I Became a Mafia in the Academy - C.289

One of the things I learned from numerous cases and statistics is that the black market on a cruise ship on the Han River has a 50% chance of an intrusion event.

I thought it was a 50/50 chance, but I didn't expect it to happen.

And the invader was none other than…….

"It's the Heroes Association, grab your stuff and retreat!"

The antithesis of the Villains' Alliance. It was the Hero Association.

-Quack! Kwaaang!

"Wow, an attack! An attack! An attack!"

Below, the place is already in chaos.

But even as countless heroes rush in to capture the villains, Peak is merely throwing her arms up in the air and letting out a snarly laughter.

The other villains in the VIP room are quick to assess the situation and begin to evacuate, as if this isn't the first time they've faced such a situation.

I thought, "Okay, maybe I should make a move.”

"Dark Spirit, can I put in a request now?!"

One of Dolce Puppet's puppets, who had been diligently moving things around, approached me and spoke up.

"……My commission is expensive."

"I know! I'll give you one of the items you bid on and one of the items I was going to highlight. What do you say?"

"Not enough."

"Well, I'll match it as best I can, but first I need you to help me with this as collateral!"

And then he throws you a card representing himself.

Yeah, sure.

I take it and smile inwardly.

Having accomplished my goal, I nodded and stood up.

"What do I do?"

Dolce Puppet says as he draws his silvery daggers.

"I don't care what happens to the other villains, the goods come first! I want you to escort Peak to make sure we get them."

Escort Peak?

Well, that seems to be the deal.

Indeed, Peak opened a portal the size of her body at the top of the auction house stage and swept through the Dolce Puppet dolls and items with a wide grin on her face.

"Sweep! Sweep! Sweep! Sweep! Sweep! Sweep! Sweep! Sweep! Sweep!"

"Level 1 alert! It's Midsummer’s Peak!"

"Careful, everyone!"

Seeing Peak's already precarious situation, I immediately jumped up from my seat and leapt into the sky.

The person they were targeting was Peak, not anyone else. If I approached her unwisely, I might be wiped out.

I'd better take this one down.

The target is the flares currently floating in the sky to light up the entire cruise ship.

"First, I'll have to create a situation in my favor."

I turn to the area and activate the black flames of the Abyssal Flame Ring, bathing the area in darkness.

The light sources are swallowed up by the black flame with a sound like the wind being blown out of them.

The flashes that once lit up the night sky are replaced by darkness, and the cruise ship is instantly plunged into darkness.

The heroes begin to panic at the sudden darkness of their surroundings.

"Flares! Where are the flares?"

"Pyromancers, get some light!"

Unable to reach Peak as planned, they start looking for light to assess the situation.

"I found it!"

When one of the heroes finally finds a flashlight, he turns it on and smiles brightly.

"Shhh──"

Approaching from behind through the shadows, I immediately activated Black Flame.

"Extinguish!!!"

He screamed and struggled against the black flame that swallowed his entire body in an instant.

It would hurt a lot, but it was better than being killed by Peak's ability.

A moment later, his flashlight went out, plunging the ferry into silence.

"What was that?"

"I think I saw a flash of something for a second……?"

My second target was the guy at the entrance to the auction house, emitting sparks and hesitating to enter.

-Ssshhhhhhhhhhh!

Again, I sneak up behind him through the shadows and punch him in the nape of the neck, knocking him unconscious instantly.

With a thud, the hero falls forward.

"──Two."

A muffled voice called out from among the others.

I wonder if they finally realized.

One of the heroes shouts with all his might.

"Don't turn on the lights! You'll be targeted!"

The other heroes hesitated to move and that was it.

Peak took the opportunity to sweep everything else into the portal, then threw herself through it.

She poked her head out and shouted.

"Dark Spirit, I've moved all your stuff, you better get out of here!"

"Oh, Dark Spirit?!"

"Dark Spirit?!"

My insides start to churn at the sound of my name spewing out of Peak's mouth.

Now that I had fulfilled the request from the Villain Alliance, I ran in the direction of Peak.

"Over here! Over here!"

She waves her hand in the air, urging me to hurry.

"No way!"

One of the men shouted back, blocking my way, trying to arrest me.

"──Move out of the way."

I triggered one of Black Mist effects.

In an instant, I'm past the guy in front of me, and the surroundings are engulfed in black lightning.

Crackle──!

"Shut it off!"

"Damn it, James!"

I've kept my power in check, so he'll be fine after a few days.

As I watched the heroes rush toward the fallen guy, I threw myself through the portal Peak had opened, and in an instant, the landscape around me changed.

Cooler air and damp walls.

Apparently, it was one of the buildings they used for emergencies.

"Damn it. Where the hell did they get their information this time?"

Dolce Puppet sighed and scratched his head, as if he was used to this kind of thing.

"Haha, you can't help it. Your auctions are always held in accessible places, aren't they?"

"It's much easier to attract customers there. I can't help it."

"Hmm~ That's right, I'd like you to pay me my commission. You haven't forgotten, have you?"

Circling around the doll who was acting as the auction's emcee, Peak demanded to be paid for her work.

"I know, but first I need to take care of this."

As he said that, he turned his head to look at me.

"Dark Spirit, there's one more thing I need to ask you."

"……?"

"Have you ever thought about joining the Villain Alliance?"

The words I had been waiting for finally came out of her mouth.

The reason why I had taken on the identity of Dark Spirit, and the biggest reason why I had helped her in this auction house. It was not only to acquire the auction items, but also to infiltrate their ranks.

However, Dark Spirit wasn't the type of character to easily comply with such demands.

In other words, I had to bounce them as much as possible and turn the tables in my favor.

"So suddenly?"

"I know you've only been a mercenary up until now, but didn't you have a change of heart that caused you to reveal yourself?"

He seemed to think that Dark Spirit, who had been hiding himself until now, finally revealed himself to contact the Villain Alliance.

"For someone of your caliber, I might be able to give you a position in the Villain Alliance. Of course, I'll have to have a meeting and get the consent of the other executives, but what do you think?"

Peak nodded eagerly at Dolce Puppet's words.

"I'm in favor of it, and I'm willing to give you an executive position. We'll be friends, won't we?"

"No."

I turned down all of their offers.

"Why? We're offering you a cadre position?"

Dolce Puppet asked, frowning as if he didn't understand.

I answered the question firmly.

"I just don't like the idea of belonging somewhere."

I can't leave it at that, so instead, I decided to bait him with one more trick.

"In exchange……I'll introduce you to someone."

"Huh? A character introduced by Dark Spirit?"

I pulled out one of the files I'd tucked away in the cube and showed them.

It contained detailed information about a villain.

"Is this……?"

Dolce Puppet's eyes widen as he takes the file.

"Magical Rogue. This is someone I learned about through a recent request."

Instead of accepting the offer as Dark Spirit I decided to introduce an alt account to them.

It's a double agent operation.

But he frowns at the photo.

"I've heard of……the guy who robbed Pendragon's mansion, but he's just a thief, right? I didn't hear he was particularly strong."

I see, you know one and don't know two.

"He also won the battle against Galahad. He might be able to help."

"……What? Galahad, the Pendragon family dog?"

He asked, and I nodded. Then Peak questioned me with a puzzled look.

"But Dark Spirit, how did you get to know this freaky-looking guy? We didn't have any information about him."

Yeah, I knew she was going to ask that, and I had the perfect response.

"……tried to rob my hideout."

"What?!"

“Your hideout?!"

A rogue who didn't even know who he was trying to rob.

What could be more impactful?

To them, the Magical Rogue needed to be perceived as a formidable force to be reckoned with.

In fact, when they heard my words, they gave me a blank stare.

"Well, that's definitely……um, crazy."

"I knew he was crazy based on the outfit he was wearing, but he's a total nutcase, Dolce Puppet! I love this guy, and he's endorsed by Dark Spirit!"

I think I've given them all the information I need to give them.

I held out my hand to Dolce Puppet.

"Well, then, pay up."

The item I'd agreed to accept after escorting Peak to make sure she didn't get robbed was one of the items up for auction.

Sighing at my words, Dolce Puppet pointed to the items on the floor.

"……Yes, take them, they would have been confiscated by the Hero Association guys anyway if it weren't for you."

Hearing her words, I looked at the items one by one.

Let's see. This is……but it's not really useful for anything. This is stuff I can't even use. This is something I'd rather have and……hmm?

Then one piece of equipment caught my eye.

A plain brass cross, seemingly without any features.

"This is……."

"Hmm? That's just some kind of talisman with divine power, but you're really picking that? I'm sure the other stuff is better than that."

It's an amulet. What, you don't know about this stuff?

I nodded, slipping it into my pocket.

"……should be enough."

"You are such an unknown. Are you sure that's all you need?"

I nodded and fiddled with the brass cross in my hand.

If my guess was right, I would surely have a use for it in the future.

At my firm answer, Dolce Puppet said, "Well, whatever," and handed me a piece of paper.

"And you need you to fill this out."

"What's this……?"

"The guys who took advantage of the chaos at the auction today."

I listened to her and looked at the paperwork, which listed the people who participated in today's auction and the items they took.

"They need to be punished, similar to the original request."

"Did you check all of this?"

"Because my eyes are everywhere."

Indeed, the other puppets had gone through it all.

"Leave this……to him."

"What do you mean, him?"

"Magical Rogue. He's better suited for this kind of work than I am."

"Do you trust him that much?"

"He's good and I think we should find out what he's capable of anyway."

And if he does a good job, the Villain Alliance will recognize him properly.

"…… I'll take your word for it. By the way, is this real?"

"What?"

"That to invoke the Magical Rogue, you have to shoot a heart-shaped light into the clouds from the roof of a building. What kind of invocation is that?"

Hmm? Is that weird?

I think it's full of romance.

Apparently, Dolce Puppet didn't think so.

"Well, I guess I'll take my leave."

Anyway, I've accomplished my goal for the day.

I've gotten all the materials to strengthen the Green Belt, I've established a link to the Villain Alliance, and I'm ready for the debut of Magical Rogue.