Chapter 38 – Winning People (2)

I whispered in Natasha’s ear, acting like a hot-blooded young man blinded by lust.

“Since when was it? That you were looking at me with those eyes.”

“From the very beginning. I even know that there are four holes in your belt.”

“That is quite insidious. What do you want from me?”

“Everything of yours. Perhaps even your life.”

“It will be a dangerous task.”

“I know very well how to coordinate things so they aren’t dangerous.”

Thanks to my quick wits and her quick capture of it, our conversation continued like a sort of cipher.

The contents were as follows.

-Since when were we tailed?

-From the very beginning. Four people are tailing us.

-What is their purpose?

-To win you over. If things go wrong, they will take your life.

-Is there a way?

-I have a plan, so follow me.

But who on earth was I that as many as four tails were following me?

And insidious people at that, armed with enough malice to target my life.

‘No, they wouldn’t be moving based on emotion. They are highly likely people instigated by someone.’

Since I did not have many connections at the moment, there was no one who would hold a grudge against me.

At best, I had been entangled in an ill relationship with Ian Draco, but hadn’t I handled even that cleanup cleanly?

Therefore, those targeting me were not people I knew, but strangers.

And they must be ‘them’ whom Herman Melville mentioned.

I felt that I should pry into their identity from Natasha, who probably knew who ‘they’ were.

For enemies were always most threatening when they were invisible, not when they were visible.

“Shall we go, then?”

“Yes, Lord Aylen. I have already secured a place with a nice atmosphere in advance.”

Natasha, who had taken off her fur coat to reveal her figure, wrapped her arm around mine.

Her actions, tone of voice, and even the way she handled her gaze were so natural that I thought this woman was no ordinary woman either.

She must not have done this just once or twice.

‘An informant of Herman Melville… or something like that.’

An appearance eye-catching enough to make one’s eyes wide was a major drawback for being an informant.

However, her brilliant brain, which knew how to utilize it appropriately, and her outstanding acting skills made Natasha look like a truly charming woman.

Even I was confused whether this was acting or not.

“We are almost there. Please bear with it a little longer.”

Thus, with our arms crossed, we entered the lodging she had reserved.

Weeeing—clack!

Natasha took some equipment out of her bag, double-locked the room door, and only after scanning every corner of the lodging with another device did she nod and speak.

“You may speak freely.”

“What did you just do?”

“I reset the magic engineering alignment of the lock and checked if there were wiretaps in the room.”

“Even though this is the lodging you reserved, is there a reason you must go to such lengths?”

“…There is nothing in this ember that lies outside of their influence. This city is a place where being careful and careful again is still not enough.”

Ember, world, influence…

From the combination of those three words, I finally vaguely guessed who ‘they’ referred to.

“Could ‘they’ perhaps be Lord Heimdall’s older brothers and sisters?”

According to the information gathered at the library, Odin, the leader of the Immortal Embers, had five children under him.

This meant Heimdall, the youngest, had two older brothers and two older sisters, and was simultaneously a competitor in the succession structure.

Excluding Odin and Herman Melville, the only powerful figures who could control the Immortal Embers were those five successors.

However, since my current self was an existence not even worth Odin’s concern, and Herman Melville had already attached Natasha to my side, the two could not be suspects.

Therefore, the culprits who set the tails were ‘them’ whom Herman Melville spoke of, Heimdall’s older brothers and sisters.

It would be by no means a coincidence that there were four tails.

Drrrk—

“Please sit.”

At that moment, pulling out a chair, Natasha invited me to sit.

Taking it as a sign that the conversation would be long, I sat down immediately.

Sitting across from me, Natasha slowly opened her mouth.

“As you said, Odin’s children are indeed ‘they.’ But… did you only just guess their identity now?”

Natasha, who had consistently maintained an expressionless face, showed wonder on her face.

It was the first emotion she had revealed.

It meant she could not understand this situation that much.

However, I also could not understand her reaction.

“I swear, before today, they had never once shown themselves.”

“Of course they wouldn’t. Because the situation has completely changed starting today.”

“What has changed?”

“Because if the Lord Aylen before today was merely a yellow-bander in possession of Heimdall’s compass, now you have become a prospective magic engineer who passed the qualification exam with top marks.”

“…!”

In other words, starting today—the day the results were announced—my value had changed, so my treatment had changed accordingly.

But still, who would have known that taking top honors in a beginner’s exam would bring about such a situation?

“I have never left my ember of origin until now, and visited this place for the first time to take the qualification exam. How could someone like me know the complex interests of this city?”

But I was just aggrieved… no, I was simply flustered.

Because although I knew who they were, I could not guess why on earth they had set tails on me.

Furthermore, weren’t the ones following my back armed with too thick a murderous intent for it to be a simple succession rivalry?

Even I felt it, and considering that Natasha McGrain, who must have been well-accustomed to such things, hurried her steps while even breaking out in a cold sweat, it was certainly the case.

Of course, from the perspective of succession rivalry, it was fully understandable.

However, even that did not make sense.

According to the sergeant guarding the main gate of the leadership headquarters, Heimdall was a scoundrel who had dropped out of the succession line early on and lived for the fun of playing with yellow-banders.

To begin with, a soldier who was supposed to owe absolute loyalty to the Arcadius family looked down on that bloodline to that extent.

What was there to fear about such an isolated idiot that they would keep him in check to this degree?

“Sigh… I do not know where to start explaining.”

When I spoke while softening such inner thoughts, Natasha let out a deep sigh and pressed her forehead.

“Before the explanation, there are three things you must know.”

“What are they?”

“First is…”

Natasha explained while unfolding her fingers, which could be summarized as follows.

1. Heimdall is an illegitimate child of the Arcadius family, and that is no secret in the Immortal Embers.

2. After visiting the leadership headquarters, I became Heimdall’s person regardless of my will.

3. Contrary to public perception, Heimdall is not an idiot or a scoundrel.

Number one was completely new information, and number three was information I already knew.

However, number two did not make sense at all.

“The first time I showed the compass was at the second checkpoint, so why was the timing after the visit to the leadership headquarters?”

Because chronological order did not align.

“If you look at the side of the compass dial, the owner’s name is hidden. Most people do not know this fact, and the guard at the second checkpoint probably did not know either. Of course, the sergeant managing the entrance of the leadership headquarters would have known.”

If that was the case, even considering the public perception in number three, the reaction of the police at the second checkpoint was understandable.

If he had recognized the owner of the compass, it would have been like the sergeant’s insolent reaction, but there had been no way for him to tell.

Whether it belonged to Heimdall, famous as a scoundrel, or to the leader Odin, once the golden compass was shown, they had to shut up and bow their heads first.

‘Still, it is full of things I do not understand…’

However, since it would not be too late to ask after listening to the full explanation, I silently listened to her words.

“To explain further… the public perception that Lord Heimdall is incompetent was not always like that from the start.”

“That means…”

“Yes. In his childhood, Lord Heimdall was a promising talent in many ways. In family meetings, he was never pushed back even once in mock debates against his siblings who were at least five years older than him. Even before reaching adulthood, he attended the grand council for the first time, showing a genius that no one could look down on, despite being an illegitimate child.”

As expected, perhaps.

My eyes for judging people, my intuition, had not been wrong.

“Since he was such a person, he naturally could not help but monopolize Lord Odin’s attention, and eventually even rose to the peak of the succession structure, transcending the limits of his birth. And that was precisely the source of the trouble.”

The story that followed was a predictable one.

To keep Heimdall—the youngest and an illegitimate child who threatened their positions—in check, the four siblings united.

The young Heimdall, who could only be safe when Odin’s gaze was upon him, had to curl up against the various checks and assassination threats from his siblings.

As days passed, those who followed him turned away one by one or disappeared, narrowing Heimdall’s footing, and reaching today, he was living while playing the role of a scoundrel in order to survive.

But even so, Heimdall was someone who received the favor of Odin, who was no different from a god in the Immortal Embers, so how could such plotting have been possible?

“Lord Odin has four wives. The wives are all from embers that rank within the top ten, and all four are daughters of leaders.”

“You mean his older brothers and sisters backed themselves with the prestige of their maternal families.”

“Yes. Furthermore, at that time, the Immortal Embers was achieving dazzling development relying on the support of the wives’ maternal families. It must have been difficult for Lord Odin to take action either.”

The powerful maternal families of his older brothers and sisters.

That was precisely the singular point where Heimdall, who had no backing, could not help but suffer from such slander.

Yet, the reason they still continued to keep Heimdall in check even after making him half a cripple…

‘They want to pluck out the bud. Because there is no law saying a talent that bloomed once cannot bloom again.’

Cruelly enough, that was because the naive Heimdall of his youth had already revealed his genius to the whole world.

For his older brothers and sisters, they could not help but consider the possibility of Heimdall making a comeback.

“Unlike the past when even Lord Odin had to be mindful, we have erased much of their influence by now, though we cannot rest easy. As a side note, the Dean’s role in that process was very significant.”

It seemed they were liberated from the pressure of the maternal families of the brothers and sisters as the Immortal Embers stood on its own feet, but to live a life receiving even high-intensity checks because of that.

‘Heimdall’s life is not smooth either…’

A life where he was born with the qualities of a leader, but was not allowed even a handful of soil to take root.

Having finished all of my over three hundred playthroughs of as a leader, I could not help but have such thoughts.

“I understand. The reason they are targeting me, and the reason Lord Heimdall has no choice but to act that way.”

I nodded and asked with an innocent face.

“Seeing you say this, it seems Lord Herman Melville wants to make Lord Heimdall the leader… is that correct?”

“Yes, there is nothing to hide. Because this is the very reason the Dean sent me in the first place.”

There was no need to ask.

Since I could tell whom they supported as the next leader from the fact that they defended Heimdall.

However…

“I understand that there are regrettable circumstances. But I see no reason why I should help Lord Heimdall.”

“Pardon…?”

“Is that not so? To me, standing on the side of the older brothers and sisters seems much more attractive. I think it would rather be better to plan the future with them.”

“…!”

Was there any need for me to care about such tearful circumstances?

Making a half-cripple into a proper human being was enough with just me, Aylen Vale.