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Chapter 48: The Guide Cultivates the Seeds of Revenge

The guide, burned by the golden spear, was burning with revenge.

"Liam—I will never forgive you."

However, there was one problem.

It was frankly difficult to send Liam, as he is now, to hell.

He is praised as a wise ruler and is gathering positive emotions, which the guide dislikes.

Revenge wouldn't be easy.

But that didn't mean he could give up.

So, what should he do?

"Many people harbor a desire for revenge against Liam. I shall contact such individuals and sow the seeds of revenge. Eventually, they should bloom into a great flower."

Clutching his chest and suffering, the guide searched for people who harbored strong feelings of revenge against Liam.

And among the many strong reactions he found, he discovered two who stood out.

"This way!"

The guide created a door and, passing through it, arrived before a person who harbored a desire for revenge against Liam.

That person was Anshi.

He was in an alley, holding his head.

Seeing his state, the guide shouted.

"You again!"

Anshi was the very person who made Liam impossibly strong.

The guide had no good memories of Anshi.

Therefore, he tried to kill Anshi on the spot—but stopped when he heard Anshi's words.

"What the heck? 'Issenshi-ryu'?! He's spreading my name too, I'll never forgive that guy."

After the match broadcast from the academy, Liam's martial art style had become a topic of conversation.

Liam had declared himself to be of the Issenshi-ryu style, and naturally, those who were interested looked into it.

And Anshi found himself being pursued.

The guide looked at Anshi.

"If this continues, the truth will be revealed someday—and I'll be killed by Liam. Even now, I'm hated by pirates for training Liam, the pirate hunter."

Anshi had finally made a decision.

"I have to strike before I'm struck—otherwise, Liam will eliminate me. If that's the case, I need to take disciples and train them. I can't do it alone. If there are two of us—and we train them like Liam, we should be able to win."

To that thought, the guide applauded, even though Anshi couldn't hear him.

"Anshi—I believed in you."

Anshi's idea was that if the truth was revealed and he was killed by Liam, he might as well train two disciples like Liam and kill Liam.

He also planned to have them protect him from pirates.

"If I can find kids with more talent than Liam—I still have money. I have to train them no matter what and make them assassins for Liam."

The guide wholeheartedly agreed with that idea.

"Anshi-kun, you are wonderful. I agree with your idea. And this is a gift from me."

With a snap of his fingers, the sound of a struggle could be heard from a short distance away.

Anshi flinched but peered in that direction.

There, he saw—young children, wielding sticks, beating down a man who had attacked them.

With a gaunt body, they gripped large wooden sticks.

Blood stained the sticks, and a large man lay prostrate on the ground.

The two children looked at Anshi.

Their eyes were sharp, like those of beasts.

"Eek!"

The children approached.

The guide, so Anshi couldn't hear, explained.

"I found and prepared talented children nearby. Train them well. Prepare true inheritors of Issenshi-ryu to kill Liam, Anshi!"

Anshi, while backing away, took out food from his pocket and threw it to the two children.

Upon receiving it, the two began to eat like beasts.

Watching them, Anshi seemed to think this was it.

"If it's these kids, they can surely surpass Liam if trained. They can defeat such a big man. They'll surely get stronger."

Then, he called out to the two children.

The guide confirmed his actions and moved on to the next person seeking revenge.

"Now, who's next?"

It was a military re-education facility.

There was Eurycia, who would have otherwise followed a path to success as a female soldier.

"Oh, this woman?"

She was enduring harsh training.

Her gaze was sharp, and her once beautiful hair had been shaved off into a buzz cut.

She was undergoing training to join a special forces unit.

Covered in mud, thrown by instructors—yet she stood up.

The guide was impressed by her tenacity.

"I wonder if she has a reason to hate Liam this much? Shall I listen to her inner thoughts?"

Then—

(I will never forgive him. I will never forgive him. I will never forgive him—)

The hatred for Liam repeated.

She was perfect as an avenger.

"W-Wonderful! To think such a talent existed—then, this is a gift from me. I shall support you to some extent so that you can succeed."

To strike Liam with the blade of revenge, she—Eurycia—had to survive.

Eurycia, who had been losing to the instructor until just before, was no longer just being defeated.

The instructor yelled at Eurycia.

"I thought you were just a woman who could only shake your hips, but you've grown a bit, you piece of trash!"

"Yes, sir!"

Eurycia's inner thoughts were:

(I will definitely get revenge on Liam—)

The guide nodded.

"Your pure hatred for Liam is truly wonderful. I have been supporting you from the shadows. I look forward to the day you get revenge on Liam."

Upon investigating Eurycia, it was found that she had undergone considerable re-education.

She wasn't just being trained.

She had dabbled in various fields to advance in the military.

However, the more she trained, the greater the disadvantage of being tied to the military for a long time.

Ignoring this, Eurycia trained herself.

All for revenge against Liam.

The guide left the scene with satisfaction.

"I hope your blade of revenge reaches Liam someday."

The guide departed.

Anshi, who had taken in the two orphans, was thinking.

While watching the two sleeping in the beds at his inn, he seriously considered self-preservation.

"What if the assassination fails?"

The two in front of him certainly had talent.

But Liam was also strong.

He was an unbelievable man who had reproduced magic as a real skill.

"If these two become assassins and are defeated—then I'll be killed next."

It would be better if he were simply killed.

His opponent was a noble.

He didn't know what kind of terrible torture awaited him.

Thinking of being killed slowly over time—he shivered with fear.

Therefore, the timid Anshi thought.

"R-Right! I just need to make up various excuses. I should keep the assassination a secret from them too. Yes—I should tell them to challenge their senior disciple with all their might."

Even if they were defeated, if he sent a letter to Liam saying "Well done," he might be convinced.

"Will he? No, but—if I don't kill them, my life will be in danger. Anyway, I need to make various arrangements. That's the only way."

For the sake of his own life, Anshi decided to take in the two children and teach them Issenshi-ryu.

He unfortunately possessed the know-how for it.

It had been proven with Liam.

"The question is, if I train them the same way, how much progress will they make? If I badmouth Liam all the time, information might leak from these kids. Yes, I might as well praise Liam in front of them."

He felt a contradiction in making them kill the person he was praising.

However, Anshi was not in a position to be lenient.

It was due to the rumors of the phantom martial art, Issenshi-ryu, spreading because of Liam.

Nobles and pirates—and other martial artists—were also starting to move to gain that strength.

Even if he ran, he would surely be chased.

Anshi didn't have time to be picky about methods.

He had to train the children in a hurry.

Because—Anshi was weak.

"Alright, just in case of failure, I'll have them carry my letter. If I praise Liam appropriately, he'll misunderstand, right? —I hope he does. Though I'd prefer if they took him down."

Anshi, who had taken disciples of Issenshi-ryu to kill Liam, thought.

"I should train them to feel indebted to me as much as possible—and make them conscious of Liam."

Anshi, in his confusion, no longer knew what he was doing.

A military re-education facility.

While many men fled from the harsh training, Eurycia remained.

All for revenge against Liam.

She looked at her reflection in the washroom mirror.

She had shaved off her prized beautiful hair, and her body had gained muscle thanks to the re-training.

"In the next enhancement, I need to improve the quality further—and maintain a feminine physique. This body is also a tool for revenge against Liam."

Liam, the man who had dismissed her without interest.

What was her revenge against such a Liam?

Eurycia's conclusion was the period Liam would serve in the military after graduating from the academy.

During that period, the military would dispatch a副官 (fukukan - adjutant/aide) to Liam.

The ones chosen would be the elite of the elite among female officers.

They would be selected only if they possessed everything: appearance, ability.

To break into that group, ordinary achievements would not be enough.

After all, the Banfield family was also sending a large number of female officers to the military.

There were those who achieved excellent results in the academy and were being trained to become Liam's adjutants.

It would be impossible to be selected by ordinary means.

That's why—Eurycia had requested to join the special forces.

If she broke through the harsh training and was deployed to actual combat, arduous missions awaited her.

She would break through those and surely become Liam's adjutant.

And then—she would charm Liam, and this time, she would be the one to discard him.

She wasn't exactly discarded, but it was a matter of Eurycia's pride.

The guide's intentions were—misaligned.

"I will definitely make him turn his head. For that, I will thoroughly investigate Liam."

She had endured the harsh training, always thinking of Liam.

And the training was almost over.

Once that happened, actual combat awaited.

Even though she should have given up and pursued happiness as a woman, Eurycia's mind was filled with Liam.

"How shall I charm him? I need to find out his preferences."

A colleague passing by the entrance saw Eurycia grinning in front of the mirror and let out a scream.

The guide stood atop a building in the capital planet.

"Let's continue to sow seeds! I believe that eventually, one of them will reach Liam."

He would let it slide for now.

The guide felt that way.

"Until then, I shall focus on accumulating power."

Even now, Liam's gratitude burned the guide's body.

The guide waited for an opportunity for revenge against Liam while absorbing the negative emotions of the capital planet.

The guide overlooked it, but—there were still those who harbored revenge against Liam.

It was the Berkeley Family.

In a dimly lit conference room, the family executives attended via holographic projection.

All of them were the children of the Berkeley Family's boss.

"I heard Derrick is dead."

To the boss's words, the executives voiced their dissatisfaction with Derrick.

"That bastard, he lost one planetary development device."

"He was useless."

"We lost manpower too. He was truly useless."

The boss was petting something cat-like in his hand—another creature resembling a cat.

"I won't say 'my cute son was killed'—"

Veins bulged on the boss's forehead.

"There's an idiot who picked a fight with the family."

Liam's face was projected in the conference room.

"Liam the pirate hunter, huh?"

"The prodigy of the fallen Banfield family, huh?"

"Just kill him quickly."

As the executives reacted, the boss slammed his fist down.

The cat-like creature was startled, and he gently stroked it to calm it.

"I've been suffering from his pirate hunting for a while. He was someone I wanted to eliminate from before."

Just as pirates put bounties on each other, in the underworld, a huge bounty was placed on Liam.

Fools targeted Liam, but all of them were defeated.

There was a time when pirates swarmed Liam's territory—but now, they feared him, and no pirate crew dared to challenge him, even with the increased bounty.

Only the foolhardy challenged him—and all of them disappeared before they could even meet Liam.

"Our family is going to war with the Banfields. Go and threaten the nobles who seem to be on the fence, and make them decide."

The boss decided to increase his allies and strike down Liam.

This was proof that he judged Liam as a threat.

"Father! I'll do it without you having to do that!"

One of his sons volunteered to take on Liam.

But he stopped him.

"Derrick died because of that. Don't waste our forces any further, you idiot."

The boss looked at Liam's face and smiled.

"Kid—don't think you can pick a fight with the Berkeley Family and get away with it."

A great battle was about to begin, unbeknownst to Liam.

Brian (´・ω・`) "There are many noble families named Berkeley, so it's hard to tell who's who. Or rather, it's not like you can say 'That's the family!' just by the surname—there are so many families—it's tough."

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