BVSSA 07

Chapter 07

His voice was more than cold. It was sharp enough to cut, with an icy edge that seemed to drip from every word.

After taking a swig of something from his hip flask, Arden tucked it back into his coat and strode ahead.

From experience, Luther knew that this was the sort of moment when it was best not to say another word. He quietly followed behind, watching Arden’s back with a somewhat nostalgic expression.

‘The chairman is twenty-four now… That means I’ve known him for ten years.’

Luther recalled the first time he had met Arden.

He remembered thinking that the boy was far too mature for his age.

It wasn’t simply because he was considerably taller than other boys his age. The real problem was his eyes.

Those violet eyes had been so overflowing with venom that nothing remained but pure hatred. And the very first words the boy had spoken were:

“I want revenge.”

At the time, Luther had only just opened his own information guild. Taken aback, he had cautiously asked:

“R-Revenge? Well, revenge is good. Sure. But… against whom?”

The boy’s answer had been a masterpiece.

“Against every noble in this country.”

It was undoubtedly a troublesome commission, one that would take an awfully long time to complete.

And yet, Luther had accepted it.

Both the job and the boy himself.

Back then, Luther’s organization was an information guild in name only. In reality, it was little more than a small errand-running service.

But that boy had transformed it into something far greater.

Luther knew his own capabilities well. That was why he had willingly handed over the position of guildmaster to Arden.

‘Everyone has a position that suits them best, after all. The person who’s good at the job should be the one doing it. Exactly.’

Still, there was something he occasionally wondered about.

Now, ten years later, Arden had learned to conceal the anger and venom in his eyes with remarkable ease…

‘What does he plan to do once his revenge is over?’

Was there anything he wanted to do besides seeking revenge?

But it wasn’t something Luther could ask. Even if he did, he wouldn’t get an answer.

‘It’s not that he doesn’t want to tell me. …He probably doesn’t know himself.’

Lost in an unusually wistful mood as he gazed at the back of his first client and current guildmaster, Luther suddenly came to an abrupt halt.

“You would do well to stop indulging in useless thoughts about the past.”

“Huh? Wha—how did you know…?”

Did the man have eyes in the back of his head?

No, even if he did, there was no way he could read Luther’s thoughts!

While Luther stood there bewildered, a bag was abruptly shoved against his chest. Only then did he realize that they had already arrived at the conference room.

“You’ve been unusually quiet instead of complaining about how unbearably hot it is. I simply made an educated guess. And this.”

“Ah! The surveillance artifact we installed in the office, right?”

“That’s right. Keep an eye on things from the waiting room while I’m in the meeting. Report anything unusual.”

Without even waiting for a reply, Arden turned on his heel and disappeared into the conference room.

Left alone, Luther shrugged and followed an employee to the waiting room.

The employee gave him a look that seemed to ask whether an executive secretary was supposed to accompany the chairman into the meeting.

‘Well, it’s not like I’m actually his secretary.’

To put it simply, Luther was a fixer.

The art of conversation? Why would he need that? All he had to do was crack his knuckles, and people would start answering his questions.

Besides, this wasn’t a meeting that required his presence in the first place.

The reason he had come out with Arden today was simple.

“Obviously, the spies will have a much easier time moving around if I’m out of the office too.”

Once the employee had left and the door was closed, Luther opened his briefcase with an effort.

Immediately, several views of the office appeared from different angles.

Remembering the magical surveillance devices he had secretly installed six months ago, the moment Jeremy joined the company, Luther grinned.

“That bastard Jeremy. He’s been pulling all sorts of tricks without even realizing these things are here.”

Arden had discovered Jeremy’s backer long ago.

However, rather than expose his identity immediately, Arden had chosen to keep watching him.

The reason was simple.

“We’re waiting. Waiting until Jeremy and the people pulling his strings dig themselves a really, really deep grave.”

That way, they could bury them for good.

They already had more than enough evidence. Even their original objective of tracing the flow of funds had been accomplished.

Nevertheless, yesterday, Arden had decided to give Jeremy a few more weeks.

“So that’s why you wanted to see how Jeremy would deal with the ‘new spy,’ huh?”

The ‘new spy’ Luther was referring to was, of course, Ilian Gresia, the new apprentice secretary who had started work that very day.

If Jeremy showed signs of contacting Ilian, that would mean the two were on the same side, allowing them to uncover Ilian’s backer at the same time.

On the other hand, what if Jeremy treated Ilian with suspicion?

“Even if Jeremy’s an idiot, he’s still a spy. He’ll probably try to figure out who sent the apprentice here. All we have to do is wait for the results.”

Looking at the screens, it seemed the latter was the case. Jeremy was openly hostile toward Ilian.

What’s more, Ilian’s face was damp when she returned from the restroom. Had he actually made her cry?

‘Still, unlike Jeremy, Ilian seemed like a nice, easygoing girl… No, no. What am I thinking?’

Shaking his head, Luther continued watching the screens.

After reading documents for quite some time, Ilian sat motionless for a while before seemingly making up her mind and picking up a broom.

And then—

“She found the tunnel Jeremy dug in one go? Haah… I suppose this girl is a spy too, after all…”

Had his judgment of people really been that far off?

Watching the screen with a slightly deflated expression, Luther suddenly sprang to his feet.

“What the hell?!”

At that very moment, the waiting room door swung open.

“The meeting is over. Let’s head back to the company… What are you doing?”

“L-L-Look at this!”

Luther practically shoved the briefcase right in front of Arden’s face.

And for good reason.

“Those two are fighting?!”

He had expected, at most, a little clash of wills!

But the two people on the screen were engaged in an actual physical fight. And not just some half-hearted scuffle, either!

Who could have imagined something like this happening on Ilian’s very first day at work?

Luther turned to look at Arden.

S-Surely, Arden had anticipated even this and arranged everything in advance…?

“I didn’t expect this.”

Well, apparently not.

Although his tone was remarkably calm for someone who had just admitted to being caught off guard, his next order came immediately.

“Let’s head back. Quickly.”

Throughout the hurried journey back to the company, Luther’s thoughts were unusually chaotic.

Of course, it was a good thing if the spies ended up destroying each other without any help from them!

But still—

‘Has that bastard Jeremy completely lost his mind?!’

No matter how shameless someone was, how could he raise his hand against a woman who was so much younger and smaller than him?!

Luther had already known the man was trash, but this was the kind of trash that couldn’t even be recycled.

BANG!

Luther stormed through the company entrance, trembling with rage.

And what greeted him was…

A completely wrecked hallway.

“Oh, you’re back.”

“…”

“Umm, well, let me explain what happened.”

Jeremy was lying face-down on the floor, unconscious and utterly limp.

Meanwhile—

“Mr. Jeremy and I had a bit of a disagreement.”

“…I can see that, but what exactly were you doing, our dear apprentice secretary…?”

“I thought it would be troublesome if he woke up and started causing trouble again. So I was tying him up… Ahem.”

Ilian adjusted her glasses while standing over Jeremy, who was only halfway bound with a rope.

Exactly Ten Minutes Earlier

“Fine! Let’s do this! Come on!”

“Please, just calm down for a moment…”

Before I could even finish speaking, Jeremy lunged at me.

But—

“W-What?”

Jeremy’s hands, which had been reaching for my throat with every intention of strangling me, swept through empty air.

Who would have thought that all those years of dodging debt collectors would actually come in handy at a time like this?

The moment I saw Jeremy’s hands coming toward me, I swiftly ducked and shouted:

“Let’s talk this out! With words! I’ve never even met this chairman or whoever you’re talking about!”

Of course, I hadn’t met him personally, but I had a pretty good idea who he was. After all, he’d been mentioned in the original novel.

*‘So this bastard Jeremy is from