Chapter 156
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]
Chapter 156: Athena Hopper (3)
***
“That’s why you and I are going to fight.”
Damien, who was having breakfast at his quarters, heard a sudden voice.
“Let’s meet tonight without delay. Come out to the open space in the center then.”
In the sudden situation, Damien could only stare blankly at Athena after stopping chewing the food he had put in his mouth.
“Oh, and by the way, I knocked down all the other guys? So if you just beat me, you win the bet. Of course, that won’t happen.”
After saying that, Athena turned around and left.
It wasn’t until Athena had gone quite a distance that Damien was able to come to his senses.
“What the hell is going on all of a sudden?”
After Neil challenged him yesterday, he had expected the other first-generation purebloods to challenge him one by one.
However, he didn’t expect Athena to come after defeating the other purebloods.
“She’s just like the Mercenary King.”
That was the way she was so pushy. The Mercenary King had also come out of nowhere and hired Damien as a freelancer, hadn’t he?
Just as he was about to focus on his meal again.
The door of the tent was opened and the Mercenary King entered. He had dark circles under his eyes, indicating that something had happened overnight.
“…Damien, let’s talk.”
Saying that the Mercenary King collapsed into the seat in front of Damien.
Damien looked at the Mercenary King like that and started eating the stew.
“You have no manners. Don’t you even ask if an adult has eaten?”
“Have you eaten?”
“I have. You don’t even ask now.”
The Mercenary King grumbled. Then he glanced at Damien and muttered.
“What’s so handsome about that face… I’m going crazy.”
“So why are you here?”
“Athena just came and went, right?”
Damien nodded as he swallowed his food.
“I’ll make it short. Give up the duel.”
Damien looked at the Mercenary King with a surprised face.
“Are you threatening me like this because you will lose the bet if I beat Athena?”
“What nonsense! Why would I threaten you when you’re obviously going to lose if you fight!”
The Mercenary King frowned and got angry.
“Then why are you asking me this favor?”
“That’s… because… ugh…”
The Mercenary King took a deep breath.
“…Athena is interested in you.”
Damien almost spit out the food in his mouth.
“…What are you talking about right now.”
“I didn’t want to say this either! But what can I do when it’s true!”
The Mercenary King shouted angrily and shook his head in dismay.
“Damn… why did that cute girl… with a guy like you…”
“You seem to have forgotten. That guy is listening to everything right in front of you.”
“The lucky thing is that it’s still just interest. It’s just that she’s paying a little attention. So don’t get too excited!”
“Don’t worry. I have no intention of doing that because of something like this.”
At those words, the Mercenary King’s eyes widened twice.
“This guy now… He’s just saying whatever he wants because he has a loose mouth! My daughter is interested, and you’re saying it’s something like this?”
“Just one thing, just one thing.”
Damien said to the Mercenary King with a tired expression.
“So why are you telling me to give up the duel?”
“What if Athena’s interest grows even more during the duel! I want to completely cut off that kind of danger!”
The Mercenary King said, shaking his body as if he could imagine it.
“I roughly understand the situation, but… why should I let the duel go? There’s no benefit at all.”
At Damien’s question, the Mercenary King took out something as if he had been waiting and held it out.
It was a booklet made of old paper.
The cover of the booklet had the words ‘Blue Water Revitalization Technique’ written on it.
“This is a mana cultivation technique created 100 years ago. It’s okay to learn it together with other mana cultivation techniques. If you learn it properly, you can enjoy the effect of your body’s age becoming younger.”
The Mercenary King said to Damien with a confident face.
“The potions you said you needed are too expensive to give. Let me give you this instead.”
Damien looked away from the Blue Water Revitalization Method and looked at the Mercenary King.
“I guarantee it. If you duel, Athena will win. Then you will lose the bet and lose everything, won’t you?”
While they were talking, the food ran out. Damien put the spoon down on the empty plate.
“So it’s better to just forfeit and leave with this mana cultivation method. Then…”
“Let’s pretend this offer never happened.”
Damien cut off the Mercenary King’s words.
“What did you say?”
“You said I would lose and lose everything, but I think the opposite is true. If I back down now, I will lose too much.”
The Mercenary King looked at Damien with a dumbfounded face.
“Are you confident? Or are you arrogant?”
“You seem to have forgotten. I have been winning all the fights against the purebloods so far?”
“Ugh.”
The Mercenary King had no way to refute that statement.
“Well, don’t regret it later.”
The Mercenary King put the Blue Water Revitalization Method back in his bosom and disappeared.
“He should have brought something decent.”
Damien muttered uncomfortably as the Mercenary King disappeared.
What Damien needed now was not a mana cultivation technique that made him younger.
He needed a mana cultivation technique that would be the core framework for him to reach the Master Class.
“Anyway, it’s true that the Mercenary King really cares about Athena Hopper.”
He had heard it from the mercenaries yesterday, but he didn’t really believe it. It was because it was completely different from what Damien knew.
“I heard that you were once disowned in your previous life.” When the Fafnir Mercenaries split, Athena Hopper chose to oppose the Mercenary King. As a result, she was disowned by the Mercenary King.
Even after the infighting ended, they acted separately for a while without any contact, but they were finally able to merge again due to various intertwining interests.
“Is it because they haven’t made any moves yet?”
The reason the Fafnir Mercenary company split was due to the conspiracy of the dark mages of Pandemonium.
Since arriving at the mercenary company, Damien had been trying to trace the trail of Pandemonium.
However, he could not find any traces anywhere. It seemed that they had not yet come out of Pandemonium.
“I should have found them at the beginning.”
Damien was stroking his chin and feeling regretful when.
The tent was opened again and someone entered. It was a face that was unfamiliar but had been seen once before.
It was MacDowell Hopper, one of the first-generation purebloods.
“Sir Damien, you have to come with me.”
MacDowell said with a face that was a mixture of anger and annoyance.
“Grandmother wants to see you.”
***
According to the information Damien collected from the mercenaries, there are several factions within the Fafnir Mercenary company.
The central axis of all the factions was the Mercenary King’s lover. They formed factions by banding together and checking each other.
Among them, the largest was the one that MacDowell Hopper belonged to.
“Nice to meet you. My name is Claire Fowler.”
A middle-aged woman greeted Damien.
Claire Fowler.
She was the Mercenary King’s first woman and the mother of his first son.
And she was the leader of the largest faction within the mercenary group.
“Please have a seat. We can’t keep a distinguished guest standing.”
Damien sat down and observed Claire Fowler.
On the surface, she looked like a very kind middle-aged woman.
“I’m not sure if I should be here.”
The place Claire Fowler invited Damien to was where the Mercenary King’s lovers stayed.
Damien was in the Golden District.
“It’s only forbidden to enter without permission. Invited guests are fine. Of course, it’s not okay to be alone.”
There were not only Damien and Claire Fowler in the tent now.
There was MacDowell and another woman.
The woman was staring at Damien with a very unpleasant face.
‘Master Class, huh.’
He could tell right away because she didn’t hide her aura. That woman was definitely a Master Class.
“Why did you ask me to come here?”
“You seem to be a hasty person. Shall we get to the point then?”
Claire Fowler gestured. The female Master Class threw a pouch in front of Damien.
Damien opened the pouch and checked the contents. It contained three black pills.
“These are special potions made by the Alchemy Guild. Even one pill will greatly increase your mana.”
Damien looked at the pills and asked.
“Why are you giving this to me?”
“I want you to step on Athena.”
Damien raised his head and looked at Claire Fowler. She still had a gentle expression on her face.
“From what I’ve learned, you’re very interested in the mercenary company. You know a little about the situation of the mercenary company, right?”
“I heard that the factions are competing for the successor position.”
“You are well informed.”
Claire Fowler sighed and said.
“Even so, there are many competitors. And suddenly, the Mercenary King is protecting that child? Do I need to tell you how unpleasant that is for me?”
Damien didn’t answer. Claire Fowler didn’t seem to be expecting an answer either.
“So this time, I want to see that child being humbled… Well, I heard that she knocked MacDowell out in one breath?”
“Grandmother, that’s…”
“Can’t you shut up?”
Claire Fowler said in a sharp voice. MacDowell shut his mouth.
“You came back after losing like an idiot, so what are you butting in for?”
Just like the gentle face from before was a lie, Claire’s eyes were as eerie as a snake’s.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Let’s continue the story… Athena’s talent is more than I thought, isn’t it? But I really want you to win.”
“So you gave me this?”
Damien said, looking at the pills. Claire Fowler smiled and nodded.
“I like things to be certain. This is a gift, so you don’t have to feel burdened.”
Damien laughed at her words.
How could he not feel burdened?
These pills were made with dark magic.
***
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]
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