“Hmmm, with the sword… he is talentless. But in some ways, he was superior to me.”

Gazef made an expression for Brain to stop joking.

Of course, the difference between Brain and Climb was absolute, and aptitude could not be compared. However, in front of the truly strong, Brain realized it was like comparing how fast snails could race each other. Above all, having the heart to stand against the killing intent of people like Sebas must be praised highly.

The broken me would have ran away. But if it was Climb, he would never run away with the person he’s supposed to protect behind him. Someone like him… might be good enough to cut the tip of that monster’s pinkie.

Gazef had curious expression on his face, but Brain remained silent. Instead, he told the story of the assault on one of the brothels run by the Eight Fingers.

“Is that so… with Climb.”

“If you think inconvenient things will happen to you, it’s okay to just kick me out. Now that I think about it, it would be a problem for you if somebody who dealt with the underground world goes in and out of your household.”

“No, it’s no problem at all. As a matter of fact, I welcome it wholeheartedly. They’re scum who dirty the Kingdom. I would have liked to stand at the front as you smashed into that place, if it was possible.”

“Are the Eight Fingers that harmful to the Kingdom?”

“It’s quite disgusting. They control most of the Kingdom’s underworld. With the money they earn, they buy out the nobles and exploit the commoners as well. Even if we try to crush them, the nobles they’ve bought out always interfere. If we want to strike, we’ll need to hit the hidden facilities spontaneously like you did, Brain. Even then, they hold more power than average nobles, so if we fail, the repercussions will be huge.”

“Between the hammer and the anvil.”

“Yea. It would be good to deal them some blows like you did. Unfortunately, it’s not that easy.”

“What about invoking the Royalty’s authority?”

“It’d be impossible due to the opposing Noble factions. The real problem though, is that they have bought out people in both factions.”

Heavy atmosphere surrounded the two as they drank and ate silently.

Part 2

Lower Fire Month (9th Month), 4th, 17:01

The members of Blue Rose visited the castle early in the morning. All of them carried a large sack and every time they touched the floor, metallic sounds echoed from within. It was their equipment. Because they were entering the Royal Castle, it would be problematic to walk around fully armed to say the least.

Released from the burden of having to lug everything around, everybody stretched their shoulders and arms. The leader, Lakyus Alvein Dale Aindra watched Renner with envious stares.

“So your duty as princess starts now?”

Renner did not have much political power, but still had jobs to do as a princess.

“Don’t worry, I can put them off a little bit.”

“My, my.”

Lakyus made a mischievous face. Renner followed suit, but went back to her serious expression once more.

“Lakyus, as soon as you’re prepared, I want you to carry out what we talked about.”

“Why? From what I heard yesterday, weren’t we going to attack one at a time in absolute secrecy?”

Evileye, the mask wearing mage style magic caster asked.

She did not take off her mask even though she was in the royal palace. The only reason such suspicious attire was permitted was due to the fact of her being an adamantium ranked adventurer, the peak of humanity's finest. Also, the fact that the leader of the group, Lakyus, was nobility helped out as well.

“Actually, an unforeseen problem came up last night, so we need to adjust our plans accordingly. Evileye-san, yesterday….”

Renner told them about the attack on the brothel last night. The congratulatory gazes from the Blue Rose made Climb stand even more rigid in embarrassment.

Truthfully, it was not Climb, but the two people who were with him who had truly saved those girls who were suffering in the brothel. Climb didn’t feel as if he had done anything praiseworthy. In fact, Climb was glad he was not reprimanded and felt somewhat relieved that the plan wasn’t completely ruined by his actions.

“You’ve done well, cherry boy.”

“Gagaran is correct. Capturing one of the Eight Fingers... is a great achievement.”

“...‘Undying King’ Deibaanku, ‘Void Executioner’ Peysilian, ‘Dancing Scimitar’ Edstrom, ‘Thousand Kills’ Malmvist, ‘Devil of Illusions’ Succulent and the leader, ‘Battle Demon’ Zero.”

Tia started listing the names.

“Deibaanku is undead. It’s said Peysilian can attack enemies that are quite a distance away. Edstrom uses weapons with special magic and Malmvist is a lone wolf that specializes in lunging. We already have Succulent, so let's ignore him. Lastly, a brawler who specializes in unarmed combat, Zero. They are all at least adamantium ranked.”

“Yeah. Having even a single one of them captured is a huge advantage for us.”

“You did well, Climb. But meeting and acting together with Brain Unglaus, you’re really lucky.”

Climb agreed on that point.

“Ha, taking down Succulent with a single strike. They say he fought neck and neck with the strongest warrior in the Kingdom, Gazef Stronoff. It seems he’s as good as they say. But personally, I’m more interested in the old man Brain claimed he couldn’t win against.”

“I didn’t ask for Sebas-sama’s residence.”

"...Hmm, Climb, maybe he was wary of you and didn’t teach you. Or maybe you weren’t quick enough and couldn’t ask him… Which is it?”

“It was both, Evileye-sama. Perhaps if I asked, he might have told me, but it’s true I didn’t want him to get involved further.”

"...You’re more diligent than I thought.”

“Yeah.”

The twin sisters praised Climb.

“But to never have heard of someone like that before, it’s incomprehensible…”

Starting with Evileye, everyone’s suspicion of Sebas only rose. Climb tried to divert the situation by making a rebuttal, but Lakyus gathered everybody’s attention by clapping.

“Now, now, let’s leave that subject for later date. If not for him, we wouldn’t have known the location of the brothel nor got a hold of Cocco Doll. Plus, Climb is indebted to him as well.”