The Successor to the Underworld Is a Cheat Player

“For now, there’s nothing I can do.”

If an opportunity arises….

“…It’s just that….”

“What is it! Speak up!”

“I have a favor to ask.”

“A favor?”

Sein cocked his head at the sudden request.

“…It’s just that.”

“Oh, come on.”

“Dark… Hop Goblin….”

“What! Damn it! What!”

It was the first time.

“Can I… retrieve the corpse of Dark Hop Goblin!”

Seeing Aerin, who usually appeared ruthless, making such a face.

With closed eyes and a contorted body, she resembled a girl in love.

“……?”

Even Sein was left speechless by the confusion.

“Dark Hop Goblin is a rare species even among special breeds, isn’t it too wasteful to just leave the corpse like that…?”

Barely audible, a small voice reached his ears.

“Ha, now what am I supposed to say.”

Sein turned his body as if in disbelief and said, “Take it. But don’t forget. That’s a debt.”

“I’ll keep that in mind!”

What on earth is he thinking?

Before nightfall, Sein and his companions were able to reach a nearby territory.

They passed through several rural territories.

These rural areas were no different from Chichiron, and they only stopped briefly to replenish their supplies.

The ancient empire had fallen, leaving a shaky continent.

Interactions between territories, to put it nicely, were not lively; each territory barely sustained itself, struggling to survive.

The soaring prices even depleted the coins Sein had brought.

Such situations were even more severe on the outskirts.

-If you wish, you could pay in coins for the Dark Hop Goblin’s corpse.

Arin suggested, but Sein responded, “Why bother?”

No matter how rural, how small the territory, there were always corrupt parts.

Sein had survived in such corrupt waters, like a cockroach.

“Nice to meet you. They call me the lunatic of Chichiron. Hand over all your travel expenses, or else I’ll let you pass through this harsh world in peace!”

“What the hell are you saying!”

“Just hand it over and scram.”

The dwindling travel expenses suddenly grew hefty again.

Even if it was well hidden coins.

“Captain, I found it.”

“No! That’s for our son’s medical expenses!”

“You want me to believe you have a son just because you say so?”

Sein and Deren had truly been stripped bare.

It was truly an unstoppable rapid advance!

“That kind of recklessness won’t work anymore.”

Arin, who had only watched until then, warned Sein.

“Well, the whole village was quite bothersome anyway.”

More like a small town than a village.

As expected, the level of trash in the back alleys was quite high.

Well, whatever…

“Thanks to that, the coins are hefty, so it doesn’t matter, right?”

Just back alley trash.

They looted more coins from one village than they had gathered in Chichiron all their lives.

“It seems I have a knack for robbery.”

“You just realized that now?”

“I guess there are geniuses even in robbery.”

“Tsk.”

However, Sein knew.

‘Indeed, from now on, it’s for real.’

As Arin had said.

The massive walls that were drawing closer.

To Sein, or rather Sein Demorus, it was a grand wall of a size he had never seen before.

It was incomparable to villages, not even to small towns.

“Viscount Borpeo.”

The true appearance of a city.

The barrier covering the territory was so strong that it was visible to the eye.

“I recommend not causing a ruckus from here on.”

Another warning.

“Borpeo is definitely a place with an owner.”

“I get it, I know.”

Sein leading the way ahead.

“You’re not yet a Demorus.”

At Arin’s words, Sein paused for a moment.

“The heir candidates are merely candidates for Demorus. Remember that you cannot wield the power of the Demorus name.”

“Yes. Yes. I know, right?”

Rumors reaching even the remote Chichiron.

Having confirmed this upon arrival here and heard the truth through Arin.

“Our great seed-sowing ancestors have sown the seeds too widely, making someone like me still meaningless.”

Did they say there were over a hundred children of Demorus?

“Impressive. Truly impressive.”

With such trivial chatter, Sein and his companions found themselves standing in front of the castle gate before they knew it.

Seeing a gate of this scale was a first in this lifetime for Sein, but…

Familiar.

It was a sight all too familiar to Sein.

Guards suddenly blocking their path.

“Who goes there.”

“Just someone looking to pass through the gate.”

The guards frowned at Sein’s words.

“Do you have a permit?”

Was this indeed a city?

It was different from the easy-going villages they had passed through.

Pling!

Sein flicked a gold coin.

“A permit.”

Just like in the small towns, trying to use a gold coin as a permit.

Plunk.

The gold coin that Sein had flicked fell to the ground carelessly.

“Filthy scoundrel.”

“Oh. Expensive ones, huh?”

“You.”

Tch.

The guards raised their spears, pointing them towards Sein.

“Get lost. Before we kill you.”

The growling guards didn’t seem inclined to easily let him pass.

They weren’t extraordinary guards with a strong sense of justice.

Even as they aimed their spears at Sein, the guards’ eyes briefly glanced at the fallen gold coin on the ground.

Literally, meaning expensive ones.

“Should I add two more gold coins?”

The gazes of those who hadn’t even flinched at Sein’s words turned towards Arin.

“Huh.”

Now they understood the purpose of these guys.

Arin was a rare beauty.

It was impossible for such a beauty to notice something like a gold coin.

“She’s quite something.”

“That’s my line. What confidence to stand in front of Borfeo’s guards?”

Definitely cocky fellows.

“If you touch that woman, you’re dead. Not by me, but by her.”

“…?”

“If money doesn’t work, then there’s no other way.”

Money was too precious.

Clang!

A longsword brought from a village they had passed through was suddenly drawn, pushing away the guards’ spears.

“I am Sein, the crazy dog of Chichiron….”

Grin.

“I am Sein Demolus. Open the door. You bastards.”

“…!”

*

*

*

“You’ll regret this.”

Arin said.

You haven’t even been granted permission to use the name Demolus yet, the price for using an unauthorized name will be significant.”

“That’s too much.”

Sein replied nonchalantly as if it were no big deal.

“I’ve only done a little favor, but I can freely use the name, right?”

“Do as you wish.”

At Arin’s words, Sein nodded.

“I’ll do as I please.”

There was a clear route to call proper.

Hidden within himself, quietly building strength and slowly gaining recognition.

However.

“It’s too late.”

Sein was smiling, but his eyes were as cold as ice.

“If my life is to be that of a successor in the dark valley.”

When life was determined, Sein made up his mind.

“Reveal myself and be acknowledged.”

It was not a futile attempt.

It might seem reckless, but it was never an act of recklessness.

Thump.

There was a way to handle that much, a plan in place.

Or rather, this was necessary for the existence of Sein Demorus to survive.

“Arin.”

“…Speak.”

“Threats don’t come when I want them to.”

Hardship and adversity are not things you can overcome on your own.

“It comes at the most dog-like moment.”

To be able to overcome by preparing in advance.

To become stronger.

To survive.

Thud.

You have to keep going through and dealing with appropriate hardships.

“Luck and hardship hitting at once can be overwhelming.”

It was a familiar sight.

The quietened street.

Not a soul’s shadow in sight.

“The welcoming ceremony is grand.”

“Are you crazy, Chichiron?”

A group of people blocked Sein’s path.

*

*

*

“Are you crazy, Chichiron?”

“Do you know me?”

He asked so, but the general situation was understood.

The incident at the castle gate must have already spread throughout the city.

“I’ve heard the whole continent is rotting.”

With the emergence of the Empire, the underworld became mainstream.

Their power was so formidable that the world outside was engulfed in darkness, and within, it was tainted with shadow.

But even so, it was too much.

Before Lord Yeongju could learn of the recent events at the castle gate, word had already spread to the back alleys.

“We opened the Borfeo Gate with a single name; if you don’t know it, you don’t deserve to survive in the back alleys.”

“Then I suppose you’ve heard.”

It was the calm voice of Sein.

“My name too.”

“Sein Demorus.”

Demorus.

At the mention of that name, those who stood in Sein’s way trembled in surprise.

A castle that instilled fear even in the outskirts.

In such a grand city.

“….”

It was only natural that it held greater power.

“Are you truly Demorus?”

“Would someone be crazy enough to impersonate Demorus?”

“Perhaps.”

The power that names and surnames held in the underworld was tremendous.

Greater than the order of the Empire even.

“But for now, he’s just a candidate. We haven’t heard news of Demorus’ successor being chosen.”

“….”

“Is it arrogance or bravery?”

Swoosh.

The group blocking Sein began to inch forward.

Thud.

Derren gripped the hilt of his longsword, while Arin, seemingly uninterested, crossed her arms.

Sein said, “You talk a lot.”

He simply stood there, staring at the ruffians with an outward gaze.

“So, shall we have a go at it?”

There were twenty in attendance.

But they were nothing like the third-rate thugs they faced in Chichiron.

Their well-organized demeanor and movements proved they were survivors of real combat.

“Are they mercenaries?”

Not the kind of monster they faced before, but regular mercenaries.

“Well, that’s not bad. If it’s back alley talk, it’s the quickest way.”

The subordinates who had stopped abruptly.

The only one stepping forward was a single outsider.

The outsider who had suddenly come right up to their noses.

If they clashed their weapons, they were within reach.

Clang!

But what the outer eye pulled out wasn’t a sword, but a hand.

“They call me Cyclops. I oversee a section of Borfeo’s back alleys, though it’s not much.”

A handshake.