V5. Prologue part 2
Translator: Soafp
Poker was decided to be played in my room.
The sun was already setting, and Jaga was staring at the ceiling with a soulless face, having lost all his money.
I picked at my well-stocked chips.
“Raise.”
“Gununu……A-all in.”
Hyoro bets all his few remaining chips.
Naturally, I called.
“Kukuk……You’ve been led right into a trap.”
Smiling, Hyoro showed me his cards.
“I see. Good hand.”
“Sid, I’m sorry, but I’ve learned all your moves. This is where the tables turn.”
“—No, it’s over.”
“Heh?”
I showed him my cards.
“Impossible …… three of a kind. I’ve been playing poker with a Jaga and such things…..”
“If I borrow money I can still compete, I have to get my living expenses back for this month or …… dead …….”
Jaga mumbled something in a raspy voice.
“Money Collection.”
I collected the money from the two desperate men and kicked them out into the hallway.
“Sorry, I have no use for someone who has no money.”
With that, I close the door.
From the hallway I could hear, “Damn it, I’ll remember this!” “Next time, let’s cheat!”.
If you are willing, I will welcome you with cheating too. Even Alpha couldn’t see through my serious cheating.
I put the money I collected into the “Eminence in Shadow Military Fund Box” and turned the lamp light off.
I listened to the sounds of the night for a while.
Then I called out to the darkness outside the window.
“Sorry to keep you waiting —- you can come in.”
“……Hmm”
With a small reply, a girl appeared from somewhere.
Quite a skill to hide and conceal. You have improved your skills, Zeta.
She is a slender Beastman in a jet-black bodysuit. She stares at me with cat-like ice-purple eyes.
“It’s been a long time, my Lord”
“Yes, it’s been a long time.”
“You’ve grown a little taller.”
“Have I?”
“Hmm.”
She gave a small nod.
Then, with a swish, she offered me a dried fish.
“Souvenir.”
“Souvenir ……?”
“Horse mackerel.”
“A horse mackerel huh”
“I went offshore to catch it.”
“That’s a lot of work.”
“They’re fatty. The best horse mackerel of the season.”
“Is that so?”
She is a cat beastman, the sixth person of the Seven Shadows.
Zeta is smart for a beastman. She is also calm and doesn’t talk much.
She is the opposite of some certain dog.
When I receive the dried horse mackerel, Zeta stares at me.
It’s like a cat waiting to be fed.
“Thank you. I’ll grill it and eat it later.”
“Hmm.”
Zeta’s golden tail wagged a little happily.
“Now then……”
I suddenly made a serious face.
“So… have you made any progress on the case?”
I asked, and her cat-like eyes grew serious.
“The movement of the Church was as expected.”
“—Fumu”
I stand at the window, a glass of wine in one hand.
Zeta quickly moves to pour wine into my glass.
Nice move, as usual. Zeta loves to play the spy game. She has always been good at stealth and infiltration.
“They are working on reviving the Right Arm.”
“—I see.”
“The drop of Diabolos is dying. That’s where it all began.”
“—-Is that so?
“The sealed right hand is in the ruins of the academy.”
“—–I knew it.”
“They are in a hurry. They’re afraid we’ll intervene.”
“—-It’s within my expectations.”
“We don’t have much time left. They will make their move.”
After finishing, Zeta looked up at me, as if asking for instructions.
Before I knew it, a document written in ancient script was spread out on the desk…… I can’t read it.
“What about the missing student?”
“Nothing yet.”
“Four people…….”
“Yes”
“Maybe not enough.”
“Probably.”
We squinted at each other, giving the impression that we were sensing something, and looked out the window at the lights of the girls’ dormitory.
“—There will be a fifth victim.”
“Yeah. …… what do we do?”
Zeta looks me up and down.
“….Doesn’t matter”
“Are you sure?”
“Zeta, you’ll find out.”
“Hmm…about what?”
“The future…… beyond that, what it will take to get there.”
“…… If that’s what my Lord wants.”
A somber air passed between us.
It was nice of me to improvise and connect it to the case of the missing student to make it realistic.
Behind the peaceful life at the school, the Diabolos Order has grand plan— Zeta and I looked at each other as if we understood each other.
I nodded, and Zeta nodded.
“Leave it to me, my Lord. I’ll find out for sure.”
And with a gust of wind, she disappeared into the darkness of the night.
But I didn’t miss Zeta’s extra move. She rubbed her golden tail on my bed.
“I told her to stop marking like that.”
I brushed her fur away and looked up at the night sky.
“Perpetual darkness, or awakening from eternity—“
I muttered to myself, thinking that it was late enough today to get a good night’s sleep and wake up feeling good tomorrow.