Godfather's System 104

The journey itself had passed without any trouble, and soon, I was back on the outskirts of Town Yoentia. And, as much as I wanted to go and visit the hunting outpost to start gathering Experience once more. The pittance I gathered on the way was hardly worth anything, especially since I avoided anything big enough to get the attention of any potential observer. 

But, the state of the town was far more important. 

Since it was on the way, I first stopped by the Casino. I snuck inside before anyone could notice my presence — the comprehensive improvement of all my stats making it even easier — while I stayed at the edge of the town. 

Then, I walked out of the casino, acting like I had been inside all along to add another layer of deception. “Report,” I said to Mahruss. 

“Everything is going alright for us, boss,” Mahruss said with a serious expression. “The gang warfare is getting more intense, but we only had a couple of attempts toward our walls, and we managed to convince them that it wouldn’t be a smart idea.” 

“How’s business?” I asked. 

His smile widened. “Better than ever. We had a lot of rich merchants who realized that our casino was safer than the other locations, and they decided to jump in. And, since they are inside…” 

“They couldn’t resist playing,” I completed. “Nothing like a bit of mortal danger to support poor decision-making.” 

“Just like you taught us, boss,” he said with a chuckle, unaware that while we were talking, I was trying to use that Heroic Party ability on him. Unfortunately, no matter how much I tried to extend my Charisma, channel through the ability, or let the ability click, it didn’t work. 

After a minute of struggle, I decided to ignore the newest ability for now. I had more important things to address.

“Continue as is, I’ll go and visit the headquarters,” I said, and stepped out of the palisade. However, unlike the previous times, I didn’t move around with a desperate speed, but took a leisurely pace. It was a good chance to see if people would be observing me, especially since I gave them such an easy chance. 

I noticed a lot of eyes on me, most staying close, some at a distance, a few familiar faces belonging to the Night Blades or the mysterious Greens, their numbers higher than usual. 

Interesting that they decided to dedicate so much resource to me with their battle still going on intensely, though their objective differed. The Night Blades wanted to assert their undisputed dominance on the outer town before the young duke returned, while the Greens did their best to hide their assets — both human and material — in new locations. 

Yet, despite their busy schedule, they assigned many observers to track my movement, occupying their critical manpower. 

The implication was clear. They realized that my role in their fight was not an accident. Luckily, I had no reason to believe they blamed for the raid to the Green safe house. They would have focused on my movement even more if that had been the case. 

The dungeon sabotage I prevented was the likeliest reason. 

Still, I moved to the inner town, leaving most of the spies back — and replacing them with their counterparts from the inner town. Similarly, I left the strife behind as well. The inner town had no active clash, but it was still tense with the ducal guards patrolling the streets with full force. 

I received a few suspicious glances from their guard captains, but none of them made an attempt to stop me. I found Zolast back in the headquarters, resting. 

Well, cooking was still technically work, but mental relaxation was more important than physical in most cases. “Try it,” he said as he pushed a plate toward me, not even asking a question. 

I took a bite, only for the soft flesh to melt into my mouth. “Damn, that’s the most delicious thing I have ever tasted,” I murmured as more aromas than I ever thought that it existed danced on my tongue. “Seafood, right?” 

“Yes, from the batch you brought in,” he said, then turned his attention to cooking. I didn’t interrupt him, instead taking a bite from the sampler plates he had created, which not only gave me the most amazing taste I had ever enjoyed, but also refilled my health with a shocking pace.  

[+24 Health]

“That’s incredible,” I murmured as I ate the last small plate he prepared for me. “How the hell did you manage to cook this good.” 

“It’s all about listening to the ingredients,” he said proudly. “In truth, every single beast, especially the stronger ones, is unique. Their magic, their abilities, their texture, it affects everything. Only by designing a recipe from scratch, it could be cooked properly.” 

I smiled, happy to see my partner in crime truly passionate for once. Even during the monumental task of building the dungeon, he was driven by stress and obligation, and cooking allowed him a change his attitude. 

“Now that we had an amazing dinner, let’s move on to more important topics,” I said. “First, are you ready for another dungeon run?” 

“Yes, I just need to wake up the children, and we will be ready to go,” Zolast said. I chuckled at the way he referred them. 

“Good idea. What’s the objective there?” 

“The plan is simple. I had already established a nice hidden leveling ward here, and it should be enough to bring them to their third promotion. Unless you think we need to officially open the dungeon earlier.” 

“No, the more we wait, the better,” I said. “We need to at least wait until the young duke arrives, and talk with the old knight about the best strategy.” 

“You’re afraid of something,” Zolast commented, quick to catch my reticence. 

“More reticent than afraid, as we’re not the target,” I explained. “The mysterious spies targeting the young duke is a bit troubling.” 

“Why, isn’t it just a political battle?” 

I frowned. “I’m not sure,” I answered. “The amount of forces they had assigned doesn’t make much sense. With the forces they had assigned, they could have easily assassinated him during our travels, yet they let that opportunity slip past their fingers and allowed him to entrench himself into a new town.” 

“Maybe they just assumed he would have failed to establish the dungeon and disgrace himself, making an assassination unnecessary,” Zolast answered. 

“Maybe. It’s not a bad theory, but the priorities of their objectives don’t make sense with their actions … unless they are betting to disgrace him in the first place.” 

Zolast frowned. “Why?” 

“I have no idea,” I admitted. “The noble politics is outside my purview, and while I could assign some random motive, that wouldn’t be helpful. Still, I‘m sure you can imagine at least a situation where a young and desperate high-ranking noble might be useful.” 

“Too many to count,” he said, taking a deep sigh. “And, we’re the ones that preventing him from falling to that state.” 

“I know,” I said, letting a sardonic smile settle on my lips. “Fun, right?” 

“Yeah, fun,” he answered, though his stress was clear. 

“It’s not all bad,” I answered with a smirk, deciding to reveal a little secret. “I managed to pass my promotion, meaning I’ll be able to level up once more.” 

”I thought that was blocked to you,” he said. 

“It was, but doing favors to certain people had its advantages,” I answered, pushing the responsibility to an external source, positioning it as I had just managed to pass the level sixty barrier, still not ready to reveal the full extent of my secrets to Zolast. 

Not until I managed to get a better understanding of the hero, or we had a more immediate need. 

“Good, I’ll make sure to reinforce the leveling ward after the dungeon run,” he said. 

“How about if you do it before,” I said. “It’ll allow me to visit the hunting outpost in the process.” 

He frowned. “Are you that close to leveling,” he said. I nodded. “If that’s the case, it makes sense. It’ll help Karak to get used to his new strength, at least,” he added. 

“How long it’ll take for you to set up the ward?” I said.  

“Probably about eight hours. Still, do you think it’s necessary? If we push enough, some of them might reach their third promotion before the dungeon is officially open.” 

“Smart strategy, but I want to visit the hunting outpost to make sure everything is going on alright there. I don’t expect it to be the primary target, but it’s better safe than sorry.” 

“That’s the safer option,” Zolast said, nodding in agreement. “It’ll make Jertann feel safer at least. Do you want to drag them there as well?” 

“No, let them stay in. We can’t rule out assassinations, and it’s better for them to stay together.” 

He nodded.  “How about the dungeon run? Do you want to accompany them this time?” 

“No, I won’t be entering the dungeon for the foreseeable future,” I said. It made him throw a suspicious glance,  but I just nodded. I didn’t want to risk it with the connection I had with the god of destruction. 

It was simply too risky. 

“I’ll leave you to your work,” I said, and he nodded. While he started working on the leveling ward, I changed my outfit and left the headquarters. Also,  I picked one of the weaker mana stones from the storage, replenishing my mana. 

[Mana (60/60)]

Just in case I met with an emergency.

With the disguise and speed combined, I was able to easily get rid of my tails.  

I slipped to the outer town, ignoring the temptation to mess with the Greens some more as I moved away. Once I left the town behind, I started running, the wind clear on my face.