Chapter 48 The White Snake’s Fang and the Demon’s Shadow
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Um… Xenos-sama. Would you be so kind as to… release me now?”
This was the basement of the theater, a private room at the end of a dark hallway. It was a hidden place given to the dancer and singer sisters, Pharma and Leela.
From the VIP room we just left to this room, I kept my arms around their thin waists, and even after we went inside, I would not let go.
As their soft bodies pressed against me, I felt a sense of relief I could not describe. A beautiful woman on each arm—one of the good things about this job.
”I only thought you two might be feeling frightened,” I said quietly.
Still holding them, I sat on the soft bed.
The silk sheets felt good against the skin, sinking under our weight. This time, I moved my hands to their soft shoulders and pulled them back against me. I could feel their light shaking against my arms.
It felt like I was holding two hurt small animals.
”T-this is no time for such behavior! We must leave this place at once! That man is very dangerous!” Pharma, the older sister, cried out in panic.
She spoke with a voice full of worry that sounded like a desperate scream.
All the color had left her face, showing a fear she would never show under the bright lights of the theater stage. Even though I was the heir to the House of Margrave Grimlock, the soldiers I could use in the Royal Capital were few—or so people were supposed to believe.
Her worries were completely right.
”More importantly, Sister… perhaps it would be better if I… allowed that man to buy me…” Leela, the younger sister, whispered.
She spoke in a thin, weak voice that sounded like it might disappear at any moment.
Her eyes were already a dull mix of giving up and being very afraid. She was thinking that giving in to what the enemy wanted might reduce the damage.
There was no way to know how a man like Ignazio would treat Leela, but he was willing to pay a huge amount of 400,000 gold coins to get her. The chance that he would treat her with the same level of care was not zero.
When looked at that way, giving in might not have been a bad choice, just as Leela said. But for them, I had no plan at all to run away or give in.
＊＊＊
”Ashraf. Come out.”
In response to my call, a single Butler appeared instantly out of nowhere.
It was as if the darkness had opened up and bled into the room, a black shadow silently taking shape. Usually, he would come out from the shadows behind me, but today he chose to appear right in front of my face.
It seemed that even a being like him had enough manners not to appear behind his master while he was sitting on a bed with two women.
At Ashraf’s sudden appearance, Pharma and Leela’s bodies shook hard before freezing up like stiff dolls. The last bit of color left their faces in a moment.
It was easy to understand.
And who could blame them?
The pressure this creature gave off without trying was so scary that no normal human could stand it; it carried a terrible fear, as if one was looking directly into a deep, dark hole.
The air in the room felt as if it had suddenly become cold.
It felt as if the temperature in the room had dropped in a single heartbeat.
”Did you call for me?”
”Yes. From now on, completely hide your presence and stay close to Ignazio Valachia. It looks like he is planning to attack us. Tell me about every move he makes as it happens.”
”Understood. …By the way, Xenos-sama, I could kill him myself, could I not?”
Ashraf’s lips curved into a smile, showing his teeth and looking happy.
In the depths of his eyes, a cold, hungry look, like that of a wild animal before its prey, shone within him.
Indeed—for a monster like him, doing that would be easy.
”Do not bother. He is one of the important people in the Royal Capital’s criminal world. If he disappears, there is no telling how the balance of power will change. Besides, everyone connected to him might decide to join together and see us as their enemy. Doing too much is not allowed.”
”As expected of Xenos-sama. Always looking at the big picture, and thinking that far ahead. I, Ashraf, am deeply impressed.”
Giving his usual exaggerated praise, Ashraf disappeared again, as if melting into the air without a sound. Like a wave fading across the surface of water, his shape vanished from sight in the blink of an eye.
”…Keep what you just saw to yourselves,” I ordered.
I firmly reminded Pharma and Leela, who were still a little afraid.
They both nodded together.
The look of fear, which could not be completely gone, still stayed heavy on their faces.
***
About two hours later.
The first contact came from Ashraf through a mental link.
During all that time, I had stayed in the room given to Pharma and Leela.
In other words, I had been with them the whole time.
Which meant, of course, that I had been spending all that time with them.
To be completely honest, I had been quite bored while waiting, so I had been “playing” with them in different ways.
Of course, it was clean play.
’Xenos-sama, I have a report.’
Ashraf’s voice, completely empty of emotion like a cold machine, spoke directly inside my head.
’It appears that Ignazio Valachia has hired the assassination group [Abyssal Claws] to kill you, Xenos-sama, and to take custody of Lady Leela.’
Many assassination groups worked in this country. Among them, the most respected one was the [Whispering Shadows], but that group had deep, long-lasting ties with my own Grimlock family.
Ignazio was surely aware of that connection, which was why he had purposely avoided contacting them.
The assassination group [Abyssal Claws] is known for buying beastfolk slaves and training them as killers.
I see. Using beastfolk with high physical abilities. How troublesome.
Their ways of completely hiding their presence put them in a completely different level compared to normal assassins. One wrong move and it could be deadly for us.
Since I had Ashraf watching the talks between Ignazio and the [Abyssal Claws] leaders, the information should be correct. The exact place where Ignazio talked with the leaders of the Abyssal Claws—there was no chance for error in this intelligence.
’The payment for killing Xenos-sama and taking Lady Leela is 20,000 gold coins total. The terms of the agreement appear to be 10,000 gold coins paid first, with another 10,000 paid after the job is done.’
20,000 gold coins.
That is about the same amount it cost me to buy this whole theater.
That is quite generous.
Well, he was killing Grimlock’s heir. That is about what I would do.
So my head is worth that much.
Then again, considering he was trying to get rid of the only heir of the Grimlock family, a price like that was only natural. It seemed my head was worth at least that much.
’After the contract was finished, the [Abyssal Claws] started moving right away. The beastfolk slaves sent for this job are four in total—a four-person assassination team. The one acting as leader is a wolf beastfolk. The other members are a bear, a hawk, and a cat beastfolk, and all of them have already started their work.’
They have already started moving?
Everyone is so fast.
”Already moving? Everyone in this business certainly works fast.”
”Good. You can stop watching Ignazio’s movements for now. Ashraf, change your focus to marking that assassination team instead. Tell me about their every move step by step.”
”Understood,” he replied.
”Even so, that man Ignazio sure used short-sighted methods very quickly.”
”To change to assassination right away when our talks failed.”
Was he just that desperate to get Leela as quickly as possible?
Or did he just look down on me that much?
Even though I was the heir to a famous noble family, the amount of Magic power in my body was completely zero.
”Zero the Loser.” That was my current rating among noble traditions and the criminal world.
That was exactly why they thought they could walk all over me.
But as far as I was concerned, that was nothing but a big advantage. The more satisfied the enemy became, the easier it would be for me to understand their every movement.
Behind the dark curtains of the backstage, the cover was quietly lifting.
The assassins were getting closer, and the first part was about to start.
—
Summary:
Xenos retreats to a private sanctuary with the performer sisters Pharma and Leela while issuing orders to his butler creature Ashraf. The underworld boss Ignazio immediately commissions a hostile assassination cell called the Abyssal Claws to execute the magicless heir. Ashraf tracks the exact contract pricing and movement of four specialized beast-kin slaves sent out as the opening strike. Xenos welcomes this assassination attempt as a strategic opening phase where his reputation as a loser grants him total tactical surprise.
—
Trivia:
1 The theater’s basement sanctuary belongs exclusively to the performers Pharma and Leela and remains hidden from the general populace.
2 Xenos intentionally acts physical with both sisters to evaluate their distress while waiting out the underworld’s retaliation timeline.
3 The premier assassination guild Whispering Shadows shares deep historical allegiances directly with the Grimlock lineage.
4 Ignazio pays exactly twenty thousand gold coins divided symmetrically between an advance retainer and a success premium.
5 The four-man beast-kin cell contains distinct predatory attributes mapped to wolf, bear, hawk, and cat phenotypes.
—
Translation Notes:
Notes:
• Xenos – Xenos Grimlock, the “Zero-Mana” heir to House Grimlock, is a cynical, calculating strategist who masks immense power and a unique Magic Seal constitution behind an incompetent facade. A calm, tactical combatant wielding Teleportation and Ailment magic, he builds a commercial empire while manipulating politics. He acts as a dominant, protective master to his allies and seeks alliances with the Beastfolk.
• Pharma – An elven performer and songstress at the Star of the Desert, she dances alongside her sister, Leela. Though she appears timid, pale with anxiety, and speaks with refined elegance, she is a fierce guardian. Once an auction captive, she now uses a magical ring to mask her identity, delivering passionate performances in glittering costumes to protect their safety and conceal their shared past.
• Leela – A silver-haired elven songstress and dancer at Zahara’s Star of the Desert theater, she performs alongside her protective older sister, Pharma. Though outwardly timid, she is resolute, using a transformation ring to mask her past as an auction captive. Beneath her melodic magic, she harbors deep resignation and terror when cornered, yet remains steadfast against underworld threats to their shared life.
• de – A particle used in the aristocratic name of the Margrave Albion de Blanchefort.
• Grimlock – As the mana-less heir to House Margrave Grimlock, Xenos manages his family’s prestigious military legacy and shadow network ties from the Royal Capital alongside his father, Gaius. Behind this facade, he exploits his knowledge of the game’s script, utilizing tactical falsehoods, spatial magic, and the Collar of Submission to ruthlessly manipulate those around him within dangerous social circles.
• Ignazio – The White Snake is a gaunt, cold-eyed tycoon with slicked-back white hair and a predator’s gaze. Operating as a ruthless underworld intelligence broker behind a polished merchant facade, he uses threats and illicit deals to pursue his obsessions, including his fixation on Leela. A prominent Royal Capital figure, he recently became the target of a chilling warning involving a beastfolk corpse.
• Ashraf – Ashraf, Xenos’s loyal demon butler, is a stealthy, shadow-bound operative who serves with elite decorum and a theatrical, deferential tone. Dressed in a tailored suit, his pitch-black eyes and golden pupils mask a dark past. He is a silent, powerful anchor capable of teleporting individuals, erasing his presence, and exercising brutal force to eliminate any threats to his master.
• Butler – A servant to Xenos who appears and disappears with supernatural silence.
• Valachia – The Valachia family name is carried by Ignazio.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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