had been part of the assassination group even before Black Night transformed.
Though they remained silent in their seats, each of them gazed at Bella with eyes filled with astonishment and faces of disbelief.
Bella had never uttered a word to them about the dealings or why she became an assassin.
There had been over a dozen times when they threw questions at her, but each time, she skillfully evaded them.
She knew revealing that she became an assassin to save them would only bring them immense sorrow.
That’s why now they finally knew the truth.
Bella brushed off their gazes directed at her.
Now, it was time to bring everything to an end.
“Well, it seems the stage is set.”
The man who had been observing their reactions with satisfaction turned his gaze towards Bella.
Meeting his gaze, Bella sensed the tense atmosphere around her and reached into her pocket to pull out the note.
She handed it to the man.
Taking the note with a light touch, the man examined it carefully.
“…Oh. Indeed. A note issued by the Golden Hand, worth twenty thousand gold coins.”
The man chuckled as he looked at the note with interest.
There was no doubt about his ability to discern the authenticity.
His eye for such things was genuine, unlike his character.
Despite holding such a fortune in his hand, the man showed no surprise or astonishment, unlike those around him whose excitement was escalating as they stared at the note in his hand with widened eyes.
It was understandable. For the man, a note worth twenty thousand gold coins was just an item of ‘interest.’
“You’ve done quite well. Truly remarkable. Amassing this amount within ten years without any foundation.”
With eyes filled with admiration, the man looked at Bella.
“Impressive. Truly impressive.”
Clap, clap, clap.
The man applauded.
“Frankly, when I first proposed this deal, I didn’t expect much. I thought you’d either die soon after, or even if you survived, you wouldn’t dare to aim for twenty thousand. But… you surpassed my expectations and achieved this goal.”
Pure admiration was evident in the man’s face and voice.
“Then it’s my turn to keep my promise.”
The man turned his head back towards the members.
“Since Bella Leblus has fulfilled the conditions, I hereby declare that as of now, Bella Leblus is the new leader of Black Night.”
As the words left the man’s lips, an uncontrollable surge of something hot rose in Bella’s chest.
Her family-like members, too, with flushed faces, even shedding tears of joy, were overjoyed.
Bella couldn’t contain herself and was about to rush towards them, but…
“Did you think it would be that easy to say—”
At the man’s continued words, her body abruptly stopped in its tracks.
“What…?”
The questioning words did not fully form due to the sensation of magic gathering in the man’s hand.
Before she could grasp his intention, the man’s hand moved.
Swift─
The promissory note in his hand crumpled as it was.
Typical Arlong treatment