A journey to another world starting from a sword

As soon as she arrived, Nirunel gave the order.

"Yes~ yes~." Argo responded repeatedly. Infiltrating was a piece of cake for her. Even if she was discovered by the Korroy family, it wouldn't matter. The enemies in this kind of mission were all of a floor difficulty level.

“The emergency check has been notified. Dante, come with me to see Badan.” Nyrunel turned to Dante and said.

"Huh?" Asuna was surprised that the check didn't include her.

However, the next second, Nyrunel instructed, "Asuna and Kizmel will guard this room."

"Ah."

Although Kizmel readily agreed, Asuna seemed somewhat hesitant, probably because she felt it was a rather simple task.

“This is very important to me.” Nirunel saw through Asuna’s concerns and explained, “In the past, Kio and I almost never left here at the same time, but one time after we went out together, the wine on the table was poisoned.”

"Poisoning...?" Asuna really didn't expect the relationship between the two families to be so bad.

“Hmph.” Nirunier turned her head away disdainfully. “Compared to using despicable methods like poison, I would rather they just launch an attack directly. That would seem much more heroic.”

"Don't make such a bold prediction," Dante thought to himself. He felt that Badan had left a lot of traces this time, and if the other party didn't want to be traced back to anything in the end, they might still do something to silence him.

"Are you alright?" Asuna asked with concern.

“It’s only when nothing’s wrong that I can live like this,” Nirunier said proudly, then shrugged. “I’m so glad that Kio noticed the pinhole on the cork, otherwise I might have actually drunk it.”

"Well, in the end, I tied that bottle of wine with a ribbon and gave it to Badan as a gift."

Amused by Nyrunel, Asuna then firmly replied, "I understand. I will protect this place well with Kizmel."

"Okay, thank you."

Just then, a respectful knock came at the door, and a male voice answered.

“Miss Nirunel, everything is ready.”

"Qio!" Nirunel called to the maid beside her and jumped off the sofa. Qiao immediately stepped forward and put a heavy coat made of black velvet fabric on her.

It looked incredibly hot, but her petite figure, tightly wrapped in a large coat, was also quite adorable.

Dante also equipped himself with a spare one-handed sword at this time, which Nyrunel glanced at as she passed by.

"Isn't this Kares O's sword? Your trophy?"

“Yes, a prize from a championship... a duel between knights,” Dante replied.

“Eh—” Nirunier exclaimed approvingly and walked outside.

“Take good care of our client,” Argo said, waving behind Dante.

"You don't need to tell me," Dante said, raising his hand without turning his head.

Waiting for them in the corridor was a young man only half a head shorter than him, with a sharp and capable appearance. He wore a dark gray uniform and breastplate that was completely different from the shiny plate armor of the casino guards. His shoulders were sewn with the white and black lily crest of the Kutui family, and a slender straight sword was at his waist.

"Faso, you've worked hard. Where are Lu Jie and the others?"

The man whom Nilunier called Faso straightened up. "He's already waiting in front of the stables."

“Let’s go then.” Nirunier strode briskly down the corridor, with Kio and Faso following behind her.

"Sister, who is this person?" Faso was clearly puzzled by the man who was even more handsome than him following behind them.

"Call me by my name when we're working!" Qiao didn't answer immediately, but instead scolded Faso.

"Yes, Miss Qiao." Under the pressure of his sister's bloodline, Faso immediately obeyed.

"He is Dante, the swordsman Miss Neruel hired specifically for this incident."

"...Why let this guy of unknown origin accompany us? We can handle it on our own."

"..." Qiao didn't answer her brother's question. Instead, she looked him up and down scrutinizingly, then shook her head with a sneer.

"..."

The casino was originally converted from the residences of two families. Apart from the public area in front where customers gather, it is all private property and cannot be freely accessed.

Following Nirunel through the corridor, down the steps, and unlocking the door with a key, we finally arrived outside.

A glimpse of azure sky can be seen through the open door, making the afternoon sunlight that shines in seem exceptionally refreshing.

Outside, the soldiers and beast tamers of the Kutui family stood facing off against the soldiers of the Korroi family.

"It's been a long time, Miss Niel." Standing at the front was a tall, thin, white-haired old man.

So, Nyurneel's nickname is Nyurneel? Dante wondered.

“It’s so good to see you so healthy, Badan.” Nyrunel, standing in the shadows, spoke in a sarcastic tone, but Dante didn’t detect any mockery in her expression.

Moreover, although Badan was focused on making money in order to buy a way to prolong life from the fallen elves, he still appeared to be a rather old-fashioned gentleman.

“I didn’t expect the commotion at the casino today to bother you.” Badan took another step forward, his words sounding like a sharp retort. “It’s just a farce put on by some petty thugs who love to cheat.”

Their ability to lie through their teeth is truly remarkable. Asuna and the others, when dressed up, look like youthful and beautiful girls.

"But I heard that your underhanded tricks to damage the casino's reputation were exposed, and after being used by others, our ancestral sword was also taken away by them."

"May I ask who told you this rumor?!" The butler behind Badan couldn't stand it anymore and quickly stepped forward. "My master is very dedicated to the operation of the casino, unlike some adults who just stay in their rooms and enjoy the fruits of others' labor."

"What did you say?!" The people behind Nirunel couldn't stand it anymore. Even though they were half the number of the other side, they still angrily approached the butler.

"Mendeen, that's enough." After Badan raised his left hand, the butler named Mendeen immediately fell silent.

"This mistake was indeed our oversight. As for the nonsense about any underhanded tactics, we don't need to pay attention to it. Let them see as much as they want to tour the stables." As if unconcerned about what might be discovered, Badan casually gestured towards the door engraved with the red dragon seal.

It meant "Go ahead and go in if you want," and his soldiers all made way for him.

"Hmph." Qiao moved her right hand slightly, and the next moment, three of her subordinates, including Faso, stood straight behind her, pressed so close that their chests were touching.

Dante, who knew that Nyrunel was a vampire, understood their intentions, but because it was somewhat comical, he figured that Badan's men would probably burst out laughing later.

"Wait." He sighed, stopping Qiao and the others from doing so.

"What's wrong?" Seemingly annoyed by Dante's lack of cooperation, Kio glared at him.

Dante ignored them, put the cloak he had taken off because of the heat back on, and took out a tower shield.

Then he slowly walked up to Nirunier, and under her questioning gaze, he unfolded a corner of his cloak to cover her figure, and then held the tower shield in the direction of the sun.

Nirunel's small stature allowed her cloak and tower shield to perfectly block the direct sunlight.

"Let's go," Dante said softly to her.

“…Hmm.” With her right hand grasping his shirt, Nirunier lowered her head, her sweet voice softly escaping from under the hood.

The path, which should have been paved with centipede-like henchmen, was now being walked by knights protecting princesses, a scene straight out of a fairy tale.

The guy who still had a wicked grin on his face now looked a little stiff, while others still harbored hatred in their eyes.

As for Badan, Dante stared at him. The other man’s gaze, emanating from his sunken eye sockets, was as sharp as a steel cone. However, his gray eyes did not look at Dante, but were fixed on Nyrunel, who looked like she could be his great-granddaughter.

The emotion that surfaced in his eyes at that moment reminded Dante of whether their common ancestor had the same look in his eyes when he was killed by his two sons.

Hate and envy at the same time...

Chapter 156: This sword is named "Melancholy Nocturne"

"Dante, hurry!" The maid was already standing at the door, opening the door with the red dragon emblem.

As Dante passed Kio and entered the room, he heard Nyrunel in his arms let out a slight sigh of relief as she lowered her hand from Dante's chest.

They were very close, and Dante saw her somewhat pale face under her hood.

"I'm fine," she said, trying to sound strong, though Dante thought it was a bit of bravado.

"Do you need me to help you?" Dante was a little worried about the other person's condition.

“Just lend me your arm,” Nirunier said, pushing away the small black bottle that Kio offered. “No need.”

She placed her hand in Dante's arm, then turned to check the number of people. Chio, Faso, Lucy, and two others had already entered.

Then she took a few steps forward on her own, pulled down the hood of her coat with her left hand, looked around, sniffed the air, and then her face tightened.

"Inadequate cleaning and ventilation, and sloppy care for the monsters—is this the Chorroy family's stables?"

“There is a smell of blood.” Dante also noticed the anomaly, and Nyrunel scratched his forearm in approval.

"I'm so sorry, Miss Niel, please let us know in advance if you plan to visit next time. We will definitely clean it thoroughly." Badan entered through the main gate with his entourage.

The other party seemed fearless, and it appeared that the evidence had been destroyed. However, Nirunel had not expected to find any items as evidence of cheating. This elaborate operation was merely to disrupt the other party's plans and provide convenience for Argo. If Badan could slip up, that would be an unexpected bonus.

"Also, we need to prepare for the arena's evening matches soon, so please hurry. By the way, there are monsters inside whose summoning abilities have expired, so I'm not responsible if anyone who enters the cage gets attacked."

“Harming a monster is a clear violation of the ironclad rules, and we will definitely report it,” the butler added menacingly.

"You don't need to tell me," Qiao replied coldly.

Then Nirunel led them through the rooms one by one, while Badan seemed to have no intention of following along, simply staying at the door and watching them.

After the search of the first floor was completed, Nirunel immediately suggested going down to the underground to take a look.

Badan, of course, did not refuse, nor did he show any sign of panic.

“The evidence should be gone by now,” Dante whispered to Nyrunel beside him as he descended the stairs.

“It doesn’t matter whether he’s here or not. If he’s not here, we can only hope that Argo has made some discoveries. If he is here… we don’t know what methods Bardan will use, but they will most likely be aimed at me personally.” Nyrunel pulled Dante closer to her with her hand, signaling him to come closer.

With her body far apart, her walking posture became a bit awkward.

“Then you must be the only one left in the Kurty family. If you die, the Kurty family will die out, and Badan won’t need to worry about the ownership of the Grand Casino,” Dante speculated.

“There are still collateral branches, although the blood relations are very different.” Nirunier did not completely deny it, and complained, “But the same is true for Badan. He has a very young son. He probably thinks that after he dies, his son will not be as good as mine, and in the end, the Kurty family will also be sidelined.”

They spoke so softly that Badan, who was standing at the door, could not hear them.

After they finished searching the underground area, they still found nothing suspicious.

“Strange…” Nirunier twitched her nose. “There’s no smell of blood here, no… it’s not entirely the smell of blood either.”

"Is this the first floor?" she murmured softly.

Back on the first floor, Nirunier sniffed the scents that filled the air until she stopped in front of a wall.

She waved her hand, signaling her men to search. Sure enough, after Qiao pressed down on a brick, the stone wall opened, and a strange smell wafted out.

"So it was here after all." Not only Nerunel, but even Kio was smiling. Following their lead, the expressions on the faces of the others also relaxed.

“…” This must be it, Dante thought to himself.

Because the room was dark, Qiao went in first and asked Badan, "Is there an oil lamp?"

“No, the monsters here are locked up because they are afraid of light,” Badan explained meaningfully.

Upon hearing this, Nirunier frowned and observed the layout of the entire room.

In the cage on the right is an unidentified canine monster. The taming spell cast by Badan seems to still be in effect. The hounds are looking at them without making a sound.

However, the cage on the left was empty, as if there were no monsters there.

As Qiao and the others were about to go forward and investigate more closely, the "rope" placed in the shadows in the corner suddenly moved.

"Snakes!" Dante drew his sword from his back with a clang and stared intently at the multiple red cursors in front of him.

"Protect the young lady!" Qiao shouted immediately, leading Faso and the others to meet her.

The snake moved as swiftly as a whip, yet silently, its body suddenly springing up to dodge Qiao's attack.

In the dim light filtering in from the doorway, it gleamed with a metallic silver light, suggesting it was a very troublesome monster.

"Excuse me." Dante didn't intend to confront her directly. He turned around and hugged Nyrunel around the waist, just like he had hugged Silica last time, and planned to run towards the exit.

“What—” Nirunier was stunned for a moment. After realizing the situation, she raised her eyebrows angrily in less than half a second. Being held like a child was very embarrassing for a lady like her.

But as soon as they looked toward the entrance, they saw the stone wall slowly closing; it was Badan who had shut it!

Before the last gap disappeared, the two saw Badan's meaningful gaze.

“I’ve been tricked,” Nirunier clicked her tongue. “Put me down quickly.”

"..." Dante did not reply, but quickly opened his inventory and swiped down rapidly. The window's built-in light allowed him to see the names of the items. He then selected one of the items and materialized it.

The next second, a wooden box appeared at their feet.

“You…” Nyrunel seemed to understand something. Before she could say anything, Dante opened the box and put her inside. “Don’t come out.”

"Ugh." The movement was a bit rough, and Nirunier's body bumped into the wooden box. She had just raised her head when the box was already closed.

Dante twisted to dodge the snake-like monster's attack, then casually flicked his sword to knock away another one that lunged at him.