Danmaku, my skills refresh weekly.

"All the property of the clan belongs to Lord Chanis. They are not bullying the weak, but dividing up Lord Chanis's wealth! To go against Lord Chanis's will is to betray the clan! Faced with traitors, I only did what I had to do!"

"..."

Yes, there are too many people in the clan who exploit their supporters and the weak, starting with Chanis himself and going down layer by layer.

It was only after Charles's reminder that he realized that the money these people squeezed from the lower classes wouldn't all end up in their own pockets.

They will still go out and indulge in debauchery, even if they have a need for spirits; once they become wealthy, they will have extra funds to enjoy themselves.

No... I almost got led astray by this kid.

All I need to do is raise the price of the divine wine and buy back all the families' wealth. If they are poor enough, they won't have any funds flowing out!

In this way, no matter who Fari is in, he will eventually end up in my hands.

What? It's too expensive, so you're not buying it?

Hmph, if you don't buy it, plenty of adventurers will!

It's enough for me, the only one in the family, to enjoy myself!

Thinking of this, Chanis realized something was wrong. Given Charles's current rate of making money, he felt he couldn't control him!

In just one day, other clans spent 1000 million Fali on this kid!

Talent!

Despite his astonishment, Chanis's face hardened as he reprimanded him:

"You've gone too far! Harming your fellow countrymen is a serious crime."

"Just a few good-for-nothings... they're not even cadres, Lord Chanis can definitely handle them. Besides, I've shifted the blame to the Dark Faction, so if I don't say anything, no one will suspect anything!"

Then you're still blaming loyalty...

Chanis's expression softened slightly, and he leisurely took a sip of his drink: "After what you've done, the Dark Faction won't let you off so easily. I heard from the Astrea Familia that you even killed one of their officers?"

This kid has a knack for causing trouble.

In case the secret faction seeks revenge, just hand him over.

Charles saw a hint of fear in Chanis's somewhat blustering expression.

Of course, if Sharl has the ability to kill a level 2, then since it's just Chanis and himself here, killing him would be just as easy!

Think of it...

Charles smiled brightly and reassured her, "That was a smokescreen to gain the trust of the Astrea Familia."

At present, Chanis and the Soma clan are the best protectors of the Ciel, and Chanis is also the best candidate to take the blame.

Everything was done by the regimental commander, Chanis. What does it have to do with us lowly supporters?

"What?! You... what do you mean?!" Chanis stared wide-eyed at Charles in disbelief.

The intelligence contained in that short sentence nearly destroyed Chanis's mind.

Charles was very pleased with Chanis's expression.

Chanis's thoughts raced:

What is a smoke bomb?

Was that level 2 assassin sent to his death by the Dark Faction? How would Charles know that?

What are they trying to conceal with this smokescreen? To gain Ciel's trust within the Astrea Familia? And then what? What's their purpose? What's their plan?

Chanis is not a good person.

If given the opportunity to cooperate with the Dark Faction, he wouldn't hesitate as long as it was profitable.

The sudden, out-of-control jump of the piece off the board terrified him. Moreover, the opponent holding his piece was someone he couldn't possibly fight back against!

This news is even more troublesome than Ciel taking down a level 2 himself!

"How are you? Excited?"

Charles spread his arms and boasted, "Lord Chanis, we're going to be rich!"

"Huh? Us?"

"I have an immense fortune to report to Lord Chanis!"

"Oh?" Chanis remained unmoved. In Charles's eyes, he saw two burning words—loyalty!

"Lord Rudra said," Charles said confidently, "that as long as we complete one of his small tests, he will lead us into an unparalleled and grand plan. At that time, we will become the masters of the new world!"

hiss--

Chanis's toothache was clearly a lie, and he didn't believe it at all, but...

Can't refuse.

Those lunatics will destroy anyone who stands in their way.

Since the request has been made, there is no reason to refuse!

Chanis asked, "What kind of test...?"

“It’s very simple.” Charles opened his pouch, took out a pistol, pointed the muzzle at Chanis’s forehead, and gently pulled the trigger.

boom--

A small flame shot out from the muzzle of the gun.

"This... an ignition device?"

"Yes! It's the ignition device. They want Lord Chanis to buy enough ignition devices to double the output of all the factories in Orario."

"That's it?" Chanis pushed up his glasses.

Magic stone lamps are inexpensive to make, costing only a few hundred falies each. The ignition device itself is even cheaper, and there are discounts for bulk orders.

With that in mind, Chanis nodded: "And what about the delivery time?"

"One month from now. Don't worry, Lord Rudra will not treat us unfairly; we will receive a generous reward for this batch of ignition devices," Charles assured him confidently.

Chanis asked suspiciously, "What do you get out of all this?"

At that opportune moment, Charles revealed a greedy glint in his eyes and slowly extended his hand toward Chanis:

"I want... divine wine! Give me more divine wine! Divine wine!"

Seeing Charles's unfocused gaze and his gradual rolling on the ground, Chanis's lips curled into a smile. He covered his eyes, then threw his head back and burst into laughter.

"Heh, heh heh, hahahaha, Ciel-kun! Ciel-kun! You truly are the most loyal officer of the Soma Familia! Hahahaha!"

Chapter 24 Hugging, Hugging a Thigh

Central Park outside the Tower of Babel.

"Recruiting teammates? What's your level? What position are you?"

"Avant-garde! Level 1, durability is F-grade. Don't worry, I'm a professional."

With two cursed weapons, one long and one short, slung at his waist, and a sign advertising him as a teammate, Ciel squatted in a corner of the park.

The orc before him asked suspiciously, "F? Where's the power?"

"H."

"Tsk, looks like a newbie who just switched from supporter, right? Well, our team is short a porter, do you want to come? I'll give you 500 fali a day," the orc said disdainfully.

"Thank you. No need."

Charles didn't even glance at the orc. There were many other groups around, similarly recruiting adventurers, most of them either seeking support or applying for support roles.

Compared to this kind of inefficient and unreliable recruitment process, it might be more efficient to spend some money to have a guild post recruitment information.

Unfortunately, after leaving the Soma Familia, he had already exchanged the only Fali he had in his pocket for a small cup of divine wine with Chanis. After taking a small sip to relieve his craving for alcohol, he forced himself to fill half a test tube.

However... this approach only makes people more and more eager to try it.

"Ugh."

Charles touched the cold test tube containing the divine wine, his lips trembling and his whole body shaking.

He forcibly suppressed the urge to drink the holy wine, trying to resist the desire. It felt like being forced to clean a gun but not allowed to go into battle; the more he cleaned, the more uncomfortable he became, and the more uncomfortable he became, the more he wanted it…

The more I think about it, the more my head aches, and the more I get annoyed, the more they make me clean the gun. I'm about to explode from exhaustion, and then my sister-in-law puts a piece of glue in front of me:

"Touch me? You dare?"

"Dry……"

Time passed second by second, and most of the teams that entered the dungeon at dawn had already entered the maze. It was foreseeable that he didn't have many chances left.

Just as Charles was feeling utterly bored and couldn't resist taking out the divine wine to drink it down...

"Little brother, what's wrong? Are you hungry? Come on, try your sister's cooking."

"Uh..." The surging desire was drawn to the golden-yellow skin and the enticing aroma emanating from the object in front of him.

Charles looked up and saw a pair of kind eyes.

"Here you go, it's French fries, it's on you."

Charles swallowed hard, grabbed the oil paper, peeled it open, and took a big bite.

To be honest, he hasn't had a proper meal since yesterday. In the dungeon, he's been relying on alcohol to maintain his energy levels, and Ganu and the others wouldn't share breakfast with him.

What Xia Er had initially considered nothing more than junk food wrapped in taro and cooking oil unexpectedly shattered his desires, leaving him immersed in warm emotions.

Seeing that Xia Er was eating very quickly, the shop owner made two more pieces and handed them to him:

"Sigh, in this world, even kids have to work hard to earn money in the dungeon..."

Charles smiled and said, "How much are you asking for? I'll give you the money."

However, when Charles reached into his pocket, he discovered that he was penniless.

He looked up awkwardly and met the shop owner's crescent-shaped eyes. She smiled and pointed to her open-air stall, where a sign in Common Language read:

"Delicious food shared, smiles everywhere! A new source of energy in the city, French fries!"

"Here, share the delicious food, little brother! Your smile is the best reward!"