Hess led Saya toward his room. The Three Idiots followed behind them, carrying the treasure chest.
‘Did those idiots really pull it off?’
The map had noted that a considerable number of monsters inhabited the place along with the treasure chest.
‘Did the monsters all come down with some kind of epidemic?’
The Three Idiots set the treasure chest down in front of Hess’s room, then stood at attention in the corridor.
“Saya, come in. You three wait here.”
“Yes!”
Before long, the door closed. The Three Idiots could do nothing but stare at it without moving.
Hess sat in a luxurious yet worn-out red chair and immediately questioned Saya.
“You have a full grasp of the situation, correct?”
“Yes. There certainly were a considerable number of monsters where Lord Hess sent them.”
“And?”
“The three of them dealt with every one. I went to the site and confirmed it all.”
…It seems that it motivated them instead.
They must have fought with the thought that they had nothing left to lose. Thanks to that, all their potential manifested.
Still, for only three men to deal with that many monsters, they would have needed teamwork.
They had clearly been a complete ragtag bunch when I sent them out.
‘So they united in an extreme situation…. Is that it?’
Perhaps they were not such hopeless idiots after all.
“Do you have detailed information on those men now?”
“Yes. I thought you would need it, so I prepared it in advance.”
Saya handed Hess a sheet of paper densely covered in writing.
‘…Oh?’
As it turned out, their histories were rather impressive.
‘Come to think of it, back then….’
― “What are these guys, the Three Idiots?”
“They are the men who also laid hands on the item they were commissioned to handle.”
“All three together? Did they plan it beforehand?”
“It does not seem so. They were selected from different hideouts, but it appears their intentions happened to align.” ―
Normally, teams were formed from men who had trained together and built rapport at the same hideout before being sent on an operation.
But those three had been selected from different hideouts.
I had not thought much of it at the time, but it turned out there was another reason for it.
“The tall one is a master at dismantling locks, and he is skilled with a spear….”
“When it comes to dismantling ordinary locks, he is apparently the best in the Guild.”
The target of that job had tight security. That was why they had selected that bastard in particular.
“The small one is a master of infiltration, and his swordsmanship, which he has practiced since childhood, is first-rate….”
“He is small, flexible, and nimble. They say he can contort himself into any space with even the slightest room.”
That job had required reaching a vault through a narrow passage. He had been indispensable.
“The fat one is a genius with words, and his archery is exceptional as well….”
“That is what the report says, but rather than a genius, he is a born con artist. He joined the Guild after pulling off a major scam and fleeing.”
A fellow like that would be useful on any operation.
I had thought they were idiots, but all of them were capable. Each of them had a family at death’s door, and that was why their intentions had aligned in the wrong direction.
“How much are the treasures they brought worth? Excluding that jewel-encrusted sword.”
The instant I saw the sword in the treasure chest, my eyes lit up.
‘To think that was there.’
It was definitely the sword from Part Two of the novel. It was an item I would have had to struggle quite a bit to obtain later, but things were going smoothly.
“We will not know for certain until we sell them, but I believe they are worth more than seventy Gold Coins.”
“That is quite a lot.”
“Apparently, there had been a treasure hunter at the cave before them. They killed that bastard too and seized the possessions he had with him.”
They had exceeded expectations.
If I had not known men of that caliber, it probably meant they would have been executed outright by Hess in the novel.
It would be a little wasteful to kill them like this.
“Lord Hess, what shall we do?”
…It seems Saya has a thought similar to mine.
Ordinarily, Saya would surely have said, ‘Lord Hess, dispose of them.’
The fact that she asked, ‘What shall we do?’ meant that even Saya was leaving room for something different from usual.
“What would you like to do?”
“…I am not sure.”
Saya seemed to lack confidence for some reason.
“You may speak honestly. I will not say anything, nor will I be influenced by what you say.”
“…A very small part of me thought it might be a waste to kill them. But….”
After hesitating for a moment, she looked at Hess and continued.
“Even so, we cannot leave alive those who laid hands on the organization’s property.”
She was right. But she had left out one very important thing.
“Saya, which do you think is more absolute: the organization’s rules or Hess?”
Saya came sharply to attention at those words. She raised her head and straightened her back rigidly.
“That would, of course, be Lord Hess.”
That is right. Saya should answer that way.
Of course, there were surely many who thought otherwise. If it were Aike, who liked saying what was right, he would say the rules were the most important thing.
But the Dark Order was not an organization that could be viewed so simply.
It was a place where, at times, absolute loyalty was needed even more than order.
‘If you wanted to survive, that is.’
Hess spoke with a wicked smile of satisfaction.
“Yes. I am the absolute one. And I promised those men that I would pardon them if they seized the opportunity.”
“…!”
“Do you understand?”
Saya immediately bowed her head with crisp precision. Soon, the rims of her eyes reddened.
“I understand. Since they returned alive, it is right to pardon them. That will uphold Lord Hess’s authority…!”
The girl must have been overwhelmed with emotion.
Shame at having dared to fail to comprehend Lord Hess’s profound intentions, and emotion at seeing him take responsibility for his words to the very end—feelings like those must have been swirling within her.
“Saya, there is still one more thing you do not know.”
“…Yes?”
“The three men who came together, caused trouble, and then fell apart. Yet I bound those three together again and sent them out, though I could have sent them separately. Do you think I did that for no reason?”
Saya wore a blank expression for a moment.
“Ah…!”
Then her eyes flew wide open. She continued in an excited voice.
“You drove them into a desperate situation to induce them to cooperate…!”
That is right. Our Saya is good at dream interpretation.
“…I apologize for failing to comprehend your profound intentions!”
Hess gave a faint smile as he watched the tearful Saya.
‘Let us give her enough time to become thoroughly immersed in her realization.’
Taking his time, Hess slowly changed the subject.
“Good. We will pardon those men, then…. What about that fellow Aike I mentioned yesterday?”
I had not told Saya that he had acted insolently toward me.
She would see it for herself eventually, so there was no need to tell her in advance.
‘More than anything, the two of them will already have a hard time getting along. I do not want to give them a bad first impression of each other from the start.’
Saya discreetly wiped away the moisture around her eyes.
“He is quite intelligent. I believe he is someone we absolutely must cultivate. But….”
“His combat ability will be abysmal.”
“…That is correct.”
Even in the novel, Aike had been a character who served strictly as a Strategist.
“If that bastard says there is a book he wants to see, obtain it for him, no matter what it is.”
“Understood.”
“And find his combat aptitude somehow.”
“Pardon?”
“Find the area where he shows even the slightest promise, and train him. Make sure he can pull his own weight.”
“Promise….”
“If you cannot find a shoot, find even the root.”
Even Aike will be different under me. He must become someone who knows how to fight as well. Because….
“Bring in the three outside, and Aike too.”
…The five of you are going to become Hess’s elite now.
***
The Three Idiots and Aike knelt on one knee with their heads bowed.
Hess watched them from his chair, while Saya stood at his side.
After silently looking down at them for a moment, Hess spoke.
“You three idiots.”
“Yes!”
“As promised, I will pardon you.”
“I-Is that really true?”
The tall one raised his head in surprise as he spoke, and the small one beside him hurriedly forced his head back down.
“A promise is a promise. However, you will have to cough up every Gold Coin you embezzled.”
“Th-That money has already….”
I know. They had already spent all of it on medicine and the like for their dying families.
“If you cannot cough up the Gold Coins, then you will have to cough up what you obtained with those Gold Coins instead.”
“Ah…!”
The three of them raised their heads at once. In that instant, the faces of their family members, whose lives had barely been saved, rose in their minds.
“I-If you give us time, we will obtain the Gold Coins as quickly as possible…!”
“Do not panic. I have not finished speaking.”
Propping his chin on his hand, Hess continued with his characteristic murderous smile.
“You will repay the price of your families’ lives by working under me. The term will be one year. After that, you may return to your original affiliation.”
“…!”
“W-We will do it!”
“Leave it to us!”
Hess sprang to his feet from his chair and looked down at them.
“You will be given grueling missions. You will face death countless times. Even if you complete your missions, do not even dream of rewards.”
“Understood!”
The Three Idiots’ loud voices echoed through the room. Beneath their bowed heads, the carpet slowly grew damp with tears.
They had prepared themselves for death.
For them, the world of the living, where their families had been saved with such difficulty, would be heaven even if they had to undertake grueling missions.
Even Hess’s words, ‘Do not even dream of rewards,’ sounded sweet to them. Loyalty had already begun to sprout in their hearts.
Hess now turned his gaze to Aike.
“Aike, you have not forgotten your oath to say what must be said even with a blade at your throat, have you?”
“Yes. Just leave it to me.”
“And when you disappoint me?”
“You may bury me.”
Aike, too, had already pledged his loyalty to Hess, who had recognized him.
‘Now the picture is complete.’
Hess raised his voice slightly and continued.
“Saya, disband all the subordinates who were previously under you. From now on, take charge of only these four.”
“Yes.”
Saya accepted without a word. Naturally, it was a satisfactory arrangement for her as well.
Given her temperament of bristling whenever she saw incompetent subordinates, being put in charge of such an elite would surely make her happy.
“With Saya as the team leader, the five of you are one team. Your team reports directly to me, and you will obey no one’s orders but mine.”
“Yes!”
The Three Idiots and Aike remained seated on one knee as they looked up at Hess and Saya.
Their eight eyes blazed with overflowing determination.
“Saya, send them out.”
“Everyone, rise! Move to the training grounds. From now on, time spent waiting for missions is training!”
“Understood!”
When the men opened the door to leave the room, cold air poured inside.
Only after he felt the heated air in the room cooling did Hess realize just how full of heat the space had been.
Saya walked to where the four had been kneeling on one knee. This time, she assumed the same position herself and bowed her head.
‘What is with her now? You do not need to do this.’
“Lord Hess, you are truly remarkable.”
“Hm?”
“I heard that you recognized Aike’s potential at a glance. On top of that, you made three men who knew nothing of unity into one.”
Saya raised her head and looked at Hess. Her face was thoroughly flushed.
“And you made them all loyal subordinates. All in a single day…!”
Then Saya continued.
“I want to become a leader like Lord Hess too!”
It was not something the usual Saya could say.
‘What is this? I have never seen this side of Saya in the novel.’
The Saya from the novel I had read until its pages might as well have worn away was not the sort of person to talk about her own wishes.
Had she not been a character who carried out orders like a machine, without dreams of her own?
“You can become one. You, of all people, can.”
“Thank you…!”
…Well, it seems she had this side to her too. A novel is not going to include every time someone goes to the bathroom.
In any case, with these people, the organization’s missions would be handled fairly well even if I did not step in personally.
I will be able to devote myself more fully to raising Lloyd.
Now there was only one puzzle piece left….
“Good. Lucifer has already arrived, correct? I should meet him right away.”
“Yes!”
You arrogant demon, your master will be on his way soon.