The Duke’s Madness

Red Moon.

and black sun.

A city shrouded in darkness wriggled under a sky that was against the laws of nature.

“oh… .”

Arthur, who was watching the scene, burst into exclamation and stretched out his hand toward the sky.

As if the blazing black moon could not be grasped, it scattered the desired moonlight.

Arthur was able to know instinctively in that strange light.

‘It’s made of magic. Is it the same magical barrier out there?’

If the assumptions are correct, he must have been a wizard with quite unique tastes.

If I could make a moon that sophisticated, I could have made a real moon, but why did I choose this color?

At that time, Willet, who was next to him, muttered.

“It’s still a bad town.”

Arthur asked, turning his head.

“A bad city?”

“Don’t you feel bad? That fake sky or the color of this city… There is something that makes people feel bad.”

At his explanation, Arthur stroked his chin.

“Looks like a pretty famous city.”

“It’s an underground city that opens whenever this black market opens. That’s why back street people call it the ‘black full moon’.”

Arthur’s eyes widened.

‘It’s an underground city?’

So, is this the bottom of Arcane?

Arthur let out a low exclamation at the new fact.

‘that’s interesting… There is a city like this under that arcane.’

At the same time, I also had doubts.

‘Why am I not aware of this? Could it be that it won’t exist in 10 years?’

Then Willett suddenly moved.

Arthur, who came to his senses belatedly, followed him.

After moving for a while, the two were able to enter the middle of the city.

buzz buzz.

There were many people on the street.

People who sell things, people who buy things, people who fight, people who get drunk.

People of different clothes, skin color, and language were grouped together and shouting loudly.

It was like the market floor where the festival was held, and Arthur watched with interest.

To be precise, it was on the side of people selling things.

‘There are all sorts of things.’

There were human corpses, and there were also dead bodies of unknown animals.

There were also live animals.

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Not only that, but there were also several ancient books, treasures, and a few swords.

As Willett said, if not all the things that exist in the world, it seemed to have quite a few rare things.

Then Willett lifted the hood from my backrest and put it on.

“Cover your face. Right now, Dawn, there’s nothing good about your face being exposed.”

Arthur replied, putting the hood on properly.

“Will it be enough to cover my face with artifacts?”

“One of the guys here might be memorizing the blurry impressions of that artifact.”

Arthur groaned.

“Is there anyone who would go that far and try to find me?”

“Isn’t this floor the place where you get stabbed even if you stay still? It’s a call for attention.”

Willett took another step.

Arthur followed him and moved on again.

In the meantime, I did not take my eyes off the floor of the market spread out on the street.

“10 gold.”

“It sucks.”

“Seven gold.”

“If it’s not 5 gold, I won’t buy it. This scammer is a cub. ”

Hosts and guests swear and punch each other in the face.

“Can I get some more?”

“You have to give it time. for a week.”

“one week? too long. If it’s three days, I’ll buy something.”

People who bargain in an unknown language.

It was unique in many ways, and it was enjoyable to watch.

However, considering it was the best black market in Arcane, it was also lacking.

‘First of all, it’s too small… Surely this isn’t the end?’

Among the items on the market floor, I could see some blood in a flask or a fairly sharp knife, but it wasn’t enough to catch my attention.

So, just as the heightened anticipation was about to break down a bit, Willett asked a question.

“What are you going to buy?”

“yes?”

“I asked what you were going to buy. The road will soon diverge.”

Arthur raised an eyebrow.

“Isn’t this all there?”

“of course. This is a marketplace created by people who don’t even deserve to enter there. The real one is in that tower.”

With these words, Willett pointed to three black towers visible in the distance.

Arthur turned his gaze and snapped his fingers as he watched the tower enveloped in hazy mist.

“I want to see the knife first.”

“and?”

“lineage. I also want to find a fairly unique lineage.”

Willett tilted his head.

“Karl understands… The bloodline is a bit unique.”

“Will it be difficult?”

“That’s not right. In other places, it is a noble lineage, but here it is also lineage.”

Arthur raised his eyes.

“Ohh… Any examples?”

“In the past, it was said that there were blood relatives who could see the future. It was a long time ago.”

Arthur opened his mouth in amazement.

“oh my god… You have blood like that?”

“Why not? Those who can use the most disparate abilities in the world are those with such a bloodline.”

After thinking about the answer for a while, Willet pointed to one of the three towers.

“First, go see the knife. If you go over there, you should find something useful.”

It was when Arthur nodded and was about to move to the tower in the center that Willett had pointed out.

An unfamiliar voice tickled my ears.

“oh… Who is this?”

Willett and Arthur looked at each other at the same time.

In the midst of that, Willet murmured in surprise.

“… you are?”

“It’s been almost 20 years.”

The two-headed old man burst into laughter.

“okay… How have you been? Willett Cristol?”

* * *

Arthur murmured as he looked at the old man who stood behind him.

‘I didn’t feel the presence.’

I don’t know if you’re a wizard or a skilled swordsman, but you can’t feel movement until you’re this close?

Because of that, Arthur was in a state of high tension, and it was time to look at the two-headed old man.

The old man who was greeting Willett noticed his gaze and nodded.

“however… Who is this handsome gentleman next to you? Willette?”

To his question, Willett hesitated for a moment before answering.

“He’s a mercenary from my office.”

“office? When did you become a broker?”

“It’s been quite a while. It was built 10 years ago.”

The old man burst into laughter.

“Willett Cristol, who ruled the back world, became a broker? No matter how much I’ve been stuck in the back room, it’s really amazing.”

With these words the old man tilted one of his two heads.

“so… Who retired you?”

“… … .”

“You couldn’t have retired as you wished, are you pirates?”

Willett didn’t answer.

The old man laughed and put his tilted head back to normal.

“Looks like something is going on.”

“sorry.”

“What are you sorry about?”

With these words, it was time for the old man to ask Willett some questions.

Arthur, who had been listening intently to the conversation, raised his hand.

“I… May I ask you something?”

The two-headed old man turned his head.

“huh? What question suddenly?”

“Was Elder Willett that famous?”

“… what?”

“I heard you are a legendary mercenary, what do you mean by that?”

The old man narrowed his eyes at Arthur’s question.

“oh… Don’t you know this story?”

“Because you didn’t tell me about the past.”

“okay? It’s not that embarrassing, but that’s strange.”

The old man stroked my chin.

“Now, guys like [Chilhwang] or [Pirate] or that kid [Bond] are famous, but 10 years ago, that guy was the biggest name.”

Arthur raised his eyes.

“Are you old Willett?”

“okay. [Ghost] Willett Cristol. He is the most outstanding mercenary and magician since the creation of Arcane. .”

Willett interrupted the old man’s explanation.

“You talk about the old days, old man.”

“Did I talk too much?”

“You made the story of the past so grandiose.”

The old man burst into laughter.

“Those who live in the past talk a lot… Shall we talk about the new generation then?”

The old man turned around and looked at Arthur.

“Are you Dawn?”

“… oh?”

“Looking at the exclamation, it seems right. The troublemaker who destroyed the slave market.”

Arthur nodded.

“If no one else destroyed the slave market, it was probably me. But how did you find out right away?”

The old man pointed to the four pupils on his face.

“Because I have a lot of eyes, I sometimes see things that I can’t see. At that time, my children said that they took care of me, so I remembered their faces, and I see them like this.”

“… Who are you?”

“me? It is one of the Seven Emperors.”

Arthur’s eyes widened.

Meanwhile, Willett warned in a low voice.

“Dawn. Be polite. The cedar of the Seven Emperors, Barans.”

Arthur, who came to his senses, obediently lowered his waist.

In the meantime, an old man called Barance waved his hand.

“All right. You too have become a kkondae. Kids these days hate this.”

“… … .”

“by the way… I never thought a mercenary named Dawn would belong to your office. I’ve heard that disciples follow their masters, but to think that mercenaries resemble brokers… .”

The old man turned around with a bad laugh.

“I’d like to talk a little bit more, but I’ll stop here. I have a place to go.”

Willett didn’t bother to hold on.

“It was nice to see you after a long time.”

“is it? Looking at you, I still have a sore wound in my chest.”

Balance turned one of his two heads and winked.

“Then have a good time. I don’t know what brought you here, but this black market will probably be fun.”

With a farewell, it disappears without a sound, just like when Barance appeared.

Arthur, watching the scene, murmured.

‘It must have been magic that approached me without any sign.’

A mage who has trained for at least 50 years just by looking at the form.

Except for Whitebeard, it was the highest level of wizards I’ve ever met in this life.

‘So you didn’t notice. He’s stronger than Chilhwang’s axeman I met in my last life… .’

Seven of the top 10 arcane bounty members came together to form the organization, Chilhwang.

Some of them had ties in past lives.

Recalling those vague memories, Arthur looked at Willett.

“… By the way, Elder Willet, were you a legendary mercenary?”

At Arthur’s question, Willet, who was watching Barance’s departure, distorted his expression.

“What is a legend?”

“Apart from that, did Barance really respect old Willett?”

“Does that look like respect? You look like you’re eager to kill me.”

Arthur shrugged.

Then Willett mentioned my past infrequently.

“I don’t have bad ties or ties with that person… That’s why I didn’t want to run into him, but I never thought he’d come out after training.”

He clicked his tongue and turned around as if brushing away memories of the past.

“Stop going to the tower. I have to finish my errands and go.”

* * *

Fortunately, unlike a little while ago, no more incidents occurred.

Some people looked at Willet and gave them meaningful glances, but they did not move directly and approach him like Barance did.

In the midst of that, Arthur stroked his chin and thought.

‘Funny… It’s been less than an hour since I came in, but I’ve met one of the Seven Emperors, and I’ve heard old Willett’s past.’

It was definitely large, so it seemed like I was facing people I wouldn’t normally meet.

So Arthur had a good feeling.

‘Something usually happens in a place like this… . hmm.’

Arthur, speechless, stopped walking.

The dwarf and goblin I had just encountered appeared and bowed respectfully.

“customer… Ticket please.”

Willett took out the ticket he was keeping in his arms and held it up.

The goblin who checked the ticket stepped out of the tower door and said.

“Welcome to the Tower of Desire.”

With these words, the tower’s door opens.

Arthur looked at the scenery inside and burst into exclamation.

“gallery… yes?”

Willett, standing next to him, explained.

“It has the structure of an art museum.”

At this, Arthur turned his gaze.

As Willett said, the interior was in the form of a luxurious art gallery, with numerous objects displayed on white marble and a podium on a red carpet.

And next to it were guarded by goblins, whispering something to the customers who showed interest in the item.

As Arthur watched with interest, Willett gestured.

“Come here.”

With these words, Willett moved on.

Arthur, who followed him, rolled his eyes and looked around.

“300 gold.”

“I’m in trouble, sir. A while ago, the customer wrote down 400 gold and left.”

“You said you paid 400 gold for this?”

“Your guest.”

Arthur, who had overheard the story, murmured.

‘It’s a bidding system. But is this the end of things?’

Most of the items on display are jewels or precious metals.

Otherwise, they were fancy knives.

It was interesting, but not the kind I wanted, so it was time to take my eyes off it.

Willett said, stopping.

“Did you understand the auction method?”

“yes.”

“good. So let’s tear up here for a while.”

Arthur tilted his head.

“Does Elder Willett have business to do, too?”

“It’s not common to come to a place like this, so if you have something useful, it’s better to buy it. The sword you want will be over there.”

At the explanation, Arthur tilted his head and nodded.

“What time shall we meet?”

“An hour later. As a tip, don’t ask too much to begin with. The goblins might be scamming you.”

Arthur’s eyes widened at these words.

‘oh… So you’re saying that the asking price could be fake?’

Arthur nodded.

It was quite possible in a black market like this.

Finishing his thoughts, Arthur moved in the direction Willet had indicated earlier.

Then, as Willett said, quite a number of swords were located in the gallery.

“hmm… .”

Arthur, speechless, looked at the swords with interest.

From decorative swords to great swords that are more like blunt weapons than swords.

Various swords were perched on the dais in the gallery.

‘Certainly this side is higher level.’

With a murmur, Arthur narrowed his gaze.

I didn’t know which sword was made of good material or the work of an excellent blacksmith, but I immediately had a sense of which sword I could use to kill well.

Sharp anticipation possessed only by swords and swords.

It was time for Arthur, who had been peeping at the flash of light that could not be hidden from the swords on display in the gallery, head for a sword.

Someone called me by my pseudonym.

“… Dawn?”

Surprised, Arthur turned his head.

Then he looked up at the young man with gray hair looking at him and raised his eyes.

“… who are you?”

The gray-haired young man raised his eyebrows at the question.

“It’s Cassel.”

“… … ?”

“You collaborated with me back then!”

Arthur, who had blinked his eyes, exclaimed.

“ah… The one who collapsed because of the hallucination?”

The young man with gray hair, Kassel’s expression twisted.