Chapter 105

Originally, in this world, powerful nobles rarely left their houses domain.

First, the moment a family head or someone in an important position left their territory, it became difficult for them to care for their people and subordinates. Second, a powerful wizard was, in some ways, an easier prey than a powerful magical beast.

Although the severity of magic power theft was considered a greater crime than cannibalism, wasn't the act of defining something as a crime rooted in the fact that there were those who committed it?

In that sense, it was truly an anomaly that Talis, the younger brother of the House Zahar family head, the second-in-command of a great noble house, and a high noble possessing magic power at the very pinnacle, had appeared in the capital of House Carmine.

Turan clenched his teeth and dug his fingernails into his knee to keep his turmoil from showing on his face.

'Talis Zahar…'

A noble whom he suspected to be his grandfather.

The moment he recognized Talis’s identity, he understood where the déjà vu he had felt earlier came from.

Deep-set eyes that, when expressionless, appeared fierce, a sharp nose, and eyes of a dark gray hue like solid metal.

All the features that had seemed different from his mother whenever he glimpsed his reflection in water resembled this man.

There was a good reason why both the lord of Comad and Reto had looked at Turan and immediately thought he was of Talis's bloodline.

If the two of them had been commoners, anyone would have mistaken them for a father and son with a mere twenty-year age difference.

"…Zahar?"

"You mean that Zahar from the Enril Desert?"

"I heard he is the younger brother of the family head."

"Why would such a major figure come all this way?"

Talis’s appearance seemed to have taken even the Carmine nobles by surprise, as the conference room quickly grew noisy.

At that moment, Turan realized that Talis was staring at him intensely.

To Talis, the disguised Onil should have been just one of a dozen Carmine nobles in the room.

Why, then, was he looking at him like that?

Just as he wondered about it, Talis’s nose twitched slightly.

As if he were trying to catch a scent.

'…Could it be that he sensed my emotions?'

For the briefest moment, Talis had undoubtedly noticed that Turan had felt something different from the others.

It was a technique Turan himself had naturally used on others, but now that he was on the receiving end, it sent a chill down his spine.

It truly felt like his mind was being read.

Turan worked to calm himself and slowly lowered his gaze.

When he finally looked up again, he was relieved to find that Talis’s attention had already moved elsewhere.

"As the head of House Carmine just mentioned, I am here to mediate this war. In such a chaotic world, should great houses really be fighting one another?"

"So, how exactly do you intend to mediate? If you promise to support us, we would be most grateful."

The one who spoke was Jemel, the father of Onil, whom Turan was impersonating.

At his words, the other Carmine nobles also nodded in agreement.

"Indeed."

"If House Zahar supports us from behind the scenes, we might even take this chance to reduce Aravion's power."

Given the known circumstances, this was not an entirely unreasonable assumption.

House Zahar and House Aravion had fought a war twenty years ago.

With that history, if House Aravion were now trying to crush House Carmine, a neighboring great house, it was only natural for House Zahar to intervene.

After all, the enemy of one's enemy was a friend.

However, while most of the Carmine nobles welcomed this optimistic outlook, a few did not seem pleased.

As if they firmly believed that House Zahar would never cooperate with them.

'Those who are happy know nothing, while those who aren't happy… know everything?'

Considering that the gods of Aravion and Zahar were not particularly hostile toward each other, if anything, the one truly in conflict with Zahar was Carmine’s god, this alliance was never a possibility from the start.

In other words, those who did not look pleased were likely the ones who knew the truth behind the scenes.

'The head of House Carmine, three mid-ranked nobles, two young nobles… and Jemel is one of them as well.'

Turan had felt it before in Aravion, gods had a paranoid tendency to conceal the fact that they possessed human bodies to rule over noble houses.

He had a rough idea why.

If Turan had been an ordinary high-ranking noble and discovered that above him existed gods who perpetuated their existence by switching bodies…

‘Of course, I would have wanted a seat at that table. With the secret of immortality right before my eyes, who would want to die?’

Moreover, according to Ymir, this kind of reincarnation was not something that could be done simply or without cost.

In other words, the number of available seats was limited.

In such a situation, the more widely the secret spread, the more competitors would emerge.

There was even the possibility that the majority, who were denied the right to reincarnation, might rise in rebellion to seize that right from the privileged few.

As Turan was lost in deep thought, Talis continued speaking.

"Of course, providing open support would be difficult, but we intend to assist by fully utilizing House Zahar's specialties. We can inform you of the exact composition of Aravion's forces, their movements… everything."

"Invisibility and tracking, huh? Those are crucial in war."

"If Zahar’s nobles help in secret, we might actually have a shot at this."

"But… can this really be called mediation?"

As many nobles, now feeling more confident, showed expressions of delight, one noble raised his hand and asked,

"Would it not be possible for you to directly participate?"

"No. Direct participation is absolutely out of the question. That is the decree of our family head."

"Tch."

Unlike just moments ago, when he had been perceived as an uninvited guest, Talis now led the meeting as if he were just another Carmine noble.

From the way they discussed how Zahar could assist in the war and how Carmine should cooperate, they truly seemed like perfect allies.

‘In reality, they're just gathering intelligence from behind the scenes.’

Having personally witnessed Zahar’s spies snooping around Carmine’s affairs not long ago, Turan couldn't help but be astounded.

While Talis was engrossed in the meeting with the Carmine nobles, the head of House Carmine remained seated at the highest position, silently observing the proceedings.

He finally spoke after about two hours, when discussions began to wind down.

"Then, let us conclude today’s meeting for now. Needless to say, our cooperation with Zahar must remain strictly confidential. Noto, Onil, Aris."

"Y-Yes!"

"Understood!"

"Yes, sir!"

Turan quickly responded upon hearing Onil’s name among the three called.

Fortunately, the other two seemed equally startled, so he did not stand out too much.

"I am aware that there have been instances of careless slips of the tongue in the past. If something similar happens again, I will not let it slide. Keep that in mind."

At the chilling warning, Turan immediately bowed his head. At the same time, he noticed that Talis was observing him with an intrigued expression.

A short while later, as he was leaving the meeting hall, someone placed a firm hand on his shoulder from behind.

"Onil."

"Yes, Father."

"Do not forget what the family head just said. If any of our family's secrets are leaked because of you, I will personally kill you. Do you understand?"

"Yes…"

Turan responded in a subdued voice, just as Onil would have, lowering his head.

His performance must have been convincing, as Jemel showed no sign of suspecting that his son had been switched with someone else.

"Good. That’s how it should be. I have more to discuss with the family head, so go on ahead. Tch, if only you were always as obedient as you were today."

More to discuss, huh.

Even just hearing that made it sound suspicious.

Turan gave a respectful nod in response and left the room.

Then, pretending to head toward the family head’s residence, he waited until no one was watching and quietly vanished from sight.

*

Turan had previously visited the residence of the Lavitas family head, but the Carmine family head's residence had an even higher level of defense.

Every wall, door, and hallway within the building was enchanted with unknown magic, making it difficult to touch anything without caution.

Fortunately, because of the meeting, many outsiders were expected to enter, so most of these enchantments were deactivated, making it easier for him to move around while concealed.

Tracking Jemel’s presence after they had parted, Turan soon spotted him walking down the corridor.

Beside him walked the woman who was said to be the head's second cousin and her son.

"What is he thinking? Did Caesar suddenly break ties with them?"

"No way. Just a while ago during the war, they were getting along well."

"Well, Lawyer must have something in mind. It looked like they'd already discussed something. Let’s go hear what it is."

The term "Lawyer " and the way the mother and son spoke to each other so casually, like friends, made it clear, they were all possessed by gods.

A short while later, the three entered what appeared to be the family head’s lounge.

Inside, the Carmine family head and Talis were already reclining on long sofas, waiting for them.

"Took you long enough."

"I don’t see why I should hear that from a guest in my own house."

"Your house? Isn’t it your boss’s house?"

"That's the same thing."

Unlike earlier, when they had spoken with proper decorum befitting their apparent age, Talis and Jemel now bickered like ill-tempered young men.

It was unsettling, as if young souls had taken residence in middle-aged bodies.

Anticipating a long conversation, Turan settled into the shadows of a secluded pillar where the light didn’t reach.

As soon as he blended into the darkness, the amount of magic power consumed by his concealment spell noticeably decreased.

‘Phew…’

Though not as brightly lit as the Berk family’s mansion, this place also had elaborate lighting in the corridors and rooms, making it difficult to maintain concealment for long.

Had he not disguised himself as Onil, he wouldn't have even had this opportunity.

Just as he silently commended his own judgment, he heard voices from behind.

"So, who’s who this time?"

"You go first. Actually, I think I already know, Phoenix, right?"

"…How did you know?"

"Among Caesar’s subordinates, you’re the only one who enjoys being sarcastic this much. I’m Glass. These two are Toratora and Rainbow." (T/N: I have translated the name as Glass these seems to be usernames but it could be translated Yuri as well.)

"Damn, I thought you were Rainbow. Your speech has improved since last time."

"Well, it’s been, what, five or six hundred years since we last talked like this? Some change was bound to happen."

"I think it’s been almost a thousand years for me. Last time, I had no suitable body, so I took a break!"

"Maybe it’s because your body is young, but your tone is really lively."

Talis and the Carmine nobles chatted amicably, like old friends reunited after a long time.

Judging by the way they revealed their identities to each other, it seemed that merely looking wasn’t enough to tell who was who.

After some brief small talk, the Carmine family head, presumably the one they had called "Lawyer", raised his hand, and the room fell silent.

"Catching up is fine, but let’s get to business first."

"Yeah, explain this to me. Why is Caesar suddenly offering to help us? Let’s be honest, we haven’t exactly been friendly before."

"That’s right. It’s suspicious. You already know we’ve been struggling to control the merfolk. What if you’re using this chance to join forces and wipe us out instead…?"

At Jemel’s question, the three Carmine nobles who had been speaking warmly just moments ago now glared at Talis as if their earlier friendliness had been a lie.

Talis let out a small huff and replied,

"I suppose I’ll have to repeat the explanation I already gave your boss. Fine. To put it bluntly, our alliance with them… with Aravion… was tentatively terminated not long ago."

"Why?"

"They stabbed us in the back. And they believe we stabbed them in the back, too."

"Did you actually stab them in the back? That guy isn’t one to spout nonsense. As much as I hate to admit it, he’s the smartest among us."

Perhaps because they knew that the biologist could sense when they were mentioned, people here referred to him as "that guy" or "they/them" rather than using his names directly.

Turan was disappointed, he had been hoping to learn the name.

But with the crucial information that had just come up, there was no time for such feelings.

The alliance between Aravion and Zahar had collapsed.

Had he not infiltrated this place, there would have been no way for him to learn such a vital piece of intelligence.

"What exactly happened?"

"If we’re talking about what was done to us… That bastard of a leader secretly created an artificial dungeon in our territory. It was designed to recreate the Night Hunter job-change quest. Unfortunately for him, one of our people got caught up in it and died."

They were probably talking about the underground labyrinth and Ferga Zahar.

Judging by the way they spoke, they hadn’t realized that Turan had been involved in that incident.

Just knowing that made all his efforts worthwhile, covering his tracks thoroughly and not taking any of the magic artifacts left behind had paid off.

"Well, we confronted them about it and got an apology at the time… But not long after that, Gabi’s intended body escaped, and they tried to blame us for it. They claimed that a spy we sent had helped in the escape." (T/N: I have translate it has Gabi but it is actually a gamer term that means 'so close' or 'nice try' etc.)

"Ah, that skeleton?"

"I mean, it was a masterpiece. It was the finest body we’ve ever created."

"Honestly, the reason you went to war last time was to make that thing, wasn’t it? No wonder they’re suspicious."

The "body" they were referring to was undoubtedly Meisa.

From their conversation, it was clear that the collapse of the alliance had been caused by Turan taking her away.

The god of Aravion had assumed that Zahar had been the one scheming behind their back.

But more than that… they had gone to war just to create a body?

What kind of insanity was this?

Hoping for further details, Turan focused on the conversation.

At that moment, the Carmine family head, who had been quietly listening, finally spoke.

"I personally investigated what Phoenix just mentioned. It's true that Meisa Aravion escaped. On top of that, I heard that Mario’s body also ran away recently. I don’t know the details, but it seems to be wandering somewhere in the South Sea."

"For some reason, the past few years have been filled with one misfortune after another. We had our own mess to deal with recently, too."

"What happened?"

At Talis’s question, one of the Carmine nobles glanced at the family head. When the latter gave a slight nod, the noble answered.

"One of our own secretly spread our family's secrets. We had to spend a lot of effort keeping things under control."

It seemed that one of Carmine’s nobles had figured out the truth about the gods and tried to share it within their ranks before being silenced.

That explained why they hadn't had the capacity to intervene in the Great Sea Serpent’s undead incident.

Just as Turan felt satisfied to have solved that mystery, Talis made an odd gesture with his index and middle fingers, then let out a sigh.

"Seems like everyone’s had a rough time. Living as a god is no easy task."

"If we still had our original bodies, we wouldn’t have to deal with such tedious problems."

"Yeah, back then, we could just destroy everything in our way."

From the way they talked, they didn’t sound like gods who had lived for millennia. Instead, they came across as overworked managers or elderly men reminiscing about the past.

To think that these were the true forms of the Preah God Tribe, the deities humanity worshiped…

Even though Turan had already suspected as much from what Ymir had told him, seeing it firsthand was still disappointingly underwhelming.

Then, Talis tapped his finger against the floor to draw attention and spoke.

"Ah, there’s one more thing you should know."

"What is it?"

"There’s a Zahar noble who is outside of our control.”

"Then just capture them. If you lot are serious about hunting someone down, who could possibly escape?"

At the Carmine noble’s incredulous response, Talis shook his head.

"Tracking magic doesn’t work well without a proper medium. Besides, as I mentioned earlier, we've been busy dealing with the unfortunate death of someone we were planning to use as a body. We'll have to start searching in earnest from now on."

Just from listening, Turan had a good idea who Talis was referring to.

"So, who is it?"

"Turan. If I had to guess, he’s probably this body’s grandson, so I suppose it’s only fitting to call him Turan Zahar."