[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
Chapter 35
Zeke asked with a puzzled expression,
"A visitor? There shouldn't be anyone who would visit me in Atlas."
Zeke left his room and went to the reception room where the visitors were.
"Master? And Instructor Andrei?"
Surprisingly, Duke Draker and Andrei Draker were in the reception room.
Duke waved his hand and said to Zeke,
"My disciple, you really are something else. I've never seen anyone skip out on Valhalla enrollment. Didn't that stubborn old Flaubert say anything?"
Zeke sat down with a tired expression and said,
"I just finished taking a special exam."
"Really? Then I guess there was no problem."
Duke, who knew Zeke's skills better than anyone, wasn't too worried.
Zeke looked at the two and said,
"But what are you two doing here? What about the academy?"
Duke said with an indifferent expression,
"Shouldn't a master be where his disciple is? As for the academy, well, Howard will manage it somehow."
Duke was someone who didn't do much anyway, just used up potions.
"I understand about Master, but... why is Instructor Andrei here...?"
Andrei had a slightly embarrassed expression.
Seeing that, Duke said as if exasperated,
"Ugh, that leech. He keeps following me around even though I told him I have nothing more to teach him."
Despite his words, Duke seemed to have grown fond of Andrei and didn't completely reject him.
"So you're both staying in Atlas?"
"Yeah, you got a big mansion anyway, so let's stay here for a while."
There was no reason for Zeke to refuse.
Thanks to this, Duke and Andrei also became members of the household.
Zeke asked Andrei,
"Instructor, are you going back to the Four Seasons Castle then?"
Andrei shook his head.
"No, I was appointed as an assistant professor at Valhalla."
Considering Andrei's young age, becoming an assistant professor at Valhalla meant that his skills had improved dramatically.
Duke, saying it was good to see him after a long time, started drinking heavily even though the sun hadn't set yet.
Zeke kept Duke company for a while, then left him with Andrei and returned to his room to prepare for his night time outing.
And when the secret night fell and everyone in the mansion was asleep, Zeke used the ghost Step, a movement technique that left no trace, and went outside.
* * *
He knew the dark underworld hidden beneath the glamorous metropolis of Atlas very well.
Zeke entered a secluded alley on the outskirts of the city, where ordinary people rarely ventured.
And he went into a bar with a faded sign.
Inside the bar, people with dangerous auras were drinking.
Zeke scanned the bar, then went to the counter and sat down.
He said to the bartender,
"Give me a glass of dark beer. And..."
He placed a gold coin on the counter and continued,
"Go and tell Kay that I want to meet him."
At his words, not only the bartender but also the dangerous-looking men around him turned their attention to Zeke.
Zeke, receiving their attention, smirked.
"Don't get hurt for nothing and just go tell him quietly. Zeke Draker wants to make a deal with the Syndicate."
As soon as the name Draker came up, the bartender gestured to a man near the counter.
The man went inside and then beckoned Zeke.
It seemed permission had been granted from above.
Zeke followed the man inside the bar.
As expected of the Syndicate, a smuggling organization, they led Zeke to a passage leading underground.
After passing through several tightly secured doors and numerous forks in the path, they finally came to a building that looked like a huge warehouse.
They passed through the entrance, guarded by several rough-looking men, and went inside where the goods were stored.
"Wait here for a moment."
The man went inside first.
A moment later, the door opened, and the man beckoned Zeke to enter.
Inside, all sorts of goods and cargo boxes were piled up.
"Who the hell are you?"
"You ask even though you know I'm Zeke Draker. I revealed my identity to build trust. Of course, I trust you'll keep your subordinates in line."
Kay looked at the identification and the contract in front of her and pondered.
Then she nodded.
She stood up.
"Follow me."
Kay led Zeke to the back of the warehouse.
There was an office prepared for Kay inside.
It seemed to be a space used for dealing with particularly important clients, as soundproofing magic and security magic were cast everywhere.
As Zeke sat down, Kay brought something.
"An oath of promise. This is a very wizardly item."
Kay wasn't surprised that Zeke knew she was a wizard.
Kay had already guessed that Zeke knew who she was and had come intentionally when he brought the magic items.
She unfolded the contract containing the oath of promise and picked up a pen.
"I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but this means I acknowledge you as a true partner for the first time."
Zeke didn't find it strange because he had made an oath of promise with Kay in his previous life as well.
Kay pricked her finger on the needle attached to the pen.
Then she signed with the blood that flowed down to the nib.
Following her, Zeke also signed in the same way.
Then, each of their signatures was engraved on the inside of their wrists.
'Huh?'
But Zeke noticed something strange about the signature engraved on his wrist.
It was as if two signatures were overlapping.
'Is it because the oath of promise from my previous life is overlapping?'
If the oath of promise made in blood was broken, the signature engraved on the wrist would disappear.
This was how they could tell if the person they made the contract with had betrayed them.
Zeke flinched at the sight of the overlapping signatures, but Kay didn't seem to mind.
After confirming the signatures engraved on each other's wrists, the two decided to form a partnership.
"Now that we're partners, can you tell me why a Pureblood Awakener of Draker is trying to sell stolen goods?"
Zeke said to Kay,
"First, those aren't stolen goods. They're ancient items I found. I won't tell you where I found them, so don't ask. Second, not all Pureblood Awakeners are rich. You need a wealthy sponsor clan for that."
It was an internal matter of the Draker clan that was difficult for most people to know, so Kay listened to Zeke with a curious expression.
Then Zeke said to Kay,
"Is the McCain Cartel currently trading with the Syndicate?"
Kay's expression hardened again at his words.
"How do you know such confidential information within the organization? Even I, the branch manager, haven't known for long."
She continued, as if there was no point in hiding it,
"As you said, we're trading with McCain. But these days, we're having trouble because of pressure from the Favela Cartel. They're telling us to stop trading with McCain and transport their goods instead."
Currently, a three-way war was taking place in the Southern Continent between the giant cartels Favela, McCain, and Tahuani.
In the Southern Continent, which was close to a lawless zone, the kingdoms were practically powerless.
The cartels' military power was dozens of times stronger than that of the Southern Continent's royal knights.
Based on this military power, they produced the drug Soma in the jungle and brought it into the Central Continent.
The biggest consumer of Soma was the Rom Empire, so transporting it to the Central Continent was crucial.
The border area, which was originally used as a transportation route, was completely blocked when the Ishtaar clan, who had settled there, issued an expulsion order.
Even the reckless cartels didn't want to cause friction with Ishtaar, one of the Transcendent Families, so they had to find another route.
That's how they came to join hands with the Syndicate, a smuggling organization. They were transporting Soma through the South Sea, across the desert, and distributing it to the Rom Empire, the Central Kingdoms, and even the Northern Continent.
Since it was known that Soma not only caused hallucinations but also had the effect of increasing magical power, it was very popular among wizards, so there was always an overflowing demand.
Thanks to this, the Syndicate, which had monopolized the transportation of the cartels' goods, was making an enormous amount of money by establishing distribution and sales networks in each region of the continent.
Zeke, who had personally experienced this situation in his previous life, knew the circumstances of the Southern cartels very well.
Zeke, organizing his memories from his past life, looked at Kay and said,
"Hey, Kay. I want to make you an offer."
"What kind of offer?"
Zeke said with a calm smile,
"Put me in touch with Don Juan."
Kay was so surprised by his words that she raised her voice without realizing it.
"You want to meet the boss of the McCain Cartel?"
Zeke nodded.
"Yes, and if you do that for me, I'll make you the boss of the Syndicate."
[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]