Chapter 269

“Brother Zeke!”

A girl with brown skin and pigtails ran toward Zeke.

She threw herself into Zeke's arms.

Simon, who had hurriedly followed behind her, sweated profusely with a look of embarrassment.

“Y-Your Majesty. You must maintain your d-dignity.”

The girl in Zeke's arms was none other than Vivian Cusco, the last blood of the Cusco Kingdom.

Zeke patted Vivian's shoulder and greeted her warmly.

“It's been a long time, Lady Vivian.”

Zeke had previously rescued Vivian when she was being held hostage by Don Juan and had protected her from falling into the hands of the rebel forces.

Afterward, with Zeke's help, Simon absorbed all of the McCain Cartel's forces and drove out the rebels, allowing her to reclaim the throne and become queen.

Vivian, now fourteen years old, followed Zeke, who had saved her when she was young, as if he were her real older brother.

Seeing Simon's troubled expression, Zeke gave him a reassuring nod.

Carrying the clinging Vivian, Zeke spoke with Simon.

“It's been a while, Simon.”

“I’ve been out of touch, focusing on the kingdom's affairs. I heard news of you from time to time through Kay, but seeing you in person, it seems you’ve made even more progress.”

Simon sensed the aura that was subtly emanating from Zeke and realized that he had grown several levels stronger.

Zeke answered with a simple smile, then led Simon and Vivian deeper into the camp.

The executive-level members were seated at a temporarily set-up round table.

“Kay! Boris!”

Vivian, who had been clinging to Zeke, ran over to Kay and Boris.

Boris knew Vivian because he had originally worked under Simon to sort out the cartel, and Kay had also spent a good deal of time with the queen while staying in the Cusco Kingdom.

Kay also greeted Vivian warmly.

“Lady Vivian, how did you get all the way out here? You didn't pester Simon again, did you?”

Vivian shook her head and said,

“No! This island is going to be a very important place for our kingdom, so I came because I wanted to see it with my own eyes.”

On the surface, Vivian seemed even younger than her age, but she was extremely intelligent and insightful.

When Simon had sorted out the cartel and the rebels and helped her reclaim the throne, everyone thought Simon would act as regent in place of the young Vivian.

But, shattering everyone’s expectations, Vivian quickly demonstrated her vision as a queen and stabilized the kingdom.

Even Kay had been impressed by her sharpness.

This time, too, at Vivian’s clear-cut words, Kay smiled and nodded.

Zeke sat down and introduced Nerissa to Vivian.

“Lady Vivian, this is Nerissa, the representative of the fish-men who will become new citizens of the Cusco Kingdom.”

At that, Vivian turned her head and looked at Nerissa with curiosity.

Her expression, which had been that of an innocent child, changed in an instant.

“A pleasure to meet you. My name is Vivian Cusco. I am the queen of the Cusco Kingdom.”

At Vivian’s sudden change, Nerissa was momentarily flustered, stuttering as she bowed her head.

“Mah name is… no, my name is Nerissa. Y-Yes, I used to be called Peter Pan…suh… I mean, ma’am!”

Seeing the nervous Nerissa, Vivian smiled and said,

“It’s a pleasure, Nerissa. The Cusco Kingdom welcomes you all. As the Queen of Cusco, I swear to protect the fish-men and safeguard your rights as citizens of the kingdom.”

At Vivian's words, Nerissa beamed and said,

“I look forward to working with you!”

After the two finished their greetings, Zeke sat down and started the meeting.

“By eliminating Qiongqi, the member of the Four Perils that was commanding the monsters of the Southern Archipelago, we can consider the threat to this island to be almost completely resolved.”

Zeke pointed to the islands of the Southern Archipelago drawn on a map spread across the round table.

“This archipelago is considerable in size. In terms of area alone, it’s comparable to the Dorta Republic. First, we will proceed with development centered on the three largest islands in the archipelago.”

Zeke used his finger to point to the centermost of the three islands.

“And here, we will construct a city that will become a transit trade hub. The sea route that crosses the Sea of Death must pass through here, so the number of visitors will increase explosively every year.”

Everyone nodded at Zeke's words.

He moved his finger again, pointing to the island on the left.

“This place will be designated as the fish-man residential district, and we plan to build various facilities so that the fish-men who are persecuted on the continent can live in stability.”

Not only in Nerissa's village, but all over the islands of the South Sea, fish-men were living scattered and separated.

Many among them were captured by pirates and sold as slaves or were killed for no reason.

Zeke planned to support the settlement of as many of these fish-men as possible by having them immigrate to this island.

Then, Zeke pointed to the last island.

“This is the island we are on now.”

Zeke looked up and said,

“This island will be developed as a mine.”

At those words, the others tilted their heads in confusion.

Kay said to Zeke,

“Boss, is there a resource with deposits large enough to develop the entire island as a mine?”

At her words, Zeke took a black ore from his pocket.

The others couldn't identify what the dark, blackish ore was.

But Kay, as a mage, recognized it and was utterly shocked.

“Y-You, don't tell me this is Blacklight Stone?”

She was so surprised that her usual, informal speech came out instead of the honorifics she normally used.

At the mention of Blacklight Stone, the others were also finally startled.

Simon asked Zeke again, as if in disbelief.

“Sir Zeke, are you saying that the Blacklight Stone is buried here?”

Zeke nodded.

“I had the dwarves investigate, and they estimate that the deposits are likely the largest among all known Blacklight Stone mines.”

At his words, everyone's jaws dropped.

Blacklight Stone, a rare mineral, was more precious than even the highest-grade magic stones.

A mine with such a large deposit of Blacklight Stone would have an added value that was beyond imagination.

Zeke spoke again.

“We plan to bring in more dwarves than we currently have and have them relocate here permanently. And here, along with the mine, we will build a munitions factory to produce weaponry.”

At that, Boris spoke with a worried expression.

“Boss, building a munitions factory is a problem on a whole other level. It could become an international issue.”

Zeke nodded at his words.

“That’s a good point, Boris. And that’s why there is something I would like to ask of the Queen today.”

At Zeke's words, Vivian spoke not as the little sister she usually was, but with the face of a queen.

“Please speak, Sir Zeke.”

“Please grant me a noble title from the Cusco Kingdom. And if you designate this land as territory of the Cusco Kingdom, we will be able to avoid the sensitive issue Boris mentioned.”

Boris's jaw dropped at Zeke's statement.

This place was currently Zeke's personal fief, having been handed over to him by Kali.

However, since Zeke was affiliated with the Draker clan, it could, strictly speaking, also be seen as territory belonging to the Drakers.

But if Zeke received a title from Vivian and this territory was changed to be part of the Cusco Kingdom, the clans of the Central Continent and the Empire would lose any justification for intervention.

Although it could be seen as him using the Cusco Kingdom, Vivian smiled and approached Zeke.

Then, placing her hands on Zeke's shoulders, she said,

“I, Vivian Cusco, Queen of Cusco, hereby grant Sir Zeke Draker the title of Duke.”

Vivian conferred the title of Duke upon Zeke in an informal ceremony.

Playing his part, Zeke kissed the back of Vivian's hand and said,

“I pledge my loyalty to the Queen and her kingdom.”

Vivian smiled at his words and said, “We’ll do it like this for now since it’s urgent. When you come to the palace next time, I will formally bestow the dukedom upon you.”

Zeke nodded at Vivian's words.

Though it was an informal ceremony, Zeke had nevertheless been granted the title.

He had become a Duke of the Cusco Kingdom, and the Southern Archipelago had become a duchy belonging to the kingdom.

Zeke entrusted Kay with the authority over the archipelago's development.

The defense of the archipelago was established with Nerissa, the Fish-man Youth Corps, and the former members of the Syndicate as its core.

Furthermore, a garrison to be sent soon from the Cusco Kingdom would also be stationed on the archipelago to strengthen its security.

Zeke looked at the people gathered at the round table and said,

“Right now, these are islands with nothing on them, but in a few years, this place will become a crucial bridgehead connecting the Central and Southern Continents. To achieve this, I need your strength. Please, let us combine our power for our new home.”

The people gathered at the round table were inspired by Zeke's words and burned with enthusiasm.

It seemed his newly acquired Authority, Charisma, was subtly influencing his words and actions.

‘I never had any confidence in public speaking, but I’m getting help from an unexpected place.’

Zeke smiled inwardly with satisfaction.

After the meeting was completely finished, Zeke called Simon aside separately.

He offered Simon a cup of tea and said,

“Simon, there was one part of the report you submitted a while ago that’s been bothering me.”

“What might that be?”

“The part about the cultists gradually expanding their influence on the Southern Continent.”

At those words, Simon’s brow twitched and furrowed.

“As I wrote in the report, those cultists are currently filling the vacuum left by the cartels on the Southern Continent at a rapid pace.”

“What do you mean, they’re filling the void left by the cartels?”

“You are well aware that the economy of the Southern Continent revolves mostly around Soma farms.”

Zeke nodded at Simon's words.

Simon continued his explanation.

“The cultists are attacking the cartels that have established themselves in various regions, liberating the towns, burning down the farms that grew Soma, and planting coffee trees in their place.”

“Coffee trees.”

Zeke furrowed his brow at the unexpected words.

While interrogating Dario, the boss of the Nostra clan, he had learned that the base of the Abyss was in a coffee-producing region.

He had ordered Shadia, an assassin from Salmak, to investigate this, and surprisingly, Shadia had found that the traces led not only to the southern part of the Central Continent but also to the Southern Continent.

In that situation, learning from Simon's report that the cultists' power was gradually growing in the south gave him a strange feeling that something was off.

Zeke asked Simon,

“What do they do after planting the coffee trees?”

“They literally plant coffee trees and have the villagers cultivate them. They are enabling them to earn money by producing and selling coffee instead of Soma.”

At those words, Zeke tilted his head.

“Isn’t that… a good thing?”

Simon also nodded his head.

“In itself, it is a good thing. In fact, some towns have become more vibrant than before after the cartel's farms disappeared and they started growing coffee trees. However…”

Simon trailed off before continuing his explanation.

“The problem is that after winning the villagers' favor in this way, the cultists gradually infiltrate and organize the entire town into one of their cells.”

At Simon's words, Zeke's expression changed as well.

“So the villagers are being assimilated by the cultists.”

“That is correct. It starts with them helping to set up coffee farms, then they provide food and lend money, cleverly making the people dependent on them.”

It was a malicious method that used welfare as a pretense of goodwill toward those in hardship.

Zeke frowned and asked Simon,

“And what is it they seek to gain from the villagers by doing all this?”

At that question, Simon paused for a moment before slowly opening his mouth.

“They take the children.”

“What?”

For a moment, Zeke wore a blank expression at Simon's words.

Then, in the next instant, he unleashed a terrifying killing intent.

RUMBLE!

An aura powerful enough to shake the entire tent poured out from him before being slowly brought under control.

Zeke, barely suppressing his rage, spoke.

“...They revitalize the towns and then persuade the parents to take their children?”

Simon nodded and replied.

“That's right. The problem is that the villagers have already been assimilated by them and are now resisting the kingdom's attempts to intervene.”

It was the classic picture of fanaticism.

The people of the south had suffered under the cartels, so their hearts inevitably had vulnerabilities.

The cultists had undoubtedly exploited those vulnerabilities to brainwash them.

Zeke ground his teeth.

“Have you found out where they take the children?”

At that question, Simon slowly spoke.

“We have spotted them being taken to Black Market City in the Lawless Zone.”