The Shadow Organization Members Raised Through Pay-To-Win Are Too Strong

Phantom.

The Leader’s direct secret guard.

Even Ariel, the vice-leader, let alone the high council, knew almost nothing about them.

“…Are you sure it was really Phantom?”

Ariel asked again in a trembling voice.

Phantom is a group that operates covertly.

Yet they left traces of themselves?

“Yes, the energy of Phantom was certainly there.”

Walter nodded.

What he discovered in the mine wasn’t just traces of the Leader.

He felt the energy of Phantom, though very faintly.

“They probably left traces intentionally.”

Knowing how much Phantom valued secrecy, he couldn’t help but think that way.

To appear in a mine that Celestia’s hounds had swept through, of all places?

This was a kind of warning.

A warning about unsealing Celestia without the Leader’s permission.

“……”

Ariel fell silent at the mention of Phantom.

They were members of Black Raven, but their loyalty was only to the Leader.

Fanatics ready to give their lives for the Leader.

This was all Ariel knew about Phantom.

Perhaps because of this, ridiculous stories about Phantom have sometimes circulated among the High Council.

– Crazy bastards who wear cursed equipment without hesitation for power.

Beings who live solely for power.

But Ariel wasn’t naive enough to believe such rumors outright.

Those stories were just rumors.

It probably meant that such harsh training was conducted.

The power gained that way was used only for the Leader.

Black Raven’s loyalty to the Leader was high, but compared to Phantom, wouldn’t it be a drop in the bucket?

Anyway, the appearance of Phantom wasn’t a good sign for Ariel.

It was clear they would check on her and the High Council, just like now.

“Sir Walter, do you think Phantom has already made contact with the Leader?”

“I can’t be certain. But I think they haven’t made contact yet either.”

At Walter’s words, Ariel let out a sigh of relief.

Come to think of it, it was natural.

Ariel could feel the Leader’s will.

He would have said something if he had intended to hold them responsible for unsealing Celestia.

But there were no measures at all.

That meant this was just an independent action by Phantom.

“…That’s a relief then. It seems we should hurry too.”

No matter how strong they are, if they’re hard to control, they’re nothing more than wild beasts.

“We need to bring the Leader back quickly.”

Ariel intended to focus on finding the Leader.

“And I’ll inform all of Black Raven that Phantom has become active.”

It was a warning not to cause conflicts with Phantom in their activities.

*  *  *

Time passed quickly.

We camped in the mountains and, the next day spent a night at an inn in a small town.

Nothing particularly concerning happened during this process.

‘Well, only a madman would touch us.’

With the family crest engraved on the flags and knights escorting, no one attacked us.

Even when passing through mountain paths, we moved comfortably, literally.

Occasionally, I chat with Emilia and learn simple etiquette from Cael.

From Bella, I heard about the political situation of the continent.

Since I didn’t know anything, I kept repeating the all-purpose phrases ‘It’s a secret’ and ‘Only the Leader knows that’ during our conversations.

Still, Bella gave me as much information as possible regarding my questions.

The best information was, of course, related to the Hartwell family.

No matter how much I played the game, I couldn’t know all the internal affairs of a count.

But right now, I was acting as Phantom.

I told Bella to tell me information to confirm what I knew.

Fortunately, Bella spilled information to me without any suspicion.

Is this the Phantom effect?

“As you probably already know, the count has three children. Two sons and one daughter. Ah, including young master Ethan, it’ll be four now.”

Bella’s story continued.

“First is the eldest son, Albert Hartwell. He has talent in magic and is currently attending the Imperial Academy in the Empire. He’s seen as the heir who will become the future head of the Hartwell family, as he also has excellent character.”

The eldest son, Albert Hartwell.

According to Bella, he’s studying at the most prestigious academy in the Arcadia Empire.

‘I don’t need to worry about him right away.’

Since he’s attending an academy in the Empire, it will take a long time for him to return to the duchy.

He could use teleport, but it costs astronomical amounts of money to use it for all the escort knights as well.

Above all, if he has good character and is already considered the heir, most of the count’s vassals would support him.

“Next is the second son, Bastel Hartwell. They say he uses a sword, but he has a talent for business, and there’s talk that he also runs a merchant group. And um… that’s all I know about Bastel.”

I nodded slowly.

Well, why would a magic tower bother to investigate a count’s family in the duchy?

Probably the reason they know so much about the first son is because he has talent in magic.

‘The magic tower likes talented individuals.’

Anyway, the second son uses a sword and has a talent for business.

There’s less information than the first son, but it’s better than going in knowing nothing.

“Lastly is the youngest daughter, younger than young master Ethan. Her name is Eloise. You can just think of her as the count’s darling.”

There was even less information about the youngest daughter.

It was just her name, but I probably don’t need to worry about her since she’s younger than me.

‘Come to think of it, business…’

For some reason, the mention of Bastel doing business kept lingering in my mind.

‘Did he really inherit blood from his mother’s side?’

Even without that, the countess’ family made a lot of money through merchant groups.

If he’s running a merchant group, Bastel must have great ambition.

If he really has great ambition, there’s a lot of potential to use him.

‘I could use Bastel to grow the Hartwell family, couldn’t I?’

If the value of the Hartwell name rises, it would be beneficial for me, too.

Even so, it’s a shame that it’s just a count in the Duchy.

If the Hartwell family’s standing improves, it would be good as I, bearing that name, could also receive benefits.

Above all, having a high name rather than being a nobody when living in the world is advantageous.

‘If I think about facing Black Raven someday, this is right.’

There’s a big difference in weight between an ordinary boy saying he’s the Leader and a high-ranking noble saying he’s the Leader.

‘I should talk with him if I get the chance.’

If he turns out to be ambitious, I will support him from behind.

Use his business to raise the status of the Hartwell family.

If I use my game knowledge, I should be able to help quite a bit.

I just need to quietly manipulate the family from behind.

That’s how I can live comfortably while sucking honey.

‘A perfect plan.’

I closed my eyes with a satisfied face.

Then Bella, who was in front, spoke to me.

“…That’s all I know. We’ll soon arrive at the Hartwell family, so you should prepare.”

When her words ended, a magnificent city wall appeared in the distance.

A huge city wall under the blue sky.

Above the wall, fluttering flags and the family crest engraved in shining gold were visible.

“I should get ready now.”

I neatly adjusted my clothes.

I’ll probably get fitted for new clothes once I’m inside, but this was the minimum courtesy.

Before arriving, I warned Bella once again.

“I’ll say it again, don’t disclose any of our conversations here.”

I’ve warned her enough, so she should follow well.

Bella just quietly nodded at my words.

Of course, I didn’t blindly trust her just because she nodded.

‘I always need to be careful.’

Still, I knew how to control Bella.

“For the time being, don’t enter the raven and move under me.”

It was no different from naturally gaining a piece I could move.

At the same time, I could keep Bella under me and monitor her.

Now, it was time to present her with a carrot.

“If you do well, I’ll recommend you separately to the Leader.”

This was the way to control Bella.

Sure enough, her eyes sparkled at the mention of the Leader.

Bella wanted the Leader.

More precisely, she wanted the leader who was her master’s master and could teach her.

She probably hoped to gain high enlightenment like Adeline.

But that was impossible.

The Leader Bella wanted was right in front of her.

I had just spent money on Adeline while cash shopping.

‘Both master and disciple are crazy about magic.’

But there was no need to tell her the truth.

Bella, unaware of this truth, bowed her head.

“Don’t worry! I’ll work hard!”

I felt a bit guilty, but I steeled my heart.

I need to survive and plan for the future.

As we talked, the carriage had already arrived at the city gate.

The gazes of countless people lined up along the road turned towards the carriage and knights at once.

I looked at that scene through the carriage window.

The soldiers guarding the castle immediately opened the gates when they confirmed the carriage and knights.

As the carriage passed, the sound of soldiers saluting could be heard.

Now I really felt like I had become a noble.

‘Not bad.’

As the carriage passed through the city gate, the city’s magnificence was revealed.

Tall buildings, lavishly decorated mansions, and streets filled with people.

It was incomparable to the small towns we had passed through so far.

Soon after, the carriage arrived at its final destination, the Hartwell count’s mansion.

‘As expected, it’s splendid.’

Even if it’s a duchy, a count is still a count.

A magnificent and splendid mansion welcomed me.

‘Yes, this level is just right.’

This place would become my home from now on.

I smiled slightly.

*  *  *

The Hartwell count’s mansion.

“My beloved child, Bastel. Come here and sit down.”

Countess Lavender spoke coldly, resting her chin on her hand.

Even the sunlight shining through the window couldn’t illuminate her face.

“Yes, mother.”

Bastel carefully sat down.

He was the second son of Count Hartwell.

He then examined his mother’s expression, but he couldn’t read any emotion from Lavender’s stern face.

“I just received a call from the family.”

Family.

This meant Lavender’s maiden family, not the Hartwell count family.

Lavender sighed and continued speaking.

“All the magic stone mines have collapsed.”

“What? No… How can that be!”

Bastel, who had been indifferent, showed a surprised expression at the news of the mines collapsing.

He had heard that someone had attacked the Duchy’s mines.

He thought they would be restored quickly as he had only heard that the workers had died.

But for the mines to collapse?

The mines themselves collapsing was an entirely different story.

“Has the culprit been identified?”

To Bastel’s question, Lavender shook her head.

It was so serious that no traces had been found.

Magic stone mines are the biggest source of income not only for the Duchy but also for the Empire.

As such, when the mines were attacked, the Duchy and Empire moved quickly.

Yet they couldn’t identify the culprit?

“Come to think of it, the Renfield count family was also annihilated recently, wasn’t it?”

Count Renfield of the Arcadia Empire.

The count and his bloodline, as well as all the family members, died overnight.

Moreover, the Renfield family was prestigious in the Arcadia Empire.

Something big was clearly happening.

“Yes, it seems we need to be careful for a while.”

There was nothing more frightening than unknown terror.

Lavender stroked her son Bastel’s head.

No matter how much of an adult he had become, he was still just a rash child to her.

“My father is also worried about this incident.”

Lavender’s maiden family was the Rosemond baronet family of the Empire.

The Rosemond baronet was a family that had accumulated wealth by running merchant groups.

They made various investments to amass more fortune, which included the Duchy’s magic stone mines.

But with the collapse of the magic stone mines, they suffered a painful loss.

As a result, the merchant group run by Baron Rosemond also suffered considerable damage.

“We might not be able to supply ‘goods’ for a while.”

And Bastel was conducting business with the help of such a baronet family.

It would be a big blow if he couldn’t receive supplies for a while, but now was the time to be cautious.

“Yes, I understand, mother.”

Bastel bowed his head.

There might be losses immediately, but business had to be considered in the long term.

Bastel was determined not to make mistakes by being blinded by immediate gains.

But Lavender’s expression was still not good.

“Mother, do you have another worry?”

At Bastel’s words, Lavender nodded.

“Yes….”

Lavender paused for a moment and bit her lip.

“The illegitimate child will arrive soon.”

Bastel’s eyes turned cold.

An illegitimate child.

There was a hidden child of father’s.

When he first heard this story, it was shocking news.

“Mother, are you thinking of raising that child here?”

“Unfortunately, I have no choice.”

Lavender answered coldly.

The count’s will was already firm.

Of course, it wasn’t because he liked the illegitimate child that he brought him into the family.

He was nothing more than a puppet to send to military service instead of the heir.

Since his use was clear from the beginning, there was no reason to oppose it.

But Lavender felt an inexplicable uneasiness.

What if that illegitimate brat takes over the family?

The possibility was infinitely low, but Lavender disliked variables.

“My beloved Bastel, come closer to your mother.”

Bastel leaned towards his mother.

Soon after, Lavender’s low voice resonated in Bastel’s ear.

“Bastel, when that illegitimate brat comes, keep an eye on him. If you see him doing anything suspicious… you know what to do, right?”

A voice as sweet as honey.

But Bastel knew well the poison hidden in it.

However, he answered without hesitation.

“I understand, Mother.”

He needed his mother anyway.

More precisely, he needed his mother’s family to expand his business even more.

“I’ll take care of everything.”

Lavender smiled with satisfaction and stroked Bastel’s cheek.

“You’re my proud son, Bastel. I’ll leave the task of protecting the family to you.”

Like a snake ensnaring its prey, her touch was soft yet cold.