Chương 30: The Weight of the Board and the Hidden Pieces

The morning light began to creep through the cracks of the inn's wooden window. The room was in complete silence. Selene Evercrest had already gotten up earlier to eat alongside Liora Ravenshade and Mireya in the dining hall below. Lying in the middle of the double bed, Kurogami Ren remained asleep alone, and without the safe haven of any of them nearby, his mind was dragged right back into the abyss. The asphalt was completely grey, cracked, and surrounded by modern buildings that scratched at a dead sky.

In the middle of that deserted real-world metropolis, where not a single living soul remained, a woman dressed in white emerged ahead. She stretched out her arm and pointed her index finger directly at the young man.

"It is your fault... only yours." The woman revealed her face, but her features were covered and devoured by a mass of living shadows. The creature advanced upon him with violence. The ground beneath Ren's feet simply shattered like glass, plunging him into a free fall toward a bottomless darkness. Down below, the scenario shattered. Ren saw his own back on Earth, smiling while his own hand pierced Aurelia's chest. Looking back in sheer panic, another faceless woman emerged from the void.

"Who are you?" In the next millisecond, Ren was struck head-on by a Shadow that grinned from ear to ear. The creature's claw tore right through his lung, shredding the flesh while a cavernous voice mocked in his ear, "Why don't you accept it? You are not human... yet you want to act like one." In the background, a final female voice echoed through the space, smooth and seductive, "Why not end them all and join me?" The ground shattered once more, and he plummeted into the final abyss.

Kuro awoke in the bed with a jolt, his breath cut short and cold sweat soaking his garments. He stabilized his heartbeat in silence, stood up, and walked over to the wooden table to check the party's financial pouch. His expression hardened on the spot. Discounting his contained fury, he lightly tapped his fists against the table, swearing in whispers. Those idiots... They spent almost everything on clothes yesterday. Exactly one single gold coin remains in the damn party funds. One coin!

This money was crucial for the blueprint of my weapon, the runic musket. Just one gold coin won't do for absolutely anything! Kuro went down to the dining hall, maintained his cold facade, and ordered Liora and Mireya to wait at the inn. He called only Selene to accompany him, claiming they needed to settle the bureaucracy at the guild. The two walked along the cobblestone streets until they stopped before the massive facade of the Adventurers' Guild. Kuro turned to the redhead near the entrance.

"Selene, wait for me outside. I'll settle this quickly." Selene nodded her head and leaned against the pavement wall. Kuro pushed the heavy doors open and advanced alone into the interior of the main hall. The place was operating at maximum capacity, packed with elite warriors and mages talking loudly. Evoking no distractions, he walked straight to the central counter and turned in the harvest of herbs. The ledger indicated that the simple task had yielded a measly thirty silver coins.

I pushed the thirty silver coins back toward the receptionist, locking my dark eyes onto her.

"I want to exchange these silver coins for a gold one. And I am also taking a monster-hunting mission right now." The receptionist took the coins quickly to complete the exchange, but before she could hand over the ordinary contract, Kuro leaned over the counter, breaking the professional distance and using his calculating charm surgically.

"What is your name?" I asked in a smooth voice, sustaining her features.

"M-Mia... my name is Mia," she replied, stammering slightly and adjusting the papers on the desk to disguise her nervousness.

"If you give me the information I want about the Capital, Mia, you might even become my wife in the future and I'll let you join my elite party. What's more... if you pass me the right data now, we can go out on a date tomorrow." Mia turned completely red, her heart racing at the proposal. She looked around hastily, breaking into a foolish, radiant smile that betrayed just how deeply she had fallen into my trap. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"A... a date? I-I accept!" she whispered back, her eyes shining with happiness.

"What do you want to know, Kuro? I'll deliver whatever you need!"

"First, I want a detailed map to a forest of rare minerals. But before that, I need you here. I want full information on everything the guild hides regarding the secrets of Selene, Liora, Mireya, and that Commander, Kaelia Voss. I want to know everything about them, and I want a higher-ranked mission right now."

Completely disarmed and hypnotized by the promises of marriage, Mia rummaged through the locked drawers and pulled out a hidden parchment containing the confidential reports of the three girls, Kaelia's data, and the mineral map, alongside a dangerous elimination mission outside the city, delivering everything into his hands with her palms trembling with joy. Kuro guarded the confidential reports beneath his grey cloak and pushed open the guild doors, stepping out onto the external pavement.

Upon crossing the threshold, the meeting with Selene began. Instead of staying on the crowded streets, Kuro guided her up toward one of the highest points on the outskirts of the upper districts—an isolated viewpoint from where it was possible to contemplate the entire immensity of the city of Ithrya spread out below. The wind beat hard against the young man's grey cloak as they observed the view. Kuro broke the silence, focusing his thoughts on the harem strategy.

"Selene, I need to talk to you about Aurelia and what happened with that purple-eyed Shadow in the forest." Selene averted her eyes from the urban landscape and looked at him seriously, lowering her voice with a heavy mistrust.

"Kuro... Mireya is no longer trustworthy. She distrusts you and is monitoring your every step. And to be honest, I am also starting to get intrigued by what you hide from us." The young man remained firm, staring at the redhead with his deep black eyes. Overtaken by a wave of pent-up emotion and desperation, Selene took a step forward, breaking the space between them. She stretched out her hands, gripped his face, and kissed Kuro intensely on the mouth right there on top of the hill.

Her body trembled slightly before surrendering completely to the touch. When they separated by a millimeter, Selene vented with her eyes shining with devotion, opening her heart.

"I will do whatever it takes for you, Kuro... You only need me and no other woman in your life!" Kuro sustained her gaze with absolute calmness. He brought his hands up to her shoulders and sentenced with his firm, decisive voice, imposing his leader's logic, "I am going to stay with you, Selene... and I am going to stay with the other girls in the party too. That is the only and best way to guarantee that our squad doesn't shatter due to intriguings. Understood?"

Selene nodded her head, entirely docile and disarmed by the impact of his authority and response. At the exact same instant her loyalty was sealed in that high place, the canvas of the real world distorted completely, leaving Kuro's point of view and ascending to the higher spiritual plane of the divinities.

At the apex of the runic skies, the sovereign Goddess Elythra sat majestically upon her throne of light, while her servant, the Goddess Ariana, stood right by her side, observing the reflection of the mortal world. Ariana broke the divine silence, opening a complicit smile as she faced the sovereign, "Your game is getting very good, Goddess Elythra..." Elythra rested her chin upon her hand, letting out a soft, cold laugh that echoed through the dimensions.

"This story is going to start getting more and more interesting... I made the right choice picking him. At the moment of teleporting Kuro to that world, I fused the blood of a dead Shadow into his body and placed semi-immortality into his veins. And Mireya is going to be a very important person in all of this." Ariana tilted her head slightly, curious about the sovereign's decision.

"Why did you choose him, Goddess Elythra?"

"Because of things that caught my attention... His choices, his past life, and his entire trajectory back in the modern Earth. I chose Kuro because I know that no matter what the situation is, he always finds a way out and never gives up. And his motivation to keep going is precisely the women he recruited. They are also extremely important pieces on this chessboard."

The cosmic vision dissolved into smoke, and the focus returned to the Capital, with Kuro descending the hill and walking toward the commercial limits of the low zone, feeling exhaustion accumulate in his thoughts after so much psychological pressure. There, now with this exchange of silver coins at the guild, we have two gold coins in total in our funds. It is enough to breathe for now, but I need to set out for this monster mission immediately. I need some time alone in the forest.

Selene is already completely devoted to me; she won't give me trouble. Liora is a focused military figure, so it won't be too hard to maintain her loyalty. But Mireya... Mireya is going to be a complicated piece to deal with. I need to understand her intentions before she destabilizes the party. All this manipulation and consecutive tactical pressure in a single day is wearing me down. I need to isolate myself before I lose focus.

* Noticing his distance, Selene jogged a bit to catch up to him and asked, worried, "Where are you going now, Kuro?"

"I am going to hunt Shadows." Selene puffed out her cheeks, growing angry at his teasing as he walked away laughing. The young man advanced alone toward the edges of the dense, isolated forest in the low zone, seeking time alone to recover his mental energy away from everyone. It was when he crossed the line of ancient trees that his dark eyes caught a fallen vulto near a rustic root. Kuro froze his step instantly. Fallen on the ground, bloodied and with deep wounds across her body, was a young Neko girl.

Kuro walked slowly up to the clearing and stopped a few meters from the wounded girl, evaluating the scene with his eyes narrowed and preparing to initiate his approach.