Chapter 95

Chapter 95

Black Consumers – Part 2

The Scabbard of Dark Sword.

The sacred treasure that the Wish Cult lost, the one they tried to steal back from the Headmistress.

I knew it had already been sold to the dwarves, but…

“…Are you certain it’s the Scabbard of Dark Sword?”

“It matches the characteristics described in the literature we have, and the appraisers were unanimous. There’s no doubt.”

“And you tried to melt it down?”

“We failed, though.”

The scabbard that held Dark Sword.

Since Dark Sword was an artifact on a conceptual level, one might think the scabbard was the same, but it wasn’t.

The scabbard was just a scabbard.

“But why wouldn’t it melt?”

“We don’t know either. We placed it in the hottest place for seven years, tried shocking it, drilling into it, destroying it, freezing and thawing it repeatedly, but it didn’t even get a scratch.”

“The scabbard isn’t usually that kind of artifact, is it?”

“Of course not. It’s an artifact made by us dwarves, after all.”

Oh? Is that so?

I didn’t know that.

“You seem surprised. Allow me to explain briefly.”

The acting mayor, clearing his throat and glancing at the Headmistress, slowly began his explanation.

His attitude was truly kind and earnest.

“I don’t know about human mythology, but according to our dwarven mythology, in the beginning, the gods created the continent and the sea. Then the gods created three artifacts.”

The acting mayor raised a finger.

“First, the gods pulled out their heart and hardened it. The artifact, made from the gods’ heart, was the most sacred and radiant, pulsating vigorously.”

The sacred relic of the Holy Kingdom.

The driving force that allowed the Goddess Church faith to maintain its presence throughout the history of the continent, amidst countless other faiths and religions.

Whether the sacred relic was truly the heart of the Goddess was unknown. It was merely that it was sometimes stolen by other believers or cults and became the heart of their god.

Considering that the acting mayor said “gods” instead of “Goddess,” perhaps he didn’t believe the Holy Kingdom’s claims.

“And the gods extracted their divine power and forged it. Since divine power is strength, they shaped it into a sword so that its power could be wielded most effectively.”

The Wish Cult’s Dark Sword.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t even the Wish Cult’s. Dark Sword existed alongside the history of the continent, and it just happened to be in the Wish Cult’s possession now.

Anyway, it wasn’t an exaggeration to call it a divine power. The power of Dark Sword to grant wishes was divine power itself.

“When creating the last artifact, the gods accidentally cut themselves on its blade, and their malice, resentment, and curses, which they had sealed within their bodies, poured into the last artifact. In the end, the gods considered it a failure.”

I didn’t know about this.

It wasn’t in <Dark Kingdom>. I only played through the first part…

“Thus, two successful creations and one failed creation were scattered throughout the world, and a few centuries ago, our ancestors obtained Dark Sword. And they were filled with fear at its immense power.”

These days, Dark Sword was passed down as a fairy tale. This was due to its unique characteristics, different from the sacred relic.

Dark Sword would turn to dust and disappear after being used, then slowly reassemble somewhere else. And because of its power to grant wishes, instead of being known to the public, its information was monopolized by the highest-ranking authorities.

I knew about it because I saw it in <Dark Kingdom>, but the only people around me who knew that Dark Sword was real were the Headmistress and Milia, who was involved with the cult. In other words, you had to be at least at the Headmistress’s level to know it was real.

Anyway, the rest of the story was obvious at this point.

“The dwarf ancestors gathered all the dwarven skills of that time to create a scabbard that could contain Dark Sword, and the Dark Sword contained within the scabbard had its divine power suppressed. Its power to grant wishes also significantly weakened.”

It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Since the power it used was weakened, Dark Sword could be used more times. Anyway, unlike the sacred relic and Dark Sword, which were artifacts created by gods and thus existed on a conceptual level, the scabbard was made by dwarves.

There was no reason for it not to melt. But it didn’t.

It seemed like the acting mayor also couldn’t understand it, but he came here for a refund… wait a minute.

“So you tried to melt down your ancestor’s artifact?”

“What does it matter if it’s our ancestor’s artifact? It was only natural when the dwarven race was on the verge of collapse.”

I could immediately understand why he was the acting mayor.

Was it just my imagination that I felt a sense of camaraderie?

…More importantly, what should I do?

‘Should I really refund this?’

The amount? Honestly, we could afford it now. But the real problem was that this was the sacred treasure that the Wish Cult was so desperately searching for.

We had already staged a terrorist attack under the false pretense of it being here when it wasn’t, so why worry? But…

Naturally, the Wish Cult was a group we had to get rid of eventually.

‘If I show it to Milia, it would dispel the cult’s suspicions, but…’

On the other hand, the cult would become truly obsessed with it. It might become difficult to cut them off later. It might be better for the lie about it being here to be exposed.

But if we had the actual item, it would be easier to manipulate the cult, so there was a clear advantage to that as well.

Whether we refunded it or refused, both options had clear advantages and disadvantages.

However, unlike my concerns, the acting mayor’s stance was firm.

“Now that the explanations are over, we once again request a refund.”

“…What if, hypothetically, we refuse? If the Headmistress acts shamelessly despite the contract?”

“We will protest.”

“What?”

“We will cry and protest in front of the academy gates for 24 hours, all day long. We will say that the VVIP refused our rightful refund request. We will stay there until you comply. We will call other dwarves as well.”

“…Are you serious?”

“With the mayor missing, there’s no one among the dwarves who can stop the VVIP. Why else would I, the acting mayor, personally come here to request a refund, explain everything, tell you about our struggles for the past seven years, and even plead with you by revealing the current state of our race?”

“………”

“The VVIP and the representative can always exercise the rights of the strong, so I can only ask as the weak. Please grant us a refund in honor of your Rank 8 status.”

Hmm.

Honestly, I was just testing the waters, but I didn’t expect him to respond so earnestly. Even I, who didn’t know much about negotiations, could tell that the acting mayor was being extremely humble.

I felt like I had become a piece of trash. Even the Headmistress was giving me a “You went too far” look, but wasn’t this all your fault in the first place? Why should I be treated like this?

If the academy was in a desperate situation, I would have just walked away without a second thought, but…

The academy had somewhat stabilized thanks to our efforts.

“Alright. We’ll give you a refund.”

“Thank you. I am once again grateful to the VVIP and the representative.”

“How should we proceed with the refund? Jewels? Or gold?”

“………”

“Acting Mayor?”

“…Would it be possible to receive it in another form?”

“Huh? Another form?”

He wasn’t asking for other artifacts, was he? We had sold them all.

But if he wasn’t receiving the refund in gold or jewels, what did he want?

The acting mayor hesitated for a moment, then sighed and spoke.

“We would like to borrow the VVIP’s power.”

“Power? What kind of power?”

“Literal, physical power.”

“…Did something happen in the dwarven city?”

“There’s been a problem with the forge that we can’t ignore. And the VVIP has been mentioned as the right person to solve it.”

Was the forge that thing they used to melt down artifacts and rebuild the city?

When it comes to that, the Headmistress’s power is needed, huh.

“If you can help us with this, we’ll consider it a refund. Please.”

— Finance Director, what should we do?

— What’s there to think about? The answer is obvious, isn’t it?

— Well, it’s a bit difficult for me to go all the way to the dwarven city at a time like this—

“I’ll send the Headmistress right away. We’ll be in your care.”

“Ah, thank you! Thank you so much!”

“F-Finance Director?”

Oh, why are you like this? It’s similar to the deep-sea fishing trip, isn’t it?

Unlike that time, there’s no need to hide her identity or limit her power.

And more importantly, we can save a lot of money.

‘Saving this much money just by dispatching my Rank 8 superior for a short time.’

It was a very profitable deal. Even if the Headmistress openly went on a monster subjugation mission for the same duration, she wouldn’t earn this much, the refund cost of this scabbard.

I gave a thumbs up to the Headmistress, who was looking at me with a bewildered expression, as if we were on the same wavelength, and immediately shook hands with the acting mayor.

“Will you take her right now? Roughly how many days will it take?”

“With the VVIP’s power, a week is enough.”

“Four days.”

“…Even so, at least six days.”

“Four days.”

“Th-then how about five days?”

“Four days.”

“Alright…”

He seemed really desperate. At this point, I thought he would bluff and say he wouldn’t borrow the Headmistress’s power and would take the money instead.

I smelled something strange from the acting mayor. The scent of weakness.

He talked about a refund, but his goal from the beginning must have been to borrow the Headmistress’s power. That’s why someone as important as the acting mayor came here personally.

‘It would be impossible to push further here.’

I didn’t know what the acting mayor was thinking, but from my perspective, it wasn’t unreasonable. Asking to borrow the Headmistress for a week in this current situation was something not worth considering in the first place.

We had just staged a terrorist attack, and it was the first time Grandis Academy was receiving donations.

On top of that, there was unrest within the Delphia Kingdom, and the royal family was keeping an eye on Beatrice, to the point where Crown Prince Zeke personally asked for a favor regarding her.

The Archmage visited and talked about Chloe’s love, and the academy itself was still under reconstruction.

In this situation, even four days without the Headmistress was pushing it. Since she rarely left her office, we could somehow hide her absence for about four days.

— Headmistress, please.

— …But it’s different from the deep-sea fishing trip, isn’t it? The royal family might contact us soon.

— Don’t worry, I have a plan. And I’m not sending the Headmistress just to save money.

— Huh? Is that so?

— Do you think I’m obsessed with money? I’m giving you a chance to take a break.

— Finance Director…

She would still have to work even after going to the dwarven city, but there was meaning in completely leaving the academy. It was like when I was studying for the civil service exam and would sometimes take the subway and wander around Seoul for a day, just to get away.

It helped clear my mind, which was cluttered with thoughts about the exam and rent. Sometimes you need to leave the place where you’re trapped in your thoughts to gain new perspectives.

The Headmistress had been working hard lately, so this was a kind of consideration… in a way. It was embarrassing, but…

The Headmistress, who briefly looked at me, smiled slightly.

“Have a safe trip.”

“I’ll be back on time.”

“Of course you will. Just try being late.”

“………”

“VVIP, please come this way. I’ll escort you.”

Woong!

Finally, she went through the small door with the acting mayor.

It was a small hole for the Headmistress to go through, even if it was fine for the dwarf acting mayor, but she simply expanded the space with her power. Was she really human?

After the Headmistress disappeared,

‘Things will be busy for a while.’

I wouldn’t be able to leave work since I had to do the Headmistress’s share of the paperwork as well.

Still, what other subordinate would take care of their superior like this? I chuckled at the thought.

Just as I was about to start working in the empty Headmistress’s office,

Thud.

“Hmm?”

Something suddenly fell from the air. What was this? Was this the scabbard?

It was a refund… so it made sense that it was returned, but was it okay to just throw it like this? It could have been brought back by the Headmistress.

Perhaps they were urging me to return it immediately. That’s why they forcefully pushed it through the disappearing hole, and it fell to the floor?

‘Anyway, what should I do with this?’

Selling it again was an option, or I could use it to manipulate the cult.

As I was pondering how to utilize it to maximize profit and picked up the scabbard—

──What… is this?

──Headmistress? Head of Academic Affairs? Laura?

──Why…?

──Why are you all dead? Why did you all have to die?

──……Me.

──Because I was weak?

Thud.

The moment he touched the scabbard, Finance Director Adam Keynes collapsed, and…

A moment later,

“…Ah.”

Adam Keynes woke up.

—————

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