127.
“Then I should give up.”
Allen’s tone had softened considerably in the meantime. However, San still couldn’t let his guard down. In fact, he hadn’t told Allen everything he knew about Leviathan.
‘Yu Jin is the head of the Lucid family.’
From what San had learned while handling information, Lucid was loyal to the imperial family, but they weren’t pushed around by the emperor. Rather than handing over everything indiscriminately, he judged that an exchange was necessary.
For this reason, San had concealed a few things to verify if the imperial family was providing accurate information. Even Gee didn’t know about this. Gee was a good person who would do anything for San, but sometimes his expressions moved on their own.
As someone who was originally free-spirited, he wasn’t skilled at deceiving others. Despite claiming to have once lived as a mercenary, it’s unclear why he was like this. Being a mercenary seemed like a job that involved dealing with many people. Thinking this, San addressed Allen.
“Then can I now hear the information that you, Allen, know?”
“Of course.”
Allen answered readily.
“Then I’ll tell you about things that don’t overlap. First, you know that Leviathan likens its executives to constellations, right?”
“Yes, I heard they’re compared to the 12 zodiac signs.”
“Yes, but there aren’t actually 12 executives.”
Precisely, Leviathan has 8 executives. From the beginning, the standards for the Leviathan leader to promote someone to an executive position were quite high. So although they liked constellations and modeled after the 12 zodiac signs, they couldn’t fill all 12 positions. In fact, individuals of that caliber often preferred to have visible power rather than working covertly in a hidden organization. Despite Leviathan’s efforts to brainwash people and establish influence here and there, it wasn’t suitable for openly enjoying something.
“We don’t know the exact number, but we estimate it doesn’t exceed ten. And among them, less than half are combat personnel.”
Organizations don’t function solely with combat personnel. Once you reach a certain level, mental cultivation becomes important, but you can’t neglect physical activity either. So inevitably, people who use their heads were also needed. Especially for an organization like Leviathan to operate.
“Research on drugs for brainwashing, magical research for covert movement, research to strengthen combat personnel outside of executives, and so on.”
Various things were needed to maintain and prosper the organization. Like Lucid, the imperial family, or other families, they needed people to organize and create new formats.
Now, a question arises here. In fact, San knew everything, but at this point, he politely asked a question out of courtesy.
“Then is there a need to call it the 12 zodiac signs?”
“Good question. We’ve speculated on why they do this. One, using the 12 zodiac signs despite having fewer members is to inflate their forces. Two, by leaving some executive positions vacant, it allows subordinates to aim for higher positions. Three, this came up as a joke, but maybe they just like constellations?”
San almost clapped his hands unknowingly. It was exactly the same as what Jinhyeon had told him. This seemed to indicate that the imperial family was willing to properly exchange information with Lucid.
“Is there anything else you’re curious about?”
“How much do you know about the names or characteristics of the executives?”
“We don’t know much about that either. We only know about four who mainly operate externally. Rector, Aksen, Diana, and Tenya. Rector primarily uses a sword but is also quite proficient with other weapons. Aksen is a magician and an alchemist. He’s more skilled in supportive magic than combat magic, but don’t underestimate him. He’s an expert at breaking people. Diana can be considered an assassin. They say she’s a master of stealth. Lastly, Tenya. He seems to be a mixed-race of another species. He’s also skilled with a sword like Rector.”
Allen paused for a moment and observed San’s expression.
“Well, are you satisfied now that I’ve told you this much?”
It seemed that Allen also knew that San hadn’t divulged all the information. Well, as a capable person, the imperial family must have assigned him to track Leviathan.
“I’m satisfied.”
“Then let’s have a proper conversation now.”
“Alright. Since it seems the conversation won’t end quickly, I’ll bring some tea first.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing how delicious the tea served by a genius boy will be.”
San smiled awkwardly at Allen’s words.
‘Will it suit the taste of a royal family member?’
Although it was expensive tea he had prepared just in case, it was burdensome when a royal family member spoke like that. Allen hoped that the tea would suit Allen’s taste.
Haruna, who had been observing Yu Jin for a while, returned to her work. She wanted to watch over him all the time, but circumstances didn’t allow it. But it should be fine since Keith had changed his mind. He might still act mischievously to some extent, but she couldn’t prevent that. For now, Yu Jin seemed to be managing well, so she had to trust him.
‘Let’s just finish the urgent matters and go back.’
Thinking this, Haruna, who had come to the trading company after a long time, greeted an unfamiliar guest. More precisely, it was someone whose name and face she knew but had never met.
“Hello?”
The man with loosely braided red hair greeted with a smiling face. Although his actions seemed gentle, Haruna didn’t let her guard down.
“Hello, Mr. Greyardin.”
“So you know me.”
“You’re a famous person, aren’t you? How could I not know?”
Haruna imitated the man’s smile. In the world where money circulates, Tulin was the most well-known person. However, going a bit lower, there were merchants who, while not to that extent, were still famous. To be precise, there were five, and unfortunately, the trading company Yu Jin managed didn’t make it into that group. Despite managing it diligently, there were limitations, so it couldn’t be helped.
“You’re the owner of one of the five major trading companies, aren’t you?”
“That’s right, but it feels strange to hear it directly.”
“You must hear it often, don’t you?”
“That’s true.”
After that conversation, the two sat on the sofa. Then, a maid employed by the trading company brought tea and refreshments. Only after taking a sip and catching her breath did Haruna ask Greyardin.
“By the way, what brings you here? If you had told us you were coming in advance, we could have prepared something.”
“Preparation? As if some great person was coming.”
“The head of one of the five major trading companies is a great person.”
“If you put it that way, wouldn’t Yu Jin, who has become the head of the Lucid family, be even greater?”
That’s true. Although Greyardin was also a nobleman, he was originally the second son of an obscure count family. He had actively worked to revitalize the trading company and his family grew along with it, but still, he couldn’t catch up to Lucid. After all, there were things that couldn’t be done with money alone. Money was important, but the loyal vassals from past history couldn’t be overlooked.
“It’s too drastic for a former good-for-nothing. I think even Tulin recognized that. That’s why he joined hands and pushed forward with the business.”
“So what do you want?”
“I’m a bit late, but I was wondering if I could join in now. A partnership would be good, or we could fully fund a new business venture on our side.”
“Do you think you can benefit from that?”
“It’s fine even if we don’t benefit but take a loss. Do what you’ve wanted to do with the money we provide. Then I’ll be satisfied. To be honest, I want to catch the eye of the head of Lucid, even if it means taking a loss.”
Seeing him go this far, there was one thing that came to mind. It seemed that Greyardin was planning to leave his family and create a new home for himself. For that, he was looking for someone to protect him, and Yu Jin had been chosen for that role. The count family head that Haruna knew wouldn’t have agreed to such an idea. The count family head she had seen at another party was a greedy person.
‘They said he wasn’t on good terms with his original family.’
Greyardin was capable, unlike his father. That’s how he managed to grow the trading company he took over to this point. She would have to ask Yu Jin, but joining hands with him didn’t seem like a bad idea.
“I’ll relay this conversation to Yu Jin.”
“Thank you. I’ll try to make it beneficial.”
As he said this with a bright smile, Haruna’s heart momentarily fluttered at the pleasant sight. It was because Greyardin also possessed remarkable beauty.
‘But I shouldn’t let my guard down.’
Greyardin might be a member of Leviathan. Keith had said that when brainwashing progresses to a certain extent, Leviathan’s infiltration begins. And at that time, someone would approach naturally, so be careful. If so, she needed to first understand Greyardin’s situation. If what Haruna had thought was correct, the probability of him not being from Leviathan would increase.
She planned to entrust that part to the information organization in the back alleys.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
