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Book 2, Chapter 205

Kangki’s office.

Well, although it was called an office, there weren’t any tables or chairs, or even documents or writing utensils. Instead, the only thing that filled this large space was a huge stone throne.

The Sorcerer Aram, one of Kangki’s three henchmen, looked towards this large throne with a distraught expression.

“P- please let me take a break, senior.”

In just a few days, Aram’s face had become thin and pale, looking like someone who had one foot in the grave. There were large bags under his once exuberant eyes, and his glossy blue scales were now dry and cracked.

This sight would draw some pity from anyone who saw it, but Kangki…

No, Bargan, who was wearing Kangki’s disguise, responded coldly.

“Don’t make a fuss out of nothing. I think I’ve given you more than enough time to rest.”

“C-, can you call it enough rest when I’m able to sleep about three hours a day?”

“That’s because you enjoyed enough rest in the past. Think of this as payment for your crimes.”

“Uh… uhh…”

Aram’s head dropped slightly, a dissatisfied expression on his face.

Bargan’s eyebrows furrowed for a while, but soon, his face relaxed and he spoke in a calm voice.

“You’re right. You do need to rest more.”

“That’s right.”

“Then I’ll personally tell the Lord for you.”

“…”

Shocked, Aram quickly began to shake his head.

“N-, no! It’s fine!”

“No. Now that I think about it, we have been overworking you quite a bit. Don’t worry. You should know what kind of personality the Lord has.”

Bargan smiled coldly and added.

“Because it’s proven by the fact that your head is still attached.”

Aram’s body shook like a tree in a hurricane. Then, he quickly stood to his feet and said.

“N-, now that I think about it, I haven’t finished organising the proceeds from the arena for this week. And I also have to pay close attention to the match schedule… We need to organise matches that are as interesting as possible. But that will be hard since most of the top-ranked Fighters are gone.”

“…”

“Please pretend I didn’t say anything. I’ll be taking my leave!”

After saying that, Aram practically ran out of the office without waiting for a response.

Click.

It was only after the door closed and he could no longer hear Aram’s footsteps in the hallway that Bargan leaned comfortably against the stone throne.

“Hooo…”

Sitting on this throne and receiving hundreds of reports a day without being able to move…

Was much more mentally exhausting than he thought.

‘No.’

To be precise, it was more that it didn’t suit Bargan’s personality and ability.

He thought that it would be better for him to run around in the arena all day than to sit in this office.

Nevertheless, he couldn’t entrust this role to anyone else.

This was because there was no one else he could trust in the current Lirua.

‘…there is only one.’

Lukas.

Bargan was certain that his lord would be able to handle things much more easily and flexibly than he could. But he didn’t even think about asking him to do so.

Lukas had said that the citizens of Lirua should take responsibility for their actions.

Bargan couldn’t help but agree with that statement. In fact, when he first heard that the citizens of Lirua knew about the match-fixing in the arena but still chose to turn a blind eye to it, he felt betrayed.

Nevertheless, Bargan decided that it would be better to conceal Kangki’s misdeeds and death for now.

Kangki’s influence and prestige were in no way lesser than that of the other Major City Lords. And for the time being, it was necessary to make use of that prestige to block the ‘threat’ of other cities.

The major cities were fine.

Lukas had been able to personally negotiate with most of the Major City Lords. They already knew about Kangki’s death, and if they had a conscience, then they wouldn’t try to swallow Lirua. For now at least.

The real danger came from those cities that were too small to be called major cities but were also too large to really be called medium cities. The lords of these cities were constantly looking for opportunities to expand their territory.

If Lirua’s weakness was exposed, then they would immediately set their greedy eyes upon it. In the end, the entirety of Lirua would be devoured like a weakened wildebeest set upon by a pack of hyenas.

That’s why he chose to use Kangki’s armor in order to keep his death hidden.

This was an idea Bargan came up with, so naturally, Bargan had to take responsibility for it.

This was also why he asked Lukas to spare Aram.

In this situation, what was needed the most wasn’t the strength of the Fighter, but business acumen and insight.

Of course, it was pure luck that he’d managed to survive before that since Lee Jong-hak hadn’t been merciful with his sword.

To tell the truth, Bargan had yet to forgive Aram for what he’d done.

He’d personally destroyed several groups and individuals who might have had rebellious thoughts against the arena like the Fangs of Kamesh. This meant that his hands were stained with blood and sin.

Nevertheless, his talents were useful in this situation, and Bargan had no choice but to admit it.

It was only a small exaggeration to say that without Aram, Lirua’s system as a city would have collapsed by now.

‘It’s still a bit shaky though.’

Most of the stars who had supported the Lirua Arena were no longer around, and because of this, the profits of the arena fell sharply to less than half of before the incident.

This was a fatal blow that caused one emergency after another.

In order to recover their losses, it was necessary to have someone competent at the helm, and Aram was a perfect fit for this role.

Tuk tuk.

Then he heard a knock on the door.

Bargan could feel a headache slowly brewing. Although he had studied management, negotiation, and politics in his own time, those were not things that could be learned in a short time.

Nevertheless, it couldn’t be helped.

Bargan imitated Kangki’s voice and spoke in a low tone.

“Come in.”

Click.

The door opened and one of Kangki’s men entered. He was a low-level minion who hadn’t even realised Bargan had become ‘Kangki’.

This was proven by the fact that he entered the room with a terrified expression on his face and quickly knelt to the floor.

“I greet the City Lord.”

“That’s enough. Why are you here?”

Bargan spoke in a cold voice, but this wasn’t targeted at the minion. This was simply the tone he found that was most similar to Kangki’s regular voice. But because he didn’t want to risk exposing himself, he only said a few words at a time.

The minion trembled and said.

“Y-, you have a visitor, my Lord.”

“…did you forget that I said that I wouldn’t be seeing any guests for the time being?”

This was also one of the special measures taken by Bargan until he had completely become ‘Kangki’. He still needed time to understand Kangki’s connections more thoroughly.

The minion’s expression was wrought with fear.

“O-, of course not. But this is a guest that cannot be refused…”

“A guest that cannot be refused?”

“Yes, sir.”

The minion gulped a mouthful of saliva.

“It is a messenger from Dragon God Island.”