DTBTHS Chapter 32

Axel read the contract again.

The boy who'd lived alone with his father had learned everything from him.

His adoptive father was a person who'd received high-level education, but was far closer to the sword than the pen.

Therefore, what Axel learned was also biased toward the sword. Even that, he hadn't learned much of due to his young age.

To him, it was a clear and rational contract. He saw no problems.

However, he did have a question.

"What exactly is a chess piece?"

"People sponsored by the Chess Association's masters are called chess pieces. That guy over there is one of my chess pieces too."

The man pointed to an armored youth guarding the entrance. The youth bowed his head.

His expression was bright. Becoming a chess piece didn't seem particularly difficult or painful.

Axel asked another question.

"What kind of missions are there?"

"Various. Not much different from what mercenaries do. Mostly things like escort work or monster subjugation. Unlike mercenaries, we only take requests from association members though."

The man shrugged and continued.

"Of course there are also unusual missions like matches between masters or promotion battles."

"Matches? Promotion? What are those?"

"You'll find out after becoming a chess piece."

The smiling man urged the boy.

"I don't offer this opportunity to just anyone. If you weren't red-eyed, I wouldn't have made the offer for a worthless kid like you to become a chess piece."

"Aren't you afraid of red eyes?"

"Can't live as a master if you're scared of things like that."

The man who chuckled roughly ruffled Axel's hair.

"Kid, have you heard the story that red eyes are loved by fire spirits?"

"...Yes."

"Right, so if I raise you well, there's a high chance you'll become an excellent spirit knight or spiritualist. I'm willing to sponsor you seeing that possibility."

The boy smoothed down his hair that the man had messed up.

It was the first time someone had ruffled his hair since his father died.

It was also the first time someone was pleased rather than uncomfortable seeing his eyes.

"So, have you decided? If you don't want to do it, just leave now."

Axel glanced outside the mansion.

Beyond the terrace, he could see the streets where the boy had lain starving on the dirt ground.

He finally accepted the quill pen. He wrote his name at the bottom of the contract.

Axel Valentine.

A red fingerprint was stamped above the name. The man took the contract with a satisfied smile.

"Good, I'm Robert Black. From now on, call me Master."

"Yes."

"And from now on, you're my Pawn. Black Pawn. Understand?"

"...I understand, Master."

"Good. Hey, Bishop."

At his gesture, the youth who'd greeted earlier approached. Black pushed Axel toward him.

"Give the Pawn basic education."

"Yes, Master."

"Train hard, Pawn. I'll give you your first mission soon."

Black smiled deeply.

The Chess Association's regular meetings were held in Kalsmere, the continent's largest port city.

At each regular meeting, the association's masters had to update their lists of chess pieces.

Robert Black hummed a tune while updating his list.

'One Knight died but I got a Bishop instead, so that's profit. I acquired a useful Pawn too.'

He grinned thinking about the newly acquired Pawn. He had particularly high expectations for that one.

'Should I make quick money and dispose of him? Or should I keep him alive as long as possible and use him as a cash source...'

Black finished registering his chess pieces while pondering such matters.

Black Pawn, age 12, male

Characteristic: Red eyes.

As he submitted the record and tried to leave, an association clerk stopped him.

"Master Black."

"Hm?"

"A client looking for you is waiting."

"For me? Why?"

"It seems they want to invest in you."

Black was flustered.

Getting investors was something that only happened to masters who had branches in major cities.

He was merely a master from a backwater corner called the lawless city.

He didn't have many chess pieces, and his match win rate was on the low side too.

"What did they see in me?"

The clerk expressionlessly pointed to the corridor leading to the inner room.

"They're an important person, so be careful with your words and actions. They're inside."

"An important person, who?"

"Someone from Garcia Trading Company."

"G-Garcia?"

"Seems to be branch manager level or above, or a representative of an executive."

Black swallowed and headed to the inner room.

'A Garcia Trading Company executive, this is an enormous opportunity.'

He stopped in front of a luxurious room draped with layers of veils.

After checking once more the list of chess pieces he'd brought, his list of facilities, his record evaluation report, etc., he carefully stepped inside.

"It's an honor to meet you, client."

"Pleased to meet you."

The man sitting on the sofa replied indifferently. Black quickly looked the client over.

White cravat with a stiff gray vest, gray eyes visible beyond glasses, blonde hair swept back without a single strand out of place.

The man had the impression of a banker rather than a merchant.

"Simon Dent. I came as my master's representative."

"I'm Robert Black, a Chess Association master. I oversee the city of outlaws and..."

"The documents?"

The man called Simon cut off Black's self-introduction and asked.

Black handed over the documents with an uncomfortable feeling.

"Here they are."

Simon sat with crossed legs and flipped through the documents.

Since he didn't even tell him to sit, Black had no choice but to stand and wait.

Simon's hand paused briefly at the chess piece list.

Black Pawn, 12-year-old male child with red eyes.

Having confirmed what his master was looking for, there was nothing more to see. He put down the stack of documents on the table.

"Master Black."

"Y-yes?"

Black, who'd been cursing inwardly that this representative bastard was disgustingly arrogant, answered with a start.

Simon took out a thin sheet of paper and spoke.

"I'll buy your master qualifications."

"...Excuse me?"

"I mean I'll buy all the association master certificate you have, facilities, and chess pieces."

Black's mouth fell open.

He'd thought he was an investor, but wasn't this saying he'd buy out his entire foundation?

If he sold even his master qualifications, what would he live on from now on?

"What kind of ridiculous...!"

Black, about to get angry in exasperation, closed his mouth when he saw the paper Simon held out.

It was a promissory note issued by Garcia Trading Company.

Black wondered if he'd miscounted the zeros and counted again. It was the same.

"Th-th-this..."

"The price for handing over everything you have as a master and leaving cleanly."

Robert Black was stunned. It was too much money to refuse.

"If you refuse, I'll find another master. All my master needs is qualifications and a foundation to participate in matches immediately."

Simon tried to withdraw the promissory note he'd held out. Black hastily grabbed it.

"I-I'll sell! Everything!"

"Good decision."

The deal was made.

A knock was heard. Ariadne put down the book she was reading.

"It's Simon."

"Come in."

A man as neat as if measured with a ruler entered holding a stack of documents on a silver tray.

Simon Dent.

The secretary Ariadne had chosen from Rebecca's résumé list.

'Because he seems like the person least likely to betray me.'

Rebecca knew well that the most necessary thing in her young niece's business was a trustworthy secretary.

Starting with secretly distributing Elixir on the black market, it was only natural.

So she had explained on each résumé what made that person trustworthy.

Among them, Simon Dent was listed as someone loyal to money.

A person who would absolutely never betray as long as properly paid. There was a good reason for it too.

"You came quickly. Already finished?"

"You said you'd give a bonus if I finished quickly."

Simon answered with an expressionless face and polite posture.

Once the Elixir business properly started, she would have money rotting in abundance.

Even if not as much as Duke Eldier from the novel who monopolized Elixir, it was a confirmed future that she would accumulate tremendous wealth.

Rebecca knew that future best.

Though the business hadn't properly started yet, thanks to Rebecca giving an enormous amount of advance payment after signing the contract, Ariadne was already rich.

She could easily afford to pay her secretary well and take good care of bonuses.

She held out a leather pouch while receiving the documents Simon offered.

"Here, your bonus."

"No."

Simon stepped back.

"I'll receive it after you confirm the work results."

"Ah, right."

Loyal to money, but his work handling really was sharp as a blade.

Just the fact that he worked seriously with her, who was clearly a child no matter how you looked at it, showed that.

Ariadne put down the pouch and opened the documents first.

The contract with Robert Black was at the front.

The chess piece list was on the next page. As if anticipating she'd look for that first.

She found Axel Valentine on the list and breathed a sigh of relief inwardly.

'Good, just like the original.'

After deciding to help the protagonist, she kept pondering while going in and out of the Phantom Library.

How could she help him while maintaining the original story flow where the protagonist becomes overpowered as much as possible?

After much deliberation, the method she found was to steal the role of an original character.

'The role of the Chess Association master, Black, that is.'