How to Survive as a Dungeon Manager in Another World

Episode 10 – Became the Mastermind (1)

*Ding-*

The chimes, signaling noon, resonated distantly.

Derrick Baldwin, head of the Imperial Special Forces and patriarch of the Baldwin Dukedom, abruptly murmured a man’s name, again and again.

The name left by those figures who had recently perished in an instant.

“…Luke Richter.”

At first, he thought him to be just an ordinary official.

But the report that mountains of magical beast corpses were piled before his office gave him a powerful certainty that the man was concealing something.

Of course, had that been all, he would have ceased paying him attention.

But…

“The Shadow Syndicate Lord is dead, you say.”

He couldn’t believe it when he first heard the news.

He thought he must have misheard.

Because, you see, the Shadow Syndicate wasn’t a common criminal organization.

The Arkan Lord Council, one of two forces dividing the continent.

They were an organization of six legions joined to maintain balance, but the characteristic thing was that each legion runs direct organizations to expand their forces.

The most famous of these was the Shadow Syndicate.

Centered around criminals drawn by the name of Kalen, the Fist Saint and 3rd Legion Commander, it had grown to become one of the most substantial criminal organizations in the Empire.

The one who represented the Shadow Syndicate was Katran.

A woman who had become widely known as the Fist Saint Kalen’s Chief of Staff.

“She… exploded to death?”

Derrick lowered his gaze, staring intently at the report on his desk.

According to a spy planted within the Shadow Syndicate, Katran, along with several other executives, had exploded and died as if they were balloons.

Furthermore, before dying, they had desperately muttered someone’s name; that name was none other than Luke Richter.

It wasn’t just the Shadow Syndicate.

Quite a few others, including the Shadow Syndicate Lord, met their end in the same manner.

There was, however, one peculiar detail worth noting.

The identities of those who had met this identical end were, astonishingly, all criminals with Imperial warrants out for their arrest.

“…Intriguing.”

Derek Baldwin quietly quirked the corner of his lips.

His mouth trembled, struggling to contain his amusement.

The organization members, who had suddenly lost their steadfast liege, were incensed, and the arrow of their fury was aimed not at the Imperial family, but at a single man.

Even the Arkan Council, the clandestine power behind the Shadow Syndicate, had begun to take an interest in him.

By this point, curiosity had taken hold.

Could all of this have been planned from the very beginning, the moment he’d first appointed the fellow as the warden of Blackmoor?

“Ha…”

Regardless of the outcome, the Imperial family had nothing to lose.

They had eliminated the vermin gnawing at the empire without lifting a finger.

He couldn’t suppress the burst of stifled laughter.

It was a most unorthodox method, one no one could have foreseen.

“How did he manage it?”

At the stroke of a clock, the heads of criminal syndicates scattered across the empire had met the same grim fate.

As if sending them a warning.

So, could all of this truly be the work of one Luke Richter?

“Impossible.”

No matter how strong he may be, it was unthinkable.

The intelligence network that knew the top brass’s movements with such secrecy.

The overwhelming force capable of assassinating the brass at the same hour.

The relentless execution of the objective without a whisper of dissent.

This was the work of an organization.

“Like a shadowy puppet master.”

At first, it was mere suspicion.

But watching as the circumstances fit together, suspicion was slowly morphing into certainty.

Just what is this fellow-

“What kind of picture is he painting?”

Warden of Blackmoor, the empire’s most infamous demon’s maw.

The man who commanded the enigmatic shadow organization that crushed the Dark Shadow Society.

Already, the high society buzzed with the name of Luke Richter all day long.

The chaos arising from him, what if that immense tide of power were to engulf the Empire?

“…”

Derek Baldwin’s mind grew chillingly cold.

Finishing his thoughts, he rang the bell on his desk, and a man soon opened the door and entered.

“You’ve heard the news, I presume?”

“I have, sir.”

“Investigate the group that annihilated the Dark Shadow Society.”

“Understood.”

“Do not delve too deeply, just investigate the outlines. And do not forget to spread rumors connecting the information to Luke Richter. The high society should be the starting point. Their tongues wag so easily, making it ideal for widespread dissemination.”

“Luke Richter, you say?”

“Indeed.”

“…Understood.”

The man bowed with a blade-like precision and exited the room.

Derek Baldwin reached out and slowly opened the window.

A gust of wind instantly ruffled his raven hair.

He brushed back his disheveled fringe, muttering.

“I do not know what he is plotting…”

Whatever it may be.

“…This time, I shall cooperate.”

Derek Baldwin’s gaze fixed upon the world outside the window.

“For the sake of the Empire’s sun.”

A gaze so incandescent, it felt as though it could burn one to cinders.

A few days had passed since the Labyrinth expedition concluded.

A mere few days of absence and dust had accumulated, requiring a considerable amount of time spent cleaning.

Yet, a smile never left my face.

For good reason-

“Haha, freedom at last!”

Freedom.

The kind of syrupy-sweet freedom only a full-time, wage-thieving loafer could savor.

Days had passed, barricaded within the office, scarcely moving.

Invading demonic hordes? No need for me to even stir; Rudi oversaw their automated annihilation. Meal preparation? The fussy fox beastkin eagerly took up that banner.

Each day a tranquility.

A honeyed, unearned existence.

‘This is the life.’

Yes, everything felt perfected.

I was drifting through these dream-like days when…

“…What’s this?”

A missive arrived from the Imperial Palace.

Included was a newspaper detailing the Empire’s latest tidings, the reading of which sent me reeling.

“The Shadow Syndicate Lord… assassinated?”

As I muttered in a daze, Rudi, who had been surreptitiously reading over my shoulder, inquired,

“Isn’t the Shadow Syndicate rather… substantial?”

“In terms of sheer size, they’d easily rank within the Empire’s top ten.”

“And he was assassinated? Just… like that?”

“Presumably?”

The Shadow Syndicate, wasn’t that the assassination organization run by Commander Kallen’s chief adjutant from the Third Legion?

To assassinate the head of such an outfit? Whoever was responsible had audacity in spades.

‘Thinking about it, was he supposed to die now?’

Truthfully, I couldn’t recall.

Why would I know when some measly extra croaked?

More importantly, the Shadow Syndicate Lord was a heinous criminal with a massive Imperial bounty on his head.

Hmm. Perhaps it was a good riddance?

I was halfway through offering a quick prayer for the suddenly deceased Shadow Syndicate Lord when…

“They suspect it’s the work of a nascent organization!”

“Nascent organization?”

“It says so right here. A shadowy cabal shrouded in rumors, formed by a handful of individuals of unknown origin, apparently?”

“What in the world is that?”

Rudine was muttering to herself, alone as she perused the missive.

“They’ve named one figure as the most probable mastermind behind it all!”

“Oh, who?”

Too lazy to read myself, I asked the question casually.

The answer that returned was…

“Luke Richter!”

“Don’t know who that is, but sounds like a big shot… Wait, what?!”

Hold on a moment.

That’s my name.

“Give it here!”

I snatched the letter from Rudine’s hand.

And slowly, I began to read through the details.

The Master of the Shadow Syndicate, Katran, was assassinated.

But it wasn’t just him; numerous wanted criminals were assassinated in the same manner.

And before their demise, the name they left behind like a death sign, vowing never to forget…

‘Luke, Richter…?’

Huh?

Suddenly?

But I was wronged.

“I’m being pointed to as the mastermind, that shadowy figure or whatever, who assassinated the Master of the Shadow Syndicate?”

“Looks that way.”

“But I didn’t kill them?”

“Apparently not?”

Shit.

I was sprawled out, sleeping soundly, the very moment those b*stards kicked the bucket.

Rudine, having reclaimed the letter I’d grabbed, continued to read where she’d left off.

“It’s not just suspicion, apparently everyone is under the impression that it’s you.”

“….”

“Furthermore, you’ve become notorious in society as someone one should absolutely never get involved with!”

“???”

A myriad of question marks bloomed in my head.

What in God’s name was happening?

This couldn’t be real.

“Lord Commander Kwon Sung Callen of the Third Corps has issued a statement regarding this incident…”

“And?”

“He has vowed to never let this go unpunished…”

Oh.

That was a blatant declaration of vengeance.

And.

The object of their vengeance.

“…What the hell?!”

Was none other than me.

As my sanity crumbled in real-time,

Thud, thud.

Irregular, yet ominous footsteps echoed distantly.

The sinister sound grew closer with alarming speed, a rush of impending doom.

I turned my head to see a man in robes approaching.

“Ah.”

He saw me, and the corner of his lip curled upward.

As if he had been searching for me.

Then, he spoke.

“Allow me to formally introduce myself. I am Qing (靑), direct inheritor of the Arkan Council of Lords.”

The man finished speaking and stared intently.

After a pregnant pause, he cut to the chase.

“I bear a message from Great Lord Arkan.”

I was speechless.

Then, a forgotten fact flashed through my mind.

“Luke Richter, you are-“

The Arkan Council of Lords.

The location of the headquarters, the heart of that insane military organization, was, in fact…

“…You are invited to the Main Assembly.”

…The fact that it was Blackmore.