Count’s Youngest Son is a Warlock Chapter 168 - I Repay The Favor (2)

 

Crisp.

 

The blue thread was cut and a red thread appeared.

 

It was natural.

 

J.L.’s enemy, who had lost everything to Neubra, was now his enemy.

 

“What about revenge?”

 

Without a moment of hesitation, J.L. responded, “If I follow you, revenge will naturally be achieved, won’t it?”

 

“That’s right.”

 

“This is the last time. You can think of it as the last transaction I will make with my life.”

 

“It’s not a deal, it’s a gamble.”

 

“You can view it as a gamble. However, if I lose again this time, I am prepared to die without any regrets. I no longer wish to be pitied.”

 

Lucion questioned him further, “And what about the honor of your family?”

 

“If I win, I will then go and propose a deal to you.”

 

A sharp glint appearing in his normally blurry eyes.

 

“Excellent,” Lucion remarked, accepting the ledger and extending his hand. “Welcome to Organization Ale, Mr. J.L.”

 

Goosebumps appeared on J.L.’s wrists due to the sudden respect.

 

But he smiled, awkwardly, and took Lucion’s hand.

 

* * *

 

Now Kran was in the North.

 

He had about two hours until he was supposed to return with Heint.

 

Since Lucion needed to introduce J.L. to the organization, he decided it would be best to have him meet the members quickly. Lucion and J.L. made their way to the building that the organization had temporarily rented.

 

“Oh! Mr. Hamel, Ms. Rental!”

 

Reint, who was guarding at the entrance, immediately welcomed Lucion and Hume.

 

“How are you feeling? Are you still not feeling well?”

 

“No, I felt better earlier.”

 

“You certainly don’t have a fever, I was really worried.”

 

‘Did you catch Kran’s disease or something? Why are you all so concerned?’

 

Lucion tried to suppress a laugh.

 

“Then, do you have time to chat briefly today?” Reint asked with anticipation.

 

If it was Heint, there was no need to worry as he kept promises.

 

“A few minutes would be fine.”

 

“Oh, right. I heard from Peter,” Reint suddenly lowered his voice and looked at Lucion with respect.

 

The gaze was too burdensome, so Lucion stepped back slightly.

 

“What are you talking about…?”

 

“The story of the great Hamel.”

 

[Pfft. Was what Kran said true? It was just drunken talk, but now it’s prefixed with ‘great.’ It’s obvious without even looking. Hey, isn’t our disciple suddenly becoming the hero of the organization?]

 

Russell, seizing the opportunity, teasingly chimed in.

 

—Oh! Ratta loves that Lucion has become great and a hero! Hume said that heroes are supposed to be great!

 

[Did you hear what Ratta said? Great Lucion.]

 

―The great Lucion!

 

Following Russell, even Ratta shouted happily.

 

Lucion looked towards Bethel, hoping she would intervene and put an end to the teasing, but before he could say anything, Reint directed his attention towards J.L.

 

“Oh, who is this?” Reint asked curiously.

 

Lucion spoke up, introducing J.L., “This is Mr. J.L., the owner of the merchant who will serve as our information network and contact point from now on.”

 

Reint held back what he wanted to say to Lucion and extended his hand to J.L. and introduced himself, “Nice to meet you. I’m Reint, a member of Organization Ale. I also serve as the escort for our current leader, Mr. Kran.”

 

The leader of the organization wasn’t Hamel?

 

Slightly surprised, J.L. smoothly smiled as if welcoming a customer.

 

“Nice to meet you. I’m J.L.”

 

“Well, I’ll see you later, Mr. Reint.”

 

Lucion slightly bowed his head to Reint.

 

“No, no. I’ll come with you, Mr. Hamel. You stay here and make sure to protect this place. Don’t forget to shield yourself if anything comes flying at you.”

 

After giving instructions to his subordinate, Reint smiled broadly and was about to ask the question he had been curious about right away.

 

“Do you happen to know?” Lucion asked.

 

However, Reint hesitated to answer, “Yes, I am aware that you are a warlock.”

 

“Then that’s good!”

 

Upon Lucion’s response, Reint quickly took out his notebook and began asking the questions he had stored in his mind.

 

However, their discussion was interrupted by the sudden voice of a woman.

 

“No! Don’t do that! That’s why it’s broken, because you’re using it like that!”

 

‘Why is Miella here?’

 

Lucion halted in his tracks upon hearing the familiar voice of Miella. Confusion washed over him. 

 

Why was she here? 

 

Wasn’t she supposed to be back at the Chefran mansion in the west?

 

Russell immediately flew over and slammed his face into the wall.

 

[What? it’s really Miella, and Heroan next to her?]

 

Drurrrrr!

 

A shrill sound, similar to a drill, pierced through the air, causing Lucion to instinctively cover his ears. 

 

His hands trembled involuntarily as the sound continued, as if someone was shouting directly at him.

 

―Ooooh! It’s a fun sound that Ratta likes!

 

Giggle.

 

Latta jumped up and down happily in the shadows, then looked at Lucion.

 

―Lucion, Lucion. Ratta listened, and it’s not a bad sound, it’s just a funny sound.

 

Lucion tried to catch his breath.

 

‘Damn it. I’m fine, I’m really fine, why is my body reacting like this?’

 

“Mr. Hamel?”

 

Unlike J.L., who was distracted by the strange sound, Reint, who was giggling, noticed Lucion’s abnormal symptoms.

 

“Ah… It’s nothing.”

 

Lucion lowered his hand.

 

The sound eventually ceased, and Heroan’s voice could be heard. “Oh! So this is how you use it.”

 

“Yes! That’s it, you idiot! Why are you ruining it when I make it so pretty?”

 

Lucion looked at Hume with disdain and pointed to the door.

 

The laughter from the organization’s members subsided as they turned their attention to the door, which had suddenly opened. 

 

However, Lucion had already averted his gaze, unaffected by the commotion.

 

“Ms. Rental!”

 

Upon seeing Hume, Miella rushed towards him with a smile, but then quickly rolled her eyes.

 

Her presence meant Hamel’s presence.

 

“Didn’t you go back to the West?”

 

At Lucion’s voice, Miella squeezed her eyes shut and opened one.

 

Even through the mask, she could tell Lucion was slightly annoyed.

 

“Well, I was planning to go back, but I had a reason. I tried calling you, but you didn’t answer.”

 

“I’ll go see Mr. Kran first,” Lucion stated, keeping his composure, and gestured for J.L. to follow him.

 

“He’s over there. Let me guide you.”

 

As people started showing interest in Lucion’s arrival, Heroan hastily put down the magical item resembling a drilling machine and took the lead.

 

―Ooooh! What is that? Ratta is so curious.

 

Ratta’s eyes sparkled as she looked at the magical item that Heroan had placed down.

 

“I know where Mr. Kran is without you telling me.”

 

Knowing Heroan’s intentions, Lucion didn’t want to play along.

 

“Come on, it’s been a long time since we met.”

 

“You contacted me two days ago.”

 

“It’s different hearing your voice and seeing you in person. And you keep interrupting me before I finish speaking, which is quite unpleasant.”

 

“You should at least pretend to listen when someone is speaking. You talk too much.”

 

“That’s just Hamel’s misunderstanding. I’m definitely not talkative… Why are you following me?”

 

Heroan glanced at Reint with displeasure, feeling distracted by his presence. 

 

“Hey, Quate.”

 

Reint called out to Quate, but he was nowhere to be seen.

 

[He had fled through the window a moment ago].

 

Lucion almost burst into laughter at Bethel’s words.

 

Quate must have been quite distressed to make such a hasty escape.

 

“Why are you calling him?”

 

Heroan asked sarcastically, but Reint didn’t flinch.

 

“He’s my responsibility, so I call him.”

 

“Don’t hook me up with him. He’s really annoying.”

 

“That item just now…”

 

Lucion was not the least bit interested in their bickering.

 

He opened his mouth to speak, then quickly shut it, remembering something Ratta had said.

 

[You dug your own grave.]

 

Russell giggled.

 

Heroan blinked as if he was surprised by the change in Lucion’s expression.

 

“Yes! That’s a good question. That item that you just saw… It’s a digging item made by Miella. Once we get our hands on the entire headquarters, we’ll dig into the central area of the central region and connect it with the rest of the headquarters. There’s a place in the middle of the central region where a lot of information is gathered, ah, did I mention that?”

 

‘You mean an anthill.’

 

In the central branch, the only place full of information was the ant cave.

 

“Heroan.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“You mentioned before that you wanted to root out the corruption of the priests, right?”

 

“Yes, yes! I’m dead serious about it. The mere thought of it fills me with excitement and makes my whole body tremble,” Heroan exclaimed with enthusiasm.

 

“First, prepare yourself so that you can root out the corruption when I give the signal. If we’re going to do it, let’s ensure it spreads evenly.”

 

Preparation is key.

 

When Lucion gave his permission, Heroan jumped up in joy.

 

“Mr. J.L.”

 

Perhaps due to the commotion outside, Kran came out of the room.

 

Good timing.

 

Lucion pointed at Kran and said, “This is Kran, the leader of Organization Ale.”

 

Is that person really the leader?

 

J.L. seemed to be looking at Lucion with a question he wanted to ask earlier.

 

“Pleased to meet you. I’m Kran.”

 

Kran, holding back the urge to ask Lucion if he was okay, reached out his hand to J.L.

 

It was a merchant brought by Hamel.

 

After successfully acquiring the mines, there were numerous concerns about the next steps to take. However, luck seemed to be on their side.

 

* * *

 

‘Sigh… I’m exhausted.’

 

Lucion slouched deeply in his chair.

 

After relaying J.L. and Kran, he stepped outside and was caught by Heroan and Reint, who were waiting for him.

 

Heroan, being Heroan, said what he had to say.

 

Reint was being Reint and asking the questions he’d been holding back.

 

Lucion thought he was going to die because they were both telling different stories.

 

Peter, who had come out yawning in the middle, also joined them.

 

He would rather be peacefully sleeping.

 

The organization members, overwhelmed by the three individuals, even lost the will to try to strike up a conversation with him and didn’t even come near him.

 

Ratta would have covered her ears for being too noisy.

 

Hume, unable to stand it any longer, was about to step forward, but urgently stopped himself as the three men were about to get into a heated argument.

 

In the end, peace came only when Kran took action.

 

It was the first time Lucion felt such relief due to Kran’s intervention.

 

“It was noisy, wasn’t it?”

 

Miella brought the tea and set it down in front of Lucion and Hume.

 

[It was very loud.]

 

Russell nodded, and Bethel raised an eyebrow.

 

[Yeah, it felt like being in the midst of a bustling market.]

 

“Yes, it was really noisy.”

 

As Hume nodded slightly, Miella looked sorry.

 

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what to say because it’s usually like this. Oh, Mr. Hamel, can you drink?”

 

Miella asked, looking at Lucion’s mask.

 

“When it cools, I guess.”

 

Lucion said nonchalantly, but Miella felt bad that he couldn’t drink tea in front of everyone.

 

She was tempted to tell him to take it off and drink comfortably since it could be kept a secret for a lifetime.

 

“I must say, I’m having a great time being a part of the organization.”

 

However, Miella brought up another topic as she fiddled with her teacup.

 

“That’s good to hear. I guess I’ll have to keep going like this. I feel like I’ll die if I get caught once.”

 

“Everyone is happy to see Hamel. It seems like everyone has a deep connection with Hamel.”

 

“Because I brought you all here. Oh, except for Mr. Reint.”

 

“No, everyone, including Mr. Reint, wants to repay the favor to Hamel.”

 

“…?”

 

Lucion tilted his head slightly.

 

Repay the favor.

 

It was a fair deal.

 

Miella burst into laughter as she saw Lucion’s tilted head and Hume nodding vigorously.

 

“Look at this. Mr. Hamel is really indifferent to himself.”

 

“Yes?” Lucion responded, looking at Miella with curiosity.

 

“It’s nothing.”

 

Miella silently decided to keep the fact to herself instead of revealing it to Lucion.

 

“Oh. How are you feeling?”

 

“But why are all of you acting this way? Did you make some kind of bet?”

 

Miella chuckled, finding Lucion’s confusion amusing.

 

“Like Mr. Kran, right?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“That’s to be expected, Mr. Hamel doesn’t take care of himself.”

 

“I do it because I enjoy it.”

 

“I know, I know, but I can’t help it. I think they all feel the same way, don’t they?”

 

Miella’s lips curled up.

 

It’s not that Lucion didn’t notice.

 

As the days went by, Lucion couldn’t help but notice the warmth in the eyes of the organization members, and even simple conversations with them brought him a sense of joy and contentment. 

 

However, the feeling was so unfamiliar to Lucion that he found it difficult to fully accept.

 

“I’m sorry for not being in touch. What did you contact me for?”

 

“I was going to head west. But there are a lot of necessary materials in the central region, so I had no choice but to come back.”

 

Miella started by explaining the reason she had returned.

 

As Lucion’s finger twitched, Miella spoke up again.

 

“I know it was reckless. As you know, I can’t even protect myself properly. I’m aware of the expanding role I’ll have in the future. But I wanted to repay the favor.”

 

Miella took out a necklace from her bosom.

 

―Oh! It’s the necklace Ratta saw at the auction, um, Miella’s necklace! Ahem. Ratta remembered it.

 

Ratta wagged her tail, reaching the end of the shadow.

 

However, as Hamel, Lucion had to act as if he was seeing the necklace for the first time, so he tilted his head slightly.

 

“This is the item I mentioned before, the necklace I wanted to give to you, Hamel. It has the ability to absorb light and emit regenerative power,” Miella explained, shaking the necklace gently.