Chapter 6.5 - The Secret NOT Dinner!

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One hour after the completion of the Black Market Eradication Operation.

Secret base of the “Dragons” organization.

“Operation codename ‘Nest Collapse’ has been successfully completed,” Freya announced.

Applause broke out across the room.

“But it came dangerously close to failure.”

“Don’t tell me Louise messed up again?” Otto asked with a smirk.

“Oh? I see our Otto’s finally found his voice,” Louise shot back.

“Let’s not start bickering. This wasn’t Louise’s fault.”

“Then what happened?”

“Friedrich Beltegran, the real estate magnate who ran a network of residential buildings in the capital, turned out to be a cursed mage known as ‘The Raven’, rank SS+.”

“Beltegran? That sweet old man? I’d never have guessed,” Alice said in surprise.

“He’s now missing. The Order of the Holy Blade is searching for him, but most likely the cult is hiding him.”

“I see. So what do you propose we do?” Otto asked.

“For now—nothing. We have a more pressing matter.”

“More pressing than the cult?” Sonya mumbled sleepily.

“During the operation, at the very peak of the battle… he appeared. The One-Eyed Dragon.”

The room lit up with joy and astonishment.

“The Chief?” Otto asked again.

“Boss is in the capital! Hooray!” Sonya shouted.

“In fact, it’s thanks to him the operation didn’t fail,” Louise admitted shyly.

“The Lord himself came to the capital?” Alice asked.

“According to our intel, he wasn’t due to arrive until tomorrow. But for unknown reasons, he came two days early,” Freya explained.

“So he came to personally deal with the black market?”

“I don’t know.”

“He found the black market in less than a day. We spent three months breaking our heads over it.”

“Boss truly is unmatched.”

Freya pulled a newspaper from under the table and tossed it in front of them.

“Our agent at the printing house sent us tomorrow’s edition. The headline reads: ‘Black Market Exposed by Prince Hugo.’”

“What? Impossible!”

“How did they get the story to the journalists within an hour?” Louise asked in disbelief.

“Most likely, Hugo knew we’d be striking the nest today.”

“Then that means there’s a traitor among us,” Louise said, her voice tense.

“If the cult has infiltrated our ranks, that’s the start of the worst-case scenario,” Sonya added.

“There’s no traitor among us. Our lieutenants are almost certainly loyal as well.”

“Then we need to check the new recruits.”

“Let’s not panic. The Chief is already with us, so—”

“We cannot afford to show weakness a second time,” Freya cut in.

“The operation succeeded only because of him. It would be foolish to burden him with our problems,” Louise said.

Freya rose and walked to the window. Beyond it, the capital glittered like a starry sky.

“Yamazaki—the Lord who has always taught us wisdom. Thanks to that wisdom, we’ve reached heights we never dreamed of.”

The members exchanged glances and nodded to one another.

“That’s why we must now help our Lord achieve his divine goals. We begin by unmasking the traitor… and eliminating Hugo.”

Tomorrow would be truly scorching.

The Dragons were going to war—on the side of Yamazaki Seido.

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《END of Chapter 6.5 - The Secret NOT Dinner!》